Re entry

We are back from a sun filled week in Florida, I have come to the conclusion that a beach week is good for the soul and can fix just about anything.

But now it is back to reality which is dirty laundry, unread mail, suitcases to put away, groceries to buy, and we need to get ready for our exchange student who comes tomorrow.

The great thing about having our exchange student is that I feel like I am going to all the great places our city has to offer, that I take for granted because I live here.  I want our exchange student to go home and feel like he truly knows St. Louis.

Top of our list..

take him to the top of the arch

and

Cards game

we have one of the best zoos in the country

Grant's Farm

home of the famous Clydesdales 

The City Museum

one of the best children's museums in the country

A segwey tour of the city

Our exchange student loves blues music and as luck would have it BB King will be here next week so we are taking him his concert

and to a restaurant dedicated to blues where Chuck Barry is a barfly and has been known to give impromptu concerts

and of course some of our locally famous dining establishments

I love that I am rediscovering my city, too bad it took an exchange student form Ireland to motivate me!!

Happy Spring!!

See you all next week!!

Ladies who lunch

I have 5 friends who will also be down in Seaside for spring break next week, so today we all meeting up to get ready for the trip.

We are starting off here...

then off for this...

and finally here

Happy hump day!!

It's in the bag

With our upcoming trip just days off,  I have already started the packing process.  Last year for Christmas I gave the hubs a new set of luggage, but now it is time to update our weekender style of bags.  I already have my lists of favorites

I love sailcloth bags

here

My daughter loves Vera Bradley, so this one is perfect for her

This is one that not only would I carry, but so would my son or hubby

and this one too

and of course the creme de la creme

Well Read

I have a couple resolutions for 2014 and one of them is to read more books than I did in 2013.  I read 15 books during 2013 and I would recommend every last one...

and the book I finished on the beach on New Year's Eve

I have mentioned it before, but The Storyteller hands down was THE BEST book I have read.

Now for 2014 I am not off to a good start, so for for this year I have only read 3 books

This book takes place in St. Louis, actually right in the part of the city where I live, so that was fun to read.  I liked the book but the ending just bugged me.  Without giving anything away, I am fairly certain that if I did what the main character did my ending would be drastically different.

Great book, this is what happens after someone has been kidnapped and held hostage for 7 years during which that time she has a baby.

The third book is for my book club tonight

I feel like I should like this because it is about an 18 year old boy who has 4 near death experiences before he finally passes away .  It is a true story, written by the boy's sister.  The writing was all over the place and his experiences are about seeing a white light.  I will admit I still have about 50 more pages to read before tonight so my opinion might change, all my friends in our book (wine) club keep saying how much they love it.

I need some really good recommendations or I am not going to fulfill my resolution this year!!

Ramblings

Happy Tuesday!!  We had yet another snow day yesterday, so over this winter!!

I watched the Oscars Sunday night and I must admit I was a little underwhelmed with the gowns.  I had a few that I liked....

(and she is not even an actress)

but no one really blew me away.

I saw the Alexander McQueen beauty that Cate Blanchett wore in real life...

and it is an amazing work of art

I was so excited on Saturday to have 4 uninterrupted, all to myself hours with my son.  He is at the age where he is so busy with school, sports and friends that I feel like I never spend quality time with him anymore.  I told him from now on we have a date one Saturday every month. ( yep I am the nagging girlfriend)

I had a huge handful of vodka soaked gummy bears at our party Saturday night

which turned out to be a very bad idea come Sunday morning.

Tonight, for our big Mardi Gras dinner my son asked me to make lasagna.  Hands down, the best recipe comes from this cook book

I know, it is so embarrassing to even have this on my shelf.  The hubs gave this to me before we were even married, its a combo cookbook/retelling of story lines (trust me some were really stupid) but I only look at it for lasagna.


My son's school has "brother schools" all over the world so there are constantly exchange students coming and going throughout the year.  Some boys stay for the entire year and some stay for 2 weeks, anyway at the end of the month we will be hosting a boy from Ireland for 3 weeks.  My son is still in middle school so he cannot study abroad until high school, but I am going to force him to do that when he is old enough.  This will be great for him because he can get idea of what it will be like to live in someone else's home

The only thing that is making this winter bearable

We are one day closer to spring!!