St. Louis

Sartorial Saturday–Oktoberfest 2023

Time for a look back at the outfits I wore to various Oktoberfest celebrations this year! I attended a record four Oktoberfests, which means I got to wear 2/3 of the dirndls in my wardrobe. I wore my very first dress from Rare Dirndl to Belleville’s Oktoberfest, but with a fairly new apron:

I wore one of my newest dirndls to St. Charles Oktoberfest, but I again switched out the apron:

I decided to go for a lot of color at Zootoberfest at the St. Louis Zoo:

And I paired my new “Surprise Me” apron with one of my oldest dirndls at Oktoberfest at Das Bevo:

Looking back at the places I went, I can say that Belleville’s Oktoberfest is still the most disappointing to me, while St. Charles is the biggest and best. Surprisingly, though, the zoo had the best pretzels!

St. Charles might have the best Oktoberfest, but you just can’t beat the setting of Das Bevo. It was the smallest one I attended, but just look at that gorgeous building and fun tent!

I’ll leave you with everyone’s favorite call for a toast!

Tasty Tuesday–Steve’s Hot Dogs

When Chickadee and I went to visit the Planter’s Nutmobile in July, we had to stop in at Steve’s Hot Dogs, the host of the event.

I loved the interior of the restaurant…especially all the Star Wars memorabilia everywhere!

Now on to the most important stuff…the food! Since it was just me and Chickadee, I didn’t go crazy and order the hot dog flight, but if you do, you can try their eight top dogs. I’m personally kind of a hot dog purist, so I only tried one thing..the classic Chicago Dog. It was probably the best Chicago Dog I’ve ever had! The toppings are impossible to screw up (as long as you don’t try to sneak some ketchup on there), so they were spot on, but the hog dog itself was excellent. I don’t know why or what makes it different, but it was really, really good!

It’s hard to argue with this sentiment:

I liked the Chicago Dog so much, I may even go back and try something different in the future…the Al Hrabratsky appeals to me based on the name alone, but it also has sauerkraut and paprika, so I know it has to be good! You can also build your own dog or brat, so you know you’re getting exactly what you want, and that means Steve’s basically has endless options!

Color in The Grove

My children think this building looks like it has Minecraft Creepers on it, and they’re not wrong…I just love that it adds a splash of color to Manchester Avenue in The Grove Neighborhood of St. Louis!

Chihuly Nights

I already shared a look at “Chihuly in the Garden,” the Missouri Botanical Garden’s summer exhibition…now it’s time for a look at “Chihuly Nights,” the special ticketed event they’re hosting Thursday through Sunday nights through August. It was a thrill to get see these beautiful glass pieces lit up as the sun went down!

First, a look at the indoor sculptures that I didn’t previously share, beginning with the pieces hanging from the rafters of the Linnean House:

There are many displays inside the Climatron:

I especially enjoyed the glass Ikebana:

There were also some pieces in the new Emerson Conservatory:

Including some unexpected neon:

We saw the installations throughout the garden at varying light levels…they all looked amazing! The evening events at the Botanical Garden are rare, but they’re some of my favorites, because I love seeing how the light changes as the sun sets!

And finally, a look at an old favorite from a previous exhibition that is permanently displayed at the Missouri Botanical Garden…we don’t usually get to see it lit up by anything other than the sun!

I doubt we’ll have another opportunity to see the nighttime exhibition, but I’m really looking forward to seeing all of this artwork during the day throughout the summer!