A quick stop on a 3 hour drive

Our new cottage

Beautiful Storm

I had to post some of the shots I got last night of a storm clipping the edge of the city. These were taken out of my bedroom window. The storm never amounted to anything, not around here at least, but it definately put on a great lightning show.

Leon at the Voodoo Lounge

Growing up, I spent my weekdays at my mom's house and weekends at my dad's house. During those weekend days we had developed a bit of a routine. Friday night we almost always played monopoly, ate twizzlers and went to bed late. Saturday morning though was when my education occurred. My father, a product of the '60's has absolutely fantastic taste in music. I grew up spending my Saturday mornings listening to some of the greatest rock bands in the history of the world. Bands like Poco, Crosby Stills and Nash, Neil Young, CSN&Y, The Band, Joe Cocker, The grateful Dead, Loggins and Messina, The Eagles, Yes, The Souther Hillman Furrey band...just to name a few. A few weeks ago I got a call from my step mom mentioning she had a great idea for my dad's birthday present. Leon Russell is coming to town. Would you want to go with your dad if I bought the tickets is what she asked me. "Oh I would have to check my sched_of course I would like to go!"
Well, last Thursday was the night of the show at the voodoo lounge in Harrah's casino (which is actually a great venue). The opening band was Dave Mason whom was a founding member of a little band called Traffic ( also, a phenomenal band). Anyway he rocked the stage for a while and I must say sounded equally as good now (60 years old) as on his old albums.

Then it happened. After Mason's stage crew had retrieved all of there equipment and Leon's had set all of his up...he appeared. A man with about 2 feet of stark white hair hanging from his head and an equal amount from his face. He made his way across the stage with the help of a cane and took his seat behind his piano. The rest of his band made there way on stage and they began to rock. They began playing Hummingbird, and that unmistakable voice of ol' Leon kicked in and still sounds fantastic. He sounded just as he does on all my old albums of his. I stood there like a little kid in awe with a smile on my face the whole time. I must be brutally honest though, he looks like he is about 152 years old. My dad said it best when he said it looks like old Leon died about 10 years ago. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to see a musical icon like Leon Russell rockin on stage in my lifetime.

Throughout the course of my life I have developed quite the affection for food. I love preparing, cooking, smelling, and eating food. I would have to say that My favorite type or genre of food is Italian. I love how simple it is. With such a small palate of ingredients the Italians have a way of creating some of the biggest flavors and diverse dishes. Ever since my stay in Italy I have had this no food will ever taste as good as it did in Italy attitude. The same attitude I have towards coffee, wine, and pretty much everything else. That is until this past weekend. My grandpa came in town to celebrate my dad and my aunt's birthdays. In celebration we decided to go to 40 sardines . Now I must preface the rest of the story with a quick description of my grandpa. He grew up on the Chesapeake bay eating oysters and lobsters. He now lives in Chicago and has enjoyed the culinary delights of the rosebud and other highly respected restaurants. What I am trying to say, he has eatin some really good food and when he puts his seal of approval on it, you know it is good.

Now back to the story. We arrive at 40 sardines and immediately choose a bottle of wine. My family knows the affection I have for the fruit of the vine so they let me choose. I decided to go with a bottle from the 20 wines @ 20 dollars list, the Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon. They have a really fantastic wine list with bottles ranging from 24-350 dollars a bottle. Rather then choosing an expensive bottle I have never tasted, I chose a lesser expensive bottle that I knew was pretty good.

A glass later it came time to order. The special: pan seared scallops with a gruyere potato cake and lightly steamed spinach leaves...I'll take it! But first I would like the house gnocchi. Others ordered things like ahi tuna steaks, Alaskan halibut, roasted chicken, and Parmesan pork sirloin. When the food came, it was just like that scene out of what about bob? All of us where making the mmmmm, oh my, this is de-licious sounds. and eventually dinner turned into everyone passing forks back and forth accompanied by the words, "You have got to try this". Everyone's meals where equally as delicious as mine. The creme brulee I had to top off the delicious meal may have put me over the edge though. Upon returning home I headed straight for the couch to lie down, not raising again for a solid 45 minutes. I was so full that movement of any kind was strictly prohibited. The only other meal I have had that left me as satisfied as this one, a lunch in an Italian town called Piensa. I think of few of you may remember that. I tell you this story for one reason. In hopes that you too will go and experience the fantastic tastes of 40 sardines and when you do, please, tell me what you thought.

Kansas City on the Fly
So for the last week I have been putting in a few extra hours a night at work. While I don't necassarily enjoy putting in the extra time, it does allow me to enjoy some fantastic light on the way home. I have been inspired as of late to shoot some pics of KC while on my drive home, sometimes shooting from my car without so much as even slowing down. Having said that, here are a few of the images I have added to my library.

No one that has drunk old wine wants new; for he says, "The old is nice."

~Luke 5:39

I would like to spend some time speaking of a hobby I have developed. I spent some time in Italy a while ago (not that I had to mention that, the only people that read this blog were there with me) and developed a taste for the fruit of the vine. During my travels I tasted wine from many different regions in Italy, Umbria, Abbruzzo, Montepulciano, and the famous Chianti. In fact I took a fantastic trip with some friends via taxi through the heart of Chianti in search of vineyards and the perfect glass. Due to a few too many glasses the night prior, we struggled through the winding roads of Chianti, at least until we found a cafe for a panini and a capuccino. On that trip we discovered a quaint vineyard, Panzanello. It was here where I tasted what I still consider the best glass of wine I have ever tasted. The Panzanello Chianti Classico Reserva 2001. I bought a bottle and a bottle of the Chianti Classico 2002. I opened the '02 the night I asked Abbey to be my wife. Upon tasting this wine, my memories were confirmed. This wine was absolutely exquisite. I am saving the '01 for our one year anniversary. It will join the other bottles I have accrued over the past two years until that date. The stars being: two The Chocolate Block 2003, one Constant 2001 cabernet sauvignon, one Girard 2003 petite syrah, and of course Panzanello Chianti Classico Reserva 2001. I don't know when I will drink these bottles, perhaps I will wait for the perfect occasion for the corking of the Constant (which holds the highest dollar value at $80.00/bottle) or one day grab it on my way out the door to a fast food restaurant as Paul Giamatti discovered to be the perfect place for his vintage bottle, a 1961 Cheval Blanc, in Sideways.
Whenever these bottle find there way onto my palate, I am sure they will be splendid. Besides the financial repercussions of the hobby, I can't think of more enjoyable way to pass the time than sipping on delicious bottle of red.

MY RETURN TO MOTION

So for my first post in quite some time (excluding the response to a tagging I received) I have chosen to blog about my recent return to an active lifestyle.

I graduated in May of last year and along with my exit from Manhattan, KS came an exit from an life riddled with intramural sports and the occasional pick up basketball game. In place of this I found a sedentary lifestyle to be a comfortable alternative. This is however until I realized that this lifestyle was having negative effects on my figure. I have noticed a few changes, all additions, to the ol' body. I had decided that this is unacceptable about 6 months ago, joined a gym and began working out...for about 1 hour. I had the greatest intentions for myself.
The plan was to work out about 3 time a week and start eating healthier. I even said to myself that I would work out in the morning before work. This is where I should have know that this plan was bound to derail before it even developed. Despite the absurdity of my intentions I gave it a go. 6.30am the next morning, the alarm begins the ring. My hand swings through the air with astonishing accuracy and velocity to strike the snooze button without even so much as grazing the other buttons.

This repeats many times bringing me to today, 6 months and about 8 trips the gym later. I am now however, on my second consecutive day of activity. Last night I played 5 on 5 full court basketball. The work out was tuff, in fact I felt as if my lungs had collapsed about 4 minutes into the first game of three. By the end I felt inches from death.
Tonight I played volleyball in a local architecture league. We lost to HOK, a solid team with two stand out players that can spike the holy hell out the ball.



So as the second day of my glorious return to activity comes to an end...I am sore as hell!

My Top Five's

In response to a recent "tagging" from Studio109, here are my top five's:

IN THE KITCHEN:

1. Red Wine
2. Black Pepper
3. Espresso Maker
4. Milk
5. Pasta from the River Market


IN THE CLOSET:

1. Your favorite Marino Wool Black Sweater
2. Dry Cleaning
3. Flip Flops
4. Black Shoes
5. The one hat you where when you play golf.


IN MY BAG:

1. Thinking Architecture
2. Day Planner
3. Moleskine
4. Uni-ball vision (micro) Pens_black
5. I-pod


AT THE OFFICE:

1. Post-it Notes
2. Monthly calendar
3. That one great coffee cup
4. 10 x 10
5. Internet


AT HOME:

1. A Fantastic Woman
2. Vonnegut
3. A couch you can sleep on ( not a sleeper sofa)
4. Fresh Flowers
5. A turn table with a fantastic collection of albums

new sites

I have been working on a few projects for the wedding recently. One being a wedding blog www.abkwedding.blogspot.com and the other being a wedding website, www.cbkroll.com . I hope that you check them out. The website is my first one of any consequence and may be changing over the next few days/weeks as I am still learning how it works and I am a little unhappy with how it looks at the present. But nonetheless, check it out. I will be blogging about the wedding planning process and putting all the appropriate info on the site, i.e. embarrassing pics of the groomsmen and so on. out.

I am getting married!!

It is true. After a little over 3 years, I finally asked abbey to be my wife...She said yes. August 4 is the a tentative date set right now. We will be married in Wichita so get ready to hit the road kids because this will be a celebration you won't want to miss. I am going to try to start a wedding blog or website with all the info on that so that people can stay up to date with all of our plans. Once that is made I will post the address on this blog so that those few of you that still visit every now and again have access to the site. Well, it has been too long since I have left a post and for that I apologize. I hope all are well out there is computer world. Enjoy your friday.

I just drank a huge cup of coffee and I am still tired. What the hell is the matter with me??

Julie's big day

This past weekend I attended a wedding for a friend of mine whom I met really pretty recently. Julie was one of the first people I got to know at my current job. She has been a great friend and it was awesome to be there with her on this beautiful night. Her wedding was gorgeous, not in a church but in a small space in downtown KC. This space used for many different activities was the host of a fashion show a few weeks ago which I went to and on this night looked like a completely different building on the inside. I will stop typing now for I am very tired and post some pics I shot on this night for you viewing pleasure.

Breakfast of Champions

I am taking a break from my job which requires ways to many hours of my life, to write this blog. I have had it, too much work not nearly enough play. I love Architecture but I don't know if I am ready to sacrifice all my time to it just yet. I do, however, find time during lunch to grab an hour and read. Over the past 4 weeks, an hour at a time, I have been chipping away at Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. I finished it on Tuesday of this week, and I must say I enjoyed the hell out of it. It was written unlike any book I have ever read. The characters were written about in manner almost making them all equal... so that there were no main characters, or ALL the characters were main characters (however you want to look at it). One however, did eventually stand out. He goes the name of Kilgore Trout. I will not say much more about the book in hopes that you will read it and find out the whole story for yourself, with no expectations or inclinations as to what may happen.
I will say that this book made me laugh out loud on several occasions. My reading spots consist of either LatteLand, Starbucks, or Panera all on the plaza. I make my decision on where I will read each day based on three criterion.
One) whether or not I am going to eat while I read. Most days I bring my lunch and eat it at my desk while I work, so to be able to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and my book without the trouble of sticking food into my mouth. My mouth is the whole in my face located just below my nose where the majority of my air enters and exits my body, It also contains all of my teeth used for breaking food into small enough pieces to travel down my throat into my stomach. If I choose to eat, I opt for Panera and all it's deliciousness.
Two) What the weather is like. For instance, if it is a little chilly, I would like a hot cup of coffee. LatteLand's coffee is significantly better than Starbucks in my opinion so I would opt for LatteLand. However, if it is warm out and I would like something cool and refreshing, I hit up Starbucks for one there divine caramel Frappuccinos. Damn are they exquisite.
Three) Kind of related to the second, If I would like to sit inside or outside. On the Plaza at least, Starbucks has premium outdoor seating. Whereas LatteLand's is nice, but small. Even though there are two LatteLands on the Plaza, there is more outdoor seating at the one Starbucks than at both LatteLands combined. So If I am feeling the indoor vibe, I go LatteLand. Outdoors, Starbucks.
Next hour increment book: Island, Aldous Huxley

It's like heaven in your mouth

So over my lunch break I have discovered something that maybe you all were already aware of. This discovery I speak of goes by the title IZZE. This is a juicy, sparkly, fantastic mixture of sparkling water and 100% pure fruit juice. The flavor of choice today was "sparkling pear." Two sweet pears have been bottled and blended with the perfect amount of sparkling water to create a beautiful, crisp, refreshing beverage. Other flavors offered by IZZE are blackberry, lemon, clementine, blueberry, and pomegranate just to name a few. If you have the time I highly recommend you pick of a bottle, while you are at it pick up some ETHOS water and save some kids. (I will blog about that another time) . I just love finding new beverages that satisfy my tastebuds, I might even consider it a hobby of mine...If I see something that I have either never heard of or just never tried, I will purchase it at least once and give it a fair shot at becoming one of my favorites.

Monday morning blues.

So I want to take a moment to discuss the feelings that float throughout a monDAY. First of all, monday morning...I wake to the sound of my alarm clock and instinctivley I hit the snooze button in about .5 seconds. I repeat this about 3 times. I am telling you this because Mondy mornings bring with them an incredible regret for ever getting a job. Waking on a these mornings is incredibly difficult for me, infact I marvel at hard it is really is for me to rise. Once I am up, I am in the shower as quickly as possible, I need the hot water to keep me awake or I will fall off of the awake wagon in record time. After the shower is when my thoughts start to clear up and become more reasonable. I arrive at work at around 815 or so and begin my workday. around 930 is the time I realize that Mondays really are not that bad, It's just the 5 day outlook that gets you down. You know, the weight of the next four days bearing down on you is hard to handle some times. Having said that,however, no matter times I go through this process of hating Monday mornings then realizing that there really not that bad...come next monday at 715 when my alarm begins singing is hell song. I will forget all I have learned and hate Monday morning again, at least for an hour or two.
Monday night is a different story. I love Monday nights. This is my thought process:

ahh i got through another monday already, oh ya tomorrow is already tuesday_ wow after that its already hump day, thursday then friday...hmmm. do I have plans for friday, I should call kingsley and get something figured out...I am going to play golf on saturday...man i love saturdays.

As you can see it really only is the Monday morning part of the week that I have problems with, and that only lasts an hour or so. Now that I have let you have a rough peek into my monDAY thoughts, tell me about yours...what goes through your head on monDAY??

I am back baby

I finally have internet in my new place. It is amazing how reliant we, or maybe just me, have become on this connection to the world. I remember in highschool I never was the kind of person to just sit down at the computer and "surf the web" let along start a blog and somewhat keep it updated. Now after sitting in front of a computer for the last 3 years, basically solid. I seem to feel some comfort knowing that this connection is just in the other room for me to find solice in whenever I want.
Well, I really have nothing else for you now. I have been working way too much lately and have had no time to do anything. Not even get my apartment clean or make it my home. there are still boxes and piles of things just screaming to be put away. I look at them and quitely promise to get to them after work. but when I don't leave work until 10 or so i have to look at said items when I get home knowing that i will probably tell the same lie to them tomorrow. Hopefully this week will be a little slower and i will have time to start taking care of some of these things. I will update with pics of my space once it starts to take shape.

two top 5 lists for your weekend pleasure

first of all..the music:

5 selected songs that must, if they don't already grace your collection [vol. 2]

1.Tegan and Sarah_Time Running
2.The Shins_Caring is Creepy
3.Rent:Original Broadway cast_entire 2disc soundtrack
4.Pavement_The Killing Moon
5.Michael Buble_feeling good (a little corny I know but still really good)

next in true weekend fasion:

5 drinks that you must give your pallate the pleasure of experiencing:

1. Chimay blue (belgium beer)
2. Moretti la Rossa (italian beer0
3. Tanqueray No. 10 and tonic
4. Caucasion (white russian)
5. either Meyers, or Appelton Estates Rum (both equally as exquisite dark Jamaican rums) and a spash of coke.

the weekend is in sight!