The Weekend I BBQ'd Across America Part II

oops, i did it again.

went to kansas city and ate way too much bbq. i can't help it. i'm obsessed.

first up is the chicago bloody mary's at harry carey's. fyi, these babies were not good at all. not enough spices and no celery, even though the menu clearly advertised that there was supposed to be. i must have some sort of alcohol (unless there's a doctor out there that can prescribe me something to knock me out!) while flying.

i did not get a picture of the double vodka drink that i had to have on the way back. seriously? scary bumpy flights are not my friend.

first up for bbq was bates city bbq in shawnee. sorry the picture is kind of small, but you get the point. it was a little hole in the wall. we were supposed to go to jackstack, but because of the influx of green bay packers fans, and holiday shoppers down at the plaza, there was a 2 1/2 hour wait. umm, no thanks.

the food! burnt ends and multiple meat sandwiches. the french fries at this place were amazing, and they gave you a ton of them! plus, you can always judge a bbq place by their beer that costs $1. champagne of beers? yes please. the food was fantastic and the people behind the counter were so nice.


i know you can't read this either, but it says, "sweet Auburn shout-out in KC." bo holding down bates city bbq.



next place we went to was arthur bryant's on the way to the airport monday.

hello awesomeness. they had a few different types of bbq sauces, and instead of having pulled pork, which i usually gravitate toward, i went for the sliced. even though it was good, it reminded me more of ham than bbq. my dad had this pulled sandwich that combined all the meat. they definitely gave you more than you could eat. and of course, the option to buy their sauces and rubs.

i hope everyone had a very merry christmas. maybe i'll stop eating so y'all can stop reading about it.

My Dog Makes Me Happy

i love my dog. like more than any normal person should love their dog. this is seriously my child.

i take abnormal amounts of pictures of her, and she gets an abnormal amount of kisses. note that she does spread the love around, and tends to be a bit of a slut when she's doling them out.

but she's still my baby. and really? i cry when i think about losing her, which will hopefully be in a long long while.

so here are some pictures of her in her christmas bow and halloween costume.

she was not as thrilled about the bow as i was.

this is the best picture i got of her in her cat ears. yes, i know the irony.

this cracks me up. she looks like she's being tortured. granted, she is not. she is probably the most spoiled dog on the planet.

i love her.

please let me just squeeze her and squeeze her.

happy holidays from the stell dog.

Blog love

today is a monumental day.

it's my 300th post on blogger.

i by no means have 5000 followers. i think i'm doing good when my dad says he's reading my blog. i figure that there will be a day when i look back through all of these posts, through tears, or laughter and remember everything that once made me do these things.

i feel like i get so caught up in what is going on around me, that i forget about the beauty around me.

i vow in the next 300 posts to pay more attention to that.

The Weekend I BBQ'd Across America *

*not just BBQ. we'll go with "fooded" across America.

the 12 hours to KC to visit dad for Thanksgiving was made better, obviously by all the food that i got to eat. first stop was in memphis, for what else? bbq! this place was visited by guy fieri on DDD, and also named one of the top 10 places you have to eat. yums~ their sandwich had this amazing coleslaw on it, and they had the big fat french fries, my favorite kind! and of course the potato salad, but you all know about my love affair with potatoes, so i'll leave it at that.


up next is oklahoma joe's in KC. i mean, look at those onion rings. i dare you to find a better one, oh, cuz you can't. it's like a heart attack in a bag, but who cares. i had just the normal pork sandwich, which is what they're known the most for, even though KC is supposed to be all about the beef bbq. i digress. the other sandwich is called "hog heaven,"which is pork and sausage all on the same sandwich. they also have this sandwich called the "z-man," and it's brisket, with provolone topped with two onion rings. nom nom.


the last place is called Flying Saucer, and it's more of a bar than anything else, with lots of beer! it's down in the power and light district, and don't know how it got missed the first trip to the district. by this time, i was semi tipsy.....






hence the tater tot photo shoot...but in all fairness, these things are probably the best thing i have ever put in my mouth. they are cheese and pepper tater tots with habanero sour cream dip. rocket tots rule.

and of course, what's a night of debauchery without a random as hell photo shoot in the middle of a restaurant? i super love the one on the left. really. sike.

try all of them. but really try the tater tots. i can't stop dreaming about them.

Music for your Sunday

i hadn't heard of this song until a super new awesome person came into my life this past week. hope everyone had a great weekend!

Holiday Sparkle

ok, so i love glitter. i love sparkles. i love anything that is shiny and pretty.

it is who i am. love me or not, i cannot keep my hands off anything that sparkles.

which is perfect for the holidays. gorgeous holiday dress parties? glitter please! new years? what better day to wear an entire dress made of glitter/sequins/sparkly things?

so i rummaged through pinterest and came up with the most beautiful things that i want. any of these would make fabulous christmas presents, thank you very much!

Source: moderndayfairytale.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

i love all of these dresses. seriously? not a single one i wouldn't wear.

i adore the little white one in the top left corner.

Source: ohhellofriendblog.com via Laura on Pinterest

so pretty! her eyelashes look great too.

Source: ovandony.com via Laura on Pinterest

what's better than plain sparkles? kate spade sparkles!

Source: sittinginatreeevents.com via Laura on Pinterest

i like how these feel a little more rustic than the other dresses. rustic sparkles? of course. i could wrap a huge white cashmere cape around these and some booties? yep yep, i'm in.

i am only two posts away from the big 300th post. i'm glad that i've done this blog for so long. it is entertaining to go back so long and laugh at how much i've changed, and how much i've done in such a short period.

there are big changes coming for me. again. i am excited.