summer 2021

An American Icon

We’ve seen the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile three times now (today it was at Eckert’s), and based on their license plates, it has been a different vehicle each time!

Lafayette Square

I already shared a few photos of our trip to the Lafayette Square neighborhood of St. Louis on my birthday; now I’m going to take a closer look at some of my favorite features of the area.

There are a few historic sites in the park, including a trio of cannons from a British warship which was sunk in the harbor of Charleston during the Revolutionary War. There is a also a bronze casting of a famous statue of George Washington…the only one for which he posed!

The park itself is beautiful…our favorite location was this little area by the Grotto Bridge:

We saw many beautiful flowers in the park, including one of my favorites, the hydrangea:

The park house, which was originally a police station, is also lovely:

The streets surrounding the park are filled with gorgeous homes, some of which still have mounting blocks out front!

And the Lafayette Square Fountain is just down the street!

This is definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods in St. Louis, and I’m looking forward to going back as the seasons change so I can capture more beautiful moments!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It’s my birthday…I woke up to a party this morning!

My family gave me some wonderful presents (as always!):

The one thing I really wanted to do today was go somewhere interesting and see something beautiful. I decided on the Lafayette Square neighborhood of St. Louis, where we got to see a charming park and some stunning architecture (plus a little history thrown in, for fun!):

Since we were visiting a park named for “America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman,” I wore my French Market skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing, and accessorized with my favorite color, purple:

When we got home, I attended an all-penguin birthday party on Gloriana:

I’m so happy Roald came to my birthday!!!

We watched one of my favorite movies this afternoon (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and I kept that theme going with a Chicago-style pizza for dinner:

Speaking of Chicago, my birthday cake was a copycat of the Portillo’s chocolate cake recipe. Bunny baked it, Ladybug frosted it, and Chickadee sprinkled it:

I ended the day watching our favorite pitmaster, David Sandusky of Beast Craft BBQ, compete on the premiere episode of season two of BBQ Brawl on Food Network (he advanced to the next round!), and visiting Chickadee’s island for a birthday celebration at her house:

I had a great time celebrating my birthday with my family!

Origami After Hours After Dark

Last night, we went back to Origami After Hours at the Missouri Botanical Garden, but this time, we arrived later, so we could see the art as it really got dark out. These are my favorite pieces to see as the sun goes down, because they’re lit really well and in beautiful places:

I wish the garden was open for just 30 minutes to an hour longer during Origami After Hours, so you could see the sculptures as it gets even darker (a challenge in summer when the sunset is so late to be sure!), because I think they’d be even more stunning!

Origami After Hours

On Thursday and Friday evenings this summer, the Missouri Botanical Garden is hosting an Origami in the Garden “Origami After Hours” event, which includes the large-scale art installation plus live music on their patio as well as a bar.

Let’s start with my two favorite pictures from the event…I loved seeing the art in a different light!

In addition to seeing the pieces in a different light, I also got to photograph many of them from different angles. We got to look at every piece other than the two in the Climatron (I don’t think seeing them after the sun starts going down would be too terribly different since they’re indoors).

I love any excuse to visit the Garden in the evening, and when there’s a special art installation, it’s even more fun! Hopefully we’ll have a chance to go back, and stay as it gets darker, because there are colored lights focused on the pieces, and I’d love to see them lit up in the night!