Christmas in the Lou

St. Louis, Mo. It’s where we headed for the long Christmas weekend. Even though we only live 2 hours away and it’s my hometown, a long weekend in St. Louis is like a mini vacay. If you’ve never been there, it’s a fun and unique place to visit.

There’s the Gateway Arch to experience.

Photo cred to Lisa Oldenburg
The Arch photo by Lisa Oldenburg
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Mississippi Riverfront and Arch photo by Lisa Oldenburg

This is a 630-foot monument in downtown St Louis, Mo., next to the Mississippi River, that is also recognized as the “Gateway to the West”. You can take a 4 minute tram ride to the observation area where you are able to see up to 30 miles into Missouri and Illinois on a clear day. If it’s a windy day you will feel it swaying. It’s a fun experience either way! While driving into St. Louis, when I catch a glimpse of the Arch, I know I’m home.

We spent time with friends and family on most of this trip. It was heartwarming to see everyone and to catch up on the past year. I always enjoy visiting with my parents on these trips too and it’s good that the home-cooked feeding frenzy only happens once per year. Luckily, we didn’t have time to add in any meals out at my favorite restaurants. I’m sure I wouldn’t have fit into my jeans again for a while if that were the case.

Hubby scored huge bonus points this Christmas too. He always has such a knack for the perfect gift buying, I wish I were so talented. I’ve mentioned we will be planning to spend a lot of time in our new condo at The Lake of the Ozarks this summer. In shopping for furnishings for the condo, I’ve had my eye on these glass vases.

I’ve not been able to find a link online but I’ve found the vases at Pier One. You can see something similar here. Hubby found them too and got them as a gift for me. They’ve now been re-homed at the condo.

Hubby also got me a Margaritaville Bahamas Frozen Concoction Maker. You can check out my original obsession with the Frozen Concoction Maker in my earlier post Smoky Mountain Getaway. This thing is great and puts my blender to shame! So far we’ve used it to make Strawberry Wine Slushies and Pineapple Banana Smoothies. I’d imagine, once winter ends and the weather warms up, we’ll find even more concoctions to try!

Now, the year is winding down during this week after Christmas. I feel very privileged to have a wonderful life with my wonderful husband. I am ready to move on! As we go into 2018, I’m looking forward to more fun traveling to the Lake and other locations. And I can’t wait to use the Maker some more! See you all next year!