Aloft Leawood
Posted on September 2, 2012 by Ching under Travel.
Our travel agent friends Jay and Becca booked us a night at Aloft Hotel in Leawood for Friday night. Brian and I didn’t want to drive home after the concert, but we couldn’t find any hotels in the Kansas City, Kansas area because of Midwest Nationals. All of the hotels nearby were completely booked. Either that or the rates were really high. Becca found us a great rate at Aloft. Plus, it’s in the Park Place/Town Center Plaza area, which Brian and I both really like. Here are some photos of our room.
The rooms are on the small side, but they make good use of the space through the minimalist design. Brian said that it reminds him of the hotels that he stays at when he’s in Germany.
I liked it overall. There were only a few things I didn’t like. The walls were too thin so you could hear everything going on outside, specially when people were being noisy in the hallway or by the elevator or in the bar/lobby down below. We had the misfortune of staying in room 320, which is right by the elevators and above the lobby. If we stay there again, I’m definitely asking for a room on the 4th floor or higher.
The higher floor will help keep the road noise at a minimum also. Although, no matter what floor you’re in, you’re probably not going to be able to avoid the noisy AC. I’m pretty sure it’s not just the one in our room because I saw some comments about this very thing on FourSquare. Might as well plan ahead. Pack some earplugs to ensure a good night’s rest.
Now for some pros…
Aloft has a great fitness room.
And an indoor heated saltwater pool.
The first floor lobby is sleek and modern.
The second floor lobby/lounge area is really hip.
The outdoor patio on the 2nd floor is amazing and even has an outdoor fireplace.
We would have really enjoyed it if it weren’t raining. That was pretty much the story for the entire weekend. It never stopped raining. It made for an interesting time at the concert, which I will tell you more about later.
The biggest advantage of this hotel is definitely the location. It’s located in Park Place and is nestled amidst several restaurants. There isn’t a shortage of food options. That’s for sure. I would likely stay here again but, as I mentioned earlier, I’m definitely asking to be on a higher floor next time. That and maybe packing some ear plugs.
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Nebraska Furniture Mart
Posted on September 2, 2012 by Ching under Shopping.
We finally got to check out Nebraska Furniture Mart.
Holy cow! That store is huge! We could have wandered around the store for days! Every time a store salesperson greet us, Brian’s favorite line was, “What are you talking about? I’ve been here for a week.” It wasn’t as funny after the second or third time he said it. Just like well-trained sales reps, they all laughed like it was the first time they’d ever heard anyone say it. Although, I’m sure they get that a lot.
Mainly we just wanted to see if it would have been cheaper to purchase our appliances from there because everyone has been telling us to go to NFM rather than shopping locally. We found our Whirlpool fridge for about $100 less, but with delivery it would have been the same. So Brian and I felt pretty good about that purchase. We couldn’t find our washer and dryer at NFM but, if you’re familiar with that story, then you know we got a really good deal on it.
Brian and I liked the upholstery fabric of this couch, but not so much the style. Will probably go with NFM when we furnish our basement a few years from now.
Brian had a lot of fun playing with this recliner, but we are not getting it. Not next week. Not next month. Not next year. Not five years from now. Not ever. Sorry, baby. Just calling it like it is. =P
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Bob Evans at Legends
Posted on September 1, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian’s mom and dad told us about Bob Evans a long time ago, but we never had the opportunity to check it out until now.
I had the farmer’s breakfast with a couple of eggs fried hard, two sausage patties, country potatoes, and a crepe filled with cream cheese and topped with blueberry topping and whipped cream. I eat a lot.
Brian had the sausage and egg biscuit bowl with gravy. It doesn’t look very appetizing, but it was actually good. Brian liked it.
The food at Bob Evans isn’t spectacular, but I think they serve the best breakfast you can find at the Legends/Village West area. I really don’t know of any other restaurants serving breakfast. It’s either Bob Evans or IHOP. LOL.
Ya’ll will need to check it out and let me know what you think.
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Wasabi By Request
Posted on August 31, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Misty was in the office yesterday for an informational training session on electric vehicles so we decided to have lunch together. We hadn’t seen each other in a while so it was nice to have the opportunity to catch up. Misty selected Wasabi, a restaurant that we both love. It’s been a while since I’d been there so I was happy about her choice. I always welcome any excuse to eat at Wasabi.
Brian loves Wasabi also and would have met us at the restaurant, but he had to meet Benjamin Franklin at the new house to get an estimate on a hydro backup sump pump install. Had he known that they wouldn’t come until much later in the afternoon, he would have joined us. Instead, he spent the entire day waiting for them to call him, which they didn’t even do until they were at our house.
Brian said the BF rep waited in our driveway for five minutes before calling him. Brian was a little perturbed by this because he specifically asked for 30 minutes of lead time. They were supposed to call him right before they headed to the house at the latest. Brian had to haul butt to the house to meet the guy.
Anyway, back to lunch. I ordered a bento box. I’d seen other people order it, and it seemed like a good value. Here’s what you get for a little over $8 — miso soup, salad (which I normally don’t eat because I’m not a fan of ginger dressing; yet, surprisingly, I like the version they use at Wasabi), choice of meat (I got tonkatsu pork), tempura vegetables, steamed rice, 4 pieces of California roll, and half an orange.
Misty got the ninja roll, which she regretted soon after ordering. She forgot that she had tried it before and only found it to be okay. It wasn’t her favorite. I didn’t get to try it, but I thought it was expensive (almost $14) for the portion of food that you got.
Misty had never had mochi ice cream before and I was craving it so I ordered some for us to share. I got the mango flavor, which is my favorite. I ended up eating most of it, but Misty said she liked it.
Anyway, Misty and I paid about the same amount for lunch, but I got way more food than she did plus dessert. If you’ve never tried the bento box lunches at Wasabi, you have to. It’s great particularly if you’re hungry. Not so great if you’ve got your heart set on their specialty sushi. Just depends on what you’re in the mood for, I guess.
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It Must Be Curry Week
Posted on August 30, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Darcy mentioned to me that she made curry this week. Here’s a photo of Darcy’s curry dish. I’ve not tried it, but it looks really good.
Lucky for me, mom decided to make chicken curry on Tuesday so I managed to get my curry fix after all. Darcy says that her version is more like what they serve at Bella Luna. Mom’s curry is sweet like Thai yellow curry.
It was yummy. Thanks for feeding me, mom! (One of these days I’m going to get Darcy to bring a sample of her curry to work so I can try it.)
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