streetcar

today, i got to get all up in the new kansas city streetcar's grill.  i'm not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome.  check out a few pics of the first (new) streetcar lines being laid today. the first tracks since 1947.  i love this city and i can't wait until this line is right outside our front door.

happy birthday to the ground.

frosty the dragon

what have you been up to?  we've been dragon making over here.  as excited for halloween as ever, but seriously lacking in the anticipation building blogging.  many of you have probably already seen the end result, but you can pretend this is a super sneak peek...

good day

this weekend we didn't have a lot going on, which was actually a pretty nice change of pace. we had plenty of time to be at home and be together and just hang out.  there was a touch of chill in the air - not enough to warrant turning on the heat - but just enough to open the windows and doors and let the awesome breeze blow through and circulate all the dust and cat hair it could find.  

sunday just felt like a really good day. alex had a friend sleep over on saturday night, and i loved sipping my coffee on sunday morning to the sounds of their ornery giggles in the next room.  i really cherish those moments when we can just be in our home.  it was relatively clean, dinner was mostly planned and we had nowhere in the world to go.  i didn't think it could get any better, but then, out of nowhere, my friend emily dropped by with two insane floral arrangements for us to enjoy.  and you know how i feel about flowers;  i completely freaked out and proceeded to do a leg kick that hasn't seen the light of day in a good 12-13 years.  but for the rest of the day i was annoyingly giddy anytime i walked into that room.

at one point in the day, alex was working with evan on a project and she started typing with her fingers on home row.  we were kind of flabbergasted by this and it made me realize all the things that kids learn and do in those minutes and hours when we are away from them. even when there are a million other things going on, these little amazing things are happening whether i have the time to notice them or not.  it wasn't a huge thing, but it was this skill that she has now and it really struck a chord with me.  sometimes all you need is a little break in the madness to stop moving and take in everything that is going on around you. 

in the words of ice cube, i gotta say, today was a good day.  
i may or may not have pulled a hamstring, but that's neither here nor there. 

how was your weekend?  i hope it was as relaxing and refreshing as ours. 

more babies & more things

the weekend before last, i hosted two special baby showers for two very special gals.  and while baby showers tend to be about the babies, i wanted each to be as distinctly different as the moms-to-be, because really, that is who we were celebrating.  if you missed natalie's shower, you can see it here. but today, we're all about kate and the whimsical little forest friends who helped create her woodland themed shower. 

kate is awesome.  we met through a mutual friend and it took me two minutes and two sips of a martini to know that this was gonna be good.  she is ever so whimsical and suuuuper nice. and i have to be honest, finding really genuine people is sort of a rarity these days.  you could try to find something about her that you didn't like, but it would be pointless.  i don't think that something exists.  actually i know it doesn't.

so naturally, when kate and tim told us they were expecting, i jumped at the chance to shower her with love and whimsy.  and when i asked her if she had a preferred theme and she sent me paint chips, my little heart jumped for joy.  this is a girl who knows what she wants and knows i love a good mood board/color pallet for inspiration.  

what kind of person hosts two baby showers in one weekend is the question you might be asking yourself, but i assure you, there is method to the madness.  all of our friends are pregnant right now.  pretty much all of them. plus, weekends in the fall, fill up fast.  so what's a girl to do when you have two lovely people to celebrate and limited time - you select one weekend and just go for it!  

i wondered somewhere in the process if it was insane, but once they were both underway, i also realized it was a pretty great way to see a whole lot of friends in a very limited amount of time.  in addition, i can't be expected to clean my house twice in a single month, so really this was about efficiency.  

if you know of anyone who is having a girl right now, just tell them to give me a call in 25 years. with just about everyone we know having boys, there is bound to be a surplus of suitable suitors roaming around.  at any rate, i am super excited for my friends and the new adventures they are about to take on!  

congrats to kate & tim - we can't wait to meet little simon soon! 

let's get to garage-ing!

back on one of the hottest weekends of the summer, a group of friends and a couple of family members (evan's dad and uncle dennis) decided to build a garage.  and build they did.  in the span of about 2.5 days, we had a newly poured garage slab, a few pallets of wood, and then seemingly out of nowhere - a garage began to take shape.

dream-garage-a-poo-looza/we-now-have-a-back-yard is still underway, but the end is in sight and boy - does she look goooood.  we're experiencing some pretty incredible fall weather right now, but we know that first snow is just waiting to debut.  and when she does, we'll be ready.  or so i am told. :)

i know it is only september, but it's never too early to starting thinking about a "men of 26 east" calendar for all your holiday gift giving needs.  

#justsayin'