St. Louis Weekend

Earlier this month we headed to St. Louis for the weekend. There was an ornament class at the glass blowing factory I used to take classes at when we lived in St. Louis, so it was a fun excuse to get back for the weekend. We stayed at the Cheshire, an adorable hotel near Forest Park/Clayton. It’s a literary themed hotel and very beautifully done. 

The whole hotel was beautifully furnished. It felt like I was back living in England! We also enjoyed the breakfast, with good pastries, local coffee and fresh fruits. I would definitely stay there again.

After we arrived in town Friday night, we headed out to the Loop for some late night dinner and drinks. We had dinner at Seoul Taco, which is new since we moved 2 years ago. They had amazing tacos, nachos and spicy kimchi. After dinner we headed down the street and I got sucked into Fitz’s by this Pumpkin Pop.

I always loved going to Fitz’s, not because they have great food (it’s average), but because they have excellent pop and floats. After a Schlafly beer, we took our Fitz’s 4 pack back to the hotel because we had a really busy Saturday planned! 

I always love looking around at Third Degree. They have all sorts of artists who sell their work and it always gives me ideas for my glass blowing or kiln work. I loved these stringer/rod pieces. They’re so simple but beautiful.

My class was great; I made two large hanging ornaments. This one will be a bright purple and green. My other one is spotted blue and white. It was fun to make some glass again! After I finished with my class, we decided to drive around downtown and look at all our old favorite places (including my first loft on Washington Avenue and my beautiful apartment on Pine). There were a few new places, but everything looked pretty much the same! Of course we had to drive by my former work, the Circuit Attorney’s Office. It’s such a beautiful courthouse. 

After our drive we stopped at the Fountain on Locust for lunch. It’s one of my favorite local places. Their food is amazing- all of it. I’ve never had something there that I didn’t love. Everything is really fresh and unique. I especially love their dill pickle soup. Then we headed over to Maplewood for some shopping. 

We stopped at Penzeys (above) for spices. I love this place, and it’s so unique. They have a million different kinds of spices, all really fresh. You can buy small quantities or bigger containers. I usually buy a bunch of small containers of things to sample and try. One of my favorites is the sweet basil, the vanilla sugar, the seasoned salt and the fennel. 

After Penzey’s we stopped by Kakao for some chocolates and then Schlafly Bottleworks for some beer tasting. After that we headed back to Kansas City so I could start studying for finals (and to be reunited with our Truman, of course!).