The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

I promised this story about my years as a figure skater awhile back, but I wasn't ready to fall on my ass -again- until I knew in my heart it was time. I could write a book on my years of experiences as a figure skater but from the looks of things as they stand now...I will blog instead.

Last night my daughter, her friend and I went into Downtown Mpls for our ballet class at Zenon Dance School. Bear with me because the juices are flowing here...

After having a fun conversation with Jason DeRusha about what people's desks say about them, he was kind enough to get approval for me to come down to WCCO and take some candid snapshots of the areas that our favorite TV STARS call home when the lights, cameras, and action go out.

A word regarding this month's fashion feature and the related discussion: Jason DeRusha did not, in fact, call his wife slutty. He was simply being witty about the fact that 1) he is, in fact, male and 2) he therefore prefers that his beautiful wife wear form-flattering clothes. And yes, friends, in the minds of

The directive was simple: Pick an outfit for your sweetheart to wear to a hypothetical romantic dinner-on Valentine's Day, or any other occasion, for that matter. We proposed this to three reasonably fashionable folks, all with different ideas about what flatters the female form. Our guys-an intrepid television reporter and the owner of a women's boutique in Minneapolis's Wedge neighborhood-ventured to shops new to them, whereas our lady, a noted restaurateur, had her own suggestion (naturally): Could she visit a socially responsible eco-retailer?

So, yesterday I started working on the February fashion feature, for which men and women pick fashions for their sweethearts. (Check the crappily laid-out online version from last year.) First stop was Stephanie's in Highland Park with WCCO-TV reporter Jason DeRusha, who picked out a darling dress for his darlin' wife. That dress, however, shall remain unseen until the Feb issue hits