A guide to St. Louis

I've spent a lot of time talking about how I'm not adjusting to my new surroundings and how I am going to make an effort to talk about what is working here. Of course, what do I think of? All the places I loved in the STL. I'm not saying I make sense. I put together this what's what of all the places to love in the STL that I want to share, should someone be looking. What I've found here is googling simple terms like "where to eat in Cleveland" OR "things to do in Cleveland" have me coming up empty search cached. 

When it comes to eating, there are some great treats & stand bys. The real question is what are you in the mood for? Broken down by location.

Delmar Loop or The Loop

• Three Kings. Really anything on the menu is delicious. We went every other week, it was close, a great location, it's deceivingly kid friendly, prices are decent, and the food is amazing.
• For breakfast, this local place is the definition of "hole in the wall" - Boosters Cafe. The pumpkin pancakes are life changing (and honestly I don't even like pancakes). It's PERFECT because it's quick, easy, and the prices are amazing.
• For burgers there is Cicero's & Blueberry Hill - both right on Delmar. Blueberry Hill is a bit of a tourist restaurant, it's neat, the burgers are good, and it's definitely "something to see." Blueberry Hill has music acts regularly, including Chuck Berry. 
• Delicious farm-to-table food (breakfast is divine) - but it's all amazing, Winslow's. This is one of our favorites. It's a little crazy in terms of overpriced - but so delish. So fresh. I once saw a review on Yelp.com that sums it up: This place is like the dude who treats you like crap, is always late, and hits on your friends, but is amazing in bed. You hate him you hate him you hate him you hate him and then ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you love him.
• Chinese food - Wongs Wok. Another 'hole in the wall' description (right next door to Booster's Cafe) - but the best (and most affordable) Chinese food we found in St. Louis.
• BBQ, is Pappy's - super long line most days, but it's always worth it.
• Pizza - here's what you need to know about pizza, especially coming from the Northeast. They use a cheese here- called "provel" - correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a mix of cheddar, provolone and something else. It's really only used in St. Louis, specifically. I'm not a fan, but if you are from St. Louis I'm pretty sure you are conditioned to love it. They put it on EVERYTHING - Mexican food, Italian food, American, salads, really anything. Most pizza is made with it. There are, however, great pizza places that don't use it. Pi Pizza being one or Dewey's they have different locations . The salads are very good as well. The VERY BEST pizza, made by New Yorkers - so I'm partial is: La Pizza. Another 'hole in the wall' - but really the best pizza I've had since moving from NY. 

The Central West End or CWEWe LOVE the Central West End. It's an area of St. Louis that has amazing restaurants, shops, great place to walk around. It's accessibly by metro link which is convenient to our house and there is stop that takes you right in the heart of the "CWE" or Central West End. 

• Mexican:  Tortillaria Mexican Kitchen Tortill. Really good prices. 
• American (another farm to table restaurant): Duff's.
• A personal favorite, a tapas place. Taste.
• American, more options than Duff's and probably less expensive: Bar Louie. 

The Hill would be a Little Italy equivalent for St. Louis. It's a cute little area where you can't go too wrong for Italian food. Their mozzarella & tomato salad is probably the best thing I've ever ordered. Ever. It sounds so simple, but it is just plain amazing.

• Italian food - I'm super picky about Italian food- but I think my favorite has been Charlie Gito's. They have two locations. One downtown (more casual) and one in "The Hill." 

We went out a bit. With two young kids, our "activities" are pretty limited. Luckily they are pretty good in restaurants, though some of the above have been "date night, only" destinations.

The Children's Museum: Cleveland

We've been to more Children's Museum than my 21 year-old self would ever imagine being to. Boston, Connecticut, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and now Cleveland.

What's not to love:

• The cost. As with all things around here, the Cleve could take a page from the Lou. Lower costs, please sir. For the 4 of us it was just about $30. For the amount of space they offer, this wasn't the best value. Note to self: look at family membership costs before only buying a day pass. This was a rookie mistake.
• It's not that big. There are only 4 rooms to explore. 
• Surprisingly it isn't 100% beast proof. I mean, I know we have some special challenges with the beast JJ, but there were a lot of random little holes that as the beast she would walk across bridges and walk ways she could (and did) fall into them.

What's to love:

• There is a level of desperation of things to do during the winter, I would imagine especially. This is a great option, once you get the yearly membership. 
• Free parking. On the "take a page from the Lou" thought - there isn't always free parking for places and this place has it. 
• It doesn't take forever to get there, from where we are. 15 minutes, this is pretty much the unicorn of Cleveland. Highly desirable, magical and never seen. 
• It isn't a zoo. And I love the zoo here, but it wasn't mobbed with people - which a lot of the Children's Museums we have been to, typically are. 
• The exhibits they do have, are nice.


• SANDasaurus: basically a floor filled with sand. There were dinasour dig sites and sand for as far as the eye could see. The kids loved it and we found a group of kids to play with. We hid dinasour eggs for groups of kids and played for (what felt like) hours having them dig for dinasour eggs. There was a map for dig sites, that when the kids dug they would find fossils. Much fun. 
• Big Red Barn: A play farm that is small enough for the babe. Too small for the big kid, but she did a great job helping her little around. 
• Splish! Splash!: Water room. Enough said. They had "rain coats" to keep the kids dry, FYI that didn't work. We decided to leave the sand pit for last... after getting soaked in the water room? Wasn't our brightest moment. 
• Bridges to Our Community: A miniature village / town / city complete with: a two story house, different rooms including bedrooms & kitchens, dress up, with details down to ironing stations. Bus rides, a grocery store, hospital, bank & cafe. Super cute. This, however, is where there seemed to be baby sized man holes to fall into. The name including "bridges" but underneath the bridge? Areas to fall into.

We'll go back. It's certainly going to be useful for the loads of crappola days we have.  Have I mentioned how lovely it is to be able to get there quickly? Beyond being as impatient as I am (and I am), the beast hates to be in the car.  The sooner we can guarantee she'll be out on the loose - the better it is for all of us.

We'll be back, Children's Museum, If for no other reason to get in some more cowbell.

You've Got Mail

I have talked about my obsession of mail. I mean for real? How could I not with the kind of muse that I have at my shutter bug trigger happy finger? This year there is an oh so hott deal where ALL I have to do is tell you about WHY Shutterfly, in particular rocks the house. Need one reason?

I chose Shutterfly because I was totally into the PeaceJoyCandyCanes wording.  Can you stand it? The process was super easy and frankly reasonable prices, which doesn't hurt. Last year I may or may not have ordered a few many, due to all of the excitement.  I tend to do that, I prefer to err on the side of caution. I always order more, for real? Check her out! Wouldn't you want to be sure you had enough to go around? Sure, I'll be wallpapering our next family room with old and unused holiday cards, thank you cards and birthday party invitations - but at these prices? Why not?

In addition to cards there are some fantastic options for gifts. A personal favorite? Calendars. It's too bad I tend to give calendars as gifts and never get myself one. The result? Everyone else remembers birthdays and anniversaries - except this girl, right here. On a related note? When you enter promo code: MYCALENDAR at check out - you get up to 50% off your order and a free calendar. Holler. PS this offer ends the 28th (that's today, FYI). Ah creeps - so here I am realizing if I'm doing that this year I have to get on this. The only issue with making these happen each year is the ability to get my hands on some pictures to make it happen (I'm looking at you family, reading this, never sending me pictures). Note to self: start stalking your family early for photos to use otherwise you'll end up like me - on a tangent realizing that you are out of time.

Full disclosure, Shutterfly is offering 50 hott holiday cards, free and clear for letting you know about my positive experience. You can do it too, no problemo. Check it out.  This year, while I had the photos done early, here I sit with so many options I can't handle it. I may very well get a few different designs since I am unable to make a decision. When in doubt? Overbuy. 

What is your holiday card plan?

Have Kid, Will Dine

I feel like everyone in and around the Cambridge, MA area needs to know about Full Moon Restaurant. Sure, they don't carry my DOC (in this case, I didn't expect them to carry benadryl, more so my DRINK of choice, Bud Light), but I tell you it didn't make a difference. We met some friends with their kids at this place a few months back and I've been meaning to share the wealth. Despite receiving a text from my friend trying to prep me for the 'disaster' she thought would ensue since there was no BL on tap or in bottles (all microbrewery beers) I couldn't care less. And in an interesting twist of faith, post our Europe trip I've actually grown to like non-watered down beer. Yes, it's true. Despite my unwavering love for the BL, I do recognize that part of the reason it is so 'light' is that there is likely more water than anything else in the damn bottle. I won't apologize for my love of BL, but I will say I am starting to see the err of my way. 

I digress:  here's why I love this place and you should too. First - and not in order of importance - they have fanfreakingtastic food. Second, and maybe this is more important this food? It's served at reasonable prices  A kid menu and everything is around 6 bucks. At 6 bucks I expect the golden arches. OH heck no. Delicious food for adults and little humans. Third(s)? The portions? OH heck yeah they sure are fine. Fourth, the atmosphere is totally casual - but the food itself is more 'bistro' like. Holla. This satisfies my need preference to wear jeans and the ball & chain's preference need for fancy pants food. 

Finally and truly the most important thing is to be able to dine with out the order and rush methods that are sometimes needed when children are involved. You know about this if you are a parent or some unsuspecting fool who was babysitting and took the kid to a restaurant. I'll set the scene. The server comes to get the drink orders - you already know your full order and have specific instructions on what needs to come out when and depending on the kid's mood by the time their meal comes out you might also ask for your check once your appetizer arrives. "WRAP IT UP! We are moments away from crazy town being unleashed on all of our unsuspected dining neighbors."  Side note: I don't suggest actually saying something like this unless you think the server is going to get it. When they don't - they may accidentally fear for their life. 
This place is MORE than kid friendly. It is a restaurant that has crayons at the front and tables to color on. But what's that? There is more?
There are BUCKETS of toys for the kids to grab at the front and play with. Every child loves a bucket of new toys they've never seen. It's a proven fact. But what's that? There is more? 

A freaking play area. 

Oh how I don't understand how more restaurants don't have a play area? Freaking. Genius. There were only a few seats, I wouldn't want to sit at (because I have a younger child) - but most of the seats you could see into the play area and enjoy you brunch, lunch or dinner in peace and quiet (foreign concept for most parents) while your kid played. It was awesome and I just wanted to share anyone in Massachusetts or driving through you should give it a try. Consider yourself enlightened and you're welcome - enjoyment during a night out is yours again. It's true! Also true? This post is not sponsored. I was going to put all this in a yelp comment but I didn't think it would translate. 

Summer Sipper

While I'm not a wine drinker OR a white wine drinker, hofer gruner veltliner wine is the bee's knees. I discovered it, on my way out to pick up some white wine for a Bunko game. It was my first night "out" in my neighborhood (ever) and first night playing Bunko.  Little did I know I would become an old hat at Bunko and spend one night a month getting drunkO at Bunko and loving it. 

Anyway, when I went to this wine shop, down the street from where I live and where I was going I asked for a suggestion. Being a BL girl, I didn't want to get some crap, but also didn't want to break the bank. 

The guy there pointed me to the direction of this delish bottle of wine. Here's all the reasons I love it:

1. The taste. I googled this wine and found the perfect description: 

Pale champagne color, lots of frizzante, with wild tongue-stinging acidity that has a mouth-tickling Pop Rocks effect. Loads of pear and minerality and hints of citrus. There's ample honey and caramel on the finish. 

To be fair, I'm not 100% what all that means but I love the pop rocks comparison... I might say:

Pale champagne color, delish. Doesn't have that ca ca after taste of desserty wines or water taste of most white wines. Not to many strong tastes all together - except the taste of declious. Also, it is bubbly a bit but not burpy bubbles. 

2. The bottle. It's large and in charge.

3. The top is twist off, bud light style. I like that. 

4. Way affordable. It's like $14 for the big boy, but it's not cheap tasting. 

*No one asked me to write this review, though if anyone wanted to send me bottles of wine, beer or liqueur to review- I wouldn't be against that. 

Quote Boards - The Life of the Party

The story behind the music: last year, L had a Dora the Explorer Party. Despite my best efforts to not have a Dora party this year - it happened and she wanted one. I needed to bring a little change to the whole thing - so I added Diego. My thought process was this: if we add Diego - I can legitimately put together a photo both of sorts. If you haven't seen Diego - it's like Dora but a boy - less screaming and rather an a backpack side kick like Dora, he has a camera voiced by the incomparable Rosie Perez.

Photobooth-esq  scenes filled my little planning head and then I found this over at the Photojojo Store!

Photo credits: Photojojo and the magical people of Photojojo!

Can you say EVEN BETTER? 

I set up streamers just like the photos, in Dora themed colors, of course.  I made sure I had a tripod ready to go, I got the chalk board out, everything was prepared and ready to G.O. 

The only flaw in my plan was to actually execute the idea.  Turns out a bender the day before and a house full of friends and family will throw a MAJOR wrench into the plan. The good news is I eventually remembered to break out the fun, it's too bad 98% of the people who were there had left - but next time? I'm all over it. 

No go out and buy this crowd pleaser, or invite me over and remind me to bring (and use) this fabulous party fun.  Buy the Chalkboard Speech Bubble at the Photojojo Store it does a body good.

(whoopie pie people... get your head out of the gutter)

Really a 2 pronged joke - aided by the board AND the snuggie. Yes. That's a snuggie.

Best party fun game? Do NOT tell the person you are holding the quote board behind what it says. Good times.

Everybody loves it... even the bowl of pasta & sauce.

That's the deal people. Good stuff. 


Oh and while this is by NO way a sponsored post.  That said, hey Photojojo peeps - you can FEEL free to send along any ol' thing for me to have fun with.  Maybe that post could be written using the chalk board? Hello... good idea people!  I have to add one more thing. I didn't realize when ordering this board with other goodies that the chalk board may not be shipped on time for the party. I emailed and with in a day I got a super friendly (and witty) response and they worked out my order.Super fantastic customer service people, it's practically unheard of.  Another fun take away from this fantastic and fun shop? These paddles. TBD on those - but I'll let you know if they are just as fun!

Kid City - My City

Last week, I took the day off to spend the day with my girl. We've been eyeing Kid City in Middletown, Connecticut. Seriously check it.


The feedback and bottom line? A.Maz.Ing.


Why? Let me count the ways. 

GENIUS. A parent emergency kit. GENIUS.

air + balls + pigs = HOURS of happiness

In addition to balancing the balls on the air streams - you feed the piggy the balls and they are blown all over the place through a maze. What happens? Hours of happiness and screaming... 

"Piggies eat balls! He loves balls!"

Apple picking and manual labor!

Chalk. Walls. Fun.

Lunch break, holler!

For lunch we headed over to the New England Emporium. Holy. Fabulous. 

Yeah, I'm doing reviews. I want you to know where to head and what to do.  Did I get any for this? Heck no. That said, if New England Emporium OR Kid City want to throw me a bone - I wouldn't shake a stick at that!