Randomness

We've been lucky to have visitors recently.  My Mom and John were here a couple of weeks ago, Rebecca visited last weekend...and Judy will be on her way out next weekend!  Love visitors from home!  We had a blast with Rebecca...but managed to not take a single decent picture!  Oh, well - it happens.  We did, however, take Rebecca to some of our favorite haunts:  Cinder Block Brewery, Grinders (a DDD fave) and Cooper's Hawk Winery.  Lots of good eats & drinks were had...and we even had time for some "girly stuff" like mani/pedis and shoe shopping - things I totally miss out here!  Thanks for coming out, Rebecca.  Let's do it again soon!

This past week was another busy one, but Chad and I managed to have a little fun.  We tried out a new restaurant a few blocks from our building - Barrel 31.  I must say that we were quite impressed, especially since it has only been open for a couple of weeks.  Barrel 31 is essentially a whiskey bar & restaurant.  I don't know the first thing about whiskey...but I do know that Barrel 31's Whiskey Sangria was quite tasty!  The decor is sleek rustic and the food is super yum!  Here's a pic of the Flaming Gouda Ale Fondue that was on special during HH.

Thursday afternoon, we took a few hours off work and headed to Boulevard Brewery for one of their special tours & tastings - The Smokestack Tour.  This is a special tour that takes you to places within the brewery that you don't visit on the typical free tour, such as...

 The Hops Fridge

(very aromatic)

The Roof

(Great view of the city on a hazy day...)

(...and a nice view of our building too!)

The tour started off with a full pour of Tank 7 (always a crowd pleaser) and ended with a guided tasting of several of their other Smokestack beers.  Super fun!

Today I decided to get my lazy butt back to a organized exercise class.  I love having the gym in our building, but I know that I don't work out as hard or as frequently as I do when I partake in an exercise class.  I was thinking of going back to hot yoga, but also had been reading a lot about barre classes...so I decided to give the barre a try.  There are several in the KC area, but only one that is fairly close to where we live - The Bar Method.  I made it through my first class, and everyone there was super nice.  I have to say that I didn't come away all sweaty and gross, as I typically would with exercise classes, but that doesn't mean the workout was still tough.  I felt it in my arms, legs & core just a couple of short hours after the class finished.  I think if I mix this with some OPP gym cardio & yoga, it will be a great fit for me.  Here's to the next class!

Have a great weekend!