10 Things I Love About Minnesota

I spent this past weekend in Minnesota.  It was a spur of the moment trip to see friends and visit much-loved, familiar places.  I love going back to Minnesota because it feels like a second home (and is one that is 26 hours closer than my actual home).  Grant was at a Men’s retreat for our Church and I was feeling homesick so off I went! 


Grant and I have been talking and dreaming about what is next for us a lot lately.  This Spring I will finish my 4-years as a GRA in Fischer (and grad school classes) and we will have the opportunity to move (and will likely have to move as we follow jobs in Residence Life).  Of course, we are partial to moving closer to our families or at least west (since that is where our favourite places are), but Minnesota is one place that always pops up in my mind. Mentioning this to my friends may or may not have been a good idea since we spent the weekend figuring out all of the reasons I should move back to Minnesota and bring Grant with me.  These are a few of those reasons:


1. The Yarnery

I love to Knit and this hands down my favourite knitting shop.  Every trip to MN must include a trip to Grand Avenue in Saint Paul.  I was able to get together with my old roommate Nicole at Café Latte (a favourite restaurant) and pop into the Yarnery. What a great day!  To top it off, it was a beautiful fall Saturday... one of my favourite kinds.

2. The person that owns the same bike as me
Coley and I went out for a walk one evening and I found this bicycle.  It is the exact same as the bike I ride all the time and I have never seen another one like it in Illinois.  My father-in-law Gordon also has one like it, but he's in California.

3. Yogurt for $0.31 and Milk that is around $2/gallon

*sigh* the cost of living in Illinois is drastically higher.  The yogurt I love is $0.75 each on a good day and $0.50 all the time in Minnesota. 31 cents is a steal - I almost bought some to bring it home but thought it might not fare too well in our car over the warm weekend.  Not exactly a reason to love Minnesota... or maybe it is?


4.  Dunn Brothers Coffee

What can I say here? It's simply a favourite place!




5. Northwestern College
My Alma Mater.  It is a beautiful campus surrounded by a lake... and under construction.   A lot has changed in the last 5 years but it still felt like I was coming home.

6. Fall
What can I say... Fall in the midwest is beautiful.  It was fun to drive through Wisconsin and see the colours changing as I neared Minnesota.  It was cool outside, the sun was shining, and it was absolutely beautiful!

7. Minneapolis and Saint Paul and the people who ride bikes all bundled up
This is an item I have learned to appreciate in the years I have known Grant.  He used to ride from his house on the other side of Wheaton to class in the middle of one of snowiest winters I have ever seen (and I am Canadian) and he is from California.  This picture is Grant, by the way... and is one of my favourites!

8.  Hot Dish
Although I'm still not entirely certain why this is called "Hot Dish" I love that it is and that I overheard a conversation about them while at the Yarnery.  A Hot Dish for those of you who don't know if another word for a Casserole

9.  Wild Turkeys in Minneapolis
I know the picture is unclear but this is a large group of turkeys on someone's lawn (some were on the roof and in the trees) in the middle of Minneapolis.  This was totally not a rural area at all!

10. Friends
This picture was taken just before our wedding in June but I met them all when I lived in Minnesota (they even lived next door to me when I was an RA) and they are wonderful.  Unfortunately Carissa was not there this weekend, but it was great to see Coley and Serena.