Wait a minute

Spring in Kansas is an interesting time. One day sunny, the next stormy, and the next...light snow. Such is life when the seasons are changing here in the Midwest. They say if you don't like the weather here, just wait a minute and it will change!

Luckily, I was able to take advantage of a (mostly) lovely weekend to get outside with my cameras and spend time with friends as well. My new "instant" love is my Instax mini 90, a gift from my husband at Christmas time. I didn't know how much I'd really use this camera, but it turns out it's the camera I want with me wherever I go. Those tiny little prints are just such fun, and the Fuji film is so reliable. I've also been spending more time with my Polaroid 250, rediscovering how fun it is to see the images that come from that camera. It's a little bulky to carry around, but it's definitely a conversation-starter when you do.

One of the great things about living in Kansas City--aside from having many interesting places for photo adventures--is the active Instagram community. It's fun to have "virtual" friends through IG, but even more fun to meet those friends in person. I was able to spend time last weekend with my friend Betsy exploring the River Market area of KC with my trusty instant film cameras (and iPhone). This part of the city is bounded by the Missouri River and has several interesting bridges that make for great photography subjects. There's also a great walking path along with river, as well as a thriving farmer's market and lots of old buildings that make for a fun outing. It was a hot afternoon (80s and sunny!) and we got a good bit of walking in before giving into our tired legs and feet and heading home.

The next day I Betsy and I met our friend Reuben at Unforked, a locally-owned restaurant with a some unique menu offerings. Reuben is the photographer for the restaurant and wanted us to taste-test some of the goodies that Unforked is serving up. We ordered lots of items to share: the Akaushi burger, fundido fries, Hail the Kale salad, the Ahi taco, crispy ghost taco (calamari!) and the Rx salad (spinach with acorn squash). Whew! That's a lot of food for three people, but hey, we were sampling in small bites so the calories were fewer, right? 

These were all new to me, except the fries, which are hard to resist with their creamy topping of queso and bacon. (They could be a meal all unto themselves!) My new favorite from the sampling is the Akaushi burger: it was juicy, cooked perfectly and had some kind of "secret sauce" that was very tasty. Reuben declared the Ahi tuna taco his new favorite, though you have to be a fish lover to fully appreciate the flavors. I didn't know you could order any of the tacos on the menu as a lettuce wrap, which I think is a smart option and one I'll consider in the future.

As we let all this food settle a bit, we scanned the dessert menu (yes, we still wanted dessert) to see what new things we might try. This place is known for its delicious frozen custard, and it's hard to walk out without having just a taste of something sweet. I appreciate the fact that you can place orders for half portions so you don't feel quite as full (or guilty) having dessert. I ordered one of the seasonal items, the Banana Booyah Pothole, and it did not disappoint. Bananas, chocolate chip cookies, hot fudge and vanilla custard? Yes, please!

As we were ending our food fest, a huge storm began to roll in. There were predictions of hail and damaging winds, and we cut short our time together to get home before things got bad. Luckily the storm's bark was worse than its bite, but the clouds made for some fantastic photos ops. I felt fortunate that things were not as bad as predicted, though we did get snow the next morning. Crazy Mother Nature!

So tell me...what's new in your world? Where are you exploring, connecting, eating?  I'd love to hear about your adventures, too.