World's Biggest Pillow Fight (St. Paul Saints game)

It's official, all attendees to the Saint Paul Saints baseball game on July 21, 2015 were a part of the World's Largest Pillow Fight. To do this, the My Pillow Company handed out around 5,000 pillows to all fans entering the gates. Then, after the 2nd inning, we all "fought" for one minute. Done, back to the game.

Yellow squash, 2 ways

With the copious amounts of rain and sun we've had this summer, it's no wonder that a private CSA I have a membership to has already provided some excellent produce, including a voluptuous yellow squash. Being a solo chef, I used it two ways over the course of a week, once sautéed for pasta primavera, and once grilled as a side with a burger. Both were delicious and I'm hoping more great produce finds its way into my CSA share. Get out there and eat the rainbow. 

Uptown Flower Patrol

I believe Ferris Bueller said it best, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."...this most especially applies to flowers as you walk through the Lowry Hill area of Uptown. 

You could help destroy a pristine, low-miles, vintage Corvette too. 

Revisit: Groundswell, St. Paul, MN

I think is said this in the first post for this neighborhood spot, but if you haven't gone for brunch here, make a trip and plan to hang out for a while. I'm pretty sure it will end well. 

Bacon, Gruyere and Rosemary scone - very good!

Their banana bread French toast - solid. 

Delano 4th Celebration, Delano, MN

They say, "third times the charm"...and this trip to Delano for their 4th of July celebration didn't disappoint. 

The food was what had hoped and planned for:

And the fireworks upped their game and included an engagement proposal, which was news to the whole crowd:

Wayzata Art Fair, Wayzata, MN

If you live in the Twin Cities, I'm sure you've heard about all the art fairs that take place in different neighborhoods and cities all summer long. You can usually see lots of high-quality artwork, most of it having been locally made too. 

For the last few years now, I've been very eager to attend the quiet, well-stocked art fair in the lakeside hamlet of Wayzata. It's located right on Lake Minnetonka and usually makes it easy for people to park and walk the event. I've even dragged family and coworkers to it now, and everyone seems to enjoy the event.

You know, just jump off your boat and head over to the fair

Four blocks of artists usually have something for everyone

This woman below, Jaana Mattson, won 2nd place at the fair for her super unique and quite beautiful pieces. She uses felted wool to create landscapes, all placed in real wood frames. You can miss the detail if you just walk by, you had to stop and look to make sure. It was very original and interesting, IMO.

A number of vendors were offering photo services for people's pets. I think this is the first real-life Miss Piggy I have ever seen:

They also had some vintage and current autos on display. I can see the connection to art with this 1973 Jaguar, though the current models they also had on display just seemed like a mini car dealership, but there's no denying that this is the audience to buy them.

Revisit: CoV, Wayzata, MN

This upscale, updated American classics restaurant with lakefront views and the food & drink to match is still a hip place to be for brunch on Sunday. A friend an I ate like kings on a recent gorgeous summer Sunday.

Can you ever go wrong with  a caramel roll served with compound strawberry butter?! (The answer is "no")

And what about a smoked chicken omelette with spinach and tomatoes? ("No", again)

And if that wasn't enough, we topped off our visit with a celebrity sighting, no joke...in MN. 

 Guess who.