. .   Because it is spring?

Captured at the spring flower show, Como park conservatory.  The show features spring bulbs but unlike the tiny pale green sprouts that are starting to poke through the frozen tundra these are in full bloom. 

 The winter flower show on the sunken garden at Como Park Conservatory is in full bloom.  This weekend is the perfect time to see it.  If you are not into flowers it is also a great weekend to look at houses. 

It is always warm inside Como Park Conservatory and the flowers are always blooming.  A great place to go when during an Alberta clipper.  

These were not taken in St. Paul but in Bloomington at the Mall of America.  The holiday decorations are up in downtown St. Paul and I will be taking some photographs on thanksgiving or when it stops raining and snowing which ever comes first.  The ice rink at the Landmark center is there too but I don't think it is ready yet. 

I am not ready for skating or for the holidays.  I am not much of a shopper in fact when I go to the Mall it is usually to take pictures or to go for a walk and have a cup of coffee and people watch. 

Mall of America

 
Mall of America

There are not many people house hunting this week and the weekend was quiet too.  I hope that as the holiday season progresses more people  decide to give the gift of real estate.

Click on the photos to make them larger. The trees are not really crooked. This is what you get with a wide angle lens if it isn't kept level.

by G. Sax, @gsax

Tonight I make my annual pilgrimage to Mancini's, a restaurant and nightclub staple on West 7th in Saint Paul. I'm really looking forward to it, not so much because of the food (which is lovely), but because I'll be eating with 40 good friends and celebrating good times. Because there are still good times to be had, despite this wretched economy and stagnant housing market. We're all still doing things; we're just doing them differently.

Last week, both Teresa and I were in New Orleans for a real estate conference. I even saw her once, but we mostly ran in different circles. I traveled to Louisiana with an extremely bare bones budget. I took advantage of hospitality, I stayed in a less-than-stellar hotel, I ate local authentic rather than tourist trappery. I refused to stand in line at Cafe Du Monde. I did things, yo.

The real estate conference was great, and I bet Teresa came back as invigorated as I am. We don't share the same kind of career in real estate, but the reason I squat here from time to time is to share a deep-seated love for the city of Saint Paul.

In honor of my home city, I'm going to offer up the first seven restaurants in Saint Paul that come to mind that I think you should visit. I hope you have a list that you'll think of sharing in the comments or on your own blog. I hope your list has something on it that I haven't heard of that I can go check out.

Increasingly, I look to you for inspiration rather than to the fancy magazines that promote food more as artwork than as a comfort. Particularly, your Yelp reviews have helped me find some real gems.

7 Places Worth Eating at in St. Paul (More Than Once)

1. Schroeder's Bar & Grill - The best little neighborhood bar in the North End that you haven't heard of unless you listen to me talk about it. Filled with locals and a pull tab booth common to the region, serving food that should make more top ten lists. Try the dry rub chicken wings.

2. Manana - Salvadoran restaurant on the East Side. Simple setup and totally to the point. Great service, relaxed locals mostly eating what you should eat: pupusa.

3. The Muddy Pig - Drink delicious beers from around the world (especially Belgium). Eat most anything on the menu. I like the pastalaya.

4. Señor Wong - This downtown spot tucked inside an apartment complex off of Kellogg Blvd holds some of the most interesting ambience and happy hour specials in the Twin Cities. It's also wonderfully diverse both in clientele and menu. I love, love, love the firecracker shrimp.

5. Fabulous Fern's - There are so many cool spots on Selby Avenue that it's easy to forget this veteran of the scene. Just because it's not in a turn-of-the-century building doesn't mean it's not worth your while. I always seem to order the calamari, and I can do just as well with a tall Summit, some free popcorn and free wi-fi.

6. Grumpy Steve's Coffee - Yes, it's a coffee shop, but this little spot by the Wabasha Caves serves up a bunch of good little food things and is especially adept at serving Belgian waffles.

7. Mai Village - Taking up a lot of real estate at Western and University and well worth a night of dining. I have never been disappointed with what I get here, because what I get here tends to be spicy beef lo mein.

These photos were taken two weeks ago in Minneapolis, MN by the river.  It was a gorgeous weekend and it seems like everyone went out to play.  These were taken on Main Street SE and in Main street park.  It is a great area for photography and there are plenty of places to eat and things to do in the area.  

by G. Sax, @gsax

They went. But why? What was wrong with the place that did them so well? That put smiles on their faces and gave them warm memories.

They said it was to grow and to expand. They said there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the old place, but that they needed to try something else. Mom and dad are still there and the job is still there, they said. The favorite bars and restaurants are there, they said.

They said they still loved the Winter Carnival and Grand Old Day and the Como Zoo.

They didn't go far, but they went. To Vadnais Heights and White Bear and Forest Lake and Centerville. To Eagan and Inver Grove Heights and Shoreview and Woodbury. They went to "better schools" and "safer neighborhoods," forgetting where Joe Mauer went to school and where the Governor resides.

And then mom and dad sadly passed. The job was moved to Oakdale. The Buffalo Wild Wings became a more convenient option than Billy's on Grand. Soccer and softball and trips to the cabin took over.

The city longed for its lost residents, but the residents didn't have time because they were cutting lawns with riding mowers and shopping for a bigger SUV and refurbishing the second bathroom as "an investment."

They went and stopped returning. And I don't deny them that right. I left, too. Many cities called me away with a "Ya der, hey?" and a "Can I get you somethin', hon?" and an "It's hella dope out here, huh?" And I loved each place as home.

But I went back. And they can, too. Maybe when the kids graduate and light-rail transit is hissing across town. Or maybe sooner if there are no kids to fret over and the sullenness of suburban sprawl has become too much to bear.

The vibrancy of the outer rings will inevitably fade without the strength of an inner core. They can look back over their shoulders at the growing opportunities to save some time and money and support their favorite city's economy at the same time.

It's an amazing time in real estate, rife with win-win potential for the right mindset.