So we haven’t talked much about this, but we are bowling again this year. The reason we haven’t talked too much is because we’ve been bowling poorly. But this week, it was quite a bit better. We won 5 points out of 7, and looked strong, at times.
On top of that, we are definitely the geekiest team in the league, what with our blog and our twitter feed. If you are a real glutton for punishment, check it out!
Before I talk about our trip to the wineries, I have to mention that I was lucky enough to see one of my old roommates and good friend from college on Sunday. She was coming to St. Louis for a meeting and we got to get together for lunch at Pi. Since I wasn’t able to see her get married this summer, I was excited to be able to spend what little time I had with her. I got to hear all about her wedding and honeymoon, saw some pictures and caught up on life in general. She’s super-great and we just have so much fun together, I’ll have to make it out to DC to see her and her husband in the near future.
Okay, my review on Pi. Pi has been on my radar for a while now but I had never gotten the chance to go…until today. It’s an artisan pizza place that serves deep dish and thin crust pizzas. It also has an extensive wine list. We decided to order a small “Bucktown” deep dish pizza and large “The Hill” thin crust pizza to share. Both were delicious and did not disappoint. This place lives up to the hype. If you’re looking for a place that serves unique and yummy pizzas, you have to try Pi. It could be my new favorite pizza place, rivaling Dewey’s. I guess it all depends on what I’m looking for on a particular day.
Now, on to the wineries. After we had lunch with Erin, Bob and I drove down to Blumenhof and met the Peimanns, the Dukes and the Wagners for some good wine, good conversations and good weather. It has been dreary and ugly for the past week and so we all jumped on the opportunity to be outside.
The great thing about Blumenhof is that you are allowed to bring in your own food, which is a big reason why we go there. They had a two-person band playing today and so we got some live music as well.
We then traveled to Montelle for the Himmelswein and the beautiful view on the bluffs. Plus, Montelle was opened an hour later than the rest of the wineries and we weren’t done drinking just yet.
It was a perfect, autumn day. Our last trip down to Augusta before winter sets in St. Louis. Hella awesome.
What a perfect combination, crafts and sports. It’s like a great peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Oh, what? Oh, they don’t go together? Well, I’m here to prove you wrong, suckers!
Saturday night, while Matt had a couple of guys over to watch the game in the living room:
The girls were in the dining room, carving pumpkins:
The men were content, being able to watch the game, without trying to hear above the girly chatter and the women didn’t have to sit around the TV all night, constantly being shushed. Even Kilgore joined in on the sports watching action:
It was a win-win situation for all and we have awesome pumpkins to show for it.
I have a feeling there will be more nights like these in the future.
Last weekend, we gathered to celebrate the union of Doug and Stephanie Lake. The Lakes, unlike most of our friends, already had a headstart on the whole marriage thing, as they’ve been living together as long as Jen and I have known them and have the most adorable 3-year-old, Haylee. So their wedding was not a couple embarking on a new adventure together as much as a family making official the thing that everyone knew already.
The day of the wedding was sunny and brisk. The light streamed in through the stained glass of Sacred Heart in Florissant, giving a colorful hue to the proceedings. The church was beautiful, the music was good, the priest was dramatic… with the pauses… but easy… to hear… and the communion portion went quickly. Haylee was done up as the junior bride, and Paul was the best man. They both did a great job. No crying for either one.
Since there was a break between the ceremony and the reception, we did what any right-thinking former Florissantian would and grabbed some Fritz’s:
That’s right. Doozle’s is for suckers.
The reception was a blast. Paul gave a great speech, the food was delicious, the service was courteous and attentive, and the bar was open. Combine these factors with our fun loving crowd, and you know that good times were had:
And while Steph cut “Don’t Stop Believin'” at the end of the night, Jen and Amanda more than made up for it with a rousing rendition at the Gas House Grill Karaoke After Party.
We had an absolute blast. Congrats, Doug and Stephanie! Click here to see all the pictures.
When I heard that Farm Aid was coming to St. Louis back in August, I was ecstatic. Really, how often does Farm Aid come to St. Louis? I had to take advantage of this opportunity.
It has been forever since I’ve sat on the lawn at Riverport (yes, I still call it Riverport, it will always be Riverport to me) but I wasn’t about to spend THAT much money on seats. The day of the concert was perfect, sunny, a slight breeze, perfect jeans and tee-shirt weather. Brandon, Bob, Katie and I gathered at the house to have some chili before heading out and packed some snack foods to keep us from starving. When we got to Riverport, the lines to get in were ridiculous, but luckily, we had a connection: Brandon. He has a Verizon phone which allowed us to jump the line a bit but even, the concert had started by the time we got in. That’s okay, though, we found a perfect place in the middle, spread our blankets on the ground and camped there for the next 8 hours.
From the website, I was under the impression that there would be local farmers there, selling their wares and that was not true. There were many booths with information about organic food, bees, research, etc. But not much local produce or food. Sure, all the food that was sold in the normal snack areas were supplied by local farms but it just wasn’t the same.
As for the lineup, I was only interested in the later shows. I was really there for Wilco and Dave Matthews, but to see legends, Willie Nelson and Neil Young play, that was pretty cool. My sister fawned over Jason Mraz while her friend was super-thrilled about John Mellancamp. To each their own. Even though I didn’t know all the bands, I just enjoyed being outside, listening to music and hanging out with friends. Oh, and of course, people-watching. I do have to say, this concert did bring out all sorts of people, we had the potheads, the hoosiers, the bikers, the preppies, you name a type of person, I guarantee, they were there. Good times.