10 great things about living in Kansas

Contrary to what people may think, Kansas is more then just a fly over state. 
It really does have a lot to offer! 

1. On almost any given week, we get the pleasure of experiencing almost all the seasons. It can be raining one day, 90 degrees the next day, snowing the following day after that, and all days the wind will be blowing 40 miles per hour. 

2. With this luxury, it gives us the ability to own multiple styles of clothes. Everything from vests, car harts, and itty bitty tiny weeny yellow polka dot bikinis, to uggs, sandals, and cowboy boots. We have four closets in our apartment and they aren't near big enough to hold all of CT and my clothes and shoes.

3. Kansas is home to Kansas University and the KU Jayhawks! 
Winter time and basketball season is a great time to be a Kansas fan. 

4. Every night you can go outside, look up and see an abundance of pretty stars. 

5. In the same breath, we have the prettiest sunsets and sunrises. 

6. We have the #1 {Cargill} and #2 {Koch Industries} largest privately owned businesses in the United States in Wichita, Ks. This means lots of good jobs that pay well.
One of them being mine, which I start today! 

7. We are housed in the middle of the USA. That means we are about equal distances to each coast, north south east and west. This also means that if a terrorist was going to drop a massive bomb, they may start by dropping it over Kansas to see how much they could wipe out. 
(That's not so much a great thing about Kansas.) 

8. Cost of living here is awesome. You can get a super nice 3-4 bedroom house with 2-3 bathrooms, a basement, a yard, and a double car garage for $150,000. 

9. We grow home grown sweet corn and lots of it. 
I can't wait for the day where I can have my own garden like the one below and grow asparagus, onions, peppers, jalapeños, pumpkins, tomatoes, and corn! 

10. Even though we are a fly over state, we are such a pretty fly over state. 

all images via google
It's always nice to go away, but it's always so great to come back home. . .
to Kansas! 



What do you love about your state?

NYC Tips & Tricks from a Kansas Girl

To catch up, check out my NYC recap here:

 Part 1

 Part 2

Quickly after landing in New York, I realized this girl was no longer in Kansas. I also found out extremely fast that the Mid-West is way way way different then the East coast in almost ALL aspects! 

Here is a list of Tips & Tricks I compiled to help anyone navigate NYC.

1. bring cash
   It costs to do everything. To cross a bridge into the city it can range from $7-$15. To get on a beach or into a lake it costs anywhere from $6-$10. Also, to be quick {since everyone is always in a rush here} cash makes things ten times easier.
   
   2. bring small billsEach ride on the metro is $2.50. When paying with cash, it will give you back change in all coins. For some reason that just bugs me. I don't want a bunch of dollar coins so just bring small bills, ones and fives and it shouldn't be a problem.
   
   Also, in NYC {mostly in Chinatown, SOHO, and Little Italy} you can barter any and everything. I don't feel as awkward paying for something I just got down to a way lower price when I don't have to get change back or when they don't see that I have larger bills and really could have paid full price.
   
   3. your choice: wear or don't wear designerI made the mistake of carrying around my Michael Kohrs purse the first day we were in the city. Everyone and their dog tried to sell me something. "Coach, Prada, Gucci, Michael Kohrs"
   If you don't want to get bombarded, don't wear designer. If you want to attract that type of attention, go for it.
   
   4. bring an umbrellaIt rained on 2 different occasions while we were in the city, and it rained A LOT! We had 1 umbrella, but it was too small for both CT and me to both use it. We had to purchase one from a sidewalk shop and I swear they sold it to us with a hole. It lasted one day and we paid $5 for it.
   
   5. bring a book or ipod on the metroYou can tell all the people who ride the metro every day. They get on, whip out their book or ipod, and keep their heads down. Nobody makes eye contact, smiles, or talks to anyone.
   {My friends dad told some random guy on the metro that his bag was unzipped, and for thanking him for letting him know, he said 'don't talk to me, or I'll gut you like a fish}
   
   6. don't ask a cop for directionsI was surprised at how many cops were everywhere. They were on bikes, on horses, just walking the streets at all the major sites and in cars. They were everywhere! Just don't ask them for directions. They always give false ones, probably because they get asked soo much. My initial thought was that they would be the perfect person to ask: honest and good people. Wrong! Don't do it.
   
   7. remember: uptown or downtownThe metro can be a really daunting task to navigate. Make sure you double check if you are going uptown or downtown. And as long as you don't go through the exit turns, you can go up the stairs to the other side and you can find the right train to get on. If you mess up, get out on the next stop and hop on another train.
   It's simple, just don't freak!
   
   
   Hopefully these Tips & Tricks will help you out if you are going on a trip to the city anytime soon.
   
   
   Do you have any Tips & Tricks that helped you?
   

Linking up with Serenity Now

Smokey Hill River Festival 2013

Last weekend, CT and I went home to Salina [after our doctors appointment - which we got great news meaning it's go time again for try#2] for the Smokey Hill River Festival.

This is something I look forward to each year. Delicious food, live music, original art. Something I try my hardest not to miss!

I love the decorated trees that welcome you to the festival!

 This owl was my birthday gift from my parents that we purchased from an artist at the festival. Each year I have been OBSESSED with his mosaic tile mirrors, which range usually anywhere from $200-600. I fell in love with this piece and it was at a much better price point.

I chose this piece because our bedroom decor is gray, metallic silver, and red with a birds and tree theme. 

You can now find it hanging out in the tree in our room!

My dad just had to have this little fella. 

Probably because of his hand expression. Haha. 

I think he is made to go outside in your garden, but I'm thinking my dad is going to use it to house his keys and phone at night.

We had such a good time this weekend. 

The only bummer was that it stormed Saturday evening so we had to leave and go home and miss out on the lead act for that evening, Mingo Fishtrap. 

This weekend got me so excited for CT's and I adventures in NYC coming up the beginning of July. 

Speaking of, I really should start planning that trip. 

Stay posted on more to come. =)

PS- Look what CT spotted on me this weekend. 

A gray hair! EKKK! 

I only just turned 24. 

What the heck.

Praying for the Victims

So the past two evenings we have had horrible weather mixed with lots of deadly tornadoes. On Sunday evening we had to head to the basement because down town Wichita was in the path of a F1 tornado. 

I packed my bag, which you can find more about here, and headed down the elevator with Bentley. CT likes to be super cool and super brave and wait until the very last moment, so we left him upstairs. He later came down, but none the less I was super annoyed. 

I don't mess around with mother nature and tornadoes. They are probably the thing I am most scared of. 

Luckily, we escaped with only hail damage to our cars. I can't say the same for some other people around town and tragically the people in Oklahoma. 

My heart aches for all the people who lost their belongings, homes, fur babies, and family members. 

I pray specifically for the moms that lost their children to have peace in knowing their babies are now playing up in heaven with Jesus. I can't imagine the amount of pain they are experiencing. 

God, please give them the strength and hope needed to get them through the upcoming darkest days of their lives.

I came across this touching video on facebook about a woman who thought she lost her furbaby in the storm. Fortunately they were able to catch them being reunited on camera. 

You can hear her say at the end of the video that her puppy was her life. 
You better believe it. I shredded a few happy tears for this woman. 
Even in tragedies, God is good. 

Please continue to pray for everyone effected by these storms. Unfortunately, this isn't the first and won't be the last of these deadly tornadoes. 

Weekend Recap + Shabby Spring Bunting

This weekend started a little early on Friday. I picked up a few extra hours throughout the week and had to stay late for an open house one night, so I was pushing over time and decided to leave early Friday.

Saturday was a hang at home all day kind of day. 

It was showering and thunder-storming all day, so it was the perfect opportunity to do a little spring cleaning and spring crafting! 

I mainly organized and cleaned out the hobby room. It's crazy how quickly it can turn into a hot mess! 

I still have an abundance of black feather boas from our wedding that I need to find something to do with. 

I'm thinking probably a Halloween wreath and maybe some garland on the Christmas tree? Any other ideas?

I'm also looking at doing something with these beauties! Besides these colors, I have a ton more grey, brown, and black buttons. I'm thinking about spray painting some metallic silver and incorporating them into our bedroom decor somehow.

After a little organizing, I joined the hubby in the living room with some fabric while he watched the draft. [Go Cowboys!]

 

I cut 4"x 2" blocks of some 'springy' fabric.

 Then I cut them into various shapes and left them with a raw edge which gives it a more shabby look. 

My complete Spring mantle!

I don't know how I feel about the leopard and I'm wishing it had more pink in it, but other than that I'm loving it and I'm impressed with how easy it was. 

We ended the weekend at the zoo with CT's little cousin. It's insane how crazy Kansas weather is: freezing during the week, rainy on Saturday, and 75 and sunny on Sunday! 

We had a really good time! 

It's even better when you can return the child to their parents and then come home and take a nap. Oh the joys of not having kids and borrowing them for the afternoon!

Linking up with Sami.
Linking up with Jamie
Linking up with Jamie.
Linking up with Cheryl.

Confession: April Showers . . .

Bring May flowers ...

via

... and TORNADOS! 

First off, speaking of showers, CT is a varsity baseball coach and their games got rained out today. I know Spring is upon us because out of his 6 playing dates, 3 of them have been rescheduled due to weather.

It's better they are getting rescheduled though, because I would rather watch them get run ruled in the sun. =)  

 

Anyways, back to the main part of this post - tornados! 

This girl is deathly afraid of them. Ever since I was a little girl and there would be warnings on TV, I would set up our little fort underneath the stairs filled with tons of pillows, blankets, and all the stuff we couldn't live without. 

I would get so angry at my parents because they are the type of people that go out to the front porch when the warnings start going off. 

Now it's CT who does that and I get so frustrated with him! 

Look at how scary these things are.
 

via

There is no messing around with these monsters!

I totally have a confession though.

I like to be a little proactive during 'tornado' season, and how I do so is by packing a bag (besides my purse) that will come to the basement with me.

Here are a few things that you could find inside.

 

1. birth certificates

2. passports 

3. wedding CD disc

4. my 'blankie' [which I may still sleep with]

5. change of undies

6. phone charger

7. water bottle

8. my good jewelry

9. my cash stash

10. my bible

11. dog leash 

Yes it may be silly, but you never know what might happen! 

How are you prepared for storms? 

Linking up with Macy.