Rapp Strategies Rundown – October
Here’s what we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: Revisiting past rundown highlights this month. Went down to my Collective 54 conference a few days early and stayed in the great Hotel Drover in Fort Worth. Great BBQ at Heim, Cooper’s and Riscky’s, and an excellent Barrel Queen Blonde beer at Second Rodeo. Ran through season 3 of The Diplomat in our free time — my favorite season yet — and read John Grisham’s new book The Widow. Good fun read, although the use of deus ex machina plotline (look it up!) is an easy way out in a courtroom drama. Otherwise, I can’t remember a fall with more cloudless days, which probably means a more difficult winter than normal, eh? As the picture
Rich: October was filled with celebrations of our Anniversary, our daughter Emma’s birthday and Emma’s new job. It was also a month to focus on the Minneapolis elections and working for our preferred candidates. Finally, it was also the month to get in the last few rounds of golf.
A highlight of October was attendance at the first North Star Summit presented by the Star Tribune. It was a full day packed with excellent speakers. I certainly hope the Star Tribune will continue to present this event annually.
Todd S.: Halloween is the Super Bowl of holidays for the Stones. We aim for a combination of fun and creepy with Vegas lighting. For our skeleton theme, “Scream time over screen time” won the family vote over my offering of “Who Needs Vaccines?” Given the reaction of parents to our sign, I think we made the right call.
Throughout the night, we saw plenty of KPop Demon Hunters, Spider-men and princesses. In the end, even though the turnout was modest compared to some years, we still managed to give out over 700 pieces of candy.
Sean: It has become apparent in recent years that October is my favorite month. That was cemented this year after taking James out for his first year trick or treating, which surpassed my every expectation. He was a. ray of sunshine through a rainy night and despite being a little cold and wet, I don’t think I stopped smiling. And he earned it after a brutal tongue bite at school the week prior. Luckily, his tongue healed up just in time to enjoy the *fruits* of his labor (*candy*).
In another landmark development for our little man, he has officially transitioned to a big boy bed. His parents remained glued to the monitor for two hours and he tossed and turned, but never left the confines of his bed. The new sleeping arrangements followed his new haircut, which caused me to make Billie Jean King jokes for the better part of the last week (much to Rosie’s chagrin). I used Saturday morning’s family visit to the library to educate my family about James’ haircut twin and her tennis prowess.
Plenty of family and friend gatherings – including big birthdays for my dad and Rosie (a surprise 70th party and a cozy cabin 33rd celebration, respectively) – and our annual pumpkin carving party. Nothing like a cleaning the house, only to be met with pumpkin guts and chili stains all over the floor the next day!
Anna: A highlight of my month was a getaway with my sister to Stillwater. It was a charming weekend of dining, boutique shopping and enjoying the beautiful fall weather along the river. Our top find was Moroccan cheese curds at the Wild Hare. We couldn't pass up fudge from Tremblay's, followed by a walk up 159 steps for the reward of a skyline view of the Lift Bridge and downtown. Man, I love living in Minnesota! Another highlight was adventuring at Pinehaven Farm, including riding a tractor through a field of friendly longhorn cows, shooting an apple cannon, and seeing Owen’s face light up as he “test drove” some John Deere tractors. Ike and I binged The Gold, a fascinating show based on the true story of the Brink’s-Mat gold robbery of 1983, where an amateur heist turned into the crime of the century.
Meredith: A year of difference. Last year in October I wrapped up my to-do list, set my out of office, and had a beautiful baby girl. It was a sleepless time, but sweet and slow. We became homebodies. The only similarity it has to this October? We are still sleepless.
The first few days of October, Tasha and I flew to Ohio to meet the 5 other kiddos born on my mom’s side of the family and to surprise my Aunt Barbie for her 80th birthday! We came home and on Monday we had a one year old. On Wednesday we had check ups and shots. By Friday we had a ton of family in town.
On the 11th, we celebrated Tasha’s first birthday with nearly 40 people at our house. Honorable mention for chaos causing goes to our cat Hange who spent her second birthday trying to escape. She succeeded 5 times before we locked her in the basement. On the 12th was Tasha’s infant dedication at church. Then my parents watched her on the 13th.
On the 16th daycare was closed, so we headed down to Iowa to see the other side of the family who all traveled in for the weekend and they watched Tasha while I worked remote. Friday night, at roughly 11 p.m. Cory and I blew a tire on the Interstate and my high-vis AAA vests and car roadside kit came in handy – our spare tire only had 14 of 60 psi, but luckily I had an inflator on hand. On Saturday we got all new tires, and on Sunday we made it home safely.
You think this is a lot? Think again – Tasha has been teething, growing rapidly, and learning to walk this month which means we have NOT been sleeping. Despite all of this, we somehow think we can host our annual Halloween party again this year… We plan to be the hungry caterpillar (Tasha), a butterfly (me) and the food the caterpillar eats (Cory). Now that’s a lot – wish us luck!
Cullen: Every extra moment I spent outdoors in October was a little victory. Lauren ran the 10k race during TC Marathon weekend and several other friends of ours participated in the full marathon, so I spent the weekend chasing them around Summit Hill on my bike. The following weekend we enjoyed the St. Paul Art Crawl at the Schmidt Artists’ Lofts, which was almost overwhelming. There was something for everyone – ceramics, stained glass, textiles, metalwork, and every medium of drawing and painting imaginable. Highly recommended.
We took a weekend trip to Wausau later in the month for the wedding of two close college friends. It was timed perfectly with the peak of fall colors. The venue, a ski chalet, even had the ski lift running for guests to enjoy the colors and the 60-degree day in all their glory. Back home, Lauren and I tried Hai Hai(10/10) and finally made our way to St. Paul Brewing, which has inarguably the best patio in the Twin Cities.
As of writing this I have yet to fully lock down a Halloween costume, but I’m looking forward to parties with friends and our first (ever!) trick-or-treaters.
Julia: November completely snuck up on me. Warm temperatures and late fall colors played mind games across the state - I even had fresh-cut flowers from my mom’s garden on my desk until last week. Unheard of!
I love Halloween. Give me the funky seasonal cocktails, my yearly Practical Magic rewatch, and butternut squash in all my meals. The good folks of Rapp Strategies dressed up, decked out their lawns/houses/apartments, and filled the office with sugary goods. My neighbors went all-in on creepy and kitschy decor, and my friends and I capped it off with our annual Halloween party.
In between all the festivities, I traveled to see clients in Northfield, Owatonna, and Brookings, South Dakota. Northfield does, in fact, smell like cereal. As we gear up for the holiday season, I'm grateful for the coworkers, clients, friends, and family who keep me busy - and who keep me running all over the state.
Alida: October was one for the books! I took every chance to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather and changing colors with long walks around the neighborhood, including a particularly lovely visit to Minnehaha Falls.
The biggest highlight of the month was traveling to Chicago for a naturalization ceremony at the German consulate with my dad and brother. It was an honor to officially become a German citizen and a memory I'll always treasure. We celebrated afterwards with a delicious Italian dinner for my dad's birthday at Monteverde in Chicago's west loop neighborhood.
The excitement continued when we returned home for the Paul McCartney concert at U.S. Bank Stadium. It was phenomenal—three hours of music from a living legend who, despite being in his 80s, brought immense energy to the stage and sounded about as good as ever.
Other memorable moments included attending a friend's wedding in Milwaukee, enjoying Halloween festivities, and spending plenty of time with my cat. While it's hard to believe November is already here, I'm glad election season is behind us and look forward to more cozy nights ahead.
Jorrun: October is one of my favorite months and always feels like one of the shortest. I spent it trying to enjoy the last of the beautiful weather and vibrant colors. Quintessential fall activities included a trip to Waldoch Farm for their corn maze and pumpkin patch, bonding with my friend’s new kitten (aptly named Pumpkin), and a variety of Halloween activities.
I finally got around to watching some shows and movies that have been on my list, including HBO’s Chernobyl, Ex Machina, and The Substance – they were all fascinating and horrifying. Practical Magic and The Great Pumpkin provided some seasonal levity. I also started watching Killing Eve (Thanks for the recommendation, Marisa!).
Marisa: Nothing beats a fall road trip – especially when you’re the passenger and can just admire the leaves! Early in the month, my boyfriend and I drove to Milwaukee for the wedding of my dear college friend, which was beautiful. Later, we visited his family farm in South Dakota where the harvest was well underway. He brought back three pheasants, and I brought back an absurd amount of squash. Quite a feast!
Around Minneapolis, I’ve been checking music venues off my bucket list, including Keith Urban at the Xcel Center. His acoustic, country cover of “Pink Pony Club” was the crossover I didn’t know I needed. A music journalist friend of mine interviewed the artist Neko Case and scored tickets to her concert at First Ave. It was such a treat to be her plus-one to an incredible show.
Now, I’m hunkering down for the remainder of this semester of grad school and looking forward to the much-needed holiday breaks. Maybe then I’ll get back to reading and/or watching anything worth recommending!