Here's a sampling of what Kansas City nightlife has to offer.
It takes a whole lot of fabulous to keep J Space going, so every month we feature guest stars for you to meet and learn about. Our July guest is Lisa Houser, an Overland Park good witch who knows how to be bad.
Bad Witch
Oh the draw of $1 flip-flops.
You would have thought Old Navy was giving gasoline away Saturday morning. By the time I arrived with five eager nieces and nephews in tow, the Olathe store had been open only 15 minutes, and already moms were leaving the store as if it was on fire, kids and Old Navy plastic bags in hand.
I have goals that are tucked away in the back of my mind. Then, I have my list. Extremely special, it’s comprised of simple, silly things that somehow escaped my childhood.
Hillary Bernhardt
Here, I proclaim the importance of youth. Adolescence is crucial to each individual’s development of seemingly unimportant skills and abilities. Youth is a once in lifetime period when the only things that matter are counting flower petals or riding bikes. With all this time, opportunities abound for random skill development. And children act as sponges, absorbing all they can.
There are many things I wish I would have learned, but I haven’t. For years, my dad has been trying to teach me to whistle. He has the skills to produce a very pleasant, strong whistle. For an entire day, I meandered through my high school with my lips puckered and my tongue continually wiggling throughout my mouth. Friends offered advice, whistlers and non-whistlers alike. But after fifteen years of life, my lips still can only produce the whispering sound of wind.
My friends will French braid my hair, but I cannot even return the favor. In an attempt to learn how to French braid hair, I watched an informative video on YouTube.com. (This skill is a work in progress.)
I have been practicing juggling tennis balls, too. This has been fairly successful. Continually building my juggling skills, I have reached the personal record of thirteen juggles.
Eventually these random, non-essential skills will come in handy in life, I’m sure.
Random Skills (Where-Did-My-Childhood-Go) List
• Whistling
• Juggling
• Skipping Rocks
• French Braiding Hair
• Napkin Folding
• Rubik cube
• Chess
• Water skiing
• Fold Tongue Into Clover
• Sign Language
• Card Tricks
• Cart wheel
• Yoyo
• Moon Walking
Oh, there’s so much I have to work on, and more lists I must make: books to read, places to travel, songs to hear and lifelong goals to achieve. On top of all these lists, currently, is my random skills (where-did-my-childhood-go) list. What’s on your list?
Every Tuesday and Saturday my lifestyle column runs in The Kansas City Star, and you can find the most recent ones below. For previous columns, click here.
Two years ago April Lacher was a stay-at-home mom and wife. That alone was hard work _ taking care of her son, paying bills, cleaning house, running the day-to-day errands. Still, she wanted more.
She'd discovered she had an artsy side when she was planning her wedding. To save money, she took on the task of decorating the facility, designed the floral arrangements and helped create the invitations.
"I realized I loved creating beautiful things that other people could appreciate," says April, 32.
So when a family member couldn't use a lip balm because of an allergy to almond oil, April figured she could make some.
I just don’t understand why there has to be so much T’n’A. It’s everywhere. Just take a look at our new entertainment district.
I mean, the Power & Light is sexy enough with Mosaic, the chic lounge with Miami flair.
The indoor-outdoor living room with potent martinis is the gem of the Cordish Co.’s mall of bars that have taken over downtown.
But it isn’t enough to have sultry décor and a hot staff. The P&L wants its waitresses to look as if they’re auditioning for a spot in the Pussycat Dolls.
Seriously, the servers at Angel’s Rock Bar look like extras in that old Christina Aguilera video — “Dirrty.” And pretty much every bar in the district serves up a wait staff with thighs exposed and/or breasts spilling out of their tops.
