Busy today.

Worrying about people in Ike's path and building ark after rain in Kansas for 12 days straight.

James, get the hacksaw.***

This has been a relaxing weekend. Yesterday Wes and I lazed around for part of the day, then ran some errands and caught a showing of The Mummy 3. It was decent entertainment - nothing to rave about, but we enjoyed it.

Today we decided to explore Kansas City more, and spent the afternoon at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Wes and I aren't HUGE museum people, but we spent the whole afternoon wandering the beautiful halls of art. We opted to skip the contemporary wing for today, and just hit the pre-1900's art. We're saving modern and the sculpture garden and grounds for another visit. The best part is that the museum has free admission, and inexpensive parking. So it was a fun, free day!

The highlight of the day for me, and possibly the museums most well known piece, was this:

Yep, that's right. They have a few Monet pieces, but I sat and stared at the Water Lilies for a bit. I love impressionism.


It was also interesting for me to see what Wes and I gravitated towards today. While he was more apt to go study the furniture pieces or the sculpture, I was the one to wander to the paintings first. We honed in on our own favorite pieces, and spent most of the day in contemplative silence, together but in our worlds. Occasionally we called each other over to point out some detail to the other.


The morning we mostly spent with European artists. Midday we arrived at the Tuscan inspired cafe, and decided to have a snack. They had delicious sandwiches, soups and chili and we got to sit peacefully enjoying this courtyard.

The afternoon was more Asian-inspired. There were plenty of awe-inspiring pieces, including a huge wood and lacquer Buddha, but I liked this carving the best.


As the afternoon drew to a close we headed back to the car, but not without a quick stop at the gift shop. No new magnets for the collection, but we did spot these guys - who were awfully cute!



***The title has no relation to the post... but you figured that out!

Weekend in photos.

We managed to accomplish quite a bit this weekend. Yesterday we did wedding and clothes shopping, ran errands, and found a tasty lunch. Last night we saw Hellboy II - I liked it a lot better than the first. This morning we got up really early and went out to kayak at Longview Lake. We trolled near the shores looking for wildlife, and enjoyed photographing a beautiful water lily garden. Then we came home and I started working. I have irish soda bread baking right now, and I just turned the rest of our CSA peaches into a healthy peach cobbler - I'll post the recipe if it turns out well. Now for some knitting and maybe a nap. Oh yes, and the pictures:



1. Dock, 2. Wes & I Kayaking, 3. Shadow Water Lily, 4. Water Lily, 5. Water Lily Garden, 6. Water Lily, 7. Gnarly tree, 8. Tree & Sky, 9. Fresh peach cobbler!

Forgot to mention...

When Wes and I found this apartment we discussed (as all couples do) where to put things. We had seen two potential configurations for the living room - one put the sofa against the long wall, and the other used the sofa as a room divider leaving the wall free for an entertainment center. Wes favored the second option. The problem: we don't have an entertainment center. So I told him we could do the second configuration if we didn't stare at a white wall for more than 6 months. And what do you know? Here it is less than 5 months later and here we are:



This furniture was all designed and built by Wes (with some help from his lovely assistant). It's beautiful and everything we wanted. Our house is starting to feel like a home!

Spring Has Sprung

This weekend Wes and I headed down to my in-laws to work on some furniture. We also managed a few side trips to lakes and creeks near their house and I got some beautiful photos. Spring has definitely sprung.




I find myself more and more intrigued with photography and creating great shots. Some of this is after listening to my friend Noble's photography podcast, and some is after seeing some of the great photography on Flickr and Ravelry (Lolly to name one!) These are a couple of my favorite shots I got this weekend. For more, you can visit my Favorites set on Flickr. Let me know what you think!