Eats- Pappy's

Saint Louis has lots of great little eateries that are off the beaten path, but super popular gems of the city.  Pappy's is no exception!  Stuart has been raving about this restaurant since he went for a business lunch, and I have been eager to try it ever since.  On one of our random road trips around the area, we found ourselves very close to the restaurant, so we decided to stop.  Wow!  I love barbecue, but this is awesome.  The lines start to form pretty early and will end up out the door until they sell out of food, so get there early!  As a lover of brisket, this was probably the best one I have ever had, but really anything you get is probably delicious...and deep fried corn on the cob-what!  Perfect.

 Try it and let me know what you think!

The Sloup!

So Saint Louis has these great little nooks and crannies of awesome art groups that gather for a tradition known as "Sloup". What happens?  Artists submit possible project proposals which are voted on while enjoying homemade soup (for a small cover)!  I heard about this adventure from Katie, who always has the most interesting ideas for things to do.  I love it!  This time around, it was hosted at various places around South City, and our eventual choice was at a local chef's house.  She was serving both vegan and omnivore soup, which worked for both of us and our significant others, so off we went.  So delicious!  Stuart tried the fancy cocktail that consisted of about 15 ingredients, but he got lost after "cognac"-ha.  We voted, enjoyed some cheese and soup, mingled, and then made our way to Bailey's Chocolate Bar.  For real.  Recommended: bittersweet and bacon truffles and banana nutella crepes.  I didn't take pictures...because it was so good, I forgot.

 Butternut Squash and Ham and Beans...Delicious

Stuart enjoys the 15-ingredient cocktail!

Our chef had an amazing collection of cookbooks.  She said at one point she had about a thousand in stacks around the living room.  Well they were worth it!  Her soups were delicious- and for such a fun cause!  ...Maybe I'll see you at the next one! 

Road Trip!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  We had a few family members in town and had a delicious meal, complete with Grandma Presley's homemade apple and pumpkin pies-yum!  A couple weeks before this fantastic holiday, My wonderful husband surprised me with a trip to Memphis, so I thought I would share a few photos from our excursion.  We are rapidly becoming experts at road trips!  Despite our common last name, we did not get a discount into Graceland, but we (literally) packed everything you could do in Memphis in one day.  Was it tacky?  Of course, but so worth it!  And we even made it in town early enough the day before to catch the Cardinals win the World Series (which is a BIG deal in our household).

We started our day with Graceland

 Elvis' dining room

 The backyard

 An entire hallway of gold records and awards

The Meditation Garden and resting place

of Elvis and his family

 Stuart channels Elvis-ha!

The Pink Cadillac!! (His Mom's favorite)

We then made our way to a serious gem of Memphis...

amazing work and story behind the museum

 Ribbons at the Metal Museum

    Who could pass up famous Memphis Barbeque?  Not us.

 After we were stuffed from Rendezvous, we took a stroll down Beale Street to hear some jazz, which is played constantly in this area.  We did hit the Gibson Guitar Factory Tour too, but weren't allowed to take photos, but it was super cool to see how they hand make each guitar to order- especially for B.B. King, who made it famous.

 We completed our day at Sun Studio.  This place is a-mazing.  Filled with old treasures and still a working recording studio today, it is where Elvis recorded his first song, as well as a place where some of the greats have sung (Johnny Cash anyone?).  The tour is really a great way to learn more about the history and get a glimpse into what it was like back in the heyday of rock and roll.

 Enjoy a milkshake at the concession stand before your tour

And finally...touch the microphone Elvis sang his first recording with!

Yep.  We did all this in one day, so if you have a few hours to spare and a thirst for jazz history, make a weekend trip to Memphis.  It's swell.  

Coming soon: A DIY post on hand made Christmas Cards- stay tuned!