Bike Rides, Old Houses and a Few Breweries

On Wednesday we picked up Meadow from school to go on a bike ride with friends. Theo was jealous of her banana.

Meadow showing off her necklace she made in Girl Scouts.

She was probably singing the Daisy song along the ride.

We were biking over to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to meet some old friends from over north.

Bike rides through rush hour.

We were meeting up with Jasmine and co. at the Sculpture Garden. I think this is Theo's first time on grass.

Crawling that is.

We got there a bit early. Once Jasmine, Brandon and the kids arrived we biked for a bit.

After meeting up we biked through Uptown to Common Roots Cafe.

The kids quickly got along after not seeing each other for a few years. Back before we moved Jasmine and Brandon were nice enough to watch Meadow.

We then promised the kids ice cream.

We walked (well the kids mostly ran) down Lyndale to Milkjam.

It was their first time at Milkjam, but I'm sure we'll do this again soon.

We ended the night with some playground time before a sudden thunderstorm sent us all home.

The next day my parents showed up. We didn't tell Meadow they were coming and they arrived early enough to surprise her at school.

 Back at our place we waited around for Brooke.

Well, actually, they waited around while I made dinner.

Theo finally got to open his birthday gift from Chelsea.

A new bath toy.

Meadow has wanted this toy for years. Lucky that little Theo got it so they both can play.

I also got a belated birthday gift. A crochet pattern book of food.

Maybe you can get back on that wagon after darning all our holey socks.

My mending pile is never ending. But think of all the clothes I've saved from being thrown out.

I think grandpa and Theo missed each other.

Meadow and my dad made a skirt of the leftover wrapping paper.

"Cheers."

Could this be any more Wisconsin? Who drinks that much milk with dinner? Thanks for the Spotted Cow, Mr. Mike. 

 

I made a recipe from a cookbook from Brooke's hometown. I thought her rents would like it.

Hutspot, a traditional Dutch meal.

It was nice out so we took a walk to the playground, Meadow's favorite place in the world.

Grandpa is a lot better at playing with the kids at the playground than we are.

Theo is loving getting to explore the outdoors.

I spy Meadow.

The next day I had a job over in Stillwater and told Brooke and her parents to meet me after Meadow was done with school.

I finished work an hour or so before they'd be in Stillwater, so I explored a little bit.

I could live in Stillwater. Not many other places other than St. Paul or Minneapolis that I could say that about in the Twin Cities.

Down the block I saw Brooke, her parents and the kids.

We met up with Scott at Tremblay's. We have this same candy store by the cottage.

I've gotten to know Stilwater's culinary scene since I started my Explore MN 360 project a couple years back. I suggested we got to LoLo. It's got great gastropub cuisine.

The food was delicious.

They didn't have high chairs, but Theo didn't mind sitting in a booster seat.

Then we walked over to Maple Island Brewing.

Theo was getting antsy.

We all had a round before moving on to our next location.

These two were excited to see their little guy.

"Take my picture by this sculpture."

And this one too. I guess.

Mike was trying to find a bar along the water that he'd been to years ago. We figured out that it was probably the Freight House, but it was a bit too cold for that.

I had noted that Charlie's Irish Pub on the back side of the Water Street Inn had a newly enclosed porch. So that's where we had our last drink of the night.

Why wouldn't an Irish bar have bagpipes?

Theo was a bit startled, but once GiGi danced he was having fun.

Then we went our separate ways back home since I had driven here for work.               

I had wanted some sweets at Trembley's, but hadn't picked anything up. When I passed CandyLand on the way to my car I couldn't help myself. After all Gail said I couldn't have any of her fudge.

The next morning I picked up bagels for everyone for breakfast.

Mom and her glasses of milk.

My parents chose this weekend to visit because it was the Minneapolis-St Paul Home Tour. 

Meadow thought we were house buying and claimed this room for her and Scott.

She really likes the idea of big houses after moving from a 3relatively spacious house to our condo (which we think is the perfect size).

I was glad to see this old gas station was fixed up, but was hoping it was a home and not a business.


The over-sized dormer almost ruins the rehab.

We would see lots of nice kitchens over the weekend. Hopefully this would give G.G. and Mr. Mike some ideas for their remodel.

We got to see a house on the northside that I've always been curious about.

It was a charmer.

The little girls room was Meadow's favorite.

This duplex wasn't on our list, but was worth the stop.

The city was going to demo it before the current owner stepped in during the recession.

By now we were getting hungry. Since we were headed to Northeast why not stop at Bauhaus Brewery.

We quenched our thirst while we waited for pizzas from the food truck.

Meadow had to show grandpa her moves.

Pizza and beer.

Mike used some of the game pieces to decide which ones he liked best. He also shies away from hoppy beers.

Then we went to a few houses in NE.

My mom likes to keep track of all the out of state license plates she sees every year. On our drive today she said she never sees Maine. Lo and behold, look what we found.

I had always thought of Northeast as a home to workers cottages, but we saw a few mansion like houses.

And Victorian.

I do love the Victorian's.

After we finished house touring we headed back home. We were debating what to eat, but eventually settled on chicken tacos.

Sunday morning, Theo was ready for more adventures.

That meant more houses. We spent Saturday in Minneapolis, so today was devoted to St Paul.

I'm curious to see how this house turns out when all fixed.

It sounds like it was in rough shape. They're replacing the badly damaged plaster with sheetrock, but keeping all the original woodwork.

This house was originally a single family home. At one point it was turned into a duplex. The current owner turned it back into a single family. Except he left the lower level for entertaining and the upper level for living. I've never been in a house that had the kitchen upstairs.

Or a boat on the ceiling.

Next door was the home for the servants.

And then one more door over was a home with multiple personalties form the different additions.

Upstairs was a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright.

The kitchen and back additions were midcentury. Up front, but not pictured, were the original craftsman details.

Next we saw some more East Side spaces. Only these were commercial spaces that had been rehabbed to be apartments. The ground floor units can be work/live spaces.

I was glad to see this restored. 

A couple bought an old auto shop and turned into their home just a few doors down.

They had some really unique touches. It was a beautiful space.

Another great house to end the tour.

This westside house was probably my favorite.

Since we were nearby we thought we would check out the new Keg and Case Market.

We decided on bbq from Revival. They have a friend chicken-centric location near our house. The St. Paul location has the same sides, but bbq in place of the chicken.

Clutch Brewing is upstairs. We got a couple flights again. It's always a nice way to try out a new-to-you brewery.

Lots of meat and our 3rd brewery stop.

The food and beer were good, but too bad all the good tables were taken.

Of course Meadow wanted cotton candy.

She was so excited.

They even give it a bow. It's pretty adorable.

G.G. wanted to try out the halva stand.

My mom and I shared the halva. 

The texture was unlike anything I've ate before.

It was interesting.

The night was still young so we stopped at one more brewery.

Venn Brewing near the 46th Avenue Blue Line station.

We finished our jam-packed weekend with a few games of Guess Who and some big old beers. Come back soon G.G. and Mr. Mike!