I think August is one of those months that always seems to go by so very quickly. Everything for summer is wrapping up, and things for autumn are starting to begin. We made the most out of every day this month and truly packed in A.LOT.OF.STUFF!
We are now over in the Como Park neighborhood and one afternoon we headed over to the Como Zoo (so nice that we are able to just walk over there now). I love walking around all of the outside areas of the zoo to see the animals. The new remodel in front of the zoo is gorgeous with beautiful ponds and flowers.
The second week of August brought two of my closest friends, Franny & Paul, to MN for a visit and it was great to spend time with them both. We met each other in Kindergarten/1st Grade and have stayed friends ever since. It's pretty cool to think that we have been friends for over 25 years and seen each other through lots of ups and downs, life changes and excitements!
I took quite a few vacation days off this month which was nice to get in some much needed time outside and relaxing. Shawn and I spent these days off bumming around the city, getting coffee, going for walks, and relaxing. We tried out a new coffee place in our neighborhood - The Underground Music Cafe. It's a nice walking distance from our place and has outside seating so we took Frankie with us. We also went over to Grand Ave and grabbed breakfast at Bread & Chocolate and took a nice walk. We visited a favorite of ours - J&S Bean Factory in St. Paul and grabbed yummy donuts at P.J. Murphy's Bakery. We also visited Bad Weather Brewing in St. Paul with friends and family on a few occasions. If you haven't checked out this brewery, you definitely should! Great atmosphere, great beer, great people! We went to Stillwater for an afternoon and walked along the river (took Frankie too!)
I took a road trip down to Rochester to see my friend Maren and enjoyed some quality time catching up! I also tried out a new bagel spot with my friend Alyssa in Roseville - St. Paul Bagelry! We celebrated July/August birthdays with Shawn's family with a gathering at his parent's house. And the solar eclipse happened which I experienced with two friends, Anne and Kate, on our lunch break (thanks to Anne for the super cool and safe glasses!!)
Another highlight of the month was a visit from Shawn's sister Allison, and nephew Sebastian. We enjoyed a nice lunch at Urban Growler and then headed to Choo Choo Bob's Train Store in St. Paul so that Seb could play with all the trains. He sure did love that! It had been almost a year since we'd seen them last as they were in Germany for work. It was lovely to catch up with them!
raindrop paper celebrated it's 4th birthday! It's cray to think that I've been making cards officially as a small business owner for 4 years. I'm ever grateful to all of my customers, all of the shops carrying my cards and everyone that has supported me along the way. Cards are now available at a new shop in Lakeville, Pink Door Boutique. Stop on in when you're in the area and check out all the great items carried.
I ended the month by going to the MN State Fair with my dad which has now become a yearly tradition. We got our favorite food items including mini donuts, cheese curds, pronto pups, and chocolate chip cookies. We tried the maple cream nitro cold press (so good!!), frozen cider pops, mac'n'cheese on a stick and the new Bad Weather beer for the fair: Lemon Sunshine. We went through the animal barns, the education building, the DNR building, the Grandstand and walked around almost the whole fair! We've learned to get there early and were in the gates by 7:15am this year - love the cooler morning to walk around and look at everything before it gets crazy busy!
As summer wraps up, I am looking forward to a slower autumn, my favorite season of the year! I look forward to cooler days spent inside making cards and baking yummy pumpkin muffins!