Here I Go Again

Here I go again going months without a peep. Not a hello, how are ya, what's happening. Not a photo. Well, I won't search for excuses, cause we all know how it goes. I'll just do a roundup of sorts so that the most recent post to no longer say "July 6" and you aren't still learning how to move a walkway (you're all pros by now, right?)

Speaking of walkway, here's what surrounds it now. We planted some moss and beautiful hostas. This photo is from July when everything was fresh and green.

We took Clover camping for the first time, and she loved it. This girl would live in water if she could.

We made a fountain for our backyard. It was fun to figure out how to make one ourselves. Plus we just can't go very long these days without a project.

We celebrated Feast Magazine's fourth birthday at a little bash in Forest Park. With the magazine's recent regional expansion, it's been fun to expand my columns and articles to cover food and people outside of St. Louis, including Columbia. Stay tuned for a super fun feature I got to write for the November issue.

We got a new couch -- and Clover promptly called dibs.

We built a fence. I repeat: WE BUILT A FENCE. Jonathan and his dad built a fence, but I improved my drilling skills and can level and plumb with the best of them now. 

It's fall, so of course we went apple picking at Eckert's. This year we were more modest in our picking and stuck with just one bag (20-25 pounds, people!). I still have a list of goodies needing to be made, but apple pie and apple crisp have been checked off the list. 

At the end of September we participated in the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network PurpleStride 5K. I say participated because "ran" would be an overstatement for me (hey, what do you expect when six weeks of "training" only amounted to three or four evening jogs?). It was a great experience nonetheless. If you want to know more about supporting an organization newly dear to my heart, go here and learn how you can help "Know it. Fight it. End it."

Last but not least, the Turturros take St. Louis! This past weekend we got to host my family for the first time in our new home. It was so sweet to hold so many people we love under one roof. We spent plenty of time enjoying a perfectly fall weekend walking in Forest Park and making the rounds of the good food our fair city has to offer--breakfast at Kayak's, Pastaria for lunch, a shopping trip to Di Gregorio's market on The Hill for Italian necessities, a few sweets to go from Missouri Baking Company, Pappy's carryout for dinner, Cucina Pazzo for brunch and a final stop at Kaldi's to caffeinate before good-byes. We never go hungry, ok? But why are weekend visits always too short?

We're off to Steamboat Springs, CO, this weekend for a five-day getaway with Jonathan's family. So I need to go figure out how to pack for the possibility of snow in October...