Halloween Night

Have a Boo-tiful Halloween!!

Tonight, as following with tradition, my next door neighbor and I set up a little table in our street and pass out candy to all the little goblins.  In addition to a big bowl of candy, champagne, and appetizers my contribution will also be a big pot of chicken tortilla soup.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

2 cans of green enchilada sauce

2 cans of red enchilada sauce

2 cans of great northern beans (rinsed and drained)

2 cans chopped green chiles

4 cups monterey jack cheese

Mix all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low until soup is warm and you are ready to serve.  Add crushed tortillas, more cheese, and a dollop of sour cream on top of each serving.

Powder Room Redo

One of the joys (or possibly downsides) of owning a home is the constant renovations and updating that goes on.  I am elbow deep in redoing my son's room but got sidetracked in the process.  I was at the paint store picking out a color for his walls, when I just casually started flipping through one of my favorite suppliers of wallpaper's book...

I saw this wallpaper and immediately knew this had to go somewhere in my house.

It took all of 5 seconds for me to decide that this paper would be perfect for my powder room.  The red is fine but it really does not flow well with my colors.  This room is right off my kitchen and now that my cabinets are blue it really clashes and is too bright.

I've always said decorating is a slippery slope, you do one room, which leads to another room, which lead to another.  Good thing it's a slippery, but really fun slope!!

Girl Friday

We have a very big Saturday this weekend.  This little guy here...

and here

and here he is again

is going to be a teenager

yikes!!

to celebrate we are going to an old mansion downtown that has been transformed into a restaurant

and during the month of October, Saturday night is the Halloween Murder Mystery dinner

I thought this was something different, and a fun way to celebrate a birthday.
Have a beautiful weekend mes amies!!

Friends

Last week, a friend of mine from college, that I have not seen in 10 years called me to let me know that she would be in STL for business.  She originally was hoping we could meet up for a dinner but we got to chatting like old times and she decided to come down a day early so we would have more time.  Her flight gets in today at 10 am and in addition to some major catching up I am going to show her around town.

The number 1 must see on everyone's list their first time to STL is the arch

I am insisting she see the beautiful Forest Park

and some of my favorite parts of the city

We will have to dine on traditional St Louis foods, like Imos pizza.  I don't know what it is about this pizza, but St Louisans are obsessed with this (me included).  When my sister comes back to town the first thing we always do is go get this pizza, and my brother in law that lives in Chicago always takes one with him as he is leaving STL and heading home.

It is paper thin and has provel cheese on top, which apparently is a unique flavor of cheese found only here

toasted ravioli ( a STL original)

and we will satisfy our sweet tooth with some gooey butter cake

and since our friendship was founded in college, a little drinking trip down memory lane

our top 3 drinks of choice!!

Scenes from my weekend

I spent just about every waking second of this past weekend with my in laws and I have to admit I enjoyed every moment.  I am fortunate in the fact that I truly love all of my husband's family and we have never had any major issues.  I have many friends who are not so lucky with the family they married into so I just count my blessings!

We started off Friday night downtown with dinner, cocktails and a small celebration for the newlyweds..

my sister in law Kari (the bride), me and my mother in law

The Cardinals had a home baseball game, so downtown was hoppin...

After we sent the parents home, we headed to our favorite Irish pub...

and we ran into my crazy friends.  I found myself doing shots well after midnight (very bad idea)...

despite getting only 4 hours of sleep, Saturday morning I rallied for the bridal luncheon...  

then came home and immediately napped!!

Saturday was the cocktail party for the newlyweds.  As you can see in this 14 second video of my father in law dancing, the alcohol was flowing.

He's got moves like Jagger!!

My sister in law and I getting a good chuckle at my cute father in law...

we never made it to our second party...

Sunday, bloody mary brunch...

and since this was Kari's first time to STL, a mandatory trip to the arch on a beautiful fall afternoon...

For Sunday dinner, I served a pumpkin soup in these adorable soup tureens...

and everyone gobbled up my 4 cheese rigatoni...

Although my father in law always the carnivore, thought this dish would be just as, if not tastier, with sausage.

Monday Morning

Happy Monday!!  I had a fantastic weekend, but this is how I feel....

and this is what I need...

Girl Friday

Even though my brother in law is already married, I feel like this is their wedding weekend.  Since the couple had a small intimate wedding atop a mountain in Vail, this weekend they will be in St. Louis for a second reception.

Tonight feels like the rehearsal.  A small intimate dinner for family and close friends.  The restaurant happens to be one of the two owned by my brother in law's good high school friend.  Dr Beautiful and I were just at his other restaurant recently.

Saturday while the boys are golfing, the girls will be at a bridal luncheon...

then Saturday night is the reception/cocktail party at my in law's home...

If I am on a roll Saturday evening, the hubs and I will sneak off to our second party of the night.  A couple friends are hosting a Dallas themed party.  I will not be partaking in the "come as your favorite character attire" but I am sure I can be talked into a shot of whiskey...

Sunday morning is the brunch...

complete with a little "hair of the dog"

 Sunday night, dinner at our house to see the bride and groom one last time before their early Monday morning flight.  My sister in law is a vegetarian so I found a meatless dish on pinterest that looks amazing...

Four Cheese Rigatoni

and since my husband is not a vegetarian, I also found something for his appetite...

Chicken Piccata 

OMG I am going to gain 10 pounds this weekend!!

Leather or Wax?

My quest for the perfect leather legging has lead me here...

Of course the $895.00 price tag was just too crazy, I mean you can fly to Europe for that kind of coin!


Of course you cannot go cheap, then you just look like you wrapped your legs in garbage bags...

What's a girl to do??

This is when my friendly Nordstrom salesgirl stepped in with her solution, waxed jeans.  She found this pair of waxed jeans by AG for me.  They really look like leather, but since they are waxed they are much more affordable.  I have been seeing waxed jeans everywhere this season, up until about a month ago I had never even heard of this.  I decided to bite the bullet and get this pair.  We have a busy weekend coming up so my timing is perfect.

What do you think about waxed jeans?

Scenes from the Weekend

I can officially cross camping off my list.  I did it, and it is so not for me!!

I loved the horseback riding...

I loved the hiking...

I loved the cocktails by the fire...

but when it was time for bed, I was so over camping and just wanted this...

I did however, get to spend some precious time with my daughter, which was the only reason why I even went.  For that reason alone I would do it again.

In addition, I found these fruit thingys everywhere at our campsite.  I didn't even know what they were but Libby and I gathered a few because I knew I wanted to take them home and do something with them.  

and here is what I did (with a few extra gourds)...

I also found out they are hedge apples, just in case you were wondering;)

Ah happy Monday!!