Meet Me in St. Louis

This past weekend was such a blast! I found out last week that my dear friend and college roomie Jill, who was also a bridesmaid in our wedding, was going to be in St. Louis with her new boyfriend, Adam, for a quick weekend trip Thursday-Saturday, and, on the spur of the moment, I had the idea for David and I to take a spontaneous weekend trip to the Lou. So, Jill and I (happily!) planned "Operation Meet Me in St. Louis." We had the best time! David and I headed out after his work day ended on Thursday and got to STL around 11:30 p.m. My sweet bestie, Tom, (the man of honor in our wedding) and his boyfriend, Jason, let us stay with them, which was great. They are renting this fabulous old house that they've decorated SO adorably, and they have the most precious 4 lb. teacup chihuahua, JJ (my "nephew," since Tom's my "brother"). They were the most wonderful hosts. When we got there, they had transformed Tom's top floor office into the perfect guest suite complete with a fully dressed king sized air mattress, extra pillows, blankets, and fans, a water pitcher, Advil, snacks, etc. They greeted us the next morning with bagels and coffee for breakfast, after which they headed to work and Dave and I headed out for the day. Our first stop was the Missouri Botanical Gardens (our very favorite St. Louis attraction), where we walked through all the grounds (it was a beautiful, breezy, 75 degree day) and then picked out orchids and orchid books for my orchid-obsessed Mama in the gift shop. We then grabbed some midday Crater Copernicuses at Ted Drewes (because we can never resist) and headed over to Wash. U. campus. We had lunch on the patio at Ibby's, the on-campus restaurant that opened my senior year (but I'd never been), and it was delicious! We walked around campus and browsed the bookstores, and then Jill and her boyfriend Adam met us in the student center, and we all hung out and talked for a while. After T and J finished work, we headed back to their place and got cute, and then the four of us met Jill and Adam at Drunken Fish in the Central West End for dinner: sushi and martinis, absolutely delish! All six of us then headed over to Sasha's in Clayton, where Jill's old roomie Mary later joined us, for wine, beer, catching up, and the opportunity to relive memories of many evenings spent there in college. We wrapped up around 11pm and told Jill and Adam goodbye--it was SUCH a treat getting to see Jill and meet Adam. Visiting with her is tricky since she's in North Carolina for law school, which is a little far to be driving distance from Nashville. After Sasha's, Tom, Jason, David and I headed to Rehab, a gay bar in Tower Grove, to round out the night with more cocktails and conversations. Tom and I had our usual great talks about everything from men's clothing to sibling relationships to raising children to best friends to how I "don't fit" in the South but want to be an advocate by living there. Like I always say, he's my brother and I'm so lucky I've got him. I love that kid to pieces, and we've pulled through a lot together. It was late by the time we got back to T and J's place, so we all slept in Saturday morning. Tom and Jason headed to their neighborhood kickball game, while Dave and I opted for a late brunch at City Coffeehouse and Creperie (one of my all time faves) in downtown Clayton. It was SO good! Afterwards, we drove by our old apartment in Brentwood Forest and then headed back to Tom and Jason's to get our stuff and tell the boys goodbye. I insisted on a spin through Webster Groves and learned, much to my dismay, that my all time favorite gift shop, The Empty Nest, has gone out of business! Sad. We finished our shopping at the outdoor mall in Brentwood by browsing Soft Surroundings and Crate & Barrel, two of my other favorite stores that we don't have in Nashville. We hit the road for what ended up being a late night--my engine overheated in Grand Rivers, KY around 8:30 p.m., and we rode the remaining 130 miles to Franklin, TN in a tow truck! What an experience. All in all, though, it was a fabulous weekend of reconnecting with friends, memories, and, most importantly, myself. Whenever I start to forget who I am, who I want to be, and what matters to me, returning to St. Louis helps me reclaim those precious pieces of myself that I first discovered and nurtured in college. Getting to hang out with my college besties at this fun phase of life, where we're all coupled up, living on our own, and either in first jobs or grad school, is priceless. I'm reminded of just how blessed I was to make some lifelong friends at dear old WUSTL. One of these days, I know Uncle Tom and Uncle Jason will contribute so many wonderful things to Miss Emma's life, and I will be so grateful for their wisdom and positive influence on her! Not to mention, I'm counting on them to give our baby girl some cousins :).