Weekend in Kansas City

The hubs and I spent the weekend in Kansas City with our daughter; it’s been a few years since we’ve been in KC for any length of time and I thought I’d share some of what we did. One of our awesome followers, Kerry Ann, commented on {this} post where I mentioned that I’d shipped Annabelle off to Kansas City so she could spend the summer at the Kansas City Ballet’s summer program. She’s from KC, so I asked her for some recommendations and she was spot on (thanks, girl!!).

{all sources listed at the end of post}

I did manage to get everything, including my laptop, into my weekender bag. #forthewin

We spent a busy day at the Plaza on Saturday; Annabelle’s dorm is within walking distance so she’s been spending a fair amount of time there even during the week.

Kaldi’s Coffee was one of our first stops for an iced coffee, because it was a million degrees outside.

We did some window shopping and a bit of actual shopping since there are so many great sales this weekend for the 4th of July, and my husband was looking for a high quality navy blazer. (We found a good possibility but he hasn’t committed yet)

We also let him visit the Tesla showroom; there were dozens of men in there, playing with the cars (and enjoying the air conditioning!).

We also took a quick trip up north to visit Nell Hill’s; it’s an absolute must if you’re ever in Kansas City. It’s been about five years since my last visit and they’re in a new (bigger) location since then. If you’re not familiar, it’s pretty much the best home store in the world, with a mix of vintage and new, inexpensive and super-fancy.

(If you can’t get to the store, Mary Carol’s books are also amazing; check them out HERE)

I almost pulled the trigger on these blue and white dog bowls for Harley for obvious reasons, but restrained myself at the last minute.

I also managed to talk Annabelle out of a giant resin bird. She thinks we’ll regret that later, but I told her we can always go back.

Kerry Ann asked me to write about what I bought at Nell Hill’s, but I only walked away with gifts (for my friend, Danielle, who’s taking care of my flowers for a few weeks, and for Ashly, since it was her birthday last week), so I can’t share those or I’d spoil the surprises. I’m sure I’ll be back, though; I need a few hours instead of a few minutes next time!

Annabelle had evening plans with the ballerinas, so we dropped her back at her dorm and went to our hotel. As a side note, we stayed at the Embassy Suites in the Country Club Plaza and I definitely would not recommend it. Chris is a gold Honors member and stays in Hilton properties all the time; this one was not up to their usual standards. We’ll try a boutique hotel next time and I’ll definitely let you know which one we choose.

The good news is that things started looking up when we headed out for pre-dinner drinks at The Monarch.

They start you off with a little tasting drink while you study the extensive cocktail menu. This was a mix of whiskey, coffee, and absinthe, and a few other magic ingredients. I usually can’t tolerate whiskey but I did like this.

I ordered a Pisco Sour (we discovered Pisco the last time Chris traveled to Chile and Peru and brought back a bottle) and he had a Louisiana Purchase.

Perhaps the strange look in my eyes is thanks to the absinthe?

My shirt is under $18 and I love it; here’s another angle:

We could have easily stayed at The Monarch for another round, but we had dinner reservations at 9pm at Gram & Dun. We were still pretty full from a late lunch but ordered a charcuterie platter and hummus and both were delicious (thanks again, Kerry Ann!!).

Sunday consisted of an early movie with Annabelle, lunch (we wanted to try Black Dirt but they were closed between 2-4pm so we ate at old reliable PF Chang’s), a trip to Trader Joe’s to stock up on supplies, and the drive back home.

You can tell we’re tired, but it was such a fun weekend!