Looking Foward To {September 2015}

• A (sunny?!) weekend at the lake for Labor Day
• My favorite St. Louis weekend – Loufest – with the headliner being my favorite band – Avett Brothers
• St. Louis Design Week – particularly the morning panels at KDHX, and hopefully the tours of the Arch and the Old Cathedral. Fingers crossed work doesn't get in the way! 
• Speaking of work, the culmination of a couple big projects we've been working on
• A nice, long weekend in Columbia to see Tim Gunn and my favorite festival, Roots n Blues
• More free time for yoga at Southtown
• Planning my late October trip to the Pacific Northwest (finally!)
• And likely the last bit of patio weather before fall hits

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A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

This 80 degree August is unreal. 

All I want is for someone to buy me a house in Shaw on a shady street. 

Preferably one with a porch for an American flag, a mid-size, fenced-in backyard for Maverick to play (and for a future small pool to be installed), exposed brick, a pretty staircase, pocket doors, high ceilings, hardwood floors and off-street parking.  

Looking Foward To {July 2015}

• A long 4th of July weekend at Tablerock Lake
• Muny Mondays, Softball Tuesdays, Wednesdays at MOBOT and Saturdays at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market
• A wedding at The Sheldon
• My sister, brother-in-law and niece coming in town for a whole week (!!!!)
• Tallest Man on Earth at the Pageant
• Lake weekend with friends

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A Perfect St. Louis Saturday, Summer 2015 Edition

7:30am: Coffee and toast at home while I watch Girl Meets World.

9am: Yoga at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market, follow by shopping for tomoatoes, kale, zuchini, blueberries, Marcoot Creamery Tipsy Cheddar and Companion white bread. Chatting with friends over iced coffee and muffins, standing in the newly filled wading pool, and – because it was the 10th Anniversary market – grabbing a Geilles beer from Urban Chestnut (PS: They should come every week, IMHO).

1pm: Lounging at the newly opened and free pool at Marquette Park. 

4pm: AC and frozen blueberries while I finish bingewatching OITNB.

6pm: BBQ and beer on a friend's patio while watch lightening bugs and discuss our favorite musicals.

On My Morning Walk

First Snow

Yesterday, St. Louis had it's first snow of the season. It was lovely... but only because I didn't leave my house all day. I snuggled with Maverick and watched TV and decorated my Christmas tree and drank red wine. In fact, these wonderful pictures are from Instagram (stlgasm, copychief and kevinkellyUSA) because there was no way I was going to venture out in the snow. Not ready for that yet.

This morning when I had to scrape the snow/ice off my car... it was not so lovely.

Looking Forward To {September 2014}

• the Love Party of the decade
• a month of music with Loufest in Forest Park, Roots n' Blues in Columbia, and the final Point Summer Show at the end of the month
• more yoga
• a couple farmer's market Saturdays with fall goodies like apples and kale
• cherishing these dog days of summer with as many outdoor events, iced coffee and patios as possible before making the switch to warm lattes and firepits. 

On Ferguson

I can't pretend to know how I'd react if I was on the scene. Be it as a protester, police officer, journalist. Would I resort to violence or force if I was scared or if I felt threatened or if I thought it would help? I can't sit here behind my computer and act like I know the answer to that question. It's easy to do that, but you can't really know.

I can't pretend that I know what they're thinking. I can't pretend to know how it feels to be Mike Brown's mother, family, friends, neighbors. Or on the flip side, to be the daughter of a police officer this week. I feel like my opinion isn't valid. What do I know of hate? Of danger? Of fear? Of injustice?

I can't sit here behind my computer and act like my opinion matters. That what I think is more valid than what "they" think – whether the "they" is the police, the rioters, the peaceful protesters, the media, the government officials. What do I know?

We're not even there. Most of us sitting at home posting song lyrics and famous quotes about love don't even know the first thing about what it's like to be in that situation. To be that scared. To be that hurt. To be that angry.

It's easy to sit back and look in and read reports and look at pictures and watch video and act like we know what's going on out there.

This Is What My Weekend Looked Like, Vol. 2

A weekend spent with great friends in Set Genevieve and in St. Louis in some of that classic STL summer heat.

LouFest 2014

For the last year, I've been fretting over not being able to go to LouFest 2014 because of a wedding in Columbia. Though I adore the brides, I have been to LouFest every year and it has become one of my very favorite weekends in St. Louis. 

So today, when I saw the line-up for Sunday featuring some of my most-anticipated acts (Pretty Little Empire, Portugal The Man, Trombone Shorty, Grouplove, Matt & Kim) I just decided to go for it and buy a single-day ticket. What the hell. It's just money, right?

That, and an early-morning, hungover drive back to St. Louis to stand outside in the heat at a festival all day. Totally rational decision. 

Looking Forward To {June 2014}

• Whitaker Music Festival at the Botanical Gardens
• a weekend at the lake with my buds
• the Minnick wedding <3 li="" nbsp="">
• Ray LaMontagne at the Fox
• more ApesHits wins (hopefully)
• getting back into running (maybe)

This Is What My Weekend Looked Like

 

jealous?

Don't Say St. Louis Is Boring

Too many events I want to go to this weekend, not enough time.

Neue Form at Hoffman LaChance Gallery, Friday
Thurman Loop Fest, Friday and Saturday
Road House 25th Anniversary Party at the Moolah, Friday and Saturday
Alive Magazine Hot List Party at Cortona, Saturday
Mofu Pop-Up at Sump, Saturday
Tower Grove Farmer's Market, Saturday
Strawberry Fest at Field's Foods, Saturday
Picnic in the Park at Tower Grove, Sunday
Farmhaus Crawfish Boil, Sunday
+ drinks with friends, graduation parites and crossing my fingers for some pool time.

Also, friendly reminder that Shakespeare in the Park is going on and Whitaker Music Festival starts next Wednesday. I love summers in St. Louis. 

Get Out

With this past weekend's 4 Hands Food Truck Fest and Broadway Oyster Bar Crawfish Boil, the official season of outdoor drinking events has begun. 

And I couldn't be more ecstatic. 

This Weather Though

Welcome, spring. I'm so happy to see you. 

Extensive STL Dining and Drink Guide

"Fancy" 

Niche in Clayton

Syndey Street near Soulard

Libertine in Clayton

Farmhaus in South City

Cielo in the 4 Season's downtown and Vin de Set near Lafayette Square both have awesome views of the Arch. Only other place to get that is 360, which is douchey. 

Cool bars that college kids don't go to / Good for drinks and apps

Olio new the Botanical Gardens - wine and apps. The burrata is awesome. It's in a rehabbed old gas station. 

Taste in CWE- cocktails and apps (don't feel weird about getting the fries bc they are amaze balls)

Bridge downtown, wine and beer

Sasha's on Shaw (bonus points for being in my neighborhood and having a patio). Note that there is a Sasha's in Clayton by the big Amoco sign. That's more hoity toity Clayton moms and dads. 

33 Wine Bar in Lafayette Square (not positive they have food....)

Brennan's in CWE (again, not positive they have food....)

For brunch

Brasserie in the CWE

Half and Half in Clayton

Mud House on Cherokee

Pastaria in Clayton - Also, for dinner, the best Italian in the city that IMO tastes more like Italy than anything on the Hill.
Local Harvest on Morganford (weekend brunch only)

- Less fancy brunch options are Benton Park Cafe near the AB Brewery and Soulard Coffee Garden in Soulard

Whiskey bars

All of these opened in the last three months. I guess whiskey is trending in STL:

Planters House near Lafayette Square

Gamlin Whiskey in CWE

Small Batch in Midtown

Whiskey Ring on Cherokee

"Hipster"

Silver Ballroom = pinball on Gravois near Bevo Mill

Fortune Teller Bar on Cherokee. 

Amsterdam + The Dam, soccer bar and hamburger place attached. On Morganford near TG Park. 

Tacos

"Fancy" tacos would be Gringo in the CWE, Mission Taco in the Loop or Seoul Taco in the Loop (*See also "Food Trucks")

Legit/normal tacos on Cherokee Street - Tower Tacos or La Vallesana.
- Other favorite non-taco-specific Mexican includes Pueblo Solis in South City, Milagro in Webster, Las Palmas in Maplewood, Chavas in Soulard

Donuts

Normal - World's Fair Donuts near Botanical Gardens. Cash only. Lady that owns it has a beehive. 

Hispter donuts - Strange Donuts in Maplewood, also open late night. 

Sammiches

Blues City Deli near Soulard 

LeGrands in South City

Mom's Deli in South City 

Burgers

Bailey's Range downtown

Russells on Macklind has an awesome burger, but only at dinner. And their desserts are AWESOME.

Stacked Burger Bar in South City
SOHA on South Hampton

Pizza

Good Pie in the Loop. Wood-fired pizzas. 

Pi - Downtown location is kinda of cool if you want to spend anytime downtown. It's in the new "MX District" on Wash Ave. 

Black Thorn Pizza in Tower Grove South. Deep dish is awesome but call ahead and order bc it takes for-ev-er. 

Breweries

Urban Chestnut - 2 locations. New one in the Grove or older one in Midtown. Both legit. My favorite. 

Civil Life in South City is my second favorite to UCBC

Schlafly Tap Room or Bottleworks = the classic. 

4 Hands near Soulard
AB Biergarten is actually pretty cool, too

Food Trucks

Seoul Taco, Guerilla Street Food, Cha Cha Chow and GoGyroGo are my absolute favorites. If you only have time for two, choose Seoul and Guerilla. Seoul is Korean tacos (I recommend the steak tacos and the yogi bowl) and Guerilla is Filipino. Note that Seoul also has an actual storefront in the Loop. 

BBQ

Pappy's in Midtown is the most popular, be prepared for a line. 

Bogart's in Soulard is 2nd most popular, but my personal fave. Again, lines. 

Southtown Pub in South City

Shaved Duck near TG Park for sit-down BBQ/soul food
Spare No Rib near Soulard / Benton Park

3am bars

Beale on Broadway

Talayana's if you're feeling crazy. It's fratty. But just go in with a good attitude. 

Handle Bar in the Grove for dancing. 

Sandrina's near the Hill

Patio

Milo's on the Hill. Bocci Ball, sweet patio, and legit good "St. Louis style" pizza. 

Broadway Oyster Bar. Jam bands, cool covered patio even if the weather isn't great, and split a bucket of crawfish. 

Atomic Cowboy in the Grove.Good tacos, too. 

Friendlys near TG Park. Cash only. 

The Royale in South City
Mokabe's for coffee, strawberry lemonade and sandwiches. Right by Tower Grove Park.
The Block in the CWE. Good for dinner, too. Potted Pig appetizer is my favorite app in STL. 

Sasha's on Shaw, Southtown Pub also have patios... but were already featured in other sections of this list.
Also, I hesitantly add Amsterdam Tavern and Tower Pub to this list. I have been to their patios and enjoyed them, but not in ages so I'm not sure what they are like nowadays.

Coffee
Sump Coffee in South City. Do not ask for cream or sugar.
Hartford Coffee Company near TG Park. I recommneded the Vietnamese Iced Coffee. It's like crack. 

Shaw Coffee on the Hill
Park Ave Coffee in Lafayette Square or Downtown
Foundation Grounds in Maplewood
Rise Coffee in the Grove
Blueprint Coffee in the Loop
Restituo in Shaw is super artsy. Not even hipster. It's hippie. But feels very NYC art scene.
Any Kaldi's

Food that will make you feel like you are at home with mom/grandma - Mama Josephine's in Shaw

Avoid -

- Clayton bars and Wash Ave in the evenings. Especially douchey. Unless you want to feel like you are back at Fieldhouse on penny pitcher night. 

- I used to advise people to stay away from the AB Brewery. Too touristy, and we have way better beer options in this city to show off. If you're out with beer-drinkers, drink local at one of the places advised. If you are with non-beer enthusiasts / Select 55 drinkers like my Dad, the AB Biergarten is actually pretty cool. 

- The Soulard bars you used to think were cool. We're too old/cool for McGurks, Llewelyns, Molly's. If you find yourself in Soulard, iTap is acceptable, or Carson's for karaoke. 

- The Landing. Period. 

"Share the Warmth" and Help Fellow St. Louisans!

Aside from getting to wear cozy sweaters and boots every day, I'm pretty much sick of winter. I'm ready to not have to carry a coat with me everywhere. To take Maverick for a walk and not fall on the ice. To not constantly worry how many more below freezing days my Dodge Neon will survive. 

But this Laclede Gas and United Way community program is reminding me how lucky I am for those to be my biggest concerns right now. While I'm complaining I don't have enough wine and coffee to get me through my next snow day, families all over St. Louis are struggling just to keep the heat on. 

Laclede Gas and United Way are making it super easy to help our neighbors with their DollarHelp program. Simply check the red box on your gas bill to donate one dollar a month to a neighbor in need. Simple as that. 

They're also hosting a "Share the Warmth" contest on Facebook with a chance to win a trip for four to  srping training. Geez, Florida sounds good right now, doesn't it? Crossing my fingers that a picture of me in pink camo hiking socks, drinking coffee while I sit in bed with Maverick watching House of Cards qualifies as a winner. 

*Just to be transparent - Laclede Gas did reach out to me asking if I'd help spread the word about the program. I'm happy to help. Plus, they offered me Cardinals tickets for next summer and I'll never turn that down.

Snowed In

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RIP Eric "Guitar" Davis

Some of my greatest nights were spent at Beale on Broadway in awe of your guitar skills. Thanks for the memories. 

Weekends

As I was sitting at Tower Grove Park enjoying the Festival of Nations yesterday, I realized that next weekend I'll be in Colorado and the weekend after that is Loufest - my absolute favorite weekend in STL. 

Life is good.