I get by with a little help from my friends...

Last Saturday, my friend John Snell the 10th invited me to a holiday dinner party thrown by the Twin Cities Volkswagon Club. John's love for vintage cars, specifically classic VW's, keeps him busy collecting (I think he owns about 8 or 9) and brokering deals. Anyone out there interested in seeing what he owns/buys/sells, visit his site here. Some really beautiful cars on there!

Anyhow, before the dinner, we stopped in Lake Elmo to say hello to his parents, whom were throwing a little afternoon shindig. His mother Jeanie and father John (the 9th) were both very sweet and classic MN parents (i.e. adorable!) -- the house was full of some really great things. Jeanie likes to paint and take photographs, which adorned every wall. The house was outfitted with some awesome 70's original gilded green/silver wallpaper, chrome globed light fixtures and these amazing collage photo holders (see below). I am going to do some research online to see if I can find some to put in my own home -- that or rig something and make one myself. Super cool way to hang photography while giving it some texture on the wall.

I loved the colors at the dinner table, yellow plates with the green plaid curtains in the background. And guess what we had for dinner? Pot roast of course! I swear I only eat pot roast when I'm in MN -- a classic dish here in the Midwest. The last time I had it was at the Modern Cafe where it was served w/ poached eggs for breakfast (hell yeah I went there!). Jeanie's kitchen was also stocked full of preserves - mainly jams, but some apple sauce as well.

My curious side noticed the ceiling latch for an attic -- so I insisted John pull it down to show me. When I was little, I would pretend the attic was a portal to another secret magical world. So, naturally I had to make sure I wasn't missing an opportunity to enter Narnia. After pot roast, ice cream and coffee we sat around the piano and listened to a friend of the family play us some Chopin, Sinatra and an original piece written by his grandmother. A great way to round out the visit.

Don't forget...we were on our way to ANOTHER dinner with the VW Club in Stillwater, which was being held at Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter, a German restaurant. If you know anything about German food, you know it's not light. Did I mention it was a buffet? A plate full of salate, von schwein, von rind, wurst, sauerkraut, nachspeisen and of course German beer had my stomach screaming for mercy. Talk about a luxurious evening of committing one of the 7 deadly sins. I felt incredibly fortunate considering.

We ended the evening at the 501 Club watching the Sharp Teeth and the Red Pens play some great sets and had a few whiskey's to cut through all the food we just consumed. All in all, a very fun evening. Thanks to my friend John for the fun, food and libations!