So my EPIC summer continues with the finale of Harry Potter, and the fulfillment of my childhood fantasies - New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys in concert! My sister Mary and friends Maddie and Joann joined me at the Sprint Center for an unbelievable show, and then we jetted down to the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah's casino for the after party. I must say, I am totally impressed with my sister's networking skills, as she finagled her was past security and got a photo taken with Howie D. and Nick Carter. Alas I was only able to take creeper pics and squeeze their hands like the desperate fan that I am from the dance floor. Oh well - it was awesome, and one of the most fun nights of my life!
In other news, the house STILL hasn't sold. So I am STILL in Kansas City. Someone tried to break into my neighbor's house last week, and I've been hearing scary sounds at night lately, so I've officially gotten to the point where I am tired of being in this big (to me) house all by myself. I'm ready to move to Colorado to be with my hubby!
I've been trying out the whole Skype thing a lot lately, and I must say it is one of the coolest inventions. It is so fun to be able to video chat with your buddies - especially when your thousands of miles away from a lot of them!
One a completely different note, I've been thinking a lot lately about my dreams and aspirations - not a full-on existential crisis, but definitely a "who am I?" moment or two. As some of you know, my dream of dreams is to write books or articles about my traveling experiences (whether they be near or far), emphasizing food and local everyday things that make destinations so special. An "outside the box" of the super touristy things but "inside the heart" of what makes a city tick. I went solo to Blanc Burgers & Bottles for lunch today (if you haven't tried their sweet potato fries with their housemade ketchup and chipotle aioli dipping sauces, you are missing out!), and I was flipping through a KC freebie magazine about food and restaurants around the city. Big buzz words that jumped out at me repeatedly were "local" and "organic" and "grass-fed" and of course, "Trader Joe's". Don't get me wrong, I have NOTHING against any of those words! I love to support local businesses, and of course organic produce and grass-fed beef seem to be better for you than a lot of crap you can (and I usually do) buy. I have yet to try out Trader Joe's (I peeked around on the opening day, but felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack when I saw the sea of shoppers in the checkout lines), but I am sure that it has a lot of good things to offer. My point is, does all of this hype really mean it's the best? Or have we just been so bombarded with the message that it
is the best, that we delude ourselves into believing it? For instance, is In-N-Out burger really
that amazing, or is it an American institution that we
have to love
because it's In-N-Out. I must say, I prefer Kraft blue box mac-n-cheese to Annie's Organic any day of the week. Are the hipsters at American Apparel sipping their PBR's and rolling their eyes at me? Am I being hypocritical? Probably a little bit. But to come full circle, I am making it a goal to seek out the best-of-the-best food joints and fun stuff to do when I move to Lakewood, and I'm going to try really hard to ignore the hype. Even though I haven't officially moved there yet, I already know of one spot to avoid if you value your colon, but check out if you want a slice of Americana: Casa Bonita. While yes, it is a kitschy cult classic of a restaurant (hello,
South Park even made an episode about it!), it's more of an experience than a destination. However, the sopapillas aren't bad - and you just have to put up a little flag on your table and the servers bring more to you. That's half the fun! See you in Black Bart's Cave...
Here's the deal: Kate Suarez, aspiring foodie, NKOTB fan for life!
