St. Louis Valentine's Day

Happenings around town for Valentine's Day:

Parsimonia and Heartland Revival DIY Party. Create a candle in a teacup! 2/14 at 6:30pm For details see their event page.

Handmade Happy Hour: Sweetheart Edition. Jan 31st 5-9. For more information, see their event page.

White Castle Romance. Seriously!
Candlelight. Romance. Sliders. You'll find it all at White Castle on Valentine's Day. Once again, the burger chain is serving up a special Valentine's meal complete with candles, tableside service and romantic decor. Dinner will be served from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., at all local White Castle locations. You do need to call ahead to make a reservation.
February 14, 2014
(314) 535-7430 ext. 12

Happy Slurping!

I was introducted to Erin of Soup 4 You in the Lou, and thought immediately that it must be fate! She has soup, I have spoons. What could be more perfect? Well, there IS something more perfect... really delicious soup that is delivered to you! We thought this was worth sharing, so please keep reading for more details!

Everyone loves a delicious steaming bowl of soup, but who has time to cook? Let Soup 4 You in the Lou do the dirty work! Soup 4 You in the Lou offers delicious and healthy homemade soups, delivered to your home. Are you having a dinner party and need a first course? Do you need something quick and easy on hand for lunch or dinner during the week? Have you signed up for a Meal Train for someone who just had a baby or is recuperating from an illness? Then Soup 4 You in the Lou has just what you need!  All soups are chicken stock based but can be prepared vegetarian or vegan upon request.

Menu:
Creamy White Bean with Rosemary
Roasted Tomato Basil
Wild Mushroom Bisque
Butternut Squash with Apples and Curry
Moroccan Red Lentil
Potato Leek

Half Quart: $6 (except mushroom, which is $8)

Quart: $10 (except mushroom, which is $12)

Gift packaging available in reusable mason jars with a wooden spoon from Sucre Shop for an additional charge of $1 for a half quart and $2 for a quart.  You will receive a discount on your next order if you reuse your jar.

Visit www.facebook.com/soup4youlou to order and to receive the latest offerings.  Or you can email orders to soup4youlou@gmail.com.  Please allow at least two days to fill your order.

Holiday Event With Sucre Shop & Whisk Bakeshop

We are just super excited about putting together this event for you! It's going to be all about cookies, crafts and just a fun holiday get together. I hope you'll join us!

For more information, visit our Facebook event page. I hope you'll join us!

Cardinal Nation

Home, Sweet Home!

I love this place! I am not from St. Louis, but moved here 5 years ago and call it home. I've posted before about my favorite party supply stores in St. Louis, and now I'm moving on to other things.

We've got a great community here of artists, makers and small business owners... thanks for stopping by to read about some of my favorites!

Billy Goat Chips
Before moving to St. Louis with my husband's job, we were brought here on a "meet me in St. Louis" tour of the city, complete with recruiting expensive dinners, tours, talks, etc. Little did they know, all they really had to do was give me a bag of Billy Goat Chips and I would have been sold. What do they put on those things?? I am not really a potato person, I don't love fries and I don't love chips. But I beyond-love Billy Goat Chips. Try them. That's all.

Kakao chocolate
From their website:

Fresh cream, real butter, vanilla bean seeds - no extract. The finest spices, nuts and liquers, crafted into velvety confections and hand-dipped into a special Kakao blend of chocolate.

Sounds amazing, right? It IS! They have locations in two of our favorite shopping districts in town, in Maplewood and also off Cherokee. Want to know what else they do? Chocolate tastings! I have one scheduled for 20 of my nearest and dearest in the holiday season, and I can't wait!

Indie Mats

An business based on an idea so simple and wonderful if makes you pause and wonder why you never thought of it. Indie Mats are, well, mats. Except they're so much more exciting because instead of a boring solid mat, these are beautifully designed with colors and patterns you will want in your home. You can use them inside your picture frames, or better yet, mount your photos or artwork in an Indie Mat, throw away those old frames, and stick your Indie Mat right to the wall!
These mats are made in a variety of sizes and designs, including designs by founders Emma Hand and Anne Sommers, and also a newly released set designed by 1canoe2 and Amy Butler.


Cheree Berry Paper
Collaborations include: Jonathan Adler, Kate Spade, J. Crew, Lilly Pulitzer, Darcy Miller, Dylan's Candy Bar... I mean, come on! This is an amazing list! Cheree Berry paper is just classy and beautiful.

My favorite thing on their website? The header on their party invitation says "I'm sorry, what's an evite?"

HA!

Princess Nimble Thimble Dolls
I met the creator of these dolls a few years ago through a friend and was instantly taken with her and her creations! These dolls are in the #5 spot for top sales in the "dolls" category on Etsy, and believe me, they are in high demand! She lists them, and BOOM, they're gone. Not kidding, it's crazy.

They're bendy dolls with wire cores, happy faces, and hand cut and sewn - originally designed, I might ad - clothes. My daughter has a small collection. I play with them often.

Fitz's

I just like to go in and pick up a 6 pack of rediculously good soda, including flavors like coffee, hip hop pop (like a Dr. Pepper), key lime soda and classics like grape, orange cream and strawberry. We love to eat in their restaurant when they're busy bottling on the line and we can watch all the action.
Favorite float? The Mocha Magic. Coffee cola with chocolate ice cream, hershey chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Happy hour at Starbucks has nothing on Fitz's.

What's yours??
If you are a local artist, crafter or small business owner, we'd love to hear about it! Please comment and let us know!

Frozen Custard: sooooo good!

Rich, gooey, sweet and delicious - frozen custard is the taste of summer evenings here in the mid-west. Made with more eggs yolks than traditional ice cream so it's thicker, it's often swirled with flavorings and toppings for a truly indulgent treat.

St. Louis is blessed with quite a number of great local frozen custard shops. Ted Drewe's is one of the most famous; our favorite is Fritz's - we love to order the 'Turtle Concrete', ultra-thick custard that's swirled with caramel and chopped pecans. It's so dense you can turn the cup upside down and it won't shift!

Have you tried it? What's your favorite flavor combination?

Image courtesy of Food Network

St. Louis Party Supplies

Sucre Shop's studio is based in St. Louis, and we sure love this city we live in! I'm not a born and raised mid-westerner, but I really admire the way this big city acts like a small one. Still we have all the amenities of living somewhere much larger, including all of these fantastic local places which help our parties go with a bang:

This list of our favorite local party suppliers will be followed by a whole series of our St. Louis faves, so check back in.

SUPPLIES

The place I run to for most party supplies is American Carnival Mart. Their retail store is amazing! They are also direct importers to stadiums, parks, and events, and all those items are available for purchase in store too. You know the biggest Party City you've ever been to? This place is twice as big and 5 times as cool. Think popcorn and cotton candy supplies, tickets, pinata fillers and more. Psssst... their online store is amazing too.

SWEETS

In Kirkwood the Sugar Shack has nostalgic sweets galore! Jar after apothecary jar filled with rainbows of new and nostalgic goodness. Our favorite? The mini cotton candy swirls! Oh, so sweet.

SPACE

Hmmm, where should you have your party? Probably the Foundrie! The private space in the back of their store in Chesterfield Mall is massive and gorgeous. It used to be a Pottery Barn Kids store, so you can imagine the layout - lots of cool nooks and shelving, which the Foundrie has decorated so beautifully. It's the perfect blank space in which you can add sophistication if your party is for adults, and to decorate and still have space to run around if you're hosting a party for kiddos. It's also reasonably priced. One of the best deals in town. And while you're in the Foundrie, look around at all the local artists' work!

CUPCAKES

There are so many amazing cupcake places in town: The Sweet Divine and Jilly's Cupcake Bar have both taken home awards from Food Network's show Cupcake Wars. But I think the consensus among locals is that the best around is The Cup. St. Louis' first cupcake bakery is in the Central West End and it rules supreme in our book. We also like that one day a month they donate a percentage of their sales to a local charity.

PROPS

What's a party without props? Whether you're accessorizing a photo booth, decorating a sweets table, or setting up decor, you can bet Finch Vintage Rentals has something beautiful! Their website lists what they carry, so it's an easy go-to. If you're taking things a little riskier, the antique market on Fifi and Olive has something for your theme. This place is filled to the brim with hidden treasure - horseshoes, birthday candles, glassware and everything else you need to make your party perfect.

Go out and explore! Let us know your other St. Louis faves, and keep an eye out for our upcoming St. Louis posts.

St. Louis Pop-Up Shop Grand Opening!

You're invited! Please come see meet owner Brooke and see our whole range of products, this Saturday May 25. There may be a few giveaways and other surprises!

St. Louis Radio Interview - Today!

Hope you'll tune in today to listed to our owner Brooke talking about life, her love of spoons and all things party. It may be a call in show, so get those questions prepped and dialing fingers ready!

Feast Magazine - The Big Idea

As a St. Louis based business, we are so incredibly grateful to be given this great feature by great local foodie/entertainment mag Feast! What an amazing piece by Brandon Chuang,

"Brooke Pratt may not realize it, but she's not real. She can't be. Her meteoric rise from stay-at-home mom and blogger to successful boutique craftswoman that has been spotlighted by the likes of Food & Wine magazine, HGTV and the Today show is the stuff of Disney movies. She even has a fairy godmother: Martha Stewart, whose magazine was the first to cover Pratt and her hand-printed wooden utensils."

See the whole article here. Big thanks to Brandon, Feast Magazine, and J. Pollack Photography for a great story and photo about Sucre Shop!

To shop, please click here to visit our Etsy shop.

Love To Be Local

Sucre Shop is a St. Louis based operation, and we love our hometown. Imagine how happy we are to find out that they love us too! Thanks, Feast! Feast Magazine, August, 2012