wild and crazy saturday

In an effort to be more adventurous, J and I have started trying to go out at least once a weekend to a new restaurant that is local and somewhere fun in our city. Last night, we tried a local "gastropub" in... well... on a block that is going through some revitalization.

I didn't think to break out my camera while we were there, but here are some pics, pilfered from the internet:

The interior of the joint, and what you can't see are the big screens.

What I had for dinner, though mine looked a little more appetizing (less greasy) than this...

The menu is pretty simple, with only a few choices, but good. Not a "WOW" in our book, but the rockin' beer selection and fact that they had the Mizzou game (on pay-per-view) on were good enough for us! :)

Our plans only included dinner, but on the way, we took a slight detour to drive past the the EMHE house happening near us. Because the streets were packed, and there was no close parking, we gave up, but I'm looking for an update from you, Mo! :)

On the way back, we happened to pass a local brewery where there was an event going on. After dinner, we figured why not check it out! Surprizingly, it was a free event. We grabbed a couple of beers and perused the creations showcased in the parking lot. (Please note, yet again, craptastic cell phone camera...)

The event may be free, but the beer sure isn't!

J, enjoying his first sip of Oktoberfest

Artwork in my favorite tent

The artist worked in mixed medium, and had these funny little pieces. This one cracked me up.
It says: "Aunt Marla from Milwaukee always sent the best gifts."

After we finished our beers and saw what there was to see (including some amazing, but spendy, handmade jewelery), we decided to go inside and check out the Schl*fly Shop for fun.

We didn't plan on buying anything, but when J saw this t-shirt, he had to have it.
the front...
...and the back, complete with an "unofficial" cardinal, letting you know where Schl*fly products are sold
at Busch Stadium! :)

Since it's the end of the season, we also couldn't leave without a six pack of my favorite beer, the Raspberry Hefewiezen. MMMMMMM!
It's a summer brew, and reminds me of our wedding because it was on-tap when we had our awesome rehearsal dinner at the Tap Room (Schl*fly's other location downtown).

We hope to do things like this more often. What a great Saturday night!

puppy update

A quick dog update:

Both dogs are doing better. Still not best buddies, but they play with each other now, and Bailey will intentionally jump down from the couch (his "safe place" since she can't jump up) to go play with her.

We saw Bentley (my brother and his girlfriend's dog and Rosie's brother from the same litter) last week, and he's getting so big! When we picked them up, you couldn't tell them apart-- they looked like twins. Now with Rosie's haircut and Bentley's growth spurt, they look so different!

According to the vet's office, Rosie is now just under a hefty 3 pounds! She still eats like crazy, but runs around so much, we're not surprised she's burning a lot of it off. :) We asked the vet about her weight, and she said it's a healthy gain, but she's so little, I do worry that she's eating enough.

Didn't get a chance to get a picture of both babies together, but here's Rosie, lounging with me on the couch:

At the request of my mother in law, here's Rosie with the remote control to show "scale." (We brought Bailey and Rosie over to their house on Sunday, and they were surprised how little she was!)
We have a big remote, btw.

I'll try to get pictures of them together soon.
:)

Christmas in ... AUGUST??!!?

So, I'm all about Christmas in July as I mentioned a few weeks ago. It's fun to listen to Christmas music, and even put up a tree for a day or two, all because the point is that it's funny because it's SIX MONTHS till Christmas.

Apparently Garden Ridge didn't get the memo.

I was there picking up something on Sunday, and here's what I walked in to:

(crap-tastic cell phone pictures, of course)

I walked in the door, in my shorts and tank top, sweating from the heat, and STRAIGHT into winter-wonderland, complete with blow-up lawn snow globes featuring characters from Winnie the Pooh. Woah. Talk about an assault to the senses.

I had a conversation with J last week about how I was excited for fall and to put up our fall/Halloween decor, and we debated whether the beginning of September was too soon. We concluded that it was pushing it a bit, but acceptable. I fully expected to see the fall and Halloween displays up at Garden Ridge. Not only did they also have Christmas on display, it was front and center, and the Halloween stuff was buried off to the side.

I'm all about extending the Christmas season, but this is CRAZY!!