grin and share it

The lovely ladies of Mighty Swell, Meghan and Rae (that's them up there in the heart) are back at it with their "his" and "hers" events. You might remember them from my post about the Hers event in February. I'm biased because I know how great they are in real life, but seriously you guys, they rule so hard. Each event at their occasional vintage shop is curated perfectly for each theme- the vintage hand selected, the food plentiful, even the decor fits. This last weekend was another Hers event and I was, as always, impressed. As an added perk, I got to meet "shop girl and Minneapolis notable Kathryn Lone, who you may know as Pudge the cat's mom. It was kind of a big deal to me as a fellow cat lady. I'm pretty sure Pudge is the best branded cat around, for the record. I tried on a handful of girly frocks but as it often goes in vintage, none fit quite right (thanks, curves). It certainly never stops me from coming back for more- the smiling faces and pretty decor is reason enough Bummed you missed out? The next event is for the misters (yeah...you'll be seeing a post about it I'm sure) on May 18th and 19th!

I am very happy to introduce a new feature on my blog in this, my 100th post! My honey and I have a lot of adventures and I figured it was about time we shared them with you! We will be highlighting places we've gone, what we've worn, things we've bought and, of course, food we've eaten! We hope it will give you a little glimpse into our journeys in this fine state of Minnesota (and wherever else we trek to!). We hope you enjoy this new feature- look for more installations every other week...ish. Love it? Hate it? Think it could be better? Tweet me.

"Oh my gosh. We have NO plans today...what should we do?" A rare conundrum for us, so we took to Twitter Saturday morning to investigate. Not far into my feed I noticed a menswear pop-up shopping event at Russell + Hazel featuring Pierrepont Hicks, Faribault Woolen Mill and Martin Patrick3 and the decision was instantly made. We ventured out to Edina and were absolutely blown away by what we found.

Russell + Hazel is a design studio & shop with delightful paper goods, home accessories and organizers that would make Martha squeal. My man picked up a tie and bowtie from Pierrepont Hicks as I chatted with Mrs. P Hicks herself, Katherine McMillan. We left the shop, portfolio giveaways in hand, feeling ultimately satisfied with our experience. Thus began our weekend of menswear shopping. That being said the weather was ultimately dismal and keeping our energy and inspiration up was a challenge. With a few choice stops we managed to carry right on through...with a few naps in between. 

Martin Patrick3 is the king of menswear shops in Minneapolis- with pretty much anything you could want and a few things you didn't know you needed (pearl collar stays). We browsed around for quite some time- the shopping experience in itself was pleasant and there was so much to see. ID/Inside Design is attached and it was an irresistible detour to check out the modern furniture, Pantone mugs and Jonathon Adler statuettes. The mister ended up unexpectedly picking up a pair of glasses frames with bamboo arms. Even more unexpected? The choice of three different cases on the way out. An overall stellar experience.

Then we decided to do something crazy. We went to St. Paul. I’ll be upfront here- I'm a tiny cranky monster when I'm hungry, so we decided to hit up the famous WA Frost for a little lunch before continuing to shop. A perfectly delightful experience to say the least. Our server, Lori was the perfect combination of personable, silly and attentive and recommended the Belgian on tap- a St Bernardus Tripel, which ended up on both of our faves lists for Belgians. I drank one and a half (my limit) Earl Grey-Pomegranate Tonics, which were not as sweet as you might fear and provided a surprising and welcome journey for my palate- transitioning through at least a few tastes before finishing. I ate a Gem Lettuce Salad and a side of fries (what diet?) and the mister had a Cuban Panini which he also loved.  It gave us the boozy, delicious fuel to head down the street to another local menswear classic, BlackBlue.

Oh BlackBlue, you are such a lovely spot.  The place was, as always, set up beautifully and had a fresh stock of items including a few women's pieces! Satchel, whose smiling face I remember chatting with at SnowGrade, greeted us at the door happily and upon being asked how he was, replied (quite genuinely I suspect) that he was "livin the dream". We didn't pick anything up this time, but that's not to say there isn't a panoply of excellent options.

Oh, geez Mod Cloth. Why do you do this to me? Introducing the brand new What a Dahlia Dress designed by pin-up model/designer/Bettie Page lookalike Bernie Dexter. Only $155.99. Oof.

Easter is around the corner- my second favorite holiday (right after Halloween), obviously because of its direct relationship with the amount of bunny paraphernalia available at this time of year. Oh, and chocolate. And pastels! Ok I guess there are a few reasons...but MOSTLY BUNNIES.

I was stumbling around Pinterest when I found something that might actually make my man and I even cuter than we already are (modest, I know). The Belle and the Beau makes INCREDIBLE bowties and ties--  nothing new, I know, but guess what else? Shoe clips (or "shoe pretties" as they call them) for the girls. Ties run about $24-$36 and shoe clips about $20-$32. HOLY SMOKES. Tim Gunn would call it "too matchy-matchy" but I don't even care, it's too fantastic...I apologize if by the time you get to this site everything is sold out...because we bought it all.

I stopped by one of my favorite outlets, Optiz, on the way to Trader Joe's yesterday and picked up a pretty fantastic gray dress with a super cute triangle pattern made by Aqua.  I hopped on the interwebs to try to find a nice photo of it for you all when I stumbled across their Spring Look Book. I have been having a hard time getting into colorblocking- not that I don't love it, it just doesn't really fit into my personal aesthetic easily --until now! I just love all of this-its bright, simple but stands out, and best of all- totally wearable. Check out the entire collection at Bloomingdale's.

 

I'm a little behind on this but I finally had time to make a quick post about NorthernGRADE- the winter version of the much loved NorthernGRADE menswear, American-made, pop-up event here in Minneapolis. I had a great time and got my man a very awesome gift which I will post after I give it to him. I was tickled to hear about local shop, Black Blue, which I somehow did not know about! My man and I will definitely be stopping over there when he gets back from Scandinavia. All of my photos (most of which didn't turn out, unfortunately) can be seen over on my Flickr. Stay tuned for NorthernGRADE, September 15th and 16th.  But for now, just a few favorites-

It is taking every ounce of self-control I have not to start jumping up and down, failing my arms and shrieking like a small child right now. OHMIGOSH.See the full collection here.

I love TOMS. How can you not? They are comfty, colorful and do good in the world! In case you have been living under a rock, TOMS donates one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair bought. It's simple, but with a profound effect. That's why the $80 price tag on these babies should not cause your jaw to drop- because technically you are buying two pairs of shoes! I thought life couldn't get better when they introduced their wedges, but here they are- FLATS. AND they come in leopard print? Sold.

 

I woke up to a crisp -35 windchill today. Minnesota. I tell ya. I suppose I shouldn't complain- we have had a ridiculously easy winter so far. It's hard to care much about how you look when your eyeballs hurt but sometimes its the little things that can brighten your very chill day...

Campaign shot by Tim Walker...who I will definitely be posting about in the future.

 

After I posted that ridiculous bunny video I realized that if I lived in Japan I would SO be one of those stuffed animal toting, rainbow makeup wearing, practically unreal looking street style girls. I just cant resist it all. 

Rinao from Daikan'yama

Sae from Harajuku

Yokorin from Shibuya

Momoko from Harajuku

I headed to No Coast Craft-O-Rama this weekend and was absolutely inspired by all of the vendors. Minneapolis is chock full of some incredibly talented people. I ended up spending my fair share of cash but was tickled to find tinyhands jewelry- not only is it cute little charms of, what's better-food, but they are scented! Definitely perfect for the baker, foodie, cutesy-lover in your life.

                   

            

As I mentioned before, I recently learned that I need glasses...computer glasses to be exact. I went on the search and here is what I came across on Zenni Optical. Despite the awesomeness and reasonable prices of these I ended up breaking the bank with another (name brand) pair- I like what I like, what can I say?