St. Louis Spring 23 :: Day 03

Last day in St. Louis. Brian and I walked around campus and ran into the Wienermobile. According to Hudson, it is there a lot. Turns out we rode the elevator down with the driver and already talked to her. She handed us Wiener Whistles and we found out there are only 6 Wienermobiles in the US. The drivers commit to a year, and travel all over. After we checked out of our hotel, we met up with Hudson, then had lunch at City Foundry before making our way back home. The boys all had on one of their trips without me, but I had driven by Pink Elephant Antiques so many times, and had never been. We weren't in a rush to get back, so made it happen this time. The inside was insane. Those kinds of places make me crazy, so I wasn't a huge fan. But I loved the quirky sculptures outside. After that stop, it was time to head home. I already can't wait to visit St. Louis again.

St. Louis Spring 23 :: Day 02

The next day, we woke up, had a little breakfast in the room, then met up with Hudson again and went out for coffee. When we were outside, we heard a police car squeal and turnaround quickly. Soon we saw what they were after -- a car went speeding down the street towards the area we were in. Along with a bunch of other people. It tried to make a quick turn, but ended up going over a curb and crashing. It was crazy. The person was fine and ended up running down the street (we think he was caught later). What blew me away (in a good way), is people ran towards the car to help. One of the chefs in a restaurant even ran out with a first aid kit. I thought that was pretty amazing. It was a scary situation though. And what's really nuts, is when we were in The Loop the night before, there was a high speed chase through the main street. We saw two in less than 24 hours. Really sad, if you ask me. Anyhoo, after coffee we went to check out St. Louis City stadium. It's really impressive. Hopefully some day we'll get to a game. When pre-sale started for season tickets, there were over 65,000 people who signed up. Tickets are impossible to get and super expensive. The team is doing great though. There's always Amsterdam Pub I guess. After that, we walked through The Gateway Arch. We hadn't done that since Spring Break four years ago and it was the perfect day. Then we walked through The Grove and grabbed sandwiches at The Gramophone. Hudson had to get back for a meeting and swim, and Cole wanted to chill in the room for a little bit, so Brian and I walked through City Foundry then grabbed slushy cocktails at Narwhals before going to back to the room to get ready for an amazing dinner at indo. We've been wanting to go there for awhile, but never planned well enough -- until this time. It was a really nice treat for all of us.

St. Louis Spring 23 :: Day 01

We just got back from a couple days from St. Louis. I can't believe we haven't been there since September. It's such a fun city to visit. We left during a crazy snow storm. Honestly, it was pretty treacherous. But we made it, and thankfully, the weather was gorgeous in St. Louis. Hudson met us at our hotel, then we went to the St. Louis University soccer game. Afterwards, we headed to The Loop for some hand tossed noodles and dumplings at Corner 17. I had never been before and have been wanting to go the past few times I've been there. It was a long wait, so we picked up some boba and headed to the record store for a bit. After dinner, Hudson took us to Amsterdam Tavern to watch the St. Louis City soccer game. It was packed, and so much fun. Such a fun first day.

Moments 03 23 :: Week 04

Friday was Brian's birthday, so we had our friends Aaron and Stephanie over to celebrate.

We had our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. Actually, I tried a new recipe this year, and it was fantastic. 

I also made a pistachio cake that was to die for. Wish I would have taken a better photo. Our friends Jennie and Brian also stopped by after their dinner reservations (it was that Brian's birthday the day before) to join us for dessert. Yum.

Meanwhile, Hudson and his crew made their way back to St. Louis. First, a stop in Atlanta for a day. One of the roommates, Sam, is from there. Sounds like they had a great day getting shown around. They even went to an Atlanta soccer game.

Van's favorite place to be when anyone is cooking.

A really good smoothie bowl breakfast for me (the guys ate corned beef and hash). Not something I usually eat, but this was delicious. 

If you know me at all, you know this just made my day. A bunch of little deer frolicking in a yard during our walk. The front one was a little adventurous, and actually started coming over to me and dogs. 

It's always National Puppy Day in our house. Just look at those two. The sweetest.

Quick photo as I was getting ready to go to sleep. Almost forgot to show off my new hair cut. After all, it won't look like this again. Yes, that is a Van Duke right next me. Such a snuggler.

Moments 03 23 :: Week 03

A perfect Saturday night. 

Celebrating Mack's 18th birthday.

Such a fun afternoon.

I love it random rainbows pop up. 

Hudson and his roommates spent their spring break this past week in Florida at Nina & Papa's. 

Papa had to come to Wisconsin for business (so yes, Nina was at their place with the boys a few days -- and I'm pretty sure she totally spoiled them). We were supposed to see each other last time he was in town, but weather got in the way. Thankfully, this time it worked out. Even Cole got to join us thanks to soccer being cancelled. 

Moments 03 23 :: Week 02

A scene from Hudson's Saturday. SLU Swim traveled to IUPUI [Indianapolis, IN] for a meeet. 

Meanwhile, Brian had a last minute trip to Paris, where he's been all week. I'm picking him up from the airport late tonight. 

Beautycounter celebrated our 10th anniversary. I co-hosted an event with these fantastic ladies. Such a fun afternoon.

We had a huge snowstorm on Thursday evening. Since there was no power at the school, Friday was a snow day. Gretel was very happy to have Cole home. Speaking of Cole, after a rough weekend, he's doing much better post-surgery. He's still very limited in what he can do for another week, but feeling so much better.

Van (and Gretel) had a blast with all the fallen branches. It was super thick snow. I decided to put it off first thing this morning and go into the gym, then tackle it all. Let's just say, after a bunch of cleans and front squats, snow blowing and lugging giant tree limbs through the yard, I'm so sore. Looking forward to a little R&R this weekend.

Moments 03 23 :: Week 01

Cole and his friends spent the weekend Up North. They came back very sleepy and had a great time. 

Meanwhile, Brian and I went to Racine to celebrate Joan's 83rd birthday. First we had lunch at the Yard Arm. 

 

Then we went back to the house for cake. Danish Layer Cake is a Racine favorite. Brian and I decided to try our hands at making our own. It was pretty amazing.

On Sunday we went to one of my favorite places ever, the Milwaukee Art Museum. 

It was beautiful day for it, and I always find it interesting, which pieces catch my attention that day. It changes every time. Here's a little inspiration from the day.

I finished a puzzle! I think I was scarred by the last one I did. It was almost impossible and took months to finish. So it's been awhile since I've done one. Loved this one. So relaxing.

I also finished a book. Really good writing, very hard topic. A must read for everyone.

This week, Cole also had to have hernia surgery. Poor guy. We've known about this for a couple of months. The timing stinks. He'll be missing a really fun March filled with soccer travel and games against MLS academy teams. But he wanted to get it done as soon as possible so he's completely healed and ready for the college season. I get it. I think it's turning out to be a bit more painful than he anticipated. I can't wait for him to be back to his normal self in several weeks.