Arrgh, Petey!

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Jen

I guess humans are not the only ones who like to party til 2 in the morning. Meet Petey, a wriggly little beagle mix and the life of the party. I guess he decided that his parents were smothering him and he ran away to paint the town red. As we are coming home from Sarah’s party, we see a flash of white running down the sidewalk. Of course, we had to stop and investigate. Bob picked him and and checked out his collar and wouldn’t you know it, no ID. He was wearing a Coach collar though, so we know his mommy has taste. We got the leash on him and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see if anyone was looking for him. We didn’t have to look very far. We heard some whistling down the street and it ended up that his parents were at St. Richard’s looking for him. I totally would have kept him. He was TOO FREAKIN’ ADORABLE!

And they lived happily ever after. And for those who are counting, we have now reunited 6 families (really, only 5 families because one family lost their dogs twice). Seriously, are these dogs passing on the information that we are the saviors of lost dogs through pee-mail?

Girly Road Trip!

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Jen

A couple of months ago at a restaurant in Clayton, a group of girls concocted a scheme to invade the Lake of the Ozarks and burn a hole in the credit cards at the outlet mall down there. On Saturday, the scheme became a reality. At 9:30 AM, Katie, Kate, Amanda, Beth, Lea and I started our journey. Six girls, two cars, multiple credit cards, what an explosive combination.

Our first stop: the Coach Outlet, naturally. This was THE store that most of us were excited about and where we were going to do the most damage. A few of us were hesitant about the store, but by the end, we had all bought something. Lea did the most damage with her numerous purchases (it was her first time and she was ready for it – that’s what she said). I ended up buying another handbag when I was only going to get a wristlet. Oopsies.

We then went on to some other stores: Banana Republic, Gap, Calvin Klein, Nine West, Lane Bryant and Fossil. I know that it wasn’t that many stores but we spent an extended amount of time in all of them. Even though we didn’t go to that many stores, we all came home with multiple purchases and euphoric. There is something about shopping with girls that makes you believe that you can buy anything you want. It’s the shopping high and I loved it. Thank goodness Bob gave me free reign when I left that morning.

The trip was so much fun. I love spending time with the girls and having a mini-roadtrip was just perfect for that. With our lives being so busy with work and other obligations, it was nice to be able to enjoy each other’s company. Girls, it was a blast and we must do it again!

Now, after our whirlwind trip, we had to rush back and celebrate Sarah’s 24th birthday. Oh, to be 24 again, sigh. She invited us down to Bobby’s Place where her friend’s band was playing and we rocked out. I was so exhausted by the time I got home last night but it was all worth it! Happy Birthday Sarah!

Ming Dynasty Exhibit, Plus An Evening in the CWE

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Bob

Friday night, Jen, Kim, Kate and I went down to the St. Louis Art Museum to take in the Ming Dynasty Exhibit. The exhibition had been running for a while and was nearing its end, and with Fridays bringing free admittance, we figured it was perfect timing. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, so allow me to describe the evening the old fashioned way. We got up there around 5:45 or so and were able to walk right in. Crowds came out later in the evening, so this is a great time to visit. Strangely, there weren’t many Asians visiting the Asian art exhibit. Either they aren’t that interested, or they didn’t procrastinate until the very end like SOME people.

The exhibition was huge and diverse: scrolls, paintings, sculpture, textiles, tools, ceramics, and even architectural ornaments were all included. When you take into account the idea that these things are all al least 400 years old, just the fact that they were preserved in such exquisite condition is amazing enough. The colors of many of the scrolls are just as vivid as they must have been on day one. My favorite piece was a 30-foot scroll that depicted the emperor playing sports on the fields of the castle. Turns out, the Chinese played golf back in the day… who knew? Jen was a big fan of the jewelry. The amazing craftsmanship and intricacy of the pieces was breathtaking and the purity of the gold made for blinding bling. The porcelain pieces were really nice as well.

After the exhibit, we went to Llywellyn’s in the Central West End for dinner because it was a beautiful night and we wanted to sit outside. We scored a nice table on the sidewalk, and with the exception of a karaoke DJ thinking it’s OK to get the party started with “Tears In Heaven”, the night was perfect. The food there was good and a couple beers went a long way towards putting my mind at ease. Afterwards, we went to Left Bank Books to support local booksellers and visit Spike the Cat. Then, while I was dropping our purchases off at the car, Jen and the girls enjoyed the various street performers. The best was the fire twirling girls:

Fire Twirler

With it still being a beautiful evening, we strolled down Euclid to the gelato joint next to Culpepper’s. I had half chocolate, half coconut. It tasted like a Mounds bar. I could have added Almond, but I wasn’t feeling like a nut. All in all, a good time and a great night to be outside.

Supper Club: May 6, 2009

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Jen

Appetizer: Goat Cheese Pops with Pecans, Herbs and Bacon. Bob saw this recipe on the Web and HAD TO HAVE IT! Who am I to deny my husband bacon? Bob, you have chosen…wisely. Excellent appetizer, will make again. You definitely have to munch on it with the slices of Granny Smith apples, the tartness of apple compliments the goat cheese and bacon.

Entree: Flank Steak with Cilantro-Almond Pesto. The cilantro-almond pesto was very refreshing and made for a great early summer meal. The flank steak was simply seasoned so it would not take away from the pesto.

Side Dishes: Garlic-Parmesan Bread and Crispy Zucchini Coins. Garlic bread is always good and a great staple. The zucchini coins were good but not as crispy as I had expected. I enjoy zucchini, especially fried zucchini so it was a healthy alternative.

Dessert: Butterscotch Bars. If you love oatmeal scotchies, then you will love this dessert. I know that it doesn’t look like a bar in the picture, it was because we were too impatient to let it set. But bar or not, it was still yummy.

A View From The Fancy Seats

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Jen

Monday night, we attended the Cardinals game with our tickets that we won at a silent auction. It was a perfect evening for baseball. The weather was beautiful, the clouds broke so beams of sunshine filtered through, there was a slight brisk in the wind, no sign of rain in the forecast.

I guess the Cards did not get the memo that what would top off that perfect evening was a win. Nope, instead they gave up a grand slam and Ankiel decided to run head-first into the outfield wall.

Loved the seats, hated the game. What a waste.