Nashville -- Where They Don't Let Babies into Bars at Noon

(Probably just because they don't have changing tables, right?)

Our next stop after St. Louis was good ol' Nashville. Home of country music and giant guitars on every corner. 

We stayed in Nashville for two nights which gave us about a day and a quarter of exploration time. Frankly, with a baby, that's more than enough. It's not the most baby friendly city around, not that we were expecting much else, it was just a great halfway point for our last destination and we had never seen Nashville before, so why not!

That being said, pressuring my best friend to get married ASAP so we can have her bachelorette party in Nashville is top priority now.


As we entered the city, we first stopped at The Grand Ole Opry.  Definitely cool to see, but not much going on unless there is a show.  We took a stroll around, stretched our legs, and peaked into the gift shops.

It was getting late by the time we got there so we decided to eat nearby before heading to the hotel. We ate at Caney Fork, right across the street from the Opry. It's definitely a good place to take kids, especially after a long drive. There are bears and trucks throughout the restaurant and even a little pond with fish! And the food's not bad either, gator bites and many wild game options! Yum!

From there it was on to our hotel for the evening! We stayed at the Best Western Plus on Music Row.  The hotel was clean and convenient and the service was great! It is located about a mile from the central strip and right off the major highways. I wouldn't suggest walking to the downtown area from there, however; there are not many sidewalks and lots of roads and highways. There is a bus stop a short walk away that comes about every 30 minutes, located in The Gulch, a less touristy area of Nashville (with great LOCAL food!). Oh yea, and the MTA is free and can take you pretty much anywhere downtown!

Once in downtown Nashville we poked around the various shops and venues. It's mostly bars on that strip that don't allow anyone under 21 at any time (not all of them, just some, be prepared to get a few dirty looks). We strolled into the Ryman for a few minutes and a bathroom break. Then headed over to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Honestly, without any planned activities, there is not much to do here with a toddler; the museum is not particularly Hamburger proofed, and we lucked out that he was ok sitting in his stroller for the majority of the time. I like my country music on occasion but am not a die hard fan... Seeing all the memorabilia and  learning about the history was pretty cool but one such museum was more than enough for us! If you are a big fan though, there are plenty of iconic and historical places to see and tour! (And the buildings themselves are pretty amazing)

Grandma and Burger enjoying the Country Music Hall of Fame

From the Country Music Hall of Fame we hopped on the bus and headed towards Bicentennial Mall State Park. We passed the capitol building, up some steep hills, and ended up in this little park:

We just can't pass up an opportunity to get wet!

Right across the street from the park is the Nashville Farmers' Market... You can imagine my delight as we stumbled upon one of my favorite things! We bought some tasty peaches and strolled around for a bit, until sure enough, Hamburger fell asleep.

Hamburger and his little hitchhiker 

As it turns out the MTA doesn't allow babies in strollers on their buses... You can have a baby and you can have a stroller, but not a sleeping baby in a stroller! I get it, rules are rules. We had to hike back to the main strip on foot. It's only about a mile away, but it's a hilly mile. Obviously we needed some beer when we were done.

 Rock Bottom Brewery... "If you want it done right, you have to brew it yourself." Agreed :)

A word on boots...

I couldn't go to Nashville without giving in and buying a cowboy hat and some boots. But I'm cheap, and those cowboy boots were not! Most stores have big discounts in their basements and buy one get two free offers... It sounds good but you're still gonna end up paying $300. And I just won't wear my boots enough to justify that. BUT, they have kid sized boots for the same offer... And it just so happens that I have tiny feet! And their kid's sizes run large. So Hamburger got a pair of cowboy boots and momma got two pairs... For $60! Now I just need to find somewhere to wear them....

Other than our hotel bed

Happy boot wearing!

More St. Louis Fun

I'm sure you have read all about our Grant's Farm visit on our first day in St. Louis, if not, DO IT.

Here are a few more things to do when being the touristy tourist, as we were. No shame.


The Gateway Arch, Of Course.

Ah the iconic Gateway Arch. When you think of St. Louis, this is what you think of, even for those who barely know where St. Louis is (it's in Missouri).

Sitting along the bank of the Mississippi River... it's a pain in the ass to get to. There is not much nearby parking as the Arch is situated in a large park. There are many parking structures surrounding the park, that of course charge a mildly ridiculous fee, or you can drive right up to the river and look for parking along the bank. There are a few small parking lots and meters along the street. If you opt for the latter option be prepared for this:

MWUAHAHA I took pictures and slyly got away with NOT having to carry the baby plus stroller up a bunch of stairs :D

Once up there you can skip through the park, have a picnic, try to take a picture of the entire thing...

(It's big)

Or just mosey on inside... By mosey I mean leave your wine and firearms outside the building and go through airport security. But knives are ok?

 National monument = national security... In ranger hats

Sometimes the lines just to get inside (and through security) are huge. They generally tend to go pretty quickly but when the line is all the way out into the park, you may want to come back later... Or check the other side; there are two entrances. Just because you get inside doesn't mean you get to go to the top (did that sound dirty to you too?) You actually have to buy tickets to ride the space pods to the top of the Arch and the tickets are for specific time slots. If it's busy they may be sold out for hours, you will have to buy tickets for later and just come back. Which we had to do... Or you can buy them ahead of time online and avoid the hassle. Because then you'd be smarter than me!

Inside the Arch there is a Westward Expansion museum you can walk around while waiting for your time slot and the line to get on the trams is like a mini museum as well. You won't be terribly bored and the toddler will find something they are not supposed to get into to play with. I will warn you, the journey to the top of the 630 foot Arch is a claustrophobic and mildly bumpy one... If you are bad with tight spaces or particularly afraid of heights, I would skip this. It's a very small space to puke in.

 

The view, Hamburger taking a picture of the view, Hamburger enjoying the wait to the top, Hamburger getting into the space pod (yes, that's the door, as big as it gets!), and finally proof that Hamburger was at the top.

 Once to the top, you can snap a few pictures and look out both sides of the Arch overlooking the city and the river, but it's a small space so don't expect to spend too much time up there. 

Although we had to wait in a few lines and come back for our time slot we enjoyed the attraction. You're not missing out on a whole lot if you skip it but it's like going to Chicago and not going to the Sears Tower (it's forever the Sears Tower, I don't care what anyone says!). It's a fun experience and an iconic building with a lot of pretty interesting history. 

City Garden 

 

My favorite thing to do when exploring a new city (besides trying local beer) is to walk around as much as possible and enjoy the outdoor spaces. I also love exploring outdoor public spaces because it allows the kiddos to run around and get some energy out. It's a good break from all the structured sight-seing.

City Garden lends itself perfectly to just that. It is easily accessible on foot, simply head away from the river from the Arch and go straight, you'll run into it eventually! Or go here for better directions... There are many places to run, climb, and even get wet among the art features!

Views, jumping fountains, T.V. watching, bunnies, pools, and creepy faces

The gardens are open in winter, although the experience will be a little less... wet. But during certain times of the summer you can even splash in the multiple pool installations (legally).

And don't worry if you forgot a towel, diapers work well.

 It's cool, just Hamburger with a diaper on his head.

Fitz's Bar & Grill

I love food and I love beer. And now also root beer. Best burgers, floats, and fried pickles!

A really great place for a meal... a very large meal. Don't skimp on the root beer floats either, even crunchy momma won't forgive you!

You can even watch the root beer bottling process, pretty cool!

And make sure to stock up on all the Fitz flavors at the restaurant. It's cheapest there and you won't have to go looking for grocery stores. Just make sure you don't leave it in your hot car, because it will explode. It's like I know from experience or something?

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

While we're on the subject of food, let's bring our attention to the most important food group... Ice cream! Yes, even I take a short break from being a food psycho when on vacation.

Seriously though, this ice cream is THE BEST. And there's like, a million flavors. 

Yes folks, this is Ted Drewes, not the line for Millennium Force in 2000.

It's THAT good. People were tailgating in the parking lot. For ice cream. I have no words.

Summer Festivals

 That's Burger, and me, and Mommy in front of Crown Royal at Muddy Blues.

Yep, St. Louis likes to party! And that's a good thing because you can find some sort of festival any month of the year! And many of them are free. From music to arts to beer, St. Louis is bound to have something going on, what a perfect way to experience the vibe of a city.

Not all events may be family friendly, but most have something to offer every age group. Hamburger definitely enjoyed dancing to some blues on Laclede's Landing, but it was time to go once the drunks really hit the dance floor. 

More to See and Do in St. Louis!

I realize I haven't even scratched the surface of all the fun things there are to do in St. Louis, but we only had a few days, interrupted by baby (and grown-up) nap times. 

I can't wait to come back and explore more of this amazing, vibrant city.

One thing I am particularly sour we missed out on was City Museum.  Slides and airplanes and rooftops... And even a bar at night! Check it out if you get the chance, I have heard only amazing things, and hope to have an update sometime after our next visit! Check out their hours and plan ahead of time because they have some strange hours, which we learned the hard way.

Other good choices for a rainy day include The Magic House Children's Museum and the Science Center.

And be sure to check out Explore St. Louis for all the other great attractions and events going on in the city!

Sweet And Sour Chicken (Wings)

I'm pretty sure Chinese food is every one's guilty pleasure. I don't care how much high fructose corn syrup is in those sauces, I want more!

Just not every day, cuz that's gross.

So here's a recipe for the every day fix you don't have to feel bad about.

It tastes absolutely nothing like that fake stuff but it's real and it's very tasty!

Ingredients: This is a really simple recipe so I'm not including any measurements. Because I didn't measure anything!

-  Chicken (I used organic boneless chicken thighs but you could do any piece you like. Using drumsticks with the skin on would work great and you would have some tasty sweet and sour wings!)
- Butter
- Raw honey
- Hot sauce

How To:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan.

This is what melting butter looks like. This is about how much I used. Good luck ;)

 

2.  Add in honey and hot sauce to taste and stir stir stir!

 

  If it looks like this you need to add more honey!

 

That's better.

 

You can be pretty liberal with the hot sauce. Taste it as you go, but then add a little more. I don't like spicy things but when I finished cooking I thought it could have used some more. (Of course you could also pour more hot sauce at the end!). You can also make extra of this sauce for dipping.. It's pretty yummy.

 

3. Oh yea, your oven should have been turned on to 370 degrees! Place your chicken in an oven safe dish and pour the sauce over to cover. Place in oven for about 40-60 minutes until fully cooked. You may want to turn the broiler on real fast at the end to brown the top.

 

 Stick that baby in the oven!

 

Um, yup, that's it! THREE steps! Go nuts!

 

And enjoy!  

 

 

Citrus Lane November

I canceled my Citrus Lane box about three months ago because I just wasn't loving the boxes I was getting. But when Missy posted a deal for sale on Plum District for a three month subscription I couldn't pass it up.

 

 I got my "first" box last week. I didn't track the shipping because honestly, I wasn't excited enough about it. The box actually sat in my room waiting to be opened until last night.
From what I remember, Citrus Lane didn't used to have monthly themes but this box certainly did seem to be themed. All the items related to food and I was happy to see the box was pretty full.

 

 

Reusable Snack Bags $6.95

I've thought about buying these in the past but never actually bit the bullet. Lately we've been bringing along an "emergency sandwich" for our picky little peanut along with his usual fruit and other snacks and I've noticed myself going through ziploc bags like crazy so these will come in handy. Nothing will replace our Munchie Mug...ever....but I like these a lot and we will totally use them.

 

Green Toys Pot & Utensils $12.00

 

Like most toddlers my son likes to empty the drawers and cupboards in my kitchen and finds spatulas, pans and tupperware fascinating! Am I under any illusion that this will prevent him from doing that?....No! But I do think he will like it and I'm putting it away for Christmas, by which time I will probably have a few more from the collection to go along with it.

A win for Citrus Lane! Love this!

 

Baked Cheese Snacks $1.00

 

I'm not really big in to these cheesy snacks although my son certainly likes them. We may use these, we may not. I'm trying to avoid unhealthy snacking as we go through this picky stage. I would have preferred a Happy Family pouch or some yogis or something like that. Crunchy Momma would NOT approve of these!!

 

Lip Balm $16.00

 

I have a pretty set routine when it comes to skincare (lips included!) If it's not from the body shop or clinique I generally won't use it, with the exception of EOS lip balm. I read some pretty great reviews of this stuff though so I plan on trying it. If nothing else it will end up in my night stand drawer for those mornings when I wake up after one too many glasses of wine and I have super dry lips and too bad a headache to get my ass out of bed!

 

Skip Hop Plate $6.00

 

 I love anything from Skip Hop. And I mean anything. I probably own one of everything they make!! We already have the dog, the monkey, and the bumble bee versions of this plate and I was just about to order one more so we had enough for a day and a half since that's how often I seem to run the dishwasher these days...Speaking of which, these plates do great in the dishwasher, even on the bottom rack so you can put them with your regular plates instead of struggling to fit them on the top (anyone else feel like their kids stuff totally messes up the mojo in their dishwasher or am I totally nuts?) One of my issues with Citrus Lane before was that they used Skip Hop products in all their ad's but I would never actually get any Skip Hop products in my boxes. I thought it was misleading. So this plate is a win for them. I love it!!

 

So...Citrus Lane was a win for me this month and our box had a value of $41.95. Two more great boxes like this and I might keep my subscription past the three month deal. It was, for sure, worth the $10 I paid for it*

If you'd like to try Citrus Lane you can get $10 off your first box by using this link and with the new box configuration, that means you could get your first box for as little as $2 shipped!!

 

As of next month they will be offering three box types at three different price points which I think is a great idea. If I continue past my current subscription I'm sure I will stick with the regular box but the cheaper option is a great idea and I might consider it in future as a gift. The higher end box would be great as a one time gift to someone also...at least I think so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The Plum District deal was three months for $40 but Missy accidentally purchased two and sold the extra code to me for $30

Happy Hour Friday

My friend and I (and our collective three hooligans) stopped by T.J. Maxx today. I needed canning jars, she needed whatever looked good.

We eventually lose the boys. Then I hear giggles... Coming from the lingerie department. They are hiding underneath the women's undies. Good choice boys. People are staring. I'm giggling. Then my friend's son runs through the aisle, stretching every pair over his head, and announcing, "MOM, MOM, I HAVE UNDERWEAR!"

Yea, we got that.

These minor shenanigans led to this purchase:

Then this:

Turns out our homemade wine tastes better with vodka.

Cheers!

St. Louis... My New Favorite City! Grant's Farm Edition

I will admit, I never really thought much about St. Louis. What's worse is I'm pretty sure I used to pronounce the "s". It never really crossed my mind except for the occasional Nelly throwback... At least it was catchy...

But recently our good friends Mr. Skudds and his lovely fiance, Suz, moved from Chicago to St. Louis, so of course this was a perfect excuse for a road trip!

We took our trip during the week of Labor Day (Detroit to St. Louis to Nashville to Gatlinburg, but more on those later) and stayed in St. Louis for three nights. It was not nearly long enough!! Seriously, this is my new favorite city! I was skeptical, being the beer snob that I am, because Anheuser-Busch practically owns the city... But turns out I can overlook that, as long as I bring my own beer ;)

Speaking of Anheuser-Busch... Grant's Farm! Our first stop on our St. Louis tour was Grant's Farm, it was the old home of Mr. Busch. And his 281 Acres. They eventually opened it to the public and it is basically a small zoo, or a large petting farm. You could easily spend an afternoon here. We arrived early in the morning to beat the rush, and the heat. You only pay for parking and all other activities are free! Including beer samples! Or "Complimentary Anheuser-Busch Hospitality". Turns out Busch owns quite a few beer companies and they are displayed on tap. Still not good beer, but better than your typical college party.

Upon arriving at the Farm, go straight to the back to meet the Clydesdales. There are a few photo opportunities as well as a small gift shop. But there is another bigger gift shop inside the actual farm area. Once through visiting the horses, make your way back towards the parking gate to enter the farm area.

This is what we were dealing with

Your tour begins at the train. It will take you around the beautiful grounds where you can view the animals on the farm and learn about the history of the company as well as see the Busch families' original home. The train will then drop you off at the zoo area where you will be free to roam around to your heart's content.

Ducks and cows and...

This thing's butt

Other activities on the farm include...

Chasing peacocks

Creepy bunny carousel 

Bird shows

Goat feeding. Obviously my favorite part. Hamburger was terrified. Be warned, these are some pretty hungry goats. They will literally eat your clothes, and probably small children.

Don't forget to say hi to crazy eyes...

Hamburger is not a fan of snow cones. Crunchy momma is happy.

"Complimentary Anheuser-Busch Hospitality"

The German styled "food court," or um, Bauernhof, is located towards the end of the farm, right before you board back on the train. There are a few different options; salads, sandwiches, pizza, chicken fingers, brats, sauerkraut, pretzels... We opted for the brats... They were quite tasty!

It's posted that you can't bring outside food... That is one of my favorite rules to break. And no one checks. So go ahead and bring snacks :) 

 

And of course, camel rides!

Thus concludes our first afternoon in St. Louis! And with a quick stop at the gift shop, Hamburger is now a proud owner of this t-shirt:

"I Survived Feeding The Goats" Barely

We had a fantastic time at Grant's Farm and would highly recommend this stop, especially if you have children. It's quite reasonably priced and perfect for big groups! Plus it adequately tuckers out the kids. And the big kids as well.

Budweiser also has a brewery in St. Louis which offers, from what I hear, pretty enjoyable tours. We didn't have time to go there on this trip... And yes, had we had enough time I would have went... Despite my snobbery I do love brewery tours. Plus they have Clydesdales!  You can find more information here.  

For the record, I am not endorsing Bud. Ok, it sounds like I am... But their gimmicks work! Whatever, I still won't buy the beer, but yea I do like the activities.

Anyways, stay tuned for more on our road trip! I promise, no more cheap beer.  

Spinach Mushroom Balls

Who wants a quick healthy yummy appitizer?? ME ME ME!

And you.

Here ya go!

Ingredients:
1/2 onion
1 shallot
3.5 cups mushrooms
1 lb. organic fresh spinach
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs
1 cup asiago cheese (or whatever cheese you like)
1 cup breadcrumbs

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Chop onion, shallot, and mushrooms

I didn't do this, but i highly recommend chopping the spinach as well.

2. In a large skillet/saucepan/whatever melt butter and saute your onions until clear. Then add mushrooms and continue to cook until browned

3. Add spinach and cook until wilty, or whatever it's supposed to do. Set aside.

 4. In a medium sized bowl whisk together 6 eggs. Add spinach mixture, cheese and breadcrumbs. Leave in refrigerator for about 30 minutes, until the mixture thickens a bit.

 Pre-thickened picture

5.  Grease baking dish with olive oil. Take small spoonfuls of the mixture and roll it into balls and place on baking dish. Bake until browned and fully cooked through, about 30 minutes.

 

Enjoy the cheesy goodness!

Also, pulled these guys out of the garden today :)