Spring in Minnesota means one thing: snow.

Hat: (Rob's) UGG Australia

Tangerine Color Dipped Brass Earrings: c/o Acute Designs

Hoodie and Pants: J.Crew | Coat (similar): Banana Republic

Boots (similar-ish): Nine West | Bag: Coach

  

PS Today is William Shakespeare's birthday.

I know that's random, but it doesn't make it any less true.

Read a sonnet!

Minneapolis is quickly becoming one of my favorite places. Rob living there has a lot to do with it, sure, but the place is just cool. As I sat in the airport waiting for the last leg of my travels, I had a thought that I've never had before:

I'm so glad he took this job, because otherwise we would have missed out.

Remember that bright side I was talking about a couple of weeks ago? I've jumped on it with both feet.

I whipped out my camera on our walk to brunch at Edina Grill on Saturday to find that my battery had died and I hadn't packed the charger. After a Bloody Mary (mine) and a mimosa (his) paired with a delicious meal of English muffin-less Eggs Benedict (mine) and a ham and cheese egg scramble (his), we headed to the Mall of America, where I got a new charger, but I still didn't take enough photos after I got my camera fired up.

Here are the highlights:

+ Best dinner ever happened at Chino Latino. 

(Get a Cucumber Cooler and please don't leave without having the spare ribs.)

+ Had an okay latte (Rob got a mocha) at Peace Coffee, but the shop itself and neighborhood are quaint and cozy and I'd go back again.

+ Walked by Moon Palace Books after coffee but didn't go in because of a sign that said "Puppet Show in Progress." This is Minneapolis, and it's awesome and hilarious at every turn.
+Took lots of naps, watched lots of our shows, slept in on Sunday.

(Some shots from my phone: 1 2 3 4)

How was your weekend?

This is a sponsored post. Thank you so much for your patience and support as I continue to occasionally work with advertisers.

When Rob and I lived in Charlottesville, we could walk everywhere and it was magical. We could walk to lunch, walk to class, walk to work, walk to get drinks, and I could always walk somewhere to have coffee.

Now that I am back in Roanoke, and about a twenty-five minute drive from downtown, I find myself making coffee at home a lot more. It's an easy time-saver that makes me happy. But how to make it at home? We don't even have a traditional drip coffee maker anymore, and I don't really intend to ever get another one.

I'm partial to my French press for regular coffee, which I find to be much better than a regular drip coffee maker. Our stovetop percolator makes wonderful espresso when I'm in the mood for that, but both the French press and the percolator are really particular and it's easy to mess up measurements and it's hard to clean, especially if you're in a hurry.

I am convinced that no one actually drinks instant coffee unless they are made to, but this article that says that 80% of total coffee drunk in the UK is instant suggests otherwise. But it's made from dehydrating a concentrated liquid solution that was at one time real coffee, and that's gross.

Enter Tassimo Coffee System. Using ‘T discs” - little coffee pods that come in a huge variety of taste preferences - the machine makes preparing coffee literally as simple as pressing a button. Perfect for the modern coffee-hound. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s that sometimes-forgotten characteristic, good.

What's your go-to coffee order? How do you make it at home?