Nicki's Central West End Guide

Nadine, honey, is that you?

Late yesterday afternoon I got a call from an excited Laura Fister telling me that she had just spotted wild turkeys on McPherson near Newstead! She thought I might be interested in knowing about them for the blog. That's when Chuck Berry's song, "Nadine," popped into my head. I told her that we know those turkeys (first spotted on Westmoreland, then Pershing Place, see post here), and I was glad to hear where they had gone.

Jim jumped into action and went over with my camera to see if he could find them. After startling two of the turkeys in a front yard on McPherson, the birds flew to the top of the fence and dropped into the backyard. Jim went around to the alley where, as workmen in the neighboring yard watched warily, he leaned over the back fence and grabbed a few shots of the turkeys.


The turkeys seem to have settled into the neighborhood quite well, and appeared perfectly content plucking the abundant seeds from the top of tall ornamental grasses.

The first thing Jim said when he got home was that he was stunned by how large the turkeys are---and how beautiful. Could we agree to make the turkey the CWE bird?  They are much quieter than the noisy flock of crows that flies northwest (see post here) very early every morning, and returns to the warmth of the city in late afternoon.

Thanks to Laura for the call. I know everyone loves hearing about the turkeys' whereabouts.

What a year at Left Bank Books!

Last March I interviewed Kris Kleindienst, co-owner of Left Bank Books, and wrote a post about how the venerable neighborhood bookstore was adapting to the new realities in the bookselling business. That was then. Jim reported recently that he had run into Kris at Straub's and asked how things were this holiday season. Her response was "Fabulous!" Hearing the great news I decided to contact Kris directly for the details.

Kris emailed: "The Central West End store did very well this year.  It looks like we will finish about 23% up over 2010. We like to keep in mind that we lost significant ground in 2008 when the economy collapsed, so a helpful comparison is our growth over 2007.  We are up 12% over 2007 figures in the Central West End store. We are hopeful this trend will continue in 2012.

For December alone, it looks like we will finish a fabulous 28% over December 2010.

We attribute these great numbers to a variety of factors:

1. Increased awareness of the value of shopping locally

2. The Communiity Improvement District's (CID) promotion of the neighborhood

3. Our own marketing and promotion which includes an active online and social media presence as well as hundreds of author events, and

4. The closing of Borders."

Kris concluded with: "We are thrilled with the results of our holiday season and are happy to see so many people appreciating the value of shopping at locally-owned stores."

There was an article in the New York Times recently about an uptick in independent bookstore sales and I'm so glad that this same good news applies to Left Bank Books, and to the other independent bookstore based in the CWE, Big Sleep Books.  I understand from Helen Simpson, co-owner of Big Sleep, that she and Ed King also saw increased sales this holiday season. Helen said that many of their regular customers bought books for themselves and to give as gifts. Good news indeed.

Off to Crepes: etc. for hot chocolate!

Photos courtesy of Emma Hand

Before Christmas, Emma Hand brought her daughters, Lilah and Cali, over for a visit. But first they took a detour to Crepes: etc. for what's been called "the best hot chocolate in St. Louis."  Emma took photographs of that outing and generously allowed me to share them with you!

How about a spoonful of pudding decadence?

It looks like Cali hit the wall in this photo, though Emma thought it was the "sugar high" taking hold. Pint-size fashion note: Cali's sporting a "Sprouted Designs" tee from a St. Louis artist found at the Tower Grove Farmers Market, where Emma was selling her Snap Stories.

Meanwhile, Lilah seemed sooo content drinking that bottomless cup of hot chocolate with a homemade monster-size marshmallow on top. Next time, I'm tagging along!

Crepes: etc., 52 Maryland Plaza, Sun. 8 to 5, Mon.- Thurs. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fri. 7 a.m. to midnight, Sat. 8 a.m. to midnight.

CWEA Annual Meeting January 9th

From the Central West End Association:                    Please Join Us!     M O N D A Y,  J A N U A R Y 9th,  2 0 1 2                          6 – 9 PM     The Highlands Golf and Tennis Center Restaurant             5163 Clayton Road in Forest Park                Buffet and Cash Bar               CWEA Members $22                Non-Members $25     P R E S E N T A T I O N  O F  A W A R D S           19th Annual Renaissance Award              Third Degree Glass Factory                2012 Polk Award                  Nicki Dwyer     Please RSVP by January 6th. Space is limited. Click here to buy tickets online  or download invitation and RSVP by mail.

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

Holiday traditions, Parts VI

Photos courtesy of Diann Cage

It's Christmas Eve and my family is coming for dinner in a few hours. So while the meringue mushrooms, the favorite part of our traditional Buche de Noel, are in the oven, I'm stealing away to share the last post on holiday traditions in the neighborhood.

When asked about her family's Christmas, Diann Cage said she and husband Lance are known around the neighborhood for the lights they string around the outside of their CWE home. In fact Diann said it's a topic among the neighbors all year long. For this year's display, the couple switched to LED lights and bought out Target twice!

The Cage daughters (both of whom are mini-Dianns) string popcorn garlands to decorate mini evergreen trees that sit on their window sills, above.

The fireplace mantel in the living room is filled with an assortment of things the Cages love, including a bear that was a childhood toy that belonged to Lance's mother, see below.

Diann is a well-regarded and award-winning graphic designer whose business is also located in the neighborhood. One of her very good friends, who was also her first design client in St. Louis, gave her the creche shown in the photo above.

The final photo to show you this afternoon, December 24, is of the unusual advent stockings from Lance's childhood that hang from the Cage's dining room mantel.

Thanks again to the Cages for their generosity and to the other families that participated in our holiday house tour. Merry Christmas to you all!

Holiday traditions, Part V

Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Barnes

I first met Elizabeth Barnes just after she and her husband George Knapp and two charming daughters moved to the neighborhood. She was googling the CWE and came across this blog---we've been friends ever since.

When I asked for help with this year's holiday blog posts, Elizabeth was more than willing to share her families' Christmas traditions, starting with the wreath drapped with antique beads and pine cones that hangs on their front door.

Elizabeth considers their Christmas tree, above, to be a "work of art" and loves reliving memories as each ornament goes up. She's been collecting ornaments since she was fifteen, ever since her best friend at the time made a snowman ornament for her, below.  

 

Elizabeth said that the adorable handmade snowman has gotten pride of place for the past thirty years on her Christmas tree, right. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family loves to collect ornaments from their travels, including an ornament from Bali, left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Barnes/Knapp collection also reflects the family's interests, including daughter Isabelle's love of ballet, right. See the post on Isabelle just before she danced the role of a toy soldier in the Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker last year. She danced the same role in the Missouri Ballet's production at the Edison Theater earlier this week.

 

 

 

                                                                      

The ornament, above, commemorates the couple's first Christmas together.

The last photograph shows daughter Caroline's first birthday ornament. Elizabeth said that she and George have given every new baby in their family a silver bell ornament on their first Christmas. The ornament is engraved with the baby's name, the words "First Christmas," and the year. They hope that the children, and cousins, carry their ornaments on to their own trees with happy memories.

Thank you so much Elizabeth for sharing this beautiful ornament collection and the stories behind each one. I so appreciate your contribution to our virtual holiday house tour. Merry Christmas!

 

Holiday traditions, Part IV

Photos courtesy of Emma Hand

Another friend and neighbor who has generously shared her family's Christmas traditions is Emma Hand (see post about Emma here). Emma, who describes her decorating style as "very haphazard, easy and earthy," and her husband Carter live a "hop, skip and a jump" from our house.  That's exactly how their two adorable young daughters can be seen traipsing about the neighborhood. You'll see the girls' chipper gait in action in a post next week with photos of Lilah and Cali's trip to Crepes, etc. for "the best hot chocolate in St. Louis."

The mantel over the Hands' fireplace is trimmed with pine cones and foam holly berries found at a local craft store, and a cardinal perched on top of curled birch bark from a neighbor's tree.

The Scandinavian wood-cut vignette on the mantel is a nod to Carter's mother who's Norwegian. 

In the entryway, there is a dried boxwood tree next to a drawing by local artist Leslie Laskey, which was a gift to the Hands from the artist.

A view of a simple bench near the fireplace covered with pillows and rolled blankets, above.

 

According to Emma the family's holiday elf, Skippy Dimpledot (above), "skips" around the house all night and lands in different spots each morning with a note for the girls.

Emma randomly hangs tree ornaments around the house, such as the magical mushroom above the window bench, left

In their bedroom, Lilah and Cali can hang a sweet dream in the treetop that Emma has decorated with pink lights for the holidays.

Merry Christmas and thank you to the Hands for their generosity.  Someday maybe Carter will share his mother's dark chocolate butter cookie recipe with us, which he brought to our first Big River Food Swap. When Lilah was visiting recently, she told me how to make them: Melt chocolate chips, roll them into a log, harden in the fridge, and then slice and bake them. Sounded perfect to me, though I suspect there is a little more to it.

2011 Window Walk Contest Winners Announced!

 Herbie’s Vintage ‘72 Wins First Place in

Celebrity Judges and People’s Choice Award Categories

December 22, 2011 (St. Louis) – The winners of the 2011 Central West End (CWE) Window Walk were announced today. Herbie’s Vintage ’72, decorated as “The Polar Express,” placed first in both the “Celebrity Judges” and “People’s Choice” categories.

The competition portion of the Window Walk, which ran from December 3-17, was a contest among CWE storefront business owners, retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues showcasing windows decorated for the holidays where area residents and patrons could vote for their favorite windows. More than 1,500 ballots were cast.

Five “People’s Choice” Awards were given to the public’s favorite displays. A panel of celebrity judges selected first-, second- and third-place winners.

The 2011 CWE Window Walk Celebrity Judges’ choice winners are:

• 1^st Place – Herbie’s Vintage ‘72, www.herbies.com
• 2^nd Place – World Chess Hall of Fame, www.worldchesshof.org
• 3^rd Place – Shelton Davis Antiques

Five “People’s Choice” awards were given to the public’s favorite displays and each award winner will receive a cash prize. Area residents and visitors cast their ballots while visiting the CWE during the two-week competition. The 2011 “People’s Choice” winners are:

• Herbie’s Vintage ‘72, www.herbies.com
• The Silver Lady,  www.thesilver-lady.com (If anyone has a picture of The Silver Lady, please send it along.)
• 10denza, www.10denza.com
• The Vino Gallery, www.thevinogallery.com
• Tie: Mary Jane’s, www.maryjanesshoes.com, and
• Sub Zero Vodka Bar, www.subzerovodkabar.com

All voters will be entered into a drawing to win one of ten $50 CWE gift certificates.

The 2011 CWE Window Walk, a project promoted by the Central West End North Community Improvement District, is an event that celebrates the holiday season, encourages area residents and visitors to visit the CWE’s boutique shops, fine dining and entertainment venues, and showcases the uniqueness of the historic CWE commercial business district.

A panel of Celebrity Judges selected first-, second- and third-place winners. The 2011 Celebrity Judges included:

• John Carney, radio personality on KEZK, 102.5
• Mary Engelbreit, internationally known greeting card and gift entrepreneur
• Chuck Jackson, of Fox Sports Net
• Antony John, author of Five Flavors of Dumb and CWE resident
• Nick Reding, author of Methland and nationally recognized freelance writer
• Robin Smith, Emmy-award winning anchor for KMOV, Channel 4

“The Central West End Window Walk is a tremendous idea. It makes you want to be in the Central West End, and it gives you the feeling of the true spirit of the season,” said Robin Smith, Celebrity Judge and KMOV, Channel 4 anchor.

For more information about the 2011 CWE Window Walk winners, please visit the “Central West End Scene” Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/cwescene or the web site at www.cwescene.com.

The Central West End North Community Improvement District, the organizer of the 2011 CWE Window Walk, was founded to bring new energy to the CWE commercial district, befitting its role as an important component of the neighborhood, and to ensure its ongoing vitality.

Still talking turkey on Pershing Place

Photos courtesy of Martin Schweig

Martin Schweig called a short while ago to ask if I wanted more photos of the turkeys that are hanging out in a neighbor's backyard this afternoon??? Silly question, Martin.  Do I need another diversion from cookie baking, table decorations, and the usual day's problems? But of course, and from all the hits this sighting has gotten, so do you. Thanks for stopping by!

And thank you again Martin for the gorgeous pictures of these gorgeous birds!