June in Photos

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Happy Monday! And Happy July!

I can’t believe it’s already July! But… I’m also excited for it, not just because it means June is over, but because July is shaping up to be an exciting month. When I thought of putting this post together I didn’t think I’d have a lot of photos to share, but it turns out I took more than I thought throughout the month! There are a lot of animals in this post, so there are a lot of full-sized photos. They were just too cute to make smaller!

The month started with the last day of school — and my last day working at the school! So obviously a celebration was in order. A friend and I went to Day Block Brewing Co. We ordered the pickle flight and other than the cucumbers, everything was different than the last time I went. The pickled grapes were… interesting. (Which for me is code for “not my fave.”) But the drinks were fantastic and the pizza? I’ve been dreaming about it ever since!

After Day Block, I went to the Loft Literary Center (aka one of my fave places in Minneapolis) for Lonely Arts, hosted by Hazel & Wren. Wren and I were in the same senior seminar, so I’ve been following the Hazel & Wren events and heard about Lonely Arts when they first started. I have wanted to check it out, but haven’t had a chance until now. Lonely Arts is a way to hopefully find critique partners and is described as “speed dating for writers.” Before it started I had some time to kill and I was exhausted, so I grabbed some coffee and sat down to do some work. (Story of my life before any event at the Loft Literary Center on a weekday for the last three years.)

Lonely Arts started with a collaborative writing prompt and ended with the “speed dating to find a critique partner.” It was a little awkward at times, but definitely a cool experience. We had to write down who we talked to and who we thought we might work well with as critique partners and they sent us contact info for our matches afterward. (Note to self: email my matches.)

The day after my last day at the school I celebrated my first day of working from home by taking Mina for a morning walk in one of my favorite parts of Minneapolis. She had fun exploring!

That afternoon (don’t worry, the day-by-day recap of June will end soon) a friend and I went to Boiler Room Coffee and I picked up the Coco Chainel, which was fantastic.

After, we went to a little gathering with some of my (former) coworkers and I had my first s’more of the season. S’mores are pretty much the only good thing about summer. #allergiessuck

This is turning out to be a “where to get food and coffee in Minneapolis” post. My best friend and I went out for a belated (for me) birthday dinner to the Old Spaghetti Factory.

(PS – If you missed it, last week I shared some Life Lessons from Thirty (One) Years.)

And my dad and I tried out one of the spring coffees at Misfit Coffee after church one Sunday. I loved it, my dad was iffy on it.

At the beginning of the month, I spent a few days puppy-sitting for my canine nephew Tino. Isn’t he handsome? 💙 He can be so frustrating, but he’s also so sweet and lovable! #puppylife

Little One came along, but I usually had one or the other out. Tino likes to play, but his version of playing is by jumping on her and she’s not so fond of that. There’s just a little bit of a size difference. 😉 The one time they encountered each other, I was holding Little One, she was wagging her tail, and Tino was jumping up to chase it. She gave me a look that said, “Really?” 😂

Her face. 💙

She enjoyed exploring a new neighborhood while we were puppy-sitting.

On Prince’s birthday Glam Doll Donuts had a special Prince donut and all proceeds went to charity. My (former) coworkers and I went to get one for lunch.

I attended the launch party for Marcel’s Letters by Carolyn Porter. While seeking inspiration for a new font design, Porter found letters by a man named Marcel and was drawn to his handwriting. Read the description of the book because I can’t describe it well (I tried), but it’s a true story about a man, the letters he sent to his family during WWII and Porter’s interest in learning more about him. I haven’t gotten too far into the book yet, but what I have read I have loved and I’m excited to finish it! She brought some of the letters to the book signing (enclosed in a protective case, of course) so it was cool to see those. Two other cool things about the signing:

1 // I ended up chatting with a woman who looked familiar and we discovered we both attended the same writing retreat a few years ago. It was cool to talk to her again and she actually knows the author!

2 // Carolyn Porter went to college with a friend of mine (an artist and hairstylist, she used to do my hair). Porter mentioned her when she talked about about different people who are in the book (including their college professor) so I was going to try to remember to get in touch with my friend after the signing, but I bumped into her as I left.

This event was a lot of fun for so many different reasons… and to think I almost decided not to go. Apparently I didn’t take a lesson I learned in May to heart.

The next day I met up with a friend for a coffee/writing date that turned into a bit of a vent session. (Thanks for listening to me, Faith!) And after it was over, I packed up the car to drive to my hometown.

I wanted to get away from the Cities for awhile, so I visited a friend (she’s like a sister to me) and her animals. Here’s Miss Sophie hanging out in the stables.

And two of her horses. I’ve heard so much about the baby, so I loved meeting him! He was born on Good Friday and ended up getting really sick shortly after. She wasn’t sure he’d make it, but he did and he’s doing so well. He’s adorable and captured my heart immediately. (Let’s be real… this little guy captured my heart before I even met him.)

Miss Sophie again. I also love her. #obviously

A few friends were surprised by my “random” interest in horses, but it’s not really so random. My friend used to work in St. Paul, but her family lived back in my hometown in Wisconsin, so she lived with my family during the week for two years while I was in high school. (She’s actually the one who taught me how to drive and I learned how to parallel park on her dad’s farm. I was in a big pickup truck and I practiced parking it between two other pickup trucks. You’d think I never learned how, because I avoid parallel parking at all costs, but I did!) She has horses, so when she had one of her horses–Shadow–in the Cities I’d go to the stables with her during the week and I spent time hanging out with her other horses when I’d go back to WI with her on weekends. Shadow’s name is still on one of the stalls, so I had to take a picture. 💙

She’s just so beautiful.

And speaking of my childhood best friend, we reconnected that weekend and I met her children and her sweet pup Maile. It was really nice to catch up!

I also discovered my new calling as a horse hairstylist.

And spent some time hanging out with the lap dog. 😂

Aren’t they the cutest?!?!

If I had taken Little One along I might have stayed, but I didn’t so I went back home. I also must have gone to the Holy Land and come home with a lot of rice and a few falafel for another day.

I’ve decided to create a “creative oasis” and try to bring back some of the creativity I feel I lost while working at a hectic and demanding school. I knew that plants needed to be part of my creative oasis, so I picked up some cacti and succulents. (And a hibiscus, but that’s outside and not in my creative oasis.)

And on Father’s Day I sat outside with my dad and watched two fawns frolic through the yard.

I’ve been working on some beauty posts (coming soon!) and I enlisted my boss’s wife to be my photographer. She’s fantastic!

I also started an online writing class in June and I’ve enjoyed it so far.

At the end of the month, Mina was having a great day until she got a bath.

Round two of pictures for beauty posts took place and Odin watched the porch.

And on the last day of the month I decided to escape the Cities again. It’s so peaceful and relaxing here.

We had a meeting with the chair of a rodeo, so before the meeting we grabbed dinner in the hospitality tent. It was really good!

And that was June!

I’d love to hear what you did in June! What are you looking forward to in July? Let’s chat below! 

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