Coffee Crawl – Toasted Coffee House

Welcome to our first Coffee Crawl blog post! Each morning my oldest daughter, Megan, and I start our day with coffee and each other. We often talk about trying out the local coffee shops, and since it’s something we like to do together, we decided to turn it into our adventure! Spending time with each of my kiddos and doing things that interest them is precious to me. Check out the Burger Bounce with my son, and coming soon will be Fashion Finds with my youngest. But you are here for the Coffee Crawl with myself and Megan! Read on for her recap of our time at our first stop!

One of the constants throughout my day is coffee. Time is treasured by me, and I find that when I miss my morning coffee talks with my mom, my day feels off. She’s the first person I talk to everyday, typically. Usually this time consists of us making coffee at home and chatting about what is happening in our lives or meeting to talk over logistics for Bits of Love Creation’s latest projects.

We’ve decided to take our coffee time on the road! Visiting small coffee shops around the greater St. Louis area, we want to share our experiences of these local places. Of course, we are by no means any sort of acclaimed critics, we are just everyday girls sharing the impact and impressions we receive from local small businesses.

Our first stop was one close to home: Toasted Coffee House in High Ridge, MO. It’s tucked away in a small strip, not really on a busy street which was a draw in itself. When we opened the door there was a flood of sensations; the smell of coffee and food, the light chatter of some customers, and a warmth and coziness that made us feel right at home, not to mention the adorable decor! We walked up to the counter to order and were greeted immediately with a smiling face who was happy to help us with making our decisions, and answer any questions we may have had.

I also have to mention that I have a severe food allergy. It’s rare to find places where the staff take the time to tell you the ingredients in the food you want to order to ensure there aren’t any risks, yep, we found that here!

We ended up getting their regular black coffee and their breakfast poppers. We both chose the Toasted House Coffee blend, mom added a bit of creamer to hers. We both ordered the bacon, egg, and cheese poppers, but they are offered also with sausage and in a veggie option! Here’s a description from their menu: “House made honey wheat roll stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, + your choice of bacon or sausage. Veggie poppers available Saturday + Sunday”.

We found a table and stayed for a while to soak in the vibes. Artwork from local high school students are hung on the walls. They have a calendar of events being held, a mural painted above the front window, and an area where they sell products from other local small businesses. Behind this area was a small alcove of sorts that has activities and chalkboard walls for children to play while their adults enjoy the coffee and atmosphere.

They also had a bin collecting for Brendan’s Friday Backpacks, a local charity that provides single-serve, non-perishable, kid-friendly food to local school children. Read more about their mission here.

Donating to charities, supporting local businesses, great food & coffee, friendly & helpful staff, and a cozy atmosphere definitely make this stop a win in our book! We will Definitely be back! Until next time…

Have a lovely day!

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Prolonging the Beauty of Your Fresh Cut Flowers

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is the #1 holiday for florists and floral purchases? (cred: aboutflowers.com)

Who doesn’t love the look of fresh cut flowers? But they die, right? So why waste the money? I read somewhere recently that keeping fresh flowers in your space can reduce stress. Well then I’m thinking I need them in all my areas, how ’bout you?

So if you’re in the majority that received flowers for Valentine’s Day, or any other day, I want to show you what I do to my fresh cut flowers that will typically make them last longer.

Now, I have to stress that this isn’t a fool proof system, many factors can affect the longevity of your fresh cut flowers; how old they were when they were purchased and the air quality in the area they will stay are just a couple. This is what typically works for me.

First, take your flowers out of their packaging. I run lukewarm water in the kitchen sink and fill it up enough to cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the stems and gently lay them in the water (bottom of the stems only, not the whole flower, lol)

Make sure your vase (or container of your choice) is clean. I fill it up, also with lukewarm water about 1/2 way, and add 1/2 of the flower food that typically comes with fresh cut flowers. Save the other 1/2 of the flower food for later. If you do not have this, you can place an aspirin in the water. This will help reduce the bacteria in the water.

Figure out how much of the bottom of the stems you need to cut in order for the flowers to be the height you want. Note: make sure you don’t make them too short, you’ll be cutting them again in a few days to a week if they stay “fresh”. Remove any leaves from the stems that are in danger of being submerged in the vase/container of water. Leaves and fallen petals in the water create bacteria and will cause the flowers to wilt sooner. (See pic below)

Take each stem and make the cut at a 45 degree angle, while under the water. The angle cut allows more water to enter the stem. I then take the stem out of the water and place it directly into the vase/container of fresh water & food. . I try to not let air hit the fresh cut part of the stem for too long, because as air flows through the stem, air pockets occur and prevent water absorption. Cutting them under the water reduces the risk of air pockets.

Ideal temperature in the space your flowers will be displayed is between 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep them away from heating and cooling vents or near tv’s. Heat will increase the water evaporation rate and your flowers will dehydrate. Also keep your fresh cut flowers away from fruit. Fruit releases ethylene gas and will wilt your flowers sooner.

Each week I do the process over again, discarding any flowers that unfortunately didn’t make it through the week. (This is where you use the rest of your food packet. I like to get a small fresh cut bouquet from the grocery store and add them to the flowers that “made the cut” for the week.

I hope this helps you enjoy your flowers for longer than just a couple of days!

Burger Bounce – Fitz’s SoCo

Welcome to the first edition of the Burger Bounce! The adventurous burger dates with myself and Jacob, my oldest child and only son. I’ve always loved to hear him tell stories, or read what he would write for his papers in school. Just talking with him, you get a sense of his humorous disposition. When we decided to write about our burger dates, it was only natural that I asked him to write them. I’m not sure if he said yes because he truly wanted to, or because he loves his Momma, but either way is fine with me. I hope you enjoy reading our reviews!

You’d be forgiven for not knowing that there was a Fitz’s restaurant independent of the famed St. Louis root beer chain, but it’s also just as likely that I am a member of the silent minority in that regard. After the restaurant’s reopening in 1993, they’ve only been expanding into the area while I was none the wiser. As this has also happened to me with the A&W restaurant, who knows what other beverages are out there with associated eatery’s? Perhaps there is a Snapple drive-in somewhere, or maybe a purchasable Bennigan’s brand lemonade?

In the end, all of that is besides the point. Merely to illustrate my surprise when being invited to eat at the restaurant with my mother. Double my shock when i discovered they served actual edible food as well, as opposed to walls lined with Cardinal Cream IVs. It’s near impossible for me to turn down a burger of any kind, so I heartily agreed to partake in what soon became the first entry in a series of establishments known for quality hamburgers. Of course, whether the two of us agree with the placement of these meats in the upper echelon of the food world will be determined by each of us, since everyone’s taste is as unique as a snowflake.

When walking into the Fitz’s in South County, you’ll notice a wall of soda separating those waiting for a table from those already eating. While the majority of this beverage blockade is comprised of root beer brown, there are flashes of additional color for things like the hard pink of Strawberry Pop, or the brilliant orange of… Orange Cream. It creates something neat to be looked at, and these drink packages can be purchased from the counter and taken with you, allowing these drinks to put the fun in functionality. Additionally, the structure of this Fitz’s had a neat raised level structure, with one section slightly higher than others for no immediately apparent reason other than to give the illusion of more space, which did seem to work. It definitely felt more open, even though I would also say the place was “packed” at the time we went.

This establishment also has an attached bottling line, where from behind the safety of a pane of glass, you can see the machines that run the bottling assembly. It wasn’t running at the time, quite possibly because it would produce an amount of noise that would drown out individuals that are already trying to drown one another out. The equipment is likely either used when the restaurant as a whole isn’t open in order to add to the stockpile of drinks they sell in 6-packs at the front of the store, or it’s primarily for show with the once operational machinery now being relegated to set-piece status. Either way, it’s fun to see, and it’s the type of aesthetic that actually warrants photography from tourists.

Now, to get to the food, which was the whole reason we went in the first place! The visit wasn’t just to look at soda and smell the brine of pickle chips after all. I went with a standard root beer out of a Fitz bottle (for the experience, of course!), and their Sunshine Burger. Now, already I was in, because I’m a sucker for putting an egg on a sandwich. But they also offered two types of cheese, neither of which was American, which I loathe. So of course I got it, and it was great! The egg is usually the problem spot in sandwiches like these, with the egg always leaking too much of the yolk everywhere and just making a mess, as well as getting things soggy. You think I’d learn my lesson at this point but no. If it’s available, I always get a burger with the incredible edible egg. Sometimes, however, it does manage to pay off as it did here. The menu said that the sandwich comes with both Pepper Jack and Colby cheeses, though due to the overpowering spicy nature of the Pepper Jack, I had completely forgotten that Colby was even on the sandwich. Overall, it was one of the better egg-based burgers. The fries, however, are a bit of a different story. They weren’t terrible, in fact I can recall having similar fries with the same familiar starchy consistency at a burger place I frequented when I was in college. My main problem was with the aftertaste, it was almost like a bitter buttery flavor. As if someone had put butter on a griddle, melted it all the way down, and then let it sit until it burnt to a crisp. At least, that’s how I’d describe it. In the past I’ve been able to attribute this taste to being bad oil in the fryers, so perhaps it was just time to change those out and pull in some new ones. That’s a little disappointing as well, because while some will pair anything from tater tots to coleslaw with their burgers, the french fry is at this point the classic staple. That’s usually why I always go with fries, because it’s become the natural fit for a hamburger meal. So for me at least, if there’s something off with the fries, then it can lower the meal a bit. I would be willing to go back and see id there’s any change to the side situation, and maybe that will be done at some point in the future.

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As for my Mother, here’s what she had to say:

This is actually not the first time I’ve been to Fitz’s. Usually when I go here I order a chicken wrap of some sort, but for my visit with Jake a burger is a necessity. I decided on the Bourbon. It’s a burger topped with smoked cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and crispy onion straws, served with a side of their house made bourbon mayo. Now, I don’t like mayo… in fact if it had not been listed as coming ‘on the side’, I would’ve either asked for the burger without or not ordered it at all. However since it was on the side I figured it was worth a try. I’m also not the biggest bacon fan. I know that’s a most unpopular opinion, and I don’t hate bacon – I’m not just a fan of putting bacon on everything! What typically sells a sandwich for me when checking out the menu are the onion straws and/or the type of cheese. In this case the cheese was smoked cheddar. As I am a cheddar cheese fan and the burger also came with smoked bacon, it seemed like a good fit. The onion straws though… love! I did try the house made bourbon mayo. Not bad at all and added a new layer of flavor to the sandwich. I did not use much of it, just enough to get the taste. The burger was good and I would in fact definitely order it again.

I do, however, agree with Jake on the fries. Not bad, but definitely not my favorite. We are in agreement that the after taste is much like a bitter butter (say that 5 times fast!) taste. Old oil in the fryer would make sense to me if that were the case. However I feel it’s just how they always serve them since the times I’ve been there before they have tasted the same. It’s not something that would keep me from going there for sure. A little salt and ketchup to dunk them in and they are decent.

The overall experience from atmosphere & decor, to aesthetic & food makes me a fan. I love Fitz’s and will always be willing to go, especially if my dining companion is my son. These times with him enjoying something he loves (in this case, burgers) is something I will always cherish. It’s not about the food, it’s about enjoying the time with him and taking an interest in something he loves.

Take an Interest

One of the things I always did while raising my kids was really try to intentionally take an interest in things that interested them. So many times it’s easy to put them in a sport or activity we did as kids. Or introduce them to a hobby we are interested in. That is perfect in the sense that they won’t (or we won’t) know what they are interesteed in until we give them those options. That is the best way to start. I did that with all of mine.

Sports, choir, drama club, or anything else, we encouraged them to find something they enjoyed. I made it my mission to take an active interest in what made them happy.  I may not have understood it, it may not have been my cup of tea… but if it was important to them, I made sure to show an interest.

Fast foreward to now… they are all grown, young adults if you will, and I feel I have a very strong relationship with each one of them. So carrying over from their childhood are hobbies and interests that they each enjoy that I have learned to enjoy too, if for nothing else than just spending quality time with each of them.

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So we have decided to do something fun!

My son Jacob, likes burgers. He always has! He could literally eat a burger every night of the week. We have talked about Mother/Son dates to try some of the “best burgers” in our hometown of St. Louis. So that’s what we are doing! He has coined our little adventures, ‘Burger Bounce’, and he will be writing much of the blog/review. Those that know my son know that he has a dry sense of humor and very eclectic approach to writing. This should prove to be entertaining at the least. Be on the look out for the Burger Bounce coming to the blog very soon!

So with my older daughter, Megan… she and I have a mutual love for coffee. Her’s is definitely a stronger love than mine, though as I am happy with my plain coffee and a little creamer at home in the mornings. She, on the other hand, could drink black coffee all day and even throw in a specialty coffee from a local cafe. We will be having our time together that she has named ‘Coffee Crawl’. Specifically visiting local coffee houses and those that give back to the community. Look for the “Coffee Crawl’ also coming to the blog soon!

And then there’s my baby, Mallory. She is still in college so she isn’t home much, but when she is we have discovered that we share a strong love of… shopping! I swear that girl owns more shoes than most. We love to shop the deals and sometimes just have fun window shopping and laughing until it hurts. We don’t get to shop together often throughout the school year, but when we do and find good deals, we will be sure to share those in our ‘Fashion Finds’ blog posts.

I am excited that this is something they love to do with me. To me there really isn’t anything more special than having found wonderful friends in the young adults you’ve raised. I know, super corny…but that’s me! And it’s so true. My relationships with them mean the world!

Look for our adventures coming soon! Until then,

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