Today was one of those days. Home>work>home. Not much exciting going on around here. These are some flowers that have bloomed in the garden out front -- they are teeny, tiny, but still fun to see. These are only one of two plants I chose that have flowers, so I figured I oughta show 'em off while I've got them.

Kinda hot today, eh? Not miserable, just another blast of heat. We finally cut open the watermelon from our crop share (isn't it pretty?) and snacked on fruit pretty much all day. Except for when we rode our bikes to the ice cream shop. I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to the heat, and dare I say, I'm ready for fall. Calm down! I said FALL, not WINTER.

You guys might not know this, but there was a significant period of my life when I was a pretty huge metal fan. Make that Metal. I think it deserves the uppercase M.Anyway, given my wild, Metal teenage years, I was pretty excited to shoot the Testament/Megadeth/Slayer show tonight in St. Paul. What a dudefest! Overall I was highly entertained, especially by the people watching. And not just in the crowd! For instance, several members of Slayer wore their own band t-shirts on stage. That's either a supreme measure of confidence, or they are in dire need of laundry.I will post a full take on all three bands tomorrow, so be sure to check back in the afternoon. Earlier tonight I was sorting through all of the images to find one to post here (this is the guitarist for Testament, btw) and Jamie was looking over my shoulder. "Dude, these guys look ... angry," he said. Heh. Yeah, you could say that.UPDATE: Here is the link to the full set of photos from the evening. Including the charmer who hit on me.

I headed up north again on Friday for the Ladies of the Lake weekend in Wisconsin. Five of us drove up together, and I'm not sure what our problem was, but the normally 2-hour drive took us four hours as we hit a little traffic and we made, um, SEVEN stops along the way. (Coffee, gas, stray dog, fresh corn, cow photos *ahem*, liquor store, etc). Anyway, we had a marvelous time as always. Lots of amazing food, delicious gin and tonics (made with grapefruit soda, which I *highly* recommend) and even a little hula hooping. The weather was nice and cool, and a perfect way to rejuvenate before tonight's death metal concert. Yes, I'm hitting up the Slayer show. Oh, you just wait for the photos tomorrow.

Tonight we checked out Thom Pham's new Azia restaurant that he moved downtown. I gotta say... I was unimpressed. I mean, the food is good, fine, whatever. But it was super loud and a little too douchy for my taste -- it seemed to have lost any of the intimacy that the old Azia had. This new place just isn't my scene, but hey, I'm sure the crowds downtown stumbling between Sneeky Pete's and Bar Fly will just love it. I will say, however, that the cranberry puffs are still amazing. See? I'm not completely negative. And? This sign is pretty cool. But I'm a sucker for neon.PSI'm heading up north tomorrow to a very secluded cabin in the woods with some girlfriends. That last sentence kinda reads like a guarantee for either lesbian pillow fights or ax murderers, eh? Or both! Yeah, keep dreamin' guys. This weekend is more about cooking, beer, canoe trips and Truth or Dare. Yeah, I'm just kidding on that last one. Anyway, cell service is non-existent, so I'm fairly certain internet access is rare. If I don't post on Friday, I'll make up for it with two posts on Saturday. Just be patient, my lovelies.

Today was completely sucktastic. Wait. Let me rephrase that. Today *at work* was completely sucktastic. Ok, that's better. I got out of there around 8:30 (yes, PM) and was ready to bang my head up against the wall.But instead I met up with some lady friends over at Nick and Eddie for dinner and drinks, and man did we have a good time. Face-aching-cuz-you're-laughing-too-hard kind of good time. Anyway, later in the evening a few more folks showed up, including Eric (whom I had never met in real life, but follow over on Twitter). Eric, apparently, owed Meredith a ride on his scooter from her birthday back in April, and so off they went. It was Mere's first scooter ride, and I love how happy she looks as they are taking off. Technically? The light and focus on this photo are terrible. But who cares! Look at how happy this woman is! I love it.

I ran over to the Walker Art Center today during the lunch hour and spotted these lamps at the garden cafe. I loved the surprise of the trees on the inside of the shades -- design touches like that make me swoon.