Elaine found this perfect "60 LOOKS GOOD ON ME" sash. The deal is that someone has to wear it in every group photo. Yvonne modeled it first. We were driving to a late lunch stop when Elaine spotted this "Big, Fun Garage Sale" sign. We had to stop and check it out!

 

Our goal here was cake testing: what kind of cake did we want for this fabulous birthday party. But while we were here at Café Latte, we had to test out the soups and salads, too. They definitely passed muster!

 

After a stop at The Walker Museum (which was too crowded so we will try again tomorrow), we went to Uptown Arts Fair. Both received many Ms and Ws (Must Do and Want to Do) on the interest survey. Today's weather is perfect for walking around outdoors on a nicely shaded street. Beautiful and fascinating art that I either forgot to take pictures of or couldn't take pictures of at the artist's request. There were many food trucks, too, but the only one I stopped at was the SPAM truck with free samples. Brenda and I tried SPAM fries and BBQ SPAM jalapeño tacos with pineapple salsa. Elaine, Yvonne, Marilyn, and Susan didn't.

 

We spent a lot of time in between activities sitting around Elaine's dining room table. No! Not drinking wine or eating goodies from our gift bags, Silly! We are looking at old photos and high school annuals and reminiscing!

 

Liquor stores are closed on Sundays in MN, so we needed to get some reserves just in case we run out tomorrow. Plus, Brenda needed to cash in her winning MN crossword lottery ticket (she had 4 words!). Then it was on to Broder’s Pasta Bar, an amazing Italian food restaurant. They said it would be a 2-hour wait but it was worth it. Plus, we could play Words With Friends live with each other while we waited (and enjoy the beautiful weather and each other's company). It was really worth the wait. Elaine and Marilyn each had the famous #11. I had #14 cannelloni with lamb. Great wait staff, too.

 

Elaine Swanson claims to not be Martha Stewart, but fresh flowers in every room? And check out this brilliant idea: we each have our own color towels and they were in a basket on our bed...very handy to have a basket to take your belongings and your towel to the bathroom and it looks cute to boot! #awesomehostess

 

 

 

Delicious breakfast for six birthday girls at The Zumbro! I had veggie eggs benedict (asparagus, spinach, and tomato).

 

Next stop Minnehaha Park: a great park, natural beauty, pleasant stroll, and more fun times with friends.

 

Driving around Minneapolis and Saint Paul enjoying the beauty (so much green!), architecture, history, and culture. We crossed the Mississippi (several times), saw the Governor's mansion and Capitol (from afar), and drove past many beautiful homes.

 

Well we did have an arts and crafts project on our agenda for this afternoon but the bandsaw quit working (yes, there really was a bandsaw involved). So it's word games and movie watching for us. "Romy and Michelle" seemed appropriate for a high school reunion.

 

We all watched the mixture of emotions as Yvonne Lelko created her FB account. Elaine's dog Jack was away for the weekend, but came home tonight so we could all meet him. Dinner tonight was baked potato pizza. Don't knock it until you've tried it, it was quite delicious. There was a yummy spinach salad as well. We ended the night telling stories and sharing photos while watching the Olympics. Not a bad last night together.

 

 

 

We had one last meal together at The Original Pancake House before we all headed out. This was definitely a birthday party to end all birthday parties!