MinneSOOOOta

I figured while I'm sitting in bed watching Teen Mom (go ahead and judge) and chowing down on leftover airplane snacks I should probably blog about the fun times I've been having the last week and a half.

I spent about a week in Minnesota with this lovely lady:

My gorgeous biffle (and bridesmaid) Rachael and the Minneapolis skyline 

 I've driven across the country a few times, but have never actually spent any real time in the Midwest.  Rachael had a wonderful itinerary planned including:

Dinner and drinks at Chino Latino

This drink was called the "Passionate Explosion" and was "meant to be shared"

You can kind of see the near empty plate of deliciousness next to the small pool of deliciousness we ordered.  I only thing I can suggest more than eating at this restaurant is to call (wayyyy) in advance to make a reservation.  It was crowded with bachelorette and birthday parties, but we ended up with a large booth all to ourselves.  The fact that we were given a booth (meant for six people) was a little frustrating because we had tried to change our reservation to 4 people in the morning and the hostess said no way.  When we made our reservation we were told that the only available times for a party of two were 5pm and 8:45pm so we chose to eat later so we could head straight out to keep drinking meet up with Rachael's friends afterwards.  We ordered one small plate (plantain nachos) and one large plate (some kind of delicious chicken over rice.  It's served family style dining and was totally filling.  We finished our drink before heading out to the rooftop bars (where the picture of Rachael was taken.)  

The next day we headed to the Minnesota State Fair 

Even the fruit was fried.... and on a stick

I basically ate my way through the fair... and yes most of it was fried or on a stick, but all was delicious.  We I managed to kill a huge bag of kettle corn as we walked from food stand to food stand.  If you ever get to attend the "great Minnesota get together" please try to the pork chop on a stick, the ice cream made with wine, and grilled sweet corn.  WARNING:  If you visit the "'Miracle of Birth' Center" you WILL see animals being born.  I know wayyyy too much about how sheep give birth now, but the newborn lamb was absolutely adorable.  

Absolutely Nothing (YAYYYYY!)

Rachael and I spent the rest of the week shopping, sharing bottles of wine, running random errands, watching gems from Netflix Instant Watch like "My So-Called Life," getting our nails done, and spending wayyy too much time at Target. 

Rachael modeling a Target hair accessory only a Sevillana could love.

It was wonderful to have a legitimate vacation.  No one cared if we spent all day in our pajamas or slept in unacceptably late.  Thank you for such a wonderful time Rach!  I can't believe the next time I'll be seeing you is just a few days before I get married!

All photos in this post are personal.  Obviously.