It’s been action-packed here in the Mills household. A couple weekends ago Nick and I went to Shakespeare in the Park with a picnic basket full of wine, cheese, wraps, and Giada’s yummy caramel espresso bars. The weather was perfect (actually a bit cool) and we scored awesome blanket space (directly center stage) by befriending the art director prior to the start of the performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was a good time. Then the next day we took Xander over to Grant’s Farm, a (free) park run by Anheuser-Busch. Xander loved riding the tram (aka ‘choo choo’) and looking at all the exotic animals. He rode the carousal, fed baby goats a bottle of milk, and, and tasted Dippin Dots for the first time. And then last weekend, for Nick’s 33rd birthday and Father’s Day, I planned a secret get away weekend for our little family of three. It was our first solo vacation as we usually travel with friends and/or family. I rented a beautiful condo at the Lake of the Ozarks, in Osage Beach, for 2 nights.  On the way down, we stopped at Hermann, MO (in the heart of wine country) to visit a microbrewery brewery called the Tin Mill. I emailed the brewery and arranged for Nick to meet with the brewer. Hermann is a beautiful little town and I hope to return one day and experience the Hermann wine trail.

En route to Osage Beach we drove through Jefferson City, the state capitol. We didn’t stop but were able to see all the government buildings from the highway. We arrived in Osage Beach in the mid afternoon and were relieved to find a Walmart (as I had forgotten to park Xander’s pack n play bed. Whoops!) Our lakeside condo was perfectly located in the heart of all the action. The owner upgraded us to her 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo so we had plenty of space. The balcony was huge and offered us many hours of boat-gazing. Xander loved listening to the race boats and pointing them out. While in Osage we visited local state parks, ate out a couple times, and enjoyed the many amenities of the condo (like the lazy river!!). It was a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait to go back. To view all our photos from the weekend at the lake, click HERE.

PS: If you live in the St. Louis area, here’s a link to the condo we rented: http://condoatlandsend.com/. The owner, Michelle, is awesome. She has a 2 bedroom and a 3 bedroom available to rent.

feeding the goats at Grant's Farm

beer sampler at the Tin Mill

one of the amenities at our condo-- kiddie splash area!

view

checking out the natural bridge at Ha Ha Tonk state park

the Mills

We’re in the severe weather season here in Missouri. Tonight we have a tornado watch in effect, but it’s the lightning that is making this storm so incredibly dangerous. And cool. Here’s a little video of the nonstop lightning.

This morning our little family of three headed downtown to check out the 40th Annual Lafayette Square Spring House and Garden Tour. Lafayette Square is an adorable historic area with fun restaurants and bars (my favorite is the Chocolate Bar where they serve a variety of dessert style martinis and beers. Yes, beers.) and an array of colorful Victorian style town homes and mansions. I’ve always wanted to check out this yearly event so this year, I marked it on my calendar and made sure to go! We got there right after 10am, the opening time, and secured a front row parking spot… amazing luck Nick has. Then the ticket guy gave me a free ticket (by mistake not sure… or maybe I batted my eyelashes. hehe) so Nick actually came along too. Originally Nick and Xander were going to check out the park and maybe take a horse and carriage ride. So, with a free $18 dollar ticket in hand, Nick and Xander accompanied me inside a few of the homes on the walking tour.

Lafayette homes are extremely colorful… especially the exterior trims and doors. Many of the homes were built in the 1800s and boast originial features. I especially liked the random ‘oddities’ like bizarre walkways or strange stone shapes on stairways or on the sides of the houses. Overall I was disappointed in the gardens but a couple were inspiring.  Most of the homes were decorated with antiques, which isn’t my style, but it was interesting to look at. My favorite interiors were the those of the historically restored homes. I loved seeing originial lighting, stained glass, flooring, and ceiling woodwork. To view all my photos, click HERE.

For those of you in the St. Louis area:

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 on tour weekend, and may be purchased by calling 314 772-5724 using Visa or Mastercard or by using the “Buy Now” button at the right.  Group Sales of 20 or more are $12.  Children under 12 accompanied by an adult are free.

fun wall planter

stunning stained glass & banister

Lafayette Square Home

oddity

another oddity

Note to self… never trust your husband with clippers!! Nick went a little insane last night and cut his hair and Xander’s!!!! I nearly had a heart attack!

father & son

I often don’t have much to write about these days on the this lovely blog….sorry for the lack of posting. I’m gonna try and do better. Don’t forget that you can subscribe to NickandLeigh.com by email. You’ll receive a lovely email whenever I post something new. Click HERE to subscribe.  I just renewed the NickandLeigh URL for another year… I suppose my lack of posting has to do with (lack of) time and confusion over what topics to post about. Initially I created this blog to keep family and friends informed about my pregnancy. Then it turned into a Xander blog… but I also like to blog about my other interests, like traveling, cooking, photography, interior design, and Vivien Leigh. It’s an exciting Gone with the Wind year, for example. I’ll be attending the 70th anniversary of the film in November  in Atlanta and will finally get to meet some of the surviving cast members! They’ve been supportive of me and my site so it’ll be wonderful to finally meet them in person! Anyway, I digress… I suppose I’ll just write. If a topic doesn’t interest you, then skip it. But, I hope you’ll enjoy another year of all things Mills.

So… back to my favorite night of the month: the infamous Mills Margarita Night! If you’ve never attended one… please invite yourself! By the way, I didn’t gain any weight on my recent vacation to Florida. And my diet consisted merely of margaritas and french fries!  Screw the Atkins diet!!! And the gym! Anyway, we had some friends over for our monthly celebration of Mexican cuisine and tequila cocktails.

You know you’ve had a successful Mills Margarita Night when…

you see this

and you can build this amazing tower!!

Over the holiday weekend the Mills headed downtown to feast at the 2009 Rib America Festival. As usual, we opted to arrive before 1pm to enjoy free admission to the event. I believe that is critical because feasting on finger-licking good ribs ain’t cheap… especially at this festival (full slab was $30!). As we approached the festival the sweet smell of grilling got our hungry pains singing! This year’s event featured approximately 10 award-winning rib teams from all over the United States… we ended up choosing a Texas based team for our meal. We walked by every tent, looking at their menu and their ribs cooking on the grills. Choosing a tent wasn’t easy! But, in the end, I ordered a half slab of ribs and Nick selected a sampler meal of ribs, pulled pork, beans, and Texas toast. YUM! The festival also boasted a main stage for bands and a variety of game tents. There was a cute little kids game tent where EVERYONE is a winner. Basically, Xander just had to pick up a duck out of a pool of moving ducks. So, he won! And won and won. He selected a huge blowup St. Louis Cardinals bat as his prize. He made all passingby children very jealous.

If Nick and I ever return to Key West for a vacation (and I hope we do!), we will be staying (again) at the Banyan Resort. The location is prime, the price is reasonable, and the rooms are comfortable and spacious. Our favorite bars and restaurants were one block away, too! You can’t beat that! So, in my usual fashion, I wrote a Trip Advisor review about my stay at the Banyan! You can read my review by clicking HERE! Or you can visit the hotel’s website by clicking HERE!

in Key West on a sunset cruise

We’re back from our vacation to Florida– it was a wonderful trip! It was a jam-packed 11 days, but it was well worth it all. We started our in Orlando in order to see my family and to attend a friend’s wedding. Then we headed south to Largo to visit with Nick’s parents and our old college buddies. It’s so fun to see how our children get along just as well as we do. Then, Nick and I left Xander in the tender loving care of his parents and headed further south to the Florida Keys. Big thanks to our friend Jovan for driving us in his truck– it’s a 8 hour drive, one way. We stayed in downtown Key West at the Banyan Hotel (a true gem! Stay here if you ever visit Key West) and were literally one block away from the nightlife of Duval Street. We met up with some other friends during this little kid free weekend and had an awesome time. It was a bit hot, but we kept cool inside the bars. Hehe! After 3 nights away from Xander, we headed back up to Largo and found him spoiled rotten! Thanks again Peter & Barbara!! So, here we are, back in St. Louis and ready for a long, hot summer. We’ve nearly depleted Nick’s 5 week vacation allowance… so Hotel Mills is currently accepting reservations!

View Photos from our trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighuf/sets/72157617558867935/

Last night we attended Alicia & Josh’s wedding at Rollins College followed by their reception at Maison & Jardin. Everything was beautiful, especially the bride who was by far the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen! It was Xander’s first wedding and at first he was a little bit overwhelmed by the noise and sights. But when it came time for dinner and dancing, he was a star! He is quite the dancer! He tried to ’snap’ his fingers, did a couple break dancing moves, and a ton of ’swaying.’ It was sooo cute! Congrats to Alicia & Josh! We wish you many, many decades of happiness together!

Uncle Gwyn can't keep up with Xander's moves!

Our little family of 3.

Alicia wins the award for most beautiful bride EVER!

Xander loves smoothies. He loves to watch me make them, loves to talk about them, and loves to drink them. Here’s the recipe for his favorite!

Blueberry Banana Smoothie aka “Purple Smoothie”

3/4 C frozen blueberries

3/4 C milk

1/4 C plain yogurt

1 Ripe banana

a handful of ice

Blend until smooth and enjoy!!