2011 Top 10 New to Me Events

My annual post reflecting on the year:
2011 Top 10 New to Me Events (in chronological order)

1. January: Fargo - Hotel Donaldson

For a work trip to the far north, I had a chance to spend the night at the Hotel Donaldson in Fargo, one of the best boutique hotels in the midwest. My room featured woodblock prints by Charles Beck, who was the person who introduced my parents to each other! There was an excellent happy hour, awesome bar with live music, and tasty bread basket in the morning. Worth a trip to Fargo just to stay here.

2. January: Duluth - Fitger's

I've tried Fitger's beer but had never stayed in the historic hotel. Bill and I enjoyed the bitter cold weekend with dinner at my always favorite New Scenic Cafe, skiing at Lester Park (amazing trails right in the city), afternoon beer flights at Fitger's Brewhouse, the firm's holiday party at new to me Clyde Iron Works (stay away unless for a big event), and brunch at new to me Nokomis (loved the food but found the atmosphere lacking).

3. February: Luminary Loppet

How is it that this was my first time skiing the Luminary Loppet? Bill, Patrick, (7-months-pregnant) Maia, and I joined the hundreds of people on Lake of the Isles for this only-in-Minneapolis event. The snow and luminaries were beautiful and it made me so happy to live here. Not sure I will be as brave in 2012 as Maia was (if we even have any snow this winter)...

4. February: 1st wedding anniversary

Bill received the best ever student gift last Christmas: weekend use of the family's cozy cabin on Lake Superior. The views were amazing and we loved new-to-us skiing on a warm winter day at Split Rock Lighthouse. We also loved re-living our wedding by watching Towle's video.

5. March: Spring Break in Spain

As most of you know, Madrid, Bilbao, and Gernika were not new to me, but were new to us and a necessary trip to take. Despite still not having started one of my lifelong to do list items --learning Spanish--we lived like the Spanish for two weeks, enjoying sleeping in, afternoon lunches, and daily happy hours at cafes. Highlights: staying at Cliff and Luis' rental apartments, the world's best veggie food at Isla del Tesoro, gulas in Bilbao's Casco Viejo, and art, art, art.

6. July: Positive pregnancy test

Obviously the highlight of the year and the event that will give Bill and me never-ending new to us experiences. Pregnancy itself has not been my new favorite thing, but I feel lucky to be normal and healthy starting my 28th week on Monday.

7. July: Oriole Park at Camden Yards

We met up with many old friends in D.C. and had lots of new to me highlights but most fun was enduring 100 degree heat at new to me baseball stadium Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Only 22 new to me ballparks to go - what will be next in 2012?

8. August: Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA)

This summer I was excited to receive an invitation to join the Fund Development Committee of JXTA, an amazing non-profit that focuses on serving youth on the Northside. JXTA is a small organization that has served hundreds of kids over its 15 year existence and is currently in the process of expanding to make an even greater difference to the families of North Mpls. There are so many great non-profits to support, but I decided to serve this one because of their established history, commitment to teaching youth employable skills, focus on the arts, and visibility in making a difference in a neighborhood that has long been underserved.

9. September: AIA Women's Leadership Summit

Being surrounded in Kansas City by 130 other female architects at a new biannual AIA conference was an enlightening and new to me experience. For two days, we had amazing female speakers on leadership, architecture as a career, and design topics. Can't wait for 2013.

10. December: Wilco at the State Theater

My all-time favorite band has come a long way from their early shows in the mid-90s at Gabe's in Iowa City where I had the unfortunate reputation of being able to fall asleep sitting on the floor in the front row next to the big speakers. Joining all of the other 30/40somethings at the State for Wilco's new to me big stage lightshow and new guitars for every song did not change my view that Jeff Tweedy continues to be a musical genius.

2011 Top 5 Memorable New to Me Events:
1. May: Retiring from AFH MSP leadership
After 6 years of co-leadership of Architecture for Humanity Minneapolis-St. Paul, it was time to retire. I'm happy to say that we found two great new leaders so the Chapter is continuing to provide design services to humanitarian crises locally and globally.

2. June: Assessing homes post-tornado

The May 22nd tornado was devastating to North Minneapolis, and AIA MN responded by providing pro bono design services to families in need. I contributed in a very small way by assessing damaged homes - a very eye-opening experience. Driving through the neighborhood recently, I was disappointed to see that the roofs of many homes are still covered with blue tarps. Let's not forget how much need there is so close to us.

3. August: (Pregnant) MC Inland Championship

One of the harder things I've ever done was crewing with Bill through 4 races on what turned out to be the final day of the MC Inland Championship at Lake Minnetonka. I was totally sick from pregnancy and somehow got through one of the gustiest ever races to place high enough for Bill to win the championship for the fourth year in a row. This item does not make my Top 10 because despite being new to me, I feel sick even recalling the experience.

4. December: AIA MN YA Award

In May my firm nominated me for the 2011 AIA MN Young Architect Award, and I worked long and hard on a portfolio to summarize my first 13 years in architecture. I was happy to learn that I was one of two "young" (also both female) architects selected. The actual award presentation was in December where I felt very honored to be supported by so many people who have helped me get this far in my career.

5. July - December: Half year without beer

I feel that enduring 6 months without enjoying my favorite beverage is necessary to note. How many new to me craft beers have I missed trying since July? I'm sure that the trade-off will be worth it.

New to Me 2010

2010 was the happiest and busiest year of my life. I'll spare you the details of the many parties and dinners, art dates, theater performances, Twins wins/losses, book clubs (100th milestone), clothing swaps, house projects (65), sailing races, AFH and LTC volunteering, showers, State Fair, Toys for Tots, overtime work, and daily animal kingdom antics. Here are the New to Me 2010 highlights:

January
3 bridal showers = lots of nice new household gear

February
Wedding: Newlyweds!! Also, new name
March
Honeymoon in Tulum - New to us: destination, Ceynote snorkeling, scorpion sighting, Aaron + Alisa's beach wedding, Mayan ruins, police bribes

April
Target Field Opening Day: all new and awesome!

May
My first spring regatta on Harriet, sleet and all

Architecture for Humanity MN Homeless Locker Project - not exactly new but finally finished

June
Grinnell 15 year reunion: All new to Bill; some new, some exactly the same for me

July
Citizen Architect: me on a panel at the Walker!

Silverwood Lake on consecutive weekends for two lovely weddings: Maia + Patrick, Izy + Jon

NYC vacation: Rachel's dad's amazing apartment, New Museum, Big Bambu on the roof of the Met, MoMA with Emily, 100 degrees in the shade on the High Line, new Yankee Stadium

August
Regattas: Interlakes at Clear Lake (first time in 2nd place) and Inland at Lake Geneva (first time driving a spectator boat)

September
More Regattas: Clear Lake (first team racing) and Die Hard (first party at our house for 80+ guests)

October
Twins loss to Yankees: new only in that it was outdoors

Julie/Julia party: first Julia Child recipe cooked

Monster Dash 5k: first race run with Angie

River Crest Apartments Grand Opening: major victory for housing homeless in St. Cloud


November
New Governor: only sort of in November

22nd: new age = excellent birthday dinner at Barbette with Beaujolais Nouveau

Bathroom remodel: new dual flush + vanity + tile floor

December
SnOMG 2010: New to Me - a snowstorm that actually stops MSP!

Centennial Lakes: indoor bocce at LHB holiday party and skating with Kate







Motto for 2011: Less is More?

New Celebrations

It's been awhile since I posted - busy summer than even busier fall. Since Bill proposed to me on October 4th, everything in my life has seemed new!

New to Me items:
1. engagement ring
2. address on a numbered street
3. house with lots of space
4. dog: Fritz, dog-cat conflicts
5. street parking
6. hand-washing dishes
7. 10 min. shorter commute
8. discussions about guest lists, chicken entrees, centerpieces, ink colors
9. being a landlord (the worst)
10. lots of celebrations just for me!

The photo is from a recent gathering at Spill the Wine that Rachel organized as the "bride's dinner". I'm so happy and thankful to have so many NOT new friends! These women have supported me for many years in many different ways, and I feel so lucky to know them all.

BSE

Erin has labeled this the Best Summer Ever (BSE) and appears to be accomplishing this goal. In 1996, I spent the summer in "school" in Rome, and I've found it hard to surpass that BSE, but 2009 could be in the running for the Best Summer of the Decade (BSD). So far I've been enjoying every warm day and long night outside on my vintage mountain bike, around/on the City lakes, or on a patio, porch, or roof deck. I'm overwhelmed by the weekly overdose of greens from my New to Me CSA and have experimented with multiple versions of grilled fish salads. New to Me highlights from the first weeks of summer:

1. Tomas Sarceno: Lighter than Air - Bill and I happened to be at the Walker on the opening night of this interesting exhibition and saw this Bucky Fuller-esque ball floating in the air above the roof deck (photo at left).

2. Wednesday night sailing - totally New to Me, every Wednesday night is spent racing (in light wind as luck has had it so far) on Lake Harriet with the LHYC crowd. I love watching the sunlight fade out over the Western sky from the middle of the lake.

3. Famous Dave's, Linden Hills - new to this vegetarian, after 3 post-sailing Wednesday gatherings I think I've exhausted the options for creative bacon-free ordering. Perhaps the hot fudge brownie is made without pig parts. I do enjoy the porch-like atmosphere though.

4. Sushi Tango - for a really long time, this was my one remaining New to Me restaurant in Uptown. The new location (still within Calhoun Square) offers a roof deck but this particular night was rainy so endured the trying-too-hard interior decor to enjoy some very good food. Try the excellent green bean salad.

5. Moto-i roof deck - this New to Me roof deck is so great that it could make BSD all by itself if I could go here every week! Super urban with buildings all around and an awesome view of the downtown skyline without the scene of Stella's or Drink.

6. It's Greek to Me patio - searching for a seat outdoors at Lyn-Lake on a hot Friday night, we looked through the vines on the fence at the lovely patio and wondered why neither of us had ever tried it. I know, it doesn't seem like a viable dinner option, but the courtyard is so European: small tables, low lighting, a fountain at the center. Have a Summit on tap and the eggplant appetizer. I guarantee this place will also be essential to the BSD.

Next up, road trip to Chicago...

New Beginning

Every Friday I get an email from Sitemeter that tells me that I have loyal readers who are still checking my blog every week to see if the polar bear photo is finally gone. IT IS! Sorry about the hiatus. A billion things happened over the last 3 months and although I've been faithful to the New to Me project, I guess I needed a break from writing about it. In March I took a 10 day vacation to Madrid and Bilbao where I'd never been so every experience was New and so much fun! In April I tried out several new places near home, and in May I was off to my 2nd favorite American city, Portland, where I've been multiple times but has endless New to Me opportunities. Now it's Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial beginning of Minnesota summer, and I'm very hopeful that this will be a great summer filled with New. I just kicked it off by watching the Twins win over the Brewers 11-3 with Cuddyer hitting for the cycle so things are looking good so far! Since there is no way to catch up on everything from the last 3 months, I'll just list a few highlights from my trips:

Madrid and Bilbao

1. The best art museums in the world, I think only Paris and New York can compete:Guggenheim Bilbao, Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Museo Sorolla, Reina Sofia.

2. Additional amazing art collections (and architecture) at the Foundations: Caja Madrid, CaixaForum Madrid.

3. Seeing Picasso's Guernica and the town of Gernika.

4. Excellent tapas and fish (major effort to avoid jamon) especially in Bilbao's Casco Viejo.

5. Sunny Sunday in Parque del Buen Retiro - loved McElheny's work in the Palacio de Cristal.

Portland, Oregon

1. Best New to Me restaurants: Belly Timber and Sel Gris.

2. Best New to Me bars: The Driftwood Room and Urban Farmer. 

3. Best New to Me shopping: Brooklyn Industries and Sloan Boutique.

4. Best New to Me coffeeshops: St. Honore and Dragonfly.

5. Best New to Me outdoor and quirky eating establishment: Grilled Cheese Grill.

And, of course, visiting my great friends Rachel, Kara, Ivona, Kate, and Claire was the best of all (see photo above).

New Winter

If you know me at all, you know that I refuse to complain about the long Minnesota winter until March. Now I'm starting to get annoyed by the dirty snow, gray sky, and single digit weather report for Wednesday. But this gray Sunday morning I met up with my friend LaDan who said, "Isn't this a beautiful day?" and I attempted to agree. As usual, I've been enjoying my time by not thinking about the weather and just doing New to Me things. I have several for the last 2 weeks:

1. "Little Rock, 1957" was Chris' suggestion for an interesting historical musical. I would definitely go back to another show by the Youth Performance Company. Watching the youth perform those hard roles was very impressive.

2. Yamuna Body Rolling - Jonna convinced me to sign up for this new age community ed class. Not sure I've completely bought in after two sessions of working out my sore muscles (am also training for a 10 mile race) but will try again tomorrow.

3. Spyhouse - the new 2404 Hennepin Ave location is a decent place to spend a few hours when you have 2 days to read an entire book club book ("The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan: recommended).

4. Agri - finally made it to this neighborhood restaurant. Ryan indulged my mac n' cheese obsession by sharing their gluten-free version. Not impressed. The beet salad was a little better but still off.

5. Nick and Eddie - my new favorite! Sit in the bar for great atmosphere, good food, reasonable prices. Beer selection could be better so went with wine for a change.

6. Trotter's Cafe - yes, I crossed the border to meet Mike for breakfast. Similar to my uptown favorite, Common Roots, with a better bakery and free coffee re-fills. 

7. Muddy Waters - finally made it to this place that I've been driving past for years. Hip atmosphere with loud (but within my taste) music and a nice brie sandwich on baguette. Glad I was wearing black.

8. My Restaurant Week choice this year was Fire Lake - another new favorite. Brad and I both had excellent (and huge) meals paired with a nice Minnesotan beer selection. The almond crusted trout was unbelievably good as was the oatmeal stout bundt cake with ice cream! May go down as the meal of the year.

9. Seconds Before played a good set at a New to Me venue in Northeast: Club Underground. Who knew that was there? Will return soon to try those fries. 

10. Another place I've driven past for years but never been inside until now is the American Swedish Institute. LaDan and Rex were up for checking it out so we toured the fancy Turnblad Mansion. The house was very ornate and lovely, but it was actually too crowded for comfort. On a Sunday. Huh.

11. Finally, I really enjoyed seeing films at two festivals this weekend: Women with Vision 2009: Dimensions at the Walker for Agnes Varda's endearing "The Beaches of Agnes" and the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival at Sabes for an interesting documentary, "At Home in Utopia".

Only 2 more weeks til spring...

 

Police Ride-Along

One of the coolest parts of my Leadership Twin Cities class is the requirement to do a ride-along with a police officer. I just got back from spending a snowy Friday night in a Minneapolis Police Department squad car with a female officer of the First Precinct (downtown). I had high expectations for the experience, and it actually turns out that not that much happens on an average winter weekend night. Totally New to Me, I have never been in a squad or really ever talked to a police officer so I learned a lot. Events of my ride-along:

1. Drive to Bobby & Steve's Autoworld to pick up food for officer at Precinct desk.

2. Hang out at Precinct desk and watch downtown video cameras while officers eat.

3. Investigate stolen car incident at video store.

4. Give parking ticket to woman returning to car parked illegally in Cedar Riverside area.

5. Observe intersection by Bedlam to unsuccessfully try to catch people driving through stop sign.

6. Investigate argument at Riverside tower.

7. Pick up tip on possible illegal gun sales from source at Riverside tower.

8. Give parking ticket to woman returning to car parked illegally in Cedar Riverside area.

9. Investigate possible domestic violence case at Fairview Riverside ER.

What I learned:

1.  Not a lot happens in downtown Minneapolis on an average Friday night before bar close.

2. A lot of gas is wasted by leaving squads running all of the time.

3. A lot of people do dumb things such as leaving their car running with doors unlocked at the video store.

4. A lot of motor vehicle tickets are given because nothing else is happening.

5. Cops think that security guards are not cool.

6. Cops wear a lot of heavy gear and guns.

7. Unless something is really important, response is not quick.

8. A woman who cannot speak English or even spell in Somali probably will not be able to leave an abusive husband.

9. It is easy to have a negative perspective on humanity/society when all you see is bad stuff.