Meet Precious, an adorable cocker/springer spaniel mix. Of course, when I found her cowering in our yard Sunday night, I didn’t know her name. She didn’t have any ID tags, except for the ones that the Humane Society gave her, including the rainbow collar. As soon as she saw me, she ran across the street, but I went outside, bent down with a treat and she ran back over. She was so cuddly and wanted tummy rubs so while I was reassuring her, Bob called the AVID number to give the microchip number. Unfortunately, the owners weren’t home and so we spent the evening with this little cutie-pie! She was so unbelievably sweet and if no one was going to claim her after we exhausted all our options, we were going to keep her, despite Kuma’s indifference toward her. She ended up sleeping on Kuma’s bed in the office all night, keeping Bob company. It was too adorable, she made herself right at home.

Monday morning, we both got up to let the dogs out and we saw the neighbor across the street fixing his fence. Bob walked up to him and asked him if this was his dog. And sure enough, the guy cried out, “Precious!” Apparently this guy got her from the Humane Society only a month ago and she had escaped through the hole in his fence. So now we know, if we see Precious around, then we’ll put her back over the fence.

Another family reunited with their dog. Our job is done here.

Saturday night, 15 of us went downtown to Lumiere to take advantage of our free buffet tickets that we had won at the Blues game for Bob’s birthday some months back. We all agreed (the girls agreed actually) to dress up in our pretty clothes and make it a nice evening out.

Woo-hoo! Check out these handsome men!

These are some HOT ladies!

On a Saturday night at the casino, I assumed that there would be quite a wait, especially with such a large group. Surprisingly, we only had to wait about 15 minutes before getting seated. I thought the buffet was nice, I couldn’t tell if it was smaller than the one at Harrah’s because of the set up (but I think it is). I guess I wasn’t wowed by the spread, I’ve seen better but free was free and what I got was pretty good. I didn’t want to eat too much or else I would have gone into a food coma, I needed to be slightly coherent while gambling.

After dinner, we headed over to the casino for some gambling and drinking. I had never been to Lumiere before and I was expecting it to wow me since it’s promoted as a fancy casino. I wasn’t too impressed. I guess you find the same people in any casino and it makes you want to punch them. The cocktail waitresses had on these tiny dresses, the front was held together by some fancy buckle. Very slutty. Now I can understand why there is a weight stipulation when applying for a job there. Katie and I weren’t in the mood to gamble so we wandered around the place, checking things out. We went out on to the rooftop bar which was awesome! They had comfy lounge seats, with big cushions out surrounding various fire pits. The set-up reminded me of the Arizona Biltmore. You got this fantastic view of the Arch, it was pretty neat. We also took a stroll around the casino and realized that it’s not that big at all. So, I guess all the fluff about this place is really about the Four Seasons.

It was a fabulous time seeing all of our friends snazzied up and hanging out together. I’ll have to find another excuse to have the group dress up again in the future.

Appetizer: Walnut Red Pepper Dip. This was a very delicious dip, mild in the flavors, with a hint of walnuts. It did not suggest anything to dip it with so Katie brought quite a few choices. I was a fan of the pita chips and celery to go along with it. The apples gave a bit of different taste to the dip, it wasn’t bad, but I liked the others better.

Entree: Fit and Fabulous Fried Chicken. And you thought you couldn’t have fried chicken on your diet. Okay, it’s not fried, but it’s baked and it still has a slight crunch to it due to the panko. I would say this is a recipe keeper and I got to use my meat thermometer for the first time and it works great! Next time, I will have to put more spices on the chicken before baking it to give it more of a punch.

Side Dish: Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole. It’s your traditional green bean casserole, with a modern twist in presentation. Kate is her own worst critic, stating that it wasn’t very good because it was so bland. But what you have to remember is that the recipe replaces cream of mushroom soup with it’s own version so it has so much less sodium. Hence, it’s healthier. I didn’t think it wasn’t bad, the fried onions from a can really is the best part anyways.

Dessert: Banana Cream Pie. This version has a chocolate chip cookie crust and it was fabulous. The only thing that Kim said was that she would probably make her own cookie dough next time with mini-chocolate chips (or find mini-chocolate chip cookie dough) because it was a bit difficult to press down the crust without it being uneven.

Hello Tax Day. I hope everyone got their taxes in time, I know a few of you procrastinated!

Appetizer: Parmesan Spread. This spread works well with garlic toastettes. Just a simple spread, simple but satisfying.

Entree: Tomato-Poached Eggs with Sardinian Music Bread. You can count on Kate to bring a bit of the exotic to Supper Club. This was a great dish, it reminded me of a Chinese dish that I grew up with and I love it. I have no idea how to describe it but it was good and it looked like it was fun to make.

Side Dish: Endive, Sweet Lettuce and Cashew Salad. A clean tasting, easy salad. The dressing was light and the cashews gave a nice crunch.

Dessert: Boston Cream Pie Minis. This little dessert really hit the spot. A bit of chocolate, a bit of cupcake, a bit of vanilla pudding. It all worked well together.

How do you celebrate the return of baseball? You go out and freeze your booty off while cheering your team to victory, that’s how! Kim came up with the great idea of tickets to the Coca-Cola Patio which included food and beer. I love food and Bob loves beer so it was a perfect fit. She got a group of us together and we headed down to see the Cardinals play against the Astros. Of course, when you go to a baseball game in St. Louis in April, you never know what type of weather you’re going to get. All I have to say is at least it wasn’t raining that night.

The Coca-Cola Patio is set up in tables of four with a view from the outfield. It wasn’t the best place to watch the game but it was great for us to gather together and hang out. Most of us didn’t even stay in our seats but were mingling around with the rest of the group. And what was even better was that they had the Blues game on so Bob could keep tabs on it.

It was a fabulous time, a bit chilly, but I had fun. Thank goodness for long underwear! Click here for all the pictures.