We kicked off August with a summer evening at Summit Brewing in St. Paul as for a new beer release. Frankie enjoyed sitting outside with us and my parents on the patio.
With some Fridays off during the month, Shawn and I hopped around the Twin Cities. We visited one of favorite spots to get a latte - J&S Bean Factory in St. Paul. We also went over to our old neighborhood and grabbed lunch at JL Beers. If you've never been there I highly recommend it as a great place to grab a burger and fries with a large selection of beers on tap. We spent time outside on our patio too with Frankie so he could smell all the smells outside!
Having actually never attended the Uptown Art Fair, we decided to go this year. In true MN summer style it was a hot and humid day, but we enjoyed grabbing a beer and walking around all of the different booths. Studio Ink was there with some great new greeting cards and you were even able to take a few home for free. Lots of great color and design on their cards!
We attended a dog event at the New Bohemia restaurant in Roseville out on their patio. We'd never been to this location (having been to the NE Minneapolis one as well as the one in St. Paul on West 7th Street). Yummy food and a big selection of beers.
Towards the middle of the month Shawn's aunt and uncle were in town from Colorado and it was a great time to have a family gathering with everyone. Hosting at our place allowed for all of the nieces and nephews to go swimming in the pool and be outside on the nice sunny day. It was a great time and everyone had a lot of fun.
I spent a fun Saturday with my parents hopping around the Twin Cities. We started the morning with coffee and pastries at Cosettas in downtown St. Paul. The Cafe inside has a great seating area and the decor is really pretty. After there, we went over to Minneapolis and visited Homespun MN - which is one of the stores that carries raindrop paperie cards. It's a super cute shop and carries work from a lot of wonderful MN makers. From there we headed to Venn Brewing, had a few beers and food from the food truck that was there that day. Shawn met up with us on our next stop - Lake Monster - and we sampled a couple of beers there as well. We were growing hungry at this point, so we went over to Urban Growler and had apps and beers on their patio.
A big milestone was hit for raindrop paperie as it turned five years old! Back in 2013 it officially became a small business and I started selling in local shops and creating more designs. I had no idea all that would happen within the five years that I've had a small business. There have been late nights and long hours finishing up special orders, but there have also been many wonderful opportunities and connections made by being a creator here in Minnesota. Thank you to everyone who's purchased cards, to all the store owners who have taken a chance on carrying my cards, to my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me, and all my followers on social media for liking and sharing posts! Look for more cards to come in the next five years!
We enjoyed the last few parts of summer by attending a few more events and spending time outside. Neither of us had ever been to the Greek Festival in St. Paul at Saint George Greek Orthodox Church. Shawn got a gyro and I got spanakopita, which was amazing! With the introduction of Lime Scooters to St. Paul, we were on a mission to find some around Como Zoo and the lake. Unfortunately we were only able to find one instead of two, but Shawn had a good time riding around and I walked around the paths after him admiring the flowers. It was a warm summer night, but always good to get some fresh air.
I finished the month out with my dad and I's annual trip to the Minnesota State Fair. We started the day early and are were in the gates by 7:15 a.m. to have our mini-donut breakfast. Afterwards we roamed the fair grounds and got our usual: pronto pups, french fries, and all you can drink milk. We wandered some of the animal barns, checked out the Education Building, saw many "as seen on tv items" in the Grandstand and saw the baby animals at the Miracle of Birth building. We couldn't have asked for a better weather day with cool temps and and a nice breeze! Great time had by both of us. (Stay tuned for September's post - I go back to the fair two more times!)
