{another} post for dog lovers // solid gold review

happy thursday! 

todays post is for the pet lovers {well, the company loves cats, too, but these products are for dogs}!

do you know solid gold northland?

they are a minneapolis-based wholesaler that partners with lots of really great, healthy, holistic dog // cat brands.

if you have been around for a while, you know that food & nutrition are really important to our little family. we only purchase whole, natural & {almost always} organic foods for ourselves and for daphne. i make a lot of our own foods {milk, nut butters, desserts} and lots of stuff for daphne {treats!}. i am a strong believer in only putting quality ingredients into your body!

when we were thinking about adding a dog into our family, we spent a lot of time researching quality food & treat brands.

daphne uses solid gold, merrick & fromms on a rotating basis.

because solid gold is based in the cities & because they are looking to grow their company ; each month, they offer great samples // products to their customers.

last month, we had the opportunity to try out {full-sized!} seameal {great for cats & dogs!} and a super-massive bison bone from tasmans natural pet.

the products : 

the timing for the seameal hasnt been perfect for daphne. about three weeks ago, we put her on depression medication {she has some serious anxiety issues that were really affecting her life!} & it has really messed with her food schedule // appetite. she is only eating about 1 meal a day & only when blake and i are both standing in the kitchen. {seriously, issues...}

we mix a small amount of the seameal with water & then put it in her food. when she eats, she really enjoys it.

i am hoping once the medicine gets into her system & she balances out, we can review this product more accurately!

{but, from what we have been using ; i am a fan!}

seameal is awesome for both dogs & cats. 

from the website : 

Solid Gold Seameal contains 60 trace minerals, 12 vitamins, 22 amino acids, digestive enzymes, and flaxseed meal. It is excellent for animals with allergy problems and/or skin and coat problems. When Seameal is added to food, it increases the digestibility of the food. It is made with 19 different species of sea vegetation, an excellent source of nutrients. The addition of seaweed and kelp to an animal’s diet can produce many great benefits. SeaMeal can help boost the immune, hormone, and enzyme systems of the body, restore lost hair growth, intensify coat color, and boost the immune system.

tasman's natural pet bison bone {jumbo-sized}

daphne LOVED this bone! and it really was massive. the bone itself was AS LONG as my pillow. watching her carry it around & get stuck in doorways was pretty silly. she learned to turn the bone & LOVED bringing it on the bed. if you have a 'powerful chewier' in your family {also known as a dog that can chew through metal ;)}, i definitely recommend these bones.

from the website : 

Tasman’s Natural Pet is proud to offer a unique line of all-natural Bison rawhide chews made from free-range US Bison Rawhides. Don’t mistake these rawhides as typical as they are far from it!

Free-Range Bison means no hormones or antibiotics are passed along to your pet and the chemical-free processing means no chemicals either! Great for dogs with allergies or for owners who want to provide their pet with an all-natural diet, even when it comes to treats!

my dad is a butcher, so we get bones from him quite a bit & daphne really seems to enjoy them ; but these rawhides were much easier on her digestive system & i wasnt worries about her cracking her teeth! 

stay connected with solid gold 

product list // where to find their products // facebook // twitter 

they also do really amazing things with pet rescue! here

 *disclaimer : solid gold provided me with these products, but like always, all opinions are my own!*

come running with me {and lets talk about Girls On The Run!}

monday!
and the last day in september!
right now, i am laying on the bed, next to daphne and i have the window open. i love the breeze, hearing the traffic and seeing the leaves change color right outside the window!

do you know girls on the run? they are an international non-profit focused on inspiring young girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experienced-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

i love this!
each 'session' is 10-weeks long and includes 20 lessons, empowering girls with a sense of self-aweareness, a sense of achievement, and skills for powerful team building. 
the girls run, play games & discuss important issues ; such as body confidence, bullying, contributing to the community and making healthy decisions.
i have two friends that are GOTR coaches & its something i have always wanted to be involved it ; but until recently, it just never fit with my work schedule.

programs like this are just so awesome! 
i was a 'poofy' kid; never skinny & never overweight. also, i had very little athletic ability. i played softball from ages 5-17, but in high school, it became a popularity contest & i was turned off.
i was the kid that cut corners around the track during the mile & was totally fine being picked towards the back of the pack in gym class. i was heavier than most girls in my class and i had friends that were really awesome athletes {actually, a few of them went on to play some huge games in college}. i never saw myself as 'heavy' or 'chubby' ; my lack of self-awareness was incredible. i didnt realize until i was in college that some our bodies look differently. {i know that sounds hard to believe, but i really was not aware of my size or the size of others until i was an adult}
i was pretty active as a kid ; i rode my bike, played with friends, played sports in high school {volleyball and softball} ; but i just never saw myself as an athlete. although, i was SO aware of others talents & had NO confidence in myself.

now, as a 29-year old adult, that makes me sad. i wasnt a sad or depressed kid ; but how awesome would it have been if there was a girls on the run-type of program in my town when i was younger? think of the confidence i could have built YEARS ago?!

i finally now see myself as an athlete. i am aware of my strengths {huge hills on my bike} and of my not-so-strengths {10:30 min miles and PUSH-UPS!} i make healthy choices & feel good in my body.
i feel lucky to have organically evolved into healthier choices & finding a good balance in my life. sadly, many women {my age and older} are STILL dealing with body-confidence issues. binging, self-loathing and sabotage ; all of that makes me so sad.
i strongly believe that if we all had programs like GOTR ; it could really change the way that ALL women see themselves!
we owe it to young girls everywhere to teach them the power of confidence, movement and other life skills.
there are GOTR chapters all over the country ; so if you are interested in becoming a coach, a running buddy or just connecting ; go here to find a location near you.

and minneapolis folks! 
want to run with me?
on november 16th, GOTR is hosting their end-of-session 5k and for the first time ever, its open to the public! {thats really cool!}
the run will be held at lake nokomis and is a fun run; it wont be chipped or timed!
i will be there and would LOVE to have you join me! we will be running {or walking!} with tons of girls from the cities and their running buddies!
if you want to feel awesome and inspired, i highly recommend running next to and cheering on young girls!
{this gives me goosebumps just typing it out!}

if you want to register, head here to sign up.
or, head here for a chance to WIN an entry!
{all runners get a shirt and food after the race}

stay connected to GOTR 
website // facebook // twitter // instagram // pinterest
{and here is the GOTR twin cities site} 

tell me : are you familiar with girls on the run?
did you have a positive body-mentor when you were a kid?
are you local? do you want to run with me?!

*disclaimer : Girls on the Run provided me with a few talking points & photos in exchange for a free entry into the 5k ; but all stories & opinions are my own!* 

my 100th act of kindness // 7 humans and 60 bouquets of flowers!

happy tuesday! 

today, over on my kindness blog, i am celebrating 100 random acts of kindness! 

{thats pretty cool!}

a significant number calls for a super-rad act of kindness!

head over to my 'year of minnesota nice' blog & read all about it! 

{seriously! i have goosebumps thinking about how awesome this was!}

a guide to minneapolis // part 2 : places to EAT

hey everybody!
last week, i posted a lit of 10 awesome things to DO when you are in minneapolis. you can see that here.
the healthy living summit is in a couple weeks {woo hoo!}, so today i have a list of awesome restaurants and cafes to add to your list!
{ps : there are a billion places to eat here in minneapolis ; many of them are really great. i obviously cant list them all.} all of the places on my list, i have been to myself OR had good friends enjoy the food. also, i believe the best way to see & support a city is to put money into small, independent businesses.

1) galactic pizza! 
there are tons of great pizza places in the cities, but galactic is by my the most underrated in town! they have vegan, veg & meat options. and sell delish vegan cheesecake from muddy paws. they are located in uptown ; so its an easy bus // bike ride from downtown.
bonus : they are super green // eco! they deliver in electric cars, you get 3d glasses to read the menu AND all of their delivery guys dress up as super heros.
also, if you go : the vegan paul bunyan is my favorite pizza on the PLANET!

here

2) foxy falafel food truck
so good! tons of food options & erica {the owner} is awesome. if you are in st paul, you can check out the space, BUT her food truck is on nicollet mall {steps from the hotel} during the week.

here

3) glam doll donuts!
do it! they are delish. tons of flavors. open super late. awesome shop & decor.

{image from their website}

4) midtown global market
the global market is an huge building with over 50 shops // vendors // places to eat. everything from american to thai to african food. lots of awesome desserts, take-home foods {figs, grains, ect} & eat-right-now foods. all in one building.
the market is located a few miles from downtown. its right off the midtown greenway {a 5.5 mile bike highway ; no cars allowed!} ; so its super easy to get to!
bonus : the uptown & midtown areas of the cities are a 15min bike ride apart!!}

5) tao natural foods
if you are heading to the spoon & the cherry {or going into uptown} ; you are already on your way to this shop. they serve vegan, gf, vegetarian, macro foods & have a great juice bar. they also sell herbs, supplements & food. if living a super green // natural life is your scene, check this place out!

photo taken from their website

6) bryant lake bowl

if you like good beer, tasty {ethical & local} bar food AND a good game of bowling ; BLB is a great spot. reserve a lane or pick a table. the location is great {its in uptown ; off of bryant and lake street ;)} AND its *right* off the midtown greenway.

{i am telling you, you can bike most places in this city!!}

7) wise acre eatery
this place is really great. mostly meat & dairy, but the staff is pretty great at working with different diets. their website is super straightforward and they are huge into the 'farm-to-table' movement.
their location isnt SUPER bus // bike friendly, BUT if you are interested, let me know & we can figure out how to get you there.
bonus : they have air plants COVERING their walls & its so beautiful!

8) pat's tap
super-extensive beer and wine list, lots and lots of locally sourced foods. and SKEE-BALL!
its got a gastro-pub feel ; great place to hang out with some new friends ;)
and hello, SKEE-BALL! where else can you do that?!?

9) ecopolitan
organic, raw, vegan and gluten-free! they serve juice, smoothies & coconut water drinks PLUS a really great menu FULL of healthy foods. also, the space is a beautiful victorian house FULL of health // wellness resources!
its located in uptown ; a few miles from downtown.

10) mickeys dining car
an icon in the twin cities ; mickeys dining car has been in more movies that most celebs. {my fave? this is where charlie conways mom worked in mighty ducks}
the car is small & doesnt seat a ton of people. they serve up 'greasy spoon' food & their milkshakes are delish. the kitsch and nostalgia of the dining car makes for a fun trip.
ps : the dining car is located near downtown st paul. there IS another mickeys diner, but its 'more cafe, less tin dining car'

bonus : french meadow cafe & bakery

tons of great outside seating, located in a great area AND they have some of the best vegan cake in the city! 

you might notice that NONE of these places are right downtown. i kinda did that on purpose. of course, there are great places to eat downtown {the FOOD TRUCKS!!} ; but this city is SO incredible and if you are visiting, i would LOVE to have you venture into different parts and neighborhoods and see what we have to offer!

what did i leave off the list? 
tell me your favorite place to eat in minneapolis!

a guide to minneapolis // part 1 : things to DO

hey everybody!
today, over on the healthy living summit website, there is a 'blip' about me & the bike session i will be leading in a few weeks. hop over to see! 

like i mentioned last week, the healthy living summit is coming HERE {minneapolis} in less than THREE WEEKS!
i am super excited. i really do love this city!
i know that a lot of folks are coming from out of state & many {most?} have never been here before.
so, i will be putting together a few 'tour guides' of all the awesome things we have to offer.

todays post : things to DO 

1) check out a twins game at target field
target field is one of the newest {and raddest} ball fields in the country. the views are amazing. the food is pretty good. and the tickets are affordable {the home run porch is my favorite place to sit!}
if you are looking to catch a game, the schedule is here. {also, post on the HLS facebook page to find someone that wants to go with}
bonus : the field is downtown, so you can walk, take the light rail or ride a nice ride bike!

2) visit a farmers market
we have some of the best markets in the country {are you seeing a theme?!}
on thursdays and saturdays there is a market on nicollet mall {a half block from the hotel}
saturday morning, you can head to the mill city farmers market, which is right on the river! you can walk the stone arch bridge and get amazing views of the city!
also on saturday morning is the minneapolis farmers market {this one is huge, but in my personal opinion, mill city is the one to go to!}

if you want to venture away from downtown, there are tons of farmers markets on saturday and sunday {fulton, linden hills, kingfield, midtown}{if you want to know more, let me know!}

3) drink some beer
small, local breweries are popping up EVERYWHERE in minneapolis. most do {free} tours on saturdays. and lots have food trucks, live music and open tap rooms on thursdays and fridays.
go here for a huge list // map

4) go to the library
the central library downtown is BEAUTIFUL! and massive. you are free to go in and walk around. they also offer tours!

5) rent a bike // canoe // paddleboat and tour the chain of lakes
minnesota is known as 'the land of 10,000 lakes.' people now think its actually closer to 15,000! right here, in minneapolis we have a bunch of lakes & trails that allow you to be right next to them.

we have a 50-mile trail system called 'the chain of lakes.' there are walking & biking trails. most of them also allow you to rent boats by the hour. you can stand up paddle board, canoe, kayak ; you name it. being on or near the water is a great way to see the city!

6) take your picture next to mary tyler moore
did you know that the MTM show was based here in minneapolis? there is a statue of her in her iconic pose {throwing her hat, of course!} and its right on nicollet mall! here is the address.

7) see a midnight movie at the uptown theatre
the uptown theatre is in the uptown neighborhood of minneapolis. its near lake calhoun & there is tons to do. shopping, bars, places to eat, ect. my favorite part of uptown is the theatre! its newly renovated and beautiful! they show indie movies and always have a saturday midnight showing. more info here.

8) hang out at the walker & see the cherry
the spoon & the cherry is a landmark in minneapolis. bonus : its in the sculpture garden at the walker art center. both the museum and the gift shop are a must-see. the spoon shares its space with 30+ other sculptures, so be sure to look around. its a nice walk from the hotel. {you can always rent a bike ;)}
here

9) smile with charlie brown & snoopy
did you know that charles schultz was from here? there are HUNDREDS of amazing peanuts sculptures around the city. you can try your luck & find some on your own, or check out this guide.

10) go bowling at brits
brits pup is right downtown & offers $5 lawn bowling every saturday and sunday. its first come, first serve & a bunch of fun. info here.

tell us : have you been here before? 
if you are coming to HLS, what is on your must-see list?
and if you live here, what do visitors NEED to check out?

oh sugar, sugar : the tale of the sweetest candy shop ever

thursday!

fun news ; i have today, tomorrow & ALL weekend off. whoop whoop.

im excited to share my adventures when we get back.

but first : lets talk about candy!

i really am more of a 'chocolate & cupcake' girl myself, but a couple times a year, i get a real craving for sugary candies.

blake & i make a real effort to explore and support new [to us] businesses in the city.

earlier this winter, we planned a trip to sugar, sugar.

its a small-ish candy shop [with great lighting!] & sweets from all over the world.  

way cute, right?

one of my 101 things in 1001 days is 'to spend $15 in a candy store.'

mission accomplished.

we left with 3 small bags ; 1 bag of banana gummies, another of sour worms [i loved these when i was a kid!] & a bag of grape-flavored marshmallows.
all delish!

if you live in the area, head over & grab some treats.

connect with sugar, sugar : 

website // facebook

any rad shops like this in your neighborhood?

fitness friday! : the time i went snowshoeing :

happy friday, everybody!

today, i have a surprise day off [much needed!] ; so i will be baking bead, walking my pup & reading harry potter.

one of my goals for 101 things in 1001 days is to snowshoe ; i have wanted to do it for years. they are a little pricey [$100+ -ish] so i wanted to test them out before purchasing. also, the minnesota weather is silly. two winters ago, we got almost 100 inches of snow & last winter, im not sure we got 30 inches ; so its hard to commit to something you might not be able to use for two years...

last weekend, the minneapolis park service had a really cool volunteer opportunity :  come down to the mississippi river for 2 1/2 hours. we will give you snowshoes & a beautiful tour of the riverfront & then you can help us clean some brush out of the woods.

exercise, exploring & volunteering?! right up our alley!

so, we met with 20+ other folks, strapped on some snowshoes & hiked around the riverfront. [last weekend, we had about 12-13 inches of snow ; a lot of it is packed down pretty hard][last night, we got a few hours of freezing rain, so a lot of it is now washed away]

the snowshoes were surprisingly easy to put on. there is no 'right' or 'left' shoe ; and you strap in your feet like you would with a pair of rollerblades.

we walked up & down hills & some icy areas. underneath the shoes, there are metal 'grippers' ; like an ice pic..

i really enjoyed it & didnt find it super difficult. my legs were a bit sore the next day & my heart rate got up a few times.

my main budget goal right now is to pay off my student loans [march 2013, baby! thats the goal!] & then to purchase a new bed, BUT if an extra $130 fell into my lap, i would definitely purchase a pair soon!

what do you think? 

have you been snowshoeing before? 

any questions? [i can try to answer..]

you ate WHAT at the state fair?

lets talk about it.
the minnesota state fair is known as 'the great minnesota get together.'

this gopher is the official mascot of the fair // beautiful flowers // fresh pressed cider // LOVE this shot of the people on the lifts!

and it is!
almost 2 MILLION people showed up this year.
the fair runs for 12 days [always ending on labor day]. they have big entertainment acts each night [my sister and i saw the backstreet boys a few years ago ;)]. tons of animal barns [you can watch animal babies being born in the miracle of birth center] and it takes *hours* to see everything.

black bean risotto poppers

the joke of the state fair is that if you can put a stick in it, minnesotans will eat it.
and its true. 85+% of ALL the food at the fair is on a sick. [think cheesecake, alligator, 1/3 pound bacon, caramel apple slices, deep fried candy bars, spaghetti & meatballs, tater tot hotdish, nachos, pizza] all of these things [plus TONS more], all on a stick.

strawberry shortcake

so on monday, blake & i biked 15+ miles [roundtrip] to the state fair. [the parking is ridiculous & super expensive!]. since so many people were off work on monday, there were 230,000+ people at the fair. [just on MONDAY!!]

blake & i wanted to try some new foods, but we arent people that love massive over-indulgence. we picked out a [big] handful of foods we wanted to try & that was that. i documented everything we ate.
*notice that again, not everything was 100% vegan*

pineapple torta [small portion ; not delish] // pistachio canolli // walleye cakes [i know ; FISH!] // and blake sampled 4 local craft beers

and look at this *rad* water fountain! // there is a spout for drinking AND a spout for filling up water // NO WASTING WATER!

and we always end the night with a cup of sweet marthas cookies // the line is always ridiculous & they are known for stacking a TON of cookies on TOP of the cup!

[i love blakes face here ; obviously nervous about dropping our $6 cup of treats!]

we also bought daphne a bar of vegan doggie shampoo ; i will share my review of that once we use it.
[lately, she has been rolling in dirt AND she fell into a water fountain the other day that was FULL of nasty algae, so shes due for a cleaning ;)]

tell us : are you a fair person?!
did you go this year?

[also, my post yesterday about budgets & finances has gotten a TON of traffic ; id love to hear your feedback on money!]

: minneapolis-pantz : week 5 : on the search for a lake monster! :

happy friday, everybody!

lets talk about lake monsters. 

minnesota is known as 'the land of 10,000 lakes' ; anywhere you go, there is a lake nearby [no, really]. 

each year, our local lake creature, minne visits a new lake & stays for the summer. she is real 13 feet tall & made of fiberglass. 

a couple weeks ago, we were out for a bike ride & saw her floating around.

it was rainy & dreary, but we headed out to check her out & take photos.

she is right near a popular beach, so we sat under the beach umbrellas & hung out, waiting for the rain to end.

so, where is minne?

well, i dont want to spoil the surprise for you. you can head here to learn more OR you can follow minne on twitter.

also, if you become a sustaining member of the mpls parks foundation, you get this awesome shirt! 

have a great weekend, everybody!