Happy Weekend! I had originally planned to share these photos, the inspiration behind some new ideas for the bedroom, in yesterday’s post—and then it got way too long. Here are a few people who probably got out on the right side of the bed this morning:

Photo Credits: Left—Photography by David Land, styling by PJ Mehaffey, home of Michael Fusco and Emma Straub via Design*Sponge; Right—London designer Charles Mellersh, Photography by Chris Tubbs via Remodelista

Photo Credits: Left—The 10 Cent Designer; Right—Anna Beth Chao of Hashai/AB Chao

Photo Credits: Lori Andrews Interiors aka The 10 Cent Designer

Photo Credits: Anna Dorfman of Door Sixteen

Photo Credits: Anna Dorfman of Door Sixteen

Photo Credits: Left—Anna Dorfman of Door Sixteen; Right—Katja and Minna of Nestled in via Apartment Therapy

July 7, 2009. This would be our last full day in Cali before heading to Bogotá the following afternoon. We lunched on chicharrón alongside beans, rice, and patacones. In the morning I poked around the house a bit more, taking pictures of favorite details. My uncle Pedro “Perucho,” his wife Marta, and my cousin David came for a late dinner; Tom made grilled pizza (not pictured) on the patio with some difficulty due to varying protein contents in the local flour. Our days in Cali were relaxed; hours filled mostly with people and conversation rather than a need to go anywhere. As I look through the photos from this day and others, I miss being in the family house in Cali: walls hung with artwork from floor to ceiling, dim evening light, a lean out the (screenless) window over a wide sill, the air. The past few mornings in Minneapolis (now July 2011) have had an air that’s left me thinking of Colombia, too.

July 6, 2009. Today the trip from Cali to Popayán and back is made easily in a day’s time. According to my aunt Stella and uncle Joaquín, it hasn’t always been that way. I’m sorry that I don’t remember exactly how long it took, and google is no help with reference to the route. Whether the ride was long or short, we met the city of Popayán—where we all agreed the sweet shop wasn’t what it used to be, walked the inside of the house where my abuela was born (where the original floors are partially preserved), paid our respects to General Obando, and ended the trip with our (my and Tom’s, that is) first taste of empanadas de Pipián.

July 4, 2009. We were up early, had arepas for breakfast, and explored around the house—peeking out the windows, poking around the patio, and getting to know la casa on our second day in Cali. My cousin Juan came over around noon to greet us. After a visit to Juan’s house to find his wife Betty and son Lucca, we headed into the mountains to have dinner at a reserva natural and do a little exploring.

Tom and I spent Memorial Day visiting Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield (a first ring suburb of Minneapolis). The weather had been off-and-on all weekend and when it began to clear up on Monday we headed out, not wanting to wait too long… considering the sky might turn on us again. When we arrived our car was among few in the lot; when we left the lot was nearly full—a sign that others had also decided it was safe out, finally.

I’ve been wanting to visit Wood Lake ever since I met Karen Shragg, a naturalist/activist and Wood Lake’s manager, a couple of years ago. And, as with many trails in and around the Twin Cities, visiting the area left me and Tom with that why-haven’t-we-been-here-before? feeling. With three miles of trails, the center is a great place to walk and most of its trails are wheelchair accessible. Because of the way the trails loop in and out of Wood Lake’s wetlands, woods, and meadows it’s easy to take in a variety of habitats in a short walk and hard to miss the animal life. We saw five turtles, a muskrat, and one Baltimore oriole. Butterflies, ants, bees, dragonflies, turtles, and other birds also greeted us along the path. Missing from my photos are the birds: red-winged blackbirds, geese, and others whose names I’m not sure of were all around. If you’re into trail running, light hiking, or birding—this is a fantastic spot. For those reading locally, you’ll find the preserve just off Lyndale Avenue at Lakeshore Drive, a few blocks to the south of 60th and highway 62. Don’t forget your binoculars!