I start my perfect day indoors even though it's a sunny summer Saturday, because my favorite instructor teaches a class at 7:30 a.m. every week at the CorePower Yoga in Edina (7495 France Av. S.). Yes, it's a windowless, hot room, but the acoustics are great, the music is loud and Angela Eller's a hardcore instructor without being obnoxiously upbeat. A full sweat first thing in the morning takes the edge off my mood for the rest of the day.
Afterward, I scramble to get downtown by 9 a.m. for breakfast with three current and former colleagues. We meet at Keys Cafe (114 S. 9th St., Mpls.) because one friend lives nearby. I order eggs with tomatoes, jalapeno, broccoli and cheese. Because it's summer, I don't have time to linger past 10 a.m.
The 50-meter outdoor pool at Highland Aquatic Center (1840 Edgcumbe Rd., St. Paul) opens for lap swim at 10:30, and I like to get there before it fills with swimmers who don't follow the rules. Swimming never feels better than after yoga, when my body is already relaxed and warm. Depending on how I feel, I'll swim at least a mile. I finish up by claiming a chaise, wrapping myself in a big towel and reading for half an hour.
I live nearby, so I head home, grab a snack to go and take the dogs to the Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park (5399 Minnehaha Park Dr. S., Mpls.) so they can romp, sniff and scowl. The dogs and I go home. I grab a coffee to go, pick up my friend Mary and go for pedicures at our usual place on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul.
Then we have just enough time to scoot over to the Goodwill Outlet (553 N. Fairview Av., St. Paul) for an hour of treasure hunting. The clothes are brought out in huge piles and shoppers have to paw through them in search of something good. But it's fun, relaxing and cheap. The store sells by the pound so an armful will cost less than $10, and people throw away amazing stuff.
By then I'm ready for some solitude, so I go home for a quick nap with the dogs and some time with a book. Regardless of the temperature, the perfect day's dinner will involve a husky red wine and decadent meat with friends. If we're eating in, it's probably filet mignon or ribeye. If we're going out, I will insist on the pork jowl as a starter at the comfy and sublimely indulgent Corner Table (4537 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls.).
I'll be home, in bed with my book and sated by my day, by 10:30 p.m.
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
