Good Friends and Bird Graffiti

An evening like last night reminds me why I wanted to come live here in the cities in the first place. While the food, beauty and entertainment is infinite, the close friendships are what really make this city somewhere I am happy to now call home. True friendships are the ones that withstand any amount of time and distance, because truly, that is how life goes. People come in and out of our lives every single day, but the ones that matter find a way to stick with is through thick and thin. There is absolutely nothing better than sharing a girly drink garnished with something pretty, or a pitcher of cheap watered down beer to remind us of college, with a good friend. Followed only by a fruitless quest to find some sort of high calorie desert. There are so many good memories I have to share with my amazing friends that I will not even bother to try and recall them all, only continue to make more.

"Sweets" for my Sweet Tooth

 

There is honestly nothing I love more than sweets, and finally I have found a place called just that. Sweets Bakeshop with locations in St. Paul and Minneapolis is so far my favorite little shop in the city. I have been dreaming about enjoying their delicious french macarons since stumbling upon them while visiting a year or so ago.

 Lucky for me, our new apartment is conveniently located less than 2 miles from their St. Paul location on Marshall! There is literally no other way to describe them except to call them "AHHH MAAAAZING". On my most recent visit I chose the Raspberry Jasmine cupcake and my ultimate favorite, the Tiramisu cupcake!

Two mini cupcakes were not enough, I could eat these delicious little beauties all day! With specials and flavors that change every day of the week, this is a place I will definitely be a frequent customer. So if you are a "Sweets" lover like me, I definitely recommend giving Sweets Bakeshop a try.

http://sweetsbakeshop.com/

Check them out HERE!

Run Lindsay Run

Last night the heat index finally dropped below 115 and was able to go for a run, for the first time since I've moved in, to take in the scenery along the Mississippi River Parkway. Being an elite runner is something that I have always dreamed about, but lets face it, after a mile and a half of enjoying myself I feel like I would rather just lay down in a pile of fresh cut grass (which I am allergic to) and die. That being said, I still think that there is something therapeutic about going for a nice long run (with some walking incorporated in). I can crank up the power tunes and just run, with no particular goal or destination. No where to be, no deadline to meet, no scheduled times, just GO. Sometimes I get wound up so tightly, and I forget to slow down. I have always been the kind of person that likes to schedule herself to the MINUTE, each and every day (bathroom break today 12:45). I wake up in the morning at the exact time I need to in order to get ready and get to work, I have appointments scheduled throughout the day, and everything else is scheduled in specifically as well. Running is something I can just go do. Whenever I want, however  I want. I think that is a lot of the reason I struggled with doing something with my undergraduate degree in Kinesiology. Without additional education, my opportunities were limited to personal training. Honestly, I just can't see myself enjoying that. I will preach up and down the importance of physical activity, but to me it is an escape not a chore. To make it a job would put a lot of pressure on me to succeed in it, and less pressure to actually enjoy it. I am as some would say a perfectionist. Those of you who know me best just chuckled, because perfectionist is putting it lightly. To be a personal trainer would mean I would have to be the BEST personal trainer, always at the top of my game, number one. That mixed with the fact that I am NOT perfect was simply a disaster waiting to happen. For now I let running be the one thing in my life that isn't a competition. And if I ever complete that marathon, I definitely won't be first, but you can bet I wont be last!

A New Beginning.

I have been living in the Twin Cities area for about 2 months now and I can honestly say that I feel right at home. I was lucky enough to be able to stay with a good friend and her family the first few weeks I lived here, and it was an amazing way to transition into a new, and substantially larger, city than I am used to. I can’t thank her and her family enough for that. Not to mention the fact that I now have bragging rights to living with a local celebrity for a month. I moved into my new apartment 20 and to tell you the truth it is a complete disaster! I have yet to find the time, or the right place, to put away all of my things. I won't mention that the only furniture in the apartment right now is one IKEA chair and a borrowed twin bed. We chose this apartment for the amazing kitchen (that I am yet to utilize), gorgeous running and biking paths as well as the close proximity to the U. I have been pleasantly surprised so far by how much I actually enjoy the new place, although the downstairs neighbors may beg to differ, I am so far happy with our new home. My new job is amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I actually look forward to the work week, and I feel like I finally have something important to contribute to. I am taking a class this fall to keep my mind sharp, and hopefully within the next year or two I will be able to apply for graduate school and get some letters behind my name! This has been a roller coaster ride of a year. Looking back I never would have been able to tell you that I would be where I am right now. But I guess that is what life is all about, taking chances and hoping for the best.