Lawrence Babymoon

Matthew and I didn't indulge in a big "babymoon" trip for one reason. I believe all expensive, romantic trips should involve booze. The idea of going to a beach, NYC, Napa Valley or anywhere else for that matter just sounds lame when you can't drink lots of alcohol. And lets be honest, dressing up is getting so exhausting at this point in the pregnancy.

BUT I didn't want to completely forgo the new tradition of babymooning, so we decided to travel a few miles and visit Lawrence.  I left my Tiger heart in Kansas City and showed Matthew what little I knew of the Jayhawk town- mainly Mass St.

We stayed at the historic Eldridge hotel, and it really was beautiful. It's small but our room was spacious, and it's the perfect location for anyone wanting to stay downtown. The rooms were also very reasonable priced.

Once we checked in that afternoon, we made our way down Mass St. First stop, lunch at Free State Brewery. Great food and a great beer selection. Matthew got an IPA while I had my own tasting glass of a pale ale.

Matthew's beer: Northern Lights IPA

After lunch we hit up a few shops. One of our favorites, was Made. It reminded me of an Etsy store filled with local, handmade gift items. We also really liked Hobbs, which had a great selection of men's clothes; Matthew was in heaven!

handmade leather wallets at Made

The only thing we actually purchased on Mass St. ended up being a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Hey, this was a "babymoon" and all that shopping made me hungry!

That evening, we had dinner a few blocks from our hotel at Panchamamas.  The dinner was good. I had wreckfish and Matthew got the ribeye. We liked it, but I'm not sure I'd go back. The ambiance was a little dated, and we knew Lawrence had to have some cooler places to discover. 

After dinner we ventured closer to our hotel and stopped in 715. Now, this was what we were looking for. We sat at the bar and Matthew had a few cocktails, me a great mocktail. We were so envious of everyone around us eating. The menu looked insane! Our bartender said the steak and grilled porkchop were the best things on the menu, but I was eyeing the goat gnocchi. We're talking about going back to Lawrence just to have a meal at this place. It seriously looks worth the drive.

my mocktail at 715

view of the bar at 715

Matthew's cocktail, the Hog Wash Sazarac, made with rye infused pork fat!

While it may look like we made it a late night, we were back to our hotel room by 10 p.m. with a piece of chocolate cake in hand. We had a very nice babymoon, but we're definitely ready to meet this baby. Only 7 more weeks!

- Melina

Discover Halls Crown Center

I have to admit when I hear Halls, I think expensive. My only purchase at Halls on the Plaza is my one and only pair of Tory Burch flats, and I wasn't the one doing the spending (thanks Dad!)

So you can imagine my surprise when I learned Halls Crown Center is much more affordable. They still feature lust-worthy brands like Tory Burch ...

... but they also carry more reasonably-priced clothing and shoes by BB Dakota, Jack, Tulle, Kensie and BCBG Generation.

And they don't just have women's clothing - they have two men's stores, a kid's store (Kiddo, so cute!) and a seasonal store, Deck the Halls, all strategically placed throughout Crown Center.

Last night, Melina and I made our very first shopping trip to Halls Crown Center with about 20 or so other local bloggers, all just as eager to see how the two stores compare (and what we could buy!)

It was a GREAT event! Halls gave each of us these cute red purses full of goodies, including a Rachel Zoe makeup bag/clutch, a Jones New York jewelry case, a pretty pair of earrings ...

and a $25 Halls gift card ... which we all proceeded to spend right then and there! Here's what I picked out - a fun, sparkly and comfy sweater by Jack. Only $78 before the gift card : )

Melina bought these adorable Toms - gray with white polka dots. So cute!

 

Halls also did several giveaways, which I did not win (boo), but Melina scored a really cool shirt for Matthew. 

It was a fun night with lots of fashionable ladies (group pic coming soon from Lisa at Peridot Skys). Looking forward to next week's blogger event at Madewell!



- Kara

Lusting After Long Hair

In a perfect world, I would have long hair (and legs) like this lovely lady ...

Or this one ... Don't you just love SJP on Glee?!

Anyways, it's not a perfect world, and my hair is far from lusciously long like these ladies'. In fact, last October, I chopped seven inches off. More than a year later, it's barely past my shoulders.

How do I make it grow?!

As a writer who graduated from the country's top journalism school, I'm of course very skilled in research. So I set out to do a little digging ... On Pinterest of course!

Thanks to some very helpful blog posts (you have to check out Maskcara) and a few of my favorite stylists, I put together a little plan, which I'll now share with you:

Kara's Plan for Really Long Hair

1. Take supplements.  I bought Biotin today and, since my hair was so full and healthy during both pregnancies, I'm also taking prenatal vitamins again (this may also be part of my plan to get knocked up again, but whatever. Mark, are you reading this?!)

2. Wash your hair as little as possible. This is so hard, but I'm aiming for three times a week. That was last Thursday, again on Sunday and then Tuesday. Whoops, already screwing this one up, and I have a blogger event tonight at Hall's Crown Center, so I'll want to wash my hair yet again ... I'll have to work on this one.

3. Style your hair as little as possible. Now this suggestion I love as I despise blow-drying my hair; I always get so sweaty. Still, once a week it's nice to have perfectly pin straight hair or oh-so-sexy beach waves, and the only way to get either is with damaging heat. Damn.

4. Cut your hair as little as possible. Some women swear the key is only trimming your hair every eight months to a year. My stylist said I could go about five to six months before my split ends took over. If I'd only known that before ... I usually have my hair trimmed every 10-12 weeks. No wonder it's growing so slowly!

5. Stimulate your scalp. Sounds kind of sexy, but I think the point is to scrub vigorously while shampooing. This is an easy one, but not if you have a manicure ...

6. Brush your hair 100 times a night. Sometimes old wives tales are actually true, I suppose.

And that's about it. I read several other suggestions - from using sulfate-free shampoos to wen (which kind of scares me), but I still love my Clean shampoo. Others say don't ever comb or brush your hair, and that seems to be going too far.

Still, I'm open to ideas, so if you have any advice for me and all the other girls out there lusting after Rapunzel-like locks, please share, so we can all look like this ...!

- Kara

Splurge vs. Steal gold stud earrings

I was doing some shopping at katespade.com to get some ideas for gifts that Matthew could get me for Christmas and came across these adorable earrings.. I had to do a double take because we're selling an almost identical pair of these earrings for nearly $50 CHEAPER.

Kate Spade large gold stud earrings, $58

Edit large gold stud earrings, $10

It's hard to pass up that price difference! We have three pairs left, so let us know if you'd like to purchase as a gift for someone or maybe for your own stocking! You can email us at editkc@gmail.com to place your order.


- Melina

Holiday Gift Idea: May Books

This week's holiday gift idea is great for practically anyone on your list. May Books are the prettiest notebooks I've ever laid eyes on. They are fully customizable, so you can choose from tons of trendy prints, including ikat, greek key, floral, polka dots and more in bright colors. Choose to put a name or monogram and then decide what you want the inside to look like. You can make it a calendar, meal planner, bump diary, lined pages, etc. The books are only $20 + shipping PLUS I just used the discount code, MONOLOVE for $5 off!

Here are a few of the prints I'm loving.

Here's a picture of a customer's finished product. Cute, right? Since these books are custom,  it will take about two weeks for them to produce and ship out, so don't wait too long to order yours!

Oh, and don't forget to GO VOTE TODAY!

- Melina

Do: STEMfest at Science City

This Saturday, November 10, Time Warner Cable is hosting a FREE event at KC's Science City. This means two things - I'll be working, and you should join me!

This is the first year Time Warner Cable is hosting STEMfest in Kansas City, and we're expecting  a great turnout from local organizations who focus on science, tech, engineering and math (STEM).

Plus, Science City has a new Nature Center exhibit and all kinds of fun, interactive activities for kids of all ages. I thought my girls (ages 3 and 4) were too young for Science City, but on my last visit with Time Warner, I noticed the Kinder Lab and several other exhibits they would totally love!

And did I mention the event is FREE?! Admission to Science City is typically around $10 per person, so this is a great savings for a family of four like ours.

Because admission is free, we're anticipating lots of families, so friend to friend, here's a bit of advice - get there early!

Let me know if you have any questions, and please spread the word about this fun and FREE event! And, of course, you have to say hello if you come by. I'll be in the Time Warner Cable shirt : )

Have a great Monday!



- Kara

Have a wonderful weekend

What do you have planned this weekend? We have nothing going on, which is soo nice and needed.

Our mom is in town today, so we're going to take her to our new favorite deli, Marv's. It's located in the Park Place shops in Leawood. If you haven't been yet, you should definitely stop by this weekend.

Hope everyone has nice, well-rested and safe weekends. Don't forget to turn your clocks back!