314 Day

March 14th.  To many, it means Pi Day (3.14 if you didn't catch on), but to St. Louisians, 3-14 holds a different meaning.  314 is the area code of St. Louis and let me tell you, people from St. Louis represent the Lou and they're proud (a little ode to Nelly right there). 

While many may view STL as a flyover city, there's really so much to do, see, celebrate in St. Louis.  With new areas constantly being reinvented, it seems there's a new hot spot popping up by the day.  Here are reasons I love St. Louis.  If you're not from here, maybe it'll convince you to visit, and if you are from here, hopefully, you'll agree with why I love our city.

1.  The Arch.  The Gateway to the West, the monumental landmark of St. Louis nestled along the riverfront.  Who wouldn't be impressed to see a 630-foot arch of stainless steel that started being built in 1963?  Want to view the city from the top?  Well, you can by taking a tram the 630-feet up for the best view of St. Louis.

Fun fact bragging rights:  The Gateway Arch is the tallest man-made monument in the United States!

2.  Cardinals baseball.  One thing you must know about St. Louis is we LOVE baseball season.  Opening day is basically a city-wide holiday.

3.  Beer.  As much as we love baseball, we may love beer more.  From Anheuser-Busch to microbreweries spread all across the city, there are endless amounts of beer for anyone to enjoy.  AB offers free brewery tours where you can see the world-famous Clydesdales!  A few of my favorite breweries to visit are 4 Hands, Square One, Earthbound, Civil Life, and Urban Chestnut.

4.  The diversity.  There's plenty of "pockets" throughout St. Louis.  There's The Hill (amazing Italian), Cherokee Street (Hispanic with great authentic Mexican), The Grove (LGBTQ friendly, hot restaurants, nightlife), Dogtown (the Irish town), Delmar (where you can find food from around the world, nightlife, music scene), South Grand (another area for worldwide cuisine), Soulard (great patios, bars, nightlife), Maplewood (rated one of the most "hippest" areas in the country).  Whatever you're looking for, St. Louis definitelyyy has something to offer.  (Pictured above is me goofing off in The Grove).

5.  Museums and Parks.  The City Museum is an eclectic mix of children's playground, funhouse, and architectural amazement created out of unique, found objects built in a 600,000 square-foot former Shoe Company.  Forest Park has something special to offer to everyone:  The History Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, The Zoo, The Muny, World's Fair Pavilion, Art Hill, The Jewel Box.  Honestly, there could be an entire day devoted to Forest Park.  A few more of my favorites are Laumeier Sculpture Park, Tower Grove Park, and The Missouri Botanical Garden.

6.  The seasons and weather.  What's nice about St. Louis is that you can experience spring, summer, winter, and fall.  What's not so nice about St. Louis is that you can experience all 4 seasons in a matter of days.  Seriously.  It could be 55 degrees and sunny, dramatically drop and be snowing a day or two later.

7.  Festivals and events.  Loufest is the big music festival around here.  One of my favorite festivals is the Whitaker Music Festival that takes place at the Botanical Gardens through summer.  You might not believe it, but Mardi Gras in St. Louis (Soulard) is the second biggest in the country.  We also take celebrating St. Patrick's Day very seriously with events in both Dogtown and Downtown.  We have plenty of beer festivals throughout the year.  If there is a holiday, celebration, something, St. Louis will probably have an event for it.

8.  THE FOOD.  Can't forget about the food.  St. Louis-Style Pizza.  Toasted Ravioli.  Gooey Butter Cake.  Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.  The ultimate St. Louis food bucket list.
St. Louis-Style Pizza is square cut, thin crust, and topped with Provel Cheese (which is essentially a blend of Cheddar, Swiss, and Provolone).  For the authentic St. Louis square beyond compare, I'd suggest going with Imo's Pizza.  At Imo's, also order the Toasted Ravioli (or any restaurant that you visit with it on the menu...and trust me, it'll probably be on the menu of 85% of the restaurants you visit...100% if you're on The Hill).  Gooey Butter Cake - check out Gooey Louie or my out-of-town family is OBSESSED with the Gooey Butter Cookies available at Schnucks Grocery Store.  Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is situated on Historic Route 66 and a landmark that has been selling frozen custard for over 80 years.

I'd love to know, have you visited St. Louis?  Or does this make you want to take a trip here?  If you have been, what were/are your favorite things about St. Louis?

♥ always
Allison

Albert Einstein Pi Photo:  Slate/Pi Day 2015

How I Keep a Positive Attitude in Winter's Gloom

With gloomy, cold, and short days, the days can seem to drag on yet seem like there aren't enough hours at the same time.  Sometimes finding myself in a funk for no apparent reason aside from the season to blame, there are ways I've figured out how to keep a positive attitude and not completely struggle through winter's gloom.

1.  Fuzzy everything...fuzzy scarf, fuzzy socks, fuzzy blankets, fuzzy sweaters.  Cozy layers make having nowhere to go enjoyable and staying in much more comfortable.

2.  Hanging out and snuggling with my dog :)  

3.  Binge watching tv shows - Stranger Things, This is Us, and Friends are what I've been watching lately

4.  Game night with the significant other.  Farkle has become our go-to!

5.  Skipping the gym and opting for at home workouts...because it's cold out.  Yoga with Adriene and Tone It Up are a few of my favorite YouTube fitness channels.

6.  Homemade soup...or soup out of the can.  I really enjoy soup.

7.  Hot tea and hot chocolate!

8.  Crafting.  I received a Cricut for Christmas so it has been fun getting creative, crafty, and feeling accomplished.
9.  Constantly remind myself that it won't be winter forever.  :)

♥ always
Allison

always allison

A new direction.
Back in 2013 (which OMG, I didn't realize it was that long ago) when I started my blog, Sparkles and Flamingos, I wanted to do "fashion".  As the time passed, I realized that there is SO much more to my life than fashion.  There's family, relationships, traveling, thrifting, foods, fitness, work, crafting, living LIFE for crying out loud.  Yes, I may still be fashionable (I don't know, maybe not), but I don't have to be obsessed.  After a while, "Sparkles and Flamingos" didn't feel like me anymore.  The name reminds me more of "Palm Springs socialite drenched in diamonds sipping bubbly on the reg" rather than "Midwestern gal styling a thrifted $2 blouse enjoying a vodka water on the weekend".  I stressed because when a title doesn't fit a "theme" and lifestyle, it just doesn't work.  "Rules" and "ways" of blogging got the best of me and I felt like I was doing it all wrong.  In the end, it seemed pointless and like more of a "chore" to blog than something fun that I enjoyed.  Being overly critical on myself, I figured if I wasn't satisfied with how the blog was, who would read it anyways?  It's funny how the internet can get into your head like that ;)

Well, acquaintances would randomly ask me if I was still doing the blog thing.  After a reluctant "yeahhh" with a shoulder shrug type thing, I was floored by the fact that people actually did take the time to look at it.  This would lead me to open up a Sparkles and Flamingos window while the insecurities mentioned in the first paragraph built up enough to leave me staring at this scary blank page.  What should I post about this time?  What type of post would people care about?  Is this dumb?  Am I wasting my time?  I would leave my blog tab open for days at a time hoping it would inspire me to "get around to it" only to be defeated by the computer shutting down and bye-bye blog tab.  ::Phew, off the hook::...kidding...sorta.

Fast forward (reallyyy fast because time seems to FLY by) to the now and let me introduce you to "Always Allison".  Here you'll find me being me, like always.  "Who is Allison?" you might ask.  Well, let me introduce myself.  Hi!  I'm Allison, 30 years old, born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.  My dog-hter is a rescue monster-like little dog.  I'm a part owner of my family's business, Style Your Space, and recently became a Fair Trade Partner selling handcrafted jewelry with Threads Worldwide.  I'm at the gym 5 times a week, practice yoga, and don't eat much meat (I've actually attempted practicing a pescetarian diet since January 3rd).  Thrift shopping is a favorite hobby, shiny shoes are a weakness, and my brain typically has a million tabs open.  I love tacos, a good vodka drink, and supporting local.

This is where the transition from Sparkles and Flamingos to Always Allison comes in.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still a HUGE flamingo enthusiast and have a deep love for all things sparkly.  But my "fashion" related blog isn't just fashion anymore...it's...waittt for it...this really cool thing called LIFESTYLE.  Change is good.  What I hope to share with you include thrifting hauls, styling ideas, fair trade companies, shopping local, recipes, stories, travel adventures, things that were really good, situations that may have not gone my way, feelings, inspiration, music, anything, and overall a little bit of me.

Even if no one is reads this, this is why I'm blogging.  To express creativity.  To share these things with you.  To document these times.  To inspire.  And more.  And maybe if you don't relate to me, my posts, my writing or expression, maybe someone somewhere out there does, and that's a pretty cool and amazing thing.

So anyways, I hope you're not too torn up about the name change and that you'll follow along on this new direction.

♥ always
Allison

Art in Bloom

Art in Bloom: A Celebration of Art and Flowers took place in the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM), which is nestled in Forest Park.  Fun fact:  Forest Park was won the award for Best City Park in the 2016 USA TODAY 10 Best Readers' Choice Poll.  This annual celebration, which took place March 11-13, showcased 35 floral interpretations of art from the SLAM's masterpieces.  Each floral design was created by skilled florists and garden clubs across the region.  I must say, the sights were stunning and the smells were of flower fields.

Although incredibly difficult to choose, my personal favorite was the Queen Ann Chair by David J. Bovier of Ken Miesner's Flowers.  If you didn't make it to 2016's showing, I hope you can make it in 2017!  Please enjoy the photo gallery and let me know which is your favorite in the comment section below!

Pair of Doors, Spanish

Florist:  Mary Davidson-Officer

Garden Appreciation of Greater St. Louis

Portrait of a Woman

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Florist:  Susan Schoedel, AIDF

Freelance Designer

Reliquary Arm, French

Florist:  Kimberly Ann Vermillion

LaSalle Wholesale Florist

Joonas

Maija Isola

Florist:  Vicky L. Gogel

Zengel Florist and Gifts

Mask

Florist:  Bob Hauck

Walter Knoll Florist

Ewer in the Form of a Double Gourd with Design of Boys amidst Grapevines

Korean

Florist:  Carol Eilermann

Designers Guild Garden Club

Carriage Clock

Lucien Falize, Alexis Falize

Florist:  Joshua Davis

Botanicals Design Studio

Portrait of a Lady

Hans Mielich

Florist:  Ann Rabbitt, AIFD, CFD

Thorn Studio

Helena's Australia

Sigmar Polke

Florist:  Jonathan Kuhlmann

Kirkwood Florist

Box45

Lucas Samaras

Florist:  Jennifer Thomasson, AIFD, CFD

Stems

Enforcer

Alice Gibson

Florist:  Carte Blanche Designers of District V,

Garden Clubs of Illinois

Standing Male Figurine

Wari

Florist:  Dean Riebeling

Botanicals Design Studio

You Can't Lay Down Your Memories Chest of Drawers

Tejo Remy

Florist:  Daniel Whitehurst

St. Louis Academy of Floral Arts

Queen Ann Chair

Robert Centuri

Florist:  David J. Bovier

Ken Miesner's Flowers

When there's a mirrored flower wall, you stop for selfies.  Obvi.

Mom and me at the museum :)

To view current and upcoming exhibits, visit SLAM's website here:  Saint Louis Art Museum

Local Love: Gramophone

Nestled in a little eclectic area of St. Louis called the Grove is a place called The Gramophone.  About a year ago, The Gramophone closed its doors as a concert venue, remodeled, and reopened as a tavern and sandwich shop.  They specialize in premium subs and an extensive drink list, but what jumped out at me while scrolling through Yelp food pics was this concoction referred to as the "Bloody Island".

It's not your typical "sit down and be served" style service.  Everything is ordered at the bar.  Rickey and I grabbed a table, debated between a few delicious sounding sandwiches, and made our final decisions.  He went with the Reuben while I decided on the Cold Smoked Salmon.  Still unsure of this whole bloody sandwich thingy, I asked the super friendly bartender about it.  He said, "It's called the 'Bloody Island' and you choose half of any sandwich that you want served on top of a Bloody Mary."  SOLD!  Cold Smoked Salmon Bloody Island it was.  While we waited, I felt like a little kid in a candy shop...or, er...sandwich shop.  The anticipation of this Bloody Island was killing me.  There was a pool table, pinball, old school arcade games, fun stuff.  Also, since it was a Saturday, there was an acoustic set playing which was quite enjoyable for a little weekend day outing.

THEN THE BLOODY ISLAND APPEARED:

Garnishes on point and no idea about a plan of attack.

One hell of a bloody sandwich island paradise, if ya ask me.

Since we're all about supporting local, and St. Louis is filled with macro breweries, micro breweries, basically all sorts of places with thirst quenching beers flowing at all times, I thought this Drink Local wall art using the Arch as the draft was so clever!  Nice supporting local touch!

Although I didn't snap a pic of Rickey's Reuben, he mentioned that it was one of the best sandwiches he's had, washed down with a Civil Life Brown Ale as you can see in the photo. #supportlocal

Throughout the neighborhood of the Grove, coffee shops, hair salons, boutiques, restaurants and bars that draw a huge nightlife crowd, so while you're in the area, stay awhile and adventure around.  You could also go on a mini daytime bar crawl like we did.  

What are some of your favorite local sandwich shops?

{whatever wednesday}

{Cool Stuff:   20 Negative Space Photos}

{The breakfast/brunch I would eat every day if I could:  Southwest Diner}

{New Favorite Shopping Website:  ThredUP}

{Etsy Shop Spotlight:  icing101}

{Weekend Things:  The Best $10 or Less Wines for Summer}

{whatever wednesday}

{First Time Visit (and won't be the last):  Salt + Smoke / Pictured - Salt + Smoke Barrel Aged Cocktail}

{Wednesday Wisdom:  Be Your Own Person}

{The Prettiest Pink Macarons:  DIY Flamingo Macarons}

{Dying to know your Unicorn Name?:  Find out here}

My unicorn name is Glitterpuff Sparklepoof...seems fitting.

 {Food For Thought:  Eating Will Never Be The Same}