Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving dinner with the family:

 

Sunday Dinner

Last month we invited Grandma and Grandpa over on a pretty summer evening for dinner. I love Sunday dinners with family. We used to do Sunday dinners more often when my step siblings were still living at home. Now we might go out to eat on a Sunday, but usually my mom and Carl go out of town (at least in the summer) so I just do something on my own.  But, last month there was a rare Sunday where we could all get together and enjoy an evening with family.

Grandpa got a new Cardinals shirt for Father's Day. Go Cards!

Carl barbequed and all the food was excellent as usual. 

Have I mentioned before that I love our backyard and our view of the woods? Ah, this neighborhood, it makes me never want to leave. So pretty. 

Father's Day 2013

This year my dad was out of town on Father's Day (in Cancun) so I spent the day hanging out with the rest of my family. At lunch I went to my grandparents house for a potluck style lunch and spent some time visiting. Then, later in the evening I went out to eat with my stepdad, Carl, stepbrother, Dane, and my mom. We went to a few of our fave St. Louis restaurants- Pho Grand and The Gelateria. I am already craving Pho Grand again!

 

Saturday Fun

We've had a lot of rain in the St. Louis area lately, but thankfully, Saturday afternoon was nice, so my family and I headed to one of our local bar/grills for some outdoor dining.

 

After lunch we headed over to a local antique/gift/doll gallery shop.  My mom and Carl came across the shop when they were biking on the trails in the morning. My mom knew it was a shop I would like so she told me that I had to see it.  

And she was right! This place was amazing and had so much stuff! 7000 sq ft filled with dolls, doll house items, antique toys, paper dolls, ornaments, and other antique furniture/miscellaneous items. 

These Wizard of Oz glass ornaments were so cute and I really wanted them, but did not want to pay the somewhat hefty price.

There was so much to see that I could have easily looked around for hours!

And the dollhouses.....wowza. I loved all of the miniature furniture and dolls. So cool! I didn't have time to look through it all, but I really want to go back again. 

 

I will admit that some of the old dolls were a little creepy, but the majority of the toys were really cool.  There were also some really neat gifts and ornaments, so I will probably go back again for holiday decorations (hopefully the shop will be around awhile-we were the only people there while we were shopping which is not the best sign). 

The shop is in a really pretty part of town that I don't often drive through. It's funny that I live in a somewhat small town (24,000 people or so) and there are still shops/restaurants that I haven't heard of or visited. But, I love these pleasant surprises!

Thanksgiving 2012

27

Celebrated my 27th birthday with family on Monday:

Time to enjoy what is left of my 20s!

Taste of St. Louis

Last weekend I went to the Taste of St. Louis with my family. The weather was perfect, the Rams, and the Cardinals were playing in town (and both won!), and it was overall a great atmosphere for a day downtown.

Some of the food we enjoyed:
-Extra dark chocolate sea salt bark from Kakao. My favorite.
-General Tso Chicken from Hot Wok Cafe
-Sweet potato casserole from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
-Creamy Reuben soup from Monty's Sandwich Company
-Green Curry from Manee Thai
-White Chocolate Raspberry Gooey Butter Cake from Park Avenue Coffee
-Shrimp & Scallop Cerviche from Yemanja Brasil Restaurante
-Tamale from Siete Luminarias Mexican Restaurant

We loved everything we tried. Maybe we went a little overboard? But, we did share all of these dishes! I am now looking forward to the Shaw Art Fair and Best of Missouri Market.