Tipsy Tuesday French 75

To celebrate the seventh anniversary of my daughter and her husband,  her dad and I took them to a fun restaurant in Central West End (St. Louis) that we all love.  The food is just amazing, the Chef is so creative yet classic.  The restaurant's name is Brasserie by Niche .  If you are in the area and haven't been, do so.  You will be so happy you did. Our sweet girl and her newly wedded husband! We celebrated with brunch, which is one of our all time favorite meals.  We are a breakfast family and brunch allows us to consume cocktails and dessert while eating breakfast foods.  Yummy!  Today I selected a frisee salad made with greens and a bacon vinaigrette dressing and a poached egg.  I had French onion soup, as well, so delicious.  I also had a Violet 75, a wonderful cocktail made with gin, champagne, creme de violette, and lemon.  Light, refreshing and celebratory all at the same time! To make one at home, shake 1 oz of good gin, 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice, 1/2 oz si

Today Around the Garden

Not much has changed around the garden this week.  Everything is a little bit greener, and a little big bigger.  Some of my plants aren't showing any sign of coming up.  I know I am an impatient gardener, so perhaps they just need a little more time. I did, however. find this last reminder that winter was here.  I am going to be very happy when everything in the garden is covered in green!

Show and Tell Fridays~New Town Sunsets

Bob and I were fortunate to find an ad for a New Town apartment once the decision had been made to move to the Saint Louis area and I had been hired by the Wright City School District to be their K-1 building principal.  We imagined ourselves in a city apartment in Central West End (St. Louis) but until then we needed to find a place that was convenient for both of us to commute to work.  We looked at places in St. Peters, O'Fallon, Wentzville, but hadn't found what we wanted.  The third weekend we went looking, I went to the internet (again) hoping to find something that I hadn't seen before, and I found it, a quaint cottage rental located in north Saint Charles.  The drive would almost be equal distance between Columbia College and Wright City.  We decided to go for a drive and check it out. We were smitten just driving up to the leasing office!  The canals, the charm, the friendly people who asked about us when we checked out the businesses in town, were all just what

#TooCuteThursday Truman

My vet had a poster up in his office with this hashtag #TooCuteThursday.  I think it was advertising for a magazine but I knew instantly that it would be a blog post about our dogs, Truman and Wilson.  Truman is a cavashon, a mix of a Bichon Frise and a King Charles Cavalier.  He has a curly white coat with some brown patches on his back.  Truman has a sweet disposition.  He is a rescue dog, so he has some trust issues, even with his own dad! #Too Cute Thursday....Truman  Recently Truman had to have surgery because stones were found in his bladder.  They were too big to dissolve on his own with a change in diet.  We saw them after surgery and they were flat, like a dime, although somewhat smaller than a dime.  The vet said they were unusual, even for him, so he sent them in for analysis.  We haven't heard back as of yet if there was anything to be concerned about. Truman is recovering nicely.  The pain meds make him sleepy so he's been napping more than usual.  He loves

Daughters of the American Revolution

I am a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  It wasn't my idea, my Great Aunt Florence Oliver Leach started researching our ancestors in the 60s/70s.  Do you know how hard that was?  I know that she actually went to cemeteries to see if she could find certain relatives, and tried to piecemeal the family tree by hand.  She wrote many letters, all over the United States when she would get a lead, she'd contact someone by phone or letter, or sometimes, by driving to see them.  She completed almost the whole family tree, with some critical holes, which kept her from achieving Daughter status in her lifetime. I received her packet of information in 90s and decided to tackle it in 2006.  Within three months I had found the relative that Sissy was missing (our favorite name for her) because I had the internet and various sources that made researching a breeze in comparison to her journey.  It still took some time to get the specific documentation that the DAR requests

The Prairie Mule

I'm not talking about that stubborn mule that used to dot the landscape here in Missouri, I am talking about the wonderful vodka drink I tried at Avenue Restaurant in Clayton.  The drink is named after Prairie Vodka , a handcrafted vodka from Minnesota, that is "brewed with all due respect" to the land, the people and the spirits.  All I know for sure is that the drink was very good! The Prairie Mule is made with Prairie Vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime.  It is so similar to the Moscow Mule that I asked and yes, the proportions are the same.  So here's the recipe, as per the waitress: 1.5 oz vodka (try Prairie, it's good!) 4 oz ginger beer the juice of 1/4 a lime lime wedge for garnish Fill copper mug with ice.  Stir ingredients together and pour over ice.  Garnish with lime. This is a very refreshing drink that stayed super cold in the restaurant.  I can imagine drinking this on a hot, muggy Missouri day.  This is something to look forward to!

Today Around the Garden

It is a beautiful Sunday, but I am in the house for two reasons, one: my dog Truman just got home from the hospital on Saturday where he had major abdominal surgery and he needs watchful care and two: I must finish the Daughters of the American Revolution scrapbook so that it can go to State this weekend! I have a lot of work to do on it, so this post will be very short!  The gardens have had some attention this weekend, thanks to Bob. There is more to do, but we will get to it a piece at a time. Too much going on this weekend! Here's what's "up" this week: Daylilies are definitely up and growing! Catmint is hiding under the dead wood from last year. Knock out roses are greening up and sending out leaves. Azalea bushes are leafing out and greening up!  Can't wait to see what is new next week! 

Spring Fling #SundaySupper

Spring is flirting with us and that makes me start to yearn for spring foods: fresh greens, blueberries and anything with lemon! This lemon pie is a perfect treat for your favorite P.E.O. sisters or a baby shower or just anyplace where a group of you are getting together for some fun. It is super simple to make, but tastes like you spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen! Lemon Cream Pie with Girl Scouts Lemonade Cookie Crust by  Terri Steffes Prep Time:  15 minutes Cook Time:  4 hours in the freezer Ingredients  (6 servings) 1 pkg Girl Scout Lemonade Cookies 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 small can of frozen lemonade, thawed 1 lg container of frozen whipped topping, thawed fresh blueberries Instructions Crush Girl Scout Cookies in a ziplock bag until finely crushed. Press into the bottom of a pie dish. Blend thawed whipped topping, thawed lemonade, and sweetened condensed milk until well blended.  Pour onto cookie crust. Place in freezer until

Show and Tell Friday

I am joining Cindy at My Romantic Home this week again for Show and Tell Friday.  Last week you would have seen lovely patio flowers.  Where she lives there are already gorgeous flowers!  I shared Aunt Francis' writing desk last week and this week we are headed left to see this spot in my home study. There are many fun things here to share. My husband made the darling cork bulletin board for me for Christmas one  year.  I love it and have some special clippings and photos on it.  The lily photograph I won in an auction for Paint New Town Pink two years ago.  It was taken by a local photographer and I love it.  You may not believe this, but the pink painting came from Walmart six years ago.  The Walmart in Jefferson City had some local artists selling their craft outside one day and I fell in love with this piece!  Those are the simple-to-describe pieces! The teacups are from my Grandmother Lorraine Wilson Holt's collection.  She had lots of them and when she died

Homemade Limoncello

You might remember that I got a boxful of luscious lemons from  a friend who lives in Arizona .  Those lemons were the freshest lemons I have ever seen.  I knew I needed to make a batch of limoncello with them! This stuff is like drinking liquid sunshine!  It is sweet but not so sweet it hurts your teeth!  The lemon is soft and not bitter.  Perfect ending to a spaghetti dinner! Homemade Limoncello by  Terri Steffes Prep Time:  30 minutes Ingredients  (approx 8 cups) 10-12 lemons 1 750 ml bottle of vodka 3 c water 2 c sugar Instructions With a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, remove the peel from the lemon in long strips. Make sure there is no white pith remaining on the peels. Place the peels in a glass bowl, and pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peels and vodka do their job for at least 4 days. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 3-5 minutes. Cool. Pour the syrup

Green Bean Delivery Service

My husband and I made a decision back in 2012 that we wanted to eat healthier food, not just getting away from processed foods but actually eating food that came from local farms, or farms that we could actually go and visit, such as those who sell at Farmer's Markets. For one entire summer we purchased only food that came from a 50 mile radius. That was an interesting summer! It got us interested in growing some of our own produce. We've always had some type of garden, but we really concentrated on getting items that we knew we'd eat regularly. We talked to our neighbors about this and found that many of them were using a delivery service called Green Bean Delivery. When we did our research, we were really excited about joining in on this service. The food is grown on The Feel Good Farm in central Indiana and the EcOhio Farm near Cincinnati. Both farms encourage natural habitats for wildlife. Other farms provide produce that is in season.  We like that the farms a

#Creative Cookie Exchange: White Chocolate Snickerdoodles

I love the flavor of white chocolate, real white chocolate, which is actually rather an ivory color.  White chocolate has cocoal butter, milk and sugar in it and has a strong flavor all of its own.  I think if you taste white chocolate and think it is going to taste like milk, dark, or any other kind of chocolate, you might be disappointed! This cookie uses white chocolate pudding for its flavor base.  The flavor is gentle, and allows the cinnamon to shine as well.  Delicious, soft, with a bit of chew, cookie! The theme this month is White Chocolate! White chocolate is seriously underrated as a baking ingredient--it complements so many other flavors so nicely, like citrus, spices, berries, winter squash, etc. So if you want to see all the ways white chocolate can be used to make terrific cookies, you have come to the right place! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group,

Today Around the Garden

Over the weekend I like to do a walk around our backyard and garden area.  It's starting to get exciting around the house!  While not much is happening quite yet in the ground that we can see, the trees are starting to bud!  That is exciting news for our household, as last year none of our trees made it through the winter.  The trees were still under warranty, and we had the nursery plant them, so there was no question that the trees had the best possible conditions to grow, but just didn't! Our herb garden is showing some signs of life as well.  The onion chives are greening up and starting to grow!  I love chives in eggs, salads, and even laid across a sandwich.  So good! Next week we'll take a look at the new butterfly garden that is going in!  We had our plans approved at the General Assembly and now we are set to get started!  Hosting a Garden Club meeting at my house tonight!

Show and Tell Friday

I am eager to join Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday. You'll enjoy this link up because Cindy has a beautiful, nationally recognized blog with great posts. These posts must be something from your home or garden. I like to see what others have posted about their homes. Last week I did my show and tell on a Monday and I am now switching to Fridays so I can join up with Cindy. Sorry for the confusion! For the next few weeks we will be in my study. So many interesting things in here, and since I use it as my home office, I love that I am surrounded by things that give me such pleasure. This first post is about Bob's Aunt Francis' desk. We were the happy recipients of the desk when Aunt Francis passed away. She was 103 years old!  That is an interesting fact for this reason: when Francis was a young girl, she would ride the horse with her siblings to school.  She was considered frail, and if the weather got too bad, she was sleep over at the school wit

True/False Film Festival 2015

My husband and I are big fans of documentary films.  We became such big fans because the town we lived in for many years hosts a documentary film festival called True/False.  Bob has gone every year since it started in 2003, but I was a late bloomer not joining the fun until 2007. The Festival does many community minded events, such as raising money to support one film maker through the True Vision Award, and the True Life Award, which gives money to a social issue that is being made aware through film. Last year Pay the Artist was added, giving financial assistance to film makers, producers and others to attend the festival and offer an opportunity to attendees to ask questions about the films. The community spirit for this event is amazing.  Over 900 volunteers help with the daily management, local restaurants beef up staff so that movie goers aren't waiting too long for food, local schools raise funds for the various awards, and all the musicians who play at each venue.  Tru

St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl

Top o' the morning to ya!   The wearing of the green, banishing of snakes, picking out your lucky four leaf clovers.  I'll be wearing some green, usually a pair of shamrock earrings that I got in the 80s when I was a teacher in Columbia.  The kids love that stuff. Today I am participating in a lovely blog hop, where you visit various blogs on a similar theme.  Our hostess is Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen blog. Head over there and you will see a lot of fun posts on St. Patrick's day, early enough that you still have time to try a craft, or make a meal, or make this delicious Shamrock Shake! This delightful treat will be so tasty on St. Patrick's Day and won't ruin your healthy eating plan.  All you do is combine 1 c of almond milk (1 point) with 2 T sugar free, fat free pudding mix (1), 1 t vanilla, 2 T fat free cool whip (1) and ice, about 8 regular sized cubes.  Add a few drops of green food coloring and a smidgen of mint (NOT peppermint) extract.  Blend