parent's visit

Lemp Brewery Haunted House

I was supposed to work last night, but then they called me off for a low census day! This was great because Kraig did not have to work either. We ended up having a really fun evening, made even more fun by the fact that I had planned to be at work but wasn't!
First, we went to Barnes and Noble so that Kraig could read his new manga and so that I could look through the travel books. Afterwards, we headed downtown to the old Lemp Brewery. The Brewery is closed down now, but they built a haunted house in it for Halloween. The Lemps are very interesting as many of the places they are associated with in St. Louis are haunted places, and the brewery is no exception. The Lemp Mansion is considered one of the most haunted places in the US. I have been trying to get on a tour but the tours are offered on strange days of the week, and Kraig always has to work.
So, even though this was not an historical or educational tour, it was still really fun. It was a great atmosphere for a haunted house. It was set up in the actual tunnels below the brewery and was themed as an actual haunted brewery.. like zombies and such as the actual workers. It was really great because you could see old parts of the brewery like the boilers.
I really enjoyed it and actually was startled around 20 times by those lurking around the corners. The past couple of haunted houses, I haven't been scared once. So, this was a treat for me and for Kraig too because he could watch and laugh at me.
After the haunted house, we went for a late night Steak and Shake meal! What a great day :) and much better than being at work.

So- this is what I have been working on for the past few days.. and I am finally finished! Yay, I am so proud! It is a reversible welder's cap. I am hopefully gonna make a bunch for Kraig to sell at work- well at least once I have worked out all of the kinks. I am not the best sewer especially when my mom is not sitting next to me to fix my mess-ups or to press the seams...

Baxter tested, and Stacey approved!

A few days ago, I posed with this shirt at Target. Too bad I didn't dress like this for the Popeye Festival! Side note: we also saw a Popeye Halloween costume at Target. Is Popeye making a comeback or something?

Taste of St. Louis

 Today Kraig and I headed down to Soldier's Memorial Park for the Taste of St. Louis celebration. A few of the main roads were closed off to make way for all of the many booths selling food from various local restaurants, beer, and some arts and crafts. There were also a few music stages. While we were there, a reggae band was playing which set a rather nice beat for the event.
The local restaurants each had a booth selling 3 or 4 things from their menus for a somewhat minimal price. This is the most expensive "taste" event that I have been to, but I was much more pleased with my food this time around.

I started off by tasting a 'Cheese Balloon" which was chicken and cheese folded into some pasta covered with a vodka cream sauce. Then kraig got a sushi sampler from the restaurant, "The Drunken Fish." This was a restaurant we are hoping to go to in the future anyway. Next we ate black bean empanadas with garlic aioli sauce. They were muy excelente and left a great taste en mi boca. The last thing we ate was something created by the Culinary Institute students. It was a goat cheese and carmelized onion tart. It was also really, really good. That was all we had because, as I said before, the items were a bit pricey. However, we did get a free fleece blanket from the people at the Cadillac Booth!

Rachelle's wedding weekend

We went to GR on Friday for Rachelle's rehearsal dinner. After the practicing, we headed out to a great dinner at Mangiamo's, an Italian restaurant in the neat old house, in East Grand Rapids. I used to pass it on my way to work at "The Blodgett," so it was really fun. The wedding is going to be at Frederik Meijer Gardens. The Gardens are beautiful and right not there is a Chihuly glass exhibit- so I think Rachelle's pictures are going to be beautiful!

The food was great at the dinner. Kraig had what may be the best mashed potatoes ever, and I had some great pasta. I am so excited for Rachelle because Nate (her husband-to-be at the time) is such a great guy, and his family seems great too. This may have been the most fun wedding I have ever been in because the entire wedding party was so much fun and laid back, plus I have missed Rachelle so much!

We stayed at my aunt's house for the weekend and got to play with her nice cats. What a nice change from Baxter's biting ways! On our way to her house, we passed the old street that I used to live on in Grand Rapids' "semi-ghetto." True to form there was police car with flashing lights down the street and the Chinese place was still there. It's nice to know that some things do not change. tear...

On the wedding day, Kraig went off on his own and checked out ArtPrize in downtown Grand Rapids. It is an art competition with every kind of piece you can imagine. There was a giant flying pig made out of barrels, blown glass, a woolly mammoth made out of shaved metal, and a family of elephants. He really liked waking around and seeing everything. 

I spent my day getting ready with the girls. The wedding went off without a hitch. I loved my bright blue bridesmaid's dress. Rachelle had everything planned so nicely from the awesome flower in my hair to her bright blue shoes hidden under her dress. She looked beautiful! The reception was great too. You could just feel how happy everyone was for the couple!

On Sunday morning, we went out to breakfast with my aunt. The restaurant was awesome. I got this loaded potato crepe. I thought crepes were only for sweet stuff but this thing was awesome. It was like an omelet without the eggs and almost all carbs. How glorious!

After heading back to Niles, we spent time visiting various family members. I think that this will be one of our last weddings to attend for awhile, and most likely the last wedding where I will be in the wedding party. Even though, I love being a bridesmaid- it will be a nice break. I also do not think we will be home again until Christmas- so it will be nice not to rush around so much.

Anyway, Congrats to Nate and Rachelle!!

Popeye Picnic Festival

 Today Kraig and I took a scenic drive to the little town of Chester, IL. Chester is the home to the Popeye Music and an annual festival in celebration of Popeye.
This festival definitely gave me some new-found respect for the Niles Apple Festival as the Popeye Festival left some to be desired. We drove an hour there and back and only stayed at the festival for 45 minutes. The bright spot of the Festival was the weiner dog race. It was definitely a smaller scale version of the one we saw in Nevada, but it was still fun (and funny). Those dogs are great, and when we settle back in Michigan, we are so getting one. I am pretty sure we will train it for weiner dog races.

After the races, we walked around town, and I got to meet the guest of honor himself. We tried to find the craft show, but we couldn't find it. We had some ice cream and walked through the one room Popeye Museum. It was really just a lot of collectibles. Mostly, we people watched- in jeans and t-shirts, we seemed to be the best dressed ones there. We saw some mullets, and we think we saw a little boy dressed in little girl jeans- or was it a girl? We really do not know.
Anyway, there was also a carnival and a beer tent- but we skipped those. The line for the free caricatures was too long, but that would have been cool. I was hoping for this to be a super awesome festival, but sometimes expectations fall short. The locals seemed to like it and that's all that matters, I guess. I wonder what their high school's mascot is...

Happy Labor Day!

Our Chicago friends Emilie and Andy have been begging us to come and visit them, so we finally obliged them with our presence. :) Ha! Anyway, we had a great weekend with them and their awesome dog, Pepper. Somehow, Kraig and her have become best friends even though she usually only likes Emilie, and she only really likes me when I am eating chips.
Once again, Andy saved the day. He retrieved some photos for me off of a 2 year old busted computer that Best Buy said would cost hundreds of dollars. Andy is my computer nerd hero.
sat- out to eat- beer
sun- craft show, apple picking, cookout
mon- ikea, teds montana grill, plush horse, walk pepper

party like a bachelorette

I had such a fun weekend! I went to Traverse city to join my old college roommate Rachelle, and a bunch of her friends, for her bachelorette  party. On Saturday, we went wine tasting and visited 5 different wineries in the area. It was really a lot of fun, especially at this one called Black Star Farms. At this winery, the guy pouring us our samples was crazy and a little inappropriate when messing with Rachelle. It was great! I ended up buying two different kinds of apple cider wine. Kraig and I had apple cider wine when we were in Seattle, and we have been looking for it ever since! Who would have thought it was in Michigan?!? It is some really good stuff :)
Then we went back to our lakeside lodge. It was a really nice place. We had dinner, and Rachelle opened her gifts. Afterwards, all 14 of us hopped on the pontoon boat and took it for a spin around the lake.
On Sunday, one of the other bridesmaids and I cooked breakfast for everyone. I had a griddle station where I made pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes. I tried to make french toast, but it really did not work out. It was pretty fun and quite challenging to make breakfast for that many people!
Afterwards, we spent the afternoon at Lake Michigan. It was a really beautiful place. The water was also quite cold! I loved it though, as I do not think I have been in the Lake for a few years now. After the beach, a few of us went back to the house and played on the water trampoline. Only a few of us stayed Sunday night, but we still had a lot of fun. We went out to dinner at a local brewery and just lounged around the house for the night.
It was a really fun weekend. I met a lot of new people, and I loved getting to hang out with Rachelle! I can't wait for her wedding in about a month.

Gateway Grizzlies

The Gateway Grizzlies are members of the Frontier League and actually play against a team from Traverse City. They are a minor league baseball team, and Kraig and I have been trying to go to one of their games all summer. Well, today it finally happened that they were playing a home game on a Sunday where we did not already have plans. We love minor league baseball games because of all of the silly contests and prizes. We did not win this time though.
The stadium where the team plays is famous for one of their burgers. It is one hamburger patty, one piece of cheese, and some ketchup between 2 Krispy creme donut halves. Yes, you heard me right, instead of buns there are donuts. This sounds incredibly gross to me, but I heard that they were amazingly good so I wanted to try one. Unfortunately, I waited too long, and by the 8th inning, they were sold out. I did not get one earlier because I thought that the combination of a super sweet donut burger and the 100+ degree heat would work together to make me feel sick. I am probably right about that, but I still should have gone for it!
Our streak continues, as the Gateway Grizzlies lost to the Oakland County Cruisers. So far, we have never been to a baseball game when the home team wins!