Tag: mn t-girls

Keg and Case and Stilettos

by Hannah

This past Saturday was the first MN T-Girls event of the year! This November we will be celebrating our ten year anniversary and my goal for 2023 is to have as many new events for the group as possible. I mean, we’ll still have many of our normal adventures like attending Pride and our holiday parties but I am hoping to strut around new locations and have new experiences.

For our January event we met up at Keg and Case Market a food hall/indoor market in Saint Paul. It’s a little hard to explain but there are small pop-up retailers and a coffee ship and a brewery and tiny restaurants.

We got together for girl talk and coffees and cocktails and just enjoyed a quiet afternoon after the chaos of the recent holidays.

It was a fun day and we all looked amazing.

Love, Hannah

Merry and Bright and Fabulous

by Hannah

This weekend was the final MN T-Girl event of the year. And! It was the return to how we normally celebrate the holidays since the last two years were impacted by COVID.

When I say normal, what I mean is the night was filled with pretty girls, beautiful dresses, and lots of girl talk. We chatted about clothes and the upcoming year.

The holiday party is a wonderful way to end a year of friends and beauty. I can’t wait for 2023 to celebrate our ten year anniversary with each other.

Until then, enjoy a few photos from the party. Thank you to every t-girl who made the party bright.

Love, Hannah

Nine Years and Counting

by Hannah

The MN T-Girls have our final event of 2022 this weekend.

I am in the beginning stages of planning events for the upcoming year and it’s not always easy. Some monthly events are a given, such as the annual Halloween party in October (obviously) and Pride in June. We have an annual photo shoot and a holiday party in December (also obviously), too. That covers four out of the twelve monthly adventures.

It’s a balancing act planning events, to be honest. I have let go of trying to make sure sure EVERY event is appealing to EVERY t-girl. That’s not to say that I ever want or intend to exclude ANYONE. What I mean is that every girl in the group has a different degree of what they are comfortable in doing, and what sounds fun.

For some girls they are only ready to go to an LGBTQ+ café or nightclub. For some the bar scene is not for them and would rather spend the day shopping. Knowing this I try to plan events throughout the year that offer both extremes.

Cost is also a factor. The photo shoot we did last month is out of the price range for many since there is the fee for the studio rental as well as for our photographer’s time and talent. I know that money makes some events prohibitive which is why we also will meet up for for coffee and girl talk.

Some events are super memorable such as private makeup lessons or going to a play. Some were a lot of fun, like the yoga class we did earlier this year, but weren’t really appealing to many in the group. The girls who went really enjoyed it, however.

I encourage feedback from the group about events as it helps me plan future adventures. Sometimes I am told that an event isn’t for them, whether it’s because of cost or it’s not something they are comfortable doing en femme. I appreciate hearing this. If we have something planned and it’s not for them, hopefully a future event is perfect for them.

That being said, November of 2023 will mark ten years of the MN T-Girls.

TEN YEARS.

Honestly I never thought I’d still be doing this for this long.

Our community is something to celebrate, and it would feel like a missed opportunity to not acknowledge this milestone.

To be clear this is not an acknowledgment of something I DID that is worth celebrating. It’s a celebration for every t-girl in the group. Whether it’s a girl who comes to almost every event or someone who joined but isn’t ready to attend, the group exists for t-girls looking for support and friends. I plan on continuing the group as long as girls keep showing up.

Although I can come across as shallow, please believe me that I am so excited and I am sincere in my enthusiasm whenever a t-girl joins us for their first event. Many times it’s their first time out en femme. How amazing is that?? If that’s not something to celebrate I don’t know what is.

Even though I have no plans to stop the group, I also know that nothing lasts forever. Life happens. I could move out of state for a job. I could develop a medical condition. Presenting as a gender that is different than the one you were assigned to at birth could be made illegal.

As of right now I have no plans to move, I (think) I am healthy, and I am not aware of any laws the state of Minnesota is considering that could make me illegal, although who knows what may happen in the next week or within the next year?

Knowing this, I want to really celebrate our ten year anniversary.

I have a few ideas and I have gotten a lot of great suggestions from the girls in the group, but I thought it would be fun to open it up to ya’ll.

Honestly one idea is to invite EVERYONE. A HUGE weekend celebration at a hotel or event center. Live in Illinois? Come on up. Live in Canada? Come on down. I would love to book an event space at a hotel and we all dress up in beautiful gowns and celebrate all of us.

Another idea is an all day event at the Mall of America. An entire day of girl talk and shopping and dining and roller coasters. The mall is a very short Uber ride from the airport after all…

Like… for at least a day everyone could be a MN T-Girl.

I don’t know how feasible any of this would be and would take a lot of money and planning but if any celebration is worth putting in this effort it’s one that honors the courage and beauty of every t-girl in the world.

Love, Hannah

Set Your Phasers to Stun…

by Hannah

…because yesterday’s MN T-Girl photo shoot will leave you speechless!

I recently wrote how the professional photo shoot we do each year is one of my favorite events because it’s a peek inside someone’s soul… and their closet. Yesterday absolutely proved that as the girls were princesses and beauty queens. It was wonderful.

Five t-girls spent a few hours getting glammed up and dolled up and wearing absolutely amazing dresses and outfits. It was inspiring and a little humbling to see so many beautiful t-girls.

I can’t wait to see what the photos look like and I’ll post them as soon as I can for you. In the meantime, here is a little peek at the fun we had.

Love, Hannah

Lights and Cameras and T-Girls!

by Hannah

Tomorrow the MN T-Girls have our monthly outing which will be our annual photo shoot.

I do several photo shoots throughout the year but the yearly shoot our little group does is always my favorite one.

The MN T-Girls are celebrating our ninth anniversary this month and I’ve been reflecting on what we have done while also thinking about the future. Some events have been a lot of fun and some have been very unique and some, well, weren’t as popular or as fun as I thought they would be.

No matter what we do, each month usually has “a first” for at least one girl attending. For some outings it’s a girl’s first time out en femme. When we go out to dinner there’s a good chance it’s someone’s first time dining in a dress. These milestones are significant and I am always so happy and proud of my new friends.

The photo shoots are, in a way, a glimpse into someone’s heart and their closet. What I wear for a shoot I feel is a reflection as to how I feel about my myself. Lingerie can project confidence, leather suggests fearlessness, a gown reveals that undeniable desire to be as beautiful as I can.

I absolutely love seeing what the girls choose to model for these shoots. It might be a costume, it might be a sundress, or a wedding gown. I think a lot of what is hanging in our closets has a story behind it. There’s a reason we bought it. Some of us have a gorgeous floor-length gown because we’ve always wanted to be a princess. A short and tight mini-dress radiates a confidence that the rest of the world might not see from their male life (if they have one).

My point is that our hearts have secrets and desires. We have yearnings and pangs of emotion. What we wear shows what we wish for. We may not be a princess in real life but for a few hours each year we can pretend.

Love, Hannah

Tricks, Treats, and T-Girls!

by Hannah

This past Saturday was the annual Halloween party for the MN T-Girls!

Like previous years, the party was held at one of our members’ home who graciously opened her home to the girls.

On a personal note I always intend on planning a very elaborate or creative or sexy (or a combination of all three, lol) costume but the event always seems to sneak up on me. Instead of really doing anything I decided to channel my inner goth and rock as much black leather as I can.

Buuuut then I see the cute costumes the other girls wear and I get jealous and resolve to plan something for the next year.

And I will. Promise.

It was a lovely night with yummy food and fun girl talk. I am so lucky to know these girls.

Love, Hannah

We Had A Latte Fun!

by Hannah

This past Saturday was the monthly MN T-Girls outing and we spent the afternoon at Cafe Latte, an upscale coffee shop in Saint Paul!

Café Latte is very much a Saint Paul landmark and I used to visit there when I was in my late teens so it was very fun to go back… this time en femme. All in all there were about a dozen of us having coffees and girl talk. We chatted about everything from makeup to family to clothes (of course).

I didn’t get any pictures but everyone looked super cute, lol.

We also planned the events for the rest of the year… Halloween, the annual photo shoot, and the return of the holiday party. It was a fun afternoon and it’s even more fun to look forward to what’s next!

Love, Hannah

Because We Can Can Can

by Hannah

Yesterday was the monthly MN T-Girl s event and it was a very unique outing. The group has had private shopping events and lovely dinners but this month? We had some fun.

Can Can Wonderland is… well, it’s an arcade, a restaurant, and an indoor mini-golf art installation in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

For some reason the girls have asked throughout the years to go mini-golfing and who am I to disagree?

So, about a half-dozen of us spent a rainy Saturday playing pinball and vintage video games. I didn’t get a chance to play any golf but the course looked amazing.

It was a nice break from packing and work stress and I can’t wait to go back!

Love, Hannah

Patio Partying with the MN T-Girls!

by Hannah

Saturday night was the monthly MN T-Girls outing and we celebrated the end of a long week with a lovely evening of food, girl talk, and drinks on the patio at Aster Cafe!

I had written a few days ago about how much I was looking forward to Saturday but it wasn’t until I sat down and could just… rest for a little while when I realized how much I needed a break from the real world.

It’s always wonderful to see the girls and make new friends and joining us for dinner was my friend Alicia from California who was in Minneapolis for work. Rarely do the stars align so perfectly when I have friends in from out of town so I was very happy it worked out.

Special thanks to everyone at Aster who treated us like ladies and served us yummy food!

Love, Hannah

Hello from Pride!

by Hannah

Yesterday the MN T-Girls made a fabulous return to Pride and it was a wonderful day. Organizing and preparing for Pride is a lot of work. I mean, we have to set up a tent! In heels! But we did it. Want to see?

Look at the beautiful t-girls and look. at. all. the. PINK.

And look at me!

Although preparing for Pride is a lot of work, once things are set up the fun really begins. It was a good day. The weather held, we chatted with a lot of people, and the T-Girls made me proud by talking with others about the group.

Every year as we struggle with driving metal stakes into the ground to secure the tent I promise myself that we are never doing this again but after a few minutes of being a part of the community I remember why we will be back.

Thank you to all of the MN T-Girls who helped make the day a success. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hi. It’s nice to know that we are helping others live their lives and find friendship and support.

Love, Hannah