The Great Minnesota Get Together

We love the Minnesota State Fair. Love it. We usually plan to go twice during it's twelve day run. There are fun displays, farm animals, exhibits... oh... and there is food there too. My favorite building is the Horticulture building; Rich's favorite is the Food Building. My favorite food is a blackberry malt from the Dairy Building; Rich's is Jalapeno cheese-on-a-stick. Ooo... the fair is always a good time.

{Food Building Mural}
{Walking in - Day 1}
{Poland Stand for D}

{Poland Stand, view II for D}

{Beautiful day!}
{Minimal animals were viewed*, but here are some sheep...}
{And the milking room at the Cattle Barn} {BFB}

{Lots of other people's plans included the Fair that day; 191,071, in fact}

{End of Day 1 = full-fledged carnivore}

{Walking in = Day 2}

{Senator Klobuchar is in the lime green top; Pat Kessler is wearing a blue polo}

{Christmas tree shopping in September}

{More xmas tree browsing}

{Winner! We'll take this one!}

{Love the Horticulture Bldg}

{Largest Pumpkin - 1,186 lbs}

{We were thinking our friends could help us get one of these}

*Apparently Sunday and Thursday are "moving" days for the animals. So we never did get to see the largest boar, walk through the rows of cows or do additional exploring.

Every year we keep track of the food and drinks we consume during our visit, but apparently I'm not quite brave enough to post that on here. However, I will share the $$ stats I heard on the radio as we drove home from our second trip to the fair.

Top 4 2008 Food Booth Gross Revenue (over the course of 12 days)

4. Mouse Trap (Cheese Curds) - $741K

3. Midwest Dairy (source of my fave malts) - $822K

2. French Fries - $840K

1. Sweet Martha's Cookies (chocolate chip cookies) - $2.0M

Can you imagine making $2.0M over the course of twelve days? Amazing!

Summer Break

{Apparently I needed a summer break to spend some time on the deck, Diet Squirt (my fave), a magazine and the sun.}

local farmer's market

Every Thursday our new town holds a farmer's market. Check out the amazing bounty I scored at our first trip. It was larger than I expected and had lots of yummy fruits, veggies, sweets, treats, breads, organic face care, soaps, meat, plants... okay, it had a lot of stuff!!

I was so excited to hit up a farmer's market! It worked out great, because we were able to take a break from moving, stop by and enjoy the new town for a little bit. However, I hadn't planned ahead and had zero cash on hand. Thankfully my mom and Rich were there (with $$) and paid my way.

Here's what we bought:

• Lettuce = $1 {It was a LOT of lettuce (and the least expensive I found... most were $2). I washed the lettuce when I came home and divided it into two gallon ziploc bags. Yum!}
• Green beans = $3
• Yellow wax beans = $4
• Yellow summer squash & zucchini = $2
• Small kalamata olive ciabatta loaf = $1.75
• Bacon = $5 ? {I can't remember the exact price, but that sounds about right}
• Fudge = $5.50
• Barbecue Sauce = $5
• Raspberry Jam = $7

Total: $ 33.25

The veggies were inexpensive; it was the non-produce that added up quickly. BUT -- so worth it!!

The jam is AMAZING!! In fact, the guy who was selling it has a farm and mentioned going to pick raspberries in a few weeks. I think I might just have to check that out! {Mom?? Rich?? Any interest?}

BBQ sauce = YUM!! I don't even like barbecue sauce, but this stuff was tasty (and a bit spicy)...

Bacon. Are you kidding me? Going to be soooooo good!!

Fudge? That was a gift for my uncle. He loves fudge and loves maple flavored stuff. This was our last purchase and we had to pool all of our money together (and use the change from my wallet), but we ended up with just the right amount of $$.

I can't wait to go again next week!!

Guess where I am...

{Image from: gct13.com}

I know what I want to do this summer

It is only June 6th, but I already feel like summer is slipping away. There is so much I want to do between now and September. Both Rich and I agree we want to soak up as much summer as we can. So, in order to make sure we remember everything, I created a list. Plus, I figure this way we'll be more likely to cross things off.

- Find a house, ideally within the month of June {Completed. Our first showing in May, second showing in June. Offer made: 6/8. Offer negotiated and accepted: 6/10. House ours: 7/1}
- See a Twins game at the Metrodome (it's the last season at the Dome!!) {FAIL! Didn't get to this one even though the Twins gave us extra games!! I was at the dome the day of a Twins game (10/4) and looked at the field and stands, but that doesn't count.}
- Go to a Saints game {Completed: 7/11/09}
- Walk through the Sculpture Garden {Completed: 10/5/09}
- Get dinner and drinks on a restaurant patio, just me and Rich {Completed: 7/10/09 - okay, not really on a patio, but that was our goal and it was a nice dinner. Thanks Rich!}
- See a play at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater {Completed: we saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on 6/19/09}
- Play tennis w/ Rich once [from Couple's Resolutions] {FAIL! We didn't get to this either... boo.}
- Go to Chicago [this one feels like a cheat since we are already going, but I'm still including it] {Completed: We were in Chicago for the Twins/Cubs series 6/11-6/15}
- Go to one outdoor Happy Hour a month {June: 6/4/09 Herkimer, July: FAIL!, August: 8/13/09 The Lookout, September: 9/22/09, J. Cousineau's}
- Drink at least one Dirty Martini with Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives {Completed: 8/20/09 + 9/29/09} - Go to the Mpls or Maple Grove Farmer's Market once per month {June: 6/15/09, July: 7/2/09, August: 8/6/09, September: 9/17/09}
- Go to the St. Paul's Farmer's Market once {FAIL! Didn't even get to the Mpls one either... shoot.}
- Walk to see a movie at the theater by our apartment {Completed: 6/7/09, saw The Hangover}
- Take a day-trip to Stillwater {Completed: 8/8/09}
[As we accomplish these items, I will update the post with details.]
{Recap: 11 of 14 accomplished. Not terrible!}