I’m back to share some photos of our four-day trip to Kansas City!
A couple of months ago, Stephen got an automated email announcing the tour dates and locations for the Decemberists’ shows around the country. Being big Decemberists fans, as soon as we found out they were coming to Kansas City (3-4 hours away from our home) we hit the BUY button!
Since the show was on Monday night, we decided to make a weekend of it and booked 3 nights at The Q Hotel and Spa, touted as being Kansas City’s Green Hotel. We left Saturday morning and had a little trouble starting out with icy roads, but once we got to Missouri, it was smooth sailing.
Being a sucker for modern hotel design, these photos of the hotel’s bar, lobby, and hallways were right up my alley!
(First three photos via The Q Hotel, others are mine)
We checked into our room and proceeded to snap some pics before we messed anything up. 🙂
I thought their version of the Do Not Disturb sign was pretty cute.
We did some shopping at The Plaza (KC’s outdoor fancy shopping district) that evening. I was pumped because I got to check out stores I’d never been to in person – Anthropologie (LOVE!), Urban Outfitters, The Apple Store, Restoration Hardware, and more!
That night we went out for classic Kansas City BBQ at Jack Stack. Design geeks like me will probably get a kick out of their awesome chandelier!
Dinner was delicious. (Insert obligatory cow kissing photo here.)
Afterwards, we headed back to The Q and then walked a block to McCoy’s Pub. If you’re ever in Kansas City, I’d recommend The Q on location alone! There were probably two dozen restaurants and bars within walking distance.
The next day, we checked out downtown KC and then made our way over to Boulevard Brewery for a tour and tasting.
The brewery was pretty amazing. I think it got Mr. Heard’s wheels turning…
I had a lot of fun on the tour. I think machinery and equipment like this can be so beautiful.
My favorite part was the barrel room. It felt more like a winery than a brewery in here, but the atmosphere was really cozy!
On the second floor of the brewery was another design element I loved – the wood floors. Made from 3 inch thick pieces of wood, the pattern was gorgeous.
The second floor offered great views of the bottling line.
After the tour, we headed down to the tasting room, where we got to sample the limited run Chocolate Ale. Even to a non-beer person like me, it was delicious!
Needless to say, we came home with a lot of beer!
That night, we cozied up in another little dive (Founders) to watch the Packers win the Super Bowl!
On Monday, we had planned on checking out the KC museums and some fun furniture stores I saw on Design*Sponge, but apparently NOTHING is open in KC on Mondays.
I snapped this photo of a cute Thai place downtown – closed like everything else – before we headed to The Plaza for lunch.
Luckily the Cheesecake Factory was open because this Strawberry Shortcake had my name on it!
We did end up making it to one museum while we were in town – the Truman Library – and then headed back to the hotel for a couple drinks before the concert started.
Loved the double-sided fireplace in the lobby!
The Decemberists show at The Uptown Theater was great. We got a good spot about 5 rows back, and even though we stood for about 5 hours, it was worth it!
Colin Meloy (the lead singer) is pretty stinkin’ funny. At one point he left the stage and showed up in one of the little balconies above the audience. Here he is playing the guitar behind his back from the balcony.
They like to mix things up – here the drummer is singing and dancing while Meloy plays drums. Side note: the violinist Sara Wattkins (back right) is not only gorgeous, but an amazing singer and musician.
Colin Meloy isn’t bad either.
(End crappy iPhone photos)
After the concert, we ended up walking about four blocks back to our hotel, stopping by the Beer Kitchen on our way. We met a couple from Kansas, in town for the show, and got some good recs on more music to check out on the drive home.
Tuesday morning was spent checking out Retro Inferno, one of the Design*Sponge recommendations for mid-century modern furniture lovers like me. Here’s a swanky egg chair we saw (price $2000).
The store was pretty legit, but sadly nothing made it into the Subaru for the drive home. We also checked out Westport on Broadway Antiques and scored some fun finds (you’ll see them soon).
After that, it was time to head home. Luckily we made it back to Arkansas before the weather hit. I still can’t believe we’ve gotten almost a foot and a half of snow since then!
So that’s how we spent our trip to Kansas City. All in all, we had a great time. If anyone is planning a trip there soon, hit me up for some more tips! Thanks for stopping by and check back soon to see our fun finds from KC. 🙂
