ALL PLAIDOUT

This is my America.

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We may only have twenty rolls of toilet paper, but thanks to Parker’s Table, we have a case of Lambrusco. #priorities🍷🧻 (at Parker's Table at Oakland & Yale) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Lbi8-F1db/?igshid=1josku95blxb3

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Happy Hour. @coorsbanquet (at DeMun, St. Louis) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-F8XwkB3sL/?igshid=smoiskvkzyo4

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Have you ever eaten a grapefruit so good that you have dreams about it? #rubyred https://www.instagram.com/p/B8-RLc-ly9y/?igshid=1skcx71a94620

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A weekend spent eating at the best restaurants in #STL [@smokehousemarket, @louiedemun, @saltandsmokestl, @balkantreatbox (pictured)] was made better by a good, long catch-up with my friend Jonah Mueller, @akabigworm. While wrapping our winter hibernation bodies in the finest meats and breads from Balkan Treat Box, we discussed the many turns a life can take. He and I have led similar paths of late, and communion with like minded individuals was just what the doctor ordered this weekend. I’m so grateful to Jonah for taking time to get together in my hometown, and I am grateful to know he and I have found many instances to count blessings in the past year, food apparently being chief among them. (at Balkan Treat Box) https://www.instagram.com/p/B89GjgElfqV/?igshid=14g62yin9ohj6

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Mid-May, we adopted him to better bond me with my younger step-daughter. At the time, the transition from one father to another every other weekend was fairly challenging, and it presented scenarios where she felt like I stole her mother from her, like I was not going to be there for her in the same way a biological parent would. On the advice of her therapist, my wife suggested that our daughter and I try adopting a pet together. It improved my relationship not just with our younger daughter but with the whole family, bringing into our family the sweetest, gentlest male energy in the form of little Theo. He was the calmest of the three Cream Tabby brothers we saw that day. I would have picked a more energetic kitten, but she picked Theo, further proving that she is the best judge of character in our family. In time since, he fell asleep every night for the first couple months in my arms, and my arms only to Baby Mozart. He bonded most with my wife who treats him like her favorite child. He hunts squirrels from the window. His palate has evolved from freeze-dried salmon snacks to organic rotisserie chicken. He is constantly perched on the master bathroom door. He drinks exclusively from tall cups. He had a near-death experience with some lily pollen. He has changed our life. The nine-year-old would still admit that she feels like I stole her mother from her, but our relationship is injected with a trust like I have never known, and she has forded the Two Fathers River far more ably than we could have ever asked her to, and we think it’s due in large part to our sweet boy kitten. Happy Birthday, Theo. You really live up to your name: “God-given gift.” We are forever in your debt. #stepdaddiaries (at Clayton, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B87zKz7FQNT/?igshid=4nxr7dttav18

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I want to be great or nothing. - Amy March, Little Women . . . Today, our eldest scored eight of her team’s sixteen goals in the finals of her winter season, walked away undefeated and donning gold medals. To say we are proud would be an understatement. #stepdaddiaries (at Clayton, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pF6iChfj-/?igshid=4d7lk4u5v7kg

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A soft, goodnight kiss to you. I’m doing nothing but looking. - Georgia O’Keeffe (at DeMun, St. Louis) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ksS3KFkD1/?igshid=3ecbnav5b99r

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, skip the fancy restaurant, and make a meal at home with the ones you love. Download “Julia Child,” my @spotify mix for a little romance and dance around your kitchen. With eight hours of my favorite music to cook to, you can’t go wrong. 🎶🍷🎶 🥘 #linkinbio #playlist (at Clayton, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hz4K_lmxj/?igshid=1od69vmtehqrp

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#wastlerwagon c/o @thedunebuggy (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8e6b1vh0px/?igshid=uf847i7khjrx

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Morning All-Staff. (at France) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8eKdxAB6Hu/?igshid=1lzwd8ar50v45

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Monday. (at Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Z_rbNBtI-/?igshid=q9bt5uz46hwz

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“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as beauty, and I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it.” - Louisa May Alcott, from Rose in Bloom . . . Total fake-out from @campwandawega had me thinking it was International Women’s Day all day today. Well, like Wandawega’s David, Tereasa and Charlie, I celebrate this day every day thanks to these three incredible forces you see here. They inspire, thrill, love, and fill me with consternation on an almost hourly basis, succeeding in tolerating that which few others have. I’m grateful today, and March 8th, and every other day of the year for my women: the two little ones, and our very own Marmee. God blessed me when she put you in my life. #littlewomen #internationalwomensday (at Kansas City, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B743O88B8PL/?igshid=8qrbuziwy26n

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The deluxe package. #wastlerwagon (at Southwest Diner) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ygRfxBAzf/?igshid=1bnc9zq6u6v27

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Gone too soon. #RIPeanut (at Schnucks) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wFAVrh5hd/?igshid=unb61lplk5gw

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Tell me something about yourself that others might find surprising.🍕 @louiedemun (at Louie on DeMun) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7uUPvylt5s/?igshid=65v4x91u4k19

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Congratulations to the Captain. #bhof #myfarewellcaptain #tbt (at Schutt Sports) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7muyWpFUJ-/?igshid=r6idl6db13xo

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Snow Day Prep 🐈 (at Clayton, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7bE8YcFpZy/?igshid=106gzy0fm1fum