A Family Weekend: Enjoying Hidden KC Gems

You may remember that these two cuties got married in June:

Bro-in-law and seester!!!

Even better than getting married, they CAME TO VISIT US!!! (Okay, so that probably wasn't better than getting married. Not better at all. But still pretty awesome to have your little sister and NEW hubs visit for the weekend!)

While they were here, we discovered a few hidden gems in KC that we'd never experienced before!

The Orchid Cave
This is literally what it is. A man owns an orchid shop, in a cave. It's pretty freaking awesome. I took a billion pictures, but just so you can get the effect, here's a collage:

Yes, there seriously were that many orchids. Here's the $1000 one. Not kidding.

Christopher Elbow Chocolate on Friday Fridays
So, if you're not from KC, Christopher Elbow Chocolates don't mean anything to you...but they're awesome. And expensive. Christopher Elbow creates artisan chocolates right here in KC. And they're expensive, did I mention that? $1.75 for one piece of chocolate. BUT. On First Fridays, chocolates are $1 each! You can bet that we spoiled ourselves with a few. (And you can bet that it's on my calendar and in the budget until infinity to continue spoiling myself each month.)

Me with our chocolates. Pretty excited.

Close-up of these "works of art"...guess I could have taken them out of the bag for a better picture...but whatever.

Tasty Thai Friday Night Seafood Special
Kay and Luke wanted to try some type of food they'd never had before, so Thai it was! We have a great little hole-in-the-wall Thai place 5mins from our apartment that we've enjoyed, so we went there...only to learn that they have a Friday night special of no $5 up-charge for seafood...what?! That was pretty fantastic. And delicious. If you haven't tried Tasty Thai, go immediately.

City Market
While we've definitely already enjoyed this time and again in KC, we're sure to always bring our visitors here b/c it's really something to see. Kay and Luke got a great haul for $12!

West Bottoms Antiquing 
How I haven't enjoyed this until now is beyond me. Kay and I went for 3hrs and then we only stopped b/c our bodies said no more! We went in store after store and floor after floor that were jam-packed and filled to the rafters with antiques. We were so enthralled we didn't take any pictures. It was pretty awesome though. If you're into antiques, this is the place to be. This is also on my calendar until kingdom come.

Swope Park Frisbee Golfing 
While us girls enjoyed antiques, the men headed over to Swope Park for some excellent frisbee golfing, or so we were told. Then they also enjoyed bbq, which is a must if you're in KC.

All too quickly it was Sunday morning and Kay and Luke had to head back to SF for their jobs. We loooooved having them and are SO SAD that they're moving to Rapid City...which makes them 12hrs away from us now. They'll be moving again in December/January after Luke graduates and gets a job. We've been letting them know that there's lots of positions for mechanical engineers here, so if you all could do the same, that'd be great. There's nothing I'd like more than having my sis in the same city as me!

Kansas City Girls' Weekend

My mother-in-law came to visit this weekend, and, despite having known my husband for (almost) half my life...this day and a half was the most time I'd ever spent with her! Guess I just like spending time with her son too much!

Jordan's midterm is tomorrow, so he basically spent the weekend studying (with the exception of a couple meals), which meant lots of time for girl activities!

Friday evening, we went to Gram and Dun for Lisa's birthday dinner. This GastoPub (neither-a-restaurant-or-bar, they told us) is holy-smokes amazing. First, we shared the French Onion Dumplings (Gruyère cheese, sweet onion broth & brioche croutons $9) - six to a plate, wonderful little bites of deliciousness. For an entree, I had the Loaded Baked Potato Gnocchi (house-smoked bacon, cheddar curds, sour cream, chive $17) and it was comfort-food-to-die-for. So delicious. Lisa enjoyed the Blackened Shrimp & Grits (served with jalapeño avocado gravy $19 - super spicy) and halfway through the meal, Jordan traded meals with her and she had the rest of his Cioppino (mussels, shrimp, scallops, tomato, white wine, roasted garlic, served with grilled bread $23). As you can see from the prices, this isn't your everyday restaurant choice. It's fantastic for a special evening or with out-of-town guests. I'm putting this on my visit-again list.

Saturday morning we definitely had to visit City Market. It was a bit of a drizzly morning, so the crowds weren't bad at all. For $7, I snagged a 5lb bag of potatoes, 1 pineapple, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 cup chili powder, 1 cup cayenne powder (the spice scoops are huge, people!), 1lb blueberries. A great deal. Lisa got quite a few things, too, and couldn't get over the ultra-affordable prices. I hadn't been in a few months, and remembered why: when I go, I want to buy everything. I really do. It's pseudo-chef's dream (and probably real chefs, too). I also had to hold back from buying the adorable, pre-planted flower arrangements. I thought it would look perfect on the deck. And herbs. And succulents. And more flowers. And then I had to leave to protect my bank account.

After a quick sandwich lunch at the apartment, we headed out to Belvoir Winery. Set in the Odd Fellows Historic District, it was like driving up to an old plantation ... it made me think of Gone With the Wind, but I'm sure the imagery isn't right at all. The grounds were beautiful, and with the little gazebo set up with white chairs all around, I could just imagine spring and summer weddings happening outside. Lisa and I have similar tastes in wine: we love anything sweet. We enjoyed our wine tasting, and Lisa bought the two dessert wines ($13/bottle): 

• Lucky Pierre - Sweet red dessert wine.  Concord is the base grape used for the blend, also a blend of raspberries and cranberries.
• Sorelle Dolci - Sweet white dessert wine.  Symphony and Cayuga grapes are used for this delicious blend.

We finished out our day at The Elms Spa. Every spa service comes with free access to the Grotto (normally $55/person!), which is a steal when you get a $30 basic manicure (like me!) or a $40 basic pedicure (like Lisa!). We arrived 2.5hrs early for our appointments to enjoy the Grotto. Upon arrival, you're given a plush robe and directed to the women's locker room area. After donning your swimsuit, you're led to the Grotto. The room was smaller than I imaged it would be, and I was worried we'd be bored with 2.5hrs to "kill" - I was mistaken though. It was wonderful to lounge, sit in the hot tub, cool down in the Cold Plunge Shower, then make our way to the Steam Shower to use our sea salt exfoliation. Then it was back to the Cold Plunge Shower (they told us to be sure to keep ourselves cooled down between use of the heated stations) and then into the Steam Sauna or the Dry Sauna. While lounging, there was also a large bowl of damp, peppermint-scented washcloths covered with ice.  Just drape over your face, lounge, and drift off for a nap. This is a perfect girls' escape (or a romantic date!), and I'm thinking it would be fun to get a small group together and go for the afternoon. 

Saturday night, we tried a Marty's bbq - a new bbq place within 5mins of our apartment. Jordan was hoping to find a gem in the city, but the food was nothing special (in fact, the meat was pretty tough and everything else was just ordinary). We wouldn't recommend it. (And the website made the advertiser in me cringe.)

It was a lovely, relaxing weekend. (Lisa and I even squeezed in time for some successful shoe shopping!) 

What are your Girls' Night/Weekend recommendations?

A Most Fantastic (Long) Weekend

A few months ago, I requested time off on March 14&15 to visit home for a variety of things. Magically, this fell during my 2wks notice. Vacation during last 2wks = best.thing.ever.

I skillfully took ZERO pictures during my weekend extravaganza. You'll have to use your imagination. I'm pretty sure there are no pics b/c I had that awesome of a time.

Wednesday, March 13
I love it when work "Friday" happens after only 3 days of work. I left at 5pm, picked up my aunt Kathy, who so graciously decided to ride out with me. Which means lots of chatting and stories and sharing the driving responsibilities (a must when you drive a stick-shift with no cruise control. Leg. Dead.). We arrived in SF at 11pm. I stayed at my sister Kay's apartment and Kathy took mom's car (which was left at Kay's earlier in the day) and headed out to mom and dad's. I looked at Kay's super-cute apartment (way to go with the decorating, Megan!) and then I slept.

Thursday, March 14
Sleep in till 8:20, yeah! Then up and ready and to the jeweler's to drop off my ring for cleaning/checking/re-rhodium plating. (If you're looking for an engagement ring/wedding set...The Diamond Room is the place to go.) HenkinSchultz, my last place of employment in SF, was the next stop on the list. It was great seeing everyone and catching up a very, very teensy bit. Looks like things are still hopping there. A fantastic place to work. Next, I buzzed over to VistaComm, my first job out of college, where I got my 3years of ag marketing experience. I sat in the breakroom for about an hour, laughed my face off and had a general good, crazy time. Which is normal for time with the VC folks. At least with the ones I worked with. Then I bebopped over to M.B. Haskett for lunch with Betsy (yes, another Betsy, not myself in 3rd person), Shalaine, and Jess (all former VC employees!). It was delicious and affordable - I had the Muffaletta  for $6.97. It was so good catching up with these girls, and the hour they had for lunch flew by quickly. Then Jess and I headed back to her car (we rode together to combat the minimal parking in DTSF) and she got me a McCafe Mocha Frappe - YUM. If you haven't had one of these, go immediately. McD's is doing something right with these. After that, I swung by the shop to say hello to my fabulous dad and dear brother. Then I was off to Walmart for a couple items and stopped at Starbucks to waste a bit of time (writing thank-yous) until the next thing on my agenda. I headed over to my friend Ann's NEW HOUSE and enjoyed the grand tour. She just got engaged and is getting married in September, so I got to see her new sparkley and hear all about how wedding plans are going! Then I swung by Chandra's house (she wasn't there, but her hubby let me in and gave me a tour of their recently completed basement!!) and dropped off a frozen meal of Taco Soup for them to enjoy after BABY comes at the end of April! Finally, I headed home to mom and dad's where mom had a fantastic pot roast waiting for dinner. And mashed potatoes. And gravy. And fresh, steamed carrots. Talk about spoiled. Kay came out too, and she spent the weekend there with me.

Exhausted yet?! That was just the 1st day!! I think I was glowing at the end of the day, I had so much fun seeing everyone again.

Friday, March 15
DAY TWO! This was wedding planning day. Yay for sister getting engaged!

Aren't they adorable?
So good-looking they knock your socks off, right?

We went in at 8am so Kay could get some insurance things updated. We registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  We met with the church's wedding coordinator. We finished registering at BB&B. We had BBQs and cake at the shop to celebrate my dad's secretary's (also his aunt/my great aunt) retirement. We met with the lady that's going to do the reception decorating. We picked up a few things at Kay's apartment. We went and looked at her wedding dress so I could see it in person. SO PRETTY!! We picked up my ring from the jeweler. We went to the mall and search for bridesmaids shoes (we're looking for some type of yellow heels, possibly even cute yellow strappy sandals). My feet almost died from traipsing around in my boots all day, so I sat/slept in the car while mom and Kay got groceries. I took Kay to the doc b/c she had a terrible sore throat and was losing her voice. We went to the pharmacist to get her prescription. We (Kay and I) went home and enjoyed lasagna, salad and french bread with dipping oil with mom, dad, Brian, Stacey, and Lucas. After talking around the table for an hour or so, we played a couple rousing games of Apples to Apples. END DAY TWO.

Saturday, March 16
The fabulous dad took my car in and did some work on it (and now I no longer have to roll down my window to get out of the car! You rock, dad!), so I drove his pickup in around 9:30, got my car and headed to my tax appointment. We got a refund! YAY! It's about exactly the same as how much interest has already accured on Jordan's 1st-year med school loan! YAY! I met up with a dear friend from childhood for lunch at Bagel Boy and met her 2nd baby! He's 5wks old tomorrow. Adorable. It was wonderful catching up with her. Then we went to Chandra's baby shower and I saw a couple more friends from forever ago. I used to meet up with these girls once a month for dinner at each other's houses before we moved to KC, so it was wonderful to hang out again.

Friends! Kim, Suzie, Chandra, me, Katie and little Peter!

Afterwards, I went over to Chandra's house for a bit and then I visited Lucas at Coldstone and got some cookie dough ice cream. Yum. Then I zoomed home and went to Grandpa&Grandma Heiberger's house for an hour or so. I swung by my mother-in-law's house and saw the middle stages of her remodeling - they're knocking out walls and everything. It looks awesome! Can't wait to see it when it's done. Finally home for dinner with mom, dad and Kay. Then I packed up my stuff, and mom and I packed up a cooler of meat to take home (THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD!!!). Finished out the night by watching the end of a movie with dad.

Sunday, March 17
By now, I'm certainly exhausted. I went to 8am service with mom, dad, Kay and Lucas, and after talking to a few people at church, went to Scooter's for coffee with wonderful friends, Lana and Cathy. It was so good to catch up with them. Then, I took the rest of my medium white chocolate mocha and headed home! I drove Dad Style, meaning I only stopped to get gas/go to the bathroom ONCE, drove 75-80mph and got home in FIVE hours. Fan.tas.tic.

It was sooo good to see everyone. I miss all you people! And, I'll say it again, we have an extra bedroom and an extra bed - come visit!

The 12 Days of Christmas

I (sort of accidentally) decided to completely check out from "real life" and have a real vacation over Christmas break...which is why the blog silence! Here are our 12 Days of Christmas, in no particular order (and we didn't really have 12 days in SD...that just worked out better with the song...).

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me...1 (DeKrey) family evening for me!
Christmas with the DeKreys (mom's side) was as good as ever: oyster stew, lefsa, homemade fudge, salmon spread, a family Christmas program and a thoughtful $5 gift exchange (complete with aunt Kathy gift spy "kits" to the 5 guy names her family had...cousin Adam got 2 dates!...you know, the kind you can eat!).

Grandma's surprise at getting an iPad for Christmas (from all the "kids" - not grandkids! - so they could keep in touch with everyone from far away)!

Wyoming, Texas and SD...all on one couch!

All the grandkids (minus Matt and Seth, in Texas, and coming soon little Wyoming DeKrey) and two spouses!

Token Christmas Couple Pic!
(Now who can tell me how to flip this the right way?! I have it saved in the correct orientation on my comp, but when I upload it, it does this!)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...2 family meals!
It was really supposed to be one Christmas on Christmas even without Brian and Stacey (who were with Stacey's family) and one with them on the 27th, but snow kept them away for the evening, so we just got spoiled with 2 meals with mom, dad, Kay, and Lucas! Chili one night, lasagna another...homemade ice cream...garlic bread...cookie trays...so spoiled.

Always good to give confusing Christmas gifts.

And really exciting ones.

And unexpected ones.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...3 shoppers shopping!
Once a year, dad goes shopping and knocks out mom's Christmas gift, birthday gift (Dec. 25) and anniversary gift (Jan. 7). Kay and I always go along as his "assistants"...I think we've gotten more helpful as the years go on. This year, we shopped efficiently (only an hour!) and then had brunch at Josiah's. Yum. SF people, definitely go here! I believe my sister called it...snooty...I called it my kind of place. Take that as you will.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...4 days a-traveling!
Yes. We're crazy. 1 day (6hrs) driving to Sioux Falls. 1 day driving (6hrs) to the Black Hills. 1 day (6hrs) driving to Sioux Falls. 1 day (6hrs) driving to KC. Things we noticed on our car trips: heated seats are nice. BK is cheap. Sing really loud with the radio. Listen to crazy talk shows. Take a nap. Hold hands. Drive with cruise control (and without it). Heated toilet seats (we'll be going to that gas station again!). Ice cream. Energy drinks. Read to each other.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...5 big surprises!
My love language isn't gifts, but my husband's expression of love is giving me gifts. Quite the conundrum. He sees Christmas as his one time to really spoil me, much to my chagrin.

Background to the nativity he gave me!

I'm generally frightened opening gifts.

...or having a great (aka crazy) time.

I do love me some Pez. (Really. I love Pez.)

Also, Chai Tea. Really like that, too.

Even a love note from hubby with 10 "free" osteopathic treatments from him :)

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...6 battery jumpings!
The Prism revolts every time we try to go back to KC. This time it was the alternator. Luckily, I'm very spoiled, my dad is really awesome and had us back on the road in 30mins with a new alternator.

#perksofhavingamechanicforadad (can I do that here? lol. probably not.)

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...7 friends a-yapping!
I had a (too brief!) coffee date with 3 of my very dear friends from church...it was so good catching up with them and I miss these girls mucho! I also met up with 3 friends that I met through working at VistaComm. It felt like ages since we'd been together and we chatted it up for over 2hrs. Then Betsy (another Betsy, I'm not referring to myself in 3rd person) graciously let me tag along with on her errands since the hubs and I were sharing a car (and it was obviously not with me).  Last, but certainly not least, I met up with my best friend Chandra to hear of her life and experiences as a soon-to-be mom! So so so excited for her.

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...8 skiers skiing!
This was the trip to the Black Hills! The weather was perfect. Couldn't have asked for better. I escaped unscathed with no wipe outs. We enjoyed beers (Jordan and dad) and peppermint schnapps hot chocolate (mom, Kay and me) to warm up from the slopes. In the evening we ventured out for dinner in downtown Deadwood and soaked a bit in the hotel hot tub. A good trip.

Me & hubs!

Boyfriend & seester!

Friend, brother & dad!

Dad & mom!

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...9 days of no medical school!
Hubby graced me with 9 days of his presence...uninterrupted from medical school! He passed his first semester and is looking forward to the next. I'm so proud of him (and was SUPER thankful for stress-free, no-commitments days of togetherness)!

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...10 bites o'prime rib! 
Jordan's mom makes a mean prime rib for Christmas dinner, and this year was no exception. Spoiled doesn't cut it. We also played a game of Phase 10 and checked out the new garage his mom and stepdad are adding to the house.

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...11 minutes hot-tubbing!
We spent one evening with Jordan's friend, Graham, who was also home for the holidays...from St. Louis! We're hoping to get out there to visit him one of these days, after all, it's only 4hrs from KC - which is a heck of a lot closer than driving to SF to see each other (okay, only 2hrs closer, but still). Graham's mom and her husband have an outdoor hottub...and there's nothing like hottubbing outdoors in the SD winter!

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...12 Heibergers gifting!
Christmas at grandma and grandpa's is a favorite of the Heiberger cousins...nothing says Christmas like walking into grandma's house! Wine, meat & cheese trays, cracker baskets, homemade pies galore, cookie plates, grandma's corn (aka 1 whole stick of butter...yummmm....), turkey, mashed potatoes, ham, salad...need I go on?

Puzzle time! 100 chickens and a worm!

Heibergers!

These expressions pretty much explain all of hubby's and my interactions.

It was a restful holiday and we are so blessed to have the fabulous family that we do. We are so thankful for each of them! And so thankful for friends from home! We miss you all A LOT and if you'd ever like a short vacation, we have an open room, an open bed and would love to show you some good ol' KC bbq ;)

We're Thankful for...

FAMILY!

It was so good to be home and see both sides of the family...what a blessing! We also went to Jordan's mom's and stepdad's for a delicious steak dinner (shame on me, I forgot to take pictures!!). I didn't get pictures of my coffee with Jess or my lunch at Chandra's either...so glad I was able to catch up with both these girls...miss them already!

Here's our weekend:

Thanksgiving at Dad & Mom's!
Dad carving the turkey, Mom washing dishes, Grandma working on gravy.

"Little" brother!!

Hungry boys first!

Cousins! (and bonus boyfriend!)

Turkey time!

Cousin Alaina with the SEVEN pies. She wanted to have a piece of each one. 

Sister & Boyfriend: The talented pie (and pumpkin cheesecake!) makers! They can make me a pie any day.

Family Christmas picture!
(minus Brian & Stacey, who were at Stacey's parents' house...we missed them!)

My amazing parents! Love you!

Me & my favorite! Love my hubby!

Apparently being cute and acting goofy runs in the family!
(it's a prerequisite for  being our "other", too, as you can see)

Heiberger Lasagna Supper!

Hungry boys (men!) first! (again!)

Cousins Adam, Bekah and hubby Mark.

Yay!

Apples to Apples...Lucas won!

Hope you were able to have a wonderful holiday weekend with your family!

The Great Reupholstery Adventure

1. Locate oatmeal-colored chair in need of fashion help.

2. Let husband see you using power tools so he can remark that you are woefully out of your element. Let husband take over disassembly of oatmeal-colored chairs.

3. Locate expert and engineer. Hopefully both are available for dessert-labor.

Aunt Kathy: Expert. Cousin Beth: Engineer.
Photo courtesy of Kathy's fb page.

4. Enlist expert for proper cutting technique. Use proper fabric markers, such as butter knives, so you know where to cut. Note: this is the side of the fabric that hubby suggested we use.

5. Staple appropriately.

6. Figure out how to de-bulk the corners and remove 50 billion staples from previous upholstery.

7. Under guidance of expert and engineer, beat bulkified seat cushions back into place using shoe.

8. Admire fabric massacre.

9. Admire must-have, 50%-off fabric that's now making the kitchen set look brand-new.

Thank you Kathy & Beth - you two ROCK! I couldn't have done it without you! Love you both!