The Birthday Weekend Celebration!!

Well I made it - 60!!! And it was a blast! One of my dearest friends in the world flew to Kansas City to help me celebrate - and celebrate we did! For 3 days! I made a list of all the great places I wanted to take her and we made it to quite a few. But there are so many wonderful places here she needs to come back. Here is a recap with a few pictures.  

We started Friday night with drinks at Cafe Trio. One of my favorite places for happy hour as it sits on a little hill overlooking the JC Nichols fountain. With the beautiful plaza lights it put us in a holiday celebration mood!

Julie and I with the plaza in the background. We wore our matching scarves!! 

It was First Friday in the Crossroads - my neighborhood - so we headed back to meet Linda and check out some of the galleries that were open. We saw some interesting art and then worked our way over to Webster House - one of my favorite places. It's an old school from the late 1800's that has been turned into a unique store on the first floor and very cool delicious restaurant on the second floor. We browsed a bit and then realized we were hungry! Luckily they were able to seat us right away and we had a light dinner and a bottle of wine. Oh and shared dessert of course - it's my birthday weekend!

Webster House is just directly south of the Kauffman Center. We had a great evening!

Saturday was another beautiful day weather wise. We took a 4 mile walk down through the Power & Light, River Market, Crossroads and Crown Center. We made a quick stop inside Union Station to see the Christmas trees and seeing all the kids dressed up to see Santa was fun. Lots of Christmas pictures being shot there. We were hungry then so had brunch at another place I love in the Westport area called Baked. It's a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch and also a bakery. They make everything from scratch and they can really bake! Guess that's why they call it Baked!! In my opinion best biscuits in town and maybe the world. 

We came home and got ready for the "party" happening with some of my closest friends here at Tannin Wine Bar and Kitchen. Another happy hour opportunity which I love - great wine and food for less money. Tannin is one of my favorite places and worth noting is that it has one of the top 100 wine lists in the county. Lots of fun and so thankful these great friends came to celebrate with me.

We look color coordinated! Hope everyone had fun because I sure did! 

Sunday was the BIG day! After attending my church Julie and I had brunch at The Farmhouse. It's located in the River Market and is a farm to table restaurant that has french press coffee and interesting entree's. I love the atmosphere and it's always special to me to go there. We headed to Hall's in Crown Center to do a little shopping and then it was time to take Julie to the airport as much as I hated to see her go. It was so wonderful to have her here to help me start the new decade - absolutely loved it all! Then to wrap up my birthday Jim took me to one of my favorite restaurants - The Bristol in the Power and Light District. Had a nice dinner capped off by a piece of carrot cake - one of my favorites and their specialty. Couldn't have asked for a better birthday! 

The journey of 60 days to 60 was fun - but I still have lots of things that were on my list that I couldn't get to - so the journey will continue. 364 days post 60 - I'm going to keep going! I'm calling it the Year of Patti! And my next adventure will be in New York City - for the Christmas Holiday!! I can't wait! 

Day 7!!! One week away!

During this 60 days to 60 countdown I have been reminded how fast time really goes. Feels like I just started and it's one week away! Too bad I am feeling a bit under the weather - unfair during birthday week! Just a cold - which I probably picked up because I have been so busy having fun!  I have been too busy to blog so this is my body making me slow down - a forced day of rest. I will post a few pics of the highlights!

Singing in the Rain - watching Taylor Dorrel light up the stage as a dancer! I have known Taylor since she was a tiny baby - look how beautiful she is - inside and out! And that's her sweet mama my good friend Shelly and their lovely friend June. What a great middle of the week treat that was! 

A great weekend trip to Tulsa with the W3 to run the Route 66 Half Marathon! We had such a fun time - we always do! We drove down Saturday morning and had lunch at a great little coffee and tea shop called "All About Cha." It was in downtown Tulsa very close to the hotel, convention center expo and start of the race. The food was wonderful and the coffee and tea amazing and creative! We visited the Expo to get our race packets and cool Route 66 jackets. They are even better looking in person which is usually not the case! Relaxed at the hotel a bit and then met the rest of the KC Express for dinner at the Naples Flatbread and Wine Bar. Of course we wanted dessert so went back to "All About Cha" for dessert! Then back to the hotel and up early to run the beautiful hills of Tulsa. The weather was really perfect - chilly and sunny. The race was really very well organized and the support of the town couldn't have been better. Lots of pretty neighborhoods with cheering spectators. I have lost track of how many halfs I have run but it was a good one!

We look like a real team in our jackets! 

We returned on Sunday night and I had a quick turn around and left for the week off to Seattle to see the family for Thanksgiving. It was beautiful there - sunny but much chillier then normal. On Tuesday Brother Dave and I met up with Keeley for lunch and a tour of the Starbucks corporate offices. It was even cooler then I had envisioned - every floor had kitchens with fancy coffee machines and places to sit and work or meet with colleagues or customers. We ate at a great spot on the 3rd floor that is open to the public. Lots of choices - salad bar, sandwiches, hot comfort food, burgers, pizza etc. Keeley took us to meet her work group and they were all super nice. She loves working there and I can see why! They suggested that Dave and I go from there over to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. They said parking would be hard but I must be the lucky charm - we found a spot on the street quickly. If you love coffee it's a must see. Very upscale coffee bar, shop and roastery. They have the largest roasting equipment I have ever seen! It's the Willy Wonka of coffee! I bought a special reserve blend only available there and it was roasted the day before so very fresh.

Coffee Roaster XLarge! 

Tom arrived Tuesday night so got everyone together to celebrate his birthday Weds night at a place called Marination. The food is described as Hawaiian-Korean, and we all pretty much got the pork taco's. They were excellent! The one we went to is in West Seattle on Alki Beach. There is a spectacular view of the downtown skyline all lit up - but I couldn't get a good picture. But pretty much any picture you see of Seattle with the Space Needle is taken from that spot. Had an amazing Thanksgiving with extended family - a day filled with football and delidious food! So great to have Tom, Keeley and Matt all together along with Dave, Dee, Angela and Chris

Tom was tired - too much birthday celebrating! Thankful always for these people. 

Friday Tom and I were both starting to feel under the weather so had a low key day at Dave's watching movies and sports. David made everyone a fantastic dinner of fresh salmon, sweet potatoes and roasted veggies. I never tire of the wonderful fresh seafood in the Pacific Northwest. And Dave is a great cook! It was a great trip to see some of the people I love most in the world. 

This week - birthday week - lots of things planned so I need to get feeling better. Laying low today and catching up on sleep should do the trick! 

Day 20 - Jumby Bay was AMAZING!!!

I had the best of intentions to post while I was on my trip - but the reality was that we were having so much fun I never got around to it! Which is the best thing about being on such an awesome trip! Thank you Pfizer for this wonderful trip to a place I could never afford on my own - and with my daughter!! Jumby Bay was very exclusive and absolutely spectacular in every way - accomodations, food, beaches, pools, tennis courts, service and activities. Really the trip of a lifetime! The island is 2 miles off the coast of Antigua - so one must take a boat to get there - but a quick ride. The island is 3 miles around and the only thing on the island is the small beautiful resort and private residences. Our lovely suite faced the ocean and the only thing separating our patio with our own private pool from the beach was a small grassy area. Our suite was huge - the bathroom had an indoor and an outdoor shower! I took a shower outside - why not??!!

The view from our suite and our pool! 

We got to select the activities of our choice every day - or do nothing but lay at the pool, walk on the beach, eat fabulous food and tell each other how lucky we were. Here is a list of what Keeley and I did: 

* Took a helicopter ride to Montserrat which had a volcano eruption in 1995

* Spent an entire day at the spa! 

* Went on a catamaran for the day - snorkeling, swimming, lunch, climbing Fort Barrington

*  Took private tennis lessons - Keeley was better then I but it was great fun and exercise

* Rode the mountain bikes that came with every suite all around the island

* Relaxed at the ocean and beach where they brought around snacks, drinks and nibbles constantly

Lava flow on Montserrat - over 3000 people were evacuated and never able to return to their homes.

The beverages flowed - loved my 4 PM frappuccino!  

I have overcome my fear of birds!! And lizards! There are wild sheep on the island although it looks to me that there might have been some inbreeding with goats and cows along the way. Jumby is the home of the Hawksbill Sea Turtle Project and I was able to bike over and see one of the nests! 

Loved the little tiny bananquit birds! They would try and eat food right off your plate! 

The food was wonderful! Lots of seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Also wonderful desserts! Just a few of the ones I tried. 

The award/induction into the Hall of Fame night was really special. It was held in one of the private residences on the island and we were entertained by a synchronized swim team flown in from Miami! Now that's something you don't see in Kansas CIty!  It was a very special dinner and the night was one I will never forget. 

All cleaned up after our day at the spa!  Heading to the fabulous award night! 

Our last night at Jumby we had a wonderful dinner at the Estate House.  

Had a wonderful special time with my sweet girl! 

Bye bye Jumby!! 

Day 34 - Busy Week!!

This week was very busy at work - but who wants to hear about that! I was counting down not only until my BIG birthday - but to my BIG trip this coming week! So I kept myself focused by just trying to get to the weekend - made it! More to come on the big trip. So because I was working so much I didn't have time to get out and do anything - so I mainly just ate things that I really liked. One thing I discovered I love is a kale salad from Whole Foods. I was on my way home from work Thursday and since I leave on my trip tomorrow I didn't want to go to the grocery store and buy food I wouldn't be able to eat. So decided to stop there and buy whatever looked good to me. That's one of the things I really love about my life - I can just do that! Do I many times wish I lived closer to Tom and Keeley and could see them more? Absolutely! But right now I really can't do anything about that so I try and appreciate what is really great about my life - and buying whatever I want for dinner is one of them. Well this kale salad was so good I stopped there on Saturday and bought more for lunch - and pretty sure when I get back I will be buying more. Doesn't it look yummy??!

Kale, shaved brussel sprouts, sliced almonds and fresh parmesan cheese in a light vinaigrette dressing! 

It's been a Royals weekend! The city is going crazy! So much fun! They lost Friday but came back and won such a great game last night in game 4. Saturday morning the weather was cold and rainy so I skipped the long run and just ran 3.5 on the treadmill at home. Our lovely Express President Tracey hosted a fabulous breakfast to celebrate all who ran the KC Half, Marathon, or worked the water stop. The water stop is hard work and no medal - thanks ladies!! Such a great group of fun positive people - and the food was wonderful as usual! Sure beats running 8 miles! 

Everyone loves jazz hands! 

Saturday night ate great italian food from Anthony's and watched the Royals win! Sunday had brunch at my favorite new spot - Baked. AMAZING! Best biscuits ever - hands down. Packed for the trip and then took a walk since the weather was spectacular - November 1st and wore shorts and a tshirt - how great is that.  

So the BIG trip! Leaving tomorrow for Jumby Bay - a small island two miles off the coast of Antigua. And definitely planning on posting pics and recapping what we do! Meeting up with Keeley tomorrow in Dallas - then a stop in Miami for the night - and off to Antigua Tuesday! So excited for the trip and to have this time with Keeley! The countdown of 60 days is going to get a lot more fun! Here is just a sample of what we will be enjoying!

Keeley says she will be drinking only mimosa's by the infinity pool! Me too! 

Now if the Royals can just finish this tonight it will be a perfect day and a great way to leave town. Antigua here we come!!! 

Day 42 and 41!

The weekend started with a BIG Royals win over the Toronto Blue Jays to clinch the ALCS!!! WOOHOO! Heard fireworks outside my building but couldn't see them. World Series starts Tuesday here in KC. There is nothing else they can turn blue - every fountain is pumping blue water and every building bathed in blue light - it's beautiful!!

My Saturday started with a good 6 mile run with the Express ladies and then worked a shift at the Nelson. Saturday night met Jim for a wonderful dinner at the most authentic french bistro in KC - Aixois in Crestwood. I'm not an expert on France but it seems like the real deal to me. The food is wonderful and it couldn't have been a more perfect fall weekend. The trees are in the height of changing color and Aixois is in a beautiful setting with a wonderful outdoor patio. The diner and wine were delicious and we finished the meal by sharing the rice pudding with caramel sauce topped with an orange whip cream - Yum!!

Today was another spectacular fall day! I met Jim at the Museum at Prairie Fire to see the special exhibit on The Horse. I took local roads to get there because I wanted to see the gorgeous leaves one more time. If you think I am on a quest to see every museum in the area then you are correct! I love museums and we have great ones right her in the area. Prairie Fire is fairly new and is affiliated with the Museum of Natural History in New York.  The exhibit was interesting and I learned a lot I didn't know. I actually have a huge fear of horses so this helped me to have a better understanding of their actions. And the only ones there were fake or skeletons so that's my kind of horse! The museum is gorgeous with all the colored glass surrounded by prairie grass.

Museum at Prairie Fire

There are lots of restaurants and shopping right by the museum so we had dinner at the Paradise Diner. I love places that have Happy Hour even on Sunday!