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November 13th, 2009
When we first moved in with our honey we had romantic visions of loungey Sunday mornings spent snuggled up in bed together with steamy mugs of coffee and the newspaper spread over chic, down linens. What we got was a snoring cover-hog wrapped up in a bevy of noxious man-fumes the like of which we had never dreamed possible. We’re a mere 10 years in to this whole relationship thing and we’re beginning to understand why people in the olden days slept solo, a la Lucy and Desi, and it wasn’t because they were being prim and proper. It was because those women had mothers who tipped them off to the nitty-gritty details of bed sharing, i.e. big-honkin’ man feet and inadvertently planting your face in a furry pit during innocent roll-overs. Geez, there’s an image for you. Those matching twins are looking pretty darn good, aren’t they? Know what else looks good? The sassy paper goods from TweeCards (see below). The first reader to forward this issue to 5 or more friends and cc: picks@minneapolispicks.com will score a set of their cool cards! |
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Minneapolis Picks: |
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| 1 | Good Butt Day Six Bikram classes, one sauna, and three days of juice fasting later we are, for the moment, having a Good Butt Day. So much better for the ego and love-life than a mere good hair day, this occasion demands just the right jeans to showcase our newly developed pride and joy, and only one pair of jeans will do—the Miss Me brand super-tighties with the totally blinged-out posterior we spied at the candy colored, girly-girl shop Pink Door Boutique. Masters of bringing an eye-popping chic to the south-of-the-river set, Pink Door offers up labels that are seriously local, like Poles and Pistols, and the style-centric owner’s own line, Lake Girl, as well as a trend-worthy selection of home-décor musts. Now that we’re feeling so toned and trendy, we can’t resist the Cakes & Beans tutu and bow sets for our sweet niece, and the super-softie Whimsical Child bib for that couples-and-cocktails baby shower coming up next week (our favorite kind). If we stick with the carrot juice and cucumber water, we might even be able to slip into our Miss Me’s again on Saturday night. Pink Door Boutique |
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| 2 | Oh, My Love… Romance, suspense and pottery—three things that made us “believe” in Ghost, our top guilty-pleasure movie of all time. While Demi has moved on from clay-thrower to cougar, we still find ourselves with a lingering attraction to pottery (and a young Patrick Swayze). Sadly, we never could get that wheel thing down. Thankfully, divine intervention brought us to a local studio that has been wheeling handmade Asian-inspired pottery and abstract oil paintings for years. Elva Pottery applies thoughtful designs and complex firing techniques to each vase, bowl, platter, jar and mug. Smooth, glossy exteriors meet rough, sand-like edges on sophisticated, scratch-resistant stoneware. Such durable ceramics make for excellent everyday kitchen use, such as sugar jars, creamers and fruit bowls. The porcelain dishware is nothing like your grandmother’s China—earthy tones, handmade inflections and modern contours form pieces that, simply put, would not look good on a doily. (What does, really?) While it can be debated whether or not we have good taste in films, you can bet we know when form meets function—and this studio of fire-glazed goodness definitely fits the mold. Evla Pottery |
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| 3 | Some Like it Hot It’s that time of year again—when we get the urge to go into hibernation mode. The constant overcast, chilly weather and drab landscape make us want to cocoon ourselves up in fleece and pass out until the spring solstice—not to mention carbo-load, inducing that extra “layer” of warmth. Fortunately, the one thing that gets us up off our ever-expanding derriere is a good ‘ole ladies’ night. For such an occasion lives Azia’s sidekick, Caterpillar Lounge, offering the perfect mix of martinis, maki, and music. With a sexy, red-lit bar and limited wrap-around seating, the cozy yet contemporary space is an ideal backdrop for serving up sake and award-winning sushi. We chose to pair a Mango Mojito with the generously sized Double Crazy Tuna—creating a sensual infusion of sweet and spice! The Caterpillar Lounge |
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| Chick Picks: | |||
| 1 | Say It Like It Is We’re not the best at expressing our sentiments, and more often than not our flustered and tongue-tied ways have us jotting down words on whatever we find laying around, most recently a post-it. Ugh—tacky and embarrassing. The dynamic duo of bad taste. Thankfully we have TweeCards. This kitschy online purveyor boasts an artfully handcrafted and at times delightfully snarky collection of cards and personalized stationeary that perfectly conveys everything from birthday wishes to job-loss woes. |
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| 2 | Masters of Disguise We hate to say it, but we’ve let ourselves go. We don’t know if it’s the wine, the lack of funds to pay for our yoga classes, or just plain and simple laziness, but our upper arms are starting to freak us out! We are this close to bat wings! Solution? Hide those suckers under the Fleetwood Kaftan. Not only is it comfy and cool, but it hugs our curves and hides our squishy spots in an ultra stylish manner. |
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| 3 | Kiss-Kiss We’re already fighting dryness and dullness (um… on our faces… not our lives in general… that’s another issue) and it hasn’t even dipped below 30 degrees outside. So what’s a Northern girl to do? Moisturize? Sure. But exfoliation is where it’s at. That’s where the sassy scrubs from Villainess come in. Lately we’re obsessing about their “Shanghaied Smooch,” a brightening, gentle blend of rice bran and bamboo that’s sure to bring out the springtime glow in your winter-kissed skin. www.villainess.net |
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Hip Happenings: |
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| 1 | Cache at the Casket Embrace the arts at Cache at the Casket. Fifty ultra-talented local artists will be showcasing their mad skills by offering up jewelry, pottery, sculpture, textiles, and more. Plus patrons can nosh on delish food, listen to blues music, take in a silent auction and raffle benefiting Ampersand Families, and enjoy live art demos. What: Cache at the Casket |
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| 2 | Art + Shopping = Heaven We love shopping. We love art. Therefore we love that newbie boutique BlackBlue is hosting a cool art opening featuring the Polaroid photography of local artist Nadine Gross. More than 500 unique shots will be for sale with delish wines and cheeses available for noshing! Partygoers will also score 10% off all store merchandise for the entire evening! What: Art Opening at BlackBlue |
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| 3 | Attention Stylish Dojos! Get your gifty-goodness on at Miyagi, where a bevy of hip goods including knitwear, hats, accessories, stationery, and jewelry will be up for grabs with a silent auction featuring discontinued Aveda merch and complimentary eye and/or lip makeovers (RSVP for those) rounding out the mix! Feeling generous? Bring non-perishable food items for a chance to win cool prizes! What: High Fashion Holiday Hi-Jinx Second Annual Trunk Show |
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Man—how do we keep coming up with this stuff? I guess we’re just that good. You best sign up all your pals for www.MinneapolisPicks.com and share the love. This delish dish is too good to not share! |
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