labor day weekend

Better late than never so the saying goes. In general I'm not sure how true that really is, but for today's sake (and the blog's), let's say it's spot on. For the long weekend, over three weeks ago now, we headed up north to the cabin and did the usual: hiking, fishing, evening fires, good food, and relaxing. It was the perfect quiet break from campaign season, Twins, and other obligations.

Oh, how we wish we could go back already! Even the pups have a little more pep in their step north-I suppose sprints through the woods and a weekend off-leash and without fences will do that to anyone though!

july & august birchbox

Since I don't have any mind blowing product reviews, there's no reason to spread these summaries out (unless you want to count another post as a valid reason... which it very well might be). I've been a little too busy to try out some of the things like face masks, etc. But I will say these were two of the best boxes I've gotten (my all-time favorite being the one where I got a beauty blender and large sample of this exfoliant all at once).

These boxes included a few full-size items (the lip pencil and eyeliner), which pay for the price of the box themselves (in theory, I would never spend $15 on eyeliner), as well as products I hadn't received (dry shampoo, eye gels), and useful products (hair mask, facewash, etc). Oh, and if the products themselves weren't enough to get me excited about these two boxes, the free year-long magazine subscription thrown into one probably helped!

July

 -Beauty Protector Protect & Treat Mask
"Developed by stylists, this argan oil treatment restores strenth and megashine to hair."

-LAQA & Co Sheer Lip Lupe Pencil (<< full size!! worth $18)
"A high-gloss, semi-sheer lip color that's perfect for summer."

-NAOBAY Body Radiance Lotion
"This Spanish favorite uses olive oil and avadao to naturally hydrate and soften skin."

-Suki exfoliate foaming cleanser
"Two-in-one cleansar and exfoliater that rejuvenates skin and smells deliciously lemony."

-Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels
"Peptide-packed cooling treatment to hydrate and refresh stressed skin under the eyes."

BONUS: Free, one-year subscription to Women's Health magazine! 

August

- amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
"Weightless spray in the brand's signature Obliphica scent that refreshes hair sans residue"

- Harvey Prince Ageless Body Creme
 "Infused with grapefruit-sandalwood fragrance, this lotion leaves skin silky-smooth."

- Noir Cosmetics Long-Wear Eyeliner (<< full size!! worth $15!!)
 "Enriched with vitamin E, this creamy, waterproof liner glides on smoothly for all-day wear."

- theBalm cosmetics Stainiac in Beauty Queen
"Best-selling stain that gives cheeks and lips a sheer, rosy tint."

- Vasanti Cosmetics Detox Nutrient-Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser
"This foamy, sulfate-free wash gently removes pore-clogging impurities without overdrying."

weekend recap

Another fun and busy weekend in the books. Sandwiched between vending and campaigning we managed to find a little bit of time for an evening with friends and even an impromptu date of sorts.

The activities started Friday night with one of our friend's birthdays. We took a Pedal Pub ride downtown. A Pedal Pub, for those of you who don't know, is a giant bike for 10-15 people, or more like a trolley really that 10 people peddle to move. Fifteen people can fit on it (a lucky 5 didn't have to peddle), and you recruit someone to "bartend" from the middle of the machine, and then you can drive around the streets of Minneapolis taking in the sights from the road with an ice cold beer in your hand. 

Really I don't know how these things are street legal. There were times going down a one lane road, up a hill where we were maybe going 5 miles an hour and we had a line of cars behind us trying to navigate downtown.

We got to make a few pit stops along the way, which were much needed as moving that vehicle was a lot more work than I anticipated and it was about 10 minutes before I was fairly drenched in sweat. It was certainly a fun evening out with friends. 

Saturday evening was the next benchmark of our weekend- we got to work the Paul McCartney concert at Target Field. Expectations were quite high going in- the Kenny Chesney concert last year was a major money maker- although we were realistic that Paul would draw a different crowd. We didn't realize how different til we got there though. Not only was it a significantly older crowd (which was again, mostly expected), but it was a crowd not interested in spending money even though they had probably shelled out $150 just to be there. But any night that you get to make money, and take in a free concert is a good night. Here's a quick video I took of the performance.

 <technical difficulties, video hopefully coming later, in the meantime this pic will have to do>

And finally our weekend was brought to a close by the most relaxing Sunday we've had in months (excluding our vacation of course). We cleaned, we got caught up on chores, we got our internet fixed, we grilled, we had our little impromptu date at the park, and we unfortunately we missed church because we forgot it was still only an early service (not of course until we were driving there)- but hey, you can't win em all and this provided just a little more time for the above activities.

Back to the date though. David has an old middle school/ family friend who lives up in Grand Marais waaaaay up north near the Hauge's cabin. His parents ran into him last weekend and found out he was going to be down in Minneapolis for an art fair in Powderhorn park, which happens to be about a mile from our house. So we made decided we would spend an hour or two strolling through the booths and go find Cooper and see what he was up to.

There were hundreds of booths going all the way around the lake. It was certainly a fun event, but there were probably a few too many people for us to feel like we could really slow down, browse the booths, and enjoy. We did the whole loop once through, being powered by Jamaican empanadas seen above, and found Cooper's tent where we got to catch up, watch a live demonstration of hand carving a bowl (with a handmade foot powered lathe like this), and became the proud owners of our own walnut, hand-made bowl. 

Weekends should always be like that.

antigua part 4

Day 6 was our last full day in Antigua. We decided to take it pretty easy and once again stick to the resort.

We lounged, we read, we swam, we snorkeled, and we played a game or two of ping pong- probably all with a banana slide in hand.

 We spent as much time as possible outside on the water trying to soak up every last second of the ocean. This included lingering just a little longer over our pre-dinner drinks.

On our last night we were lucky enough to see some sea turtles hatch on the beach. The resort had a turtle watch crew that would call your room 24/7 if sea turtles were on the beach to lay or were hatching.

We didn't hang around to watch their release to the water (we had to get to dinner), but I did get to hold one!

Day 7 was merely a half day before we had to head to the airport.

We went to the opposite end of the beach (the North end) to check out the snorkeling over there as we had heard that's were it was the best. This was just over a small hill from the resort (and that's Armani's house there up on the hill pictured below).

When we got in the water there was a local swimming in the water catching fish with a net- a handful of 24"+ fish, but we couldn't tell what they were.

Goodbye Galley Bay....

Goodbye Antigua...

And just for good measure a collage of other pics I like that didn't quite make the first round cut.

I'll spare you the story of our journey home as I don't think I have the energy to type it up and most of you have probably heard it by now. But it involved delays, mechanicals, running through security, and given away seats. Luckily in all that though, no missed flights and we made it back to MSP in time to work the All Star events of course!

antigua part 3

Like I said yesterday, by Day 3, we had pretty much established our daily routine of  beach/ activities in the morning, lunch, workout, then pool in the afternoon. So just know that even if I don't share pics of us lounging on the beach everyday, we were still getting plenty of relaxation and sun in!

Day 4 we took a catamaran ride around the entire island. The total trip was about 5 hours- we stopped at a few other resorts along the way to pick up some more people and then we went out into the Atlantic for a wild 20 minute ride where we got soaked from head to toe, literally.

After our excursion into the Atlantic side, we pulled up at Green Island for snorkeling and a barbeque lunch. A guide took us around that point to snorkel in the pic below. The only thing I know I saw for certain was a sea cucumber and sea urchins because the guide pointed them out. There were plenty of fish to see in a variety of sizes, although overall I was struck by how monotone in color the reefs were compared to other snorkeling I have done.

That group of kids in the front of the boat (who we sat by for the entire ride) was a school cricket team from England over for a tournament. I wish I would have played a sport that went to the Caribbean for away tournaments!

After our swim, snorkel, and lunch break, we continued around the island with a guide pointing out many points of interest, both natural and man made including the houses of both Oprah and Eric Clapton. Below is a site of the natural variety though, the Pillars of Hercules.

Then we  toured briefly through English Harbor where many sailboats are docked and there are remains from an English fort from the early 18th century when the island was used for sugar production (we also saw ruins of numerous sugar mills around the island as we sailed around it).

Finally after a long day in the sun we circled back to Galley Bay. The boat ride was obviously a highlight for us. It was fun to see some of the "mountain ranges" and completely uninhabited portions of the island, as well as see some gorgeous vacation homes and the capitol city of St Johns by boat. After scoping many of the other resorts we stopped at I think we can safely say we are pleased with our choice. Below is Galley Bay from the water as we pulled in: Teepee Bar straight ahead and the SeaGrape to it's right (and our room, not pictured, even farther to the right).

Day 5 we decided to take the shuttle from the resort into town for a bit of exploring and souvenir shopping. It was a 15-20 minute drive and every time we entered a car we confirmed that our decision to not rent a car was a good one. Driving on the opposite side of the road, through narrow streets where goats and cows roamed free (and pedestrians did as they wished) through a poorly marked city would have been disastrous.

The vendors were extremely aggressive, way more so than anything I remembered encountering in Italy. But venturing through the little stands and being harassed was worth it in the end, as I wound up with a handful of fun souvenirs some of which I even haggled for (although the prices were already so cheap I didn't feel the need to really push this, I did walk away from a bracelet though when she wouldn't lower the price). And meanwhile the local vendors were probably thinking they got a good price out of me....

We spent three hours in the city, and David was able to grab a quick snack/ lunch from a nearby food stand. It would have been nice to have an hour or two more to explore and sit down for some local food, but not too much more than the three hours the shuttle dropped us off for unless you wanted to end up in an argument with some pushy locals.

When we got back to the resort it was BBQ night on the beach- the one night where instead of doing a sit down meal in a restaurant they did an informal buffet BBQ. It was also the one and only night David got to wear shorts to dinner (the normal dress code was pants and a collared shirt after 6pm).