Rolla

Alliterations are fun and so are roomie reunions. Good thing both of them are in today’s blog post!

So last week I spent some time with my college roommates in Rolla, Missouri where Ashley lives. I have been to Rolla before, but this was Jes’ first visit so Ashley got to show her all the sites. Now, Rolla is quite small. Yes, there is a university there (Missouri Science and Technology where Ashley works) but it only has 8,000 students. Those 8,000 students make up most of Rolla. Needless to say, most of our site seeing was not in Rolla.

Rolla Roomie Reunion | Life Healthfully Lived

Missouri is kind of pretty… especially the Ozarks

We picked Jes up from the St. Louis airport (almost 2 hours away from Rolla) and had dinner at a Thai place called Pearl’s Cafe. It was pretty good and I had Tom Kha Gai soup for the first time. It was probably the best part of my dinner and I’ve tried to recreate it but haven’t gotten it quite right. Soon….

Again… Missouri isn’t too shabby to look at

The next day after a stop at the Giddy Goat (a coffee place that had good variety for small town USA) we headed out to the Meramec Springs. This place was really beautiful. There was a fish sanctuary where you could feed fish (which we obviously did) little bridges, waterfalls, the spring, of course, museums, and trails. We walked around a bit and drove on the historic drive and saw old homesteads and a really pretty overlook of the Ozark Mountains.

Ashley checking out the Slag Notch. Still don’t know what that means

The fish sanctuary and the fish we fed.

Jes and Ashley by the cavern over the spring.

The actual spring… I thought it would be bubbling or something but it kind of just sits there.

After Meramac, we headed to Sybill’s for lunch. This place was in a super fancy house and they had some pretty good food. I got a strawberry avocado spinach salad and even thought it was a little sad when I removed the bacon, bleu cheese, and super sweet dressing, I added some sauteed summer squash and it made a pretty good meal.

Next, we went to The Public House which is a joint winery and brewery in St. James. This place was really nice and had a lot of indoor and outdoor space. Their gardens had a variety of yard games like bocci ball, Jenga, and lawn chess. There was a good selection of beer, cider, and wine and while played some games and caught up on life. Overall a great time.

Jes and her giant knight. They are both very excited

All the beers and a cider

Finally, we headed to a fudge factory. But not just any fudge factory, oh no.

Seriously, can’t make this up

Uranus Fudge Factory. Because the best fudge is found in Uranus. I can’t make this stuff up guys. There was also a burlesque dancing bar, tattoo parlor, and a food truck plaza. Ah, the good ol’ US of A.

That night I made a spaghetti squash casserole that will probably be on the blog this week. Then we just relaxed, watched Family Guy, old YouTube videos we made back in the day (like this one, you’re welcome Ashley) and laughed. Laughing is always a good thing.

It was a great trip, but I am glad to be back to my routine after over a week away. I’ve got new recipes to share and fall weather has finally made it’s way to Chicago. October is here and that means my birthday and anniversary are soon, yay! Oh, and speaking of anniversaries, Happy One Year Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Meyers! Have an awesome day and enjoy your new (puppy) addition! Rolla Roomie Reunion 2016 | Life Healthfully Lived

How was your week/weekend?

Hopefully you are all digging yourself out of the snow or maybe you’ve decided to just hunker down and hibernate through this storm. I’ve done a little bit of both. I didn’t do my normal run this morning because there is still snow EVERYWHERE, but I did make a quick trip to the store. I plan on spending the rest of the day inside working though.

I actually had a really great weekend. Thursday I made my way down to Rolla, Missouri to visit my friend Ashley! I hadn’t seen her since she came to Chicago in September so we had some catching up to do. And let me just say we lived it up in Rolla!

We went to the vacuum cleaner museum. Yes this is a real thing. Fun fact, old time-y vacuums freak me out. I don’t know why but they look evil and I feel like they are going to attack me.

Cleaning in the 1920’s with a creepy demon vacuum

We saw the world’s largest rocking chair on historic route 66. Sadly you can’t climb up and sit on it.

We drove through Cuba, MO and looked at a few of the murals and then we spent the rest of the day going to antique stores finding the creepiest children’s toys. Seriously, who made those things? Definitely have demons inside them.

We talked, laughed, ate (delicious taco salads and my Turmeric-Scented Mushrooms), watched Friends and a whole season of The Killer Speaks. Ashley and I are a unique kind of fun and like macabre things like shows about serial killers. Another fun fact, you have a very high chance of being murdered in Missouri. Three out of the five serial killers interviewed on the show were from/killed their victims in Missouri. Good times. Good times.

Sadly, I had to cut my trip a little short and come back early so I could beat the snowstorm. It was great to hang out and laugh about ridiculous things though. Sometimes it’s nice to break out of your normal routine and spend time with friends even if they live in a place where you might run into a murderer…

Have a great Monday and try to have some fun after you dig yourself out of the snow!