Ephemeral Chaos: Big Small Town

Frankly, it's one of the things I love about St. Louis.

At Hearthstone yesterday, they encouraged me to take the yarns I was contemplating out into the parking lot so that I could see them in the light. Georgia and a helper vigorously debated the merits of various shades of eggplant, shrimp, or orange as they tried to match the ribbon yarn I'd brought in. Georgia remembered some of my knitting projects in specific detail. Hearthstone is cool.

My birthday celebrating began around 4 pm yesterday when a pitcher of margaritas was delivered to the frame shop in Soulard where I work 2-4 hours a week. I won't say the restaurant, because surely delivering margaritas by the pitcher isn't exactly legal, but they were delicious and limey. Soulard is cool.

I left my truck with my neighbor, a carless coworker, and told her to drive it home whenever she wanted and to leave the keys in the mailbox. Sharon is cool.

Then I got a ride to Guido's, a Spanish restaurant on the Hill, and as I walked in, I spotted three people I knew already. These three people were not together, but were seated at separate tables: a man who works in my building, a woman from my knitting guild, and a former student. Big small town.

I love Guido's so much that we had them cater our wedding. If you haven't been there, you should. Authentic Spanish food made by authentic Spaniards. True tapas are not glitzy; they are comfort food. Guido's is cool.

True Guido's fans know that there is no actual man named Guido, but the owner's mother came out from the kitchen with some flan speared with a birthday candle. I normally hate such displays but she kept patting me on the cheek and sang in Spanish before making everyone else join in. Later, she asked me how old I was, and I mentioned that I was 17 years younger than my husband. She patted me on the knee and said, "Oh, for the love--there is no age." Ginny is very, very cool.

The owner bought us a round of shots, and the evening finished off at home with birthday presents from LB, who had wisely heeded the you-will-not-neglect-my-birthday arched eyebrow of doom.

The haul: a cute purse, an ugly purse, an amber bracelet, custom picture framing, a year's subscription to Netflix (such a cool present). From my beloved: a sabatier paring knife, a knife box, maple sugar cookies, and a digital thermometer so we won't fight about the vital need to put his back in the drawer when he's done monitoring various rooms of the house so that it's there when I need to use it for actual cooking and the avoidance of food poisoning from undercooked meat. LB is cool. So are the people who gave me cool things and so are those who just said "Happy Birthday."

LB also gave me a birthday card from my new favorite local photographer--Big Small Town Designs. I fell in love with his stuff when I saw his Greetings from Chesterfield postcard at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market. Here's the birthday card:

Go buy some of his stuff. Big Small Town is cool, and he definitely has the right idea about St. Louis.

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