A sign of old age

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Skott and I went to "The Cities" (Minneapolis/St. Paul) on Sunday, our only day off together.

Our first stop was Rustica Bakery.  Delicious coffee and we each tried a new pastry.  I would tell you what they were but I can't remember the french names :)

Then we headed to Penzey's Spice on Grand.  This is like a candy store for us.  For Christmas, I got Skott an Indian food cookbook and a bunch of spices.  Yesterday, we stocked up on more good spices:

and of course, had to hit Ikea later to buy more spice jars!  (Any excuse to go to Ikea is a good excuse, right?)

So this was the little shelf we kept our spices on before Christmas.  Now it is mostly grilling stuff.

We had to rearrange a bunch of cupboards in the kitchen so we could devote a new, bigger space for spices:  (and this doesn't include Monday's haul)

We went to the Mall of America and hit up a couple of our favorite boutiques.  I was also looking for shoes and stuff for work.  I love people watching and listening to all the different languages being spoken there...

We needed to stop by Home Depot on our way home so Skott could get a better miter saw for his latest project (see upcoming post soon).  Of course, I went to look at plants while he went to the tools. Imagine my excitement when I found these:

I have wanted "Living stones" for, oh, like TEN YEARS but never saw them in any nursery we ever went to.  I had a hard time picking just three!  I am super excited to pot them today.  They actually bloom in the spring so if they do this year, I will be sure and post pics.  Wheeeee!! So excited!
As I was wandering the plant aisles, I could smell something so good -like lilac almost.  After sniffing perhaps every plant there, I discovered the source and had to buy one:

I know these hyacinths will only bloom for another month or so but I am going to enjoy every minute. 

I also picked up a couple new pots for an idea I have for the deck this summer ($1.50 each, thanks Ikea!):

On the way home Skott and I were talking and we realized that

We are getting old

We bought one thing at the Mall of America and it was work related.

Everything else we spent on spices and plants.