Summer in the City: RFT Music Showcase

After my trip to Boston and seeing all there was to do there, it made me realize that there is equally as much to do in St. Louis - especially in the summer. It's interesting to go to another part of the country and tell people where you are from and see what their reaction is. Many people that I met in Boston had a somewhat negative impression of St. Louis. They thought it was a dirty city or had a lot of "ghetto" neighborhoods. While there are some parts of St. Louis that are run down and not as safe, there are so many great and diverse neighborhoods to explore. Not to mention that there are a lot of FREE activities in the summer! Jason and I have decided to try and explore as much of the city as we can this summer and enjoy all that it has to offer. Sometimes it's fun to be a tourist in your own city. It reminds me of why I love it here so much.

This past weekend we ventured down to Washington Avenue for the RFT (Riverfront Times) Music Showcase. This free event showcased over 50 bands on two outdoor stages from 1pm-7pm. After 7 you could purchase a wrist band for $5 that got you into participating bars for more live music. We headed down to Washington Ave early afternoon and grabbed an appetizer and a couple of beers at Sidebar. Then we walked down to the main stage to listen to the band that was playing (I can't remember their name). It was a great place to do some people watching. Some interesting folks come out for free events!


After enjoying the music for a while we headed to Mizu for sushi. It was delicious! We went early and pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was nice to share a quiet dinner and good conversation with my husband. After dinner we went to the smaller stage and listened to a local rapper. Again, don't remember his name but he was pretty good. We even made the RFT website!

Jason and I had a great day at the RFT Music Showcase. We really enjoyed just walking around the area, trying new restaurants and listening to music. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of things we can find to do this summer. This weekend we are thinking about going to the St. Louis Brew Fest in Forest Park .

Boston

I spent Memorial Day weekend visiting one of my best friends, Michaela, in Boston. Michaela and I grew up together. We became friends in grade school and lived down the street from each other for most of our lives. 3 years ago Michaela followed her dreams to Boston and while I was sad to see her go, I was proud of her for taking that leap and moving to a new city. I finally found the time to make the trip out to see what Boston and her life there is like. We had the best time!

I arrived in Boston Saturday afternoon and Michaela picked me up from the airport complete with a welcome sign and Boston Red Sox t-shirt! What a welcome! It started raining a bit so we drove around the city and Michaela pointed out all the hot spots and gave me the history of the different neighborhoods.
Harvard

Fenway Park - I'd love to go back and go to a game sometime!

Saturday evening we ordered dinner in and relaxed for a bit before heading out in Southie where Michaela lives. I was so excited to go to the bars that I always hear about, The Playwright and Boston Beer Garden. After the bars closed we weren't quite ready to end the night so we headed to Murphy's Law - a late night bar where Gone Baby Gone was also filmed. We had a great time catching up over drinks and ended up staying up til 5 in the morning talking back at Michaela's apartment. Apparently we had a lot to catch up on and didn't even realize how late it was until we noticed that it was getting light outside!
Michaela and I

At Murphy's Law

And us again :)

Sunday we got up and Michaela took me on the walking tour of the city. We stopped and got some coffee and headed off. I loved that we could walk everywhere and walk we did! I wish I had a pedometer because I would bet we walked close to 1o miles! It was so much fun to see all the different parts of Boston. It's a very diverse city with a lot to offer.
Walking into the city

A cute fireman stopped and took our picture ;)


Such a pretty skyline

Street performer in Faneuil Hall

We stopped and had lunch at the Purple Shamrock - clam chowder and calamari. Had to have some good seafood!
More of the city skyline

Boston Common

A touching reminder of what Memorial Day is really about


We stopped at Cheers for a beer!
An obvious tourist


The cast

Michaela and Norm

You wanna go where everyone knows your name...

After an appetizer and sangria at Cactus Club we decided to take the bus back to Michaela's apartment instead of walking. Our poor little feet were done! We rested for a bit then headed to a bbq and to Shenanigan's for a few drinks.

Monday we took a day trip to Newburyport - an adorable little town on the water. We visited Michaela's Aunt who lives there and walked around downtown which was full of cute shops and restaurants. We had a delicious lunch at Agave and finished off our afternoon with an ice cream cone ;) Even though this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, I seemed to have forgotten to take any pictures.

Monday night, my last night in Boston, we bar hopped around Boston and had a great time. We went to the L Street Tavern where Good Will Hunting was filmed.




Thank you Michaela for being such a great hostess and showing me an amazing time in Boston!!

Dirty Thirty

I can't believe my big brother turned the big 3-0 a couple of weeks ago (I'm a little behind on my posts)! That means I'm only a couple of years away from that big number myself! We had a great time celebrating with Brandon. Friday evening we had a family dinner at my parent's house complete with homemade lasagna and chocolate cake - YUM! Love my mom's cooking.

Saturday, Brandon's girlfriend, Mary, planned a great day for everyone. We started by meeting at Trueman's Place and having drinks, appetizers and cookie cake out on the patio.
Brandon and his friend Rob

Jason and his cousin, Jake

Merrill enjoying the party

I'm proud to say I made the cookie cake from scratch and decorated it. I think it turned out pretty good!

Mary cutting the cake

We took the shuttle from Trueman's to the Cards game and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, the Cards lost but we had a great time anyway.

Jason and I enjoying the game and happy to be in the shade!

Brandon and Mary

After the game we took the party to Kilroy's, a bar near the stadium. Later in the evening we headed to Molly's in Soulard and hung out on their awesome patio.
Brandon and his friends, Kim and Tegan

Mary and I enjoying some frosty beverages

Brandon, Mary, Jason and I ended the night with a hike back to Trueman's Place. From what I understand it was quite a site to see and poor Jason had to keep the 3 of us under control ;) Happy Birthday to my big brother! We had a blast celebrating with you!

You're a Little Christian Now!

We celebrated Merrill's baptism on Mother's Day. At 10 months old, Shannon and Scott were sure Merrill would be the oldest baby there. Turns out she was the youngest and by far the cutest :) The other family that participated had their three children ages 6, 4, and 2 baptized. Merrill was super enthusiastic about joining the Catholic church and smiled and laughed through the whole ceremony! Afterwards Shannon and Scott hosted everyone for a delicious baptism/Mother's day lunch. It was a great way for us to spend Mother's Day with my family and I know my mom enjoyed having her whole family together. After lunch we headed to St. Charles to celebrate with Jason's mom and the Griesenauer clan -always a good time with lots of good food!

Merrill and Daddy

Merrill and Brandon, her Godfather

Love this picture of Millie that Jason took

Merrill didn't mind having the holy water dumped on her head at all!

It did make for an interesting hair do for the rest of the day though :)

"Walking" down the aisle with mommy and daddy

Shannon, Scott, Millie and Merrill

The whole family!

Restaurant of the Month: D

Dinner club was my choice this month and I chose a spot that Kelly and I have been to before, but not for several years, Duff's in the Central West End.

I love going to the Central West End. It's such a neat neighborhood with lots of cute boutiques and restaurants. Duff's has a big outdoor patio and we were lucky that after a long rainy week, the sky cleared and we had a perfect evening to sit outside. I got there a little early and enjoyed people watching until Kelly arrived. Kelly and I ordered some wine and opted to share a couple of small plates: Smoked Salmon Quesadilla - served with edamame guacamole and topped with sesame seeds and Mushroom Ravioli with asparagus and peas served in mushroom consomme with extra virgin olive oil and shaved parmesan cheese. Both were delicious and along with a side salad made for just the right amount of food. After a leisurly dinner we decided to head down to Coffee Cartel, another great spot to sit outside and people watch, for some coffee and dessert. All in all it was the perfect evening of great food, great atmosphere and as always great company!