Happy Thanksgiving

Both the hubs and I have family coming in town today, let the fun begin!!

We have lots to be thankful for this year and lots on our agenda this long weekend.  

My husband finally gets to try a restaurant he has been dying to go to...

a pre feast run

This is our first year ever hosting Thanksgiving.  The hubs is in charge of the turkey

and I am making a few side dishes like this

and these

and this

My sister who was told she would never have babies of her own and adopted the sweetest boy from Korea 2 years ago is pregnant!!  yeah!!  I have hosting a little "sprinkle" for her on Friday.

She did not find out if she is having a boy or a girl so my party favors are this...

but in a cute brown paper bag.

Our botanical gardens are all decked out for the holidays so we are going to the gardens at night...

It's Thanksgiving weekend so we have to do a little shopping...

and on Sunday, after everyone has left I am going to bakeapolozza with my friends.  It is held at a local cooking school and we will spend the entire afternoon baking Christmas cookies...

and drinking a little this...

Have a beautiful weekend and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Scenes from my Weekend

My weekends of travel are officially over until Christmas!!  Despite the crazy weather we had in this part of the country, we had a great weekend.  

Thursday I was planning on spending the day at Silver Dollar City but it just poured and poured and poured so we came up with plan B, a rodeo

Dolly Parton (yes, you read that right) has a rodeo in Branson

She owns some of the biggest, most beautiful horses I have ever seen

Of course no photos in the rodeo, but it was really a great show.  It was a Christmas show with Santa so I think it softened the blow for my girls who were so disappointed we never made it to Silver Dollar City.

I am in LOVE with the bathroom sink, it looks like a watering trough and would be perfect in my laundry room

Friday I made it back to the Lou just in time for dinner

Saturday was my little staycation with some friends, we started with a food tour of the Central West End.

We stopped by 5 restaurants for a sampling of their best dish and best cocktail

Dressel's Public House 

I love this place, it has the first urban garden

and the cutest gift shop

Cafe Osage 

Pi Pizza 

Bar Italia

and our last stop

Bissinger's Chocolate

Once we were stuffed it was off to the spa

after we were all feeling refreshed we grabbed a coffee and did a little shopping

At this point we were FREEZING, I cannot even begin to tell you how cold it was on Saturday.  I hope this is no indication of the winter we have ahead of us.  We decided  the best thing to do was to warm up at the Whiskey House

cheers to girlfriends, birthdays, and great weekends!!

Pack, Unpack, Repeat

I cannot believe I am going out of town again this morning, but this is a very quick trip.  I am taking my girls and my mom and heading down to Silver Dollar City

If you are not familiar with Silver Dollar City the best way to describe it would be a cross between 6 Flags, colonial Williamsburg and Vegas minus the hookers.  It is about 4 hours south of STL in a town called Branson.  The hubs thinks it is totally cheesy ( I completely agree) but my kids love it here.  I don't like going in the summer it is hot, sweaty and crowded but I love going this time of year.

The place is totally decked out in lights

you can ride the Polar Express

there is a Christmas parade

and of course Santa is around

This trip always gets me in the holiday mood!!

I am rolling back in town Friday night just in time to go to dinner with my adorable next door neighbors.  The cutest 80 year old couple ever.  He wears a suit with an ascot everyday and she is always in pearls.  I would love to be as classy as them when I get older.  They are taking me and the hubs to their club which I think has one of the best views of the city skyline

Saturday I am having a little staycation with for a friends birthday.  We are starting off the day with a food tour of the city.  This event is hosted by a local food magazine.  We go to 5 different restaurants within walking distance of each other for a small plate of their best dishes plus a cocktail

then we are hitting up the spa

at the hotel we are staying at for the night

with most likely some late night craziness!!

Have a beautiful weekend!!

The Capitol Tour

We are back from a busy, fun filled, yet exhausting DC weekend.  My advice to anyone visiting our nation's capitol...do you homework, there is so much to do, so much to see, and so much history in this city.

Thursday, we arrived at our historic hotel (this hotel is the site of more than one presidential scandals)

grabbed a late afternoon snack then headed off to Union Station for our night tour of the city

I think we saw every monument on this tour

 The Capitol Building

The Washington Monument, beautiful at night by Reflection Pond

Thomas Jefferson Memorial, also reflecting in the pond

FDR Memorial

Iwo Jima

The Vietnam War Memorial

The Korean War Memorial

And the beautiful Lincoln Memorial

each one of these monuments was very powerful and an informative history lesson about our great nation


When we finally had dinner at 10:30 my son was ready to fall asleep in his plate

Friday we were off for a full day of activities!!  First stop, coffee

then off to the American History Museum

some of my favorite exhibits

Julia Child's kitchen



Michelle O'Bama's inaugural gown

and my personal favorite gown belonged to Nancy Reagan

Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz


Our second stop was Air and Space Museum

where we saw at little STL in the DC

We went on the the National Archives, to see the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, but no photos were allowed

After hours of walking, it was definitely time for a pick me up

We made a quick stop to the National Portrait Gallery, the portrait of every president is on display

Our last museum of the day was probably my son's favorite of the trip, the International Spy Museum

we did an interactive experience and it was so fun!!

Friday night my son was done, he ordered room service and the hubs and I went out for the best meal I had in DC

Saturday we swung by the White House before our "depressing day" begun.  Depressing in the fact we went to a lot of places that were not some of our finer moments as Americans

Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot by a fellow American because he wanted to end slavery

The Holocaust Museum.
It was eerily silent as we walked through this museum, you could of heard a pin drop.  Some of the exhibits were awful to look at.  They did not allow photo's in the museum but one exhibit had an enormous pile of shoes collected from the Jews before they were sent off to concentration camps.  I learned of the United States turing a blind eye to what was going on (something that is not discussed much in History books) and some of the videos taken during the holocaust were just disturbing.

After spending a few hours here, I needed a pick me up so we went to the Museum of Natural History.  The hope diamond did the trick

We ended our day at Arlington Cemetery

and saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier which brought tears to my eyes

"Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God"

I told my husband in this day and age of the Kardashians being viewed as god like (puke) and stories of whether or not Jennifer Aniston is pregnant/married/dumped being more important than what is going on in the world it is refreshing to see something so sacred being honored.

We hit up the Chinatown district for our dinner on Saturday night

and a much needed glass of wine!!

Our last day was totally laid back.  After all our sightseeing it was nice just to walk the streets of Georgetown

found a house for myself here

or here


The movie "The Exorcist" was filmed in Georgetown, we found the house from the movie.  My hubs read online they had to put up the high fence because silly people like us keep coming by and taking pictures

and those fatal stairs for the priest

interesting tid bit, the exorcist is a true story but the family is from St. Louis not Georgetown.  One of the priest that was present at the exorcism was a professor at St. Louis University and passed away recently.  I have heard a rumor of which house the family lived in, spooky!!

And finally I made a stop at Georgetown Cupcakes or for all you fans of the TLC show DC Cupcakes

once the bakery opened the line was around the block

and worth the wait!!

Another great trip down in the books!!  Well as the hubs says, "time to plan another vacation"