Each month I like to practice gratitude by looking back at the little things each month. For me that usually means looking through the photos on my phone and remembering moments that might not come to mind so easily. Let’s take a look back at December!
Mina starts out the month.
Happy Wednesday, friends! I’m FINALLY here with my final video on my weekend trip to Madison, WI last December. If you missed it, my mom and I went to visit a relative who lives there and we decided to go in December so that we could see the State Christmas Tree, which we used to visit when I was younger. We had so much fun that we definitely want to go back to see more of what Madison has to offer and visit the city when it’s really at its peak: spring and summer. (We’ve been there during warmer months before, but it’s been awhile.)
Today I have two restaurants that you should totally go to Madison for, if all the cool stuff about the city doesn’t excite you. And I have a vlog from our trip. So, without further ado, here are the two restaurants.
So, you’re attending the Super Bowl in Minneapolis? Hi! Welcome to my city! I hope you enjoy your stay. As someone who drives by the Stadium on an almost-daily basis, traffic was fun yesterday. Thank you for that. 😉 It looks like we’re bringing back some cold weather for you. You’re welcome. Maybe the prayers of disappointed Vikings fans came true. Don’t worry, I’m not one of them, I’m not going to spit in your food while you’re here. But speaking of food! Let’s talk about some of the best places to get food, drinks, and coffee while you’re in Minneapolis!
Minneapolis is an underrated destination; I think because of the cold. While it’ll be cold this weekend, it’s not cold year-round, and we have a vibrant, beautiful city with a lot to offer. I could do a post like this for different things: arts events, indie bookstores, music events… the list could go on. Another thing we have to offer: food. There are a lot of restaurants in the Twin Cities area (Twin Cities = Minneapolis and St. Paul). I recently went out to lunch with a friend and she mentioned that with the number of restaurants that we have and the fact that some close and we get new ones all the time, you don’t need to eat at the same restaurant twice. I tend to frequent the same places, so I reached out to a group of friends who are cooler than me and, therefore, know some of the cooler places to eat, to find out where you need to go get food, drinks, and coffee.
A quick guide to the post: some of these restaurants will be close to the stadium, but not all of them are. I linked to their websites so that you can take a look at their address as well as their menu. They’re all easily drivable or Uber-able.
To show if they’re in Minneapolis or St. Paul I used our airport code: MSP. If the M is bold, it’s in Minneapolis. If the SP is bolded, it’s in St. Paul. If all three letters are in bold, it’s in both.
If a restaurant is close to the stadium it’ll be designated by quote formatting.
So, let’s jump right in, shall we?
Photo Credit: Misfit Coffee
Madison, Wisconsin. It probably doesn’t top a lot of travel bucket lists, but it’s a place I’ve always had a fondness for. I visited it with my family when I was younger and lived in Wisconsin, and when my sister was on a rowing team in college we followed her to team to Madison a couple of times when she had regattas there. Madison has always lived in my mind as a vibrant city; even one I’d be willing to move to. So it was a lot of fun to return Madison with my mom last month and see it with older eyes. Was it just as vibrant as I remember it being? It sure was! Some might even call it quirky.
We arrived in late afternoon on Friday and left during the afternoon on Sunday. We technically spent two days there, but in addition to exploring Madison we were also visiting a relative, so we had a lot of downtime. I’d say we had maybe a day and a half of time to see what Madison has to offer. Keep in mind, Madison in winter is very different than Madison in summer. There’s a little more to do when the weather is nice. And trust me, I fully intend to return an take advantage of all the warm weather happenings!
Our travel started Friday night, when we went to see a light show. None of my photos actually turned out, since you drive through the course, but I have some video footage that I’m planning to share in an upcoming video (lets hope I have enough footage to make the video, now that I’m promising it!). It was a fun seasonal attraction to visit–different businesses in Madison created a light display that in some way represented their business. It was free, but donations were welcome.
We woke up on Saturday and immediately went downtown to the capitol building.
I remember visiting the state Christmas tree in Madison, Wisconsin when I was younger. It would fill the rotunda, so round and full. When I think back on cozy Christmas memories, those visits to Madison, Wisconsin at Christmastime top the list.
However, according to my parents it may have been one memory that became a family tradition in my head. They recently told me that we probably visited the state capitol only once or twice. You know how parents are: intent on taking away all of our joyful, happy childhood memories. 😉
I’ve thought about going back to back to Madison for the holidays to see the state Christmas tree again for awhile now, and this year was the perfect year to do it. 2017 has been less than magical (personally, I’m not talking state of the world here, although in some ways that fits, too) and I knew I needed do something festive; something to help slow down and reflect on the holidays ahead instead of just wishing the year to finally (finally! 🎉) be over.
I have a relative who lives in Madison and it turns out my mom had been thinking about visiting, too, so we decided to make it a girls weekend. We arrived in Madison on a Friday, so we woke up not-so-bright and not-so-early on Saturday to head out. It was a cold day, with a bitter, biting wind. We hurried around the building until we found the closest door to take us inside.
I know, I know. It’s going to be fall in a few days; the season of pumpkins and leaves that are changing color, not the season of tulips. Originally I thought about pushing this post back for awhile, but the pictures are too pretty not to share and I also thought that people might be starting to plan–or will be soon–their 2018 travels, and if that’s the case, I have a suggestion for you: the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa.
The tulip festival is the reason I went back to Ottawa, so soon after visiting the first time. As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to go back with my mom to see the tulips, and so that she could visit this city that totally captured my heart. We also wanted to get there before Parliament Hill closed for renovations, so May 2017 was our year.
Can I let you in a little secret? Come a little closer, we can’t let everyone hear.
…
I’m a mermaid.
Okay, so if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, or kept an eye on my Twitter account and have seen my frequent requests for a mermaid emoji, it probably comes as no surprise to you. In fact, if you’re a loooooong time reader of my blog (anyone out there?), you might even remember some posts about a mermaid convention.
Yep, that’s right! I said mermaid convention. I dug back into the archives and found some posts from the First Annual MerCon in Las Vegas that took place back in 2011. As soon as my mermaid bestie Heather and I heard about it we made plans to go! We stayed at a mermaid-themed casino and got to meet some fabulous mermaid authors and artists (including Catalina Garreton, whose work is still so much fun to follow all these years later!). The first day included panels with mermaid authors and a mermaid beauty pageant. On the second day Heather had an underwater mermaid photoshoot and we explored the Strip. (I giggled as I read this post, because 1) that taxi driver used to text me every holiday to wish me a happy or merry whatever the holiday was, 2) when people look for recommendations I still recommend picking up an expensive mocha at the Bellagio, because it is 👌🏼 (hopefully it’s still as good as it was back in the day!), and 3) the French restaurant we ate at wasn’t fancy, but it was delicious, and I still remember that meal. I wish I remembered the name of the restaurant!)
Unfortunately, that was the last year of the First Annual MerCon in Las Vegas, so the next year we attended the First Annual Mer-Palooza in Orlando. I didn’t post about that trip. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a rough trip physically and we weren’t impressed with the convention or the venue. (They had one or two more, but I don’t think Mer-Palooza is running anymore. Now the only convention that I’m aware of is MerMania in North Carolina, which I haven’t been to yet.)
All of this is to say that I have a background in mermaid life. And, back in the day, I used to show off my mermaid side on a daily basis with shells and starfish charms in my hair, and blue eye makeup. When we were at Mer-Palooza, we met Mish, who’s a Nigerian musician. He was there for another convention, so he and his manager got us into the convention the night he performed so that we could watch. When they found out we were there for a mermaid convention, Mish’s manager pointed to my eye makeup and said, “Oh, that explains your eye makeup.” Now that I’m writing this, I realize that sounds kind of rude, but it didn’t come off as rude at all. And even though the blue wasn’t just a “mermaid convention” makeup look, it was a mermaid inspired look.
Note – Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that I’ll receive a commission for any purchase you make using them at no extra cost to you. This helps me to keep this blog running. Thank you for supporting Dreams, etc.!
Earlier this year I heard a rumor that a mermaid emoji is supposed to come out this year. FI-NA-LLY! (Except I thought it was supposed to come out in June and it’s not here yet. 😢) In honor of the hope that I’ll finally have a mermaid emoji, I thought I’d break out my old eye shadows (because yes, I still have them), and share my everyday mermaid makeup look with all of you. Mermaid life is the best life!
October = cooler temps, colorful leaves that crunch as you walk over them, and all things spooky. What better time to explore a haunted jail?
Exploring a haunted jail was one of the things that tipped the scales in favor of Ottawa as I searched for a city to travel to last fall. My plan was to go on two of The Haunted Walks of Ottawa, but in the end I only went on one. (One of the perks of solo travel: you can change plans on a whim. I saw a Facebook post that an author I like was speaking at the writer’s conference in Ottawa one evening, so I went to that instead.)
In October, I chose to go on The Original Haunted Walk of Ottawa, and wished I had more time to go on more, so when my mom and I decided to go back this spring, I scheduled in the other walks that were available. Here’s a recap of the three walks I went on to help you choose the right one for you.
The Carleton County Gaol opened in 1862 and housed inmates that were jailed for a wide variety of crimes: some violent and some not. Inmates included men, women, and children. (Yes, even children were held at the jail for a number of reasons.) The jail was eventually shut down in 1972, due to the terrible conditions the prisoners lived in. When you hear about the conditions, it’s not a surprise that many prisoners died during their stay–the exact numbers aren’t known. Not only that, the jail also has a working gallows, and there were a few prisoners who were executed on the grounds. Most notable was Patrick Whelan, who was executed for the assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, an Irish-Canadian politician who is known as the Father of the Canadian Confederation. Due to the large number of deaths that took place in the jail, this building is believed to be haunted. After the jail was shut down the future of the building was unknown for quite awhile, until it was purchased by Hostelling International and renovated into a hostel. Yes, if you’d like you can rent a cell and spend the night in a haunted jail. Guests have reported spooky experiences and there have been claims that Patrick Whelan has visited guests in their cells at night. I didn’t stay at the Ottawa Jail Hostel, however I looked into it. I think this is a hostel you stay in for the experience of sleeping in a jail.
All three of these haunted walks end in the jail, so if you’d like to see the building, but don’t want to spend the night, you’ll definitely want to go on at least one of these tours!
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.
[Gilbert K. Chesterton]
I’m sure it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering how little time I’ve spent at home this summer, but I have felt the need to get away (and give myself room to breathe). A friend of mine had plans to go to Colorado for a few weeks to spend some dedicated time training a few of her horses, so I decided to tag along and go on a road trip with my friend, three horses and a dog.
Going on the road with her sometime and seeing what it’s like to travel with horses is something I’ve always had an interest in doing, so I was excited for the opportunity. We had some touristy plans and only one of our ideas panned out, but I still had a lot of fun living on a ranch for a few weeks. I also had plenty of time to get some work done and it felt nice to have some dedicated work time. When I’ve been home there’s been so much activity that I was starting to feel like I was behind on some things. (Like this post on essential oils, in which most of the photos were taken in the living quarters of the horse trailer while we were in Colorado.)
I’ll definitely share about what we did soon, but for now, here are some of the everyday moments during our trip. (Also, be sure to stick around for an exciting giveaway at the end!)
You only have two full days to spend in Ottawa? No problem! I have the perfect two day itinerary for you. You’ll see the city, learn the history and fall in love! Believe me. I went, felt all the heart eye emojis, and returned half a year later.
First, let’s start with a little story: when I flew to Ottawa last fall, I flew in on a Thursday. I traveled by myself, so when my flight was overbooked I agreed to take a later flight for credit for a future flight (which I put toward my second trip to Ottawa in May). I was originally supposed to fly through Toronto, but was rebooked to fly through Newark. They were able to pull my bag off the first flight and sent it to Newark… but didn’t tag it to get to Ottawa.
I had the hardest time getting out of the airport once I arrived in Ottawa. Youngish female, traveling solo, with no bags. That customs agent grilled me like there was no tomorrow. She wanted to see proof that I had a place to stay, so she checked the confirmation email on my phone, then opened up my text messages and read through them, asking who people were. It got to the point where I was a little uncomfortable and wanted to say, “Either kick me out, or arrest me, or let me through.”
One thing she appeared to be astounded by was the fact that I didn’t have an itinerary prepared and written down in a notebook. So you better believe, when I returned in May I had a detailed itinerary. The thing is, last fall I was so happy I didn’t have one. I knew what I had to see, and what else I wanted to see if I had time, but it was my first solo travel experience and I didn’t want to feel restricted to an itinerary I had prepared before I left.
And I’m so, so glad I went with the flow. After I left the airport I checked into my hostel and went out to find dinner. When I returned there were two women were sitting in the common room. One of them was watching the news, but the other started talking to me. She had visited Ottawa quite a few times and told me what she would do if she had only two days in the city, all of which were things that topped my priority list of things to see. So, here’s what I did.
