Refresh with Purpose

I haven't met too many people..ok women...who don't enjoy refreshing their wardrobe. Especially in the Fall. It seems that Fall lights a fire within us that smolders until we deal with it...and to deal with it, we must find incredible articles of clothing and accessories that imbibe our wardrobe with that je ne sais quoi we are striving for...

For some of us...ehem....me.... this fire must be dealt with through good deals. It's not just about the item, but about the good deal..

So, where is a better place to search then local consignment stores? There isn't a better place, actually.

Yesterday I searched out 2 stores I had heard of through the grapevine:

The ScholarShop: An upscale consignment store that supports The Scholarship Fund of St. Louis.


Upon arrival, the ScholarShop was very busy---mostly with middle age and older women digging through a more mature gathering of clothes. I was not to be discouraged, however. I jumped right in only to find....

She's vogueing...ha

This! Fantastic, slick, chic, lemon yellow leather skirt. YES! The sad part is that I decided not to get it.

The sweet part is that I'm going back to get it...and at 20 buck-a-roos it's a sweet deal. (Feel free to send up a little prayer that I'm not too late...surely everyone is clamoring for a lemon yellow leather skirt...)

If you are a digger, there is an absolute possibility that you will find something here. And if you would like to donate, The ScholarShop  will send you an itemized list of deductibles at the end of the year.

The 2nd consignment store I visited was: [Re]Fresh, A Fashion Coalition


Now, [Re]Fresh is a little more youthful and modern in set-up and style. They even have a DJ area!

It was an Urban Outfitters-esq consignment shop. Though some items seemed to be overpriced...some were underpriced as well. I found a Nanette Lepore dress for $18!

If you have pre-teen to young adult people in your life...this is a great place to check out. The entire upstairs is mostly party dresses ranging from short and conservative to long and bedazzled.

All of this store's proceeds support the work of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition. They even have special event days during which foster children/families can come shop and get 90% off every item.

[Re]Fresh also offers a special service to it's patrons: Free Fashion Workshops! You or your child can learn how to get a look for less. Very cool...

I hope this post encourages you to check out your local consignment and thrift stores. It is a great thing to refresh your wardrobe with purpose.

The ScholarShop

8211 Clayton Road

St. Louis, MO 63117

(Another location in Webster Groves)

314.725.3456

Donation Hours: Mon-Sat 10-5pm

[Re]Fresh

1710 S. Brentwood Blvd

St. Louis, MO 63144

314.881.0331

Open: Thurs-Sat 11-8pm

Sun 11-5pm

Nom Nom Thursday: The Block

So every Tuesday is Red's and my date night. It's his day off from work so we are usually pretty relaxed when it comes to dinner time---hence the reason we now go out for dinner each Tuesday..

As I think I have mentioned before, Red and I love to eat...and not only that, but we love to try new foods and new places. We actually have a little notebook we write reviews of restaurants in...and well, have lists of places we want to try:

This week we got to check one such restaurant off our list: The Block in Webster Groves, MO...el suburb de St. Louis.

No it isn't a Mexican restaurant--don't be confused: el and de are used all the time in my English language. Get with it.

The Block actually marry's a few good ideas. It is a restaurant. bar, and butcher, all in one. You can try a local brew, eat delicious food, and then, if you like it, buy that cut of meat (among others) to take home with you. It's a novel idea actually.

Set in the lovely and quaint Webster Groves, The Block offers locally sourced food in a comforting and delicious style... Por ejemplo...

We started out with shrimp and grits for our appetizer. Not any ole' shrimp and grits, but crispy fried shrimp with herb cheddar grits and honey barbeque:

Yum. The only complaint was that there wasn't more.

For our entrees, Red got the pulled pork sandwich with fries and pickled veggies...and I got the pork chop (that was so tender and delicious it could have been steak) with potato and bacon hash and apple slaw.

Yes--I know it's glamorous and delicious looking. No worries, it tasted just as good.

It was a great evening. Red and I sat al fresco eating and talking while enjoying all the people going by taking advantage of the perfect night. I recommend The Block---good food with out being too froo froo...kid friendly...relatively well priced... Check out their menu here.

Besides, if you want to make a night of it...you can wander through the local record shops and boutiques. Who says no to that?

The Block

146 West Lockwood Ave

Webster Groves, MO 63119

Open for Dinner

314.918.7900

Nom Nom Thursday: Thai Food. Slurp.

Thai food warms my heart.

Ok, and it warms everything because it is so deliciously and complicatedly spicy. But that is the beauty of it. It isn't a spicy that hits you right away. No. It is a spicy that slowly builds so you can still taste all of the other flavors in your dish as you start to glisten--hmm...sweat a little..

I introduced Red to Thai food way back in our college years---down in Hattiesburg, MS at Jutamas... a little Thai place surrounded by car dealerships and across the street from a shut-down club. Jutamas managed to be completely different from its neighbors with its calming music, fragrant spices, and delicious meals....you totally forgot what was outside.

This place quickly became one of our go to spots for healthy flavorful meals. It was consistent, reasonably priced, Red could get full with one plate, and we loved it.

When we moved to St. Louis, we made it our mission to try as many Thai restaurants as possible with the goal of meeting or surpassing Jutamas high standards... We've been to: Thai Sawadee (Chesterfield), Addie's Thai House (Chesterfield, Thai Kitchen (St. Peters), Blue Elephant (Clayton), and Land of Smile (Olivette)... no doubt there are probably more...

But--we still haven't come to a concrete decision on which is our favorite. Red claims the Blue Elephant--but I have my reservations...I'm not sure my favorite...but I am sure of my new most favoritest dish:

Kao Sol. Described on the menu as: Chicken, Rice noodles, with a special curry sauce topped with crispy onions. What they neglect to tell you is that it also has bean sprouts, cilantro, red onions, and other veggies chopped up and soaked in that crazy curry sauce.

Here is a picture of my bowl half-way through---it was beautiful upon arrival I promise:

Red and I had decided to try new things this visit--we both typically get the same dishes every time. Red loves Pad See Yu ( Flat noodles, egg, broccoli, and carrots, in dark soy sauce)...and I usually get Pad Gra Prik (sauteed meet with basil, peppers, and onions with this spicy sweet sauce). Red's dish is especially good for those new to Thai food.

A special treat that accompanied our adventurous spirits at Thai Kitchen, was the gift of dessert:

Ok--what do you think it is?

It's interesting. That's what it is.

It is called something along the lines of: Split Bean Pudding.

First of all, I expected it to be cold. It's warm. And, the flavors were the strangest party in my mouth: popcorn meets cornbread meets sweet meets nuttiness....and the white stuff was kind of like sour cream but not...

Needless to say, it was a departure from my idea of dessert. But I'm glad I tried it--because now I know what popcorn, cornbread, nut, sweet, sour cream, alllll mixed together in a warm jelly form, tastes like.

On that note, I hope you are inspired to try Thai Food. It is a sweet way to satiate your craving for Asian food in a healthier fashion---who needs fried General Tso's chicken? (me, but only every once in a while...)

Go eat Thai food and be Happy.

Thai Kitchen

3899-B Veterans Memorial Pkwy

St. Peters, MO 63376

636.447.1883

(This restaurant is listed simply because it's dish is the one that changed my life.)

10 Tips to a Mindful Home

This pronouncement...found via Pinterest from the lovely blog maison boheme seems to align well with the whole Sabbath (restful) approach to life.

...a bit more Zen then I am--it does a great job of challenging you to be intentional with each daily experience and task. Who doesn't need more of that?!

A side note...it also seems to confirm that we really should all consider returning to the Little House on the Prairie lifestyle--- are you with me?!?!

Ok. If anything:

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

Walk it Out

So Red and I have this new thing...

It's called walking it out...and no, I'm sorry to say, it does not include any crazy dance moves.

It does, however, include sweet strolls around our apartment complex...whenever we feel like it. (2x yesterday...1x last week...1x this morning...)

We've been discussing how we want to rest and connect through out our hectic weeks--and well, walking was a great (un-spoken) conclusion we came to: we are alone, outside, without any techy (or other) distractions--and are able to talk while burning a few calories... me gusta.

Our apartment complex is not very communal--and we wonder what people think when they see us bundled up in our coordinating sweatpants and sweatshirts strolling as if we have nothing better to do (which we don't, by the way)...it's a conundrum yet to be figured. But it has proven that these walks help us be more neighborly---you can't say hi if you're never outside your place, you know?

Our pastor preached on keeping the Sabbath yesterday---and really challenged us to find ways to honor that commandment (meaning one of the 10 commandments...) It's interesting--because we do not hold fast to a command that actually encourages us to rest--slow down---smell the roses---enjoy life!

So Red and I are working out how we can celebrate the Sabbath each week...because of his work we are unable to set aside a full day---but we've come up with a good schedule...We plan on taking full advantage of resting and enjoying life--this way we will be worth more within all of those stressful responsibility filled realms of life that you can never escape.

How do you sabbath, or rest, recharge, prepare for the week, connect with the Lord?