Uptown Picnic

Summer is hands down my favorite time of the year. Sun rays wrapping a blanket of warmth around me. The smell of fresh cut, green grass after a recent mow. Colors exploding in mother nature--the flowers, insects, sky, etc. Busy weekends filled with the love of families and friends. Boat rides. Sweet corn. Cabins. BBQs. And picnics!

Yesterday, Tom and I decided to take advantage of one the beautiful days God provided and head out to Uptown by Lake of the Isles to lay out a blanket, play some games, and eat a delicious lunch.

I sure miss Uptown, that lake, the richness of culture, the buzz of life created from the hustle and bustle of city and suburban people alike coming together as one to celebrate a beautiful day. So, what better place to picnic as a young couple in love, then one of my favs!



One of our favorite two-person games to play is Sequence so, of course, that game made the cut when packing our bag of goodies in the 'Hainje' bag we received from Kyle and Alissa for our wedding (love it!). Anyone who knows me knows I love games...and I love to win. Ha! Today wasn't my day for winning though- Tom did- but still had a wonderful time as we strategized the cards in our hands and laid down our red and blue chips one by one! Hands down, games are one of the little things in life that put a huge smile to my face.



And the food, oh the food! I came up with the menu on Thursday evening and when Friday morning rolled around I woke up bright and early to scidaddle on up to Cub to pick up the spread of food on my day off of work. Which, may I add, one of the best ways to use a day off of work is to just slow down in life- run errands, clean the house, and relax! I met Roz at Caribou that afternoon as well to sip on a delicious, cold carmel cooler and talk about life and all things creative! :) Anyways, so Friday I picked up all the food for the picnic and prepared some items ahead of time.

For an appetizer, we had sesame seed crackers with pepper jack cheese (as you can see, Tom likes to play with food!).



For a fresh entree, we brought all the ingredients for a summery sandwhich to assemble there:

1) Turkey
2) Bacon
3) Grilled Ciabatta Bread
4) Muenster Cheese
5) Tomatoes
6) Green Leaf Lettuce
7) Red Onion
8) Homemade Avacado Spread w/ Lime and Cilantro



Then the rest of our day consisted of snacking on homemade Italian pasta salad, watermelon, pink lemonade fruit coolers and chocolate pudding snack packs. Numm-o! How I love the feeling of snacking on fruit coolers and snack packs--it brings me right back to childhood, imagining myself proudly opening my brown bag lunch in the elementary school cafeteria to show off all the great food my mom had packed the night before.



After enjoying the 3-hour summer picnic on our big blue blanket, we decided to pack up shop and drive around the neighborhoods. What started out as exploring Southern Minneapolis turned into a journey of exploring the whole Western suburbs. We went around a looked at houses of all kinds--the ones you dream about as a kid ($1 million plus) to the ones that are more realistic in price.

One of the coolest things we found was not the house itself but the giant 6-level tree house in its side yard that wrapped around the massive branches and , to the eyes of a child, extended into infinite into the sky! Seriously, no lies, 6 levels. Wow, what lucky kids live there!



And lastly, one of the images on our walk around Minnehaha Creek.



Thanks mother nature and Tom for combining the two best things in one day- love and a nice day!

Until next time,
Brenda