MN: on the street

I promise, this is the last post about Minnesota and the Market. Just wanted to share my Minneapolis wanderings.

I love people-watching. I love wandering the streets of big cities, taking it in, wondering where people are going and where they came from. Often when Casey goes on business trips, I tag along and when he’s in meetings I hit the street with my backpack and camera. I have no problem spending an entire day alone, soaking in new sights.

So when I got to Minneapolis, I did just that. I walked two blocks from our hotel down Nicolette Mall and this is what a saw.
A hip downtown, with a wide spectrum of city dwellers. From business men and women, to little thugs, trendy shoppers, families, tourists…..the downtown was just like any other big city…..
People living life and enjoying what their community has to offer.I happened to be there on Farmer’s Market day, which makes any place feel charming.
Wandering the streets I found indie used bookshops:
A Target store for setting up an office! Brilliant. Target headquarters are in MN, so I felt right at home seeing that red bulls-eye everywhere.
There were local sounds.
colorful benches:
and colorful walls:
People wore hats.
They shopped the market stands:
Came with kids:
Seemed to like their job:
wondered why I was taking pictures…
sat down for Happy Hour,
took a break with co-workers (or bought a hotdog from a little stand),
while I enjoyed the pretty flowers.
and this sparkly wall. The headboard above the shop was made with thousands of sequins and when the wind blew it was just breathtaking.
Yes Minneapolis, you did justice to the mid-west for these two California Natives.
But I won’t lie….you do have an accent. I heard it everywhere I went and every time you said the word “bAAAAg” (bag). But it made me smile.

and so did this girl:
That’s right! We finally met up with Anna from Noodlehead. She joined us Saturday morning at the Market and she had the same cute Minn-A-sooo-dan accent.

She’s just what you’d imagine: kind, cute, easy-going, incredible fabric knowledge, and humble about her (amazing) skills.
We wandered the market together chatting about this and that and Oooo-ing over the impressive stuff. Then we left the downtown, on a fabric adventure.
Anna drove us to a place many of you recommended, the SR Harris Fabric Outlet:
It’s a huge warehouse full of fabric bolts. Everything is 50% off the price listed and you cut it yourself.
There was almost too much to look at.
It’s not a place for cute cotton prints. Crafty Planet is much better for that (we hoped to stop there but ran out of time). If you ever need knits, lycra, linen, wool, suiting, costuming, etc. this place is great. I’ll be adding this info to my FAQs Fabric section.
And how did we blow off the rest of the night? At MOA of course!
Whenever I see “MOA” my mind thinks “Museum of Art”. Here in Minnesota, however, that stands for Mall of America.
I know, I know, why go to a stuffy shopping mall when there’s so much city to see. But….it’s the MALL of AMERICA?! It’s 4 miles of shopping? With an amusement park in the middle and an aquarium in the basement? Had to stop by. Had to stock up on H&M and Forever 21 favorites. Had to eat yummy Italian at Tucci’s Restaurant.

Thank you Anna for being our tour guide! And thank you Minneapolis for having us.
That’s a Market wrap!

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