Weekend fun!

Mixed in with Art Crawl preparations, I've been able to enjoy the past few days of beautiful fall weather, complete with some artsy activities.

Friday afternoon hubby and I took off to enjoy a bit of the Fresh Art Tour--basically a studio crawl in the Maiden Rock-Stockholm-Pepin area of Wisconsin. It's just a little over an hour drive from the Cities and so worth the trip. Especially lovely along the river bluffs with the leaves changing color in the fall.

Our first stop was in Maiden Rock. We visited Swan Song and Secret Heart Gallery--two lovely galleries/homes located next to one another on Hwy 35 as you drive into town. Both are worth the visit. They are primarily open on the weekends in the summer. I will be back next year for sure!

We made a quick run through Stockholm, where we enjoyed several stops at local galleries/shops. Stockholm is my favorite town. It always makes me happy when I visit. It has that lovely small town vibe mixed with artsy flair. Perfect combo, if you ask me. You can see some of my Stockholm pics on this earlier post.

Following our delicious pie at the Stockholm Pie Company (crust second only to my mom's), we headed out of town to check out some other artist studios. We stopped at the sculpture studio of Myklebust + Sears. The drive alone with quite the treat, but we also had a lovely visit there and learned that they are working on some large public pieces that will be featured at the light rail station a few blocks away. I realized that I have also seen their work other places in the Twin Cities. 

We continued to meander and finished our tour at the Hilsgen Family Farm, where they featured lovely hand-woven rugs and tasty gourmet goat cheese. I loved visiting their goats.

Saturday, after I dropped hubby off for an acting gig, I spent an hour strolling through the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Certainly, not enough time to take in much of the collection, but enough time to get my day off to a great start. I need to head back there soon for a much longer visit.

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon at a Mentor Introduction session for the Warm Mentor program--I will write more about that later. Following all that, I picked up hubby and we headed to Trotter's to take down my art that has been hanging there for two months. It was a nice to have my work out in the public. And excellent timing to get it all back in time for the Art Crawl.

Today we enjoyed a beautiful, beautiful day at Target Field. The sun shone on us brightly for nearly the entire game! Unfortunately we lost, but are headed to the playoffs. We are not likely to go to any of the postseason games, so this was our last game of the season. I LOVE baseball & the Twins...and can't believe the regular season is over. Of course, we still have lots of baseball to enjoy--since we plan to keep winning all the way through till the World Series!

I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend!

Now I'll be buckling down and finishing preparations for the Crawl. Tomorrow I'll be locked up in the studio, finishing a little painting and varnishing.

Another road trip...to the Pizza Farm!

Hubby and I so enjoyed our one-day road trip last week that we decided to take another. My hubby suggested that we make it an early anniversary trip. He knew that I needed to get away so that I wouldn't turn into a worry-wart and think about all the changes in my life right now...so I called it the "Don't let a little thing like a layoff get you down" trip.

We headed out in the morning and got off the busy freeway quickly...this road trip was all about taking it slow and relaxing'. And I love traveling country roads during the summer! 

We made a stop in Northfield, MN...a small, country/college town that has an artsy feel. I even visited an artist consignment shop and talked to them about featuring some of my art.

Then it was off to Red Wing where we checked into our favorite place to rest and get pampered--the Moondance Inn. It is a lovely victorian home turned into a B&B. We discovered it 3 years ago with a trip for our honeymoon. We've been back several times since. Definitely one of my happy places. 

After checking in and throwing our bags in the lovely Queen's Room, we jumped back in the car and headed out to our evening's destination--the Pizza Farm.

The Pizza Farm is located a few miles outside of Stockholm, WI.  Even if the pizza wasn't any good (and it is very good), just the scenic drive out to the farm would be worth it. I guess drives in the country remind me of my childhood, when we would pile into the car on a Sunday evening and go for a drive. Not with a plan to go anywhere, but just to drive and look at the countryside. 

I wonder if families do this any more?

I love seeing old white country churches like these. Again, memories of childhood.

The Pizza Farm doesn't advertise. They don't have a website. No fancy menus, just a chalkboard with a list of the evening pizzas. No tables, just a lawn with a few picnic tables. In fact, you have to bring your own paper plates, utensils, beverages and whatever side dishes you desire. 

The Pizza Farm only makes pizza...some mighty fine pizza. And only on Tuesdays. 4:30--??

We found out about the Pizza Farm during one of our many trips to Moondance. We made our first trip to the Pizza Farm last year for our anniversary. I've been dreaming of going back ever since. 

Most of the pizza ingredients are locally grown/produced...much of it right at the Pizza Farm. The pizzas are baked in the two outdoor brick ovens. This is what you get--

It's quite enjoyable eating your pizza on the lawn. Great people watching. Families, friends all meet up at the Pizza Farm. Folks bring tables, a whole spread of food, wine...it's quite the gathering. I think the pizza is enough.

And once you're done eating pizza, you can stroll around the farm and work off a little of the pizza.

There are even friendly farm animals to visit. Oh, if you do google "Pizza Farm" you will find some reviews, from food critics and bloggers--all raving about the Pizza Farm. I found this cute Sesame Street-style video here.

After our overnight stay at Moondance, we headed back home--again on country roads. We were traveling those country roads, where in the middle of almost-nowhere we saw this:

Totally unexpected, we found a Buddhist temple. We just had to turn back and take some pics!

Thank you to my love for understanding that I needed this mini-vacation. I needed a week to just relax a little and let go. I needed to re-charge and get ready to take on life again. 

And so I plan on kickin' it this coming week. But that's a story for another day. 

A Day in Stockholm

Today hubby and I took a quick road trip to the charming little town of Stockholm...Wisconsin. It is a small town filled with artists....

and gardens...

and lovely old buildings.

It was an unseasonably hot and very humid day...with thunder clouds threatening...but still it was nice to get away, relax and enjoy a brief trip out of town. Friday was my last day of work, so this was my weekend to unwind.

Stockholm is a town we love to visit every summer. Every time we visit we fantasize about what it would be like living in such a town...definitely slower-paced, but a community rich with artists. It is a town of old buildings turned into gift shops, restaurants, and galleries. In the summer all the gift shops and galleries open their doors to the tourists. And the green space is lush and filled with flowers.

There is even a lovely program that allows you to "check out" a bike or an umbrella (if there's a need) while you're visiting.

 

It was a wonderful getaway...one greatly needed and appreciated. We will definitely return to Stockholm again this summer...perhaps another time when I'm in search of a little peaceful getaway.

You can check out my whole set of pictures of our Stockholm trip at my Flickr site.