Actin' a Fool Monthly

I live foolishness month to month. For me, April 1 is the day on which I can celebrate my years many, many moments of actin' a fool.

In honor of April 1, 2011, I'll share with you the highlight Actin' a Fool moment of March:

So, as you know, last week my good friend, Andrea, came to visit me in Minneapolis.  She was supposed to have arrived at 2:30p.m., but instead showed at 5:30p.m. because she had missed her bus. Andrea had been late; the bus had left and consequently she had to buy a whole new bus ticket. Luckily, she was able to get onto another bus, and was still able to make it out by us. Happy enough ending. Lesson learned.

Or was it? DUN DUN DUN

Of course it wasn't. You have one doe-eyed, Andrea and one blondie (in dyed disguise), Jacqueline.

You see, Andrea was scheduled to go home at 5:00p.m. on Sunday. We spent our afternoon touring the amazing James Hill Mansion in St. Paul, then lollygagged on over to Sophie Joe's Emporium because I absolutely love that shop, and it was only 3:45p.m. As we wandered out of the shop, we decided we should grab a quick bite to eat, but when we couldn't find an agreed fast food restaurant it quickly became the longest awaited bite to eat of my life. We waisted so much time trying to eat somewhere, that we realized we no longer had time to eat. We needed to get Andrea to the station ASAP.

Perfectly on time, we pulled up to the Greyhound Station. Whenever I travel by bus I go through the Greyhound Station, and when Andrea arrived, she arrived at the Greyhound Station. One would only assume she'd LEAVE at the Greyhound Station. But, no.  That would be too simple for a doe and a blondie. That would have just made too much sense.

Instead, as I smiled at Andrea, ready to say our friendly and loving goodbyes... she began to un-crumple and question the address of the station on her reservation slip. At 4:50p.m., mind you.

"I was suppose to come on MegaBus, but when I had to get a new ticket, I bought Greyhound. My ticket home is MegaBus, so is this where I'm supposed to be?"

No. Nuh-uh.Of course not.

To top things off, there was no real address on this reservation/ticket slip; just two intersecting road names. There wasn't even a phone number! Later, after driving the busy downtown streets of Minneapolis for 10 min, we found the vacant parking-lot that the "address" belongs to. It was exactly 5:00p.m.The lot was empty. Her bus was gone.

At that very moment, a MegaBus reading Milwaukee drove past; that's her bus! Except it wasn't stopping, it either already had, or didn't see anyone and was on its way. So we did what any 20-something-year-olds would do:

We followed that bus.

Cause at times like this you need think, what would Bond do?

So, Johnathan starts talking like a city boy, yelling at other cars and pedestrians to get out of his way, as if they can hear, care, or even understand that we are on the chase; Andrea's on the phone talking with friends, having them look up phone numbers, help, possible ticket options-- if all else fails; while I just alternated between frustration, nagging safety concerns and laughter, before finally settling on snapping some pictures.

Andrea's phone calls determined that if we're following this bus, we're following it to Milwaukee. It would not be stopping. What kind of bus doesn't stop? It should stop in St. Paul, that's only normal. But, once again, why would things make sense? Besides, her MegaBus "help" line informed her, "Even if it did stop you'd have to purchase a new ticket. Why? She bought a ticket already for this very bus!

How to react? Frown and Laugh!

We contemplated throwing Andrea out the sunroof, luggage and all, with the hopes that she would land safely atop her bus, get on the bus, and then resolve the issue at hand, but it seemed a little risky...she's not very Bond-like.

Instead, we got tacos.

                          

 Bond probably wouldn't eat here, but his tactics failed us, so meh.

While dining, Andrea purchased a new Greyhound ticket that would leave at 9:15p.m. and arrive in Milwaukee at 3:30 a.m. (ick, but ok).

Yuh, in all, this crazy girl bought FOUR tickets! Two here and two back. Two pointless tickets.

When I travel I ubber plan ahead, and I'm normally 30 min early in case I have to deal with unexpected problems; Andrea didn't convince me to ever do otherwise, but she sure was entertaining. ;)

I'd just like to add, that if this chase had been in ANY movie, this girl would have gotten on that bus. Everyone would have been smiling, even the bus driver, and Johanathan would have been a hero and Andrea would have been home, safe and happy at a reasonable hour.

But this isn't a movie. This is just real-life Minneapolis... and two foolish girls with a Johnathan, not a James. ;)

 I wouldn't have it any other way!
Miss ya already, Andrea!
                &
Happy April Fools' Day, Everybody!



Andrea's Visiting!!

So excited to have my friend Andrea visiting Minneapolis this weekend! Guess she wanted a mini-getaway, and I couldn't be happier! She gets off the bus at 5:30 and I keep checking the clock, wishing it were just that time.

Last year, when she visited for too short a time <3

Some things we plan on doing while she's here:

Mall of America : Of course! People can't visit here without saying they went to thee mall. I go knowing I won't be buying a thing...other than a Coldstone "like it" (even tho I actually love it) cup of ice cream. I have weaknesses, ice cream is definitely one of them. Cheesecake is another. Coffee, a daily problem. Mall clothes and shoes do not make that list; thrift ones do. Oh, weaknesses...I like you.

King Tut Exhibit: EXTREMELY excited about checking this out. First time it's in MN, and I absolutely love Egyptian history! To me, this is a big deal!

James Hill Mansion: This is something Andrea brought to my attention, and I'm all for going. Who doesn't want to tour a Victorian mansion with extensive handcrafted woodwork? This home is breathtaking! (And I haven't even toured it, yet)

A Night Out Dancing at The Imperial Room: Cause me and my gals like to shake it.

Eat Too Much: Minneapolis has a wide variety of amazing restaurants -- makes me want to munga all the time!
I'll have to let you in on where we eat...

I also have to take her on a shop stroll through Uptown Minneapolis where I am located....I WANT TO SHOW HER EVERYTHING AND I ONLY HAVE THE WEEKEND!!! Lol

I'll try to take lots of pictures and share some of the fun filled weekend with you...till then,
Peace, Love and Pudding Pops ;)

Hiding, Stalking, Thrifting

 ...all my friends are doing it?

The last two weeks I was home in WI spending needed time with family and friends. Life has been a cliche roller coaster ride, on which, I at least have my friends, throwing up their arms, screaming and inevitably laughing right alongside me.

I've learned that my therapy of choice is thrift-wandering with a friend and chatting over too many cups of coffee, which spurs more scavenger hunts than originally planned. Somehow I'm ok with this, it certainly makes for a quick recovery.

I've always preferred having a thrift partner.  Everyone has their own thrifting style, and it's interesting to watch how people tackle the same secondhand store: which section they bolt to first, whether they dig or not; do they scan quickly and want to leave or do they get "lost" in the back aisles; can they pass things by, or do they have to have it?

 I am friends with quite a few thrifters and no two are the same. I love thrifting with each of them for different reasons, but the most entertaining thrift gal I've got is the beautiful, the stylish, Ms. Julie Beierle.

She is going to school to become an Interior Decorator, and it shows; she definitely has a flair for finding not just beauty, but potential beauty.

Julie will hold up an over-sized shirt and turn it into the cutest dress ever by simply buckling a belt 'round it. She taught me that belts and leggings can transform just about anything into something stylish. Give her a parachute and she'll turn it into a Prada gown, I swear. She sees rundown furniture and figurines and sets off on a dramatic monologue of everything she could do with them, how she could recreate them,  move this over there, place this next to that....it's very inspiring and very dangerous to go thrift shopping with Ms. Julie Beierle.

If Julie wants something she means it.  She will even hide things so that she can come back and get them the next day.  She will tuck a must-have item behind ugly things, shove it on a low shelf, or an out-of-reach high shelf, bury it in a pile; she's possibly one thrift breakdown away from filling out post-it-notes that read: Julies, Back Off! Julies, It's Mine! Julies, Forget About It! Julies, I Will Pry This From Your Cold Dead............Ah yes, that's Julie's thrifting technique in a nutshell. ;)

She's a little overzealous, a little too creative, and she's one of my best friends.  She's crazy, in a good way, and that's exactly why I love her.  She makes thrifting, and life in general, so much fun. 

Thrifted Target Curtain

Last week when I was shopping with her, she came rushing up to me and exclaimed, "She's got it! She's walking around holding it! She better put it down!"
"What are you talking about?" I asked
"This material! It's gorgeous and she's walking around with it! I'm going to follow her. That bitch better put it down."
I laughed, "Please, Julie, don't stalk a woman. What are the chances she'll put it down?"
"I have to have it! It's the prettiest material I've ever seen!"
"I'm dissapointed in you, how'd you not get to it first?"
"I know! Dammit! I'm going to keep my eye on her."

And here I thought I was the Italian one. The day Julie was let out of her mother's shopping cart must have been one hell of a dangerous day, that's all I'm saying.

Lookin' all sweet n innocent ;)

 See, on paper, Julie sounds much crazier than she really is. I'll give her that.  I'll also give her props, because that lady did put that material back.  Maybe she felt Julie's hawk eyes, or maybe she heard Julie's frantic material talk from across the store, chances are this woman never wants to thrift again....it really doesn't matter. What does matter, is that in the end Ms. Julie Beierle was the lucky bitch buying that material for only $3.99.
                     ;)









Any of you have a crazy, thrifty friend? Or did I snag the best one?