that good.

i want every weekend to be a long weekend.  i'm sure others agree, but it only makes sense.  that one extra day allows for so much more relaxation.  more food.  more friends.  more fun.  i've been trying to think of the best way to sum up our memorial day weekend, and the only word that comes to mind is: perfection.  it was just one of those perfect weekends where we took stock of what and who we had around us and then had enough time and opportunity to really enjoy it all.  whether it was the 10 guys who came out to help us tear down our old garage on saturday morning - a long awaited project that is finally underway - or the friends who we shared brunches, dinners, drinks and laughs with the rest of the weekend, from beginning to end, it was just that good. 

we hope your memorial day weekend was good too.  cheers to long weekends and good friends to enjoy them with. 

a few of our favorite spots we hit over the weekend that are worth checking out:  the rieger.  gram & dun.  the mutual musicians foundation.  extra virgin.  the mixx.  manifesto. 

eat with us: thomas

we are total foodies.  for us, fun equals trying out new restaurants when they come to KC and, if they make the cut, repeating as necessary.  we definitely have a list of local favorites (you can see those here) but we continue to add more to the list as new spots emerge and the olds, solidify their status as repeat offenders.

so when i ventured out on tuesday night to an area we frequent, it wasn't for the usual suspect.
blue koi is my personal favorite in town, but this time i was headed next door to a spot, that somehow in all our visits to the block, we had failed to try or even notice.

thomas restaurant folks.  i mean, where have we been?

there are not enough rooftop patios in kc - let's get that out of the way first.  thomas has a fantastic one along with an impressive menu and creative bar list.  the ambiance is perfect and the piano man - a must see/hear.  tucked away in the northwest corner of the bar, don't discount his ability to completely steal the show while belting out everything from jay-z to james taylor.  a.maz.ing.

sip:  a manhattan & a flirtini
appetize: the scallops & the bruschetta
eat:  the buttermilk chicken & the pork chop
ask for:  andy

it's rare that in a group as large as ours, no one can stop talking about how delicious their drink is or how the meal is a masterpiece.  it was a germ-o-phobes worst fear as forks met new plates and drinks were passed around for sampling, but i was willing to overlook my neurosis in the spirit of fine dining and good fun.

although evan could only join us via phone-cam from arkansas, everyone who did make it out can attest: this is an absolute must-try.  i can't wait to take evan there so he can see for himself what we are all raving about.

this is an evening at thomas, celebrating our good friend anders on his birthday....

thomas lines up with the 39th street parade of local favorites at: 1815 W. 39th, half of a block east of state line rd, next to blue koi.  you should go.  and request a prince song.

listen to this: laura mvula

lately, i've been on the hunt for good music.  after starting a new job almost two months ago - (wait what?  how has it already been that long already?) i am finding that the comforts of my home office are in short supply.  don't get me wrong, i am absolutely loving my new gig, but after almost 7 years working from home, i am finding the little things like voices, telephones and copy machines to be quite distracting, especially while trying to write.  so, to get my head in the right space for kickin' ass and taking names, i find solace in my earbuds and music services like pandora and spotify.

recently i stumbled upon the sound of laura mvula and had to share.  laura is a british soul singer with a sound i can't quite compare to anyone else i've heard.  the moody melody and her take-charge vocals are perfect for calming the thunderstorm of sounds in my office, or serving as the soundtrack  to relaxing nights on the patio with cold drinks and friends.  

check it out for yourself, and please feel free to leave any new music finds you've been enjoying in the comments below.  i'm also listening to a lot of this & this too.  

that looks familiar....

at first glace, we didn't think much of this article in the kansas city star:

it was an interesting and uplifting read about a local artist and professor from the kansas city art institute who was retiring after 48 years of inspiring students.  his plan?  to live in the present and focus more on his craft.

one of his original pieces accompanied the article; the piece entitled Brookside Park Houses immediately resonated with us because...

that's our house on the left!  the painting, done from the top of the hill just outside our front door must have been created before our house was painted yellow, but we don't mind, we were just shocked to find it the subject of such a beautiful piece of art!  here's a pic we snapped from a similar vantage point last year...

the full article can be read here:  http://www.kansascity.com/2013/04/25/4202802_after-48-years-retiring-art-professor.html  and if anyone knows how we can get in touch with the artist, we'd love to hear from you.

part four: new york, new york

i know what you're thinking - this is the longest trip ever, but i assure you we are almost done.  day four - 347 fifth avenue (the site of my first post-college job interview) the empire state building, china town, mahayana buddhist temple, and a quiet, last dinner at nick & mandy's apartment - upper east side.