Amy Writes It All: Happy Birthday, Melissa!

A belated Happy Birthday to my dear, dear friend Melissa - who celebrated 36 years on Saturday! WooHoo! Originally, we had to turn down the invite to go out with the Schneid's because we were supposed to have Isabella this weekend. But Isabella opted to spend the weekend up in Hannibal, so Grammy drove down to get some Sean-time in, and let us go out for the evening.

We had an absolute blast! I was already tired from the Backyardigans excursion with Sean that morning, and didn't get the nap in that afternoon that I probably needed. Oh well, I pushed on through 'till 2am! We picked up Andy & Melissa and headed to Roberto's in South County - a very unassuming strip mall restaurant from the outside. But we indulged in amazing Italian cuisine, a fine bottle of wine, and then each ordered a dessert to share. Trey and I dropped all the remaining profits from our garage sale, but it was well worth it for a once or twice a year dinner with best friends. I had a Filet/Shrimp duo that was divine, and while I enjoyed my chocolate avalanche, Andy's homemade cannoli was the best I've ever tasted!

Afterwards, we followed Trey's suggestion to Novak's - an unlikely destination for two 30-something married couples. Novak's is a lesbian-friendly bar down in a revitalized part of the city - only five or so minutes from our old apartment, but a million miles away from our current home in St. Peters! They have a drag show every Saturday night, plus a DJ afterwards - and we loved every bit of it!

First off, I can honestly say I don't ever remember seeing pregnant women out back in my dancing, bar-hopping days. So I don't know if the stares were more for being cute or for being pregnant! And you can really get through a crowd of people in front of the restroom when you're pregnant! Novak's has one of the most diverse crowds I have ever seen - lesbians, gays, straight couples, black, white and everything in between - the people watching was some of the best I've experienced in this rather normal Midwestern city. Even if we were in the minority, we never felt uncomfortable or unwanted - we danced our butts off, drank (Sprite and water for me!), and chilled out on the outdoor patio as needed. One of the "bouncers" - a could-hardly-have-been-old-enough-to-be-there girl guarding the exit off the dance floor - rubbed on my belly, excited for me, though apparently unimpressed with the name Ryan. And Trey acknowledged the multiple men sizing him up (I mean, he is too cute for words!), but shook his tokous anyway!

So I can't recommend Roberto's or Novak's enough! I should have probably taken photos at the beginning of the night, rather than at the end - after we've been sweating and dancing for couple of hours...