Shopping Extravaganza

My sister and I love to go shopping together, and ever since I knew I would be going home to Minnesota, we have been talking about and planning our shopping trip! 🙂

Naturally, we went to the Twin Cities for a full day of shopping!

I made an itinerary for us, but of course we fell behind schedule with all of our stops.

Target

REI

I love the entrance to REI in Bloomington.

TC Running Company

We love this running store and highly recommend it! We always get great service—and a 20% discount doesn’t help. 😉

I got a pair of Saucony Ride 4.

I have previous run in the Ride 3, and I think I am really going to like the 4s!

(Source)

Our next stop:

Trader Joe’s

I heart you Trader Joe’s. One day I will live much closer to you!

I only got a few things since I was limited to bringing shelf items and items that didn’t require refrigeration back with my in my suitcase.

We then made a pit stop at Caribou Coffee for a smoothie on a very warm summer day in Minnesota! 🙂

I had a coupon for a $1 smoothie for signing up for their e-mails.

We tried the pineapple coconut smoothie. It was good, but very sweet!! Too sweet.

My sister is so cute!

Whole Foods

A foodie’s mecca!

By this time I was starving, so it was time to get some food at the French Meadow Bakery and Cafe.

I had been here once before and was so impressed by the quality of food and the awesome values they stand for that I had to bring my sister here.

I think it is a good sign when the line is out the door. We did have to wait for a while, but it was worth it!

I ordered the Spa Salad

Mixed organic field greens, grilled spiced tofu, edamame, red bell peppers, carrots, toasted sunflower seeds, fresh beets, scallions, and orange vinaigrette.

Definitely one of the best salads I have ever had!

I loved all the different mix-ins—especially the grilled tofu. I have no idea what seasonings they used, but I would love to be able to recreate it!

Kristy ordered the Free-Range Turkey and Gouda Sandwich

Hormone-free smoked turkey with Eichten’s local Gouda, cranberries, red onions, fresh organic spinach, and maple dijon mustard on organic white sourdough bread.

The sandwich was really good.

Our only complaint was that the bread did not seem very fresh. It was slightly dried out and the sandwich could have used some extra mustard. All-in-all it was still delicious!

Kristy was a little possessive of her food. I told her she had to share with me otherwise I would de-friend her on Facebook.

She complied.

After a very enjoyable meal outside (!), we were off to the shopper’s mecca: The Mall of America.

(Source)

We went into the following stores:

– Loft

– American Apparel

– Lululemon

– J. Crew

– Nordstrom Rack

– Bath & Body Works

– Victoria’s Secret

– New York & Co.

After all that walking, it was time for ice cream. . . . actually gelato!

Neither of us had had gelato, so we were excited to try it.

What is gelato?

Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert very similar to ice cream.

The biggest difference is that gelato has a lower fat content, but a higher sugar content.

We tried three different kinds:

– red velvet cake

– raspberry peanut butter

– cheesecake

It was very good, but I think I need to go to Italy to see how it compares to the real thing! (What do you think, Honey??)

My sister and I had so much fun together!!

I am so glad we got to spend time together. I just wish we didn’t live so far away. And to think she we are going to be on the opposite ends of the country pretty soon—her in North Carolina and me in Alaska. 🙁