Pic Me Up - A little Kansas City

It's a Saturday morning and I'm chilling out just thinking about my sweetie who's out practicing base defense somewhere in Indiana right about now. I decided to use some pictures from our recent Kansas City trip as a little happy memory. I was trying to fancy myself a photographer during this trip so here are some of my takes from around our hotel:

A view of the plaza from our boutique hotel, The Raphael

Some "sole searching" for inspiration.

(I laughed for 10 minutes after that comment...Curt didn't think it was quite that funny.

A little trip to the antique shopping area...but it was just a drive by because it was soooo cold and snowy!

Inside the Raphael, there were these lovely beaded chandeliers...pretties are everywhere!

It's the start of our first new year together...complete with me jamming his head into our self-portrait and making sure my necklace is visible. haaaaaaaa

The view of the plaza from our room...playing with the exposure to turn the bright lights into lovely hearts (or upside-down butts) :)

Kansas City's Finest, Beadiest, Shops!

While visiting the Velasquez clan--now my clan--in Kansas City over the holidays, my sweetie husband helped me plan a little bead shopping adventure one afternoon. The weather was freezing and we had to take a break for some KC BBQ, but we got to two shops and I had great experiences at both and want to share!

First, there's The Bead Shop in the Overland Park area of the city. They have something for just about every beader! Some of the newer fun stuff like metal stamping but lots of the seed bead basics, too. They have a huge selection of base metal chain in all sorts of pattern and sizes that really caught my eye. I saw some stone cuts that I haven't seen before, too, which was cool. Plus, I got sucked into the glass case featuring the "good stuff" at the counter. You know, those cases have the fanciest, prettiest, and most budget-unfriendly stones that you'll ever drool over. Well, I didn't just drool...I couldn't hold back on this gorgeous strand of imperial jasper.

So, overall, a great shop to check out if you're in the area. I got some great, enthusiastic help from the staff while I browsed for close to an hour. :)

Next, there's the shop over in Lenexa called The Heartland Bead Market. I was overwhelmed by the walls full of color! They have great lighting that really makes the most of an extensive collection of Czech glass. I'm not usually a big fan, but I couldn't resist perusing the entire wall and ended up with some pretties! The stones were gorgeous and I ended up with way more than I probably "need" but I couldn't resist. The staff was wonderfully helpful and encouraging when it came to making some interesting stone combinations. :)

Plus, I'm now nearly obsessed with lapis because it's native to Afghanistan and I have a personal connection there now. :)

So, I may not have the most powerful endorsement, but I'm a world-wide bead shopper and these are both places that I'll definitely visit again!