carpe diem

Last weekend I visited a friend in Minnesota. I've never been to Minnesota before, so I was very excited to not only see my friend, but see a new state (especially one that homes Mall of America). Her and her boyfriend drove me through Uptown and on through Downtown Minneapolis leading us back to their apartment where we watched Whatever Works. (If you haven't seen it, do. SO so good). We woke up earlier Saturday morning to head off to a volunteer center and inspect presents being donated to families in need. Six hours is how long we spent volunteering, which boosted my Christmas spirit immensely. Soon after, we put on our dresses and suits and headed off to Uptown Minneapolis for her boyfriend's work party held at an upscale sushi lounge called Seven. Our reservations were up on the rooftop -- no reindeers paws, but plenty of sushi, cocktails and good company. Later that evening we headed to Whisky Park, where we danced into the early hours. If my feet weren't sore enough from volunteering all day and dancing all night, we completed my weekend getaway with a day filled with shopping at Mall of America on Sunday. I heard a rumor that if you walk all three stories, you've walked 6 miles. Well, we walked 6 miles and more! Multiple Forever 21s, Victoria Secrets, Bath & Body Works... because who wants just one store when you can have two! Lunch was at Famous Dave's, a restaurant I've heard is everywhere BUT St. Louis. It was really tasty! Since we had time to spare, we headed down to IKEA since we don't have that in St. Louis either. I was in heaven. This would be my 2nd time entering the wonderful world of IKEA and it did not disappoint. Why does St. Louis not have an IKEA again? Sigh...

The weekend went by too quickly and this week came at me full force. Work has been incredibly busy, but I managed through and have found myself at another weekend. I'm looking forward to a few low key days with a lot of time spent with my twinkling white lights and oh so wonderfully smelling candle :)