The Handmade Dress

My sister is a magical seamstress from a land of fantastical dressmakers.  As you can see from the post below, I had politely requested (demanded) a grecian wedding dress be created from her adept fingers.  And so she got straight to work, stitching and sewing right up until one day before the wedding, presenting me with a short, ivory wedding dress.  A fire-breathing, dragon of a bride wouldn't have been able to handle such last-minute alterations, but I oozed a harmonious calm in the days before the wedding, which was held at the Landmark Center in beautiful Saint Paul, MN.  Luckily for me, my state of uber relaxation continued through our wedding day, which was made obvious by my casual slouch, or some might say, "hunchback", during the ceremony.  Quasimodo aside, the dress was stunning.

 

Sweet little Sunday treasury.....

It's freezing cold here in Saint Paul today.  It's May 1st.  I want to go out on the balcony and scream with frustration, but it's too dang cold to even do that.  Instead I was calmed down by seeing this lovely treasury featuring a necklace of ours on etsy:

And on that note - Happy May Day! Here's hoping next month won't feel like December and warmth will slowly seep back into my fingers.

Rain soaked history seekers.....

This morning, Gandalf (aka, my gentleman caller) and I were out on a mission, braving the Saint Paul rain to take photos of my favorite building, the now abandoned, Pioneer Building, which used to house the Pioneer Press.  

Pioneer building:
 built in 1889 it was the first 12-story skyscraper in St. Paul!

Front entrance of building with a glimpse of
a toasty little skyway in the corner (we LOVE skyways!). 

This isn't the building, but I love rain on windows.
This is a blurry view of our apt in Saint Paul taken before our mission.  

Our goal is to gather some research on the buildings of Saint Paul, dig up some interesting facts and post some photos (new and old) on our Tumblr blog (first posting coming this week!).  If you're a history buff (and we both are, so it's ok, your nerdiness is welcome here), or interested in architecture, or just plain curious about what kind of place Saint Paul, MN is, then latch on for the tour!

The blogosphere is cold, dark and empty today.....

Today I did not run from the mundane and that is OK, because our blogger stats show that we had 0 page views today.  Typically we get about oh....I don't know, three page views per day, so dropping to 0 has not derailed our blogging dreams.  When we have three views, that is a good day - it makes us happy.  However, lately I have become slightly concerned that two of those page views are from me and my sister (three if she's checking the blog at work....didn't even consider that one until just now).  Must make it a point NOT to look at blogger stats anymore.  Good night Saint Paul, MN!

Stepping out of my box

Today I ran from the mundane (woo hoo - I should be running from the mundane at least one time every day!).  It was a very, very small activity.  So small that it might not even be counted as an activity, but it was something I had not done yet in my new apartment.  Here it is folks: I took the stairs from my 14th floor apartment to the ground floor.  I had been wanting to start taking the stairs (on a regular basis) ever since January 1st, you know, the same time everybody else thinks walking for 5 minutes on a treadmill is going to transform their body into Heidi Klum's.  And so, while waiting for the indolent elevators, I decided today was the day for the stairs and I to get better acquainted.

I feared the stairs for a few reasons:

1. Sure it was easy to get in the stairwell, but could you get out?  What if I became trapped?
2. I might discover escaped convicts hiding out, who may or may not ask for my assistance
3. Rodents - yes I know stairwells aren't reminiscent of a NYC subway station, but rodents thrive in many places

Pushing those sensible fears aside, I went for it.  Fear #1 was actually pretty spot on, because once I started to get closer to the bottom, all the doors said you could not exit through them.  And the reason I couldn't even try to exit through them is because there were no knobs to even grasp.  I saw nobody in the stairwell during my journey.  One flight from the ground floor, I went through a metal cage, which locked behind me.  So much for taking the stairs back up.  When I reached the ground floor I felt dizzy, but overall proud to have taken the stairs less traveled.  And so, stairs get my recommendation for sporadic use.  

Stairs: the best escape route.  Clockwise from top left: the stairwell inside the
old Saint Paul Pioneer Press building, outside of the SPPP bldg,
my stairwell and steps leading to the Mississippi River at Harriet Island