|
 |
March 19th, 2010
Confession: We have tiny case of road rage. Our patience for rush-hour traffic is thinner than Posh Spice on a detox diet. (Darnit! We just got Wannabe out of our head, like, yesterday.) The good thing is our bark is worse than our bite, and our outbursts (well, most of them) remain inside our sedan. Instead of rolling down the window and flipping the bird, we simply give the Suburban-swerving perpetrator a glare and change lanes like a nice Minnesotan. Add spring weather to the mix and so begins the battle of the boulevard. We kung-fu grip the wheel as we weave around potholes with needlepoint precision, jaws clenched and brows furrowed with each stop-and-crawl construction zone. (Did you know they fill those buggers in the middle of the day?) All of it has us swearing we’re moving to a three-season state, the rural countryside, or just anywhere we can avoid Crosstown. But then we realize we said that last year, and the year before, and the year before that… Okay, so we are Minneapolitans to the core. Maybe we’ll just look into anger-management classes. |
||
Minneapolis Picks: |
|||
| 1 | You’ll Totally Flip While we L-O-V-E the beach and would never dis thy sandy sacredness, we wouldn’t hear of saving flip flops only for tropical vacations or lakeside sunbathing. Those cool and comfy, single-strap suckers are half the reason we look forward to summer (that, and a beautifully bronzed bod). Heck, they are half the reason we like shoes! Perhaps the last place you’d expect to find a locally owned shoe shop would be MOA, but that’s the genius part about Flips. People from all corners of the globe consider flip flops a closet mainstay, so why not set up shop smack-dab in the busiest mall in the world? And boy, do they take their tootsie-touting thongs seriously, offering 200 styles throughout their small, but skillfully designed setup. You want it, they got it—men’s, women’s, leather, rubber, suede, wedge, sporty, cushy, blinged-out, flower-adorned, animal print—and more than 25 of the most popular sandal brands around. One stop at this shop and you’ll totally get why Hollywood hoards Havaianas, surfers rock Reefs and Olukais, and the rest of us scoop up enough flip flops to outfit a seaside city! Flips |
|
|
| 2 | Poodles of Fun We’re kind of obsessed with our friend’s dog. He’s friendly, adorable, and follows orders without a fight (woman’s best friend, indeed). So naturally, we’ve been thinking about getting a pup of our own. But where do we go from there? Lulu & Luigi is where. Their small shop is filled to the brim with everything we’d ever need for our new friend, from healthy, natural food to cozy dog beds and carriers to stylin’ collars and outfits. There are even dog-safe cookies and cakes for a special treat. Walk to the back and you’ll find the adorably named Grooming Pawlour whose list of coat, nail, and hydrotherapy services would give any human salon a run for its money. (Of course, basic trims and baths are available too.) As if we weren’t already in love, the staff at Lulu & Luigi could not be better. Not only do they share our passion for furry companions, but they know a hella lot about proper dog nutrition and all-around care. One visit will give you everything you need to provide the very best for your furry friend. Lulu & Luigi |
|
|
| 3 | Essential Scents Scent-shopping isn’t usually a pleasant experience for us. We’re easily overwhelmed by the choices cluttering the department store counters, not to mention the harrowing gauntlet of salespeople and sample-pushers we have to clear in order to get to them. Maybe we’ll just stick to Jovan Musk? But wait. La Petite Parfumerie is the anti-cosmetic-counter experience. The shop is calm and organized, with a high-end, diverse inventory that’s hard to find anywhere else in town. Its starts with a few simple questions (do you prefer floral? citrus? spicy?), and then the helpful staff will guide you toward the right product. And besides smelling good, LPP products emphasize quality, made with natural oils and extracts that product scents both more natural and longer-lasting. But La Petite Parfumerie is not just about perfume. It is also a treasure trove of cosmetics, skincare, and home fragrance. Well-established brands like Kiehl’s share space with French names like L’Occitane and, as with perfume, you can always try before you buy. LPP has wonderful hostess gifts too; we melted (ha!) over the collection of scented candles by Diptyque—and even Godiva. La Petite Parfumerie |
|
|
| Chick Picks: | |||
| 1 | Relax and Recharge Nothing beats a small patch of grass to chill out and recharge the ’ole batteries, so perhaps it’s only natch to offer the same to your gadgets and gizmos. Meet the lean, mean, and green charging machine. The Grass Charging Station by Kikkerland contains lush plastic blades that hide the clutter of cords while keeping gadgets upright, making this funky and functional bin of faux-lawn a real cut above the rest. |
 |
|
| 2 | Whimsical Walls We devour design shows like a fat kid consumes cake, but looking around our digs, three sad words come to mind: blah, boring, and bleck. We simply don’t have the skills for stenciling, stamping or painting needed to primp our pad. Finally we’ve found a fetching peel-and-stick solution. Surface Flik offers fab art that you can simply slap up above the sofa. Best of all, more time for Home & Garden TV. |
 |
|
| 3 | Old-Country Love We can thank our Finnish grandmother for many of the things we love today—just-out-of-the-oven leipä, light-roast coffee, a small head scarf tied tightly a under our chin on a chilly day. So our jaws dropped when we stumbled upon some modern-day “babushkas” by The HOOD, handmade with vintage lining, Eco-Fi Felt, or materials salvaged from old umbrellas. Warm, chic, and water-resistant? Our grandmother would be proud! |
 |
|
Hip Happenings: |
|||
| 1 | Ohh, the Flossy, Flossy Adding to the glitz and glam of its chic clothing and shop décor, Belle Reve is ramping up for its upcoming event to help you spring into this season’s fashions. Get your peepers prettified by the pros at the lash bar, tantalize your taste buds with complimentary champagne and cupcakes, and receive 15% off featured trunk show collections. What: Let’s Get Glam Lash Bar & Trunk Show |
 |
|
| 2 | Wild Wheeling Women We loved Juno, which made us adore Ellen Page, which made us race to see Whip It, which now has us fascinated by roller derby. While we’re total wimps, we’re all about watching chicks on skates (wo)man-handle each other, especially our local pack of Helen Wheels’. Expect us to be glued to the action like a geek at a Star Trek convention. What: Wild Wild Midwest - Roll in the Hay with the North Star Roller Girls |
 |
|
| 3 | Rock-solid Style Clothes may make the fashion show, but music makes the fashion show fun. MNFashion Week’s annual rockin’ runway show, Voltage: Fashion Amplified, returns to debut local designers’ Spring 2010 lines alongside a premier lineup of bands including Red Pens and Blue Sky Blackout. Score sweet swag including Voltage Lookbook and a 2010 Compilation CD. What: Voltage: Fashion Amplified |
 |
|
Help us grow our circle of friends and share the Shop/Eat/Explore Local love—sign up a friend for a free subscription at www.MinneapolisPicks.com! |
|||
Be sure to visit www.MinneapolisPicks.com and check out past issues in our archives. If you like what you see, forward to a friend and encourage them to check out www.MinneapolisPicks.com and subscribe for free! It's easy--there's a box in the upper left to enter your email address. If you would like to make a suggestion, please email us at contribute@MinneapolisPicks.com. Share your favorite ideas for Picks, tell us about terrific products or services, announce a sale or event, or let us know what you think of Minneapolis Picks! Website and weekly issues maintained by Studio Ridge.com. |
|||
