Shindig Weekend Part 1: Thai One On

The K-Man and I hosted a perfectly monumental weekend recently to celebrate our recent nuptials and the party went on for three days as it were. We had been planning for quite a while and as the shindig came into fruition, my nerves; to no one's surprise, grew ever more frayed. When last I worked as an event coordinator, I counseled many a wide-eyed clientele to understand that stuff, as it does, happens and to simply roll with the punches. I've never been one to be graceful in listening to my own advice, however, and as the weekend closed in, I found the stress begin to eat away at my resolve to be more zen. Keith; he of the everlasting calm and patience, led us through all of the preparations with ease, while enduring my exhausted emotions. I remain ever so lucky to be marking more than twelve years with him.

That said, it was indeed a remarkable weekend and we were very touched by those who came to celebrate with us. I was especially honored that my sister Shirley flew in from my home state of West Virginia to attend the party. It was her first visit to see us in Kansas City and so I took advantage of the opportunity to show her our beloved KC. I drove her to Country Club Plaza and strolled her around to show her the intricate architecture reminiscent of Seville, Spain. We took in the new Rodin exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins and I drove her through downtown to show her the sights.

Of course, food had to be involved, so we settled a particular craving by having lunch at Thai Place in Westport. Since our first KC year in our Westport apartment, I've been a fan of Thai Place and their spicy goodness. My sis and I settled in with drinks; me with a sweet Thai iced coffee with cream. To my utter delight, my sister led the ordering with a medium-hot spicy Thai chicken dish with jalapenos and scallions in a brown garlic sauce. I ordered the same thing. My sisters and I had nearly two decades in age between us and to show that there is still much I don't know about them, Shirley enlightened me to the fact that, like me, she and my sister Mona also loved spicy food and were big fans of Thai fare. We devoured our lunch, allowing the delicious heat to open our senses to the rest of the weekend.

We had a great day and this was only the beginning...