Vodka Love

There are many reasons to love vodka. It tastes amazing mixed with tonic, lemonade, grapefruit juice and so on. Plus it has ZERO carbs and very few calories. Last night, I found a new reason to love vodka - it was free! Our friend Sarah over at Apparently Obsessed invited Melina and I to a  launch party for American Harvest Organic Spirit Vodka.

Photos by p.binder.photography

 Since yesterday was Melina's birthday and she's a new mama obsessed with her little man, Melina opted to stay home and cuddle on the couch. Lucky for Mark - he was my date! Did I mention Mark loves vodka too ... and ladies in tight strapless dresses : )

Then we had the pleasure of running into friend and fellow blogger Erin of Pretty, Polished, Perfect. 

The night was very fun, the vodka tastes great - Mark had a drink straight up and can attest to the smooth flavor. (Mine was mixed with all kinds of juices and spices - even basil!) And the company was the best!


- Kara

Eat: Justus Drugstore

Last weekend, Matthew and I had one of the best food experiences of either of our lives at Justus Drugstore. This little hidden gem is in Smithville, a good 40 minute drive from the Plaza/Brookside area where we live, so we decided it was a great place to go prior to the birth of our baby since I could drive us home (sober). This was a good idea since Matthew indulged in quite a few cocktails while we were there. He's a sucker for a good Manhattan.

We made 8 p.m. dinner reservations, which we were a little worried about since that's been my bedtime the last few weeks, but I didn't have any problem staying awake during this meal.

We had the best seat in house - located right next to the open kitchen and got chatty with the owner and exec. chef, Jonathan Justus, a few times during dinner. Nice guy!

Now on to the important part - the dishes.

We started off with the farmers plate and the egg and cheese sandwich. Let me describe. The farmers plate was a selection of about 5-6 house-cured meats. Basically every imaginable part of a pig. It was divine, truly. The egg and cheese sandwich is nothing like you'd think. It was deconstructed and meant to just tear through and let everything run together. Again, every bite was to.die.for.

Farmers plate

egg and cheese sandwich. See what I mean? Nothing like you'd think.

We decided to skip the salads, even though I was eyeing the goat cheese fritter salad and moved on to the main course. They had everything from rabbit to short ribs to fried chicken. Normally, I'm aching for pork at a place like this but after the glorious meat selection we had just devoured and my pregnancy cravings for anything "comfort," I went with the special of the evening, boneless fried chicken with mashed potatoes. And oh heaven it was good. Matthew had the short ribs and shared only one bite. We both ate every last bit of our dinners and couldn't stop talking about how each bite was tasting better than the last. Seriously, we were turned on by this meal. :)

And in true Edit style, I dug into my entree before I could take a picture. Sorry readers!

But, I did manage to take a quick snapshot of my dessert, which I took home because I couldn't put another bite of a food in my mouth.

I ordered the carrot cake beignets. Yes, you heard me right. I devoured those babies the minute we walked into the house, then went straight to bed. And you betcha - I had a night filled of heartburn, but it was well worth it!

I highly recommend making the hike to Smithville for dinner at Justus Drugstore. It is pricey ($25-40 for an entrée) but a great place to go for a special occasion. We promise you won't be disappointed!


- Melina

Eat: Gailey's in Springfield

When it comes to brunch, we usually don't venture too far from home. My husband makes a mean biscuits and gravy, and we have a few places in Nixa we'll go when we don't feel like cooking. But a few weeks ago my sister-in-law was visiting, and we came across Gailey’s Breakfast Café in downtown Springfield. It's been locally owned since 2005 and has been voted best breakfast by 417 magazine five years in a row! How we just discovered this place, I have no idea!

This delicious little café is located in the Historic Hotel Seville on Walnut Street. The atmosphere is great and the food even better. I had scrambled eggs with asiago cheese and cilantro - yum!

Hope you'll give this fabulous place a try this weekend. I might even see you there!

- Mea

Eat: You Say Tomato

Enjoyed a great lunch yesterday with my good friend Lynn at a restaurant I've never been to - or even heard of ... You Say Tomato, 2801 Holmes in Kansas City - right by Hallmark.

The place doesn't look like much from the street - I couldn't even find a good sign to photograph. But I love little hidden gems like this - and, in my experience, the food is usually amazing when all the money isn't spent on overhead and decor.

Right again! Not much to look at from the street, but my food was so good - a yummy sweet potato quiche (with other veggies I'm not sure of) and a small Greek salad. Delish!

Today's specials, just to give you a taste of what else they have to offer, include:

• Panini - Mufaletta with mortadella, salami, ham, giardiniera, parmesan
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Meatloaf Sandwich - with bacon, mushrooms and swiss
• Breakfast Flatty - scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, country gravy and cheddar

Plus the interior was warm and inviting. An eclectic mix of tables and chairs (thrift store finds I'm sure) and freshly-baked treats made for a very homey atmosphere.

I hope you're able to try You Say Tomato soon. I believe they're only open for breakfast and lunch - 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for Sunday brunch.

I'm ready to go back!


- Kara

For You Foodies

Unfortunately, none of us are great chefs. We try, we really do, and I'd say we each have a speciality or two, but we're definitely not what you'd call foodies. We like to eat out and enjoy other people's tasty treats, but if you're looking for daily recipes, Edit may be lacking.

Now my sister-in-law Elizabeth, on the other hand, is a dietitian and fresh food connoisseur, and her blog is where you need to go.

She posts great healthy recipes and has tons of accolades and partnerships after only about a year of blogging - Cooking Light, Daily Food Buzz, Top Food Blogs at RecipesUS.com, etc. Most recently, she was one of Today's Top 9 blogs on DailyBuzz Food.

Check out her blog and let us know if you have other good (nutritious) food blogs we should start following. I'm trying to cook more healthy meals at home and need some inspiration!


- Kara

Time Warner Cable Blogger Event at Plaza Art Fair

image courtesy of The Purple Carrot

September is one of my favorite months of the year. Not only is the weather FINALLY cooling down, but two of my all-time, never-miss events are this month. The already-attended Greek Festival and the Plaza Art Fair.

The Plaza Art Fair will always hold a special place in my heart because it was Matthew and I's very first date four years ago (cue the "ahhs).

We're going back again this Friday night because Edit was invited to Time Warner Cable's VIP Blogger Event! As long time Time Warner internet customers (we got rid of cable to save $$), I'm excited to see and experience all the new services. There has been lots of GOOGLE talk around these parts, so it's nice to see TWC presence at such a highly-attended event.

In addition to experiencing some new TWC stuff, there will also be complimentary food, beer and wine from Seasons 52, which I have yet to try!

Oh and maybe one of the BEST perks of this event is the VIP parking. If you've been to the Art Fair before you know parking is a nightmare! A little birdie also told me they have places to sit (a necessity for me!) and nice bathrooms (it's the little things...).

TWC has other things going on for the general public all weekend including giveaway items, face painting, photo opps and much more. The tent is located on Broadway just north of Nichols.

Hope to see you there!


*Full disclosure: Kara is employed by Time Warner Cable and helping with the event this weekend (all weekend - poor thing!). Melina is just benefiting from her hard work!

- Melina

Preggers in Las Vegas

This past weekend, my belly and I joined up with my parents and my aunt and uncle to celebrate my favorite twins' birthday - Laura and Connor turned 21!

I still remember visiting them in the hospital when they were born. Laura only weighed 1.5 lbs and looked like a very tiny frog!

Now that you have that odd visual in your head, back to Vegas!

We got in Friday afternoon and joined the group for dinner at a favorite of theirs, Mon Ami Gabi inside Paris. It was amazing. In true Melina form, I ate my food before I couldn't remember to take a picture, but I had a wonderful tomato salad and a huge bowl of mussels. The restaurant is known for their steak frites, which is what Laura, my aunt Kathy and dad all had. Everyone finished their meal off with a few stolen bites of profiteroles courtesy of the birthday kids.

loved his outfit - all J.Crew

birthday twins

dressed up for dinner

We ended the first night downtown to show the twins some of the older casinos, including the Golden Nugget.

Saturday, we spent the day shopping at Caesars Palace and hit up our pool at the Rio. It was a nice, relaxing day. That night, we got ready for another scrumptious dinner, this time off the strip at Ferraros.  

And this dinner was to.die.for. Laura and I got the bucatini carbonara pasta and it was insane. I've never had better carbonara in my life. It was one of those meals that's so delicious that you can't decide what's more painful, leaving some on your plate or finishing those last bites even when you're ridiculously full. Again, no pictures, but a photo wouldn't do it justice. I highly recommend this place!

Then it was off to MGM Grand to catch the Cirque de Soleil show, KA. The show was amazing. It was my first Cirque de Soleil performance, and I loved it. The set and acrobats were just too cool. I was entertained the entire time, and our fourth row seats didn't hurt either!

at MGM Grand

We had a short but fantastic weekend. Oh and if you're wondering if anyone won big - I got lucky on one of the slots at the end of Saturday night and won $400. I said all weekend that I just wanted to win enough money to buy this light fixture for the nursery, and I did!

Thank you twins for letting me join in on your birthday fun. Looking forward to having some serious cocktails with you once this baby is born.

Love you guys! xoxo

- Melina

Koukla

Koukla is a Greek word for cute girl - and I am very fortunate to have two! Last weekend, my oldest Koukla, Evie, made her Greek dancing debut at our church's annual Greek Festival. Check out our Greek goddess:

Beginning of the weekend

 

Final performance - with red lipstick courtesy of Aunt Melina

Her little dance troupe did a great job with six performances over the weekend!

Evie with friends Eleni and Stella

Evie introducing herself to the crowd of hundreds!

Evie's dance troupe - don't you love the boys' costumes?!

Nora was very disappointed to be left out of Greek dancing (you have to be 4), at one point screaming through her tears: "If they won't let me dance, I'll do it by myself." And so she did. Not sure where she got the hands-on-the-hips move, but it was a repeat performance.

 

We were also very lucky to have so many friends come to visit us at the festival to see Evie dance - and enjoy the amazing food of course. We didn't take any food photos - we ate everything too fast - but our post from last week describes the decadent menu with photos too. 

 

Yiayia and Papou were also in town over the weekend, so we managed to snap a few fun family pics.

 

 

 



The Edit girls with our girls at the very end of a long day!

Nora snacking on a pita with her cousin Savanna

As you can imagine from all the photos, we left the Greek Festival each night very full and very tired. Thanks to Papou, the girls enjoyed nice valet service.

We hope you you made it out to the Greek Festival too. If not, join us next year. It's always the weekend after Labor Day - right around my birthday (which is tomorrow!!)


- Kara

Smoothies with my snookies

Kara dropped the girls off at my house yesterday morning while she headed down to NBC for one of our clients, and I decided to teach the girls how to make homemade smoothies.

Don't I have adorable little assistants in the kitchen?

They loved helping me cut up the fresh strawberries and pour in the ingredients. At first I thought they'd be turned off by the handful of spinach I threw in there, but they didn't even bat an eye. And watching the blender mix everything together - now THAT was cool!

And they loved them so much, we made two batches! Here's what we made:

Smoothie 1
1 cup of milk
1 handful of spinach
1 banana
6-8 fresh strawberries
handful of frozen raspberries

Smoothie 2
1 cup of milk
1 handful of spinach
1 banana
1 cup of frozen peaches


- Melina

Go Greek

We have been counting down the days, and now it's almost here ... one of our favorite weekends of the year ... our church's annual Greek Festival!

This year is even more special as Evie will make her Greek dancing debut!

You have to be there to appreciate the full wonder of the Greek festival, but let me try and paint a picture for you:

Adorable, old Greek ladies. Cooking for months. All to provide you with the best meal you've ever had.  Spanakopita. Pastitsio. Dolmathes. Gyros. Baklava.

Tiropita and Spanakopita

Dolmathes

Gyro

Pastitsio

My mouth is watering.

Every September for as long as I can remember - usually on my birthday weekend - we'd drive to Kansas City from our hometown of Nixa to gorge ourselves on Greek gourmet. Back then, our Dad was buying so money was not an object - only our inherited craving of all things Greek.

You may remember from an earlier post that we're Greek with an authentic Yiayia and Papou to prove it.

This means we love the color combo of blue, white and gold, and we tan easily in the summer. Some of us (me) also have shall we say "classic" Greek facial features (noses)!

But most importantly, we love our Greek heritage passed down lovingly by our Yiayia and the memories we've made while visiting her parents' homeland outside of Athens and all the gorgeous Greek islands - best trip ever.

The Greek Festival is almost like visiting Santorini ... there's dancing - this year with Evie in her adorable white toga and gold coins - Greek beer and ouzo. But it's the food you'll remember most of all.

Do not miss this weekend! This is an order from all three of us! Here's what you need to know:

Location
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
120th & Wornall
Kansas City, MO

Dates of Event
September 7, 8 & 9

Times:
Friday 6 - 10 pm
Saturday Noon - 10 pm
Sunday Noon – 6 pm

The festival is free, but the food is not. Bring your wallets - or buy the Groupon! I'm stocking up ...

We hope to see you there!


- Kara, Melina and Mea

Hi Hat Coffee

I met my friend Jen and her adorable new puppy at Hi Hat Coffee yesterday morning. It's such a beautiful, quaint little coffee shop - a nice retreat from bustling Starbucks or even Latte Land.

Hi Hat Coffee is located on really cute corner of Westwood Hills (50th and State Line) and has quite a bit of outdoor seating, but only two tables inside. Our vanilla lattes were delish and they did have a few assorted pastries too.  Hope you'll step out of your typical morning routine and give this place a try! (oh and if you're a punch card freak like me - they have them!)



- Melina

Eating Out in Dallas

While we were so exhausted after a full day of shopping for our boutique (I love saying that word!), we did manage dinner with newlyweds Ashley and Chris at Urban Taco on Dallas' trendy McKinney Avenue.

We loved it! Great atmosphere, free valet parking (great idea Dallas!) and, of course, amazing food! Here's what I ordered - the taco trio (not my picture, I was too tired for photography).

Our excellent meal at Urban Taco had me thinking about my favorite Mexican restaurants in Kansas City. I love, love, love Jalapeno's in Brookside, Manny's in the Crossroads and even Zocalo on the Plaza, although I think the margaritas are their biggest draw. And then there's Los Alamos Market y Cocina Melina wrote about here.

What do you think? Where's your favorite place to eat Mexican in Kansas City or anywhere? Can't wait to jot down your suggestions.



- Kara