month in photos: december

Last month was crazzyyyy. Crazy good. Crazy fun. Crazy busy.
I took a crazy small amount of pictures. 

Feeling festive with jingle bells in mason jars.

His & hers K-State shoes.

Architectural amazingness. Kauffman Performing Arts Center.

Somebody loves his Weber Smokey Mountain smoker.

Love this piece of art from another night of wine and painting at the Hook Gallery.

Really fun events not captured on camera:

Nordstrom private holiday shopping event.

Catching the second night of The Book of Mormon in Chicago.
Winter scenery (snow & cars on the side of the road for miles) from our 13 hour drive from Wisconsin.

The half-scarf I knitted to keep myself from going insane on said 13 hour drive.
Seeing the K-State men's basketball team win at home.

All in all, a merry last month of 2012!

another post about states

This time, the subject isn't traveling to/from a state. 

It's about an amazing necklace I found while dilly dallying on Instagram yesterday.

via @jennykin

Even if you've never stepped foot in either of these states, you probably know that Kansas City is a border city: half in Kansas, half in Missouri. Most anyone who has lived in or visited Kansas City has ties to both sides. While most of the publicity is over on the Missouri side, the Kansas side has a lot to offer as well.

I spent most of my formative years on the Kansas side in a suburb called Overland Park. I now live on the Plaza, in  Missouri. I am constantly crossing State Line to visit Blue Eyes, go to work, see my parents, work out, and eat the best bbq in the country. While there's plenty to do in Kansas, when someone visits KC, you can bet the majority of their time will be spent sightseeing, eating, and drinking on the Missouri side.

That's why I love this necklace. It embraces the two distinct states that together make up my home.

change of scenery

Kansas Citians woke up to white today.

The commute was twice as long and about four times as stressful, but I love the first snowfall of the season.

In the spirit of change, this little corner of the interwebs received a face lift this morning as well.
I'm pretty happy with the new layout so far.
It's simpler, cleaner, and I think it is more appealing to the naked eye.
I need to reformat almost all of my previous posts, so bear with me as I make tweaks to the new design.
I sure hope you like it, too. What do you guys think?
PS: if you're using Google Reader, click here to see the changes.

at the moment

At the moment, I'm....

via

• loving anything and everything french bulldog.
• enjoying watching the leaves change colors in Kansas City. (Tiff has captured it perfectly here.)
• impatiently awaiting our trip to Mexico next month. 
• looking for a good excuse to purchase something from this calligraphy shop.
• wanting this sequin sweater.

do you like to color?

Did you ever go to Disney World as a kid and tour the offices where grown-ups get to color all day? (Did anyone else think of Charlotte Yorke just now?) Pretty sure they were filling in stills for Pocahontas when I was there, which just made me feel really old. I remember touring those offices and thinking this is totally what I'm going to do when I grow up. Best. Job. Ever!!!! 

I always loved art coloring when I was young, and when I got old enough my parents would drive me to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (which is now conveniently walking distance from my place) so I could sit around and draw/paint for hours. Since then, I've made a point to visit some amazing art museums like MoMA and Hess Collection (which was a little out-there for my taste), but haven't done much in the way of art myself.

So when my friends found a Groupon to the Hook Gallery for a BYOB painting class, I was obviously all in. Have you been to one of these "cocktail and canvas" events that have popped up around the country? If you haven't yet, I highly recommend. They are a blast. If you're nervous because you have zero art ability, you will be surprised at how artistic you are when you get a little wine and a lot of moral support. Like our instructor said, "you'll go through a period of depression when you think the painting will never turn out right, but it will all come together in the last 10 minutes." And it did!

There are few things more daunting than a blank canvas. Except being sober staring at a blank canvas.

Supplies.

Face painting. This is when the ADD and wine started kicking in...

the making of a masterpiece. :)

The girls with our works of art. Everyone's was so good, and unique to their style!

My hilarious friend Kristen (who's birthday is today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!) became buds with our instructor and correctly guessed his original artwork from all the pieces on the gallery wall. The instructor was so impressed that he gave the piece (on the left) to her! 

The final product: Kansas City skyline.

kansas city fashion's night out

Tonight is Fashion's Night Out! I'll be celebrating in Kansas City this year, although I've been recklessly stalking the inspiring images via twitter and instagram from #nyfw.

Last year I cried real tears when I couldn't find anyone (I should add very last minute) to attend FNO with me. It was a weak moment for sure, but can you blame me? Yes, you can. That is pathetic, Monica. But I really did have my heart set on going.

This year I approached KC's fashion week with a nonchalant attitude and guess what - I'm going to FNO tonight! With actual friends. So I won't be the random girl wearing __________________ (this blank is giving me a bit of anxiety with 3 hours to figure it out) without anyone to talk, shop, and Instagram with.

needed this last year..... via @bellaroma97 

KC bloggers - are you going to FNO on the Plaza tonight? If so, I hope to see you there!

home

@monicarosekc on Instagram 

When I was in high school, I wanted out of Kansas. I applied to schools in Indiana, Ohio and Missouri. It's not that I wanted to get away from anyone or anything in particular, I just wanted to experience somewhere different. My other requirement was this "somewhere different" needed to award me with plenty of scholarship money so my parents wouldn't feel the burden of out-of-state tuition. My mom, being the smart woman she is, made me choose one in-state institution to apply for as a back-up plan. In keeping with my stubborn redhead ways, I chose the school none of my eleven best friends picked, and which I knew very little about except it was the furthest state university from home.

Over the course of my last year of high school, for one reason or another (read: didn't get accepted to ND and didn't get enough $$ for the rest) my back-up plan was starting to look more and more like the front runner. By the time August 2004 rolled around, I was just excited for college and a whole new experience, even if it was in Kansas. 

Fast forward four and a half years to graduation. I could have stayed in that little Kansas town at least another semester. Even now, I still can't get enough of Manhattan. But with the imminence of finding a full-time job, I decided it was time to plan to leave Kansas again. 

I interviewed for jobs in Philly, had dreams of living in Chicago, and seriously considered moving to LA to be an assistant for some D-list celeb. I got an offer from the Philadelphia company, but something in my gut (and lack of somethings in my bank account) said I should stay home for a year and save up to move to a fabulous big city.

Now, the present. Four years after I decided to stay in the Midwest for no longer than a year, I'm still here. And absolutely loving it. If you'd told me when I graduated high school I'd still be living in the Kansas City metro at 26, I would have been disappointed. Or thought something unfortunate must have happened that made me stay. But really, I adore being close to my family. Many friends have moved away, but some are already making their way back, and I love visiting those who are making names for themselves in cities far away. And as I was forming another getaway-from-Kansas plan in 2009, I met a boy. 

I've learned so much about this city I've lived in most my life. There's way more than the 'burbs, the barbecue and the beach-lessness. It's artsy, exciting and filled with some wonderful people. Crazy how you can fall in love with something you thought you knew so well. 

What sparked this essay of a post? One of my favorite people is coming back to visit Kansas this weekend, and I get to see her tonight. Can't wait!