September begins by kicking off my favorite season of the entire year - autumn! I love everything there is about it, from the cooler temps, to the changing leaves, to the need for cozy sweatshirts and sweaters.
At the very beginning of the month over Labor Day weekend, Shawn and I went to the Minnesota State Fair. This was trip #2 for me for the year (as I went earlier in the week with my dad). This time we did some different things than when I went the first time around including The Miracle of Birth Building, the Dairy Building, got our All-You-Can-Drink-Milk, and we went through the International Bazaar. We got there in the morning hours and by early afternoon were headed out of there, tired and full.
On a cooler Friday night we had a nice bar-b-que with Shawn's friend Dan and hung out by the fire at our place. It was the perfect night to warm up by the heat of the flames.
We took a day trip to Stillwater, Minnesota one Saturday with Shawn's sister and his parents. Had a lovely brunch at Chilkoot Cafe & Cyclery - highly recommend the iced chai and cornmeal pancakes! We strolled along the cute downtown area and made a stop at my favorite store there - Mara-Mi. There are so many adorable paper and stationery items in that shop - I came home with a set of super cute stickers for my planner. Since it was a gorgeous day, we walked along the waterfront as well for a bit.
The next day was the Wheels of Italy event over in Uptown. Again, another gorgeous day! We brought Frankie with us and walked around looking at all the cars. We also went for a little walk around Lake Calhoun and Frankie got to dip his toes in the water (he's working on his courage around the big waves!)
I spent a Saturday with my parents where they first partook in the Marriage Vow Renewal Ceremony at Utepils Brewing over in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood. It was part of their Oktoberfest festivities for the weekend. After that we swung by one of the shops that carries raindrop paperie cards, Minnesota Makers, in Hopkins. New inventory was dropped off and I must say, if you haven't been to that shop yet, there are so many cute items you need to stop by. We got pizzas from Pig Ate My Pizza and ate them across the way at Wicked Wort Brewing. Also a stop to see Frankie at our place was included for my parents :)
Fall always brings a need for change for me, so I went for a big change with my hair! Saw Jennifer at Steller Hair Company in NE Minneapolis and had an absolutely wonderful experience!
The month ended by visiting a new cider taproom that opened in Saint Joseph, Minnesota - Milk and Honey Ciders. I went up on a lovely Saturday afternoon with my friend Anne and we tried a variety of their ciders in two different flights. The outside area has several picnic tables to sit at and a variety of adirondack chairs scattered about. We happened to be there on a day that a food truck was present and we sat out in the sunshine and enjoyed some food and drinks.
Be on the lookout for new cards showing up at local shops as I restock many locations these next few weeks!
