In the Mood

So spending a few days at Silver Dollar City has totally put me in the holiday spirit.  Christmas lights  everywhere,  Santa, carolers strolling, mulled cider, and no scrooges anywhere!!

This is as close to story book perfect that you are going to get. 

My recent visit, plus the case of Cakebread 2006, anderson valley pinot noir I scored, added with the snow that is coming on Saturday has definitely got me in the mood.  

But I can't over look Thanksgiving, we have so much to be Thankful for and it really is one of my favorite holidays.  I spent the afternoon picking up a few things for our house this thanksgiving.

and I could not resist this...

An absolutely adorable plate to serve the absolutely disgusting cranberry sauce from a can.
The hubs has one request each Thanksgiving, I put a can of cranberry sauce in the fridge 1 week before Thanksgiving just for him.  He likes it good and cold, and would like it to slide out of the can in one piece so he can see the ridges from the can.

Yeah we all know what I am talking about.

Hubs idea of great cranberry sauce...

and mine...

He has a major cranberry flaw!!

Life Lately

Does anyone else feel that September-December is just non stop busy?  I have barely had time to regroup since getting back from Costa Rica.  As soon as we got home we had my son's birthday..

Halloween..

a little Halloween cookie decorating at Williams Sonoma

and then your basic case of "reentry is rough"

But now I finally feel settled!

All I can say about Costa Rica is that it is an amazingly beautiful country.  It was never on my radar until the hubs brought it up as a possible vacation destination.  My initial reaction was , umm no!!  but I am so glad the hubs persuaded me, now I really want to take my kids next time.

our beach was amazing


The activities were endless

a little golf

as long as you can keep the monkeys off the course

kayaking

tennis on grass

which is extremely difficult

catch of the day.
Meet the resort fish monger and pick your dinner for that night, the red snapper is delish

rock climbing

zip lining

swimming in the hot springs then taking a volcanic mud bath
I know it sounds/looks gross but trust me your skin will feel absolutely amazing after this.

and a little paddle boarding

 At night you can release a wish lantern




and of course the animals were everywhere

 monkeys are like squirrels in CR, they are everywhere.

and extremely large iguanas.

It was such a great trip, I would recommend it to anyone, and to top it off, when we were checking out the concierge gave us a voucher for 3 free nights because they feel we did not experience the resort to the fullest since it was under renovations.

wow those wish lanterns really do work!!

Now I am off again today with my girls and my mom for our annual trip to Silver Dollar City

hee haw

Laid Back

Summer is all about forgetting schedules and flying by the seat of our pants, that is exactly what we have been up to.

We have been to the Hamptons of the Midwest aka Lake Michigan...

We tootled over to Chicago to see our girl Heather....

and a few other places

We hosted a baptism party weekend in our home for our niece...

and we took a quick jaunt down to Silver Dollar City..

Now we have 8 days in our city until we take off again for the Hamptons (Lake Michigan)

pack, unpack, laundry, repeat

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!!