✟ ♥

I love old churches.  There is such a peace about them.  Catholic churches especially because they make me feel close to my mom.  I visit churches all around the world given every chance, small chapels to big cathedrals.  And I always light a candle for my mom.  I was so lucky to have had a mum (as I called her as a child) like her.  She was extraordinary and I feel her love everyday.

I ♡ MPLS

Drove up to Minneapolis/St Paul for the weekend.  The twin cities.  Double the fun!

Guthrie center, Target field, Walker Art Center,  Mill City Museum,  Cathedral of St Paul, Capitol building, Mississippi river, Mall of America

Rad old school polish food, classic

The old Gold Medal flour mill, now hosts the Mill City museum and farmers market

Grand Rounds scenic byway, right in the city.  fantastic

Once I found out about this sculpture, I was OBSESSED with it.  so incredible!

one of my favorite architects Frank Gehry scultped this fish

ran into an old Mira Costa friend at the Twins game, Mark Chapman.

Canned meat

I went to the Spam museum in Austin, Minnesota.  Spam has been a running joke in my family since , well forever.  My brother and dad always liked it and my sister and I thought it was absolutely disgusting.  Adding to the category of salted pork products, my dad is also a fan of Vienna sausages and corned beef hash.  So , I will not change my stance on canned hash, aka dog food, or those little sausages that remind me of fingers but I have to say I kinda like Spam.  Shhhhhh.  Now I only like it for two reasons, I found out what was in it or more like what wasnt in it and I have to have it cooked crispy and thin.
Spam fact, did you know that there are only 6 ingredients in Spam.  I thought it would be a paragraph but nope, it consists of : pork, ham, sugar, salt, water and sodium nitrites or phosphates or some preservative to maintain its color and ability to be be meat in a can.
So, I still cannot completely sign off on Spam, but I will try it now if properly cooked.
Sending you bacon Spam and black pepper Spam Pops !!!

Watching shark week is fun. shark week nightmares not fun

FACT:  more people are killed by pigs each year than sharks.  I am not  a farm girl but really how does a pig kill you?  Not to make light of a tragedy but pig attacks don't seem to make the news. And geez that would get my attention more than a shark attack..

Hard part is the settle in the settling down

I can't travel forever, yes Dad I do know this :)  But the problem is where to stop traveling. My family and friends mean the world to me.  But I am pretty sure I cannot live in the craziness that is So Cal.  I have always known this.  My mom knew that even though I loved where I grew up , I was drawn to a smaller town vibe.  That is why I picked Chico for college.  And also how I ended up in Grapevine, TX for awhile.

What I know for sure is that I want to live in a small town by a body of water near a big city.

I love the feel of a small town vibe with a sense of community but I need culture and the excitement of a bustling big city.  Water, why water just calms me.  I grew up at the beach and I cannot imagine not being by some sort of water.  It also gives me a feeling of being able to escape at any time.
In the meantime. I travel...

50 cent/stem roses in July. Like!

Accidentally posted

Posted this picture from my phone before adding it to my post of Milwaukee and my friend who shall remain fully named, Mary Marckwardt !  :)   But she said it looked like a dating website picture. She thought I was holding back on her . So wanted to make clear that at this time in my life I would rather remove my own appendix with a crab fork and a swig of Don Julio then go on a dating website. But hey that's just me, I don't judge.

Mader's restaurant.  insanely divinely good german grub!

4th of July, from 4 million stars to 4 stars

After camping, we headed to Milwaukee for Summerfest.  Jamie got us a great deal on priceline at this rad 4 star hotel.  I really like Milwaukee.  It is kind of funny though, it is a little bit of a ghost town or like James says like you would imagine Coney Island from the movies.  We watched fireworks over Lake Michigan from the penthouse of the hotel.

I can't really explain but life at the hotel kind of felt like we were on a sitcom.  We became pals with the bartender Jeff, he was hilarious.  Def Leppard was staying at our hotel and some ball players and we kept seeing the same people over and over.  We had a blast.  Summerfest was pretty fair like and pretty lame the day we were there.  But still glad I experienced it.

me and some English bloke

walking on the river walk

the Bronze Fonz

salted pork products

I blank camping

Okay, I will say it. My name is Brandi and I %#$^@ camping. I know it is cool to like it so color me uncool !! I hadn't been camping in eons.  Let's talk history. I am not from a family of campers.  The only camping we really did was beach camping to my dad's favorite surf spots.  We went to San Onofre a lot as a kid. Well, turns out beach camping is way different than midwest summer tent camping. I did go to camps as a kid, including Lazy J (remember that one girls?) or basketball camps (Cathy Rush, remem
mber that one girls? oh yeah, prob not you were all at volleyball camp while I was at dorky bball camp) but that was always cabins and cots.  But I love the outdoors so I thought I would love camping but knowing myself I was a tad hesitant.  So when James and Steve invited me along with Jame's sister Ranae and her fiance Tim, I said a nervous yet enthusiastic , Oui !   But they were camping for 2-3 nights and I thought I better just meet them for 1 night, phew on that one. :/
So I drove up to Mirror Lake in Wisconsin in the dells by Baraboo.  
Let me say that this was the highest end tent camping you could do.   The only step up would be a cabin or RV.  These guys are serious campers and had all the fancy equipment.
When I got there my tent was set up (thanks guys :) and the whole campsite was rigged up to the tee!  
So not to go on and on, I will tell you what I liked.
I liked the company, the campfire !, the stars , actually I LOVED the stars!!, the deer,  and the lightening bugs especially since James caught some for me :)  aww what a pal.  
But what I didnt  like was hmm, umm oh pretty much everything else.  The dirt , sleeping in the dirt, the bugs, the bathroom being 1/2 mile away, and the daytime was a smidge boring, and the scenery was pretty much dirt and shrubs. oh and I didn't like the dirt.
I was a pretty good trooper Jamie said, Steve didn't say a word, I think he thought I was a cry baby. But in my defense I ended up sleeping in my car because I was soooo cold and I walked by myself through the dark woods 3 times in the middle of the night to the bathroom.
What I learned about myself was although I am afraid of the dark, I would rather walk to the bathroom in the dead of night with a head lamp and be hatched up into pieces by a crazed park ranger then wake/disturb the people I am with to accompany me.  
Addendum: I would definitely go camping if a log cabin was involved and a RV I would consider.  

My tent , I lasted 4 hours in it.

:) James catching lightening bugs for me <3

My favorite, we walked to a nearby supper club and ate escargot and bruschetta

Really big lightening bug !  oh nope, that's just Tim

LIGHTENING BUG!!!

smores, I would put on 3 marshmellows so I could end up with at least 1 marshmellow. haha

Spanks for the memories...  :/

ignore my goofy laugh but this guy was fantastic

I loved this guy. He had us anoint ourselves with vanilla to keep the gnats away. He also told us grand stories including a rare occurrence one am after a rainstorm of an all green rainbow !!  He said the best time to enjoy a garden is bright and early in the morning while the dew glistens and in the early evening as the sun sets on the leaves.  brilliant!

Gals in Galena

Wild roses, like Jamie and I :)

James and I met in Galena, IL for a girls day of fun.  I miss hanging out with my pal so it was such a nice day. It was forecasted for rain but didn't rain too much on our parade.  What a darling town. I drove up 151north to 20 east over the Dubuque bridge and James came down the 84 I believe from Madison.
We started our day walking the town and walking up a crazy amount of steps to the Linmar Gardens.
It might be the last year it is open and we loved it.  The gardens are beautiful and the octogenarian tour guide and caretaker was fantastic.  Makes me want to conquer the world if he and the "young man ", his name for the 89 year old master gardener is still hauling rock and planting and irrigating at his age.
After the gardens , we had lunch and walked the cute shops. I learned a couple things, 1. small, midwest towns set their tornado siren off everyday at noon :/ and that parts of Field of Dreams were shot in this little town.  We ended the day with a trolley tour of the city. Fun !  We want to come back and hit the winerys and the ghost tours that take place on the weekend evenings.  Merci Jamie James. xx bisous

Jamie in front of the waterfall. Most this garden is built on rock

Mining bucket the miners used to ride down on. There is an old mine shaft on the property. Our guide told us the men would keep one leg out of the bucket because if it bumped against the shaft , the sound created would actually be deafening.

Four garden beds for all the seasons starting with spring on the left

japanese peonies plant. he said they were absolutely gorgeous. magenta in color
and he said they would actually like the ants on the leaves because they would eat off the wax
and then the flowers would bloom.

I love that the sculpturererers (sp?) back in the day
appreciated a chunkier gal. >> thx boys

This was an old church and they left the walls up and built
this neat little water garden.

Later that same day...

View of the city and cute white church chapel.  so green and so rare to have to hilliness in the
midwest but I guess the area is called driftless? because the glaciers missed it. I kinda tune out on
tours so my facts are about 64% valid.  :/

Galena side street off of Main street

Trolley ride of the city