Snapshots of The Twin Cities // August 2012

All summer Kyle and I attempted to plan a vacation.

We both had a pretty busy and crazy spring semester last year and really deserved a getaway. 

Unfortunately the planning process left us stressed and discouraged every time we tried. 

Finally, after asking for a sign we found it! 

In a Whole Living Magazine, seriously!

Minneapolis/St. Paul had everything we were looking for and more. A cooler climate, great food, beautiful scenery, amazing culture, unique shopping locations... and Coldplay.

...and it did not disappoint...

Day/Night 1:

In a sort of panicked-scramble-y rush we drove from Kansas to St. Paul as quickly as possible to make it the concert. As we entered the venue we were given some neon wristbands that we were told were "part of the show". Had it been any other show.. I may not have worn mine but I'm glad I did!

We missed the  first opening act, but we didn't really mind. We managed to hear all of Marina and the Diamonds... I wasn't impressed. And then Coldplay came on! Hooray! And our neon wristbands began to light up like Christmas lights! It was so breathtakingly cool!

The show was amazing! The music was fantastic and the visual effects were so exciting. They had everything from lasers, video screens and light up wrist bands to clouds of confetti and falling beach balls. It was so incredible.

They played tons of stuff from the Mylo Xyloto album as well as some old favorites and some random goodies. But really, they are ALL goodies. I cried about 3 times during some crowd sing alongs. It was so overwhelming because this music has been a part of my life for such a long time. It was all around the most incredible show EVER! I am so happy that we were able to pull off some last minute decent seats! Worth. Every. Penny.

Day/Night 2: 

When we bought the concert tickets we found out that the FREE Minnesota Irish Festival was also the same weekend. So we headed to Harriet Island Park for the festivities. We shopped and listened to music. The park was on a river with a beautiful view of the city!

One of the highlights here was the incredible food! (catered by the local Claddagh Cafe)Kyle got "Shrimp and Chips".

And I got "Bangers and Mash" It was all delicious!

After the fair we went back to the hotel and had a swim in the pool to cool down and relax a little! It was a really nice saltwater pool and I really enjoyed it.

The Electric Fetus (strange name, great store), Eclectic place to buy vinyl, cds, gifts, clothing, jewelry. Thank you to Kurt Cooper for the recommendation! We will be back!

They also had a candy counter.. so we got some Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddy(s). As during a Gilmore reference Kyle admitted to never having them before! That is all we bought, but we would absolutely recommend this store to music junkies and unique gift givers alike!

Then we visited a small eco-friendly boutique near Calhoun Lake that I had read about in Whole Living called Moss Envy. It was very cool! I got a few reusable produce bags for grocery shopping! I had been struggling to find those in person.

Then we headed to the Midtown Global Market as suggested by Greta Simons! It was probably my favorite place that we visited!

We parked in the garage across the street and walked in not knowing what to expect... I was blown away! It was like an international food court that also sold many international goods, flowers, coffee, candy, gifts, natural groceries, cooking classes and contained some farm-to-table type restaurants as well. It was so vibrant and endlessly entertaining for me!

We were there around dinner time so we decided to try several different things since we had the option! We started with a pot stickers appetizer from Pham's Deli which were very good.

We also got fortune cookies. Here is mine:

Here is his:

Then we went to El Burrito Mercado for a chicken quesadilla. Which is the best quesadilla I've ever had! We were so full and very satisfied with our international experience. 

It was still early so we bought a slice of triple chocolate cake at Salty Tart to take back with us for later.

It was literally the best chocolate cake I've ever had! It was very chocolatey, there was also a layer in there that was crunchy like it was made of chocolate wafers of some kind. It was so so so good. I wanted to buy another entire cake to bring back with us, but I knew it would not survive the drive.

All gone.

Day 3:

We started out the day with breakfast at Mickey's Diner. It was in an old dining car and very cute. It was also a greasy spoon with no-nonsense waiters. It was pretty fun and the food was good!

I got blueberry pancakes that were super legit and a side of potatoes o'brien which were pretty greasy... but really what did I expect? :)

Kyle got biscuits and gravy which were apparently also very good but I don't have a picture.

Then we went back to the Midtown Global Market and shopped. I got a cute Swedish Mug! 

Then we hit The General Store of Minnetonka for some souvenirs. It was huge and had so many great things, but it was a little overwhelming! So be prepared for TONS of stuff!

Then we drove back to Kansas! 

It was a great trip! Much needed, relaxing and filled with really cool places. We would both love to go back and visit again!

What was your favorite vacation? What are your vacation suggestions for me?

All for now,

Alexandra 

Snapshots of The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys // Tulsa, OK // May 2012

Kyle loves the Black Keys. 

I love them too, just not as much as Kyle. :)

So when we heard that they were going to be near us we bought tickets sort of as an extension of Kyle's birthday gifts. 

We were originally going to see them in St. Louis since we love it there, but it sold out. 

At first I was bummed that we would have to go to Tulsa for the show, but it ended up being much cooler then I thought!

I apologize for the pictures, they don't want to be my usual picture size, so I made them smaller for better quality.

We found an Irish pub {Public House} for dinner called James E. McNellie's. We love pub food and thought it sounded fun.

When we walked in we were pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere and amount of people packed inside. It was clear that this is a hot spot in Tulsa.

Cool wall art.

We waited 30+ minutes for a seat but on a Saturday night it was definitely worth it! As we were being seated the wait was over an hour and a half! We started off by ordering mozzarella sticks for our appetizer. They were DELICIOUS! The marinara was a real treat!

I ordered the Shepherd's pie, a favorite of mine. It did not dissapoint. I also got a cup of the potato leek soup which was fantastic! It would have made a great meal on its own!

Kyle got chicken fingers, but pub chicken fingers are way better than normal plus they had a house BBQ that he was excited to try.

Then we headed off to the concert. We parked in a parking garage {$5} and walked the short distance to the really interesting looking BOK center.

We got there and the Arctic Monkeys were opening. I personally enjoy them. I would recommend their 'whatever people say I am that's what I'm not' album. Its pretty punk-y and has a really thick English accent, but its great! I was happy that they played some of their older stuff along with the newer stuff that I don't know. The performance wasn't visually exciting from far away, but the music was great and the lead singer was entertaining. He said 'Tulsa' a lot. In his really thick British accent it was really funny and came out more like 'Tulsaaarr'. :)

After a quick break the Black Keys came onstage. They are really wonderful live and it was really fun to watch. The light shows and staging were really cool. We had a lot of fun!

Then they ended the concert, but due to persistent fans came back out for an amazing encore. They played a song that I really like called Everlasting Light and used a few disco balls and lights to make an incredible display!

After the show we went outside and saw these really pretty trees! 

The show was great, the food was great, Tulsa ended up being a much cooler city than we expected. I wouldn't hesitate to go back for another show sometime in the future.

Read/see kyle's account of the night here.

Where are your favorite concert venues? Where are your favorite surprisingly cool cities?

All for now,

 Alexandra