#MegLoveBachBash

We celebrated the soon-to-be Mrs. Loveridge a few weeks ago, with Megan’s Bachelorette Bash. Such a fun night! Sush, cupcakes and champagne (lots and lots of champs…oof), mini-shots and a special visitor (hence the heavy, heavy boozing), all topped off with a girls’ night out downtown. (Um, minus the bride-to-be…she had too many Fireballs and called it an early night. Sound familiar?) And we wrapped up the weekend with brunch and several Bloody Marys down in Westport. Cheers to you, Megs! We love you!

Some pre-party details: pink, pink pink!

Party favors…

Megan’s sister went to Cirilla’s…we were all a little nervous!

 Totally Meg’s fav gift. Good job, Courtney and Utah!!

 Champs, champs, champs…

And, the aftermath…

What a beautiful bride!

(And yes, she wore her sash to brunch. At McCoys. In Westport. This is why I love her.)

A Morning at the Market

This summer, I have declared a lofty goal: I am dedicating my weekends in town to exploring more of what Kansas City has to offer. I’ve been a longtime reader of KC Spaces and always dog-ear the pages of new restaurants I want to try and events or spaces I’d like to see, yet somehow, making the time to go always seems to get away from me, or when posed with the question of, “where should we go?”, my list flies right out of my head. It seems to me that in the last decade, Kansas City has really started making more of a name for itself in terms of food, places and entertainment. Or maybe, since I am embarking on a new decade this Monday (gulp), I have finally started to grow up and realize that there’s more to a Saturday night than vodka sodas at the Falloon. Regardless, I’m making it my summer mission to get to know my city on a more personal level. I have my ever-growing list of eateries, concerts and events, and can’t wait to see what summatime has in store. Luckily, I found the perfect companion to accompany me throughout my quest—my friend Sarah. Sar always has her finger on the newest, hippest spot to hit up for crafted cocktails, for amazing atmosphere during dinner, or to find the perfect gift for a friend. The ironic thing is she’s not even from KC, but somehow, she always knows a fresh spot we need to check out.

While this first place on my list isn’t exactly a new feature around town, it was newish to me. Last weekend, Sarah and I ventured down to the Farmers’ Market in the Rivermarket. I had not been down in this area for quite some time, and we had such a lovely day. The fruit and veggie stands were gorgeous, the flower stands were bright and cheerful, and we topped off our morning with grilled cheeses for lunch on the patio at Harry’s. It was the epitome of a perfect Saturday, and I hope to frequent the market again very soon.

{This place! I never knew KC had a Chinatown Market and man oh man...it is sensory overload. There is literally a sign inside saying you can't take pics or video; I'm not sure why, but I wish I could have because we saw some of the weirdest food you wouldn't even know existed. There is also a fresh fish counter in the back, and every Oriental fruit, vegetable and weird protein you could want. Next time I'm in there, I'm taking some secret stealth pics for sure!}

My Buffalo Shuffle + St. Patty's Festivities

{The Falls}

Two weekends ago, I headed up north to Buffalo, New York for work. It was cold-cold-cold and snowy, which was not what my soul was needing. (My soul needs SUNSHINE, friends! And lots of it.) However, because my last two trips to Canada were such a bust in terms of exploration, I decided that despite the chilly temps and my lingering sinus infection, I would brave the cold and drive up to Niagara Falls. Let me mention that while I was not properly dressed for the freezing snow/sleet/mist coming off of the water, I will say it was a pretty spectacular sight.

{So...funny story. I had no idea where I was going or what Niagra would really look like. I just followed other cars into the National Park, then parked, then started walking. And it may have just been the Dayquill talkin', but I kept seeing mini waterfalls and I would think to myself, "Is this it? Surely this isn't it..." and I would keep on walking. Finally, FINALLY, I saw a big group of people gathered in the distance, and so I figured, "that MUST be it." But these two pics here? I was snapping pics at every swirling maelstrom, just in case....}

{Getting closer....}

{Finally!}

{Sooooo not dressed for that hike. Or the freezing spray coming off of the water. But aren't my new baby blue Nikes cute?}

Other Buffalo memories? The pharmacy I was at was located in a hospital, so I saw some pretty interesting characters throughout the course of my visit. I also got to eat my Subway sandwich opposite of a man in a hospital bed, complete with his IV and catheter, also eating a sandwich in the lobby-slash-hospital entryway-slash cafeteria seating. That was interesting. Also disgusting. And let’s see…I was also there for Daylight Saving Time, so I lost a full two hours after I arrived. If you know me, you know mornings aren’t really my thanng, so that was rough. Otherwise, Buffalo was pretty lowkey. I was so ready to get back in town and have some friend time.

 

Spring around KC is always a good time—between the Big 12 Tournament (which we shall not speak of, due to the poor showing of both Kansas teams) and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, March turns out to be a pretty fun month. I will say, last week was a little tough, as I am used to a Spring Break (24 years…and now it’s gone), but I made the most of last Monday night by celebrating my Irish blood and having a few green beers. Actually, I had a lot of green beers…and Bailey’s shots (I know, I KNOW…who orders Bailey’s shots? My coworker Brad. At my dubious look, he replied “it’s St. Patrick’s Day,” like that makes it okay to shoot Bailey’s)…and Fireballs…oof. Let’s just say last Tuesday was a little slow.

{Friends! Complete with our Bailey's shots. Thanks, Bradley. Also, can everyone please note Ben's stylin' green sequined headband and beads? I told him, look sir, if you want to drink a beer with me on St. Patty's Day, you wear some green. So he took what I provided.}

{Some dude at Kelly's was wearing this saa-weet hat. So I stole it, and look who I found! Two little leprechauns!}

{Lotsa green, lotsa beer, lotsa friends. I love a holiday where really, all you do is drink and make merry. Cheers to my Irish clansmen!}

Life-Catch-Up-Blog-Post-Part-Two/Three/Four/I know, I’m a Bad Blogger

Turkey Day:

My fam gave thanks with our typical festivities—my parents hosted all of my mom’s side of the family for a full day of food, drinks, laughter and lots of loud conversing (the Christensens are known for their voices that carry. They’re also notorious for mixing up names of family members of various age—Chelley, I mean Morgan, I mean Caitlin…). I may be biased, but my mom’s Turkey Day spread is the greatest meal of all time. And who doesn’t appreciate drinks before noon?? We toasted each other, gave thanks for our blessings, and took a moment to remember those who we missed. No matter how many years pass or how our family changes (we had several new faces in attendance this year), Thanksgiving remains a constant reminder of how amazing my family is and how blessed I am to have them.

 

Did I take any pics of the fam-bam? Not really. Oh, but I did make a homemade apple pie! I know, WHAT? My domestic pal Kelly gets all the credit for that one. A few pics to prove the homemade goodness:

 

Novy’s Birthday:

Speaking of very important family members, someone celebrated an inaugural birthday over Thanksgiving weekend. Miss Nova turned the big ONE! This little turkey baby is quite the ham (see what I did there??) these days. She is walking, talking, fake-coughing, singing; you name it, she’s doing it in the cutest little way. I might be biased, but I do believe that she is THE cutest one year old. Ever.

{Her first taste of chocolate, on her actual birthday...it went well. Notice how she's pulling her daddy-o's hand toward her...}

{CAKE! She was ready for round two at her party...I'd say her sweet tooth has come in.}

{Too adorbs, right? Love you, sweet girl!}

And the rest…

Andddd now Christmas has already come and gone, and New Year’s, too. A winter collage of the last holidays of 2013:

{Snow for Christmas}

{So blurry, but all the Christensen cousins (minus Drew) and Grandma in the middle.}

{With my cousins, Carolyn and Caitlin}

{New Year's! I didn't end up in Canada. (If you couldn't tell.)}

{Did you know the word of 2013 was "selfie"?
Aside from weeping for our culture and humanity (at least it wasn't "YOLO"),
I figured I should jump on board. Hence, my New Year's selfie.}

 Lots of family time, lots of friend time, lots of memories made. Hey 2013, you weren’t terrible. (You weren’t super great, either.) But 2014? I think it’s gonna be good. #2014isouryear, if you will. Yep, I hashtagged like it’s a word. I'm making my own rules in 2014. Cheers, friends! May the new year bring you many blessings and lots of love. XO!

Summertime Shows, Part 2

Hello! Hope everyone had a fun 4^th of July last week. While I didn’t make it to the lake this year, we hit the pool pretty hard. Always a good time! And did I take plenty of pics? You know, to document all the fun and festivities?

Nooooope.

So, instead of showing off bbqs, food, fireworks and pooltime, here is the second installment of my summer-love concert series.

We hit Grinders in the Crossroads district and while I wasn’t crazy about the headliner, Reverend Horton Heat (??),  the band who opened for those guys was such a bonus. Ha Ha Tonka (weird name, great sound!) were part rock, part hipster-twang, and overall, AMAZEBALLS. They’re somewhat local (one of the guys is from  Missouri), and they were def my fav part of the show.

Sidenote-Grinders is the COOLEST place to catch a concert. Great venue, not too big, plenty of beer and of course, Grinders pizza late night? Perf.

{Ha Ha Tonka, my new music love. And yes, we bought a CD.}

 

Finally, a group of pals and I headed out to Starlight to see Imagine Dragons. This is probably the best show I’ve seen this summer (so far). We missed Churchill, who opened for them (sadness…I really wanted to see them, but the pool cocktails were flowing, so…we arrived a little late), but we did catch Capital Cities. They were great, but Imagine Dragons kicked it. It was such a fun show, and Starlight is a great venue to catch a concert—no bad seats and the sound is awesome!

{Capital Cities, Safe and Sound}

{My pal Josh, "owning the crowd."}



{Fountain pics? Yes, please}

{Main attraction-Imagine Dragons}

{And Radioactive closes the show. AMAZING NIGHT!}