Hey everyone!  Just in case you forgot we are still living during a pandemic while trying to stay sane.  How is everyone holding up?

I’m great this week!  You want to know why?  For the first time since March 13th I have some time to myself!  My kids are at camp! Yes, overnight, sleep-away camp!  They could not wait to go and we couldn’t wait for them to have some sort of experience this summer.

Before you judge me (I get it, I would judge me) let me fill you in on a few details:
1. I reviewed the safety procedures the camp has in place and I feel very confident they are being as cautious as possible.
2. We have been safely and slowly venturing out.  We, of course, always wear a mask but we have gone to Target and we’ve eaten dinner on a restaurant patio. We have been going to the pool. I am of the opinion that if you leave the house at all you have a chance of contracting the virus. Because, IT’S A VIRUS. So, since we are going out here, they might as well get to have some fun.
3. We are not going back to school for at least the first 9 weeks. That takes us basically to Halloween. Everyone in the house was devastated. Not surprised but very unhappy. My kids have said multiple times, “I never thought I would want to go to school so badly!” The saving grace was, “At least we get to go to camp.”

So there you have it. We dropped the kids off on Sunday. Love you! Wear your mask! See you in a week! Byeeeee!

And even though mom and dad can’t party like it’s 1999 (stupid coronavirus) we get to enjoy some time together. Just the two of us. Ahhhhhh…

First up, dinner out on Sunday night. This dinner was amazing for so many reasons. The fact that it was not at our house. It was just the two of us. It was on a patio on a lovely evening.  And it is one of our favorite restaurants, Olive + Oak.

Olive + Oak is truly amazing. It is very hard to get into because everyone wants to go, all the time. They have just moved to a new, bigger location which will hopefully help but I’m sure they will still be constantly booked. Whether you live in St. Louis or are coming for a visit this restaurant should be on your list of places to go!

We did not have a reservation but they usually save a couple of tables for walk-ins. We got there and the wait was one hour. They did have a couple of socially distant seating areas for people to wait and those came with a server. Great! We don’t have kids, we can totally wait an hour! Especially if that hour includes beverages.

So we did. We sat in a a cozy little spot, ordered two martinis with blue cheese stuffed olives and a dozen oysters. In case you are an oyster guru: 6 Moondance (from Maine) and 6 Disco Hama (from the West Coast) and they were both spectacular. We both loved both oysters but Husband preferred the saltier Moondance while I preferred the creamy Disco Hama. And both get bonus points for great names!

Then, our table was ready. Olive + Oak has a very seasonal menu. The options are constantly changing. One staple item though is the O+O Burger. It is one of the best burgers in the city. You will not be disappointed! But, I wasn’t in a burger mood. So many things on the menu sounded good. I usually have to narrow down between a few dishes but on this particular night, I had to narrow down from like eight things. I wish I would have taken a picture of the menu.

The veggie tart sounded amazing, especially with all the great summer produce. And there was goat cheese involved.  Mmmmm… goat cheese.  The duck came with a corn pancake type thing. I don’t know about you, but a lot of times the side dishes can sway me on what I order. I love sides. Giant corn fritter will definitely sway me. It also came with a blueberry something which threw me but it is Olive + Oak, they know what they are doing.  The fish sounded great but I was told it was a bit on the spicy side so that rules it out for me. I was in the mood for steak and the filet and sides sounded like they would totally hit the spot (there was a potato bread situation). And all the accompaniments that came with the goat made it sound like perfection. Chickpeas, spinach, tomatoes, pine nuts, ricotta and homemade naan, yes please! One teeny, tiny little issue… goat.

So I asked our fabulous server, Melissa, about the goat. I told her I love everything it comes with but I have never had goat so I have no idea what it is like. She told me it is so good, it is amazing, it’s a lot like ground beef. Well, that definitely turned me off. I did not come out to dinner to eat ground beef.

She left us alone to make our decisions. Husband was getting the duck so that was a relief; I’ll get to try a bite of that. I was going to go with the filet. Then Melissa dropped a little dish on our table along with two spoons. “What is that?” “It’s the goat.” We tried the goat. Ah-mazing! Yes, it looked like ground beef and there was a tomatoey flavor that reminded us both of a bolognese sauce. The first thing I thought was that this would be great over pasta and I need a glass of red wine pronto. It was sooooo good! So, when Melissa came back to take our order, I got the goat.

Oh people, don’t be afraid to try new things! It could change our life for the better.

We had a lovely evening. Both the duck and the goat were phenomenal. The bottle of wine was excellent and the company was just what the doctor ordered. We even had some leftovers to bring home… not the food… but wine.

If you can, go on a date with your significant other. Or grab your best friend for a night where someone serves you food and you don’t have any dishes to clean up. Everyone needs a reset every once in a while, especially right now. Let yourself enjoy what you can.

Please continue to stay safe.  Wear a mask and don’t go to parties. But do something for yourself. Mental health is just a important!