Outing

by : Reiko Outing

Door County
湖畔バケーション

We had a wonderful opportunity to spend a long weekend in Door County.

I had heard a lot of great things about it but never had a chance to visit, so I was very excited about this trip.

We stayed at a hotel right by the lake in Sister Bay, and this was the view from our second floor room!

Every morning after breakfast I walked down to the water.

It was so peaceful.

I even did a little yoga!

This was one of our activities during our vacation.

Well, the picture was taken during our ferry trip to Washington island, but we brought something onto the ferry with us.

Yes, it was part of our segway tour!

It was my first time segwaying.

I always wanted to try but at the same time I was afraid because I was not sure if I could learn to ride it.

Well, it took me about 15 minutes to be comfortable, but then oh my, it was so much fun!!

We explored the island with on the segway.

We had lunch right by this beautiful beach.

We also visited a lavender farm and had delicious ice cream.

We had one scoop of lavender vanilla and one scoop of Door County cherry (it’s almost obligatory to have something cherry at least once in Door County!).

Sister Bay is not a big town, but their main street is cute and has some interesting things to see, like this restaurant.

Yes, these goats are real and grazing on the roof!

We also spent a few days in Fish Creek.

This town was probably my favorite.

It was packed with many stores with well selected goods!

I’ve never had so much fun shopping during a vacation!

I didn’t eat a lot of sweets during our trip, but I did enjoy these donuts from Singing Donuts, where you get to pick your own icing and topping.

This is one of the things we brought home from Fish Creek with us.

We found this perfume at a small shop close to the water, and I fell in love with the fragrance and the packaging.

They were both feminine and sophisticated.

Terry bought this for me as a gift.

This is going to be a wonderful way to remember this great vacation!

Oh, did I tell you we ziplined too?!

I’m on Instagram.

August 18, 2016

by : Reiko Eating Out, Outing, Reviews

Patisserie 46
休憩はここフランスベーカリー

Okay. This is what I would propose doing after shopping at the vintage stores.

Drive toward West and go to Patisserie 46.

This is a perfect spot for a cup of coffee (or a glass of iced coffee) and quality pastries and sweets.

I didn’t say it’s going to easy to choose just one.

There are so many well crafted beauties!

Terry had “St. Honore”: Salted caramel, carame Cream, Tahinian Vanilla mascarpone cream sabre breton & pate a choux.

This was absolutely delicious (he let me have a few bites)!

I had “Rory”: Carame mousse, salted caramel, pecan …., sabre breton,… & pate a choux.

This was absolutely delicious and rich.

The place is comfortable.

The last few times we were here, it was so crowded and I didn’t feel like I had enough time to look at everything.

I recommend going on a weekday if you can.

You will need time to look at everything before making a decision.

They also sell good-looking bread.

Your puppy will be happy here as well.

After this we were planning to visit Fort Snelling that was perfectlyy located on our way home, but we missed the exit and because there was construction everywhere and the rush hour was starting we skipped it and went home.

I hope you enjoyed my posts (this one, this, and this) about our adventure in South Minneapolis.

It’s such a great neighborhood and I recommend checking it out if you are in Minneapolis!

I’m on Instagram.

July 9, 2016

by : Reiko Outing, Reviews

Vintage Lover’s Paradise!
ヴィンテージ通り

If you come down to Sea Salt Eatery for lunch, plan to spend the afternoon in south Minneapolis.

Once you are happy and full with the delicious seafood lunch and walk around Minnehaha Park, drive up Minnehaha Avenue toward North.

There are several vintage stores clustered within a few blocks.

And if you like vintage stuff, this is a must!

(Even if you are not into vintage stuff, these shops are fun to explore.)

The first stop is Junket Tossed & Found.

Just a super cute and fun store.

Terry liked their free coffee and cookies!

The staff was very friendly.

It looks like this room was a real kitchen of the house.

Now it’s filled with all the cool vintage kitchen stuff.

Piano keys!

You just never know what you find at a vintage shop.

The next stop was Time Bomb.

This shop was also interesting.

Very well organized.

A great place for cool retro furniture.

And the last but not least was E’s Emporium.

This place looks small from outside, but the inside is much bigger than expected.

Each room was decorated uniquely and looks so comfortable that you just want to sit down on one of the couches and have a cup of tea.

Terry usually gets bored quickly with many vintage/antique stores and he often leaves and waits for me in the car.

But we both really enjoyed all these stores, and we agreed that these are some of the best vintage/antique stores we’ve ever visited!

We bought a few things from each store.

These are some of the things I came home with.

Don’t worry, Terry got something he liked, too.

I’m on Instagram.

July 8, 2016

by : Reiko Eating Out, Outing

Sea Salt Eatery
牡蠣かきカキ！

When we had one-week stay-cation last week, this place was quickly added to our to-do list.

Sea Salt Eatery!

This is located in the middle of Minnehaha Park.

Last time we were there, there was a looong line in front of the restaurant and we left.

It was a weekend, and this time we made sure to go on a weekday.

This place opens at 11 am.

We were there at 11:20, and there was a line, but not long enough to discourage us.

The staff seemed well trained, and the lined moved quickly.

There was a menu outside and inside the building.

But I didn’t need to look at it, because I came prepared!

I knew exactly what I wanted to order for myself AND Terry (lol).

Terry had scallop tacos (with my recommendation) and spinachstrawberry salad.

Terry liked them both.

The portion of the bay scallops was very generous.

For me?

I had raw oysters and fried oyster basket.

Can you tell I like oysters (lol)???

I was so happy with the lunch and extremely satisfied.

I felt my mission was accomplished that day, but we did go see the fall that is supposed to be the main feature of this park (or the second feature after the restaurant, but it depends on who you ask!).

We had a nice stroll in the park.

We could have rented a surrey, but walking felt good after the big meal.

I used to live in south Minneapolis where this park is located, actually only several blocks from it.

When I came to Minnesota from Japan 15 years ago I didn’t know anything about the twin cities.

I looked at a few houses looking for a room to rent around the cities, and I quickly decided on a house in south Minneapolis because I felt good about the neighborhood.

I rented a room in an apartment that was part of the triplex for about 5 years until I moved in with Terry in the suburb.

This area has changed so much since I left.

In my next few posts I’d like to propose a plan on how to spend an afternoon if you ever have a chance to visit this area.

So come back to check it out!

I’m on Instagram.

July 7, 2016

by : Reiko Eating Out, Outing, Reviews

Farm Pizza
農場ピザ

I’ve been living in Minnesota for almost 15 years.

I thought I knew everything about the Minnesota food scene.

I was so wrong.

Apparently I didn’t know anything about this cool place!

When I was googling trying to look for things to do during our stay-cation, this came up.

Pizza at the farm.

Or officially, A to Z Produce and Bakery.

Okay, technically it’s not in Minnesota, but it’s in Wisconsin, and we are so close to it.

I had to try it.

This is a working farm and they serve pizza only Tuesdays from 4:30 to 8:00.

You bring your own utensils, chairs (or a blanket), and non-alcoholic beverages, and you take everything (including garbage) back home with you.

I planned the whole day for this pizza dinner.

We were there at 4:20 pm.

No line. Yeah!

We quickly agreed on Green Veggie Delight.

They told us that our number was “10” and the number showing at the counter was “007”.

The lady who took our order said it would be only about 5 minutes and told us to stay around.

There were two brick pizza ovens, and they were being managed by two women.

All the pizza coming out of the ovens looked so good, and we were definitely getting ready for our dinner.

Finally we got our pizza and set up a picnic.

Lots of beautiful veggies.

And the crust was perfectly cooked.

They use flour that they grind themselves. How awesome is that?!

The pizza was delicious, and the setting was perfect!

Wherever you turn, there were photo opportunities.

This experience (spending an hour on a real farm) satisfies someone like me who fantasizes about the farm life but also knows that it is not for her.

All the work that comes with farming… I don’t think I can do it; well at least I’m honest about it.

Our dessert was from Stockholm Pie and General Store that we stopped by on our way.

The mixed berry pie and their famous double lemon pie were both delicious.

A great way to complete a farm meal, if you ask me.

Good-bye, farm.

We left the farm full and happy, and came home with one of their gorgeously rustic homemade breads.

I’m on Instagram.

July 1, 2016

by : Reiko Eating Out, Outing, Reviews

Explore Minnesota – Jordan
田舎町ふらり二人旅

I love living in the city, but I enjoy visiting the country side.

There are so many beautiful towns in Minnesota, and today we decided to visit Jordan, which is about a 45 minute drive from St. Paul.

We started with Broadway street, because we found a church on this street and there is usually a main street or the center of the town where church is.