Relax and recharge with a massage at the Just For Her Expo

The Just For Her Expo, held at the Overland Park Convention Center June 1-3, 2012, offers information and services for body and mind, linking with the Midwest Women’s Health and Wellness Expo. You can get a new look with Cuts for a Cause or a mini-spa treatment. Learn about keeping fit, feeding your family healthy food that tastes great, and meet J.R. Martinez, most recently of Dancing with the Stars. The Just For Her Expo will have kids’ activities on Sunday, June 3, so even if you can’t get a sitter, come on down. The Just For Her Expo is one of the premier events in Overland Park.

Are you ready for fun, food, relaxation and shopping, Hampton Woods?

Photo credit: o5com

Won't you be my neighbor?

If you are new to Hampton Woods, it is a good idea to get out and get to know your neighbors. They will make you feel right at home. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Make Eye Contact and Wave. Whenever you leave and return to your apartment, make eye contact and wave to your neighbors. This small gesture will let them know that you are interested in making friends.

2. Visit the Amenities.  The fitness center and swimming pool are perfect places to meet members of the community. Start interesting conversations and before long you will be a social butterfly in the community.

3. Welcome Other Newcomers. Don’t hesitate to welcome new tenants to the community. Find out what you have in common and build on that.

Life is more enjoyable when you share it  with friends. Why don’t you turn your neighbors into friends by taking the time to get to know them?

Photo credit: Jen SFO-BCN

Sample some seafood at Hereford House!

Hereford House
Try steak or seafood for dinner and country fried chicken or steak burgers for lunch. Established in 1957, they provide a separate children’s menu and serve brunch on Sundays.

Chen’s Kitchen
A family-owned restaurant started with years of experience in the business, they have a huge menu of Chinese food. Chen’s is named after the owner’s son and is very family-friendly.

Minsky’s
A great place to get a slice of pizza or a hot sandwich since 1976, they also offer separate children’s menu options.

Jose Pepper’s
Said to have the best chips and salsa in town and great margaritas, they serve Tex Mex food for casual dining or take out, and have a children’s menu for your kids.

There are many restaurants with family-friendly dining in Shawnee, KS, why not take a break from cooking and go out for dinner tonight? Have you been to any of these restaurants, Hampton Woods residents?

Photo credit: j.reed

Smart Tip: Use a Canning Jar to Keep Leftover Wine For Up to a Week Food52

If you want to keep an open bottle of wine for more than a couple days, there are a lot of fancy gadgets out there to help you. But our friends at Food52 have a great video tip for keeping leftover wine in the refrigerator for up to a week — using just a canning jar and a kitchen towel. More

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English Muffin French Toast, Leek Quiche, Lentil Soup, Chicken Sausage, Veal Meatballs & Smoked Salmon CakesNew Recipes from The Kitchn

What’s cooking this weekend? We have some splendid brunch recipes to offer up, like this brilliant French toast made with English muffins (all those nooks and crannies make it taste like a funnel cake!). Plus, a savory doughnut and a fresh spring quiche. We also have everything you need for a glorious wine-centric Italian supper, like spaghetti and ramps, and the most luscious veal meatballs in red wine sauce. There’s also a non-alcoholic fruity sangria the whole family can enjoy, and lentil soup with lemon yogurt cream for lunch. We hope you find something here to enjoy! More

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How Can I Turn Mint Juleps Into a Punch?Good Questions

Q: I’m hosting a bridal shower on May 5th, and would love to serve Mint Juleps to tie into the Kentucky Derby. Since there will be a crowd, and I’ll presumably be too busy to play mixologist, I was wondering if you all had a recipe for a Mint Julep-style punch? Thank you!!

Sent by Canice More

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Check out the local historic homes on May 5th

Something exciting is coming up in nearby Leavenworth – the return of the annual Fort Leavenworth Historic Homes Tour.  Now in its 35th year, the tour will take you around many historical homes and famous local sites, highlighting the architectural features of each of the 8 historical homes.  Also included are a look at resident heirlooms and collectibles from around the world.

In addition to the homes, the tour will also feature the only Masonic Lodge on a military installation, an old US Disciplinary Barracks and Memorial Chapel.

Tickets for the tour, which will run from 10 am to 3 pm, are available for $13 per person for Friends of the Frontier Army Museum non-members and $11 per person for members or groups of 20 or more.  They can be purchased in the museum gift shop or by clicking the link above.

If you are not interested in taking an organized tour, you also have the option to do a self-guided walking or driving tour instead.  Just a note; there is very limited parking available on the route.

Are any of you Hampton Woods residents planning on taking the tour on the 5th?

Photo credit: ginnylgorman

Dickinson Westglen 18

16301 Midland Drive Shawnee, KS 66217

• 21 Jump Street
• American Reunion
• The Cabin in the Woods
• Chimpanzee
• Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
• The Hunger Games
• Lockout
• The Lucky One
• Mirror Mirror
• Red Tails
• The Secret World of Arrietty
• Think Like a Man
• This Means War
• The Three Stooges
• Titanic 3D
• Wrath of the Titans

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Review from RottenTomatoes.com

Movie: 21 Jump Street

Plot Summary: In the action-comedy 21 Jump Street, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are more than ready to leave their adolescent problems behind. Joining the police force and the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover in a local high school. As they trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, Schmidt and Jenko risk their lives to investigate a violent and dangerous drug ring. But they find that high school is nothing like they left it just a few years earlier – and neither expects that they will have to confront the terror and anxiety of being a teenager again and all the issues they thought they had left behind. — (C) Sony Pictures

Rating: R

Critics Score: 85

Audiences Score: 90

Reviews: A smart, affectionate satire of ’80s nostalgia and teen movie tropes, 21 Jump Street offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite.

Pet Name: Bitsy
Breed: Chihuahua
Age: Young
Male or Female: F
Size: S

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Pet Name: Sweetie
Breed: Chihuahua
Age: Adult
Male or Female: F
Size: S

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Pet Name: Toodles
Breed: Maltese
Age: Adult
Male or Female: F
Size:

S

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Pet Name: Beau
Breed: Schipperke
Age: Young
Male or Female: M
Size: M

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Welcome your guests to your new Hampton Woods apartment

So you’ve just moved into your spacious new apartment here at Hampton Woods and you are still sore from moving all those boxes from place to place.  You need a break, right? Right! Even if all your stuff isn’t all unpacked yet, be easy on yourself, cut yourself a little slack and give yourself a break.  Move those boxes into a closet for a little while and have an apartment warming party!

It may seem overwhelming at first to think of entertaining others when you’re still stressing about getting all your ducks in a row, but it can actually prove to be really helpful.  For example, while you have everyone together in one place, you can ask them for ideas on how to organize and decorate your new pad, and it gives you a chance to show it off! After all, you’ve just made one of the most important decisions you can make – where to live.  We’re so glad you chose Hampton Woods!

This is also a great way to get to know your new neighbors.  I know from experience that it is amazing the difference it can make if you are surrounded by familiar faces while you are still adjusting to an unfamiliar place.  So if you’re interested in moving forward with a party, make out some invitations a week and a half to two weeks prior to the event and either knock on doors or slip them under the door so you can see if your new neighbors are down to get involved.  Then get to the fun part – shopping! Get some finger foods for your guests.  It doesn’t have to be anything big – just enough to snack on while you socialize.  No one expects you to prepare a four-course dinner when your appliances have barely gotten unpacked.  Enlist the help of some friends to help you set up and heat everything, and you can also assign one or two to greet guests while you’re giving others the grand tour.

The key is to have fun and RELAX! Moving can be difficult, but it’s also an exciting time.  Enjoy your new place and let everyone see why you picked our beautiful property to call home.

Room Tours: Callie’s Home

Are you ready for photo overload? Callie emailed me a couple weeks ago and I saw a little peek of her house. I practically begged her to show me more! And I’m so glad she agreed to do a full tour here. I think her home is the *perfect* way to do neutrals. I’m always harping on the finding balance with warm and cool tones in a room. That’s true for neutral rooms too! This means you should mix your black and brown tones, your creams and grays. And if you want to throw in a random splash of color by way of a vase or small piece of art – well that’s all the better!

I hope you enjoy Callie’s house tour as much as I did. Here she is sharing some of her approach to decorating her lovely home (with a list of sources at the very bottom):

We built our home about a year ago, and I really took a lot of time to think beforehand about the look I wanted, both in the design of our home and in decorating it. Looking at images on blogs really is what gave me inspiration for my home, and I spent A LOT of time doing it. Images that I kept on coming back to were rooms by Ryan Korban and Mary McDonald. I really didn’t want an overload of anything TOO bloggy or trendy though, because I knew I would get tired of looking at it!

-I signed up for emails from a bunch of sites… then I waited for the sales to happen. Because I live in an area where there aren’t a ton of different stores, I bought a lot of items online. And because I was (mostly!) patient, nearly everything I ordered online I either got on sale (sometimes MAJOR sale!) or free shipping. Even the items I picked up at local stores were mostly on sale.

-I really only tried to purchase something that I could see in a specific spot in my home– what I found was that when I didn’t have a particular place in mind, I ended up not really liking what I picked up and felt like I wasted my money.

-Antique stores! And antique stores! And antique stores! I typically found a similar look to what I had seen online by going to a ton of antique stores… sometimes it took a little digging and patience, but I usually found what I was looking for at a fraction of the price I would have spent online (and usually even cheaper than on etsy, eBay, or One Kings Lane, although I have found some awesome deals there). AND I love the fun little things I came across as I was looking for something specific! That is where I got my instant gratification as a reward for all that waiting I’d done for online purchases.

I splurged on both of my sofas and on my coffee table– I saw the Hutton sofa from Room & Board and immediately knew it was the one because of its look and length (even though I looked for a cheaper version for about five months), and my husband sat on the leather sofa from Restoration Hardware and there was no changing his mind. I’m still a little uneasy about those splurges though!

ENTRY
navy dresser- antique store (paint is Benjamin Moore, pulls from House of Antique Hardware)
gold mirror- craigslist
W mirror- Pottery Barn Kids
black lamps- Target
white shades- Target
greek key trim- Walmart
gold Asian bust- antique store
zebra wood frame- Pottery Barn
blue bowl- World Market
silver plated bowl- One Kings Lane
navy rug- One Kings Lane (Thom Filicia)
drum shade- Andrews Lighting in OKC
bird box- Anthropologie

LIVING ROOM
media console- antique store (painted by my Dad with black automotive paint)
gold lamp- Horchow
blue vases- antique store
antler- my parents’ barn
pink orchid- TJ Maxx
small sunburst mirror- Hobby Lobby

coffee table- Horchow
burl wood tray- ebay (Williams Sonoma Home)
horns- Jayson Home and Garden
silver lacquer box- One Kings Lane (can buy at Plantation Home)
foo dog- etsy
blue vase- Goodwill
gold bamboo frame- One Kings Lane (Lunares)
floral notebooks- Anthropologie
lucite nesting tables- CB2
foo dog lamp- Tuesday Morning
wood root- antique store
horse statue- etsy
burl wood box- Teavana
Chiang Mai print tray- Furbish Studio

gold vintage chair- antique store
mink fur pillow- Restoration Hardware
leopard pillows- made by my Mom from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC

cream nailhead chairs- Gilt and Overstock (Safavieh)
blue handblocked pillows- West Elm
greek key side table- One Kings Lane (Worlds Away)
grey ginger jar- Williams Sonoma Home
Asian gold horse- antique store
zebra wood box- ebay (Williams Sonoma Home)
white vase- Mockingbird Manor in OKC
leather tray- World Market
white coral- Pottery Barn
blue vase- antique store

velvet sofa- Room and Board
pink Insignia pillows- Furbish Studio (Windsor Smith fabric)
wool and coral cotton pillows- Anthropologie

large gold sunburst mirror- Williams Sonoma Home
black jars- Pottery Barn
coral ginger jars- Williams Sonoma Home

silver task lamp- Williams Sonoma Home
brown rug- Wisteria
cream drapes- my Mom made from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC
curtain rods- Target
black frames and grey mats- Hobby Lobby

DINING/KITCHEN
dining table- Williams Sonoma Home
chairs- Horchow
silver ginger jar- One Kings Lane
graphic rug- Williams Sonoma Home
cream pendant- Horchow
black frames- Target

black bamboo dresser- craigslist (paint is Rustoleum, pulls from Lee Valley)
cream porcelain lamps- Williams Sonoma Home
Asian ladies- antique stores
gold box- antique store
green vase- Pottery Barn
gold bamboo frame- antique store
white vase- Pier 1
lines paintings- me, frames from Garden Ridge, black mats from Hobby Lobby
eagle mirror- antique store

lucite counter stools- CB2
blue vases- Wisteria
silver rim utensil holder- Pottery Barn
circles painting- me, frame from antique store
coral butter dish- Anthropologie
blue pot- TJ Maxx
Silver bamboo frame- TJ Maxx
Cream frames- Target
fuschia orchid- TJ Maxx
copper greek bust- etsy
white pineapple- White Barn
ikat bowls- Anthropologie
various white, glass, and metal serving pieces- Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Target, and antique stores
black and gold mums paper- Paper Mojo
silver sphere pendant- Horchow (Solaris pendant from Crystorama)

MAN ROOM
leather sofa- Restoration Hardware
red plaid pillows- Ralph Lauren
wheat rug- Pottery Barn

round coffee table- Pottery Barn
brown leather tray- Pottery Barn
decanters and glasses- Pottery Barn, antique stores
vintage National Geographics- antique store
patch- Rugby by Ralph Lauren

wood side table- made by my brother-in-law Roger
silver lamp- picked up by my husband Russ somewhere before we met!
marquetry frame- Williams Sonoma Home
metal R on wood stand- Anthropologie
silver microphone- from my Dad
small white H letterman’s patch- antique store

duke painting- antique store
vintage baseball print- antique store
large red H letterman’s patch- antique store
fox hunt print- etsy
black mirror- Target
small black and white print- picked up by my husband Russ somewhere before we met!
metal W- Anthropologie

NYC Census Bureau map- One Kings Lane (Barbara Cosgrove)
subway sign- Pottery Barn
curtain rod- Target
cream drapes- my Mom made from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC
all books are from random places

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Room Tours: Jenna’s Rental Bedroom Redo

Jenna from JWK Style submitted today’s room tour. I LOVE her idea of over-dyeing toile prints with a bright color! Such an expensive look for not a lot of money! Thanks for joining us today, Jenna!
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When we moved into our rent house, the master bedroom was incredibly dark and depressing. After we painted I wanted to keep it as bright and fresh as possible. I was hoping for a completely different look than our previous bedroom, but I couldn’t justify buying all new curtain fabric and bedding.

Above the bed I hung an oil painting I found at Salvation Army a few years ago. Since there was so much color on the walls I decided on all-white bedding. I made the throw pillow out of silk ikat and the white duvet cover is an inexpensive one from Bed Bath & Beyond. I replaced the basic pillow cases with monogrammed shams from Pottery Barn and the ones behind them are from Target.

Most of our bedroom furniture was (very graciously) handed down to us but it was a mismatched mess. I wanted everything to coordinate so I painted everything myself to save money. The wicker chest (that doubles as my accessory closet) was a traditional white one that I spray painted. I replaced the wicker knobs with beaded ones from Anthropologie but eventually all the embellished parts popped off.

The gold backs stayed on the dresser and I reused the beaded pieces as lamp finials for our bedside lamps. (They remind me of the ones by Hillary Thomas Designs.)

The antique ginger jar lamps are from one of my favorite stores in San Antonio, Pagoda. The other bedside table used to be dark mahogany and I just painted around the existing handles.

Since our bathroom doesn’t have any counter space or wall outlets, I made a ‘vanity’ for myself between the windows. A mirror, desk, and chair is really all you need!

(Before)

The desk came from a hotel salvage store and I repainted it to match the bedside tables. Soon after, I came across a similar desk so I added detailing with gold leaf paint. The antique chair was a hand-me-down that I also painted and recovered.

For jewelry storage I used my pineapple sconces for bangles and brooches and a few vintage bowls on my desk to hold necklaces. The pink and gold sugar dish is from a vintage serving set and it’s the perfect size for earrings.

My makeup is scattered on a tray where I can easily find it since I’m usually running out the door! I keep a notepad on my desk to jot down sewing ideas and notes.

I love this tiny milk glass lamp that was my grandparents. I keep my favorite L’Objet candle and perfume beside it.

I made the lips print on a whim while I was trying to find the perfect shade of red lipstick. It reminded me of Andy Warhol’s Lips Print so I blotted, outlined, and framed it!

Our dresser across from the bed was my first piece of furniture to paint. It was a typical French Provincial piece that was light brown with dark brass handles. Whenever they start looking dingy I take them off and glob on some Brasso to keep them shiny.

Since I’m especially prone to making piles, I like to have bowls around to conceal them. Dry cleaning tags and safety pins live in this one.

Trays are also ideal for easy cleaning and containing clutter. The one on my bedside table forces me to keep it tidy. Otherwise I’d have months of magazines piled up!!

Sources:
Paint color: Benjamin Moore Mayonnaise
Toile fabric: (hand-me-down) Waverly “Country Life”
Roman Shades: Lowe’s
Headboard: Pottery Barn
Throw pillow fabric: Bermingham & Co. thru Brunschwig & Fils
Sheets and duvet: Bed Bath & Beyond
Ginger jar lamps: Pagoda
Vintage tin: The Guild Shop
Mirrored tray: Target
Embroidered coasters: market in San Miguel
Clock: Pottery Barn
Pineapple sconces: Two’s Company
Mini ginger jar: Etsy
Pink dish: Anthropologie
Vintage dishes: The Guild Shop
Rug: Round Top
Coral candle: L’Objet
White porcelain tray: Target
Mirror: hand me down from my mother-in-law
Market tote: flea market in Deauville
Chair fabric: Celerie Kemble for Schumacher
NYC Print: framed Cavallini wrapping paper
Gold framed art: Christmas present
Antique tray: Etsy
Calendar: Jack & Lulu

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Easter Weekend Recap

This weekend was so perfect. The sun was out and we met up with friends for an egg hunt at Wagner Park (can you spy Lady Liberty?)

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Copy Cat Design: Wallpaper in the Bedroom

This bedroom from

Traditional Home is deceptive–at first it looks like it has a lot going on, but with the exception of statement-making wallpaper, it’s a very neutral room. Let’s take a closer look.

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• One item that you will definitely not want to skimp on is your bedding.  Investing in some high thread count sheets and plenty of plush pillows will help you sleep better and ultimately make you a happier person.
• Select a soothing color scheme for your bedroom as it will help to create the feel of a calm and safe haven conducive to a good night’s sleep.
• Choosing window treatments that block out any unwanted sunlight is key for those that enjoy taking a day nap.
• Placing a soft area rug by the side of your bed can help make waking up in the morning a more enjoyable experience.
• Placing a sound machine in your bedroom can help you fall asleep to the peaceful sounds of the rain forest or the ocean waves drifting in the difference.