ladies who lunch

Today Heidi enjoyed a day off work in preparation for her upcoming trip to Florida, and because her friend Terese came through town on her way to Columbia. The girls enjoyed catching up over lunch at Rozzelle Court in the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art followed by a stroll around the museum and grounds and then a driving tour of the Kansas City Marathon Course!

lounging around

It's been nine years (to the day) since Mike and I started dating so tonight we celebrated with a relaxing dinner at the Bluestem Lounge. We've enjoyed dinner at Bluestem before but had yet to experience the laid back atmostphere of the lounge.

We chose a comfortable blue couch near a coffee table with a few recent issues of Food and Wine magazine and settled in to enjoy truffled pommes frites with sauce flight, chicken croquettes and tempura battered gulf shrimp with bitter greens. We followed this with a Spearmint Ice Cream & Kahlua Trifle Chocolate Mousse, Sponge Cake with a Sarsaparilla Marshmallow and the
Tres Leches Cake with Roasted Peaches, Brown Butter Gelee, Praline Crunch and Peach Ice Cream. Everything was delicious, the atmosphere relaxing and our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable. I think it's fair to say that the Bluestem Lounge is our new favorite!

t i r e d

there is only one word to describe how we are feeling right now and that's tired (ok-exhausted would work, too!) after a busy week we enjoyed dinner with friends on friday night. saturday morning found heidi running 18 miles while mike put out water and made waffles for our running group. this morning mike competed in the jackson county triathlon while heidi spectated. mike spent the afternoon studying while heidi cleaned, did yard work and grocery shopped. whew!

our personal + professional lives

It's been awhile since we've had a chance to post and it isn't because we don't have anything to share! We've both been busy. Mike is studying for yet another section of the ARE (Architecture Registration Exam) and training for the 2007 Jackson County Triathlon.

While Heidi has been finished with her registration exam for a few years now, she was excited to receive her state of Missouri license to practice as a landscape architect last week. The same weekend she was appointed to the 30 member Kansas City Light Rail Citizen’s Task Force. As some of you may know, last November, Kansas City voters approved a ballot initiative to implement light rail from the airport to the zoo. A recent study estimates that the plan faces a funding shortfall of $433 million to $545 million.

The application stated that "The purpose of the Task Force is to provide input from various perspectives and assist with community outreach during Phase I of the Light Rail Alternatives Analysis. The Alternatives Analysis will support local decision-making by the KCATA and City of Kansas City, MO, related to the voter-approved light rail route, cost for the route, funding sources for the route, and other information required to satisfy potential federal funding requirements."

We are both strong supporters of all modes of mass transit and frequent bus riders. We look forward to seeing light rail become a reality in Kansas City!

Heidi is also looking forward to a few upcoming trips to K-State. Last year she was asked to be a member of the Landscape Architecture Advisory Board which meets each fall. Additionally, the fifth year students will be using one of Heidi's recent transit projects as a 2 week studio problem so she will be introducing the project and participating the in critiques.

and you wonder why we haven't been cooking or eating out lately!

what a year it's been

It has been an entire year since we began blogging and it's fun to look back at the archives to see what we've been up to. We enjoy keeping in touch with friends through their blogs and hope you enjoy this glimpse into our lives as well! We look forward to sharing many more meals and milestones with you in the years to come!

As much as we enjoy reading about and seeing photos of the daily adventures of our blogging friends, nothing beats seeing them in person.

We are so glad that our friends Shawn and Erin chose to celebrate their daughter Stella's first birthday party in Kansas City! Heidi was honored when Erin asked her to make the cupcakes for this milestone event and from the looks of it, Stella enjoyed every last bite!

a taste of summer

We fired up the grill tonight to try two new recipes. We enjoyed Feta Burgers with Grilled Red Onions along with some of the season's best watermelon followed by Grilled Peaches with Fresh Raspberry Sauce. We highly recommend them both!

city of fountains

hot and humid is the only way to describe the weather we've been having! mark, shannon and lukas were in town this weekend and we spent most of it trying to escape the heat. lukas found the best way to keep cool is to get up close and personal with one of kansas city's many fountains.