Blues

I have the Blues.  I can't get enough of hockey this year.  The Blues are currently tied for first place in the entire NHL.  This is a huge deal since we didn't make the playoffs last year and were eliminated after the first round two years ago.  It's a nice change of pace for the team. 

After we hired Ken Hitchcock in November, the Blues have been dominating the ice.  It's a guarantee that almost every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights are consumed with us watching hockey.  There is a month left in regular season and then it's playoff hockey time, something this city hasn't seen much of since the mid 90s.  I think we are ready for it!

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Let's go Blues!!!

New Food

I am completely my father's daughter and totally Italian.  I have been looking online for new recipes to change-up our weekly meals from the boring routine.  I have found some new casserole dishes that haven't been too horrible the first time around.  Of course the next time we make them we will be tweaking the recipe a bit for a little more flavor.

The first casserole we made was an up-side down pizza casserole which turned out great!

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The next one I tried was a chicken, pea, red pepper, pasta.  It wasn't too bad but needed a little more flavor than what the directions called for.  Then I tried to make a cheesy meatball pasta.  I miss reread (or didn't read) the directions too closely and so we created a pasta layer casserole which came out great!

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Lastly, we tried a spinach mac and cheese.  This was a weight watchers recipe and it wasn't too bad.  Maybe it could use a little more cheese.  It wouldn't be only 4 points on the weight watchers scale, but it would be tastier.

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Crafty

It seems the craft bug has hit me.  I'm going to blame Pinterest for all my desires to be crafty and spend time at Hobby Lobby.  The site has shown me some pretty easy, yet fun decorating designs.  Some have been easier than other but each time I've found a new way to create holiday decor. 

This weekend Zipf and I hit up Hobby Lobby, Ben Franklin, and Hancock Fabrics for some foam, felt and pins.  All to make shamrock wreaths.  We gathered all our material and got crafty this weekend.  It started with me cutting hearts from a sheet of styrofoam. 



That was probably the hardest part.  I cut out a few circles, traced from a can of beans. 





Then slowly pinned them all on the hearts. 

I even worked on some Easter decorations that I had started earlier in the week.  I made some candy jars and the spray painted the lids white to hide the Prego and Clausen lid.  I bought a couple of candle holders that I still need to paint white to finish the look.   

Eli Young Band

For your Leap Year celebrations we, mainly I, decided that we needed to go to a concert.  I had know that Eli Young Band was coming to St. Louis for a while and thought it would be fun to see them, plus they were going to the Pageant.  It had been 2 years since we've last been there to see a concert and thought it was time.

We arrived a little early, picked up the tickets and Will Call and then went to the Eclipse Bar for a quick drink or caffeine to get us through the night.  We made it in just before the opening act, Eric Paslay, started.  We even managed get seats fairly close to the stage.  I don't think we'll be sitting that close again since I couldn't hear when we walked out.



The opening act was really good.  I liked a lot of his songs and found out that he is mostly a songwriter and wrote, "Barefoot Blue Jean Night."  He came back out a little later and sang a song with Eli Young Band.



Eli Young Band put on a great show!  They were entertaining us the whole way through the show.  I would love to see them again!

Reily

Happy Birthday Reily!

It's Reily's birthday today!  The big 9!  I can't believe she is 9 and doesn't look a day older than 1.  I love that she is a runt and still has an adorable puppy face.  It's a good thing she is cute because her middle of the night wake ups and bed hogging ways are frustrating.  But she keeps me happy and entertained.  She is by far the best decision I've made in my 20s, besides moving back to St. Louis. 



She has been there through thick and thin and can always make me smile on a bad day.  And is always eager to play fetch or with her duck.  She is nothing more than a great dog!  Happy Birthday Reiles!

Sunny, Warm February

How crazy has the St. Louis weather been?  It's up to almost 70 one day and the next I'm sitting at my desk watching snow flurries blow by.  It has been a very mild winter with a few days in the 20s but nothing too bad.  This past weekend was great!  Saturday morning was a little chilly at the farmer's market but then the afternoon warmed up to the 50s and no coats needed.

Sunday was even better.  We turned the heat off, not the first time this winter, and opened the windows for the entire day.  I woke up in the middle of the night to find Reily snuggled in as close at possible, so it might have been a little chilly for her.  I let her out and closed the kitchen window at 4AM. 

I love this great weather!  Bring on spring!

Fat Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras!  It's going to be a challenging Lent this year.  I'm stuck on what I should give up, I'm leaning towards chocolate and snacking.  We'll see how it goes this year.