I'm SOOOO loving some vacation during the holidays to enjoy some local events. I had seen something about this Gingerbread Wonderland contest late in 2015 and put it on my calendar to check into this year. I asked my 2 aunts that live nearby if they'd be interested, and off we went. It was worth the trip to the Norway House in downtown Minneapolis, and fun to see the families with children exploring and discussing the city in gingerbread!
The gingerbread buildings were fabulous - and represented many landmarks in what is called the "Twin Cities" of Minnesota - Minneapolis and St. Paul. There must be HOURS of work in these creations - much more time (and patience!) than I could ever come up with.
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| Minnesota State Capitol Building in St. Paul |
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| St. Paul Cathedral |
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| St. Paul Cathedral CLOSE UP - stunning! |
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| [The late] Prince's Paisley Park - Chanhassen, Minnesota |
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| Minneapolis City Hall |
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| The Old Grain Belt Brewery sign and the Stone Arch Bridge - Icons of Minneapolis |
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| First Avenue & 7th Street Entry (Current Live Bands play here) |
First Avenue is a main band/dance area upstairs, and the 7th Street Entry is a smaller side bar. Both host multiple concerts each year, from local to big name musicians. Prince's "Purple Rain" was filmed here! First Avenue used to be a disco called "Uncle Sam's" when I was in college, an 18+ venue that also had music and dancing for under 18 on Sunday nights. I actually saw Tina Turner here in about 1981 or so - when she was making a sort of "comeback".
I'm getting pretty relaxed this week - a little Christmas clearance shopping, some car maintenance, cleaning out cupboards, etc. - feels great to be getting a start on organizing for the New Year! I've decided that 2017 is going to be the year of getting rid of "stuff". Donations and a garage sale are looming! It's a great feeling to clean out closets, but man, have we accumulated a lot of "stuff"!!
Aside from all of that, I've been fighting with my iPad
and my laptop. Blogger doesn't want to work for me - it shuts down on the iPad, and does a crazy magnification on my laptop - both without warning. Frustrating! So, I've spent some time on trying to figure out those
little annoyances.
Aaaaagh! So many things to do - I DO NOT want to fight with technology this week! :)
WOW ! Breathtaking (and painstaking, I'm sure - all that detail!)
ReplyDeleteAnd to think they will be eaten and the only reminders will be photographs. Transient like ice & sand sculpting, etc. and of course our real and online life .
Thanks for sharing these amazing creations :-)
Wow! Where is this? I've got to go. Sorry about technology, so frustrating!
ReplyDeleteThese buildings are totally amazing! Love the Cathedral, City Hall and Capitol Building! It doesn't seem possible to be able to create them!
ReplyDeleteI'm also sorting, organizing and getting rid of stuff. We can finally get our car back in the garage after 8 years! This was a 2-week effort and it was a major victory. I'm hoping to conquer other areas of the house this winter, including, of course, the craft room!
Technology is wonderful and exasperating at the same time.
Michelle, Cindy, I know! I've got to see this next fall! Is it appropriate for small children? My grands (8, 6, and 4) would love this -- we started a new family tradition this December of decorating simple cookies. To see a whole village would give them dreams of decorating!
ReplyDelete~Heidi