Tag: USA

A Quick Day in Lawrence, KS

It’s crazy to think that one week ago we were leaving Kansas after a whirlwind trip for Doug’s little brother’s graduation in the center of the state. Isn’t it crazy how quickly time goes by once you return from vacation? Anyway, the relative passage of time is neither here nor there. When we arrived at the Kansas City airport we picked up our rental car, met with a friend for lunch, and then high-tailed it to our favorite city in the Sunflower State: Lawrence. To be honest, I can’t believe I haven’t done a profile on Lawrence yet!

lawrence

One thing I’ve noticed in life is this: If you want to find the best donuts in town, find out where the senior citizen crowd goes. You certainly won’t find the most aesthetically pleasing joint, but you will find the best donuts. Start your day in Lawrence out at Munchers Bakery. The cream cheese donuts were highly recommended, but I loved my blueberry and apple fritters.

Munchers Donuts

Once your’e hopped up on sugar and caffeine, burn off some of that energy by heading over to Clinton Lake for some fresh air and pretty scenery, or take a stroll around KU–the University of Kansas.

Then, head over to the most popular part of town– Massachusets St (called Mass St). If you truly wanted to, it would be easy to spend the entire day on Mass, poking around each and every shop–varying from big chains like Gap, to antique stores, music stores, and more.

Arriving at Mass Street, you’re probably ready for lunch. Whatever you’re in the mood for, there is a great restaurant to fit the bill.

Notable shops include…

Love Garden Sounds, a music store with a wide variety of CDs and Vinyl, including some hard-to-finds. Since I’ve been visiting Lawrence the shop has been in three different locations, but the loyal customers take it all in stride. The shopfront they’re in now has a primo location so I don’t anticipate any shakeups for a while. Isn’t the deconstructed piano in their front window incredible?

Love Garden

Love Garden

Wild Man Vintage is a clothing store dealing in (you guessed it) vintage. It rules, but we’re biased because our buddy works here. But really, look at that amazing selection of vintage boots!

Wild Man Vintage

Wild Man Vintage

In the evening, catch a show at Liberty Hall, The Granada, The Bottleneck, or even Jackpot!  I’ve seen several shops at Liberty Hall and they have been some of the best ones I’ve ever been to. It’s easy to get really close to the stage!

After the show head back to your friend’s apartment–you are staying with a college buddy, right? And partake in a time-tested tradition–ordering a midnight pizza from Fat Freddy’s. Their delivery hours are insanely late: up to 3 and 4 AM!

Anyway… that’s what I’d do! ;)

Inspiration for a Monday

Monday already?! Blerg! To be honest, that sentiment is little uttered around here, since I’ve mentioned before that Doug’s “weekend” is Weds-Thurs and I work retail with a few days on, a few days off, and no true weekend at all. Anyway, I’m sure that those of you who have President’s day off are enjoying the extra day of relaxation, and those of us who are at work (or going to work in about an hour, like me) will shake our fists but put our heads down and do the best we can at our jobs.

I have a few cool posts in the works but nothing ready to share just yet. So, I decided to corral some things that were inspiring to me this weekend!

Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities— The first Dickens book I’ve ever managed to make my way through, and despite his meandering sentences paragraphs chapters, I really liked it! In full disclosure, however, I did listen to it on audiobook. My second audiobook experience! If you liked the themes of redemption in Les Misérables, I highly recommend this (shorter) classic.

Island Beneath the Sea

As long as we are talking about books, I read Island Beneath the Sea, a historical fiction novel about the Haitian slave Revolution months ago and it is still haunting me! I can’t wait to give it a re-read and I picked up another work by author Isabel Allende, this one grabbed my interest as it begins in Chile–in the town of Angela’s birth!

Downtown Encinitas

Encinitas, CA– It had been far too long since I visited this laid-back beach town. I surprised Doug with a quick trip up the coast to shop at Lou’s Records. After that, we walked up and down the shops on Pacific Highway even though it was cold and windy! Can’t wait to get back up there on a nicer day, camera in hand.

The album we picked up at Lou’s was Local Natives’ Hummingbird, which you can listen to here if you have Spotify:

PS- Check out this awesome BBC article about Sherry & John from Young House Love! They never cease to be an inspiration to me!

The Mission (Mission Beach)

Brunch: a magical word that makes all right with the world. There’s something special about sleeping in late and going out for a delicious meal prepared by an expert chef–and dishes all whisked away to be cleaned by somebody else. It truly is one of life’s simple luxuries. If there’s one thing to be said for Doug’s zany Friday through Tuesday work schedule, it’s that “the weekend” is Wednesday and Thursday and we never have to wait in line for brunch.

The Mission restaurant

One of my favorite San Diego eateries has been, for years, The Mission. My visits have been split between their locations in North Park and in Mission Beach. Both offer the same delectable menu and the same high quality service.

It was at The Mission that I discovered what rosemary potatoes are. If I could eat a heaping plateful of their rosemary potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I would say that it was a good day. Unfortunately, last time I brunched I decided to branch out and didn’t order the rosemary potatoes, so I don’t have the appropriate photo evidence. Everything on the menu is simply terrific though! I could go on, but I’ll let the photos of my Mission French Toast and Doug’s Power Plato Breakfast speak for themselves.

Power Plato Breakfast

Mission French Toast

Yummmmm. Care to join us?