If Saint Paul Were a Movie...

I have a wild love affair with Saint Paul.  It's just such an interesting city in terms of history and architecture.  The Mississippi River runs right alongside it and I often find myself wandering down there.  Here are some pictures I took at twilight a few days ago.  If Saint Paul were the star of a movie, I'd like to think it would look something like this:

The setting: downtown Saint Paul, MN.

The time: just after sunset.

The characters: I don't know, because there are no people in this picture.  It's really just a cool picture of the docks.

The story: a riverboat that frees itself from the shoreline and takes a journey to the the Gulf.  

The tagline: even the dock can't keep this riverboat tied down.  (wow that was bad)

Biking in High Waters on the Mississippi

I went on my usual bike ride today on the St. Paul loop trail that starts at Harriet Island and ends on the other side of the Mississippi River on Shepard Road.  It's a beautiful bike ride and had I not fallen in the river on my way back, it would have been the perfect ride.

After giving inaccurate directions to a lost couple looking for Fort Snelling (not on purpose), I rode onward over the 35E bridge.  As usual, I was feeling exhausted and upset that my cardio wasn't up to snuff.  This might have had something to do with the 6 cookies I ate earlier in the day.  I'd rather not blame them though.

Once over the bridge, I was rewarded with a wonderfully long downhill section of the trail.  It was great and the car that had to follow slowly behind me felt my joy, I'm sure of it.  That's why he honked and sped around me.  Who says motorists and bicyclists can't get along?

Now I knew part of the trail was washed out - I had ridden through it just the day before.  I knew I could peddle through it and not get my feet wet.  And so, here's the start of the washed out trail:

Check out my stylish Mickey Mouse ear handlebars! 

   And so I started to slowly peddle through, when suddenly, I peddled off the trail and into some kind of pot-hole, which caused this to happen:

When I pulled my foot out of the dirty, murky Mississippi River water, I was horrified to discover I had grown a 6th toe.  That's what happens when things get dipped into the Mississippi.  Luckily my head didn't go under, or I'd have an eye in the back of my head.  Which would actually prove more useful than a 6th toe, but oh well.

After the river conquered me, I snapped this photo of what I left in my wake.  I warned 2 lady bikers headed that direction, but they didn't seem to care.  In fact, they didn't even respond to me.  Does that happen to other people?  Like if you say "hi" to someone on a trail and they just don't say anything back?  It happens to me so much that sometimes I wonder if there's some kind of invisible, sound-proof force shield around me.

After my swamp experience, the trail turned into this picturesque scene:

And then of course, you are rewarded with the wonderful Harriet Island: 

Harriet Island clean up of River's Edge Festival

And on your way over the Wabasha Street bridge you get the to see the gorgeous Mississippi River from a safe distance: 

So get out there and start biking!

Alexander McCall Smith Brings Wit and Charm to Minnesota

The amazingly talented Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, displayed sharp wit last night.  It was hard to tell if I was at a comedy show, or an author reading and I very much preferred it that way.  It definitely wasn't a lecture, so for the purposes of this article, we'll label it a show, because it was thoroughly entertaining.

Mr. Smith was at the Central Park Amphitheater in Woodbury, MN as part of Club Book, which is put on by the Metropolitan Library Services Agency (MELSA).  It is free and open to the public.  Seating is based on a first come, first serve basis, so if there is an author you really want to see, I suggest arriving an hour early.  That's what we did and there were quite a few people who had to stand in the back, because the tiny amphitheater was already full.

mccallsmith.com

I had never been to an author show before and since my Mom is a huge Mr. Smith fan, I decided to tag along with her.  I was familiar with his popular series of books, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, but hadn't read any of them.  I beat my Mom to the library and was greeted by a sea of old people.  I had an inkling that his books appealed to an older crowd, so this wasn't all that surprising.  I just felt very out of place and silently kicked myself for not reading at least one of his books.  I was an impostor and feared Mr. Smith might randomly call on audience members to say something about one of his books.  These are the thoughts that routinely flood a paranoid person's mind.

Dressed in a kilt and blazer, Mr. Smith talked for an hour on a variety of topics.  He began by explaining the orchestra he formed, known humbly as the Really Terrible Orchestra.  He plays the bassoon and according to him, simply stops playing if there are any notes he cannot reach.  As a wannabe pianist, I could relate to this, although I usually just regress to an easier song.  Mr. Smith also talked about etiquette, book readings and the people who attend them.  He said most attendees like to tell you how inaccurate you've been, while others end up at the incorrect reading altogether.  He talked about Proust and recommended book club members memorize just one quote to be used to effectively silence know-it-all book club members, or just know-it-all's in general.  Mr. Smith took a few questions from the audience and we learned his favorite word is fantoosh, which is a Scottish word meaning "fancy".  

He spoke briefly about the books he writes and the characters.  He was tickled by some of the things his characters said and routinely found himself laughing out loud with the rest of us.  He was gracious, smart, effervescent and engaging: are all author readings like this?  What have I been missing out on?  I plan on attending a reading in October with Colin Meloy of Decemberists fame and his illustrator wife Carson Ellis.  Let's hope for a similar show!

Quitting Your Job

Last week I quit my job.  I sat in a cubicle all day, with rarely a meeting to attend, or a window to gaze from.  Not that I want to attend endless meetings, but when you hardly move all day, your mind messes with you and you start to believe that meetings equate fun and freedom!  They don't.  And so one day, I decided if I wasn't doing what I enjoyed then I was wasting my time.  Somehow, I channeled some kind of inner, assertive, Oprah-like version of myself and quit my day job.  And now here I am: a vision in my dog-breed-patterned pajama bottoms and Halloween socks, eating banana chocolate chip pancakes while listening to the sweet sounds of Silversun Pickups.  If that vision doesn't inspire you to quit a job you dislike, then I just can't help you.

When you quit your job, you are supposed to have a plan.  I don't have much of a plan, but I do know I want to write.  Usually I'll write online articles, but about a month ago I came to the conclusion that it would be best if I wrote a short play.  I made it an actual GOAL to write a play.  A goal!  It should be noted that typically when I make goals, the deadline arrives and I watch my goal sail down the river.  This is troublesome, so I was skeptical, and upset, at ambitious me for having created such a lofty goal.

Having never written a play before, I got to work perusing the web for how to write a play.  After many diversions to people.com and the omg section of Yahoo!, I managed to wrangle my mind into focus-mode.  I found a local short play contest whose deadline was in 2 weeks.  For the first week, all I did was brainstorm ideas.  I read short plays, I tried to narrow down topic after topic after topic until one day, I had an idea.  The following week I wrote.  I wrote and wrote and wrote.  I wasn't even sure of what I was writing, I just knew I had to let the words spill from my brain.  Eventually I wound up with a 15-page play and brought it to my friend's house to have them read it aloud.  This was embarrassing.  The play was a mess.  I went home and spent the entire weekend re-writing the play.  When I was finished, I had something that actually made sense.  I had written a play.

As somebody who severely lacks confidence, I decided that getting my play copyrighted might help me feel a greater sense of accomplishment.  It kind of did.  I eventually realized I craved other writers to acknowledge my writing.  I didn't care if they thought it was awful (yes I did), I just needed feedback.  A couple weeks after I entered my play into the festival I received my feedback: my play made it to the semi-finals round.

My head may have launched off my body at this point and taken a journey through outer-space.  While my mind explored other galaxies, I received the best news of all: my play made it to the finals! This little play is going to be performed in September.  Somehow, I got lucky.  I still don't believe it.  Frequently, I think somebody hacked into the festival email and sent everybody an email saying they made it.  I'll probably think that up until it's actually performed.  I cannot wait to see my play come to life.  For all the confusion, bumps, and missteps I'm sure to encounter on this journey, stay tuned!

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.

 

Make it Work

I've been asked (or maybe I asked...) to make my sister's wedding dress for her early March nuptials. Before you start envisioning me drowning in white tulle and slaving with needle and thread while hand-beading late into the night, don't. While I appreciate any sympathy this image may create, I must tell you the facts.


First, the dress will be short. It will not include yards of tulle, lace or a bustle. In fact, the only fabric purchased is 2 yards of beautiful light dusty rose 100% silk and 1.5 of a matching crepe pictured on right.

The inspiration comes from Grecian style draped looks, as seen below.




And so, I got to work, using a skirt pattern as guidance. I love the draping effect that pleating both the top and sides of the skirt creates. Also, you gotta love that it has pockets!




After consulting my sister and mom, we decided the skirt needs to be fuller with more of a bubble style on the bottom. Also, please disregard the pepto bismol pink-- this is only a draft! I am still contemplating where the zipper will go but I think it will be on the side and I will change the back skirt so there isn't a seam down the middle. Next step is draping the one shoulder crepe over the bodice which will be completely covered. Then, it's back to the skirt for a complete redo. I'm hoping to have the draft done in a couple weeks and start on the real thing in January. Thoughts, opinions, and suggestions are always welcome!

Save my pennies for a winter day......

Exciting news to share with the cyberworld today - an engagement!  Down by the lovely Mississippi River in Saint Paul, MN, love was in the air.  This cloudy diamond ring is handmade by a wonderful artist in New York, Katrina Lapenne from the store Catbird and I absolutely LOVE it.  It's simple, classic, gorgeous and the matte diamond has a subtle twinkle - even more so on cloudy days.  The diamond is more of a shimmering gray color - which I love.  I know diamonds are supposed to blind people, but this is a cloudy diamond which makes it look more natural and that's just the way I want it.  Now for a picture (or 3):

My Dr. Evil pinky pose - always a classic. 

As a person who doesn't favor the huge, heavy, boulder sized diamond, I wanted something different.  My man and I scoured the interweb, uncovering more and more headlight-sized diamonds, gems and other shiny rocks.  Where was the simplicity?  If you find it out there, please share, because there just aren't any local shops, or online shops that cater to the simple life.  I did manage to wrangle a few together in this lovely little collage I share with you now below:

Most from Conroy & Wilcox, others from etsy.com

Of course, you don't need me to sit here and tell you how blown out of proportion weddings have become.  According to the popular website, The Knot, the average wedding now costs an astonishing $27,800.  Come again?  $27,800?!?!  I'd rather take that money and not work for a year, or two and take a trip around the world.