Busy bee weekend!

How was your weekend?  Mine was busy!!

Friday night we ate dinner out to wrap up our week then headed to Keith's sister's house to get his car fixed by his brother in law.  A few weeks ago his lock component on the driver side stopped working and the door wouldn't open.  He had to climb in and out of the passenger side until it was fixed.  So Friday was a relaxing night!

Saturday I got up early and went with the ladies of my family to the Working Women's Survival Show:

We've gone the past 2 years and were excited to go yet again.  We got a lot of resources and just had a lot of fun.  After that Keith and I met with our realtor and visited 4 houses before deciding to try Fuzzy's Taco Shop for the first time:

It was soo good and very easy on the wallet.  Keith had added jalapeno bites, a zwickel beer and a soda to our goodness and it was very good!  We will definitely be back!  Our night wasn't over after that.  We headed home for a few before going out to the Pink Galleon for a pool birthday party:

Needless to say it was a long day!

Sunday we slept in before heading to my sister's for her fiance's son's 5th birthday.  They went to SkyZone to jump around then back to the house for pizza & cake:

We then left to look at another house before ending the night with volleyball.  It was a crazy fun weekend - how was yours?

"Until Friday Night" book review

This week I read:



Goodreads says:
To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…

I say:
This book was recommended to me by a student and I do my best to check out the books they recommend.  This book is written in the point of views of West in one chapter, and alternates with Maggie being the other chapter.  It was different and it took me some time to actually get into it.  Once I did I couldn't wait to finish it but it will take some time to get into.  It is a good story about trust and finding the people who really need you the most.

I gave it 3 STARS on my Goodreads list.

What are you reading this week?

Stuff + things + TOL

Oh Thursday, hello!



~*~ Today is National Drink Wine Day - wish I could partake, haha!

~*~ This week is dragging by, thanks to having Monday off from teaching for President's Day

~*~ The library closest to my condo is under renovations so we have to go to the newest renovated one which is not very close.  It is very inconvenient and I feel like I'm always trying to renew my books so I don't have to go there, ha!

~*~ Anyone watch the show "Newlyweds: The First Year"?  I got hooked the past 2 years and this year's couples are downright annoying.  If you don't have any trust in your guy, why the heck did you marry him?

~*~ As for the Bachelor, how does a date to McDonald's, oh and let's work behind the counter?  It was a little interesting however did anyone watch the special?  I love Jade & Tanner and their wedding was so special.

~*~ I got invited to take the littles in my life to Superhero Day at Eckerts this Saturday.  Can't wait to see how this event goes :)

~*~ One of my nephews turned 5 on Tuesday so we are celebrating his birthday Sunday at SkyZone then a pizza/cake party.  Should be fun!

~*~ We had to change gyms at the end of December and yesterday was the last day of my trainer jumpstart.  I really really enjoyed it but I don't enjoy the prices to continue with her.  So we'll see but I learned enough and got the kick I needed for all the goals I'm working towards this year.

Have a great Thursday!

Valentine's Day 2016

We had 2 celebrations this year for Valentine's Day and both were fun!

For the 2 of us, we made reservations at the Little Hills Winery, on Main Street in St. Charles.  I haven't been in 10+ years and it was brought up as a rehearsal dinner for my sister so I thought it would be perfect...and it was!

They had the options of a Valentine's set menu or you could do the regular menu and we opted for the regular menu.  We started with their signature spinach & artichoke dip, with foccacia bread, and it was very yummy.  Keith decided on their Cajun pasta and I went with their lobster ravioli.  Both were huge and Keith helped me eat mine and it was delicious!  I opted to try their blackberry wine-a-rita and it hit the spot:

Afterwards we came home and watched movies and exchanged presents.  We both must have had clothes on the mind because he gave me 2 cardigans and I gave him sleep pants and a polo.  We did good!

Sunday night the Walking Dead was coming back so my parents hosted a Valentine's Dinner at their house to watch it.  Lainey loves to be fancy on this holiday so we all dressed up and drank sparkling cider out of champagne flutes.  It was fun:

Did you have a great Valentine's Day?  How did you celebrate?

2016 Travel Plans

I've seen this float around the blogger world and I thought it would be fun to reflect on our travel plans for this coming year.  We did a lot in 2015 but this year might be even more:

January ~ traveled to Colorado for our yearly ski trip

February ~ traveled to Colorado for our yearly ski trip

March ~ will be traveling to Dallas, Texas to see our beloved Blues take on the Stars + visit the Six Flags in Arlington and visit Southfork Ranch (I grew up on my parents watching that show).

April & May ~ staying in St. Louis to finish up the school year

June ~ we will be going somewhere for our yearly trip that is to be determined.

July ~ the girls will be going to Nashville, Tennessee for my sister's bachelorette party then Keith & I may go somewhere for our anniversary.

August ~ the family will trek down to Branson, MO

September ~ our yearly Mizzou football game in Columbia, Missouri

October ~ maybe a month of rest but it is my birthday month so we will see!

November ~ heading south to Cape Girardeau for my alumni homecoming at SEMO

December ~ maybe somewhere for New Years?

People always wonder how we are able to travel so much with the costs of things and that my friends is thanks to our Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card.  Keith doesn't carry cash on him all the time so we use his cards to get points, and then we can fly for free.  We had companion status one year and we're hoping to get it back soon so fingers crossed!  I highly recommend the card to anyone who loves to travel.

Any suggestions on places to go for our June trip, or ideas of stuff to do on any of our other travel places?  I cannot wait to go places, I just love it - I wish, sometimes, I could do it as a job!!

Superbowl 50

I know its now been over a week since the DENVER BRONCOS won the Super Bowl but I've had a lot of posts to write so better late than never!

Our yearly superbowl tradition is to head across the river into Illinois and watch the game at our friend Ryan's house.  For as long as I've known Ryan, which is as long as I've known Keith, he's always hosted so its a given it'll be at his house.  He always goes out of his way to host and each person gets a souvenir cup to commemorate the occasion.

This year's game was just okay.  Lady Gaga was awesome with the anthem but I wasn't a fan of Beyonce or Coldplay, but Bruno Mars was okay.  The commercials were just okay too.  I think my favorites were the Jeep ones and the Doritos baby.  Oh and I wonder how many cars they sold after it because I feel like the majority of them were for cars:

Another great party to celebrate a great tradition.

Can't wait until next year!

She said YES to the dress!

On Saturday my sister and her entourage (bridesmaids, mothers, fairy godmother) went to David's Bridal to find her dress, as well as the bridesmaids dresses.

We were paired with 2 great ladies who seemed to have the same vision as Kristine and after 3 dresses, she said YES to one that made her feel complete.  You'll have to wait until September 17th to see what she picked!

After the bridal appointment, we had the bridesmaids appointment and all Kristine's requirements were that the dresses are to be navy, she wanted them to be lace and we will be wearing cowboy boots with them.  We all, with the help of the sales ladies, found her vision and started trying on.  We said YES to these dresses (plus 2 girls who are out of town) but don't have to order them until May:

After the appointments we cheered the decisions with lunch and talk about future bridal things.

Only 222 days to go!

Colorado 2016 day #4 - gondolas + snowshoeing

We woke up Tuesday and were snowed in!

Our original plan was to trek over to Copper Mountain and go tubing - for some reason the tubing park at Beaver Creek was closed for the season - and Keith has never tubed before.  However everything around us was closed (it takes a lot to close Colorado schools) and I didn't feel like making my own tracks there so we decided to stick around the village here and Apres Ski, ride the Gondola and then go snowshoeing.

The Riverfront Express Gondola allows people to experience the mountain, whether you are riding it to ski or just want to see the views, which is exactly what we did:

After the Gondola, we went back down to the village and partook in our final Apres Ski while we waiting for Dad and Kristine to join us at the BC Nordic Center so we could go on a family snowshoe trek sponsored by Nature Valley.  It was a complimentary tour with a guide and he showed us the ins and outs of snowshoeing.  None of us had done this before, so we were very eager:

It sure is a workout but the views are breathless and you really can walk anywhere with the snowshoes (or tennis rackets as Keith called them) on your feet.  We got to see some gorgeous houses along our route and then got to "sled" down a blue ski run before ending the trek with hot chocolate and cookies:

It was a great way to end the week long ski trip.  I love our trips to Colorado and like I said in my first post, I hope they never end.  Beaver Creek has been successfully conquered - until next year Colorado!

Colorado 2016 day #3 - snowmobiling + Vail

When in the Rockies, you gotta experience the Rockies, and snowmobiling is a great way to do that!

I have always wanted to snowmobile and the last time I had the opportunity to do so, I broke my ACL on our 2nd day of our trip and I was advised not to partake in the adventure.  So when Keith showed interest on this trip, I jumped at the chance to have us both do something we hadn't done before!

I did my research and upon my arrival the concierge at our condo recommended the same company, Nova Guides.  We signed up with them for their early bird Tigiwon tour, which took us on more than 50 miles of trails in the White River National Forest.  They picked us up at our condo and drove us to their headquarters where our awesome guide Anna got us ready for the trek.

My Dad and sister did their own snowmobiles while Keith & I rode double as we weren't really sure what we were doing.  Our ride took us on the back of Vail's Back Bowls, Notch Mountain and the other surrounding ranges.  By this day the snow had continued to fall, which made for some awesome  snow banks and views:

 

Before the descent down the mountain, there was a hut where we had hot chocolate and cookies to warm us up from the snow falling.  It was a blast!!  I never felt so free and in an element like I did on this adventure.  Keith loved every moment as well.  I'm super glad we were able to experience this for the first time together!

After the tour, we relaxed for a bit at the condo before heading to spend the rest of the night in Vail Village.  On our way, the snow was falling hard and they were warning people that we could be snowed in for the next day.  We shopped Vail, purchased a new starbucks city mug and ate dinner at Pepi's Restaurant.  Vail is only 10 miles away from Beaver Creek but the snow was pretty bad on our drive back that the highway was down to one lane and we all were behind a snowplow.  We made it back to the condo and sure enough were snowed in the rest of the night...and day!

Stop by tomorrow for our final day in the mountains!

Colorado 2016 day #2 - Beaver Creek Village

While I'm not one to shy away from skiing, Keith and I had wanted to do other things on this ski trip that we usually miss out on (and hadn't done before) so we opted not to ski.  My sister and Dad were the only 2 skiers this time, which was fine, as this was her last ski trip as a "single" lady.

Beaver Creek is in the town of Avon, Colorado, which is a ski town yet very populated when its not ski season.  They run shuttles year round that take you from the town to each resort, including their sister resort Vail, and the village and literally you don't need a car to get around.

Our condo had a lot of activities for visitors and one was a private tour of BC Village.  We jumped at the chance and our tour guide didn't disappoint:

He showed us the ins and outs, the correct shuttles to grab and the best places to Apres Ski, as well as where to grab bites to eat.  From there we explored a bit more:

If you notice, the streets are cleared almost perfectly from the 5' of snow they ended up getting - that is because the streets are heated throughout the village!  Now why can't all cities do that ;)

We opted to eat lunch in the village, at the base of the mountain, at Blue Moose Pizza.  Oh my, to die for and Keith thoroughly enjoyed the crafted Colorado draught beers.

It was a late lunch and the lifts were starting to close so we headed back to the condo to relax for a bit before heading out to dinner that night with the family.  It was still snowing (made for a great day of skiing with fresh powder) so this was the perfect end to our day:

Bed came early again in anticipation of our big activity the next day.  Pop on over on Wednesday to see what Keith and I both did for the first time ever!

Colorado 2016 day #1 - Columbine + Littleton + Beaver Creek

Colorado is my 2nd home - literally!  I've gone there once or twice a year since I was born, usually once a summer and once in the winter for a ski trip.

Even though I'm an adult, I believe this tradition should continue!

This year we focused our attention on Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Avon, Colorado.  However we decided to visit a few places along our trek to Eagle County.  My Dad is a huge model train fanatic and usually on trips he tries to find a place to check out their supplies to see if anything is different from the stores here.  While researching we stumbled upon Caboose Hobbies, which is the largest model train store according to the Guinness Book of World Records.  Dad was super excited and once we got our rental car, off to this store we went - and he was in heaven!  He spent some time here and got a few additions for his collection and left wishing he lived closer.

From there, we headed over to Littleton, Colorado to meet up with my sister's best friend and her family for lunch.  She lives by Columbine High School - yes, the Columbine High School and we had heard that they constructed a memorial to honor those lost in the school shooting back in 1999.  The memorial was constructed in the park over the hill from the high school where a lot of the rescue efforts happened and it is a place that is not in the view of the school.  It was a very moving sight to see, especially since they didn't change anything on the school except for the library where the vast majority of the incident happened.  Out of respect, and the requests of the memorial, I did not take any personal pictures however I borrowed some from the website:

If you are ever in the area, I do recommend you stop by.  It will certainly make you appreciate.

After the memorial, and lunch with my sister's friend where she asked her to be in the wedding, we took advantage of the gorgeous day to stop at Red Rocks Amphitheater:

then continued the trek west into the mountains.  We started hitting snow quickly, a mere hour after the above picture was taken) and made it to our home away from home, The Christie Lodge, before the bigger snow started to fall.  By the time we had eaten dinner, and unpacked, this was our view from the condo:

As the snow fell all night, it was perfect to snuggle up as bed came early Saturday night as we had been up since 3:30am and were busy bees all day, including flying.  Sunday, our first day at the resort was quite fun - check back tomorrow for that post!

Hollywood Wax Museum - Branson

Want to experience Hollywood right in your hometown?  Look no further than the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center in Branson.

You can't miss the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center in Branson.  Yes, its the building on Highway 76 climbed by a Great Ape!

If you want to get up close and personal with your favorite stars and pose for fun pics with them, the Hollywood Wax Museum is definitely the place for you.  While there, you'll also get the scoop on their pets, pet peeves and accomplishments:

After seeing stars, you can head next door to become a star at Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf.  While putting through palm trees and paparazzi, you'll take the 18 steps to becoming one of Hollywood's Elite.  After "being discovered" you'll have the chance to discover what paranormal activity is lurking inside the Castle of Chaos, the world's first 5D adventure.  You'll see, hear, feel and smell the chaos as you shoot for the highest score.

Finally you'll score big if you're The Chosen One at Hannah's Maze of Mirrors, where Princess Hannah of Savannah is waiting rescue.  You'll need to find your way through 288 potential turns among hundreds of mirrored walls and archways and some areas where you see infinite reflections in every direction.

Interested in checking it out?  My readers receive $2 OFF All Access Pass by clicking here!

Please visit Hollywood Entertainment Center for more information.

For tickets, check out this ticket information.

"I'm back" stuff n things!

I'm back from vacation!

...and there's only 36 more days until my next one!!!

1. I'm still off from the hotel until Sunday AM or Monday PM so I'll take it!
2. We are going dress shopping with my sister for the wedding on Saturday.  We are also doing our bridesmaids dress shopping that day too!
3. I promise to write about our fun trip, but I need to get back in the swing of things so pop by next week to check it out.
4. Keith and I made a pact to not eat out until our Valentine's dinner as we ate out a lot on our trip.  We'll see how much that sticks ;)
5. I saw a random posting for a job that sounds interesting and fun and totally not in my career path.  Don't know if I'll apply but I know its out there.
6. Surprisingly I'm already unpacked and started the laundry last night.  I have to wash every piece of our ski equipment too, which I have to be home for so the weight doesn't break the machine.  Fun times, I tell ya!
7. Our realtor found out that the condo across the hall sold 2x and both times the sale fell through due to it being an estate and the people selling it not willing to budge with loans.  While we were gone she decided to go in the unit to get an idea and she found out that it passed inspection without being vented out with the washer/dryer (one of our major concerns) and that even though the sellers replaced the carpet, it still reeks of smoke and the windows need to be replaced to get that film off.  This is a very positive thing for us for when we do put ours on because its 100x better.  Keith wants to find a house first then sell the condo because he's not liking anything at the moment.  I get it but its frustrating!!  Prayers on this please!
8. I got an hour to try to catch up on my DVR last night and found out that it didn't record half my stuff while gone.  Arghhh!

Have a great Thursday!

STL has an American Girl doll!

I love American Girl and I am a proud owner of Molly, the AG doll from the World War II era.

My mom gave her to me when I was 10 and the rule was she had to stay displayed on the piano if I wasn't playing with her.  I was given outfits to change her into with the holidays and it is one thing I will always treasure from my Mom.  I always have told people that if I'm blessed with a little girl one day, that she, too, will have an AG doll of her choosing.

To this day, AG is evolving with everything and they are having a new doll created every year that is only available that year.  Well this year's doll is named Lea and she's from St. Louis:

Lea is growing up in Lafayette Square where her dad is a professor at Washington University and her mom renovates houses in the area.  She loves Ted Drewes, and taking her friends to Forest Park.  You never really hear about a doll, of all things, being linked to St. Louis so its kinda cool.

I may be 34 years old but I still love each and everything related to these dolls.  I have all the books and plan on passing them down when the time is right.  I get excited to go with my nieces to the store and even as an adult to the bigger store in Chicago.

I'll have to go to the store to check out her entire collection, it wasn't out yet when we were in Chicago in December.

Oh to be a kid again!