42 Hours in St. Louis

It's so special to get to have friends visit, especially when I'm still getting the hang of this "make new friends in a new city" thing ;) Jennifer took the train in from Chicago on Friday night. It was a short visit, but I'd say we used our time to its fullest (and foodiest!) 

9:30 a.m.

On Saturday morning we took a nice walk down the street to Kaldi's for some coffee and delicious scones. We were lucky to have temperatures in the 50s for half of the day. 

11:30 a.m.

I had compiled a list of places I wanted to explore while she was here, and our first stop was Soulard Farmers Market in downtown St. Louis.

Even though it's the dead of winter, it was so great to see fresh (& cheap!) fruits and vegetables at more than 20 different vendors. There was also fresh bread and pasta and a dangerous candy and chocolate station. We bought some peanut butter chocolate pretzels that were pretty tasty. And then we found some mini donuts, which we of course also had to sample, and those too were tasty. Pretzels, mini donuts —they're small snacks right? :) We paced ourselves for the rest of our eating exploration. 

2 p.m.

Next we headed to the Central West End since the nice weather was still holding up (but not for long). We explored a few book stores and boutiques and grabbed lunch at Dressel's Pub. After a long deliberation of what to order, I think we made a very wise choice: soft pretzel with rarebit sauce (because you can't go to this place without ordering that), sweet potato & smoked gouda tart with salmon and fennel salad, and a citrus salad with romaine, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, shaved parmesan and a delicious, I-want-to-replicate-this basil vinaigrette. Sharing everything left us just the right amount of full and kept the guilty feelings at bay.

5 p.m.

The weather took a turn as soon as we left the pub; cold rain drenched us on the way to the car. So we headed to Redbox, rented The Words and People Like Us and took refuge back at my place for a few hours. Both movies were good, although The Words leaves you with some questions. 

8 p.m.

Our late-night dinner consisted of delicious pizza at Katie's Pizza (thank you to my friend Emily who introduced me to this gem only blocks from our place). We did the sharing bit again and enjoyed a pizza with half artichokes, prosciutto and mozzarella and half sun-dried tomato, pesto, pulled chicken and goat cheese. Both were plain delicious. We finished the night with our second movie and sangria at home (now that the cold rain was threatening to become an "icy glaze" in a matter of hours).

Speaking of sangria —or what can't really be called true sangria so will henceforth be named Resourceful Girl's Sangria —it was good! I mentioned on Friday that I was going to throw a few things together with some leftover zinfandel and hope for the best. The not-so-precise ingredient list ended up being: 3/4 bottle zinfandel, 1/4 cup 7-Up, splash of lime juice, juice of 1 orange and 1 sliced orange. Missing were the brandy and triple sec, but it was a refreshing and a fruity drink.

11 a.m.

Sunday the gastronomy tour of St. Louis continued! The first time I visited Jonathan in St. Louis we went to the Missouri History Museum's restaurant, Bixby's, for their Sunday champagne brunch, and it's still one of my favorite special things to do. It combines my love for food and museums beautifully. Plus, the food is prepared with seasonal and mostly local ingredients. And it's a buffet-style, so gorge to your heart's content (this is where sharing food all of Saturday really paid off!)

 

12:30 p.m.

After brunch we enjoyed an exhibition downstairs about the history and evolution of women's undergarments, titled Underneath it All. More on this in a later post because there's too much to say about it. It was fascinating and really made us think about women's fashion, rights, societal roles, and so much more. Plus, there was a dress up station at the end of the exhibit —I couldn't resist that!

3 p.m.
After the museum we walked around the Galleria for a bit before I had to drop Jennifer off at the train station.

I had so much fun exploring the city with a friend this weekend and also getting to show her pieces of our new lives here. To all our potential future weekend visitors: book your weekend now at Casa Klamm; you won't be disappointed! 

Out&About: St. Louis Public Library

Something fun about moving to a new city is getting to know its history. I feel like St. Louis has an especially rich history, thanks in part to the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. This city has some of the most beautiful historic neighborhoods, parks and architecture. 

Ever since we moved here I've been eager to visit the newly restored public library in downtown. A friend and I took a docent-led tour on Monday to learn more about its history {{I'm so thankful for fellow history and architecture nerds buffs.}}

Originally opened on January 6, 1912, the library was designed by architect Cass Gilbert, who also designed the U.S. Supreme Court and the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park (coincidentally also going through an expansion right now). The library was built during the City Beautiful movement, a philosophy of North American architecture that took off during the early 1900s. The movement promoted the idea that beautiful buildings fostered a better community and a higher quality of life. It sounds superficial and idealistic, but I love this idea - I think beautiful architecture is a great, uplifting asset of a community. 

The ceiling drawings in the main entryway include portraits of St. Louis' namesake Louis IX, Johanes Gutenberg and even the man who invented paperbacks (thank goodness for him). 

The Great Hall is a breathtakingly beautiful room. The room used to be where visitors waited while librarians tracked down their books in the stacks. The library tables are original to the old building (which made me think of our darling table), as are many of the light fixtures. 

The floor of the Great Hall (left) was modeled after the marble floor in the Pantheon in Rome (right). 

Each room in the library is dedicated to a subject area, from law and government to performing arts and sports. My favorite? The fine arts room! Not only are there books on art, but you can also check auction records to see the value of your personal collection, however large or small.

Each room also has tapestries made with images of the room's subject matter. 

Look up in the room holding current novels and be inspired by some great literary quotes (and also feel like you're watching the opening scene of Star Wars, am I right?).

The room that made my heart extra happy was the children's books. Quotes from Winnie the Pooh, The Giving Tree and countless other kids' classics decorate the walls. My other favorite feature were some awesome reading nooks (or jungle gym depending on the visitor) - a sort of heaven for anyone that loves to curl up with a good book. 

The area of the library that used to house the stacks of books is now open and airy. 

        

White brick and glass walls give this section a contemporary aesthetic in comparison to its adjoining historical structure. Appropriately enough, it contains the more contemporary tools of information: computers. And coffee. Okay, so coffee is not an information tool exactly, but it has come to be an essential expected component of a great reading experience. The area seems to nod to its past while also making way for the information platforms of the present and future.

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I encourage you to grab a friend and explore your city a bit. Whether you're new to town or have lived there for years, pretend you're a tourist now and then and check out the highlights of what your city has to offer. I promise you'll gain a new appreciation for your community and feel more a part of it.