Holiday Mart 2011

October brings with it many things. Fall, pumpkins, blooming mums, cooler temperatures, Halloween & my favorite - the annual outing at Holiday Mart.

My friend Melissa was kind enough to join me on this annual adventure that I look forward to every year. Nothing begins to put you in the holiday mood like an afternoon of holiday shopping at this fun event.

We first stopped for lunch at a little place called "The Brick" which is located in the Crossroads Art District in downtown KC. This little hole-in-the-wall restaurant was featured on the hit show "Diners, Drive-In's & Dives" on the Food Network. If Guy Fieri has been there then it has to be good, right?

Melissa & I ended up deciding on the burger with tots. Any place that serves tator tots is a hit in my opinion! We both agreed our meal was very good & I was happy that Mel had suggested this place. We of course had to get a picture under Guy's signature before we left:

I have to take a moment to make a comment about my scarf & the drama it caused when I picked Melissa up. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge Jayhawks fan. Melissa is a HUGE K-State fan & today the two teams were playing each other in football. Notice Mel in her K-State purple & black. As soon as she gets into my car she comments on the purple in my scarf & how nice it was that I am wearing "K-State colors". Um - my scarf clearly has pink in it NOT purple. Don't you agree??? I mean look at the color she is wearing & compare it to my scarf. Definitely NOT purple! She knows I don't own anything purple so she enjoyed giving me a hard time :)

After we enjoyed a yummy lunch, we made our way to the shopping extravaganza. When you first walk in I must admit it is a bit overwhelming but once you get going, it is a lot of fun. There were over 200 retailers there with rows & rows of booths set up all selling their specialty items. There was jewelry, clothing from quaint boutiques for kids & adults, home decor, dips & soup mixes, lots & lots of holiday stuff & so much more.

Later on we met up with Mel's friend Sarah who joined us for some shopping fun:

We spent 4 hours taking it all in & we each kept our spending under control. I ended up buying only 4 things for less than $50 so I stayed well below the $100 budget I had allowed myself.

All in all it was a great day spent with a great girlfriend & I was so glad that Melissa decided to ditch the football game & come with me instead :)

House

Before:After:

The first picture is of our house the day we moved in. The 2nd picture is what our house looks like today with a fresh coat of paint. We are so happy with the color & as crazy as it may sound, glad to have painted it by ourselves.

Surprise!

This past weekend was a busy one. My mom & her friend Jodi came to visit for the weekend as well as attend my brother Steve's surprise 30th B-day party. They ended up getting in late Friday night & we enjoyed catching up while chowing down on some Papa Murphy's pizza.

Saturday we spent the morning checking out the 2011 Parade of Homes. We stayed in the Overland Park, KS area & looked at several homes from the $500,000 - $1 million range. It was a lot of fun going through all the homes & seeing all the expensive tile work, intricate details, huge rooms, closets & design of the homes. We all had our "likes" & "dislikes" of each & got lots of decorating ideas for our own homes. It is definitely something to check out if you have a free afternoon with nothing to do.

Next stop was lunch. Jodi had never experienced KC BBQ before so we HAD to make a stop into Jack Stack Fiorella's. We all enjoyed ribs, burnt ends & of course the delicious baked beans. She is now a fan :)

And no visit from my mom would be complete without a visit to Hobby Lobby. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon browsing up & down the aisles & somehow our shopping cart became jam packed with stuff. I ended up getting a new pumpkin for the front porch that I just had to have along with some pretty Christmas ornaments & my mom got some fall decor, fabric & some ornaments as well. Even Jodi found something to buy - yarn for an afghan she is going to knit. Hobby Lobby is such a dangerous place to spend time but oh so fun! It's hard to believe Christmas is only 2 1/2 months away!!!

After our shopping excursion we headed back home & had a few hours before we were to leave for my brother's party so I whipped up his favorite dessert - a cherry pie to take with us & then we lounged around watching TV until it was time to head out.

We made our way to Parkville, MO where the party was being held & awaited the birthday boy's arrival. We were all gathered at my sister-in-law's (Meghan) mom's house for the festivities. Steve had gone golfing for the day with his brother-in-law while Meghan got everything ready. The plan was that Meghan was to get the phone call that Steve & Shawn were close by & we were to all head to the bottom of the driveway & surprise him when they turned in.

SUCCESS :)

He was more than surprised as around 40 of his closest family & friends greeted him! I think seeing my mom there was a HUGE surprise for him as she drove 9 hours to be there. To say he was speechless seeing all those people was an understatement!

There was LOTS of food, music, beverages, a bon-fire & lots of fun had by all. Meghan had this photo collage made of Steve from when he was born to the present:

And right underneath it was the dessert table with his favorite cherry pie & the cutest cookies ever of Steve's favorite things - Chicago Bears, football & beer :)

The invitation said for everyone to dress up in clothing from the year Steve was born which was 1981 so there were several who participated. Here is Meghan in her lovely floral vest & shorts set & her best "big hair" impression:
There was even an 80's shirt for Steve that he was given to wear:

Me, Steve & my mom

It was a great party & so very nice to see Meghan's family again! She did a great job of pulling off the surprise & I think the birthday boy even had a great time!

Sunday morning Steve & Meghan made there way down south & we all met for breakfast at IHOP before my mom & Jodi left town. It was really nice to spend some one-on-one time with my brother & Meghan & glad they met us.

After everyone said their goodbyes & parted ways, Shane & I headed back home for another day of painting. Lucky for me, the wind had picked up & it ended up being way to dangerous for Shane to be up on a ladder so he opted to go to the Nascar races with his dad & I did a little painting & then alot of lounging :)

It was definitely a whirlwind of a weekend & so fun to have spent it with my family!