Wow, I haven’t posted in some time, but not because my life isn’t interesting…I just didn’t have many photos or stories to share.

Over Labor Day weekend, Jon & I took an extended vacation (Friday – Monday) to visit Minneapolis-St. Paul for a friend’s wedding. It was a 9 hour trip that we started Thursday night, and by the time we arrived Friday morning (4 am central), we were exhausted to say the least. Joining us for the drive was our friend Lamar and his girlfriend Jeanna. Having them along definitely helped the journey!

Our first stop on Friday, after getting some sleep and cleaning up at our hotel, was IKEA – Twin Cities. Lamar had never been to IKEA, and Jeanna wanted to pick up a few things. I can’t resist IKEA, so a chance to walk through and see some of their new items was exciting for me. Jon is never very enthused to go shopping, but he was amiable in IKEA.

One of the things I had to do while in Minneapolis was visit the Mall of America. Yes, it is what some would call just another mall. But when you put an amusement park and an Aquarium (to name just a couple of attractions) in the middle of a mall, it’s no longer “just a mall.” Of course, there were tons of people shopping, gawking, and milling about. Including us. And the food choices were almost overwhelming! Caribou Coffee or Starbucks? Dinner at Tiger Sushi or Rainforest Cafe? Of course, I made a pit stop at P.B.loco to sample and purchase their fun gourmet peanut butters. I already had a jar of Jungle Banana at home, so at the store I debated between Dark Chocolate Duo and European Cafe Mocha. the dark chocolate won my heart over instantly! I didn’t only buy peanut butter while at the Mall of America. I also picked up some of my favorite hair styling products at Sephora and Aveda. (Oh, we also saw an informercial being taped in front of Bloomingdales. It was Sheer Cover, the mineral makeup line that Leeza Gibbons promotes. She is even more beautiful in person by the way!)

September 8th is Jeanna’s birthday, so we asked the waiter at Rainforest Cafe what he could do for her. She was given a complimentary sundae and a rousing Happy Birthday song. We had a great time there, but by the end of dinner, we were EXHAUSTED!

Stay tuned for the rest of our story…