A Louisville Weekend

For Memorial weekend Jake and Erin came to visit (my brother and sister-in-law) from Houston TX. We then drove to Louisville to visit some old friends that go to Southern Seminary now.














Corey and Jennie now have 2 cute kids, Amie and Jared are not only pregnant but also adopting 2 children from Ethiopia!


















Elin was very cute and ... active as she is in her terrible two stage. She kept us all on our toes.














Claire is the newest little Duncan and she was very chill the entire weekend. She was adorable!














And always sporting the cutest little handmade bows from her mommy.














Aww... friends reunited once again














It was so good to see Jared & Amie again. They were our Salt Company leaders in college and we are so happy for their soon to be family!














Churchhill downs is where the Kentucky Derby is held. We decided to spend the afternoon at some horse races.


















If optometry doesn't work out, I can always become a jockey. Being small has these sorts of advantages.














cute!














The races were quite the experience. I didn't expect such an adrenaline rush from a 2 minute race but the crowd and commentator went crazy towards every finish that you couldn't help but join in.




























The trumpet guy who played the traditional tune to begin the race was awesome




























































Jake and baby Claire just powin' around


















We had the most amazing homemade ice cream from this parlour after dinner














Jake and Erin tried their upside-down cupcake with a frosting sort of amazingness glaze ... yum














All the married ladies. (minus Claire.) Yay for long weekends and reunions! Hope you all had a safe and happy Memorial weekend!!

Crown Candy and Roller Coasters

We spent some time with good friends and great company this weekend. We went to two local haunts in St. Louis that we haven't got around to visiting yet. First: this cute little polish sausage shop in Old North:


















It's been around forever, in fact the Pope himself visited it once!! We got some polish candy, brats, and krakow sausage. The owner was very happy to sample most of the meat and cheese, including the beer salami which was quite tasty.



















Second: Crown Candy in Old North St. Louis. This shop as well, has been around for quite some time. It was the cutest little vintage diner with homemade candies, and shakes along with the yummiest reuben's, BLT's, and corned beef sandwiches known to man. Every little booth had a vintage mini jukebox that used to work up until recently.














All the ice cream is handmade and shakes are mixed in an antique copper ... shake maker? Apparently the challenge is to down 5 shakes (which is really like 3 because there is always so much extra) in 30 minutes and they are free. One man did it in 6 minutes. I don't think he was human but his meal was free.















I intended to bring some leftover shake and sandwich home for later but ended up devouring the entire meal. Including every drop of the "extra" shake. We were practically rolled out of there when we were done. And we had such a great time!!!


















Next we went to Six Flags (my first six flag experience) which was *totally amazing* by the way. I LOVED the classic roller coasters. I would hear a father taking his son on it in line before us saying "I used to ride this when I was a kid". My favorite roller coasters were the old wooden ones that made you feel like the cart was skipping the track when you sat in the back. Loved it!



















This ride was new (the sky-screamer) It was terrifying but once you got over the fact that the swing wasn't going to snap it was quite pleasant and relaxing. We were so incredibly high, swinging at such a angle round and round that the view was so amazing. At least for me. Jonathan wouldn't open his eyes for more than a second :) And his hand had lost all feeling in the end from my grip.




























I almost stepped out of line on this one. I hated the one like it in SLC but thought I'd give it another shot. Everyone said it was the greatest adrenaline rush but it is highly unlikely that I'll ever do it again! I couldn't stand having my feet dangling SO high and by the time we were free falling, by total surprise mind you, I tried to scream but because my body was in such shock, there was no time to scream! I walked off just shaking, trying to regain sanity.















We all went to celebrate Tim's birthday and then enjoyed the most delicious pi pizza afterwards. Happy Birthday Keifer!!!!

my window rose

This past rainy Sunday afternoon, we had lunch with some friends in their home. They have these amazing rose bushes in bloom just outside their door. On our way out, they cut some roses for us and we enjoyed their cheer all the way home.


















I didn't want to just place them in a vase, but I had an empty jar and some wire and fixed it up in our window above our "window-sill herb garden"...































Yay for window roses!

Well Worn & Well Saved

Can you picture it?! a shade of avocado -lime paint on an old vintage church pew to greet you as you walk in your home to take your shoes off?

This is what happens when you take a dreary Monday morning (the worst day of the week) off from work with a friend... you find amazing pieces of furniture much like this one!


















We found a 1950's church pew, much like the one above, at an antique shop the other day. The seat was covered with a foam cushion and painted vinyl (eww) The second it reached our walkway before entering the house, we ripped off the vinyl (with great pleasure I might add) to reveal the beginnings of another DIY project. We will soon fix it up and place it in our "entry way". Yay!!

Before & after photos to come soon!!!

There's no place like home

I came very close to submitting some photos of our home to apartment therapy's small cool contest this year just for fun but I was a bit sheepish and thought I'll just do it next year (when we have done a bit more to the place)


































































































































I threw this one in the mix because lovely vintage dresses on pretty ladies should be in every post :)

Take me out to a ball game

The Barnes Retina ladies. (Some of us) This happened to be my first major league game. And even though the card's were less than great, we had a great time!!














You made it on my blog Meaghan! Yay!














Lynda, (bottom right) is not only my "work-mom" but she was "weekend-mom" too this Saturday. She had her entire trunk packed full with customized beer (she took orders and brought everyones favorite!) cheese, chips, guac/hummus, and more. It was amazing.































Go Card's!