Happy Birthday to Me!!

Friday was my birthday, and I have to say, it was pretty perfect. I started the day with a massage in the morning, while Brett and his dad moved the rest of my furniture in (we are using it as our guest bedroom furniture, so it hadn't been a high priority). How great are they?? Brett actually suggested that I schedule my massage while they were moving- he didn't have to tell me twice!! I got home and the guest room was all set up, and it looks great! We're almost ready for overnight guests! Who's coming to visit first?? I had my massage at Sunlight Spa. It was the first time I had been there and it was great- I would highly recommend it!

Brett and I went to the pool for a few hours in the afternoon, then came home and showered and got ready, had a drink at home, and opened presents. Brett got me clothes, which he had never done before- and he did great! He got me some really cute stuff- I was very proud of him!! Kristin sent me a beautiful Calla Lily plant (our first plant in the new place!), and my parents sent me a few books, the new Brad Paisley CD (with our wedding song on it), and some amazing banana walnut cookies.

We walked down to City Tavern around 8 for dinner. They wouldn't take reservations because it was First Friday, so we figured we would have a bit of a wait, which we were fine with. I have to say, overall we were pretty disappointed in our experience. I will preface this by saying that it was very busy, so we tried to give the place the benefit of the doubt. We walked in and the hostess didn't even say anything to us, instead she just stared at us with this annoyed look on her face. Not talking is one of my biggest pet peeves- maybe because I teach it for a living?!? I felt like I needed to say to her, "Use your words!" like I say to my three year olds. Seriously lady, communication is a lot smoother when you talk instead of staring at us and hoping we can read your mind. (Off my soapbox now). Anyway, we put our name in, went to the bar to get a drink. The bartender also seemed a little annoyed, but I tried to let that one slide. We only had to wait about 20 minutes for our table, which wasn't bad. Our waitress was definitely the friendliest City Tavern employee we encountered. She was very nice, but way too busy. At this point, if the food would have been great, it would have made up for the rest of the experience, but it wasn't great. It was good, but not great. I had a steak, and Brett had scallops, and they were both fine, but not anything exceptional. SO... I don't think we will be returning to City Tavern anytime soon. We still had a really great time at dinner, despite the "just okay" restaurant. It was so fun to get dressed up (I wore heels for the first time since our wedding!) and go on a date with my hubby.

Overall, it was a great day to mark the beginning of 27! Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes, gifts, and love. I think it's going to be a great year :)


(Brett and I before dinner... using the self-timer on the camera- not the best picture we've ever taken!)


(the beautiful Calla Lily plant Kristin sent me- thanks Krissy!)

Settling in...

Well, we've made it through week 3 of marriage, and we're both still alive!

Just kidding... every second of it has truly been great. We're just getting settled in, still trying to recover from the amazing honeymoon, and gearing up to go back to work next week (ugh). Brett is off from football this week, so we're trying to get a lot done around the apartment. We (I use the term "we" very loosely- this was 99% Brett's doing) tackled our first DIY project yesterday. A small one, but a DIY nonetheless. I had an old bookshelf that was still in great condition, but didn't so much match anything in our new place. So Brett painted it to match our new furniture, and it looks awesome! He did a great job, and hey, can't beat a $20 painting project as opposed to buying a new $100 bookshelf!
(not too shabby, huh?!)


My favorite part of the new place is by far the kitchen- it's huge and amazing (will post pics soon when it's not such a mess)- and I have been doing a lot of cooking. We also went to the Farmer's Market at River Market on Saturday morning and got some great produce, which was quite fun. We had only been one other time before that- we're hoping to go much more often now that we live so close.

We are definitely loving living in the city- after the Farmer's Market on Saturday we walked to JackStack for some good KC BBQ. It was a gorgeous day and it is so nice to have so many great restaurants within walking distance. We also found a restaurant for my birthday dinner- we're going to try City Tavern on Friday- the menu looks great, and again, walking distance!

Besides trying to get unpacked and settled, we're trying to get caught up on thank you notes, I've been consumed with the never-ending process of getting my name changed, and Brett's been playing some golf. All in all, not a bad end to the summer!

I'm hoping to keep up with this blogging stuff, just to keep our friends in family in the loop. We'll see how it goes!!