Girls Gone Mild in St. Louis

Girls gone mild seems like the appropriate way to describe my weekend visit to see my friend Nora in St. Louis! Or really, that phrase has been fitting for me for a long time, even before pregnancy, as I'm all about low key celebrations. As I have mentioned before, I went to visit Nora to celebrate her being in remission and having her last chemo treatment behind her! Nora and her husband were excellent hosts. I had the best time and came back really refreshed. Here's how we filled the weekend.

I flew out on Friday afternoon and treated myself to a decaf latte at the airport.

When I got on/off the flight, I had to ask someone to get my bag in and out of the overhead bin as I had a flare in my shoulder so couldn't raise my right arm above my head. Pregnancy + RA is teaching me how to ask for help, which is not easy for an independent person like me.

Nora and her husband picked me up at the airport and took me back to their house so I could get settled into the guest room. After chatting for awhile, we headed out to dinner at a restaurant in their neighborhood which had a great gluten free menu! After dinner, we chatted for awhile and then I headed to bed early as I was pretty tired!

On Saturday morning, I slept in and then we lazed around the house that morning before heading to our first stop of the day:  The Novel Neighbor. This is a book store that has been mentioned several times on my favorite bookish podcast, What Should I Read Next hosted by Anne Bogel. In fact, earlier that week, Holland, the owner of The Novel Neighbor, was a guest on the podcast (episode 107). She talked about bookish gifts for the holidays which made me especially excited to see her store in person!

Nora and I in front of the store

The book store was even more adorable that I had imagined and I was able to meet the owner. They have a special "Modern Mrs. Darcy/What Should I Read Next" area with books/items that Anne Bogel recommends.

I also could not resist buying this onesie for Baby S. This is the first outfit I've bought for the baby and it seems fitting that it's book-related.

I also picked up some book darts, a book for the baby (I'm trying to build of a collection of "Good night" books), a book for myself (I couldn't resist a Christmas book set in Paris!) and a St. Louis tree ornament (not pictured).

After that, we headed back to Nora's. She warmed up some white chicken chili for lunch and I ate about a half a bag of tortilla chips. Whoops. Then she turned on the live action version of Beauty and the Beast. It was really good but between pregnancy exhaustion and a full belly, I fell asleep during it.  Whoops. While I was watching the movie napping, Nora whipped up some gooey butter cookies, which is a treat that St. Louis is known for. I enjoyed a couple of cookies, which were delicious!

That evening, Nora's dad picked us up and we headed out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant which was so good! After dinner, we stopped at Ted Drewes for some custard. Ted Drewes is a famous custard place in St. Louis. I've been wanting to go for so long but on my other trips we either didn't have time or it was closed! I'm glad that I finally got to try it. I was also surprised how cheap it was! We got 3 sundaes and the total bill was around $10!

After that, we checked out some Christmas lights. This area of St. Louis is known for their Christmas lights. I've never seen anything like it! We looked at lights along 3 different streets and I was blown away.

Things kind of took a turn for the worse on our way home, though. I started to feel nauseated but *thought* I could make it home before getting sick. I was wrong. :( Nora and her dad were incredibly sweet but I was absolutely mortified - and disgusted with myself. I'm not sure what caused me to get sick - maybe too much food? Since then sweets have not appealed to me so maybe that is a new aversion that I'm developing. I'm just glad it wasn't the stomach flu as Nora's immune system was so compromised since she had chemo the week of my visit. I would have felt extra horrible if I had gotten her sick!

Luckily I was feeling better on Sunday morning so we caught a 10:30 showing of Wonder before heading to the airport. I read Wonder last year and it was one of my favorite books. The movie adaptation was excellent. As far as I can remember, it stayed very true to the book and the acting was wonderful. Even though this is a middle-grade novel, I think it's something everyone should read!

After that we headed to the airport. It was a wonderful trip and I am glad I got a chance to have lots of girl time with Nora before Baby S. arrives.

Phil picked me up at the airport and I was back home by 5:30. Oscar seemed happy to have me home - probably because that means the heating blanket was back out in use!