The Autumn That Wasn't

This weather is crazy. Crazy, I tell you.

Who hits 87 degrees in October? Not Minnesota. At least not until this year.

Who wears summer dresses this month? My girls, apparently.

We had an amazing week and an even more amazing weekend. We've been given a reprieve before winter officially begins, so we've been soaking up every extra breath of sunshine and warmth. The windows are thrown wide open, capturing every minutia of fresh air before the cold settles in.

Flip flops and sandals have been pulled back out of closets and shorts have not yet been put away.

Yesterday I went rollerblading with a friend and she showed me a trail that goes through the Twin Cities that all the bikers know about, but apparently not the rollerbladers. (Those selfish bikers, trying to keep this route all to themselves...) It was the latest date of the year that I've rollerbladed in the 15 years I've been doing it. It was amazing: I can't wait to hit this trail more next summer.

Then the family went to Tin Fish at Lake Calhoun for dinner. It's an outdoor restaurant right on the lake. I waited in line for 35 minutes to order and when I got near the front I could finally see their "sold out" list: they had nothing. Literally nothing. They had cod and tilapia: no walleye, no salmon, no mahi mahi, no chicken, no burgers and finally, no fries. Good for them for having an incredible weekend so that they went through their inventory over the two beautiful weekend days. Bad for them for not putting the signs out farther from the window so you knew when you got in line that there was nothing there that anyone under the age of 10 would eat. Despite this, the place was packed; I knew they would do just fine if we walked away and took our business elsewhere.



Marissa and Lindsey entertained themselves while waiting to eat.

So...we drove down the street a little bit to one of Wayne's and my favorite new places: Uptown Cafeteria. We haven't been there together, mind you; he and I had both been there with friends for various happy hours. Its decor is reminiscent of a 50's cafeteria, but the food is excellent (AND relatively inexpensive) and you can enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. I'm pretty sure you couldn't do that at cafeterias back in the day.

Love the rotating dessert carousel next to the hip bar.

They have huge windows along two sides of the restaurant that face the street. All the windows were wide open: no glass, no screens. How refreshing to have the outside come in while eating dinner. They also have a rooftop area that is incredibly welcoming and comfortable. We visited the rooftop before leaving; the girls thought the funny little seats looked like mushrooms and they had fun playing around on them.

Dinner automatically comes with a toy: a teddy bear with fairy wings.

Blue cotton candy for dessert. The Davanni's sign behind them is across the street, visible through the open windows.

It was a perfect end to a wonderful weekend, soaking up every minute of the gorgeous weather. It will be a big shock when autumn finally begins acting like autumn.