A fashion show in the Paris of the Plains

Each year, the West 18th Street Fashion Show takes place in Kansas City. 18th street in the Crossroads District is shut down, a runway is built and a fashion show filled with up and coming designers takes place.

Some of the clothes were good (no models stopped in front of me, or I would have shown my favorites) some of the accessories were very good, and some had me puzzled. That's not really what matters though- what's important is that Kansas City has more events like this one.

Yes, a horse opened the show. 

Saturday was also my birthday, and I had some friends over for drinks and bits before the show. More than celebrating my birthday, throwing a cocktail party was an excuse to make the best party cocktail you'll ever have and serve it to some of my favorite Kansas City-ans.

I kept the food simple- Union Square Cafe bar nuts, Easter egg radishes with sea salt, olives and an eggplant dip with pita from my brand new Fresh & Easy Cookbook (which Matt sent to me for my birthday along with...new pans!).

A friend brought monster cupcakes

The view from the kitchen

Baby Harper was the tiniest and sleepiest guest.
She kept it festive with a cupcake onesie and a bow. 

We ended the night at Westport Cafe where I allowed myself a birthday indulgence: Spring pea ravioli and a side of french fries.

Sweet Visit: South Florida

It took a year of daydreaming (Italy? Palm Springs? Miami? Kansas City?) but Matt and I finally found the most perfect location for our wedding- a villa (complete with a resident peacock named Sir Winston) in Coconut Grove.

Our chuppah will be set up between the arches.

My family scoped out the location first, and told me to come to Florida as soon as possible- there was only one date available in 2013! So this past weekend, I took a quick trip south and it's true- the venue is  perfect for us. We'll be married in the courtyard (fingers crossed for no rain) April 27, 2013. Matt and I are beyond excited.

It was just ladies this weekend- my father was riding his bicycle through Georgia (and perhaps that was a good thing for him- last time I was home he very gamely went wedding dress shopping). After seeing the venue we had a lovely lunch at the Peacock Cafe.

Then it was on to Sasha's Bridal to place the order for my dress and a quick trip to Saks for preliminary MOH dress shopping for my sister. It was a truly delightful day.

So many dresses!

Since there are lots and lots of wedding blogs already, I'll keep wedding-related posts to a minimum unless I feel there's something particularly newsworthy or lovely...

Hello Summer!

I love Memorial Day weekend, firstly because it's three days and secondly because it's a signifier of summer. For a Memorial Day barbecue at Sabine's I had hoped to find a recipe for an amazing drink I had at a barbecue I attended the night before. It was a twist on a recipe in the Southwest Airlines magazine (scroll waaay down for the recipe). Though I couldn't hit upon how to make the drink, I was inspired to make something with a jalapeno simple syrup.

I decided on making Shandys because they are a perfect summer afternoon drink- not too alcoholic and very refreshing. You can use Minute Maid lemonade and Pabst and it's delicious- I opted for jalapeno lemonade and a wheat beer from my local brewery, Boulevard Brewing Company. 

It was a big hit, and perfect with hamburgers. I do think next time I'll use Red Stripe beer because the slight snap would stand up nicely to the lemonade. 

It was a wonderful beginning to the summer.

A visit to MoVi

My good friend Angie recently opened up the most charming business- MoVi, a modernized vintage boutique that is housed in an Airstream trailer that Angie's husband (and his father) renovated to whimsical perfection. 

MoVi is open every Saturday from 11 am- 6 pm on Westport Road at the corner of Mills and Westport (across from World Market), and every First Friday in the Crossroads District at 19th and Central. 

I love visiting with Angie (left) and her cousin Katie

The husbands (boyfriends, fiances) waiting area. My suggestion to Angie: stack some vintage Playboys and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues nearby for bored partners to leaf through. 

My purchase for the day was a perfect pink silk shantung shift. It reminds me of one of my favorite fashion/historical moments- Jackie Kennedys trip to India:

Image via

 If you live in Kansas City, be sure to drop by MoVi soon. And even if you aren't lucky enough to reside in Kansas City, you can support this lovely boutique by "Liking" it on Facebook. And if you do happen to fall in love with an item- MoVi is always willing to ship!

Local Pig

Our car has been with Matt in Louisiana for the past couple of months, which has meant the bus or foot power for me. I've been so eager to visit Local Pig since it opened- for non Kansas Citeans, Local Pig is a small butcher shop located in the back of beyond (the East Bottoms) that sells only happy, local, and antibiotic and steroid free meats.  Matt is only back for a week before he leaves for Afghanistan- I'm looking forward to feeding him well before he leaves. 

I wanted to buy everything in the shop- sausages, Campo Lindo chicken, duck breast. They are also one of the only butchers I've seen outside of New York that sells schmaltz, an essential ingredient in matzoh balls and other Jewish recipes.

In the end I held back and purchased a selection of sausages and some lovely skirt steak. I'll grill the sausages and make an Austrian potato salad on the side. Matt will grill the steak as well, and I'll make some chimichurri sauce and a lovely green salad.

Sabine and I are on the waiting list for a Local Pig Butcher Box. I can't wait until it's our turn to buy one!

Sweet Visit: Louisiana

Not as exciting as New Orleans but sweet nonetheless- I flew to Alexandria, Lousiana to meet Matt for a lazy weekend.

The four-gate (and very new!) airport

If you want to really, really spend time with a loved one or ones, with few distractions,  go to a tiny town. We took walks, ate delicious crawfish (Saturday night) and fried chicken (Sunday lunch), sat by a fire pit, had cafe lattes in the picturesque town of Natchitoches, Louisiana (Steel Magnolias was filmed there!), and read in the sun. 

A pretty bench in a pretty town

My first time eating (whole) crawfish

Lunch in Lecompte, the pie capital of Louisiana

It was a thoroughly delightful weekend.

Sweet Visit: New Orleans

I can't think of a much better way to spend three short days than Passover/Easter in New Orleans.  Matt had a much-needed weekend off and we meet at the restaurant of our hotel on Friday night. Any vacation that starts off with a Sazerac (the local specialty) and a plate of prosciutto served with something I can only describe as "savory beignets" is bound to be a good one.

We woke up Saturday morning and took a walk around the French Quarter, where I could not stop taking pictures of darling houses:

Along with some friends, we had Saturday afternoon cocktails next to the pool- I had a pink gin fizz:

pink gin fizz

Dinner Saturday was at Cochon, a Cajun-Southern restaurant where I had oyster roast, soft-shell crab, and strawberry pudding. This all served as very good padding for a night exploring the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. We begin Bar Tonique, made our way down Bourbon Street, and ended at the bar at the The Saint Hotel. Somewhere along the way, Matt bought me a Mardi Gras mask. It was a very, very good night.  

The clock in our hotel lobby

We had Sunday brunch at Atchafalaya, off Magazine Street. I had deconstructed oysters casino on top of a corn cake. Delicious. 

Matt and I split a beer while waiting for our table.
No open container laws= quite the party on the sidewalks while waiting for a table. 

I'm planning on reading Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans as soon as I can take it out from the library to learn more about the history of New Orleans. I'm so fascinated by this gorgeous, decaying, deeply weird city. 

* an administrative note- you can now follow Sweet Heartland on Instagram!