the best surprise - EVER!

our last night in st. louis we had the most horrible storm. so bad in fact that we had a leak in our room. plop, plop, plop. maintenance came to check and asked if we wanted to change rooms. we were leaving the next day so it seemed kind of pointless. so we sat back and watched some tv. I started packing and shortly thereafter came a knock at the door. I was certain it was maintenance checking to see if we had drowned. I bent down to push aside the clothes that were all over the floor and making their way into the suitcase and when I looked up - GASP! there in front of me was dan and jille!

they drove thirty hours to surprise us in st. louis. I never knew that anyone loved me that much! turned out michael knew because dan had called to see where we were staying. he kept the secret all night and I was gifted with the best surprise of my life. I got to hug him over and over and just look at him. I couldn't believe my eyes. it was just what I needed.

they stayed the night and the next morning I was treated to my own private concert in the camper van. yes! the van! they are still on the road and continuing their journey. they just left phoenix last night.

enjoy!

TGIF!

holy crap! friday? wow!

so yesterday was a mucho productive day. started out with my first purchase of the day - a $1.99 poncho! woo! I decided to forgo the umbrella. I stayed fairly dry, but I cabbed it back to the hotel as it was raining cats and dogs and rats and elephants. wth?

headed back to the galleria to polish off the first floor. started the day off with a trip to the p.o. a little surprise for one of my artist friends.

I was going to get another massage, but then the guy at aveda gave me a cup of tea and asked if I wanted a shoulder rub and heck it was FREE! and it included tea and a chakra reading. go figure!

with the bucks I saved I headed to the food court for a bite to eat. at the bottom of the escalator I was met by a little asian lady who shoved a piece of sushi at me. awesome! so I hit the sushi bar and for $3.95 I had the best darn sushi ever! and I still had money left over so I grabbed a latte.

with my tummy full it was time to do some power shopping. the gap fulfilled my every desire with gap body wear on SALE!

in and out of a few other stores and not a lot of luck or willingness to pay full price for anything.

off to victoria secret for my bra replenishment where GASP! they no longer make my bra! WTF? so I had to spend a half an hour getting in and out of tit slingers and each time the lady came in to check and see that I wasn't spilling over cause apparently that drives her ape shit. ya, well I ain't a big fan either!

so two bras and a FREE t-shirt later and we were outta there! probably the least I have spent in victoria secret -EVER! what can I say? take my bra away and I am not prepared to support ya as much. just sayin'

then off to macy's where I found not ONE, but TWO of the coolest pairs of boots - EVER! what is a girl to do? they were both on sale and sadly I left them both behind. the salesman tried to sway my decision by taking me upstairs to customer service and presenting me with a two day discount card. didn't work dude. boots are a big commitment.

the funny thing was that he had this contraption where he scanned the sku number and entered my name. he could tell right on the spot whether he had the shoe in my size. it also spit out a ticket so that he had a hold tag ready to go. and here I thought remote controls and garage door openers where the epitome of laziness. apparently it has been trumped by the funky cool shoe checker do ma hickey.

tomorrow we head back home. can't wait to see the pups!

*edited

OMG! A KNOCK CAME AT THE DOOR LATE THIS EVENING...

NEVER IN MY WILDEST DREAMS!

DAN AND JILLE!

it's a beautiful day!

yesterday was a beautiful day. weather wise it was the perfect temperature. not too hot and not too cold. took the train to the mall and headed to my favorite tea shop. they have a variety of teas already brewed for you to sample. yum! I then gave them the challenge of creating the perfect cup of chai so that I could get over my tazo chai latte addiction. this feat was taken on with much enthusiasm and attention, but sadly it was not the same spicy taste I love and adore. I heart you starbucks!

after my disappointment I head to starbucks for my fix and on the way I am stopped by an asian man and his little sidekick. they ask if I want a massage. they had a little set up with massage chairs and so I figured why not! I had some kinks that needed sorting out. holy crap! which is what I said to him when he finished. "you beat the hell out of me" was also part of that re-entry into the land of movement. and I ended with "but it felt good!" the funny part was that while he beat the crap out of me his little sidekick walked around me yapping in a foreign language. I wanted to ask if that was part of the treatment. I then asked if they took visa. sidekick replied with "I like cash" and so I gave her cash and a tip to which she replied "I love you". I wonder if that was part of what she was chanting during her ring around the rosie? nonetheless I think I am headed back there today for another round!

I managed to cover the top floor of the mall in about an hour and a half. I was stalled at macy's where I found this designer O.M.G! beautiful, beautiful, frickin' beautiful! watch the video about the collaboration with this artist

had a lovely lunch of salad rolls here along with this which I have been wanting to sample for a while.

next stop was borders cause obviously I cannot go a week without hitting a bookstore. I love books! my biggest fear is that I will die before I have time to read all the books I want to read.

then I hit target. and hello? there is a frickin' starbucks IN target! WTF? I mean, really! I loved them already! no need to up the ante!

back to the hotel to meet with my sweet for the birthday festivities. I had it all planned that I was going to hire a horse and buggy to take us to the restaurant. well, you know what happened last time michael was near a horse. for those of you who forgot here is a recap.

yeah, that always makes me smile too!

so scratch the horse and buggy idea and take the train. we headed over to landry's for a scrumptious dinner. I sampled a couple of wines before finding one that suited me. yes! I a big girl now and drink wine with my meal. ha, ha!

laurie you would have loved this place! after the appetizer the waiter came around with purell to cleanse and after dinner he had moist towelettes. awesome!

over to the fudgery to get my boy some fudge and call it a night.

and today? well, yup - RAIN! of course I forgot one of my ten umbrellas at home. all purchased in st. louis where it inevitably rains every time we are here. sigh...what color will I choose this year?

meet me in st. louis...

ahhh yes, our annual trip to st. louis. this year is a bit different. a few more things on my mind as I leave the home front and lots of stress release that is making my body revolt. headache, bloating, blotchy skin - oh I am a sight! thank goodness that anyone I meet I will probably never see again.

toss back some drugs and I am heading out the door to visit my favorite local haunts.

tonight a special dinner for a special guy. happy birthday baby!

precious...

last night while waiting for the train I met a little boy, his brother and his mom.

he said "excuse me", put out his hand "please to meet you" and proceeded to tell me his story.

he was born without a thumb. he was raising money to send disabled kids like him to sports events. he had handmade stationary available. "$3.00 for one and $5.00 for two" he said. "how many would you like" he continued. 

"two please"

I looked in his eyes and said "you are precious" and he said "thank you".

his mom pulled out the handmade stationary to give us. she gave us one of each design. on ruled paper there is a design made with pencil crayons of the st. louis blues logo and the envelope is decorated as well. the other has a design of the st. louis rams and again the envelope is decorated to match. he was so happy! " now there will be kids going to the game!" he said. I am not sure if his brother helped with the coloring or not, but it was all very special.

made by hand...

by a boy...

without a thumb...

"god bless you" he said, as we parted.

"god bless you" I said.

another memorable moment in st. louis

do I look happy?

damn straight! so what do you do when you are away from home? do ya shop? pamper yourself with spa treatments? curl up with a good book and a cup of tea and stay in the hotel room?

just wondering!

I usually try to find a grocer. that's right kids! preferably a place that has a deli, bakery and fresh produce. today I entered "whole foods" here in st. louis. what a beautiful place. we used to have a similar store in edmonton (debajis) and then they closed down. I guess we weren't ready for that kind a cuisine back then. I am now!

I purchased enough items for the next three days breakfasts, lunches and snacks. this way I don't need to be doing take out or room service and explaining my food issues over and over. I just wanna relax! chill!

I just finished my lunch of tuna salad with cranberries (yum!) laurie you would love this! I paired it up with a bag of krinkle kettle chips in salt and black pepper flavor. uh, hello? YUM! team that up with baby carrots, sugar snap peas and the most perfect drink in the whole wide world - venti iced deaf caffe americano with carmel. oh yes - there is a starbucks in the lobby of my hotel!

I have unpacked and my new address is room 1828 - hilton at the ballpark, st. louis, mo. please forward my mail. ciao!

C - ya!

on my way to st. louis. here is a picture of the cover from my travel journal. supplies used are from this kit. so far I have made two journals with it and I still have oodles of stuff left. more pics when I return...

st. louis 2007...

another travel journal complete. this one documented my trip to st. louis last october. I have been fortunate enough to go every year for about the last ten years on the company dime. tres kewl! this year the trip will be even more special as it may be my last "free ride" so to speak. 

I have over the years been lucky enough to take some pretty amazing classes. I have met the most amazing people and kept in touch with many of them. I took a class with frankie fioretti (second one down) who at the time was teaching with judi kins products.

I met the owner, artist and whole fam damily of kirsten. she was very real, very generous and very talented. to be invited into her studio and be able to watch as she created was one heck of a thrill for me.

these two sisters. they have the most incredible art store I have ever seen - EVER! both extremely talented and tons of fun. everytime I visit there I leave with a smile and bags of goodies to play with.

this store which again, very unique and such a wonderful group of artists. I met up with a couple of ladies I had met on-line and they took me to a book exhibit, lunch, and this. a home for artists and their studios where you can walk right in and watch them at work or purchase their wares. they also have workshops. so kewl! afterwards they took me shopping and then we met up with a whole whack of ladies for a fun night of creating, chatting and sharing. such great memories.

we have been there for the st. patrick's day parade. whoa! mardi gras! double whoa! and the world series when st. louis won. that happened right across the street from where we were staying. can you say chaos? kewl to witness it. we saw the old busch stadium, the rubble and the new stadium.

we were there when the st. louis blues played the edmonton oilers. talk about the minority! HA!

tons of kewl shops - galleria, union station, eye of the needle, art mart etc.

last year donna was there teaching a class and it was awesome to see her again. such fun! so many giggles!

some things we always said we would do while we were there - go to a ball game, take a tour of the city, go up the arch. hmmm... looks like I got some planning to do!

meet me in st. louis, bay bee!

here is the st. louis buzz. short and sweet. totally enjoyable. great views from our hotel of the arch. above shot of how I like to make a hotel room have that at home feeling. okay so there just so happened to be a flower shop in the hotel where we stayed so I purchased a rose and spruced up the room with some sunshine! also showing is my travel journal that I made up for the trip. still need to put some photos in it! later....




I had the absolute thrill of visiting these two lovely sisters at their store. Red Lead has it all under one roof. Paper, paint, glue, scissors, fibres, fine art supplies, vintage emphera, books, rubber stamps (even their own line) and tons of classes. One of the coolest things was their "open studio" concept. You go in and pick a project from the display that you want to make, pay for it and sit down at the art tables in the back of the store. All supplies are provided along with great conversation and help if you need it. I try and visit this store every time I go to St. Louis. Check it out! Hi Chris and Sharon!



as seen on a wall in Starbucks. kewl. another thing that made me smile was how they wrote your name on the side of the cup. yup, well up here in Canada they don't do that, okay! I wanted to pick a different name each time....like Zena, Isabella, Sophie, but of course as M reminded me I would have to remember which name I gave them so as not to miss getting my drink. Like the day I had them put laurie on it and it made me smile when I heard them call her name. kim deal with it! I know you almost lost your cookies last time I was adoring her.

did tons of shopping at the usual haunts (just in time for halloween, get it?) the galleria, macy's victoria's secret, brookstone and jc penny! I know - woo hoo! I did manage to find a dress for the wedding in a couple of weeks and a few shirts, sweaters, and pants. even boots bay bee!



this was the highlight of my trip....donna. I was able to take a class with her at for keeps sake. lucky me! I first met her in March at artistry and loved her so was quite excited to find out that she would be teaching in St. Louis while I was there. I will be seeing her again at her event in April. check it out!

back to reality and in the studio stirring up all kinds of fun.....workshop this weekend! yay!