Fellow Bloggers Meet!

One of the greatest features of the internet is how it brings people together.  My all time favorite internet story is Judy's, but it is hers to tell.  You'll have to visit her blog at cutest little things and get to know her!

I got to meet up with two fellow bloggers, Pat from Back Porch Musings and Sue from Rabbit Run Cottage and their delightful husbands.  Sue's cutie patooty daughter, Grace, also came with us.  We had dinner together and talked and got to know each other better.

Terri, Sue, Grace, Pat

As those of you who know Pat and Sue, the meeting was as wonderful as I knew it would be.  Both women are personable and lovely.  I am honored for having met them!

Chalkboard Paint Party!

I love Chalkboard Paint...

and so does Beth at The Stories of A to Z .  She is hosting a Party featuring different ways to use chalkboard paint.  Go and check it out for creative ideas!

I have a huge bulletin board behind my desk at work that I have painted with chalkboard paint.  I hope I can write little messages to myself and then erase them when I am done.

I love the chalkboard paint markers.  They don't rub off.  It takes water to remove it!
My latest project was my pantry.  I needed desperately to clean it out (and I did) but I also wanted to make a place for notes (like what to buy at the store).  I grabbed my can of chalkboard paint and painted in a square on the inside of the pantry door.  I love it! 

I have some more ideas for making my pantry better but for now just enjoy t…

Happy Christmas in July!

Today is Christmas in July!  Are you watching QVC?  Are you singing Christmas carols?

I tried a new cookie recipe today that I might be using for our family cookie exchange in November.  It is called Potato Chip Chocolate Chipcookies.  It is not a sweet cookie, but it is perfect for dunking!

I tried several variations of the cookie and made Bob be the judge of which one he liked best. Those are the ones I will be making.

I also am making a tapas recipe for our Christmas Eve celebration.  It is a meatball recipe with an orange glaze.  Mmm.  When we were in St. Louis we all loved the tapas restaurants we ate at and I thought it would be a fun think for us to do!

So far I've only spent about $50 at QVC.  Not bad since I have watched it for several hours!


Related articles by ZemantaMerry Ch…

Lemon pancakes

Breakfast is a big deal in the Steffes household.  Breakfast is Ashley's favorite meal and she can eat it any time of the day.  That being said, I am already planning our Christmas breakfast for this year.  One of the ways I plan for it is to try new things throughout the year.

Today I made lemonpancakes.  I honestly didn't think it would make the cut for our Christmas breakfast as I am the only true lemon fan in our house, but these pancakes were lightly flavored and actually made the syrup an accent.  I used the Burnham and Mills All Natural Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Pancake Mix that we purchased at The Wine and Cheese Shoppe in Clayton, Missouri.

If I can convince Ashley that these are going to be worth her holiday breakfast, don't be surprised to see them on our menu.  Maybe …

It's Berry Picking Time!

Ashley wanted to go pick berries, any kind of berries, over the summer. As much as I love strawberries, it is back breaking work. Blackberries are in season right now and so I invited Ashley to come with me and Bob to Pick and Pick in Columbia. At Pick and Pick you save money on fresh produce by picking it yourself.




We picked eight pounds of blackberries in about an hour. It got pretty hot so we decided to call it a day.

I think I feel some cobbler, maybe a pork loin roast or even a sorbet in my future!



See more at Christmas Examiner-Summer Harvest Christmas Dessert

Words

Sometimes the simplest phrase says the most.

Cardinal Game 2010

Our last day of our vacation ended with a Cardinal Game. Ashley was born in the middle of the 1985 World Series between the KC Royals and the Cardinals. So going to the Cards game is always fun for me!

Bob surprised us with tickets in the VIP lounge. His sales rep Stephanie gave him tickets and he kept it a secret until game day!



The lounge has all the food and drink you want! Yummy! Hot dogs, brats, nachos, veggies, fruit, cookies, brownies...something for everyone! Plus all the Budweiser and soda you could ever want.

The Cards were behind 4-0 until the 9th inning and they pulled off a 5-4 victory with a walk off hit by Matt Holliday.  What a great game!

Mosaic Monday-The Gates

While we were in St. Louis one of the things we did was to visit many of the various neighborhoods. We loved University Heights, Central West End, Clayton, and Lexington Park. This collage reflects the many gates we saw while walking through this lovely neighborhood.

click to enlarge! To see more lovely mosaics, visit Mary at the Little Red House!

St Louis Vaca, continued...

The last couple of days have been filled with shopping, eating and museum hopping. I am not much of a shopper for myself but I did enjoy the craft show at Soulard Market on Saturday. Ashley and I ran into a crafter who makes bouquets from wool felt and buttons. Ashley made a darling white bouquet with a touch of orange for her milk glass vase collection. I can't wait to see it when she puts it out at her home.



We toured the Vatican collection at the Missouri History Museum. This is the farthest West it is going and so lots of people were there from all over the world. Ihad fun shopping there as well, buying a nativity scene (from Bethlehem) and buying Ash a cross in her favorite shade of blue for her Christmas tree.


We went to see Damn Yankees at the Muny (an outdoor theater) a…

Ice Cream Social!

I am participating in Kitchen Bouquet's Ice Cream Social this weekend! How could I resist? It's summer!



Bob, Ashley, Eric and I enjoyed this lavender honey ice cream at Brasserie Restaurant in St. Louis on Thursday night. To quote Ashley, "First it is sweet, then it tastes like I ate a flower!" It is heavenly and I will try to recreate this dish when I get home!  Can you see the lavender seeds sprinkled on the plate?

To see other fun ice cream posts, visit Kitchen Bouquet!

St Louis Vacation 2010

Many of you may know that our family had to give up a Disney World vacation due to the surgery of our daughter Ashley and my surgery in late June. It was very disappointing as we were to spend it with Bob's brother and his whole family.


Ashley had a follow up appointment with her surgeon on Wednesday. Bob thought it would be a good idea to stay in St Louis and have some fun for ourselves after all our turmoil this year. So... here we are!

Ashley received good news from her surgeon...she is now free to go about her daily life as usual, making sure she eats right and rests right. I think she has done a great job of getting in the amount of rest she needs. We had lunch at a local crepe making place after the appointment and boy, it was great. Bob and I shared a chicken crepe and …

Summer Reading

My summer reading list includes:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (it's a series of three)

Experience And Education, Dewey, John

On Becoming a Leader, Bennis

The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization, Senge, Peter M.

The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister

All are downloaded on my Kindle so I can carry them with me where ever I go... guess I will not have any excuse for not reading my books for college.

Adoption Day!

In 2008 we found ourselves the parents of two dogs... one rescued from the Columbia Humane Society and one saved from going to the Humane Society!!

We took Truman and Wilson out for ice cream to celebrate their adoption. We went to Zestos which is a local ice cream place.

They love ice cream!

Aglio e olio Pasta

Bob has been so busy getting things done in the house that I decided to make dinner tonight! This year I have been totally spoiled by Bob! He's done everything. It was fun to make dinner for him tonight. I made something new... Aglio e olio pasta.

Here's the recipe as I made it....

Aglio e olio Pasta


First I crushed up some italian croutons and set them aside. Then I put pasta on to boil. I used whole wheat corkscrew pasta but you can use whatever you like! I then poured about 1/2 c olive oil into a pan and heated it gently. I minced two garlic cloves and placed them in the oil with a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste. I cooked this slowly on very low heat. Then I fried up two eggs.

To plate: spoon cooked pasta into your favorite pasta b…

Mosaic Monday~Meet the Family!

The Steffes/Hasty Families



Here's our family, minus the two furbabies we have... whom you can meet on the right hand side of the blog!

Eric is a banker and a full time student.  He plans to go to law school.  He loves golf and reading!
Ashley is a full time doctoral student. She also teaches in her program at the university.  She loves clothes (in many aspects) spending time with friends and is learning to sew.
Bob is a middle school principal.  He likes to be busy!  He loves to cook and is in a band as a drummer!
I am Terri.  I am an elementary principal.  I love to read and plan ideas for Bob to do! 

Dam Trip Day 3

Our last day of our trip! We had breakfast at On the Rise Bistro, one of my favorite places for breakfast of all time!! Can you see why?


After breakfast we drove down to the beach hoping things may have changed ... but you can see that it hasn't.  Oh well.



We are home in Jeff City now.  We will do a movie later and have pizza at one of our favorite places, Ria's.  We'll have two days at home and then we are off to St. Louis for a visit to Ashley's surgeon.  We plan to play in St. Louis as well.  We had to give up Orlando but we did not have to give up our fun!