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

I had such a fun weekend with Heather, weekends spent with friends makes me realize how lucky I am to know so many fabulous, genuine women!!

We started our weekend on Friday with a late lunch at our very famous (well at least in STL) tea room. This tea room is famous for 2 things...

their amaze-balls salad

and the hand-made cherry dresses for little girls.

After I picked up my kiddos from school and got them off to where they needed to be it was happy hour!!

We started off with my new favorite

then it was time for our massages....

and after, a little more wine and some munchies

Saturday we decided to hit up the new outlet mall that opened in August

I found a few things, but Heather made out like a bandit!!

Saturday night we did a little restaurant tour of St. Louis.  We got all dressed up and headed to the Central West End

Our first stop was Central Table Food Hall.  We sat at the bar

ate some sushi

and ordered from their extensive wine list

we had so much fun we missed our second reservation and went straight to our third...

where we had martinis 

and the most amazing artichoke ever!!

Needless to say I was not the best hostess to Heather Sunday morning!!  However after getting her to the airport and taking a much needed nap, I rallied in time to celebrate my son's birthday

Dinner at Maggianos, that where every 14 year old boy wants to eat apparently.

And now it is crunch time, our auction is in 5 days!!

Girl Friday

SO EXCITED!!

My girl Heather, is coming to STL for the weekend!!

Don't want to give to much away but I have a fun filled weekend planned!!

It involves this...

this

this

and lots of goods times

I love playing hostess to my friends and since this is her first visit to St. Louis I have to do it up right!!  

Cheers to a girls weekend!!

The Swing of Things

After being home for a little over a week, I am finally feeling a little settled and have most of our unpacking done.  I was just going through my phone looking at all my pictures and was either smiling or laughing at almost every shot.

On my way to Michigan I made a pit stop in Chicago for a couple of days.  

First up, a night out with no kids!!

I had dinner, many many drinks and many many laughs with Heather

crazy eyes=crazy fun

The next day after the tylenol kicked in, it was off to see the city with the kids.  First stop is always American Girl even though we have one here in STL.  I think my girls are on to me and know I will always buy them something.

A walk through Millennium Park

Shedd Aquarium

The stingray tank where you can pet the stingrays 

and our favorite, the beluga whale

Our last evening we took a sunset cruise down the Chicago river.

It was such a great way to see the city plus I actually did learn so interesting facts about Chicago.


I even managed a quick stop to Zara where I picked up some glitter shoes

We always have a great time in the windy city!!

And We're Off!!

Today I am off again, my first stop...

Chicago.

We have lots planned in the second city.  I have a dinner date with Heather

A stop at Shedd

to see the dolphins

and the beluga whales

A sunset cruise on the Chicago River

and a visit with my old friends

and

So excited!!

Chicago

Re entry from vacation is always rough and this one is no exception.  I feel like we made the most of the time we were gone, and had many fun filled days and nights.

I loaded the kids and the car and we said au revoir to St. Louis...

and bonjour Chicago...

our first night in town the beautiful Heather had us all over for pizza and wine...

and just as I suspected, our girls were instant best buddies...

We spent our days at The Bean at Millenium Park...

The amazing Field Museum...

watching the most spectacular polar bear at Lincoln Park Zoo, who I swear was posing for photo opps

A stroll down my favorite street in the city...

my early morning caffeine fix...

and of course a little shopping on Michigan Avenue...

Dinner with my brother and sister in law by their new place..

My last night in town, Heather and I had the most delicious meal at Paris Club (but sadly no pictures)..

and just as I was heading back to my hotel one of my friends from St. Louis called me, she happened to be in Chicago too so we met up for a late night cocktail...

 A great start to my vacation for sure!!