Locally Owned and Operated

Born and raised in Springfield, it's always sad to see a local business close after providing years of service to the community.  Unfortunately this is all too common here in Illinois, especially the Capitol City.  We are not saying we don’t frequent chain stores or restaurants because we're all guilty of this.  But for us, supporting local businesses is not only about trying to help the local economy, it is also quite nostalgic.   

Our childhoods were spent running around town with Misty’s dad, who drove a city bus, or walking to the local convenient store for a soda and candy while Kendra’s mom taught piano lessons.  It wasn’t unusual for Chuck (Misty’s Dad) to make several stops at local grocers during the week.  His stops were usually Mr. B’s or Humphrey’s Market.  Humphrey’s Market is still in town in the same place and owned by the same family. For years, Misty’s annual family Thanksgiving ham has come from Humphrey’s. 

Before Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Doughnuts, a Saturday morning was spent going to Mel-O-Cream  getting their signature yellow and white box filled full of a dozen donuts, or eating a donut there, served on a brown tray with a carton of chocolate milk while the parents drank coffee from the shop’s plastic brown coffee cups. As we got older most of our time was spent in Recycled Records buying used CD’s or Penny Lane getting the latest T-shirt of our favorite band or a brightly colored poncho.  

They had the best deals on music! 

It’s the familiarity of places and as cliché as it sounds the friendly faces that make you continue going back to local businesses.  They are the ones that live in the community and truly care about their customers, who may just happen to be their neighbor or their friend.  For us these local businesses are doing a favor by keeping some favorite childhood memories relevant and alive.  

Gone but certainly not forgotten!

We would love to know your favorite local spots in Springfield. We'd love to expose their services and encourage new customers! Our list of locals is pretty large but we know there are many we haven't experienced yet! Please Comment below!

The Heart and Soul of La La Land

Sorry for the tears...It was just THAT good! 

La La Land…where to start. 

The Heart:

I’m a fan of musicals but if you are one that says, “I hate musicals” then surprise, you will be thoroughly entertained with La La Land.  Yes, there’s music, a lot of it, BUT not every single spoken word is done musically.  There’s a lot of dialog so you will not be squirming in your seat for an hour and a half waiting for it to stop!

The Colors…ALL THE COLORS!!!!  I am a sucker for bright and happy and it was like OLD HOLLYWOOD and the early 60’s puked up all over 2016 and I LOVED IT! 

The actors…I enjoy the chemistry of Ryan Gosling (Sebastian) and Emma Stone (Mia) and have always liked them as actors, but what pleased me most is that they aren’t these over the top, dynamic singers.  They can carry a tune, but it’s not some forced, Broadway performance and I think that was brilliant.  You just got lost in what was in the words of the music.  It was sweet and sad and everywhere in between and exactly the way it was meant to be.  Note, not to sell Gosling short (which wouldn’t even be possible, wink wink, and cue the wolf whistle here) he has amazing piano playing talent! No CG or hand doubles were required for filming, it was all him…all his amazing, fabulous, handsome, beautiful…oops, got lost in thought there, sorry! 

The Feels... Oh the feels! Do you follow your dreams?  Follow your heart?  Can you have both?  Without telling any part of the movie (I don’t mind spoilers, but I don’t want to do that to you readers) you feel every emotion of the characters and want it all for them. When we left the theater we didn’t know to laugh or cry, we just wanted to go back in line, buy another ticket and see it again.   

La La Land

The Soul: 

Have you ever had the feeling where your heart is lodged in your throat, tears welling up in your eyes, and the ability to breathe without gasping seems impossible? That’s exactly how I felt when I saw the words “The End” show up at the screening of La La Land. I haven’t had an experience do that to me in a long time, much less a movie.

But there it was, La La Land, in all of its projected glory. And I am going to try to explain the reason I felt as I did, without giving away any spoilers. So prepare yourselves. The movie began slow and steady for me. I was so excited to see it that the first twenty minutes sort of blurred and my mind was twenty different places at once.

I’d seen Ryan (Gosling) and Emma (Stone) work together before, so I was expecting another A+ performance, but this blew my expectations out of the water. I wasn’t just watching a story unfold, I was in the story. They were telling MY story, and every other dreamer’s story. And I don’t mean just the writers and the singers and the actors. They were telling the dreamer’s forgotten story.

The music, the magic, it was ALL there; the first look, the first ballad, the fingers intertwining in the dark theater. This modern fairytale creates a sense of acceptance and what-if at the same time. At one moment, I was ready to get up and dance and the next moment I was crying, glancing at Misty and wondering if she was doing the same thing. (and she was!)

Do yourself a favor and take time out of the busyness of the day and go see this movie. Become a dreamer again, even if it’s just for a day. Remember what it feels like to want to go after something you are completely afraid of. Because someday, you might be inside of a jazz club, listening to the piano softly play your dream anyway. 

Expect and Aspire

It is certainly good to be back after a much needed break.  There’s nothing like a little vacation to get you feeling rejuvenated.  So many things have occurred in just the short time we have not been blogging.  Kendra has a new niece, the country has a new president, and sadly America lost another batch of great pop culture icons. I’m certain the beginning of 2017 was welcomed with open arms by many!

When a new year approaches, so does a list of resolutions that we will set up for ourselves, and for the majority, fail before the 31 days of January are even over with.  We stopped with the resolutions a long time ago because we realized we were just setting ourselves up. This year we decided to do a list of things expected for ourselves.  We would like to share a couple of our expectations and aspirations for 2017:

Kendra: I EXPECT to read the Bible completely through by the end of the year.  It’s not just my goal to say I was able to read through it, but to utilize it as a tool and have a better understanding of it, especially because of the world we live in today. 

Misty: I EXPECT to find a new church home.  It’s been a long time that Dave and I have called a church “home” but we truly miss it!  We haven’t lost our relationship with God but we miss the fellowship you find at church. 

Speaking of homes, we ASPIRE to gussie up our homes a little bit. 

Misty: To update the interior with new flooring, paint and light fixtures. 

Kendra: to give the exterior some sprucing up, such as new windows and siding.  If you are reading this and know of any good siding companies, flooring guys (or gals) painters, etc., feel free to leave their name in the comments! J

We EXPECT to make our health and the health of our families a priority:   Of course everyone sets out to lose weight and that is a benefit we want to receive from this but we want to get ourselves and our families off prescription medicines for Diabetes, Fibromyalgia and high blood pressure.   

And last but not least, We ASPIRE to be faithful to this blog for the 2017 year.  We want to be accountable in our writing efforts.  Most of all we want to entertain our awesome readers!  Hope you all aspire and achieve great things for yourselves this year! Have a blessed week!

M&K

Your Top Two Choices This Election?

Vote for HER ladies and gentlemen, and by HER we mean US! Ya'll have discussed a first woman President? Well look no further. We're here to make it happen! 

Meet Kendra Ayers...

Kendra Ayers is the way to go this November 8^th election. Not only is she an avid fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the pioneer times, she wants to take America all the way back. Forget modern technology and get on board with log cabins, outhouses, and a good old brew of black coffee in a tin cup.

Her taste in 80’s music will bring inspiration to White House. Who wouldn’t want Madonna and the Bangles blasting during each televised speech? You want a President who knows how to enjoy a good eat and drink and her "Coke not Pepsi", "soda not pop", "deep dish not thin slice" views for "Fast Food Fridays" will rock America’s standard takeout options.

But that’s not why you should vote for K. Let’s talk about her all natural approach to medicines, make-up, and cleaning. This girl knows how to keep it pure and simple with essential oils, homeschooling, and DIY beauty products. (Safe and non-toxic? Yes, please)

So get out there on Election Day and vote for K. She’ll take us back a hundred years but at least you’ll have Pa playin’ The Cure on the fiddle in the background while you’re reminiscing on the days of social media! 

Meet Misty Glass...

 I am Misty and I approve this message:

Misty is asking for your vote to be President.  We will make America Great Again, where we will be Stronger Together.  Her opponent will offer many promises, but these promises will set us back, literally, to a time of no modern plumbing, churning our own butter and having to wear bonnets.

Misty seeks something better and brighter for our future.  Where cell phones never lose signal, no one will have to pay for utilities and flying cars will become reality. 

Her first 100 days in office, she will implement:

• No more waiting in lines at any store, especially Walmart! 
• Every business will offer a three hour paid siesta for all employees.
• The government will be taxed and give the money to the people.

A vote for Misty on November 8^th is a vote in the right direction….modern times!

**This message is paid for by rainbows and lollipops. This candidate would never really want to run for president but still wants your votes regarding this blog post.  This candidate can promise all day long, but at the end of the day they answer to a butt load of other people that control the house and senate and every other department in between.   Regardless, you should always use your right and get out there and vote. **   

GOD BLESS AMERICA! GO VOTE! 

You're so Quirky!

We all have weird quirks or habits from time to time.  Some quirks we share with everyone, some with a few and some we hide in the very depths and crevices of our souls! Here is a list of our silliness and weirdness for you to take a gander at and enjoy making fun of us!  Happy Reading…..

   

Misty’s List:

·        I am an obsessive hand washer.  It has gotten so bad that I actually have “chapped” my hands into a different color than the rest of my arms!

·        I love peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.  The peanut butter must be smooth, the pickles must be dill hamburger slices only!

·        I love the summer but absolutely hate being hot

·        I hate for people to touch my hair. 

·        I am obsessed with hand writing lists.  If I don’t like the way my handwriting looks or make a mistake, I will throw away the list and start again.

·        I write with my right hand but plays sports (example: bowling, throwing a ball or batting) left handed.

·        **Disclaimer…this is my gross one!  As much as a germophobe I claim to be, I like to clean people’s ears.  My family is totally grossed out by this, but some are cooperative and let me have a pick at theirs! LOL! 

·        I love the numbers five and seven and sometimes find myself doing things in those number orders.  I don’t like most even numbers.

·        I have a trigger finger and like to gross people out by making it pop back into place.

·        I have affection for ribbon blankets and must have one on the bed or I can’t sleep. 

·        I never end a conversation with my parents until I have prayed over them.  Even if I talk to them numerous times each day, I will say a prayer over them every time before hanging up the phone!

Kendra's List:

• I have an intense fear of bridges. I couldn’t drive over a bridge by myself for about ten years after I got my license.
• I eat very weird combinations of food and most of them are vegetarian concoctions. For example, I love heart of palm, raw peas, artichoke hearts, onions on my grilled cheese, and almost all condiments. (especially, A1 Steak Sauce)
• I am a compulsive cleaner. I love to clean and I usually go nuts wanting to straighten things up at my church, stores, and other people’s homes.
• I am a binge TV series watcher. Not in the sense that people binge watch Netflix on the weekends. I mean, I literally will watch entire series of shows over the course of a few days. (A few years back, I watched the entire series of Parenthood over Christmas Break in a matter of three days- I don’t think I slept at all. LOL) I also do this with books if they are trilogies, or more.
• I am a grunter. If there is silence in the room, you will often hear me grunting and I have no clue that I am going it.  
• I randomly bust out in song and/or whistling. And there is always dancing that follows. People either love me or loathe me for this because I never really do it at appropriate times. 
• I don’t drive in the winter when there is snow or ice on the ground unless I absolutely have to. Yes, I am a giant baby about inclement weather.
• Until May of this year, I was a chronic nail biter. Now, I am so used to having nails, that if one of them breaks, I get really upset about it. Funny how trying new things can be a nice change. Want to know the gross side of this? I still bite my toes. Yes, they are clean first.
• I never let my family go off of the phone without saying “I love you” first. And, if any of my immediate family traveling somewhere, I make them text or call me when I get there.
• When the rest of the world is checking up on celebrity movie stars and singers, I am a huge author fan girl. I have a “short” list of my favorites and I am always checking up on their social media accounts to see what they are up to. (And when their next book will be out!) Yes, I am a nerd. 

Guilty Pleasures

We all have a guilty pleasure we indulge in from time to time. Whether it’s heading to the salon to have our nails done, turning into Starbucks for that weekly (daily) latte, hitting Kohl’s every time there is a sale, or binge watching another Netflix original when we should be sleeping. (Hello, Stranger Things)

One thing we have in common when it comes to our favorite guilty pleasure is that we watch reality television. Not all reality T.V. shows appeal to us; in fact, we are quite specific about what we waste precious time on. Check it out!

Kendra's choice- The Bachelor/Bachelorette

                                                               

From the very first season, I fell in love with the concept of the bachelor/bachelorette. (I am going to just call this the B&B from now on.) I have always been a hopeless romantic and since I have a personal history of not always making the right choices for my love life, I gravitated to a show that helped others find love.

One thing I loved most about the B&B is how romantic the settings are for each group and single date. Dating has become a lost art and people do not invest in planning a romantic night out like they used to. Trust me, I am not naïve to the fact that this is all for show and that the producers are paying for all of these wonderful adventures, not the people dating. But to see a couple go carriage riding through a city, or take in a show at a live theater verses the standard dinner and a movie, is quite fun to watch. (see previous post about date nite! LOL) 

Trista and Ryan make it work!

I love the anticipation of who gets voted off and who is staying each week. Narrowing down the contestants based off a variety of factors and seeing who he/she picks as the final two. Will they say “I love you” or could one be leaving even before the rose ceremony? Yep, I am a sucker for all of it.

I will admit there were a couple of seasons that I either didn’t watch or just couldn’t get into. I have been a little bit disappointed with the fact that some contestants return for a second and even a third time to win a chance at love. And I have often wondered how much work some of these people have had before the show. I mean, are they really all that glowing, bright teethed, flowy haired when they are back in Texas or Arkansas or North Dakota?

Ashley and JP are still one of my favorite couples! 

There are many things I believe this show could do without, and my moral compass often cracks at some of the vulgarity that slips through the crevice, but I still love watching a people begin to fall in love. I still hope that some of these couples can make it work. And I will always, always believe that the final season should be Chris Harrison finding love (again) if he hasn’t already. 

Will Chris Harrison get the FINAL rose? 

Hi, my name is Misty (hi Misty) and I’m addicted to Real Housewives. I’ve been an addict since season two of Orange County.  I watch almost every cast and follow some of the housewives' twitter and Instagram accounts.  It’s gotten so bad that my family has been influenced by my addiction and my husband will now watch with me.   
 

There are currently nine Housewives to choose from (Orange County, New York, New Jersey, Potomac, DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and Beverly Hills).  Bravo also airs Housewives of Melbourne.  My personal opinion, don’t waste your time with that one and hopefully they never bring back DC or Miami!  I have no idea why I got addicted to this show.  It’s totally scripted, they are extremely catty and the majority of the women aren’t even HOUSEWIVES!!!! But….it’s got me hook, line and sinker.

My favorite of the Franchise is New York with a close second being Orange County, but honestly, EVERY SINGLE HOUSEWIVES has the same premise.  Rich, glamourous women who shop and fight, then make nice again, take an exotic trip together, fight on the trip, cry, make up, have a big party at the end of the season, fight at the party and drag the fight into the Reunion show, where they try to talk it out and become frenemies so they can get on the next season.  Oh yeah, in between the fighting there’s little glimpses of their families and jobs…you know, their actual REAL LIVES!  

So why watch?  Why not?  I love the fashion, the homes and the places they travel.  It cracks me up and it’s not my drama.  It’s an hour or two a week; given how many episodes Bravo has showing where I don’t have to think about anything.  It’s one of the shows you can just zone in and not have to retain. 

So there’s my guilty pleasure, not the easiest to confess, but hey, at least it’s not the KARDASHIANS! :) 

Date Night!!!!

Let’s face it; after marriage, date nights can become obsolete. But they don’t have to be. I can remember the first time my Mother suggested Pax stay all night so Donnie and I could have a date night out. (I think we might have grabbed a quick meal and then went home to sleep without interruption!)

We still enjoy an evening out, kid free, but we also really enjoy our nights at home. Our recent date nights include a kid friendly movie first, some take out from one of our favorite places to eat (like Nancy’s deep dish pizza or Hunan’s Chinese food and sushi), and then a movie for just Donnie and me when Pax goes to sleep. I’ve been into a lot of drama and suspense movies lately. Our last date night at home included Nancy’s pizza and the Amanda Knox documentary on Netflix. (Exciting right?)

We are huge movie fans but that is only one of the things we do for date night. Sometimes we will get ice cream from Baskin Robbins and play retro video games or just talk about our week. Having a face to face conversation is sort of a lost art these days.

Yep, I make him do selfies with me on date night! 

Date nights really are about keeping the spark alive and making time for the other person. When you focus on these things, it doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you are doing it together.

I am sure our family and friends that have children think our life is a constant date night since we have no children, but of course that’s not the case.  We lead a pretty busy weekly schedule with work and social calendar.  Dave and I always enjoy our time together and even though we love our home, we enjoy getting out and about.  Dinner and a movie is always an option to but sometimes it’s nice to switch it up a bit.  Fortunately for me, I have a husband that’s just as spontaneous (or indecisive) as me. 

 

One of our favorite date activities is a quick road trip to St. Louis.  We could find something to do in our hometown, but STL offers a lot more choices for a fun date night.   We love Forest Park and will visit the Art Museum or the zoo.  We may do a little shopping at Ikea, Trader Joe's or The Container Store (who doesn’t love containers!!).  We may head down to the landing and hang out by the arch, or grab a bite to eat at one of the gazillion restaurants.  

The best part about our little adventure is the hour long car ride that gives us time to catch up and talk about anything and everything.  After almost twenty years of marriage, I’m glad we still have things to talk about! LOL! 

READER SURVEY:

Date night out?

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Dating is overrated?