While attending a conference this week in St. Louis, my boss and I decided to have lunch at Sweetie Pie's. 

If you haven't heard of Sweetie Pie's, it's a local resturaunt owned by former Ike and Tina Turner backup singer Robbie Montgomery and features southern soul food.  Though they've been a St. Louis staple for years, Sweetie Pie's recently landed their own reality show on OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network).  Learn more about "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" here. 

The food is served buffet style and required us to wait in line with other Sweetie Pie enthuseists.  There was a Baptist convention in town this week also, so our fellow line patrons were from all over the country.  The ladies behind me in line were from Mississippi and were huge fans of the TV show.  When Robbie's son Tim came out from the kitchen, there was a frenzy of picture taking and hugs.  The lady standing behind me shouted "TIM!  TIM!" waving her arms frantically.  It was as though she knew him personally, but instead only knew him as a character on TV.  "I just love that show," she told me.  "I watch it every week."  She continued to tell the other staff members how much she loved the show.  They would smile akwardly at her, probably because they had never had any part in being on the actual show.

As luck would have it, the camera crews were present that day.  Guys in t-shirts and ragged jeans with big cameras and cords hanging from them followed Tim around the resturaunt as he greeted customers, took photos with fans, and went about his daily business. 

After a 30 minute wait in a line that wrapped around the resturaunt and onto the sidewalk outside, we were finally about to enjoy world famous soul food from Sweetie Pie's.  My meat was fried chicken wings, with okra and mac and cheese as my two sides.  My meal was topped off with a piece of cornbread, accompanied by the sweetest lemonade I've ever had in my entire life.  I chose lemonade thinking the sweet tea would be too sweet.  I think both drinks were filled with sugar. 

{Fried chicken wings, okra, mac and cheese, and cornbread.}

Because the resturaunt was packed with people, we ended up sitting with a small group in town for the Baptist convention.  They were also from Mississippi.  After they prayed over our lunch, the Reverand added two more sugar packets to his sweet tea.  I cringed. 

I was able to finish most of my lunch before starting in on my dessert.

{Banana Pudding.}

Though the food was so good, we were given so much of it that it looked like we had barely touched it.  This trip to Sweetie Pie's was definately worth it.

I spent this past weekend at my parents' pool.  As you can read here, I really enjoy my time at the pool. 

{My Saturday.}

After gathering some reading materials and checking out CelebraTORI from the county library, I headed south to Kennett to spend the weekend at the pool.  I was also able to spend Father's Day with my dad.  It was a short trip, but a much needed break.

My new obsession is re-purposing things.  This is probably because I've been watching Junk Gypsies on HGTV.  I've turned a corner of our basement into my own personal studio.  My newest project was redoing bar stools I bought at a yard sale. 

{Bar stools I purchased at a yard sale for $5.}

{Step 1:  A new coat of paint.}

{Step 2:  Recovering the seat cushions.}

{Finished.}

I love the new look of these stools.  I'm putting them for sale in the "junk re-purposing" section at Potentials.  On to the next project....

I've been really excited about my re-purposing projects lately.  My most recent project was not so much re-purposing, as it was making something that was about to be thrown out new again. 

I scored a couple of wicker chairs at a warehouse sale.  One is a regular chair and one is a rocker.

{Chairs before.}

Both chairs needed work.  They were chipping paint and needing repairs.

{Adding paint.}

I used wood glue to make a few minor repairs and white paint to fill in the gaps.

{Fabric for recovering cushions.}

After recovering the cushions of each chair, they finally had a new life.

{Done.}

These chairs were headed for the garbage.  Now they have a new look. 

Ten years ago last week, I graduated from high school.  It really didn't hit me until I was seeing all of the graduation 2012 stuff at the stores.  I cannot believe I have been out of high school ten years.  I'm sure every year there is a class of ten year graduates who thinks the same thing.

With my class's ten year reunion approaching, I looked through some of my old high school photos and yearbooks.  I can't believe how different I looked.  This time ten years ago, I had just finished my last high school moments.  The awards assembly was over.  The senior banquet was over.  We had had Senior Sunday at church, Baccalaureate, and graduation. 

{Me on Senior Sunday at church May 19, 2002.}

I remember being scared about the future.  I also remember being ready to be done with high school.  I feel like I spent too much of my senior year being mad.  Things weren't going smoothly for me, but little did I know it was only the beginning to ten years of uncertainty.  If I had it to do over again, I would spend less time being mad and more time letting it all go. 

I also find it interesting how those four short years of high school can define how a person feels about themselves for the rest of their lives.  People are always commenting on how things were for them in high school.  Its only four years in what could be a 70+ year old life.  I feel like I'm not the person I was in high school.  I hope I have changed for the better. 

This week ten years ago, I was in Destin, FL with nine of my classmates. 

{Looking good at 18.  June 1-8, 2002.}

A lot can happen in ten years; college, jobs, marriages, babies, happiness, and heartbreak.  This was the trip when I knew things were changing, whether I wanted them to or not.  I laugh when I think of all of the kids that would be running around if we went on this same trip now. 

{Ready for adventure.  June 1, 2002}

Ten years ago, I had my own ideas as to where I would be and what I would be doing at this point in my life.  While some of these dreams and ideas never happened, some did.  I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, but I don't think I've actually reached my destination yet.  With so many things still up in the air for me, I have to be still and know that God is in control.  Just like He was ten years ago when I took that first step.

On Saturday my mom and I went back out to Winding Brook Estate Lavender Farm again for their spring tea (see our previous visit here).  We went to the Autumn Tea back in October and the weather was great.  On Saturday it was unseasonably warm, making the tea lunch a bit uncomfortable. 

{The Lavender Shop.  Buy online here.} {Menu, tea selections, and a lavender lemon scone.} {Salad:  Mixed wild greens with strawberries, Mandarin oranges with raspberry lavender-honey balsamic vinaigrette.} {Sandwiches:  Lemon pesto chicken salad with shaved celery slaw on endive; egg salad with watercress on challah bun; baked brie with lavender poached pear, candied bacon in a phyllo crust; mozzarella, tomato, basil with olive tapenade on ciabatta.} {Desserts: chocolate mousse with lavender whipped cream and berries; lemon shot with lemon curd, whipped cream and raspberry; dreamsicle trifle with buttermilk citrus pound cake, orange marmalade, and French butter cream.}

Even though it was very hot, the lavender tea lunch was delicious. 

This weekend was very eventful to say the least.  My parents drove up for a visit and to attend a few activities. 

On Saturday morning my brother graduated with his Masters from Webster University.

{The proud parents...I think.}

Saturday night my mom, Jason, and I went to The Pageant to see David Nail.

{Me, mom, and Kyle.}

The concert was great.  Afterwards we got to visit with David and Kyle.  On Sunday my whole family went to a Cardinals game.  Before the game we ate at Broadway Oyster Bar.  It was delicious. 

{Fish Tacos.}

{Me, mom, and Zach.}

  
That's the weekend in a nut shell.  Short and sweet.

This Cinco de Mayo, Jason and I went to the "World's Largest Outdoor Yard Sale" in St. Charles.  These county wide yard sales happen a couple of times a year and I always look forward to them.  This year it was unseasonably warm, so it wasn't as enjoyable as usual.  Jason spent most of the time in the air conditioned car. 

Although it was miserably warm, I managed to purchase a couple of things and see plenty of unusual items.  Here are some of the most bazaar things I saw:

{Anyone interested in an old bed pan?}

{What I hope is an unused coffin." {Who doesn't need a nudist camp jigsaw puzzle?}

Here are some things I liked:

{I love colored glassware.} {I had to have one of these!} {Jason thought about buying these for his dad.}

After the yard sale, we went to cool off at The Foundrie. 

{Love these eyeglasses necklaces.}

It was a nice Saturday full of bargains.  I love my bird "tea party" feeder and bath.  I put it in the yard as soon as I got home.

{Love.}

As I previously mentioned here, Youth In Need held its first charity fashion show; clothing was from Potentials Resale Boutique and boots were provided by Cat Footwear.  My sole responsibility in preparation for the show was clothing selection and styling.  It gave me a chance to actually use my college degree.  I spent a lot of time trying to remember what I had learned in my fashion show production class years ago.  That class was one of my favorites out of the whole four and a half years I was in the fashion program. 

The Fashion With A Passion fashion show raised almost $10,000 for Youth In Need.  It raised awareness for Youth In Need as well as the resale store, Potentials.  Audience members could see affordable looks on the runway that actually came from a resale store.  By purchasing clothes and accessories from Potentials, they're not only helping themselves to runway looks, but they're also helping children reach their full "potential."

{The Runway.  Photo:  Pixelography}

 The fashion show was held at The Big Club Hall in St. Louis' Italian district.

{Before the show.  Photo:  Pixelography}

Fashion show attendees snacked on appetizers and sipped drinks before the show.  There was also a silent auction upstairs. 

{Kelly, Me, Lisa, Rebecca, and Mary.  Photo:  Pixelography}

The Potentials staff before the show.

{Nite Owl.  Photo:  Pixelography}

Nite Owl was the host for the evening and Pixelography provided all of the photos.

{Hollister T-Shirt, American Eagle capri on Candace.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Missoni cardigan, Rock & Republic denim on Jordan.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Banana Republic shirt, vest, and American Eagle pants on Nicholas.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Tommy Hilfiger cardigan, Worthington blouse, Merona skirt on Candace.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Cache dress on Carolyn.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Ann Taylor dress on Julia.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Alfani suit on Peter.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{BCBGMaxAzria dress on Abigail.  Photo:  Pixelography}

{Diane von Furstenberg tunic, Old Navy capri (what a pairing right?) on Jordan.  Photo:  Pixelography}

The professional models were from West Models.  Though I was backstage with the clothes and models during the actual show, I hear it was amazing.  I did sneak out to see the final walk and finale.  It was so cool to see outfits on the runway that I had put together.  There were a total of 72 different outfits on 10 models.  Several outfits sold that night to those in attendance.  I ran around like a crazy woman after the show with my outfit binder getting clothing tags for purchases.

It was such a great night and I'm so glad I was a part of it.     

This past week was exciting for several reasons.  One being I Spy DIY Style by Jenni Radosevich was finally out on Tuesday (buy it here or here.)  I've been waiting for months for this book to come out.  I ordered mine on Amazon and hopefully it will be here soon.  I first saw Jenni on the Rachael Ray Show a while back, then started following her blog. 

{I Spy DIY Style in stores and online now.}

Also this week, I noticed that there were flowers popping up every where in my yard.  This is our first spring in the new house so I had no idea what, if anything, would grow in the yard.  Keep in mind I have not planted a single thing all spring, and really haven't even weeded or managed anything at all.  I feel like the lady who used to live here drives by, sees that I haven't manged the flower beds, and curses me.  She obviously liked to garden.  I don't know that I have the patience for it. 

{Flowers from our yard.}

After months of preparation, the Fashion with a Passion fashion show through Potentials and Youth In Need was on Wednesday.  Having the styling and clothing selection placed on my shoulders meant that this show all but consumed my work life for weeks.  I was back stage during the actual fashion show, so I didn't see how everything turned out, but I hear the models and clothes looked great.  (More on the show itself later.) 

{Backstage after sorting the clothes by model and order of appearance.}

The week ended with an impromptu trip to Klondike Park in St. Charles on Saturday.

{After hiking up a very steep hill.}

With the fashion show now over, I can focus on upcoming events in May and read my new book when it arrives.