America, Mall of

When I was in Minneapolis I had the chance to get out to Mall of America. I saw the indoor roller coasters:

and the bronze Sponge Bob.

But I was more wowed by LEGO world. It's a whole world of LEGOs! Most astounding was not the two-story transformer

nor the dragon (although it was awesome)

but this huge wall of LEGOs organized by color.

Sooooo sweet.

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A Culinary Tour of Places Nicci Thinks are Too Cold

I just returned to sunny Houston from a two-conference marathon of a trip. I went to VRA/ARLIS in Minneapolis and ACRL in Philly. Both places had snow. Both places also had food--some of it quite good!

The highlight of Minneapolis was Hell's Kitchen, where they make their own everything. They gave me a free jar of homemade peanut butter with my order and they made their own ketchup for their handmade sweet potato fries for heaven's sake. So yummy. I didn't get too many photos, because I was a little entranced with the live music scene there.

At the Mall of America, I had some yummy gelato:

And a delicious beet salad at Crave where everything was locally sourced.

Then it was off to Philly for Reading Terminal Market:

and the beloved Continental.

Best lobster mac ever. Mmm.

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