Weekending - August 26, 2016

Happy Monday!  Did everyone enjoy their last weekend in August?  It was HOT here in the St. Louis region with isolated pop up showers. We didn't let it slow us down (too much).

On Friday night we were headed to an outdoor art show.  By the time I got home, this was looming overhead.

As we were looking out the back door pondering what to do, it started pouring!  We decided to make it a pizza date night in our family room instead of trying to fight the weather.

Saturday we woke to much brighter skies and headed to the art show.  The Midwest Salute to the Arts is held each year in Fairview Heights, Illinois and hosts 100 artists from all over the country in a beautiful park setting.  For years I volunteered at this event, but stepped away from it about 8 years ago.  It's always fun going back to see people I worked with and artists I know.  It's also a great place to pick up a few Christmas gifts!  This year it seemed the clay artists captured my eye more than some of the others.  This is a picture of Laura Hohn's work.

After perusing the artists' tents and visiting with friends, we headed to Augusta to check out a winery where I'll be helping with a wedding in October.  The bride and groom live in Hong Kong and I'll actually be seeing them on my trip there, so I wanted to check out the venue before leaving on Friday. They chose a wonderful site - Noboleis Vineyards and Winery.  As if I wasn't excited to be helping before, after seeing the location I'm dying to work on this wedding!  It will be so beautiful this fall!

While we were there, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a wine tasting.  They have a wonderful outdoor area to sit and enjoy their live music.  Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

On the way home, we stopped at a little place we saw in Defiance, Missouri call Trail Smokehouse.  Very casual.  They, too, had live music playing.  The BBQ Nachos sounded good so we gave them a try.

There was a "scenic overlook" we couldn't drive past without stopping.  I'm so thankful that Eric is always willing to oblige me taking a couple selfies!

We did a little retail therapy at the outlet malls on the way back home and called it a day.  Pretty perfect way to spend a Saturday if you ask me!

After a nice morning walk and church on Sunday, my friend Tracy and I decided run by the art show in the afternoon in addition to checking out some Halloween decor at various stores in town.  The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the week and my upcoming trip.  I leave on Friday for Hong Kong.  Yes, I'm a bit excited!!

Hope your weekend was everything you had hoped it would be.  Please do pop back in on Thursday and link up at our Thinking Out Loud Thursday party.  See you soon!

Check out what others were up to this weekend.

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

More Pieces of Me

Bella and the City
The Quinntessential Mommy
How To Get Organized At Home
Over the Moon

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Weekending -- Last in September

My, my, my -- what a weekend this has been!  We have had a great weather weekend and made the most of it.

Friday night Eric and I decided to catch a movie.  We went to a great theater -- The Edge.  We chose seats in the Bistro - big, comfy leather recliners with food service.  Unfortunately, the movie we chose was B.A.D. bad - A Walk Among the Tombstones.  It had Liam Neeson.  My recommendation is don't waste your money.  It is definitely one you can rent when nothing else is available and you feel you must watch a movie.  Even though the movie was a flop, it was still fun to spend some time with Eric.

Saturday morning I gathered with some friends to go to the Strange Folk Festival.  This was the 9th annual Strange Folk Festival in O'fallon, Illinois and it featured 150 indie makers, illustrators, and vintage curators.  Fun time.  We started the day with scones and mimosas and moved on to the festival.  We missed our friend, Tracy; however, we all found a Christmas gift for her so she might be the real winner for not being able to come with us.  :)

We drove to mid-Missouri on Sunday to celebrate my dad being 76 years young.  What do you get a 76-year-old man to has everything and needs nothing -- a fishing pole lighter, of course.  We also got him a garden weasel, but the lighter was a real hit with my nephews.

Later in the day after everyone had left my parents house but me and Eric, we took my parents to Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, Missouri to enjoy the fabulous weather and share a bottle of wine.  It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside.  And we may or may not have had a big laugh at the gentleman sitting at the table next to us who fell over backwards off his seat.  Happy birthday, Dad!!

View from the winery -- beautiful!

The cherry on top of the great day was the fact that the Cardinals won the Central Division and we're on to the playoffs.  October baseball here we come!  LET'S GO CARDS!!!!

Headed into Monday, I am refreshed and ready to put in a hard week at work.  Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead.  I can't wait to share with you the fabulous Halloween wreath my friend Carol made for me.  You'll have a chance to see it on my Five for Friday this week.   Also, don't forget about entering the September giveaway here.

Check out the below blogs to see what they were up to this weekend.

Join the Gossip

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Life of Meg

More Pieces of Me

Weekending -- Girls Weekend Style

It's been a fabulous weekend and I hate to say goodbye to it!  This was girls weekend in Kansas City and was packed with good times.

Now -- doesn't this look like a fun group!!

We kicked off the weekend Friday night at Gaslight Grill in Leawood, Kansas.  We had a wonderful private room in the back that was intimate, yet we were still able to enjoy the live jazz band.  Most of us ordered fish and appreciated the flavor of our meal.  If you're fond of jazz, the band plays there on Wednesday through Sunday from 6:30 pm to close.  We thought it was a very nice touch when the owner, Dick Hawk, stopped by to say hello and make sure we were enjoying our evening.

                                     

Saturday morning we gathered for crepes at Chez Elle Creperie and Coffeehouse, located in West Side.  ADORABLE!!  Crepes - YUM!  You could sip on French press coffee while eating their tantalizing crepes.  The menu consists of savory, sweet and breakfast crepes -- all sounded wonderful.  I chose the Tour Eiffel which was smoked salmon, capers, caramelized onion, artichokes, herbed cream cheese, crème fraiche. 

After a bit of shopping around in the area (The West Side Storey), we headed to Somerset Ridge winery.  It was time for a cocktail.  Fun side note -- Linda and I ran into a sorority sister we hadn't seen in 30 years.  Small world.  This ever happen to you?  It's so cool!

                                               

This family-owned vineyard and winery is located approximately 20 miles south of the greater Kansas City area among the rolling hills of Miami County, Kansas.  We were lucky to be there on a day the Jayson Kayne Band was playing.  

                                                 

As we sang along, sipped on wine and basked in the sunshine, I looked around and realized for the thousandth time how truly lucky I am to have such great friends.  

                                            

On Sunday, we wrapped up the weekend by having lunch and then heading to the newly-opened Ikea.  Who doesn't love Ikea?!?  It was a bit very crowded but we made the best of it.

Linda and I stopped to see a movie on the way back to her house.  We chose a movie that had a convenient start time (Magic in the Moonlight) and knew we were in trouble when we saw it was written and directed by Woody Allen. Neither of us are big fans of his work and sure enough, we weren't overly impressed with this one either.  None the less, we laughed with each other and had a fun time.

Girls weekends are great for so many reasons.  I love talking about makeup each of us love, recipes we've tried and tricks on various life situations.  This weekend gave me blogging post subjects for months to come.  Please consider following the blog so you won't miss out on many tips I'll be sharing.  :)

I'll be driving back home on Monday morning.  Thanks girls for a great weekend and I can't wait to do it again.

Linking Up To

Join the Gossip

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

I Should Be Mopping The Floor

Life of Meg