Belvoir Winery

 Welcome to Belvoir Winery, located outside Liberty MissouRAH on 170 sprawling acres.  The approach and drive up to the winery in grandness in itself.  If grandness isn't a word, I'm making it one, because that is the only way to describe the drive in.  There was a wedding to be had later in the day. I was daydreaming about the bride, walking down the terraced steps down to the fountain and gazebo. Chairs were set up and a huge tent awaiting for the festivities to begin.

This sweet angel greets you as you walk into the winery.

Beautiful stained glass flanks each side of the tasting bar.

Beautiful rooms that have been lovingly restored by the current owners.

A skeleton.....WAIT A MINUTE..... "A SKELETON?!?!?!?!"  Yes, meet "GEORGE".  He was a resident when the winery used to be an Odd Fellow Home.  Basically a non-for-profit home that operated for years on the property.  George wanted his body donated to science and then asked that he be "returned' to the place he had such loving memories.

 If you are interested, you can go on Wikipedia to read about the Odd Fellows.  Remarkable good works that they did for people and the Winery had a nice little museum with items on display, along with other items found during some of the renovations.

Majestic pictures that look like they should be in a museum in France.

Wanted to give you a sense of the grandeur of the hallways, just beautiful views through every room.

An original chandelier recovered and on display.  One can only image when the building was originally erected in the 1800's as the Reeds Springs Hotel, what the building used to look like back in the day.  There are curative mineral springs that brought an international crowd to visit and take in the waters.

Okay, now for the fun stuff....Over building number #2 which has NOT been restored, there were a group of birds circling overhead.  I think they were turkey vultures, Dan kept disputing me. Turns out this is the building that was the MORTURARY.  Oh, did I tell you that my co-worker planted the seed for us to visit the winery because she went on a HAUNTED TOUR?!?!? Oh, did I leave out the little fact? Read on....

 There are several other buildings next to the winery building.  You can imagine what it looked like in years gone past, but with overgrowth, and broken windows, weathering, some of the buildings look...well a little creepy.

This looks like at one time to have been a beautiful pergola on an upstairs porch.  NOW back to the wine tasting....as we were enjoying going through the whites and red offered, we struck up conversation with the bartender.  Dan just flat out asked if she had seen any ghost.  She said she hadn't but has HEARD things.  One day just when they opened the doors for business and no one had yet arrived, they heard footsteps on the floor above.  Another day she was working in her office and was the only one there, and heard the distinct sound of a women in heels walking down the hall with a key ring on her hip.  She went out to greet the "customer" and no one was there.  Positive she heard footsteps, she assumed they must have gone to the tasting room, and again as she went into the room, no one there.  On that juicy note we found out that the Ghost Hunters show is airing an episode on Wednesday, June 26th.  As the t-shirts in the gift shop say "Come get your wine and SPIRITS at Belvoir Winery".

Trader Joe's Grand Opening!!!!

Weeks, months, years....my friend Jennifer and I have been bombarding Trader Joe's with emails BEGGING them to come to Kansas City.  Finally, our day of glory has arrived!  Sure, on occasional trips to California I could fly home with a few non-perishable items, but I have been patiently waiting so I could stock up on all the things I LOVE from there.

Jennifer drove through Caribou coffee and got us treats!  We stood in line with the anticipation like two five year olds on Christmas Eve.  Local news anchors were out interviewing the loyal followers of this legendary store opening.

No line was going to be too long for us, because we were so happy to be there in all the excitement, taking the day off from work to celebrate the Grand Opening.

We got le'id and high fived as we walked through the door and took in the visual glory of what was before our eyes.
For those of you who have never been, I don't know if I can explain the cult following on this place, but it's magical!

They did a great job on the decor, with beautiful hand painted murals of the fountains at the Plaza to local sports themes like the KC Royals!

Produce, fresh flowers, and gourmet treats like no other.  In every isle, people were oooing and awwwing at all the treats!

Okay....I wasn't going to pass up the team mascot. Is that Tahitian red lipstick you are wearing my dear?

Jen and I with "Captain Mike" Store Manager who was as sweet and helpful as could be!  Great job Mike!

uh yeah....it got ugly, as we stood in line we kept making dashes for other things we saw in other peoples carts or fellow shoppers who we were standing in line with, telling about things we couldn't live without.  Like we needed any incentive.

Say no more, thank goodness we were in Jen's SUV instead of my bug de doo. 

Well, there are going to be some happy campers tonight at Acorn Cottage.  Yes, there was some Chuck Shaw purchased, better known as Two Buck Chuck, which is actually $2.99 a bottle to wash it all down with.  Life is good!

Happy Valentine's Day

I kidnapped these pictures to show you the lovely restaurant Dan the Man and I celebrated Valentine's Day.....I know, I know...it's not until Monday, but we are making a whole weekend out of it (that and they didn't have a reservation on Monday until 9pm when I am usually in bed). The picture doesn't do it justice because it is a fantastic panoramic view 360 degrees of Kansas City. Thank goodness we had a perfectly clear sky to view the city lights!

See that little round thing on top of the hotel? That is the restaurant and it rotates completely in a little over an hour for a pretty spectacular dining experience. It's up on the 44th floor (did I mention I am scared of heights?) I had a cherry/pomegranate martini to calm my nerves once seated. The view takes your breath away, and the food was pretty delicious too!

This was the original restaurant that Dan the Man was going to take me to the night he proposed, but I thought it had a glass elevator to take us up to the restaurant which was a big NO CAN DO for me, so we ended going to another wonderful restaurant that special evening.

Just wanted to say sorry I haven't posted or visited any of my friends in a while...my camera went to the graveyard, and it's not much fun blogging without pictures for show-n-tell, but I hope to change that this weekend!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend celebrating Valentine's Day, one of my all time favorite Holidays of all time!

Much Love to All!

Nancy

Local Hauntings

Let me preface this story by saying this all got started when we went over to our good friends, Ken and Melinda to celebrate Ken's Birthday. You may know Melinda from her blog Country Dreaming. After a wonder meal, and everyone had settled down, story telling occurred, as it usually does when we get together. Dan-the-Man and Ken have known each other since grade school, so as you can imagine, there is never a lack of material to draw from. Ken was recounting when he was in High School, finding out about a Haunted House that was referred to as Igor's Castle....and the Urban Legend that the owner's wife and hung herself and their son tragically drowned in a fountain on the property.

Ken went on to say there was groundskeeper that had two ferocious German Shepperds that lived in a shack on the property, patrolling the property to keep vandals out.

After an evening of much laughter to the point of tears, we said our good nights and left to go home for the evening. While driving home, mind you this is about 11:oo pm, Dan-the-Man gets the notion we should drive by the castle and check it out. We wind around this hill, through thick forested trees, searching and straining our eyes in the dark for the home. We see and old stone house, with a wrought iron fence....false alarm. We keep winding around and up and down streets, when we head around a bend, and both say almost at the same time "THAT'S IT!!" OMG...It's enormous, and it's dark and it looks like a haunted castle!!!! There are two lions guarding the entrance. We stared in the silence, both of our imaginations running wild, half expecting to see a ghost walking on the widows peak.

I couldn't make out 100% if this was an old doll house, built in the likeness of the castle or a dog house for one of those ferocious German Shepperds Ken was talking about. Dan and I came home and immediately had to get on the computer to see what we could find out about the history of the house. We found a site www.Ghost-Investigators.com-Stories-SauerCastle

It was 1:00am by the time we got to bed, and I was walking to over to the hallway and went to turn on the upstairs light, when poof, it flashed a creepy blue and blew out scaring me.....timing was everything and I didn't walk upstairs until Dan-the-Man went with me.

This history of the home is pretty incredible, although the stories Ken heard were not 100% accurate. There have been four deaths at the home, two from health issues, one suicide, and a child who did drown in the fountain (which wasn't visible anywhere).

We went back the next day around dusk and I took these pictures. The architecture is amazing, and I could only imagine what the house looked like in it's glory. I could see there were at least 3 fireplaces and it sits on 25 acres. The person who owns it now lives in New York and has aspirations to restore it some day. It has now been listed on the Historical Registry and I can only hope I can go inside it someday.

Provence on the Prairie

I bet you thought I was making up cool names for Kansas....THIS IS FOR REAL MAN!!!! Just when I think things can't get any better around here I lucked upon this store. Dan-the-Man and I were taking a leisurely country drive one day, and there was a detour that lead us directly on the street when we were heading back to civilization and I SAW THIS SIGN!!!!! My heart skipped a beat, I made him pull an illegal u-turn (law enforcement folks, pretend you didn't read that last statement) and I bolted out of the car up to the store front with raccoon eyes peering in.
First thing I noticed were my most favoritist candles in the whole wide world "Nouvelle" and immediately I knew I would be back to shop. (have you ever smelled Nouvelle's scent Tuscany Currant?.....heaven, simply heaven)

There was this adorable french table and chairs... perfect for have your French pressed coffee at on a dewy morning while watching the morning glories bloom. It doesn't know it yet, but it's coming home with me soon.

C'mon now.....how cute it that! Notice the little fleur-de-lis in cornflower blue? Melt.....heavy sigh.

Notice the cute little Provencal print cushion? Perfect spot for kitten to curl up and have a nap on! The shop owner had so many wrought-iron treasure in the front yard. I wanted them all!

The shop owner bought this little home and with the help of her handy -can -do custom -carpentry -on -the -side- contractor of a husband, put up bead board, built custom cabinets and all sorts to cute little finishing touches inside. Now I wasn't my usual obnoxious self, taking pictures of all the treasures inside like I should have...but the owner reassured me she is working on a WEBSITE, and you will all be the benefactors of me sharing that information....Let's just say the store is trouble with a capital "T"...dishes, lavender, clocks, furniture (custom made), candles, food treats, and all sorts of lovelies for the home.

Kansas Rocks Man!!!!!

You can come out and visit this gem of a store at: 141 N. Nettleton, Bonner Springs, KS 66012 Phone (913)441-6491.

Antique Sale!!!!!

I am doing you all a disservice by not showing you more pictures of this grand home known at the Bingham Waggoner Estate located in Independence, Missou-RAH. It was originally owned by George Caleb Bingham, a famous 19th century American artist and Missouri Politician. When my best buddy Melinda announced that there was going to be an Antique/Crafts fair on the grounds.....all focus was centered around what treasures could be found. For those history buffs out there, I don't want you to feel slighted, and would encourage for some "real" photos of the house and history that can be found at www.bwestate.org We tried to have some assemblage of a path, but sometimes certain things just call out to you saying "take me home, take me home" like this chair below.

This was a really interesting bird cage, that unfortunately your truly was not able to capture to show off the true magnificence of the artist. It was a looking box that had all sorts of interesting details.

This is a wonderful paper designer named Michele Grotenhuis who has a business called Dandeline Design. We have had the good fortune of running into her a few times at local crafts fair and she is as sweet as can be! Her scrapbooks are the cutest things ever if you want something custom to just plunk your pictures into!

This was another little diddy asking me to take her home. The cutest old tea pots that found a second career as windchimes!

There were lovely antiques everywhere. This beautiful leaded glass would be a fantastic piece in a cottage home!

This was a fun artist, Ann Jansen, whose business is called "The Key of A". She takes old typewriter keys and makes jewelry from it! Her website is www.thekeyofa.com and her etsy shop is www.ajsoftail.etsy.com

Treasure abound around every bend......

These two ladies are Chasity and Debbie Heck, sisters & owners of The Wild Raspberry....don't you just love the name? They have a variety of handcrafted goods & unique gifts and their booth was trouble with a capital "T". I bought a lovely door hanger (an inspiration for The French General Sewing Book) that just happened to be in the right colors for my art room! They had aprons, scrapbooks and all sorts of little treasures! I also bought some cloth covered clothes pins they made into magnets for the fridge, or file cabinet.....cute, cute cute and so very sweet! Their website is www.thewildraspberry.org and they also have a lovely blog www.thewildraspberrysisters.blogspot.com which is just a breath of fresh air and sunshine

The minute I saw this booth I was in love, and low and behold, guess whose booth it was?

Carol Spinski from Raised in Cotton! Now Melinda and I traveled to her store.....she wasn't there...she was at an antique show that day, and we didn't get to meet her :(......today I luck upon her booth, and guess what.....she wasn't there. She was THERE at the show, but happened to get up and take a breather......strike two NO FAIR!

This vendor had the cutest magnet boards and made handmade magnets to go with....she didn't have a web site or blog for me to share will you all, so please forgive me, I wouldn't hold out on you....cross my fingers!

After ensuring we went to every single booth, the 95 degrees plus humidity finally caught up with us. I four wheeled it with my bug, driving over sidewalks and the grassy knoll and managed to get the bug-de-doo up to the booth and get my new/old chair into the back of the bug securely fastened down. Melinda and I had a great time as always but we needed a cold drink like there was no tomorrow! Until our next adventure!!!!!! Enjoy visiting the websites. Hope we don't get you into too much trouble :)

Somerset Ridge Winery

Sometimes when you are taking random drives like this...... You come across neat things like this.......

and just when you think it can't get any better.....you find a great little winery out on a lovely gravel country road, and you pinch yourself!

Somerset Ridge Vineyard & Winery is a great little winery with the nicest owners you could ever meet. They have an inviting tasting room, and make you feel like you've been friends for years as they take you through a sampling of all of their wonderful wines. Yes, I know.....some of you are questioning "What????Great wine in Kansas?????" YES!!! It is true. Even my well traveled best friend Cindy, who lives in California, who has a very good nose for fine wine, bought a case...YES A CASE of their Chardonel and had it shipped home!