Scenes From Our Week - Week 23

I had an absolutely amazing weekend.  I had 4 days to get back on track after returning from Florida before I left for my annual weekend in Minnesota with my mom for her birthday.  We meet up with my mom's sister, Susan and her daughters and just had a blast the whole weekend.

We started the weekend by wedding dress shopping.  My cousin, Gayle is planning to get married next year and this was her first dress trying on session.

Aunt Susie, my mom and I were so excited to see Gayle in some wedding dresses.  We all had our favorites but, nothing really jumped out at Gayle.  At least she was able to decide the styles she liked and didn't like.   It was so fun to be a part of it!

By the time the wedding dress session was done we were starving and thirsty.  We headed to CRAVE at the Mall of America for dinner.  I was anxious to knock one of my 40 By 40 items off my list....eating Sushi!  So with a Crave Martini and support from family, I tried several kinds of sushi.  Don't ask me to name them, but I tried traditional rolls as well as sashimi and all were delicious.   

It really wasn't as bad as I had feared all these years.  Adding the soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger helped too.  It was such a fun evening and I am so glad I stepped out of my box and tried it! Thanks cousin Melanie for sharing your sushi with me!

Gayle, Susan, Melanie, Mom, and me

We started off our Saturday at the Como Zoo and Conservatory in St Paul, Minnesota.  We love their flower show and walking through all their rooms.  No matter the temperature, you feel like you are in summer.  It was still their Winter Garden Show and as always, it was gorgeous.  Check in tomorrow for photos of flowers. 

Melanie and I

Mother and Daughters

My mom and I

Sisters

After the flower garden we went in search of lunch.  One of the things I LOVE about this weekend is all the wonderful food we eat.  We don't usually go to the "usual" places and I love finding neat places to try.  We found this lovely little place called THE BARBARY FIG on Grand Ave in St. Paul.  They serve Mediterranean cuisine and it was delish!  Check out their Facebook page HERE.

Spinach and Artichoke Gyro

Dessert, don't remember what it was called....but like Baklava with lavender and honey....sooo good.

This sign was in a shop window on Grand Ave.  The other window said Peep Hole for Girls.  A great way to get people curious about their new shop.  Inside the peep hole, it said "Shame on you! Stay tuned!"

Then we went to the Mall of America and shopped for the rest of the day and then enjoying some delicious food at Kokomo Island.

Sunday, after 1 less hour of sleep thanks to Daylight Savings and sad hearts knowing our time together was almost over, we headed to UPTOWN CAFETERIA AND SUPPORT GROUP in Minneapolis for breakfast.  The best part was the Bloody Mary bar!

Check out my bloody mary!

Sunday was my mom's birthday and even though we took advantage of it all weekend, Sunday was her real special day.  The waitress brought mom a stick of cotton candy to go along with some delicious banana cream pie....note all the spoons....of course we shared!  So fun!

We had so many laughs together and added more memories to our memory bank.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

And....while Mom was away, the kids got to play.....

They took advanage of this crazy, warm weather to play outside.  The bats and gloves were brought out and so were the bikes!

They even got the kites out and did some kite flying!

I think we are sticking close to home for awhile know.  Who needs to go anywhere with the Ah.Maz.Ing Iowa weather?!?!