My Food Truck Summer

 This was my first summer working in Minneapolis and I am lucky enough to work right on Nicollet Mall where most of the Food Trucks in the Twin Cities spend their lunch.  Thanks to Twitter it is easy to follow and find trucks when you need to get outside for lunch.  I tried a variety of trucks and all were amazing and unique.

Turkey to Go

Twitter: TurkeyToGo

Find them at: Nicollet Mall and 6th or 8th

Favorite Food: Turkey Sandwich (plain)



Turkey to Go was the first food truck I tried out since they are actually open all year long, spending the winter in the NorthStar building food court.  The turkey sandwich is absolutely amazing and jucier than anything you will ever try anywhere else!  In the winter they also have Turkey Wild Rice Soup which is so creamy and delicious.  The food here is simple and straightforward.  You won't find weird names or food that you can only guess what on earth it is.  It is true Minnesota comfort food - proof of which comes from the fact that they are the turkey guys from the Minnesota State Fair.

Dandelion Kitchen
Twitter: dandelionktchn
Find them at: Nicollet Mall between 8th and 7th in front of the IDS Center
Favorite Food: Grilled Ham & Brie

I call their food "fancy comfort food."  They take something like a ham and cheese sandwich and substitute brie for the cheddar, add a plum spread and homemade dijon mustard and that is about the time I start drooling.  All their food is a great combination of new and old flavors.  Every day they have a soda which takes a old flavor like lime and add a new flavor like mint and BOOM you have an amazing soda.  The truck usually has a long line so make sure you get out there early!

Chef Shack
Twitter: chefshack1 and shackattacks
Find them at: always moving, check twitter
Favorite Food: Mini Donuts

The Chef Shack has two trucks, Big Red (chefshack1) and the Donut Truck (shackattacks) which is usually the one close to me.  I am going to go ahead and just say it, their donuts are better than State Fair donuts.  No lie.  These mini donuts have indian spices and must be made from whole wheat flour because they are dark and delicious!  While you're there you have to try the Arnie Palmer (in a cup!) because they make that from scratch and it is fantastic.  I must admit though that I have never tried any of their other food.  The other food is stuff like "beef tongue tacos."  They do have a Bison burgers but it always seems to be sold out when I get there.  I have heard all their menu items are amazing, I just need to get the courage to try it.

Smack Shack
Twitter: Smack_Shack
Find them at: moving along Marquette
Favorite: Classic French Fries

The Smack Shack is the biggest truck I've seen!  They have 5 people working in the truck and two taking money out front.  They specialize in seafood - mostly lobster - which is why I haven't treid any of their main dishes.  I have heard though that the lobster rolls there are the best.  Someday when I bring Patrick there I can give you more info on the food.

Cupcake
Twitter: CupcakeOnTheGo
Find them at: Nicollet Mall and 10th
Favorite: Everything!

This truck is the greatest thing to happen to Nicollet Mall since Target.  Seriously, every cupcake they serve is amazing!  The flavors are always changing and the combinations are wonderful.  The people working are always super nice.  They also serve shots of frosting - which is awesomesauce.  If you follow Twitter closely you'll know when they are giving out free shots if you mention twitter.





Food Trucks on a Thursday when they are displaced by the Nicollet Mall Farmer's Market



Disney Costume Challenge - Belle - Victorian

This is the first one I would change the era of the dress, but I think it would work really well!  Beauty and the Beast has been done in every century of fashion.  I chose Civil War Victorian because I think that big bows, big hoops, and off the shoulder corsets would really work well.  I also have wanted to make a Civil War dress since the first time I saw Gone With the Wind.

I even have the pattern for this one already!  I'll have to make a few changes of course.  I'll also have to lose quite a few pounds since I bought this when I was a size 4 and they don't make the pattern any more!  Oh well, that's a good kick in the pants I say! 

Disney Costume Challenge - Jane - Victorian

This is another one that is really easy to figure out, so it will probably be one of the first ones done.  I also really like Tarzan and have always loved Jane's character.  "I was saved by a flying wild man in a loincloth!"

Thanks to my handy dandy duo of the Historical Fashion guide and Google, I've determined this is an 1885 Victorian Dress.  Mostly.  The best part about this dress is that even Disney couldn't exaggerate the butt to traditional size! 

I love big butts.

Disney Costume Challenge - Snow White - Elizabethan

This whole thing started when Patrick and I were watching Snow White this weekend and I thought that he costume would easily transform into a historical reproduction.  For the most part it is already quite Elizabethan.  I'm no scholar, but it seems like sleeves and a farthingale would just about do it!

This is what I imagine her dress to look like.  I would make the bodice more blue but I would really like to keep some detail like this.  I would also need to add a collar. 

This dress is a historic reproduction by Theresa Blake.  You can find her website here: http://www.rossetti.vispa.com/elizabethan.html

New Costume Challenge

Ive decided to give myself a lifelong costume challenge.  I am going to create each of the Disney Princess dresses in a more historical fashion.  For instance, I'm going to start by making Snow White a bit more Elizabethan.  Her dress is already quite Elizabethan but I'm gonna go all out.  I plan on this taking a lifetime, so it is nothing that will be done soon.  Also, I'm not just going to stick to the Princesses either, I plan on getting just about everyone in the game.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Last night I hosted bookclub and our book was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.  I picked the book because I had heard a lot about it, but mostly I wanted to throw a Mad Hatter's Tea Party!

The Food:


Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies and Homemade Cherry Pie




Gotta have Jam for the Bread & Butterflies!




Bread & Butterflies




Food Table

 Drinks:


Red Queen Wine, White Queen Wine, and Iced Tea




Dormouse!

 Characters:
Each place setting was also a character from the books.


Mad Hatter




Cheshire Cat




The Catepillar




Queen of Hearts




The White Rabbit




Alice




The Main Table



13 days left

I actually completed what I wanted to today!  And I have time to spare so I'm going to post some pictures and get back to it!

All boning is in, I just have to sew the top and add the grommets.

These are all done and good to go!  I decided that like the corset, all undergarments will be white with pink.

The only thing left here is to hand sew the top.  That will wait until I feel like sitting for a while.

The skirt over the pannier with the stomacher in place.  Just look at those fashionable child-bearing hips!

14 days left

I have 14 days to finish my dress and today I made the executive decision to change the dress.  Crazy I know, but after looking more into the history of my dress I decided that it just wouldn't be a ball gown with the panniers.  The panniers give some extra oomph to the hips.  Mine are not going to be huge or complicated.  Here what they look like with the other undergarments.

I also decided that instead of making the top one whole bodice with a zipper in the back, I will make a stomacher and the rest will be a sort of jacket.  This fits the time period much better.  The stomacher (front piece) will be pinned to my corset and the jacket will then also be pinned in place.  I think this will actually make the dress easier to make too, since I won't have to fit as many pieces. 

I hope to finish the pannier, stomacher, and skirt underskirt tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes.