Happy Easter! — Patti Part Two

I woke up to snow this morning! Really crazy because our winter has been so mild - it was almost 80 degrees this past week! The grass is green and the tulips are blooming - but thankfully it didn't really stick and has already stopped. I hope you get your fill of chocolate eggs and peeps!

My heart breaks and I am filled with sadness for the people of Belgium. Too many times this has happened in recent years, and we are all touched with grief for the innocent people that died and made to fear fearful for our own safety and the safety of our family and friends. I felt compelled to mention this as some of my own family and friends have questioned my judgment in taking my trip in less then 3 weeks. My intent is not to bring anxiety to those that care about me, and I certainly appreciate the concern - but I feel very comfortable going forward with my plans. I will be as careful as I possibly can be, and if anything - feel that with the heightened security it is as good a time to go as any. It is a reminder to me of the importance of doing the things that you want to do when you can - none of us know how much time we have left so to wait could be a mistake. I saw a great billboard this past week with a message that I have taken to heart. "Do more of what makes you happy." I hope each of you do the same!

Now on to the Cheesecake Taste-Off!!! Am I getting sick of it yet??? Nope!! This week my choice - in honor of Easter was Carrot Cake Cheesecake. Carrots.......Bunny...... Well it made sense to me!!!

I will say first off - you should like carrot cake if you are going to order this one - and I love carrot cake!! You might be thinking to yourself - what I like best about carrot cake is the cream cheese icing - will I be disappointed? You will not be as this dessert has a huge amount of cream cheese icing! That big dollop on top? All icing! And the whole back too under that big pile of walnuts. So I rated this a 3 - really liked it a lot! Not a 4 because I wouldn't eat it every day but it was definitely delicious!!

Kansas City finally has a REAL bagel shop!!! Real as in boiled and then baked - not just bread dough with a hole in the middle. I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Meshuggah Bagels. It's at 1208 W 39th St. in KC and decided to try it out yesterday. And it is the real deal! It has also brought the NY experience of standing in line for 30 minutes to get that real bagel! I thought at 10 AM on a Saturday it wouldn't be very busy but boy was I wrong. It's not a big place but the line for bagels was 30 people long. I decided since I was there to go ahead and give it a try - and no regrets! When I'm in NY getting a good bagel is one of my favorite ways to start the day - and now I can do it in KC too. They have 6 kinds - plain, salt, sesame, poppy seed, onion and everything. You can get it with cream cheese, lox, etc but don't go there looking for a cinnamon crunch topping!

Meshuggah Bagels open Tuesday through Sunday

Today I got to see the new special exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer. As with everything they do there it was wonderful. I thought it was so interesting how it was designed - examining 17th-century Dutch paintings in light of the new Republic's social structure. Although the Dutch Republic was relatively democratic at the time, class distinctions remained and conveyed a variety of meanings to its citizens. I learned a lot and can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Make it a great week!!!