BBQ Group Photo

Thoughts

A fellow Northfield mom and friend, Emily, recently posted something on her blog about her family's anniversary of moving to the town of cows, colleges and contentment (a.k.a. Northfield). I just got done reading the entry and feel like echoing her sentiments... I mean, Henry is napping, so what else is there to do, right? I'd rather blog than be domestic. That's what husbands are for.

When we told friends, family and work colleagues of our decision to move "south" the reaction was often words of excitement partnered with looks of horror. We also heard, "Northfield? Where is that?" and "How long of a commute is that going to be?" Of course, we knew we were moving out of the 'burbs. But we didn't really think that we were removing ourselves from the Twin Cities that much. After all, we were previously living in Chaska, which wasn't a suburb until the recent past.

For the first few months living here, we drove to our normal destinations in the 'burbs. Clearly, this was our way of not assimilating to small town life. As the weeks and then months passed, we found ourselves preferring our local boutiques over mega malls, Greek pizza over chain restaurant steaks, and our favorite...the local co-op over the traditional grocery store....

It's official. We've converted. "Downtown" now refers to Division Street rather than Nicollet Mall.

Subsequently, we've adopted a simpler lifestyle: Our interest in food and cooking has grown; without a doubt, this has been fueled by our purchase of a farm share this summer. We love getting out and enjoying our natural surroundings. We walk to most of our destinations. Choose to "be local. buy local" (for the most part). And a favorite past time is us just sitting on our front porch with a cup of coffee, wine or an extra dirty martini.

Eric and I often chuckle when we think about how our mindsets and lives have changed over the course of the past year... I've recently thrown the idea around that we should get some hens for our backyard. A year ago, we would have said it as a joke and laughed at the thought of us actually pulling such a thing off. But now we consider it with excitement...and laugh at the thought of us actually pulling such a thing off!

As Em mentioned, tonight's our first annual BBQ for the moms [and other family] members that get together each week for playgroup. The moms in this group have been a huge resource for me. Not only were these moms an instant focus group for me to poll on baby issues, but they also have made this [almost] first year of being a mom entertaining and less stressful. I feel blessed that these beautiful women and their adorable little ones were brought into my life. And I'm going to show my appreciation tonight for these lovely ladies by bringing a large vat of margaritas. Cheers. :)

Correction: Per Em's comment, I need to pay tribute to Amazon and free two-day shipping. This has made living "45 minutes south" even more bearable.

Attack of the Baby

Did the little piggy really go, "Wee wee wee" all the way home?

Our new favorite commercial....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg

Duluth

In an effort to "get out of Dodge" we went to Duluth for a couple of days to relax.Henry wasn't too pleased with us after we dipped his toes in the icy cold Lake Superior water. I really don't understand how they say the water is reaching record high temps this summer. My feet were numb after about two minutes.

We had breakfast one morning at a quaint cafe called Takk for Maten. This place was a must for me as I hold on to anything that reminds me of my time in Norway. Eric's breakfast was unreal. He always out-orders me.

We went aboard the Vista Fleet for their happy hour cruise. We missed the bridge so we just circled around the harbor and saw the massive ships.

We spent the majority of our time walking along the lake. The weather and view were amazing.

Some of you may have heard that the tall ships were going to be in Duluth while we were there. We did hang out at the canal for a couple of hours to watch two of them come in. It was a pretty spectacular sight to see the ships sail in.... During that time we also befriended a retired couple from MD who taught us about Henry Schoolcraft.

All in all, a pleasant couple of days.

About an eon behind...

Yes, this blog has been neglected. Yes, I feel guilty. Yes, this will be a montage of photos recapping our lives over the course of the past month (or so)...

We painted our kitchen cabinets (twice) and this is Henry "helping" out. I caught him eating painters' tape more than once.

This is Eric sanding our cabinets for the second time. I believe his inner monologue went something like, "I cannot believe I'm *bleepin'* out here doing this...again." His face says it all.

We went to Red Wing to visit Sam and Chris at their adorable new house. I also have to say that we went out to lunch at the St. James Hotel. We had the cheese curds as an appetizer and they were the best I've ever had (and I've had a lot of cheese curds).

The crew on Henry's baptism. The kids were the only ones to actually follow the "make a funny face" command.

Henry's baptism cake from the Ole Cafe. Oh gosh. It was delish!

Ryan, Molly, and Claire {Bear} over for dinner. I love this crew. Molly is a teacher at the French immersion school in Edina. When there is an option to read directions in English or French, she chooses French. And then I make fun of her (only because I'm jealous).

Henry with his toy plane. He loves it. Loves it. You give him a bucket of toys and he will seek that out. And yes, that's Ardy waiting for his share of Cheerios. And no, we don't make it a habit of letting our dog hang out at the table like that. Cesar Milan would not be impressed with our dogs' manners.

My parents took us out to lunch at the cutest French cafe called Pardon My French on my birthday. This is Henry in a food coma. (Gray Plant Mooty friends: check out the bib! Think we could get this image on the holiday cards this year?! Or how about the website?! A newsletter?! Okay...I'll stop.).

Me with my birthday desserts. My dad insisted on getting four. I didn't object. You can't really see my favorite: the strawberry napoleon. I had to get that one. Eric and I are mildly obsessed with the cooking show Chopped...when the chefs don't know what to do in the dessert round they always make a napoleon. 

And our kitchen is almost done. We have a minor lighting situation and are waiting for our new (read: overpriced) windows. I also have some painting I have to do yet. When all is said and done, I'll take photos to share the work. We're quite tickled with how it turned out. 

Until next time...

Save Tiny's: Eat Hot Dogs

Almost a full year has passed since we moved to charming Northfield. I was telling my neighbor the other day that I used to consider this town an extension of the 'burbs...really, we aren't that far away, are we? Well, over the course of the year it has become apparent that we are, in fact, living outside of the Twin Cities area. I deducted this from many experiences throughout the year, but here are a few: our farmer's market isn't listed in the Star Tribune (I know, right?), Enterprise Rent-a-Car told us we weren't part of the metro (again, baffled when we found this out), and the closest shopping mall is 30 minutes away (Amazon is one of my closest friends). Okay, I digress....

My primary objective was to point out that although we have lived here for almost a year, there are a lot of things we have yet to experience in our new town (that exists sans many suburban "amenities"). We spent all of last summer finishing projects and prepping for the arrival of Henry (formerly known as Baby T) and all winter figuring out how to coexist with an infant. So here we are... settled in and ready to tread in unknown waters. First stop: Tiny's....

This has been the place that we have said, "We really need to go there" ever since we discovered its existence. I mean really... hot dogs?! If you know me, you know I love 'em. Apparently Tiny's used to be the general store back in the good ol' days. You can still purchase "fancy" tobacco products here. Ask Eric about his corn cob pipe.

Rumor has it that Tiny's may be closing. Say it ain't so!

Eric enjoying a frosty root beer. We forgot to take pictures of the dogs, but trust me. They did not disappoint.

Sign outside the shop... They weren't kidding. The floor shook during one of the blasts.

Post hot dog we went down by the river.

Eric giving Henry a life-lesson: "Be careful around the water!" I believe Henry was looking at me b/c he knows who really gives the life-lessons in the household. Oh wait...I mean...he was looking at me because I had the camera. ;)

And here's one of me to just document that I was out for the day as well.

Not sure the Thorkelsons can handle another pilot in the family

Official Members...

...of Northfield's First United Church of Christ. :) Yay!