Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream

Ice cream n cake n cake

What’s better than spending a hot summer evening than eating ice cream? I thought that made a good opportunity to see the cake at Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream.
This ice cream shop isn’t just your typical commercial ice cream shop.

This store has been opened since 2003 and is in the heart of Webster Groves. They have over 30 homemade unique flavors, although they aren’t served all at the same time. That’s the shops way of getting you to go back and try them all.

Colin and Andrew both wanted to try flavors that weren’t available at the time, Pumpkin Pie and Coconut. I tried a little scoop of Gooey Butter Cake and Cake Batter. They were pretty good. My mom and my husband both had Toasted Marshmellow. My dad tried Caramel ice cream after the Key Lime Pie was sold out. Colin had Strawberry Cheesecake and Andrew had Cookie Monster which was Cotton Candy ice cream with oreos and cookie dough mixed in.

Cake artist - Marianne Baer

One hundred-five down 145 to go.

Brightside

Beautify cake

Brightside, formerly known as Operation Brightside, helps make St. Louis a more beautiful place to live, work, learn and grow. Their projects beautify public areas in neighborhoods, downtown, and along highways. They remove graffiti from vandalized properties and put on an annual city-wide clean up, called Project Blitz.

Volunteer opportunities are available from February to November:

• February - March: Sow annual seeds at greenhouse in Forest Park
• March: Plant window boxes for City Hall
• May: Plant downtown and at Lake Louie
• May - November: Nurture Lake Louie gardens, I-64 @ 20th Street exit
• July - October: Mentor neighborhood garden projects
• October - November: Assist with daffodil plantings

Cake artist - George Grove

One hundred-four down 146 to go.

Grand Avenue

Grand cakes

These cakes were on a stretch of Grand Avenue from Highway 70 to Olive Street.

Grand Avenue Water Tower

The Grand Avenue Water Tower was built in 1871 in the form of a Corinthian order column with brick, stone and cast iron trim. It was used for  firefighting and for regulating the water pressure for the area. Beacons were placed on top of the tower and served as navigational aids to pilots seeking Lambert International  Airport.

Legend has it that Charles Lindbergh once used the lights to find his way home when he was lost in a Mississippi River fog.


Cake artist - Gina Harmon

Ninety-nine down 151 to go.

Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls Club provides a safe place for children to learn and grow to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

The Herbert Hoover Boys Club, named after the president, was founded on the site of Sportsman’s Park. When the St. Louis Cardinal’s ballpark was moved downtown August A. Busch, Jr. and Anheuser-Busch Brewery donated the property for use as a boys club. In 1990 was when they added "Girls".

Cake artist - Richard Rice

One hundred down 150 to go.

Powell Symphony Hall


Powell Symphony Hall is home to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Originally called The St. Louis Theater, it was built in 1925 with 4,100 seats. It spent the first 40 years of its existence as a stage for live vaudeville performances as well as motion pictures. The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of a man named George. He is supposedly seen in a white suit and white hat and is thought to be that of a former vaudevillian. He is said to play with the lights and the elevators.

During the 1980s, several theaters in the area, including the Fox Theatre, were renovated. By the end of that decade, a major initiative to revitalize the area had evolved into what is known as the Grand Center.

Cake artist - Earl Miller

One hundred-one down 149 to go.

Fabulous Fox Theater

The Fabulous Fox Theater was built in 1929 by William Fox as a showcase for the films of the Fox Film Corporation. It closed almost 50 years later. Fox Associates purchased the theater and it went through a $3 million restoration and reopened in September 1982

We've been to the Fox several times. Twice to see George Carlin. We also saw Jerry Seinfeld and Madea Goes to Jail, where Tyler Perry came out at the end of the play to chat and answer questions. Can you tell we like the comedies?

Cake artist - Rick Monrotus

One hundred-two down 148 to go.

Big Brothers and Sisters

The Big Brothers started back in 1904, when a court clerk from New York wanted to help the troubled boys he saw come through the courts. In 1977 Sisters was added so now we have the Big Brothers and Sisters. Volunteer mentors help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships.

I saw the cake sitting in front of the Fox Theater ticket office, but knew it didn't belong there. At first I thought it belonged to the City Dinner that site east of the Fox. When we got back to the car I found out it didn't belong to the City Diner. I actually looked through Michael  photos and found it belonged to the Big Brothers and Sisters about one block west of the Fox.

Cake artist - Laura Weinrich

One hundred three down 147 to go.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

No doubt about it this bird deserves a cake

Today with newspapers dying left and right it is good to know that the Post Dispatch Weather Bird is still flying high. If I was to pick the top St Louis institution it would be the Weather Bird. This bird has been flying high for over a century and shows no sign of giving up. Heat, frigid cold, floods, tornadoes, and blown calls that lost a world series the weather bird has survived them all. The Weather Bird is a trickster and uses some slick puns, some bad ones too, to get his message across. Weather bird will take on any politician and injustice and set the record straight. Weather Bird shows the heart of St Louis and displays it succinctly and compactly.

“ The Post was given a blank cake and I was asked if I could decorate it,” said Dan Martin Post-Dispatch artist who draws the Weather Bird.  Once Martin saw the cake he immediately knew it had to be a Weather Bird Cake. After the design was approved Martin got to work, decorating the cake using outdoor house paint.  “ For a couple of weeks I would go down to an abandoned part of the press room where the plate room was and paint. It’s been on display in the lobby but will now be perched outside through the end of the year.”

(From the Blog written by Suzanne Corbett)

Guest blogger - Rich

Ninety-eight down 152 to go.

Weather Bird and Cake artist Dan Martin

Church of the Holy Family

 Log Cabin Church Cake

Church of the Holy Family in Cahokia, Illinois ,  is a breathtaking  example of an early log church. My words would not do this place justice so you can read about this early log church at the blog Rome of The West. 

The care taker of the church was friendly and helpful. It was very hot the day we seen the church but it had air conditioning. We were told that it does not have heat in the winter.

It was a fine place for quiet reflection. For some reason our attention was drawn to the bell tower in the steeple. 

Guest blogger - Rich

Cake artist - Screwed Arts collective 

Ninety-seven down 153 to go.

Old Cahokia Courthouse Site

Dismantle cake

Built around 1740, the Old Cahokia Courthouse was originally a residence then a courthouse.

In 1904, the court house was one of Illinois oldest building. Promoters for the St. Louis World's Fair bought it, dismantled it, and rebuilt it as a fair attraction. At the end of the fair it was dismantled and moved again for the rebuilding of Jackson Park in Chicago.

With each move, the building would lose parts of timber that was used in the original construction. Cahokia residents lobbied for the court house to be returned. When it was rebuilt on the original site, it also contains some pieces of timber from the original structure.

The building contains a small museum of colonial life in Cahokia and a recreation of the courtroom.

Cake artist - Justin Tolentino

Ninety-six down 154 to go.

Malcolm W. Martian Memorial Park

We need more MRO in our cake.

I must admit I did not know this place existed, and the people who are there did not know it exists either.

As we were driving to the Malcolm W. Martian Memorial Park my wife said the there is a world-famous fountain at the park. Seeing a couple coming off the Mississippi River Overlook, known as the MRO on park signage, I inquired about the location of the fountain, or The Gateway Geyser. This park is such a well-kept secret that they were the only other people in the park area and it is a big park. They informed me that they did not know that there was a water feature about except for the mighty Mississippi.


I thought there must be some sort of fountain there because the logo of the park was a fountain. Walking up the MRO I was on a sharp lookout for geyser. I was quickly rewarded and saw the structure. I told my wife it must be off for maintenance and she told me that it goes off every three hours.

It was a very hot day and I did not feel like hanging out for an hour and a half in the blazing afternoon sun. I liked this park and looked around as much as I could till the heat got to me. I will go back when it is cooler and at either twelve or three o'clock to watch the geyser.

Guest blogger - Rich

Artist  Theresa Hopkins

Ninety-five down 155 to go.