Take a little trip.

October was full of adventures. I made my way up to Minneapolis/St. Paul to visit my friend Caroline, as well as to catch the famous Sally McKenney of sallysbakingaddiction.com on her first ever book tour! Caroline accompanied me to the Williams Sonoma at the Mall of America to wait in line to meet Sally! What a pal! And was it worth the wait 🙂

Sally’s Candy Addiction is her second book that she’s promoting on this tour, but her first book, Sally’s Baking Addiction, is one that I’ve had in my cookbook collection for some time. I also looked back at at when I bookmarked some recipes on her site and I figured out that I’ve been following her for 4 years! She’s an inspiration and in fact a really nice girl in person. I also got to meet her husband! It was well worth the drive to get a hug, photo, and autograph from one of my favorite bloggers!

Besides spending time at the mall, I accompanied Caroline to her favorite neighborhood cafe, The Finnish Bistro, in the St. Anthony Park area of St. Paul. What a cute, quaint little shop! The atmosphere was busy but not rushed, the baked goods were delightful, and the employees were very kind. I would definitely visit there again in a heart beat.

Spinach-Cheddar scone anyone?

After lattes and scones, we also had to check out the famous Colossal Cafe, where their breakfast plates were…well, colossal! I don’t think I’ve had a better, or bigger toasted sandwich. Everything on the menu is made from scratch, and it definitely showed.

The place was TINY and packed, but their system for taking orders and finding diners was very efficient. This obviously wasn’t their first rodeo when it came to running a business.

If THAT weren’t enough excitement for one day, we HAD to make an obligatory trip to IKEA, since there isn’t one in Omaha. Well, I had to make the trip…Caroline was so gracious as to tag along and eventually help me get my prize into the car. Now that was saying something as my purchase was very heavy, even though it came in several boxes! Imagine my husband’s surprise when I came home with this: (well, in pieces…)

It was really meant to be a dresser, but it was just the right height, length, and depth to fit in our dining room as a buffet. I now have a place to put all of my extra baking utensils, cookbooks, crockpots, and during parties, I can easily clear the top to act as a serving space for multiple trays of goodies. It is absolutely perfect, right down to the finish, and I love it!

Of course I couldn’t leave IKEA without swinging through the grocery department for some sparkling pear juice and lingonberry jam–and while I was there I found some more cookbooks! I decided these needed to be in my life, who are we kidding, so they came home with me! I’m slowly but surely adding to my collection, (addiction) one book at a time.

Saying goodbye to St. Paul wouldn’t be complete without a stroll through the beautiful neighborhood. The trees were to DIE for this season. I think they were more colorful in Minnesota than they were back home in Nebraska. I can’t prove it, but it sure seemed that way. Take a gander!