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Fun Friday: City Love

What do you love about the city you live in?  I grew up in a tiny town - well I take that back, I didn't even live IN town.  I lived in the country.  Population 4 - me, mom, dad and the neighbor who had 82 cats.   I had ONE friend who lived "up the hill" and we would play once a week or so.  Let's just say I spent a lot of time playing with Barbies alone.  I was always jealous of the "town kids" who could A. Walk home and B. Always have playmates at their disposal.  Living in the boondocks also meant driving at least 20-25 minutes to "get to town" where there were restaurants, movie theaters, ONE Mall, etc.   I remember how awesome it was when the town 15 min away got a Subway, LOL.

I've lived in the "big city" for almost 8 years now (holy hell I'm getting old).  I love it.  I can't imagine living in a small town (or in the country) again.  What do I love about Minneapolis?

1.  Convenience:  I can pick from any number of stores within 10 minutes of my house (Cub, Rainbow, Trader Joe's, Super America, Holiday, Target, Walmart, etc).  And there is that annoying mecca known as the MALL OF AMERICA if I *really* feel the urge to shop and get run over by people who can't drive a baby stroller to save their lives.

2.  Theater/Music:  We haven't gone to many plays lately, but we need to get back on it!  We use to have season tickets to the Guthrie and we really enjoyed it.  I love all the theater Minneapolis has to offer from well known (The Guthrie) to small community theaters.  For example, a few upcoming shows in the area include The Lion King, West Side Story, Mamma Mia!, CAKE, Florence + The Machine, just to name a FEW.

3. FOOD!  Minneapolis has some amaaaazing restaurants.  I'm working on slowly trying as many as money and time and waistline allows.  Places we've tried for the first time this year include Nye's Polonaise Room, The Bad Waitress, Common Roots, Azia, Il Gato, and The Local.  On deck is Uptown Cafeteria, Tilia, and Lowbrow.  Minneapolis also has some great organic, local co-ops and farmers markets.

4.  Stuff to do:  Are you bored?  Well, you can go to the aforementioned MOA, the zoo (MN or Como), art museums, lakes, vineyards, Science Museum, History Museum, outdoor baseball, Mill City Museum, a variety of art festivals and outdoor music events in the summer, antiquing in Stillwater, hipster watching in Uptown, or checking out the NE Arts District.

Welcome to the city I love!