New Post Wednesday!

Trying to get in one post a week - trying to do better! 

Life is crazy as usual. 
I continue to commit to not running myself ragged but then somehow my calendar fills up! 

Northern Spark weekend was incredibly rainy (I'm talking monsoon-like weather!) but it was fantastic! 
We ran around all night - we visited MCAD, Weisman, Northrup Auditorium, Walker - and then finished up the night with a pancake breakfast at Uptown Diner. Even though the weather was horrendous, it was awesome to see so many people enjoying art in the middle of the night. 
Thankfully I had nothing to do all day on Sunday because it took me the whole day (and Monday) to recover from staying up all night - I'm definitely too old for that on a regular basis! 

My working on myself initiative continues - started barre class a week ago and am loving it! Barre combines pilates and ballet and even though I've only gone three times so far, I can already tell a different in my posture and core strength. 
I also tried Stand Up Paddleboarding for the first time! What fun! I actually stood up on the board - I would post a pic but.....no. I promise you I did stand up and also I did not fall off once! (Which is saying something because I'm a huge klutz) I'm definitely going to try to do more SUP this summer. 

Oh.....big news. I have a date on Sunday. My first date (as far as I can recall) since the break-up with the dude. I'm ending my hiatus. It is time to get back on the wagon and put myself out there again. We will see what happens. My only concern with this guy is he LOVES the suburbs and I have pretty much the opposite feeling about the suburbs. But, he seems nice and so, here we go! 

Oh.....other big news! I'm moving to Minneapolis! I've lived in the Twin Cities since 2000 and have never lived West of the River - so its time! Notice has been given to landlord that I am vacating as of 8/31 - let the apartment hunting commence! I have no clue where I want to live yet but I'm heavily leaning towards trying to find something in Northeast Minneapolis - I love the area and the vibe. 

This weekend coming up is crazy busy - Rare Book Show on Friday night, MPLS Blogger and Adam Turman garage sales, Lake Street Taco Tour on Saturday and Pride fest on Sunday! 
Watch for pics on my IG feed (rachel_651) from all my weekend adventures! 

Cheers to a wonderful Wednesday! 

Long Overdue Blog Post! 

Writing this post today from 32,000 feet - headed home from another week of work out of town in Phoenix. I have to admit, even though I love a change of scenery, being for weeks at a time is exhausting. 

I shouldn't complain - I realize this. 
Many people would be happy to travel for work. 
I am fortunate. But its still tiring. 

Anyhow, dating hiatus continues - working on myself continues. Still need to get in more runs. Starting barre class this week and also getting a SUP lesson which should be fun. 

Oh, grand news! My new niece, Hamilton Rose Laird, was born on 6/11. 
8lbs 3 oz of pure loveliness. 
She is all things wonderful and perfect and I love her and I haven't even met her yet. 

Upcoming weekend looks to be rainy and dreary but Northern Spark art festival beckons and hopefully the Stone Arch fest as well - or I might hibernate. 

That's all for now. I'm committing to one post a week at a minimum. 

Cheers! 

Oh happy Monday! 
What joy this never-ending rain brings. 
Today's post poses an interesting question....what type of communication is ok when a person is married? 
I connected with a guy on IG a week or so ago - a couple comments here and there, hearts on pictures, that sort of thing. Connecting moved to Twitter and again....a little bit of interaction back and forth. Today, this guy ended up DM'ing me on Twitter and we had a nice conversation for most of the morning. 
Through a little social media looking, I determined that said guy has a wife - which I then confirmed with the guy through a well thought out question...at which time, I discontinued the conversation. 
Is it appropriate for married people to privately message those of the opposite sex that they connect with on social media even if the messaging is completely of an innocent nature? Not sure I know the answer but if this guy was my husband, I'm not sure I would be comfortable with it. 

Anywho, enough about matters of the heart - my first weekend re-cap is here! 
Friday night - Sea Salt Eatery at Minnhehaha Park - first time actually eating here and 
I was pretty impressed - I ordered the shrimp basket and the shrimp were quite delicious. 
The best part of course was dining al fresco in such a lovely park. 

Another Saturday....another race! Get in Gear 10k on Saturday morning. 
Awesome course - felt kind of lazy during the race though - ended up with a time of 1:15. 
Beat my Great Race of Agoura Hills time - but not by much. 
Need to start some serious training to get my time back to faster levels. 
Had a great time racing with friends though and I will definitely do this race again next year. 

Saturday night was girls night out! My first big night out since the break-up with the dude a couple weeks ago.....

First stop was my first visit to Sociable Cider Werks taproom - loved the atmosphere, loved the cider - will definitely be back. 

Second stop was Icehouse - one of my favorite bars for live music and good eats. Enjoyed some stellar Mac N Cheese and Chicken Cordon Bleu - but the best part was a drink called "George is drinking tonight" - I oftentimes order drinks just because I like their name and this particular drink was delightful. 

Third stop of our evening was for dessert and a little bit of art at Glam Doll Donuts. Local artist Jessica Turtle had a show that night and I found her pieces very fun. 

I would definitely have considered buying a couple if they hadn't already been sold. 

I have to admit that I don't always love the donuts at Glam Doll - I typically enjoy light and fluffy donuts and the ones at Glam Doll are definitely not that - they are usually very dense however this particular donut tasted very fresh and I really enjoyed it...maybe it was because I was a little buzzed because "george is drinking tonight" 

Last stop of the evening was Freehouse in the North Loop for a nightcap - we are calling this place, the Loop for adults. Pretty small crowd, mostly younger guys. I had a pretty decent stout and chatted up a couple late twenty-year olds until we decided to call it a night. All in all - a successful and very fun girls night! 

Here are two of my besties (I know.....we cute): 

Sunday was a wash....literally.....rained ALL DAY LONG - so I chose to be very lazy and literally do nothing but watch movies. The Notebook, You've Got Mail, Princess Bride. 

I consider that to be a successful Sunday. 

Oh.....weather update - its 6pm on Monday and.....its still freaking raining. Sigh. 

Looking very forward to happy hour on Wednesday at Butcher and the Boar (watch for a review of their corndog) and Art in Bloom at MIA on Thursday. 

Cheers to a great week! 

I woke up today feeling super happy and positive about life - might have something to do with the fact that its Friday....

Attended the Young Professionals Group Networking Event last night at the beautiful new Track 29 City Apartments in Uptown (http://www.track29uptown.com/) - although I'm never super excited for networking events, this one was particularly fun and I ended up seeing a couple old friends and making a couple new friends! 

Ended up at Haute Dish (http://haute-dish.com/) last night for Dining Out for Life. I hadn't been there for dinner yet so I thought it would be good choice and ended up being very, very right. 

I decided to indulge in the TaterTot HauteDish and it did not disappoint - honestly, it was one of the best meals that I've had recently. 

Looking forwarding to fun weekend activities - Get in Gear 10k, my first visit to Socialable Cider Werks, and the Jessica Turtle show at Glam Doll Donuts (https://www.facebook.com/events/1426268764291082/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) 

Happy Friday! 

2nd blog post. 
Still no clue what I'm doing. 
Cold, rainy, dreary day in Minnesota. 
All I want to do is sleep but I have significant amount of work to do because sadly, I'm not independently wealthy. 
So, I'm thinking happy sunshine cheery thoughts and hoping that someday the sun will shine again. 
Headed to a Big Brothers and Big Sisters networking event tonight and then Dining out for Life (For more info go to: http://www.diningoutforlife.com/) 

One of the lovelies from the Spring Flower Show at Como Park this past weekend. 

My first blog post. 
Excited. Nervous. Have no clue what I'm doing. 
Using this as a forum to celebrate all the craziness that is my life in the Twin Cities and beyond. 
So, that's it for now. 
Stay tuned.