August (the busiest time of the year for me) is now in full swing! But that doesn't mean that I haven't taken the time to have a little fun and accomplish some of my goals. Here's a few snapshots of what I've been up too lately:
A few of the photos are from our trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. I would not have imagined that Arkansas would be a good place for a fun weekend trip - but I was so wrong! This town is filled with super friendly people, gorgeous scenery, and some stunning artwork.
We stayed at the 21c Museum and Hotel, a cute little boutique hotel with its own little art museum. One of the fun things about this place is their green penguins - they're about 4 ft. tall, and they're everywhere. The hotel staff (and guests) will move them around, too. Don't be surprised if you walk into the elevator and find one waiting to take a ride with you! In one photo, you will see that one of them had dinner with us during our stay. We named him in Antonio, and we shared our complimentary post-meal cotton candy with him (isn't that so much cooler than after dinner mints?).
We were also able to attend their First Friday, which is more like a giant block party than the art-infused First Friday events that we have in Kansas City. But our friends have a booth for their business, so we were able to see them in action and enjoy a nice dinner with them at the Flying Fish (which has excellent fish tacos).
On Saturday, we spent some time on the hiking trails and went to the Crystal Bridges Art Museum. This was the primary reason for our trip, and we were not disappointed. It was a stunning facility with a top-notch art collection. Their temporary exhibits, Warhol's Nature and Jamie Wyeth, were very impressive. One of the photos above is a Warhol painting (oil on canvas) of a boxer. Since we have a boxer, I thought it was an appropriate photo to share.
Before heading out on the trails, we stopped for breakfast at Crepes Paulette, which is a food truck that happened to be set up right outside of our hotel. We kept hearing about this place from the locals and from TripAdvisor reviews - and it too did not dissapoint! In fact, it was so tasty that we actually ate there twice. For breakfast, we enjoyed savory crepes, and then we back to try a sweet crepe. There was a long line before they even opened up for business. It's a must-try if you find yourself in the area.
On Sunday, we went on one last hike before enjoying breakfast at the Pressroom. The breakfast was tasy, and the coffee was excellent!
Anyway, I highly recommend Bentonville to anyone that enjoys nature, art, or both.
In terms of the list accomplishments, you'll also see that we finally managed to assemble a scarf wall and hang our Sporting flag. These were two smaller house projects that had we just hadn't taken the time to accomplish, so it felt good to get those done.
Annddd.. I've officially lost more than 30lbs! I know that it can get tedious when someone talks about weight loss too much, but I'm so proud of this accomplishment and happy that I've finally made a serious effort to become a healthier version of myself.
That's all for now! Soon, I'll be able to tell you all about our upcoming jaunt to visit our neighbors to the West - Colorado.
