Autumn Planning!

School starts this Monday morning! The annual opening day certainly throws me and Mike, headfirst, into autumn. Personally, I love this time of year. I've read again and again that many people consider labor day the new "New Year's Eve." I can buy that.


As Mike and I prepare ourselves (and our newlywed-ness) for all the professional, work-related events and goals, we have created a list (over beers at Longfellow Grill, of course) of things we'd love to do together as the trees are changing color.

Here's a glimpse:
Labor day weekend @ a lake (yay! thank you Alma and Peter!)
Long bike ride to Redwing for picnic lunch
Late summer camping trip (with Rachel!? It would be her first camping trip...)
Chili and cornbread night (maybe the perfect evening for writing some of our wedding thank you's!)
Movie Club (like a book club...except no pre-work- just a movie and some critical friends)
Mad Men Halloween Party

Today, We are super excited because we are picking up our new canoe today from REI! The canoe is a special gift from my Grandpa Len. My mom once said that Grandpa Len can be summarized through three major parts of his life: a boyscout, a marine, a Catholic. I might add stellar dad and husband (and grandpa!) to that list. Among his many talents, he would write the most beautiful letters to my sister and I. He'd decorate the envelopes with calligraphy and drawings of flowers and animals. When he signed off, I could always count on his regular reminder: Work hard, play hard, pray hard. More than ever, it's a motto that I try to practice as much as I can.


Anyway, Grandpa Len, who can't talk very well anymore but who can still sing and whistle, bought Mike and I a canoe for our wedding. It's green, pretty light, and a real classic. Although my mom wants us to name it "Gitsch" for my grandma (Jean Gitschier), I think we might name it "Lenny."


Photos to come!

Honeymoon Series: Snippets from Day 5

Saturday morning, Point Reyes Farmers Market.



This Farmers Market had quite the array of colorful vegetables and flowers, but the most impressive selections were the artisan breads, honey, and burrito booths. In this way, it reminded me of Minneapolis's Mill City Farmers Market. Mike and I ended up purchasing some bread from some local lady bakers.

Ice-creaming making!!! We found a recipe for salted caramel ice-cream in Cooking Light magazine on the airplane to San Francisco. Although Mike has always doubted desserts in "Cooking Light," I pointed out that the only difference here was the use of 2% instead of whole milk or heavy cream. Since it was the only ice cream recipe we had, we decided to give it a whirl:



(It was incredible).

And now, some commentary post trail running around Shell, Pebble, and Hearts Desire Beaches on Tomales Bay. Topics include vultures, small children, and melted spatulas:





Commentary from McClure's Beach on the Pacific:

13.1 Minneapolis

After a summer of reasonably tough training, I managed a half-marathon PR (personal record: 1:52:04...5 minutes faster than my spring half marathon- 1:57:24) this morning in Minneapolis!  Hooray.  I don't want to yammer on too much about the run, but it is worth mentioning on this blog because Mike is truly my number one fan.  Not only did he get up at quarter to six on Sunday morning to drive me to the race, he also managed to cheer for me at five points during the 13.1 miles.  Record-breaking husband material, right there folks. 

Here's some clips from the big morning:





Crossing the finish!



Festivities at the finish line:

Honeymoon Series: Snippets From Day 4

A demonstration: even our morning grocery run embodies the themes of our honeymoon.



Worn out from our hiking adventures on day 2 and 3, we decided to spend some time reading our books on Shell Beach, a small beach on Tomales Bay.



Hoping to catch the sunset, we left Shell Beach and headed to Kehoe Beach on the Pacific. Not what we expected, but Mike tries to stay positive:



Leaving Kehoe, we found sanctuary back at Almost Pi.



Note Mike's classic navy sweatshirt, quite the thrift store find (especially after spotting the exact same sweatshirt at a local goods store for $30 more).

Views from the coastal trail.

Honeymooon Series: Day 3 Adventures

Our third day was packed with adventure. A big fan of trail running, I decided to take advantage of the scenic paths. Mike dropped me off from a trailhead seven miles out, and then he hiked from a different trailhead about three and half miles out. The plan was to meet about an hour later at Alamere Falls, a (sort of) secret place off the coastal trail.

The plan went somewhat awry. First of all, I am embarrassed to admit that I was way more scared on the lonely trails than I had imagined. Things were all sunshine as I was climbing up the ridge, but as I sailed down the mountain towards the coast, some negative visions of mountain lions took over. With fog drifting through mossy redwoods and not a person in sight, I think I set a PR (personal record).

Back on the ol' reliable coastal trail (tried and true), I felt safe again. But, as the clock started ticking at the trailhead to Alamere Falls, I started to wonder about Mike. Where was he? Two passing hikers claimed that they left from the same parking lot as Mike about an hour before and they hadn't seen him. Just as I started to get really worried, Mike and his blue backpack came over the crest. He had forgotten his wallet, so he went back to Almost Pi after he dropped me off. Then, understandably, he got lost in Bolinas.


Reunited, we hiked an unmaintained trail down to Alamere Falls.

First in what will likely be many nature videos

I heart nature. And nature vids, of course. David Attenborough is pretty much the dude in my book. I may not have the budget or know-how that the production team of Planet Earth had, but that didn't stop me from taking some perhaps not-completely-fascinating footage of exotic California wildlife (yes, horses made the cut. Look at their masks and tell me that's not crazy bananas).

So, for installment one of nature video series: the fabled, masked horses of Almost Pi.



Oh yeah, and there are sheep. Booyah.

More dog love

As promised, Rachel is here to represent herself and all her canine kin again. In this post, simply some Lady & The Tramp-esque shots of her and Max The Dog Vasich. In love.

Finally, a dinner worth mentioning.

Back in Minneapolis for over a week, it was high time for some quality cooking. This summer, we have been getting our first CSA share from Ploughshare farm. For those of you unfamiliar with CSA's, it's basically heaven in a box for vegetable lovers. We've been really lucky with Ploughshare; we get a "mini-share" and we are never able to finish all the veggies in one week.

This week's box had SWEET CORN!!! This is great news; I can actually eat like five ears of corn in one sitting. Tonight, I just had two.



Half-joking, Mike and I like to tease each other with sly remarks like, "Now, that's husband level." The compliments are always a bit tongue in cheek because, ya know, our Macalester education taught us a little about the perils of hetero-normativity, but, to be honest, we are also genuinely appreciative when we step up our game for each other.

Hence, the homemade bread. That is wife-level.

Honeymoon Series: Snippets from Day 2

The daily breakfast quandary- bovine or no bovine?



Solved.



Journey to Mt. Wittenberg:



View from (almost) the top:



Amazing Mountain Creature!



Results are in; Banana Slug is the infamous mascot of UC Santa Cruz.

Proof of the Love Calculator's incredible accuracy

As previously noted, The Love Calculator is a site where you insert two names, and a percentage of compatibility is determined for the couple. As Molly and I scored 98%, obviously LC is worth its weight in gold- but to further demonstrate its ability, note the incredibly accurate calculation derived from the following parties:



These animals are indeed enamored with each other, and happen to be our dog: Rachel the Dog, and my parents' dog: Max the Dog Vasich. Pictures to show what should be a fairly self-explanatory love connection:
(Rachel left, Max right with bros Chris and Paul, and Dad Milt)












This post also serves as an introduction to a subject that will likely be a frequent blog icon: the aforementioned Rachel the Dog. For those who don't know, Rachel was a surprise (quite literally!) Christmas gift from Molly, and we brought her up from but a wee pup, and now are quite in love with our little wild one. Many more Rachel posts to follow...

Jenga Competitors

Mike and I have a passion for games- board games, yard games, cards, and sports of almost every variety (Except for video games; I am hardly ever a participant because I have no game. Mike is the record holder for every category of video game in this household).

In fact, our penchant for game playing has been known to rub off on our eager friends. Within a few weeks, "Time's Up" became the game of choice both in the Longfellow and Powderhorn neighborhoods. And more recently, Dixit, the game of visual storytelling, has discovered a dedicated following in the Dale & Victoria neighborhood in St. Paul. And of course, Parcheesi and euchre remain regular go-to's.

During our honeymoon, we spent a few evenings raiding my Aunt Jane's game collection at Almost Pi. The first night, we indulged in a rather competitive round of the all time classic, Jenga, as the pasta water reached a boil.

We captured a few nearly treacherous moments; both for your enjoyment, and to catch each other at sneaky cheating (oops, I mean to demonstrate our skillful balancing abilities).

Honeymoon Series: Snippets From Day 1

Breakfast at the Minneapolis Airport.





SFO!



Tour of "Almost Pi," Point Reyes, California

Introductory Post.

Our wedding day certainly marked the start of a new era for us.  It seems only appropriate to begin this stage with a joint blog.  A funny urge, perhaps, but we've talked about hosting such a blog for while. 

For those of you who know us, you might admit that it's a wonder that such different people manage to complement each other so well.  We often tease each other that it's lucky that we met in person because internet dating bases would never pair us (On the other hand, lovecalculator.com set us at 98% compatible; a result only bested by Mike's brother, Chris, and Adolf Hitler).  Yes, we both graduated from Macalester College, both the product of non-divorced parents...but the buck pretty much stops there.

Yet, differences can be pretty much awesome.  We inspire, surprise, and challenge each other so that our lives never get too dull!  Hence, perfect material for a Minneapolis-based marriage blog...something for everybody.  Our blog will include collaborative posts, as well as individual contributions, photos, podcasts, and video footage (from our very own "Small Wonder!" camcorder).  Most of our content will focus on our life in the Twin Cities, but we will also draw from our travels. 

Enjoy and please comment!!!!

Honeymoon Sneak Peak

A small gadget appropriately named "Small Wonder" was a favorite wedding gift. We captured many memorable moments from our honeymoon in Point Reyes, California with the mini camcorder! We will share many of the clips here over the next few weeks. So, stay tuned!

Here's our trip crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Just Mike, Molly, and a car full of Trader Joe's groceries (and wine!).