5 Springfield Eats for When the Cold Won't Quit

We had a "snow" day last week sans snow, which happens more frequently than the school systems would like, I'm sure. But whether or not we've had any snow to speak of, it's definitely been cold. I'm piling on sweaters and wearing waaaay more turtlenecks than usual—if my 10-year-old self saw me now, she would be appalled.

Cold weather means staying in a lot, but when we go out, I have one priority: Staying warm. I will sacrifice my style in favor of being warm any day. And when we go out to eat, I want comfort food. Here are a few of my local faves for the winter—

Grilled Cheese + Tomato Soup from Cherry Picker

This one comes with no surprise—Cherry Picker's Orange & Tomato Bisque soup + Leland's Grilled Cheese is one of my absolute favorite things to eat when the weather gets chilly. The environment is cozy like a snow globe, and my mouth is literally watering thinking about the blue cheese crumble on that sandwich. As I'm typing, I said to Austin, "we should go to Cherry Picker tonight". So good.

Casper's

Casper's is one of the places I don't go as often as I'd like. It's in a teeny Quonset hut which fills up quickly, so you have to plan a lunch out right to make sure you're not standing to wait outside in the cold! In college, my dad picked me up from school and took me to Casper's pretty often, and it's one of my favorite traditions with him. They have a lot of menu items, but my favorite is a traditional small bowl of chili. 

J.O.B. Public House

J.O.B. is another good place to stay cozy in the winter months. My favorites to share are the Cheeseburger Cubicles and the Kentucky Hot Brown Cubicles, which taste like a perfectly packaged Thanksgiving meal—definitely a comfort food. We like their traditional brown sugar fries or cheese fries on the side (plus, get fry sauce on the side!).

Druff's

Winter is practically made for breakfast for dinner. Or breakfast for breakfast, or breakfast for lunch. You get the point. Breakfast food is cozy, and cozy is my main winter goal. My personal favorite at Druff's is the Swipe Right Breakfast Bowl—and you can think of it like a salad, with hash browns instead of lettuce.

Karai Ramen + Handroll

(This part is about ramen!!) My favorite at Karai is their Old Skool Ramen—it's a bit savory, not too spicy, and if you get it, you must order the soft-boiled egg as an add-on. Sorry, it's just the rules!! I know this post has been a lot of soups, and while ramen may or may not technically be a "soup"—can you blame me?!

Stay warm out there!

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Queen City Gems, Vol. 11

Happy Tuesday! Here's a quick update on some things I'm loving lately in the Queen City.

1. Team Taco is OPEN (yaaaaay! 🌮🎉)

Austin and I checked out Team Taco last week during their soft open, and I am happy to say it exceeded all of my expectations — and then some! I'm not too hard to please when it comes to tacos, but even if you are, I have a feeling you'll like it here. The guys behind Team Taco REALLY know their stuff when it comes to food & flavor; I saw this firsthand when I interviewed them a handful of times for Feast. I've tried a handful of these tacos by now, and the Groundskeeper is my favorite. All veggies and so delightful!! Branding + design are also on point. 

2. Brian and Jenna Bulger Release Dreamy New Tunes ✨

Late to the party on this (as evidenced by the EP's title "July" and this post being written in "August"), but I love seeing these two collaborate and hope to see more from them in the future. Got to hear them serenade a packed-out Cherry Picker a couple weeks ago, and it was a sweet summer evening I won't forget soon.

3. Say "Aloe" to Hickory Lane Plants 🌿

Spotted this lil cutie on Instagram and had to go check it out in person at the C-Street farmer's market. If you've checked out the Ozark Mtn. Flower Truck (which I talked about way back in volume 1 of this series!), this is like the same idea — but for plants! I enjoyed checking it out & snagged a succulent for our sunroom. It's fun for the experience (and definitely good for a last minute gift)! You can find their schedule on Instagram. 💕

That's all for now! xo.

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Queen City Gems, Vol. 10

Happy Friday! Here are a few fun things I think are worth noting if you're living in (or visiting!) my hometown of Springfield, MO.

1. Coffee, Always

If you know me, you know I'm always excited to try a new coffee thing. It's practically my second job! 😂 This week's coffee thing is Architect, a new shop that's gone in Hebrews' old location (1604 E Republic Rd). I went to check out the new shop and was impressed with what they did with the space! I tried their signature latte with house made vanilla, caramel and topped with Himalayan pink salt. It's a great new coffee option on the south side, especially for meetings or co-working.

2. The Rated SGF Film Festival


Did you know Springfield has a film festival?? This weekend is the second annual Rated SGF, and it's going to be such a treat! The team behind it has curated some really special experiences, including live music and an opportunity for a Q&A following each film with one of the key players involved. It's kicking off tonight, and tomorrow's first screening of Oscar-award winning (!!!) Period. End of Sentence. is free to the public. I'm excited Springfield has this festival and looking forward to seeing how it grows over the years. You can buy tickets for a weekend pass to all events or individual screenings if you prefer.

3. Best of Lunch

Best of Luck is a European-style beer hall new to downtown Springfield that I reported on for Feast a few months back. It opened with a truly impressive food menu, and they're giving 20% off this weekend to those who attend Rated SGF! Seems like a good opportunity for double dipping to me. 😝 Let me know if I missed anything exciting going on this weekend! It's a good time of year to get out and about.

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5 Ways to Enjoy Home When What You Really Need Is a Vacation

Spring Breaaaaaak! Oh, but what's that? You're stuck at home, ridiculed by FOMO as you're reminded everybody on the PLANET (it seems) is taking time off to ring in spring.

For a young professional, Spring Break FOMO might be better relabeled as DOMO — despair of missing out. It's not something to fear; it's nearly guaranteed you'll be scrolling your Facebook memories each morning, haunted by the nostalgia of that one girls' trip to L.A. or your most recent family trip to Disney. I don't know about you, but early March is right around the time that I've 100% had it with the chilly Midwest temps and I'm so ready for sunny with a high of 75.

But (reality check!) escaping to L.A. or Florida isn't always an option, so here are some ideas for the meantime:

Get Your Greens
I swear, I definitely spend more time in greenhouses throughout the winter-spring than I do in the summer, just because they feel like an oasis and the perfect pause from a dreary day. I bought a spider plant from Schaffitzel's a couple weeks ago, and it's bringing a smile to my face every time I walk in the loft — and making my space feel a little more like the retreat I need. And on that note —

Chase Some Sun — (or at least the heat)
You want that spring break glow, right? Or you'd at least like to remember what it feels like to be warm again... While you may take vitamin D as a supplement throughout the winter months, nothing compares to laying on a towel and feeling the embrace of summer temps. In Springfield, you can check out a community class at Sumits Hot Yoga for $7, and a $35 day pass to Acacia Spa will give you access to their sauna and eucalyptus steam shower (hello!!).

Find a Muse(um)
If you're looking to get inspired, a trip to a museum may be in store for you. I think anything that gets you out of your routine and allows you the ability to look and learn about something would qualify! We're really lucky to have the spots we have in Springfield — between the Springfield Art Museum, Wonders of Wildlife, the Springfield Nature Center, the Discovery Center and more (I'm sure I'm missing something!), there's a lot to explore in this backyard. Worth noting — WOW is giving 50% off ticket prices for locals for the next two weeks, and if you're up for a day trip, I'd highly recommend Crystal Bridges.

Eat Foreign Food
If you can't go on a trip, then eating like you're on one is the next best thing. There's two rules to make this the best, most immersive "oh, I forgot I was on my lunch break" type of experience: 1. You must dine in. 2. The restaurant doesn't count (for these purposes) if they play top 40 music. There's nothing that will bring you back to reality quicker than hearing the Jonas Brothers over a speaker system. My favorite place in Springfield for this type of moment is Greek Belly. Their food is fantastic, fairly priced and it genuinely feels like a small trip to Greece if you use your imagination.

Stop and Smell the Hydrangeas

The reasons we crave vacation typically come from a desire for excitement and adventure. So how can we cultivate those emotions in our daily life? I think some of it is seasonal just like spring — inspiration comes and goes in waves, but focusing on the good is a fine place to start. xo!

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Strong Girl, Brave Girl: A Q&A with Author Kelsey Baldwin

If you caught last week's gift guide, you may remember I recommended a new book: Strong Girl, Brave Girl. As I mentioned previously, the memoir chronicles Kelsey Baldwin's journey through divorce and single motherhood, but it's about much more than that. Since Kelsey's my friend "IRL", I had the privilege of hearing her say "I think I want to write my story" and seeing her follow through — all in the process of about a year. There are so many things I admire about Kelsey including her ability to react with grace to unforeseen circumstances (which you'll read about in the book), but also her determination to set a goal, work toward it and achieve it. Strong Girl, Brave Girl is a book for any woman navigating a life that looks different than the one she'd expected, and this Q&A with the author is for any individual needing some encouragement to do the thing. 

Ana: "Thanks for grabbing coffee with me and agreeing to share a little about your year of book writing! First up, will you explain what the book is about for someone who hasn't yet read it?"
Kelsey: "Sure, it's kind of a story of my life over the last several years... being married, going through a divorce and a pregnancy at the same time, and then the aftermath of that. It's about all the changes I went through and transition, learning to live in a life that doesn’t look like what you had expected, and feeling like you’re in the middle of your story when it’s not all wrapped up in a bow in the timeline you hoped for... or at all. It deals with reconciling your expectations and reality; and it’s also not just for moms, it’s written for any woman going through any big transition."

A: "What prompted you to write it? Was it part of an overall business/career strategy or more of a personal goal?"
K: "I always wanted to write a book, but I didn’t know what I would write about. As [my pregnancy and divorce happened], I was just surviving for a lot of years. I started an Etsy and an online business, Paper + Oats, to support myself and my daughter, Poppy, while I was pregnant with her. Once I felt like I had a little breathing room and my business was steady, that seemed like the obvious thing I would write about. I worked through a lot of it while blogging in 2015, and it resonated with a lot of people and I got messages from people in similar situations, or even people who were in different situations but just appreciated the perspective. Feedback from smaller things like a blog post or an Instagram caption let me know my story was helpful to people and they wanted to hear about it. And when I was going through it all, it was helpful to hear other women’s stories or something similar. Family and friends could say things that were trying to be encouraging but they didn’t always "get it". Some people get it from experience, and if I could be that voice for another woman, it would almost be like paying it back to women who were that to me.

"So it was more of a personal goal for sure; I didn’t expect to make any money off of it, and I still don’t really count that toward income goals. It doesn’t fit into anything I do in my business — I teach design, and I wrote this book that has nothing to do with design. I think part of me could see I want to write more books, so maybe I would take my business in that direction eventually. I don’t plan very far in advance anymore," she laughs.

A: Fair! So, if it wasn't part of an income goal or related to your business, did you have a hard time prioritizing time spent on it? What did you sacrifice to make it happen in a year?
K: "I definitely had to work it into my schedule to plan writing time and think about how long it might take; I had no clue how long anything would take, so I gave myself lots of time. I had to physically add it into my calendar to make sure I was getting it in, but since it was something I've always wanted to do, I don't really feel like I 'sacrificed' too much for it. I wrote mostly at night after Poppy went to bed, so I didn’t feel like it was taking away from her. I would say it certainly took time away from my business, but since I planned my whole year [around writing it], I was OK with that.

"I’m sure that's different for me having a daughter at home since when she’s in bed, I’m stuck at the house, so it was sometimes what I looked forward to as the day ended. I’m one to watch a lot of shows in the evening, so other times I had to force myself to work on the book instead. I tried to give myself enough time where if I had it scheduled, and I was forcing it or wasn’t feeling creative then I wouldn’t make myself sit there and write. But at the same time, I’ve heard a lot of authors say the way to write a book is to sit in the chair and write the book. There has to come a point where you have to stop planning around it and know that maybe it’ll be a busy year, but it’s something I wanted to accomplish, and when I look back it’s just a year out of my whole life. It’s several months of intense work, and now it’s done. That was worth it to me."

A: "What's one thing you would recommend to someone else who wants to write a book?"
K: "First, know why you want to write it. But a more practical piece of advice might be to write down every single task you would need to do to finish it, or to get through one big part of it. There's at minimum a writing phase, editing phase, design and marketing. For me, it was overwhelming to think about all of it at the same time, but if I was just going to focus on writing I could see how quickly it would go and think I could be done with 70,000 words in 3 months or whatever. I would just focus in on one phase, break down what I needed to do and dump it on my calendar. When I got to the next phase I would reassess and dump those steps on the calendar. It’s taking it in one chunk at a time."

A: "Did you ever deal with imposter syndrome, or feeling like you couldn't do it? If so, was there anything within your control that changed how you felt about your ability to write the book?"
K: "I think my feelings changed about every other day. One day I'd feel like 'this is stupid; nobody cares', and then I would get an encouraging email or message from someone who had read one of my blog posts and that made me feel like I can write, and people care.

"I don't know that I could change the narrative within my head, but one thing that was really motivating for me was knowing that I had committed to it. So even when those feelings crept up of 'I can't' or 'I shouldn't', I had already made the decision to do it. I can think of other big projects I've done where I've posted on Instagram that I'm working on it, and the people pleaser in me wants me to keep going so I don't let anybody down. It’s motivating to have people ask how it’s going, and I think it’s helpful in terms of marketing too for others to see the origin story because they feel like they’ve been following it from the beginning."

A: "What's the biggest thing you've learned through all of this?"
K: "Through my story, I would say the biggest thing I've learned is about being content with where I am right now and not dwelling on the past or wishing for the future. That, and being OK with the fact that it might not all end up the way I think it will, because nothing ever has.

"Through writing, I've found our stories are more powerful than we give them credit for being. Even if you think you don't have anything significant that’s happened in your story, it’s powerful to share them. It’s how we connect to other humans."

Kelsey's book, Strong Girl, Brave Girl, is available on Amazon. You can keep up with by reading her blog or following her Instagram.

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