I made a trip to the Midwest this past week, and had the time of my life. I hadn't been to Minneapolis in probably a dozen years (my husband grew up there), but had always said it'd be a city I could definitely live in.
The main objective for this trip was to cheer on the USA women's cross country skiers at the World Cup. Jessie Diggins is one of the sport's best athletes in the world. She is from Minneapolis, and is credited with bringing the World Cup to the USA for the first time in over two decades (very big deal). Needless to say, she has some hometown fans, and the crowd was absolutely wild. Jessie wears glitter on her cheeks, her hair in braids, has a giant smile plastered on her face 95% of the time and pushes herself to the maximum limit. She is a marvel.
Despite the 20 degree temps, the energy in the crowd was nuts, and for good reason. We saw some history being made in the men's finals (Alaskan Gus Schumacker won first place outta nowhere! Roaring crowds!), and our dear Jessie skied her darndest to deafening crowds chanting JE-SEE! to podium with two Norwegians. I'm not much of a sports fan, but I am now a FAN.
I observed a few style trends while spending two days standing around in freezing temperatures. First of all, these boots were everywhere and being worn by folks who clearly knew what they were in for (locals, and JD is in some of the product shots!), and I saw a cute cute family decked out in these fun parkas. Not sure how warm these parkas actually are, but they would definitely get picked up on camera when you're standing on the sidelines cheering your guts out, and make for a good beacon when lost in the crushing crowds. Also, to carry all your snacks, hot beverages, and gear? This backpack seemed to do the trick, and was also a telltale sign of a hardcore skier- you can only purchase one of these during registration for the Birkebeiner ski race!
To prepare for the trip, I procured a list of local recommendations from a friend of a friend and local Minnesotan, as well as a few other clutch Minneapolis regulars. The list was long, but we managed to visit a few places!
- Walker Art Museum. The Walker has always held a place in my heart. The architecture alone is worth the visit. The lines, texture and color combinations are reminiscent of a well tailed piece of clothing. The museum has a new fantastic bookstore-cum-furniture showroom and an excellent restaurant, where we enjoyed one of my favorite meals of the trip. On out last visit to the Walker ages ago in the summertime, they had a artist designed putt-putt golf course on their lawn, and we were able to enjoy the wonderful outdoor sculpture garden across the street!
- Martin Patrick 3- this was first suggested by my neighbor as a great men's store to check out, but they also have a newish women's section. It was seconded by Kate, so off we went! It is a giant store with all the fancy brands. It feels like Mario's...times ten! The staff was super friendly, they provided snacks and beverages and it was so fun to browse through new pieces from Bode, Dries Van Noten, Dusan.... we even ran into some Swedish athletes from the races! (William Poromaa finished 5th, Calle Halfvarsson placed 10th!)
- We popped into this cute shop called Requisite where indecision caused me to get neither this jacket nor this vest. I regret it a little, but still can't choose a favorite.
- We had many excellent meals in the city, and I was surprised by the vibe- it was totally bumping! And the crowd was styling! The people watching at the packed-to-the-gills Kim's was very fun, and rivaled the people gazing at Gai Noi. We headed straight from the airport to a prix fix dinner at Alma our first night, and it was perfect.
- I had a couple of consignment shops on my list, we didn't make it to gh2, but we did get to Fashion Avenue in Edina. It was a total pleasure to meet the owners, Gretchen and Lee, who have owned the place for 27 years! I loved oogling the many vintage Hermes scarves and beautiful Chanel pieces. I tried on a bunch of sunglasses, but ended up getting a sweet pebble leather backpack by Liebeskind, and my husband scored some great pants.
We thought the party was over as we boarded our direct flight back to Portland. But, luck would have it that we sat behind Portland local, Beth Paxson. She is the 9th American woman skier to ever race in the Olympics (1980, Lake Placid, NY)! Beth was just as excited as we were to chat all the way to baggage claim. And of course, she was thrilled to pose for a photo in her official race jacket and western hat from the opening ceremony of the OLYMPICS.
What a time!
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