Out teeny town may not have a Target or a Trader Joe's, but there's a delicious coffeehouse on the corner of main street and the farmer's market is pretty great, too. We don't have a good place to get clothes, but there's a fantastic secondhand store where most of our furniture has come from. There are no stoplights, no walking trails, no tall and gorgeous buildings. Nothing manicured like a suburb.






When I visit the suburb I grew up in, I always notice that the trees look older, neighborhoods more shady, houses are looking dated, shopping plazas are more run-down, and streets are under construction. It hit me while I was on a walk the other night that we don't have that aging issue here in small-town life. The houses are already vintage (most of them super cute), the trees are already wizened old giants, and the shoppes are tucked into main street with big store-front glass windows and awnings from the 1950s. It's pretty nice that we are sort of preserved this way. I love that life here has a do-as-you-please feel to it, with a polite small-town friendliness. And I do love that the roads are quiet, and we can play out in the street on a nice night.

if locking your house seems a bit much.
if you can smell the coffee shop's roast wherever you are in town.
if you say you live "in town."
if the UPS guy just walks in your kitchen door to drop off a package.
if snowstorms make you think about going into a ditch, rather than getting in an accident.
if everyone gives 4-digit phone numbers, because the first 3 are always the same.
if tater tot hotdish is on the school menu. (maybe that's a minnesota thing?)
if random people know what you pay for rent.
if your chiropractor tells you, "your grandma called and wants you to stop by when you're done."
if you have to look decent at the gym. you will see someone you know on the treadmill next to you.
if it's wintertime and all the cars in the grocery store parking lot are left running.
if you rent your movies from a green box, instead of a red one.
if you get waved at whenever you leave the house.
if you've forgotten about stoplights.
if you see someone walking downtown and think "Hey, wait! I don't know who that is!"


some lessons learned by a city girl.
maybe not so city anymore.
(i've let go of locking my car.)

You know you've become a Minnesotan when you hear that it's 36 degrees outside & decide that you don't need a coat for the day. 

Left Bank Cafe.

i can't believe this. my husband just told me that this house around the corner from our apartment is on the market for $29,000. i know. unbelievable! just had to share the incredible deal with you.