Date Night at Bluestem

Tom had bought a Groupon for Kansas City's Bluestem. Bluestem is located in Wesport,and is a multi-nominee for “Best Chef Midwest” by the James Beard Foundation. It is progressive style dining, and the Groupon was the 5 course option. I got Tom the cookbook for Christmas so we will def. have to try some new recipes. We took several pictures but it was really dark so, you will have to excuse our horrible photos. Overall we give it 4.3 out of 5 stars on the Libby and Tom dining scale.  It was a great date night. Glad we got to relax and spend time together. Cheers!
Service: 5
Price For What You Get: 4.2
Drinks: 4.8
Food: 4.5

Tom tried the foie gras... brave, brave soul. (He was not a fan.)

I woke my seafood tastebuds up and tried the cod.

We both got the beef dish on the menu. Very yummy.

Forgot to get a picture of this dish... oops! Must have been good.

Yummy drinks!!

We had honey roasted, spicy cayenne nuts. Delicious! But, if I did it again I would save more room for dinner.

We both started out with the blood orange salad.  Chrysanthemum, blood orange cloud, goat cheese, tangerine, and grapefruit.

Next, I had the warm green garlic soup with egg. It was my favorite dish of the meal.

Carpet and Tile Choices

Who knew there were so many carpet and tile choices? Tom and I spent about 3 hours in the carpet department at Nebraska Furniture Mart. We got the samples, and the carpet is being measured tonight. We are 90% sure this is what we are going with. (Picture Below)

Remodeling, and going to Nebraska Furniture Marts are a definite test of the ol' relationship. Great for communication and relationship building. We found a fun video on the subject from the show 30 Rock. Fast forward to 18:45 to watch. http://www.hulu.com/watch/327807/30-rock-hey-baby-whats-wrong This was almost Tom and I. ;)


A few more pictures from the remodel. 

Our tile and carpet selections.

Bathroom color and wallpaper

This pole used to be covered in carpet. Tom boxed in all in, and it looks great!

All new crown molding

Basement/Bathroom Remodel

Tom and I decided that it would be a great idea to tackle a basement/bathroom remodel while planning a wedding. We have had several people tell us, "If you can make it through a remodel, you can make it through anything." We are confident that if we can make it through wedding planning, a remodel, all while holding our full time jobs and having a [small] social life without ripping eachother's heads off we are going to make it through life just fine. 

I wanted to share a few BEFORE pictures of the basement and bathroom. Some of the highlights have been... breaking tile with a sledgehammer, Kyle and Richard came over to help put in ALL new lighting, Tom boarding in the old cat pole (a beam covered with carpet), and endless hours at Lowes and Nebraska Furniture Mart. 

Tom does really great work, and he is available for hire... for a small price. He amazes me a little more everyday at his handyman  skills. When I ask him how he figured it out he will always respond, "I just read about it, and tried it." He is very talented! The basement/bathroom is going to look awesome, and it will be so nice to relax down there in the summer months after we are married.

Looking Good!

Libby's favorite job so far. Jack hammering cement for 2 hours.

BEFORE

Richard and Kyle were so nice to come help.

No more shelving, plastic trim, carpet, or orange wall.

BEFORE

Libby sledge-hammering away.

Our New Blog - Enjoy!

Hi guys! If you are reading this, I am sure you know Tom and I are getting married in just a few short months. My hope is that we can stay in better touch with friends and family through this blog. In a few short months Tom and I will be moving in together and starting our lives as "The Sanfords." My goal is to post once a week, and keep you up-to-date on our remodel, gardening, decorating, friends, family, cooking, traveling, and more. We are both so excited to start this next chapter of our lives together. I'm so lucky to have Tom in my life, along with amazing family and friends.  I am ecstatic to be Mrs. Sanford!

Tom and I in San Diego right before we got engaged.