when nana & papa visit KC

my parents came to visit this labor day weekend from iowa and stella could not have been more thrilled to have them here.  she made a sign for them earlier that morning and we hung it on our front door to welcome them after a long drive.  it was a pretty low key visit which gave us plenty of time to hang out together and relax.  as always when people come to our neck of the woods, we tried to show them a good ol' kansas city time taking them to some of our favorite places.  

the weather here has been hot and quite humid, so we let stella cool off at the splash pad on saturday afternoon.  she spent the entire time concentrating on filling buckets with water.  as other kiddos ran around screaming, she just took her bucket to and fro filling it at various fountains wth concentrated brows.  we walked home passing the ducks and beautiful summer blooms that were swarming with bees and butterflies.  living close to the park is pretty great.

for lunch we dined at the westside local over in one of our favorite neighborhoods.  the restaurants and shops over in the westside of kansas city, missouri are lovely and quaint.  they always promise a good time.    

after lunch and afternoon naps, the adults headed out to watch a sporting KC match.  my parents had never been to the new soccer complex and they loved the vivacious atmosphere.  we sat close to the crazy cauldron fans which was nothing short of exhilarating.  don't get me wrong, it was sweltering hot, but fun nonetheless.  nothing that a giant blue lemonade couldn't fix. ;)

sunday brought with it a visit to the river market after the most beautiful early morning rain storm.  is there anything better than waking up to rain?  i think not.  it was one of those rains where you pull the covers up tight around your neck and snuggle in closer to your husband.  this morning stella came in early so i had two snuggle bunnies to keep warm next to.  we stayed in bed a little longer than usual watching lion king which stella calls "lion show".  she is all about the lions.

at the river market we admired the colorful bouquet and seasonal vegetables as musicians played guitar on various corners.  one man was playing a gorgeous version of leonard cohen's "hallelujah".  while walking around, we spotted many gorgeous cowboy boots at the flea.  i love thinking about the stories behind all those boots and the interesting tales they must tell.  

with rumbling tummies, we made way to the crosroads to lulu's for some thai food.  sundays and thai food just go so well together.  my dad had never been to lulu's in particular and said he would for sure like to go back sometime.  for someone who is a pretty harsh critic regarding most things food, that is a high compliment.  

the rest of the weekend included trying some seasonal fall beer (finally pumpkin flavored everything is here!), papa playing dress up with stella, everyone sharing nibbles of crumpets and apple fritters, and just being all around goofy.  we sure love it when they come see us and hope to see them soon.  grandparents really do make everything better.  just ask stella!   

how we do summer // part III

we do outdoorsy things like shakespeare in the park.  

we frequent ricos taco lupe for some cheap street tacos on tuesday.  

 we spend hours at the park.  going up slides. 

 we swing. 

 some of us nap. 

 andrew and i date at outdoor concerts.  this was gogol bordello and the killers at buzz under the stars night II.  'twas premium. 

 i expand my vintage scarf collection by hitting up local fleas.  found these gems at cowtown on a sunday. 

 we pick wild flowers. 

 we try new places, like oceans of fun.  stella loved it.  i promise. 

 we savor watermelon on nana's cool mexican blanket. 

 we visit the plaza library weekly. 

 we read marcel the shell over and over and over because it's the best book ever.   

 we jam to simon and garfunkel.  

 we paint our toes the same shade of red and snuggle in bed. 

 we pickle everythang.

 and eat lots and lots of yummy in season foods. 

 while drinking lots and lots of coffee in our new espresso machine. 

and then there's little freshie where we sip on homemade sodas.  she had strawberry rhubarb and i had blackberry lavender.  pretty wonderful stuff. 

sweet summer is winding down and we have so much to be thankful for.  looking back through our photos i am in awe of how much we have done throughout the past few weeks.  we are busy bees, indeed!  the four of us have been leisurely tackling our summer bucket list, doing things as they organically surface.  it feels better that way.  there are only a few more weeks to get some fun stuff in for autumn arrives so we will surely take advantage of them.  oh, delicious autumn!  i cannot wait for scarves and tights and mustard colored everything.  i really cannot.  but for now, our focus is summer, so summer we shall devour. 

for more on how we do summer check out part I & part II.  

spring, you made it!

words cannot express how grateful i am for spring.  we have been sleeping with the windows in our bedroom cracked open, just barely, to let the cool night air hug us as we cuddled in bed.  mornings have been filled with more sunlight and bird songs.  sprinklings of green have sprung up in unexpected places, and the rain has been falling sporadically throughout the day.  it's been wonderful, this short bout of spring that we've seen thus far.  

last friday our trio headed out to the crossroads district to meet up with andrew's parents for dinner.  we ate at the jacobson, which i can confess has thee best burger i've ever tasted.  i wasn't able to get it this time because of my aversion to meat, but i had a salad and it was quite good.  after dinner, andrew and i hitched stella up in the ergo and went on a little adventure downtown called "first fridays".  the ergo is one of the best purchases we made after having stella.  we take it everywhere when warm weather and walking are in the forecast.  

if you have never been to kansas city on a first friday, you are missing out.  creative people come out of the woodwork of this city to celebrate the arts, music, food, and wine.  it's a real party and perfect for people watching, too.  we did a lot of that, amidst some gallery hopping.  i spotted a cupcake food truck and and got a strawberry cream for dessert.  it was huge and really sugary...just what i was craving.  i've really been all about the sugar these days.  

after walking around the streets of kansas city, listening to music, and soaking up the warm spring air, we headed home content and smiling.  spring, you have already been very good to us.  we thank you for that, and look forward to more weekend adventures.