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Minneapolis, You Were Amazing.

We’re back from our first family vacation as a party of three! We had an absolute blast in Minneapolis working through all of your fantastic recommendations on things to do and places to visit! As with our previous trips to Malibu, Palm Springs, and when we drove Route 66, we basically lived off of reader recs and planned entire days around your suggestions. We were in town for five nights and didn’t even scratch the surface of our master list. Minneapolis, you were amazing.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
The Lynhall

Thank you, thank you for all of your thoughtful input. We received many requests to pull together a big list of what we did, where we stayed and what we ate (everything!). We received hundreds of recommendations, but many places rose to the top, as they were shouted out over and over again. Consider this a crowd-sourced list of all the things that were a must in Minneapolis, as suggested by all of you!

Where We Stayed

The lovely Melissa (who we also visited while we were in town!), recommended this adorable Minneapolis bunkhouse and we loved every minute of our stay. The bunkhouse featured the most clever cabinet wall we’ve ever seen – even featuring Semihandmade doors by our friends, Chris and Julia. Behind those doors are a kitchen sink, microwave, coffee station and a mini-oven, and there’s a Murphy bed that folds up into the wall to open up the space for activities. We love a well-designed small space around here and the bunkhouse fit the bill perfectly!

via | photography by Kim Cornelison

The open ‘studio’ layout of the bunkhouse required us to get a little creative with sleeping arrangements. Since there were no defined ‘bedrooms’, we determined that the best course of action was to create a pillow wall in the loft to block noise (and Lucy’s giggly view of us) and place the travel crib (provided by our host) up there. We alternated between sleeping in the bed on the main floor and the bed in the loft, which felt like a secret hideaway in the trees!

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

The bunkhouse is located in the Kenwood neighborhood, which is full of stunning homes and beautiful parks. We were also a quick two block walk to Lake of the Isles, and we spent most evenings taking a stroll around the water, pointing out our favorite homes (too many to count!) and snapping sunset photos.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

Where We Played

The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny so we took full advantage! With the exception of one rainy morning when we headed over to St. Paul for the Minnesota Children’s Museum and ran around in nearby Rice Park, we were outdoors for nearly the entirety of our trip.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden was a maze of large scale sculpture (including that famous cherry on a spoon!), and we enjoyed slowly meandering through the paths and resting on the lawn chairs.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

We were lucky to catch an early morning rainbow at Minnehaha Falls before the crowds arrived, after which we went on a family hike. It felt as if we had the place all to ourselves, and yes, we grabbed lunch at Sea Salt afterwards!

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

We also spent some time at Wild Rumpus Books, which must be seen to be truly understood. If you’ve always hoped to visit a children’s bookstore with a pet chicken, chinchillas, a tarantula and some friendly rats, this is the place for you!

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

Where We Biked

One of the big draws that attracted us to Minneapolis is its’ consistent ranking among the best cycling cities in the country. One of Lucy’s favorite activities is strapping on her little red ‘hehmet’ and riding around in the front seat on one of our bikes, so we brought along a pair of bikes and got to riding on the first day of our trip! As mentioned above, our Airbnb was just two blocks from Lake of the Isles, which is part of Chain of Lakes Regional Park. A car-free paved path winds around the lakes and allows for safe and scenic biking. All three of us thought this was among the many highlights of the trip!

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

The following morning, we strapped the bikes back onto the car and drove downtown to ride the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail, which includes the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge as well as walking paths through Mill Ruins Park.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
jeans (similar) | slides | tee (I cut the bottom for a raw hem)

While not pictured, I was also able to sneak out for a couple of hours during one of Lucy’s afternoon naps for a guided tour of the mountain bike trails throughout Theodore Wirth park. My buddy Josh works with one of the cycling advocacy groups that builds and maintains trails in Minneapolis, so we packed in the greatest hits of the area in one afternoon ride!

Where We Ate

The food. Oh, the food! We were pleasantly surprised by the abundance of amazing food in Minneapolis! We started a couple of mornings at Isles Bun and Coffee, where we demolished cinnamon rolls the size of Lucy’s head and some of the best scones of our life.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Isles Bun and Coffee

During our trip downtown to ride bikes, we stopped into The Bachelor Farmer Cafe for an incredible grain salad and wonderful coffee (and made a quick pit stop to shop at the adorable Pacifier Boutique). Afro Deli was a quick, simple lunch favorite after our jump over the river to the Children’s Museum, a fusion of African and Mediterranean flavors that were completely unique and unexpected.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
The Bachelor Farmer Cafe

Hola Arepa was one of the most highly recommended restaurants on our list and did not disappoint! We met a former coworker and his wife there for dinner and had a blast! Local tip – order the El Diablo cocktail, which is no longer on the menu. You will not be disappointed! We were told that Sea Salt was a mandatory stop on our trip to Minnehaha Falls and we don’t disagree. The fish (and veggie) tacos were fantastic.

We feel that a vacation without ice cream is no vacation at all. Sebastian Joe’s and Milkjam did a great job filling this important role in our journey, but between the two, Milkjam has our hearts.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
Milkjam

We also spent an evening catching up with our pal Allison and her adorable family. Our adventure in the Kingfield neighborhood included stops at The Lowbrow for happy hour drinks and Nighthawks for dinner. Keep your eyes peeled for a dad-joke-inspired brewery that our two families will be working on together! (Kidding, maybe.)

The vibes at both The Lynhall and Tilia reminded us of some of our favorite Logan Square spots here in Chicago, and don’t even get me started on the potatoes at Tilia.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home
The Lynhall

Our last dinner in town was Young Joni. Chef Ann Kim recently won the James Beard award for Best Chef Midwest and from what we experienced, the honor was very well deserved. The woodfire pizza crust at Young Joni is somehow crispy and chewy at the same time. We started our meal with house-made Kimchi and street corn, and we kept things simple with a plain cheese pizza. If you find yourself in Minneapolis any time soon, Young Joni is mandatory eating!

As is true with the best vacations, we felt that we had simultaneously been away from our day-to-day lives for ages and for mere minutes. We enjoyed every second of our time in Minneapolis, and we found it to be family, kid and adult friendly. There was something for everyone! Kim made a series of small videos throughout our stay, and I think our love of the city shines through.

Our family vacation in amazing Minneapolis! Where we stayed, ate, shopped and played | via Yellow Brick Home

Thank you, all, for coming along with us!

PS: If there are any (non-family) images that you would like to see in our Print Shop, we’re happy to accommodate requests. Let us know in the comments!

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  • Lori9.26.19 - 8:45 AM

    Well, you have successfully sold me on a weekend in Minneapolis! I am a sucker for a good hike & bike trail and excellent pizza (I have yet to find a joint I truly love in Austin). And man, your photos are all so good!ReplyCancel

    • Kim9.26.19 - 8:57 AM

      We’ll be in Austin soon for work! Any place that’s a can’t miss for a yummy dinner?ReplyCancel

      • SADIE9.26.19 - 12:47 PM

        Buenos Aires Café – get the polenta, SO GOOD!ReplyCancel

      • Katherine Tulloch9.26.19 - 2:11 PM

        Hyde Park Bar and Grill…everything on the menu is delicious but be sure to get an order of fries.ReplyCancel

      • Twinkle9.30.19 - 12:10 PM

        Suerte and Emmer & Rye – and if you can’t make it for dinner, they have killer brunch at both places!ReplyCancel

  • Lindsay9.26.19 - 1:55 PM

    So glad you subtly mentioned your print shop…for some reason I had no idea you had one!! Can I make a request for ALL of the Minneapolis pics in there? Ha! It looks like such a fun place!ReplyCancel

  • Erin U.9.26.19 - 2:34 PM

    Thank you for sharing! I’m a Minneapolis native and have only done about half the things on your list – this is so inspiring and gives me great ideas for our next day out! Isles Bun & Coffee is a favorite of ours too – so glad you got to enjoy it!ReplyCancel

  • Marit9.26.19 - 5:03 PM

    Looks like a great trip. How do you keep your all birds so white? 3 months in and mine look dusty. ReplyCancel

    • Kim9.26.19 - 6:09 PM

      I’ve washed them twice so far – I’m sure they’re a little muddy up close.:)ReplyCancel

  • Megan9.26.19 - 8:58 PM

    I love all of these. Minneapolis native here. You definitely hit the highlights!  Love sea salt if you can get it before the crowds, and have Young Joni on my list to get to soon!  ReplyCancel

  • Julia9.27.19 - 7:22 AM

    One vote to have the Gold Medal Flour ruins added to the Print Shop!! You are a truly talented photographer.ReplyCancel

    • Kim9.27.19 - 7:52 AM

      I appreciate your comment so much, thank you!ReplyCancel

  • Michelle9.27.19 - 3:41 PM

    Any chance of doing a tutorial on how you build those videos you post on IG? Gosh, they are so good! I’d love to know how you do and how much time it takes you. BTW, also love seeing Lucy change.. her hair has the sweetest sunshiney color now! ReplyCancel

    • Kim9.27.19 - 6:41 PM

      I’ll be sharing in an upcoming photo post for smartphone editing!ReplyCancel

  • JT10.1.19 - 3:18 PM

    I am gonna need prints of all those photos. I moved away from Minneapolis last year and this made me so homesick.ReplyCancel

    • Scott10.1.19 - 3:42 PM

      Shoot us an email. We’re always happy to add images to our print shop!ReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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