The Dog Days Are Over... Almost

WARNING: This is a longer than usual post. Since I don't post much, you may want to break it up over a couple days :0)

Whenever I think of this song I think of August... and since August is winding down I thought it an appropriate title for this post.

It has been a busy month! It started, for me, in St. Louis. I was excited to spend some time at 'home' visiting family and friends so I didn't plan too many things in advance. I figured it would easier to see what was going on once I got there. I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and by the time I went to sleep Friday night, I had plans every night... the stars aligned and I got to do nearly everything I wanted to do in nine days! Here are the high lights...

Friday night: I met up with my friend Heather and headed downtown to see the Cards v. Cubs. (This trip was stragetically planned to see at least one game in this series) After dinner and (FREE) drinks at TGIFridays, we headed to the stadium where we had a great view of Matt Holiday from behind the Cubs dugout. Now, every time I watch him bat, I hear the woman behind me screaming "HOLIDAY, I like your socks!" haha!

It was a great night--the Cardinals won and we got to see Albert's 2000th hit... great game!

Saturday: I spent the day with my mom doing nothing really... but we did have lunch at Jilly's Cupcake Bar! I'd been reading about this place in Alyssa's Blog and they WON Cupcake Wars. So there was no way I was going to miss out on this. After our great lunch (egg salad and gazpacho), we took home four cupcakes--all of which were fantastic! I didn't take any pictures of my own, so the photo of my favorite cupcake, Island in the Sun, is courtesy of Jilly's website.

Sunday: The flea market in Wentzville, a summer Sunday tradition growing up. Mom claimed to get the best deal of the day when she picked up a case of strawberries for $5--only to end up with a small tupperwear sandwich container of good ones after cleaning :0) This was followed in the evening with dinner and drinks with the girls (I can't believe I didn't take ANY pictures!) and the Muny's production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Monday: BOGO Margarita's with Truman math friends. So much fun... This was one night, I wish I was back in STL so we could do it every week. One photo from the end of the night... at this point there may have been one too many Margs.









Tuesday: Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She made fried chicken--exactly what I wanted, and I didn't even have to ask! Aren't grandma's wonderful?

Wednesday: Mainstreet St. Charles with my mom and great aunt. I absolutely love it down there... I walked away with lots of coffee and an awesome spider ring to wear on Halloween. For dinner: IMOS!

Thursday: Pasta House! Oh how I miss pasta con broccoli and toasted ravioli... which was followed by SNO-BIZ! I would have this everday if there was one in Lacey... I love it that much. It's almost not summer without sno-biz.

Friday: My mom and I picked up my cousin's son Louie from daycare and the three of us, plus my brother went to lunch at First Watch before taking me to the airport.

This is Louie on the way to the airport... he wanted to get on the plane with me, but we decided his mommy wouldn't like that too much.

In between all those events (and all that food): I also saw my old work buddies, spent time at my aunt's house with baby cousin Tanner (she's just bitten my finger HARD in the picture) and watched a lot of Cardinal baseball. It was a great trip home and a long post... but you were warned.