Saturday Day Date: Mint Museum + Luna’s Living Kitchen

Hi guys! I hope you’re checking in today after a fun and relaxing weekend! Ryan and I had a good one over here and enjoyed some (bundled up!) time outside with Sadie, a brunch with friends on Sunday, couch time with Homeland and more. But Saturday’s fun was a highlight for sure since it took us Uptown on a lovely day date!

Lunch

Our day date first took us to lunch at Luna’s Living Kitchen.

I’ve been here once before with my friend Ashley and knew Ryan would like it a lot! Luna’s specializes in raw vegan cuisine and I just love how bright and airy it is inside.

The restaurant was pretty busy when we arrived, so Ryan and I grabbed two seats at the bar and ordered drinks while perusing the menu. I opted for a Lenny Boy ginger kombucha that was, hands down, the best kombucha I’ve had to date!

The ginger flavor was fantastic and it reminded me a lot of ginger beer. It was smooth and delicious and after checking out their website, I discovered it is sold at a number of grocery stores near me. I cannot wait to pick some up soon!

For my entrée, I listened to our waiter’s recommendation and selected the Fire & Brimstone quinoa-millet veggie burger with sunflower seed hummus, guacamole onion and cucumber.

Plus a side of the marinated beets and carrots!

It was delicious and I left feeling satisfied but not overly stuffed. A win!

After lunch, we walked across the parking lot and spent some time browsing around Atherton Market, a “community hub” that offers lots of goodies from local chefs, farmers and artisans.

It reminded me of an indoor farmer’s market, but with more specialty items and less emphasis on produce. I left with a small bag of granola to eat in the car on our way to the the Mint Museum Uptown!

Mint Museum

The museum houses the famous Craft + Design collection, as well as collections of American, contemporary and European art. I worked in the public relations and marketing department at the Orlando Museum of Art when I graduated from college and art museums hold a soft spot in my heart, so I was really looking forward to browsing the galleries and taking everything in!

There are five stories in the museum, so Ryan and I headed up to the fifth floor to begin. We immediately stumbled upon the Moment Mile photography display that was so, so cool.

On November 1, 2014, 139 photographers gathered in Uptown Charlotte in predetermined spots on a mile-long stretch of Tryon Street and simultaneously clicked their cameras at 6:15 p.m. Then, at 6:20 p.m., they turned around and took another photograph on the opposite side of the street.

All of the photographs were then stitched together to make two 100-foot long prints to catch a single moment in the heart of Charlotte. It was really, really neat! Some photographers got amazing shots (the one of the Charlotte Ballet was incredible, as there was clearly a class going on and ballerinas were perfectly posed in the windows) and others were funny (people clearly jumping to be in the picture) while most were simply beautiful images of Uptown Charlotte.

When Ryan and I visit museums, we like to play little games like “which painting would you pick if you got to choose one from this room,” etc. It makes the experience a little more interactive and fun. Yes, we are apparently five years old. Haha! 

Ryan liked this goofy giraffe painting from the children’s art display! (I think it was painted by a student in 6th grade. Pretty impressive, right!?)

Oh hey, I know them…

The museum is definitely worth checking out if you’re ever in the Charlotte area and we really enjoyed our time exploring the galleries.

On our way home, we decided to conclude our day date with a sweet treat and picked up two cupcakes from Maddy Fatty’s.

The local cupcake shop was actually featured on a past episode of Cupcake Wars and their cupcakes are incredibly light and fluffy. Ryan and I shared the salted caramel and buttercream-stuffed chocolate cupcake and gave both rave reviews. Yum!

It was a great way to end a fun day date in Charlotte!

Question of the Morning

• Share one highlight from your weekend below!
• What is your favorite cupcake flavor?