Back from The Big KC

Details from the Unity Church in The Plaza.

They have a vegetarian cafe inside called Edan Alley. Really good food and a really cool atmosphere. They also have a patio where you can sit outside and eat while people watching. Tip--use the parking garage next to the church. We originally tried to park on the street , but there was none. Once we spotted the sign on the church that said Edan Alley was inside (in the basement --FYI) we spotted the garage. Easy, free parking. Since The Plaza is the mecca for all the chic designer stores, the variety of people at any given time is immense and varied. Parking is "interesting". Thankfully we found this garage..Also, the bread and agave butter they bring you before dinner is so good it will bring tears to your eyes!! You can shop in the gift store while they are preparing your food. They have a lot of really interesting things from all beliefs and religious traditions.

This is the view from one of the hills right outside KC, MO. Actually Staci and I were riding around in a neighborhood of really huge houses. Mega million dollar houses. This is a view from an empty lot that was for sale. The houses on either side of it were easily 5,000 square feet. Damn! What do you do for a living to be able to pay the mortgage on a house like that?! Not to mention the fact that nobody in that area had a car that was more than a year old. Damn...
Above is the Chef (male) and the assistant for the Choux pastry class Staci and I took this weekend. I loved listening to this guy talk. He is from France and I think I'd pay just to hear him read the newspaper! The class was wonderful and I learned a lot! I will be making cream puffs and eclairs for the boys this coming weekend. The Quick and Healthy cooking class was also worth every penny. There are several recipes I will be making this week. They are quick, easy and really great tasting. An interesting thing the Chef did was to stop at the end and make us think about the fact that we were satisfied. Not gut busting full or still hungry, but satisfied. I guess we tend to eat on auto-pilot.

It was fun to be there, but Dorothy is right--there really is no place like home. Staci and I ran around and explored Kansas City (both the Kansas side and the Missouri side of KC) and a lot of points in between. One thing we discovered about KC and the 'burbs is that although you may start out on a street, if you proceed straight, with no curves, you will not be one the same street when you end..Several times we headed down one street, only to realize the street name had changed..WTF?!! The original street is actually a block or 6 away. Strange.



One thing that got a little trampled while in KC was the budget. I did a lot of buying and eating out always costs you out the wazoo. I was pretty conservative in the eateries, but it still costs. The hotel we were staying in had a fridge in the room so we did save a little by getting provisions at Whole Foods such as yogurt and milk for breakfast.



My only complaint about the Overland Park Whole Foods Market was the fish counter really smelled--I think they may want to investigate whether the ice under the fish needs to be changed. It should not have smelled that way and for that distance. Another thing I noticed was the dated on the milk in glass bottles are not being watched carefully. I bought some milk and it turned out to be sour. I hadn't noticed but the date was past. Since it had a really cool glass bottle, I just dumped it and kept the returnable bottle. I know, I lost the deposit. But the bottle was really neat. In fairness, the other 2 quarts I bought after that were not old and tasted fine. There is just something good about milk in glass bottles. It really does taste better. That is why I pay a premium price for milk in glass bottles here in Wichita. It's just better.



I did blow the book budget too. I have to get serious this week and get some stitch markers made up and put out at Twist to try to put some $ in the account to compensate for the damage.. I figure I will get at least 30-35 made this coming weekend. They work up pretty fast and are fun to make.



This trip was an excellent trip for inspiration. I found lots of great ideas for jewelry and other things that I intend to follow up on. The next time I go to KC, I want to go to the art museums and galleries. I think we are going again in August so the boys can take a cooking class and we can shop at Cabella's and Bass Pro shops.