Kansas City Color Run!

Today Becca, Ale, Thomas and I all set our alarms for 5:45am and headed to Arrowhead stadium for the first Kansas City Color Run! There were over 30,000 people competing in the run on Saturday and Sunday combined.

It was fun, a little hot, and like no other 5k we had ever run. It was Tom and I's 3rd 5k together, and our 1st as Mr. and Mrs. Sanford. They had 4 color stations that you ran through. The powder was corn starch and food coloring. There were all different ages, sizes, shapes, running levels, and costumes that made for excellent people watching, and a fun run!

At the end of the race there was a DJ and a "color party." They gave everyone a color packet, that you could throw in the air. (or in your friends hair!) I am so glad my friends, Tom and I got to do this together. Props to us for getting up early, working out, and having a fun time!

More about the race and my favorite quote from the KC Star: "There was moment during one of these color throws when the DJ blasted the song “We are Young,” by the band  Fun. It was an unusual scene, with grey-haired men in sweatbands, moms with cameras and children too young to be in school in the crowd that belted out the anthem to untroubled youth."

Our team!

The girls. Ale, Becca, and I!   

Arrowhead Stadium

Color Run Kansas City

Seriously biggest crowd... ever.

One of the color stations. 

We were still clean!

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Fun times in Kansas City!

After party!

Zoolander style. (Love him to pieces!!!)

This is a totally normal way to wear your sweatbands, right? Wait, who wears sweatbands?

Work it ladies!!

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/30/3684599/color-them-happy-at-the-color.html#storylink=cpy

Celebrating Two Months of Marriage!

Yesterday Tom and I celebrated our two month wedding anniversary. We are celebrating by working, folding laundry, eating leftover pasta for lunch, and sweating in this Kansas heat! No, but really... we are celebrating with eachother and are so happy that we have had two fun, exciting months of marriage. We went to dinner at Nica's 320, and came home to play cards, and Mario on the (very old!) Nintendo.

Things We've learned about marriage in the first two months:


1. Changing your name, bank accounts, mortgage, insurance, social security card, car title, and passport are all SO easy and a ton of fun. (Insert sarcastic look and voice here) I am happy to announce that on all documentation, accounts, and records I am now Mrs. Libby E. Sanford.

2. Combining your lives is hard. (but really fun too) You could say that Tom and I are both 'collectors.' Finding a place for all of our "stuff", and getting it organized was interesting. Tom collects beer equipment, beer, gardening tools, tools in general, guns, fiance books, hunting supplies, and of course magazines to support all the previous listed hobbies. I would like to consider myself more of a simplified and focused collector of... clothes. We not only combined our "stuff," but we are making our house a home and getting some new fun "stuff" along the way. i.e. See previous post about the world's best kitchen buffet.


3. The Sanfords love to travel! In the past 60 days we were able to make it to Negril, Jamaica, Seattle, and are heading to Illinois next week. Can't wait for many more road trips, vacations, and adventures.

4. Household roles may never be defined and we are totally okay with that. In the past 60 days Tom and I have both done our share our cooking, cleaning, hosting, lawn mowing, and taking out the trash. I don't want to brag, but I will. I mowed the lawn twice and have the blister to prove it. I love that we can both help out when needed. Tom even helped me clean up my botched manicure job with finger nail polish remover. He is going to kill me for divulging this, but hey - sometimes that left hand is hard to get to!

5. Once you get married people seem to think it's okay to have verbal diarrhea and ask you,  "When are you guys having kids?" If I had a dollar for everytime I have been asked a baby question in the past 60 days - I would have a great new pair of jeans! So, if anyone reads our blog... we of course want to have kids, but we are in no hurry and have lots of places to go and people to see. Puppy first, then kids.

6. Being married is a LOT of fun. I love getting to see Tom every single day, and wake up next to him every morning. Through it all we both agree that together our lives are better together. Can't wait for many, many, many more years.

Like I said, Tom and I have 60 days of marriage under our belt so if you need any marriage advice we are now taking appointments. 

We went to dinner at Nica's 320 in Kansas City. It's a fun fusion restaurant!! 

This stuffed creature greets me in the garage. It's up for debate why we have it, and what it is. Ew. 

Nica's 320 menu - lots of delicious food. 

It's Nintendo time! (I was a lot better than Tom!)

New Furniture Followed Up By a Great Weekend!

Tom and I hit up the 4th of July sale at Nebraska Furniture Mart this weekend. We got 2 new end tables, 2 entertainment centers, and those most wonderful buffet of all time for the kitchen. (Pictures below) We put up new curtains in the basement, and we are so thrilled to finally be done purchasing/finding all the pieces for that room.

It's nice to be able to sit down there and enjoy all the hard work and long hours that we put into it. Sunday it was about 105 degrees in Kansas City, and we were both so thankful we could hide in the nice, cool basement away from the heat.

We tried out Snow and Co. on Friday night. It's a NEW local spot in downtown KC that has frozen cocktails. Yum!! It has modern decor and a big garage door that opens up to the outside - a great summer hangout.

Saturday we went to our friends, Mandy and Mike's wedding at the Sawyer Room in Kansas City. I went to college with Mandy and we were so happy to celebrate their special day with them!

Tom worked so so so hard all day Sunday power washing the rest of the deck. It was a hot one! I am thankful for his hardwork, and excited to have the deck stained and protected from that HOT sun.

*In other news... My pops completed his first triathlon this past weekend. He trained so hard, and did amazing. What an accomplishment! We are all so impressed and proud of him. GO DAD!!!  

Mike and Mandy Stephenson! 

Celebrating Mandy and Mike!

Our good friends Ale and Eric (at Mike and Mandy's wedding). They just got engaged a few weeks ago - CONGRATS! 

Our new sign from our friend Michelle. We love it!  

Frozen cocktail from Snow and Co. We recommend it! 

Our new buffet. 

Kitchen furniture... complete! 

The Garden

We are starting to enjoy the fruit of our labor from the garden. We didn't plant as much this year with all the commotion and excitement of the wedding taking place at the same time we needed to plant things. Tom has an excellent eye for what we should plant, how, and where... and I have a bit of a green thumb if I do say so myself. I talk to those little beans and seeds before we put them in the dirt. A bit of a pep talk, if you will.

Now I will give you a quick digital tour of the garden! If you are in the area and would like any herbs or veggies, please swing by and let us know! We love to share our bounty.

These are the baby hops on the vine

Hop Vines 

A multiple assortment of lettuce

Up close shot of the lettuce 

Kale

We found a great recipe to make kale chips - delicious! 

Lemon basil 

Baby tomatoes poking out to say hello! 

Yellow summer squash 

Beets... lots of beets. We love beets!!!

Tom's booty - working on the garden. I know ALL of you wanted to see this. ;)

Our herb box - basil, chives, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, oregano  

Sanford Salmon Special!

Tom and I practiced our culinary skills on Saturday night, and made a delicious dinner together. We both really enjoy cooking, and especially when we get to do it together. Tom is my sous chef... well, Tom thinks that I am his sous chef - which means most of the time when we cook we are both running around wondering when the real chef is going to pop out of the pantry.

Our menu consisted of:
Salmon with our fancy new salmon rub we got from Chris and Katrina Mulally
Beet, leek, and bacon salad 
Asparagus with almonds and yogurt dressing
and the icing on the cake...
Salted caramel ice cream for dessert

Tom and I don't eat a lot of seafood, so this was our first try at cooking salmon. I think it turned out pretty well! To the other salmon eaters out there - what are you supposed to do with the scales? Eat them? Take them off before cooking? After?

The asparagus recipe - not good. Wouldn't recommend it. (Too much paprika) This time it wasn't my cooking either, just a weird recipe.

The beet and leek salad - very yummy! Easy to make, and leftovers to enjoy too.

Salted caramel ice cream - amazing. As soon as we got done Tom said, "This is our new signature ice cream." I wasn't aware that we had an underground Ben and Jerry's start up in our house, but I am totally okay with having a signature ice cream.

It was a fun Saturday night, and a great meal. We let our food digest while watching the Marylin Monroe movie with, Michelle Williams in the basement. Today we are working off all those calories while replacing boards on the deck, a trip to Costco, painting doors, and finishing up organizing the office upstairs.

The cure gin and titonic ice cube trays Tom got me! 

My sous chef. (He's pretty good - a good hire if I do say so myself!) 

Added bonus for Saturday night cooking.  

Salmon fillets. 

The yummy rub!

Love asparagus. 

Beets from the garden. We had 3-4 different kinds of beets in our salad. 

Saturday night at the Sanfords! 

Cheers to a great weekend! 

Celebrating Chris and Katrina in Seattle!

Tom and I were able to head north to Seattle this past weekend to celebrate the wedding of my cousin, Chris Mulally to the new Mrs. Katrina Mulally!

We left Kansas City on Thursday night and flew straight through to Seattle. (We would highly recommend flying Alaskan Airlines and their non-stop flight to Seattle.) When we got to Seattle we checked into the Downtown Westin. We made dinner reservations that night at RN74. We enjoyed fun drinks, and ordered a bunch of appetizers so we were able to try as much as possible. We enjoyed everything from an amazing beet salad, to rockefeller oysters. Yum! The restaurant was very wine-centric, and had a "train style display" wine menu. (photos below)

Friday: We went on an early morning run down by the pier and got some coffee and crumpets. (That sounds fancier than we are!) We met my dad, grandma, and brother for lunch at a delicious seafood restaurant that afternoon. The rehearsal dinner was at a really neat spot called Matt's in the Market. They had a great view of Pike's Place Market, and delicious seafood. It was fun to see all of the family, and celebrate Chris and Katrina. We went out after dinner to an Irish bar and enjoyed good drinks, great live music, and even better company.

Saturday: We struggled to get out of bed after such a fun night, but met all the cousins at Steelhead Diner for brunch. After brunch we walked down to Beecher's Cheese. We had Beecher's for the first time at Molly's wedding - and have been dreaming about it ever since. We had to load up on our cheese stock and bring some back to Kansas. If you are in Seattle or New York you have to try it. It's a must. After brunch Tom and I got a nice long talk with my grandma in, which I always enjoy.

Around 3pm we headed to the church for the ceremony. It was a beautiful church, and even more beautiful ceremony and reason for celebration. Katrina looked gorgeous, and you could really tell how much her and Chris care about eachother. This was Tom and I's first wedding as a married couple so it was nice to see things from the other side again. ;) The reception was at a fun/funky place called Palace Event Space, where we enjoyed a live "gypzy jazz" band. Dinner, dancing, and the cake were all great, and I was so happy that Tom and I made it to Seattle to enjoy their wedding festivities.

Church key brewski we found. 

Beet salad at RN74 = Amazing.

Grilled Cheese fondue. 

The wine board at RN74.

My new friend. 

Tom's new friend

Just chatting.  

One of many new beers. 

Gypsy Jazz band at the reception.

I HAVE to learn how to make that asparagus. Awesome! 

Katrina put together these cute honey containers for her guests! Can't wait to try it.

Chris and Katrina's beautiful church.

Our view from Matt's in the Market. 

Such gorgeous flowers at the rehearsal dinner and reception. 

Rockefellar Oysters. 

Fun bar we stopped at. 

Love Erin and Charlie! 

The boys! 

The view after our morning run! 

The happy couple! 

Another  happy couple! 

The crumpet shop. 

Pete giving his speech! 

Charlie made a new friend at the reception.