Tonight I’m headed to Lambeau Field to watch my Vikings take on the big, bad (as in pretty bad-ass) 8-0 Packers…yikes!
The forecast for tonights game is 30s with a chance of rain…double yikes!
Nothing a bit of purple pride, spiked hot chocolate & watching this guy can’t cure… 
…Skol Vikings!!!
**Update: My Vikings were crushed…I mean really crushed, it was ugly…but I still had fun!**
{Click images for their source}
Gotta love these cute t-shirts inspired by my home state of Minnesota! According to designers Clint & Kate, their company Scared Panda was created because…
“We moved to New York City and quickly realized how much we missed our home state of Minnesota and the community that we used to belong to. We began creating t-shirts that reflected the things we love about Minnesota and soon realized that this is what we are meant to do. Not just create t-shirts, but get involved in and make a difference in the community that inspires us.”
Have you moved away from your Hometown…do you miss it? What do you miss most?
{Images via Scared Panda, click photos to buy shirts}
Minnesota is known as “Land of 10,000 Lakes”…but as it turns out there are actually more than that. Way back in the Ice Age glaciers slowly moved across what is now Minnesota and riddled it with holes…making it almost like a giant highway that has thousands, upon thousands of potholes!
With those holes all filled up they have become a source of pride for our Northern State. I mean we really love our lakes…they’re where memories are made and summers are spent. And now Nicole Meyer is trying to design a logo a day for every lake in Minnesota. Which she guesses will take her around 27 years to complete!
A Wisconsin native who fell in love with the state while attending the University of Minnesota, Meyer started the project as a way of reconnecting with the area while working at an advertising agency in Arizona. Now back in Minneapolis, she’s determined to keep it going.
Every day, she picks a lake, researches it, designs its logo and posts it on the website Branding10000Lakes.com. Lake associations have expressed interest in buying the rights to the logos of their lakes for T-shirts or signs, and Meyer is considering their offers. But the point of this has never been to make money, she insisted.
“I thought I’d start a personal project focusing on Minnesota,” said Meyer, whose work in Phoenix included designing logos for the Arizona Office of Tourism and the state’s health department. “And the first thing that came to mind was the lakes.”
{via here}
What a neat idea…here are some examples of Meyer’s work so far:
…Be sure to check out Meyer’s site…as a new lake is added each day!
{Click on images for their source}
Bachman’s is a Minnesota company known for their flowers, plants, and landscaping…but they have another unique treat which is their Ideas House. The Historic Bachman Family Home is repainted, refurnished and redecorated and then open to the public four times a year…for each of the seasons. I just visited their Fall Ideas House which was quite inspiring!
Their outdoor plants featured your typical autumn reds, oranges & yellows but added pops of purple:
I find these decorative peppers so cute:
I fell in love with these soft, velvety Celosias:
(They look like flames in the outdoor fireplace)
I was inspired by some of their unique inside ideas too…
Bookshelves made out of books:
Decorative wine barrels:
Using burlap to decorate:
Topiary used as a jewelry holder:
Ingenious newspaper or magazine rack:
Bicycle wheel art:
There were many, many more creative ideas…I can’t wait for Bachman’s Winter Ideas House & all of the holiday decorations!
Finished…a project that took twelve years to complete & many more to dream up.
{Image via The Walters Art Museum, click for source}
Finished…the use of goose-quill pens on 2-foot-tall sheets of polished calfskin called vellum.
{Image via Star Tribune, click for source}
Finished…a team consisting of Benedictine scholars, calligraphers, illustrators & directed by Donald Jackson, calligrapher & scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
{Image via MN Public Radio, click for source}
Finished… 1,150 artful pages sparkling with gold leaf and jewel-toned colors.
{Image via Loyola University, click for source}
Finished…the only handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned & created in the past 500 years.
{Image via Star Tribune, click for source}
Finished…The Saint John’s Bible!
I’m not a very religious person myself, but I do find that the Bible has enormous historical, cultural and literary implications. In this case it’s a beautiful work of art that I can’t help but take notice of.
P.S. If you live near the Twin Cities there is a small, free show entitled “The St. John’s Bible, Amen!” at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts showing now until Sunday, November 13, 2011. Click here for details.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend from my little corner of the world…
{Minnesota Love by poppyandpinecone via Etsy}
To yours, wherever that may be…
{World Love by poppyandpinecone via Etsy}
{Click photos for their source}
{Image via Forbes}
Sorry, I’ve got to brag about my hometown…just a bit! American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently crowned the Midwestern metropolis of Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington as the country’s top spot for healthful lifestyles!
Minneapolis residents breathe clean air, prioritize exercise and keep their weight down, supported by a city that was among the first to add bike trails and ban smoking in public places. If you live in Minneapolis-St. Paul, you and your neighbors are less likely to have cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and asthma and are more likely to be in excellent or very good health.
via Forbes
Now…I better start working out more so I can live up to this title!!
{Click photo for source}
{Photo by Bruce Bisping via Star Tribune}
Whoa…that’s a lot of people waiting to eat something on a stick. You heard it right, Minnesota’s State Fair is all about food on a stick. I’ll be braving the crowds this weekend to enjoy some good ‘ole fashioned fun at the Fair.
I hope you all have a very happy & safe Holiday weekend as we bid summer farewell!
Click here to learn more about the MN State Fair!
{Click photo for source}
Last night was spent roasting marshmallows at my best friend from high school’s beautiful new home in St. Paul. She and her husband just moved back to Minnesota after living out East. In an effort to find a decent housewarming gift…I decided to embrace our dear state Minnesota as inspiration. Here are a few MN-lovin’ ideas:
Oh-so fabulous new poster of Saint Paul by Ork Posters:
{Click photo to shop this pillow from Catstudio}
Nicolette Island print by Mark Herman, which happens to be where my friend got married:
{Click photo to shop this print (and more) at The Bibelot}
A book that highlights MN’s home-grown goodness:
{Click photo to shop this book at The Bibelot}
The cutest little cheese board, with a delicate heart cut-out right on St. Paul:
{Click photo to shop this board from A. Heirloom on Etsy}
“I believe in the universality of art’s function, a heritage of involvement of everyone – the youngest to the oldest, the artist, the viewer. A subliminal communication of feelings about the human condition. My paintings are expressly directed to evoke an emotional reaction from the viewer.” – Gino Hollander, 2010
Listen to this lovely story…a Minnesota woman, Eileen Cain, purchases an original painting by Gino Hollander, a renowned California artist, in a second-hand shop. She falls in love with the style and decides to track down Hollander with a request. Will he paint her mother’s portrait for her 89th birthday? The answer is a resounding “yes”…but with a hefty price tag. Cain, a part-time school worker, cannot afford the cost.
This is not the end though…as Hollander emails Cain back that as for the cost, “it’ll all work out.” Racking her brain for ideas, Cain decides to quit smoking and use the proceeds from what she would have spent on a pack a day purchase, amounting to about $1,600 a year.
And so Cain’s mother, Alphie (mom to 17 children), received this beautiful and one of a kind portrait capturing her as a young woman:
{Alphie's Portrait, photo via Star Tribune}
How fantastic is Gino Hollander…and what a wonderfully thoughtful daughter Eileen is. Wouldn’t you love to surprise a loved one with such a special portrait…I know I would. Read the entire story here from the Star Tribune. And check out Hollander’s work here at his blog.
{Click photos for their source}
