Date Night in Minnesota!

Hello from the mid-west! We got her last Wednesday and have been having a great time. Ems was a little fussy on the plane, but not too bad. Our first flight was at 9am to Seattle, where we had a layover and enough time to get an early lunch. We boarded our plane to MN at noon and and arrived about 3 1/2 loooong hours later. I am excited that the next time we fly (after we fly home) that we will be forced to pay for a seat for Emersyn. She needs her own space, especially when she is feeling under the weather.

On Friday night Brett and I took off for a date night getaway. We scored an awesome deal at the Marriott....our room was only $95 including tax AND we got a $25 VISA gift card too! $70 for a NICE hotel room is pretty much unheard of in Portland.

We started our little getaway with taking a country drive out to Mudd Lake furniture. If any of you read MckMama's blog, she has taken many pictures at this little store and it looked just darling, I had to see if for myself!

Brett and I, outside the big red barn full of very unique furniture both new and old!

I had really wanted to go out to this furniture place the last time we came out here in the winter but my parents didn't feel like making the trek in the snow and I totally get that. It was fun to see it on our own.

After Mudd Lake, we headed to dinner. My dad had recommended "Maynards" in Minnetonka which is right on a lake. Brett and I LOVE lake views....getting to enjoy a great view while eating is pure bliss!!

This was our view while we ate, I didn't zoom or anything. The water was right next to us and it wasn't stinky icky water, it was clear and clean looking. It was right next to a boat dock so occasionally we would get a whiff of the gasoline smelling exhaust from one of the boats but (call me crazy, I know) I actually like that smell. My parents had a boat while I was growing up and that gas smell is so nostalgic and familiar.

After our late lunch/early dinner we drove into downtown to visit an ice cream shop that we were told was amazing. We drove through the city and enjoyed the high rise buildings.

We parked a ways away from the ice cream shop so that we could walk a little and we stopped in this darling store called "Patina". It was kind of like Urban Outfitters meets Anthropologie meets another store that I can't think of. Anyways, Brett and I spent 30 minutes in there and literally looked at every single thing, a luxury we don't have when we have a busy toddler with us that touches everything.

We had ice cream at "Sebastian Joes", this quaint little joint that makes their ice cream fresh every day. I should have taken more pics on our getaway but seriously without Ems, I feel like a dork for taking so many pics for some reason. My favorite ice cream there was called the "White Monkey", banana ice cream with white chocolate and pecans. DELISH.

After dessert we went on another little drive, this time over the Mississippi River! We drove some more through downtown and then back to the suburbs near our hotel to see a movie. We decided to see "Inception", not because either of us had heard anything about it's plot or cast, but purely because we have heard SO many good things about it. It is TOTALLY not my kind of movie but I loved it!!!! It was very complex and interesting and suspenseful. I recommend it!

After the movie we headed back to our hotel room and watched the most magnificent lightening storm. We don't get lightening like that in Portland EVER! This lightening lit up the sky and was incredible.

Saturday morning we woke up, got ready, checked out and headed for Bruegger's Bagel for breakfast. Our bagel sandwiches were yummy but the iced coffee was pretty sick. Can't beat Starbucks!!!

Our plans for Saturday were pretty undefined....we kind of wanted to play it by ear but then we also realized we needed a game plan. I had read in a magazine about a quaint little town called "Stillwater" that is right on the St. Croix river. We decided to head up there on a little drive. On the way we passed "Lake Elmo", ha!

When we arrived in Stillwater, the little town was PACKED!! Apparently, it's their busiest weekend of the month for their "Lumberjack" weekend! There was a lumberjack competition going on, tons of greasy food and people, and lots and lots of boats. It was awesome!

We had read about a restaurant called the "Dock Patio" in a magazine so we decided to try it for lunch. I had the most AMAZING sandwich; grilled chicken with brie, red onion slaw, warmed sliced apples, toasted cashews and lemon butter. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Brett and I at the "Dock Patio", overlooking the river. This picture is further proof that Brett and I are dorks without our daughter. Ha ha!

Upon looking at our map, I realized that the St. Croix river is the state line between MN and WI! Since we were so close we decided to drive across the river so we could say that we had been to Wisconsin. Once we got over the river, the first exit so that we could turn around had a Starbucks so we decided to get an Iced Green Tea to share; free refills too! Brett found a memory game to play while we drank our tea so that was fun. I think that good old fashioned games are good for your marriage. Nothing like a little healthy competition and fun. :) After our iced tea, we set out to find a place to swim. On the map, there was a beach area that looked good for swimming.

The St. Croix river.

Welcome to WI sign!

We ended up finding a GREAT beach and changed in the car so we could go swimming. It was so so so much fun. After swimming we headed home.

It was such a fun little getaway and we had a great mixture of all the things we love most; hanging out, shopping, eating, and being out in the sun!

We are in the Minne-soh-tah until Friday. I hope the week doesn't go by too quickly. It's hard to believe we've been here for 5 days already! This morning we went to my parent's neighborhood pool which was a blast! I got a little tan too....gotta keep working on that this week! :)

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday!