Sorry for the long absence. I'm going to go ahead and blame it on my end-of-summer vacation--which I'd like to tell you about in this post. If you've been a reader of this blog for any time, you probably know that every year, around the end of August/Labor Day, I make my pilgrimage to the homeland--and the Minnesota State Fair.
"You go home for the Fair??" everyone asks me, with a pronounced "are you a
complete idiot?" tone of voice. Well, yes and no. I've always had a
certain fondness and yeah--nostalgia--for the Fair. It's kind of Midwest
thing. But what it's really become is my own family holiday, redefined.
Most people who know me know I absolutely refuse to spend triple the
price of an airline ticket to fly on the busiest day of the year for a
damned turkey dinner and some barbaric football game. Just, no. Never.
Not any more. As for Christmas? Well, I pretty much feel the same way,
although now that my sis and her family are back in the great state of
Cali, I am willing to take a nice coastal drive to watch my niece open
her presents and partake of my sister's most excellent cinnamon rolls.
But back to the Fair. I've found that redefining traditional holidays is
wonderfully liberating, so in addition to copious amounts of food on a
stick, it's really become about family--all the more so this year,
because I got to see my brand new niece, Mirah Jane.
So, in the next few posts, I'd like to share with you some of my experiences and photos of my late-summer vacation.
And then keep coming back, because I've recently found many incredible things to love--I can't wait to share it all with you.
More to love:
No journey to the Land of 10,000 Rehab Centers (har, har) would be complete without--no, not a secret vacay for "exhaustion," but to the mighty Minnehaha Falls.
That's all for now, but I'll be back tomorrow with all the delicious food I sampled while away. xoL
The blog is back after a lengthy summer vacay, but as always, I have an excuse. One month ago, I finished up chemotherapy (the last weeks are the toughest) and have been acclimating back to the real world. I'm not going to lie--it hasn't been easy, and I've been slowly picking up all the things I enjoy doing--writing, hiking, playing the violin and blogging.
So, let's get right to it. This is a Love List inspired by the music that's gotten me through this rough patch...with some movies and delicious food rounding it all out.
1. Love the song "Like I Need You" by the very photogenic, L.A.-based band Kan Wakan, off their album Moving On. If I ever direct my own wicked, neo-film noir, a game of cat and mouse (Who is the cat? Who is the mouse?) with a surprise ending, this is the song that will play when the credits roll.
Take a listen here. You will not be disappointed.
2. Also loving: "Drive-In Movies" off the new Ray LaMontaigne album, Supernova.
Photo via New York Times.
If I ever direct my own quirky, indie film about a bittersweet summer
romance between two misunderstood twenty-somethings, this is the song
that will play when they first get it on.
3. Love "Dead Flowers," a Rolling Stones tune (off Sticky Fingers) I had never heard before.
The Stones wrote it during a country phase (and don't we all have one?) while they were hanging out with Gram Parsons. It really struck me, because I could've sworn I was listening to early Uncle Tupelo (aka the Nirvana of alt-country).
4. Another song I've turned up when it plays in the car is "Silver Lining" by the Swedish duo, First Aid Kit, off their album Stay Gold.
If I ever direct a film about powerful female lawyer who leaves the corporate boardroom to bail her ex-con, gambling dad out of a Las Vegas jail, and they road trip to the Mexican border to pay back the drug cartel he robbed where she falls in love with a DEA agent--this is the song that will play as they careen down the highway.
5. Love that Charlie Chaplin played the violin and composed music. I mean--I had no idea!
Here is Anne-Akiko Myers playing his composition "Smile," which appeared on the soundtrack to Modern Times.
6. Another discovery--the Nielsen Violin Concerto (again: who knew?) is pleasantly blowing my mind, performed by the amazing Norwegian violinist, Vilde Frang.
8. Loved catching the film A Most-Wanted Man at the Arclight. Now this is my kind of summer flick. I love any movie based on a John Le Carré novel, and this was no exception.
But man, it was hard to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman in his last role. It was almost like he was inhabiting his character with his own personal pain. Very tragic, but I felt like it was quietly brilliant ending to his incredible career.
9. Love catching up on movies I missed in the theater, including Blue Ruin...
...and Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson.
10. DO NOT love that I missed the Minnesota State Fair this year, but love knowing that there's an excellent chance that it--and every food on a stick known to man--will be there next year.
Thank you for reading...and I'll be back with something exciting very soon.
A couple weeks ago, I made my annual trip to the homeland. I always go back for the State Fair. Go ahead and laugh, but it's so much better than going in the dead of winter for some boring holiday. This year, I had another reason to visit: my new nephew Judah, born on New Year's Day.
The mighty Mississippi from St. Anthony Main.
i like you, northeast Minneapolis.
I was always a South Minneapolis girl, but the focus has now shifted to Northeast, where my brother's family lives and where most of the action is.
Hooray for Hollywood.
Good ol' Nye's.
But the real reason for my visit was, of course...
Death by cuteness. Baby perfection.
And there was the Fair.
It's funny how it never changes. Everything in its place every year. There were interesting (and chuckle-worthy) updates this year: a list of gluten-free fare and the "dough-sant" (read: cro-nut).
Crop art always amazes.
I'd like to make mention of a couple places that delighted me on this visit.
One is Gardens of Salonica. It's a classic Northeast place that's been around forever, and it serves up some of the best Greek food I've ever eaten.
And then there's the new 3 Tiers Bakery Bistro near my mom's house in the Lake Nokomis area.
An adorable, immaculate hole in the wall, I had a falafel burger that was the best I'd ever eaten. Everything is served on the freshest bread--my mom is a big fan of the olive. Seriously, if you read this blog and live in Minneapolis, you have to check this place out.
It made me think of how--while LA is a center for the most incredible hole-in-the-wall, strip-mall ethnic restaurants, Minneapolis is a center for incredible, homemade coffee shops and cafés. So much fun!
Until next year, Star of the North. I will see you again.
