Travel – Karla's Cottage

Around the neighborhood in the Old West Bottoms of KC

By Karla Nathan / August 16, 2025

Typically, when I go to the West Bottoms, I’m working at Good Juju.

Or popping quickly into another open shop during First Friday weekend. And that is rare. But the other day, Beth and I decided to check out a restaurant nearby and do a bit of exploration after a crew meeting.

The old buildings covered in graffiti and chippy paint have an allure that made us want to take some equally alluring photos of ourselves, making use of the gritty, textured backdrops.

I see photo shoots going on in the area all the time for senior pics, engagements, or just for fun. And after walking around the neighborhood, not just driving by, I can feel the attraction to the ambience of the weathered paints.

See, doesn’t the background make us look like tik tok beauty influencers?

One thought that kept recurring to me, was how did anyone reach some of these areas with their spray paints?

Some of the graffiti was arty, some fun, all interesting. But over all, I prefer the natural wear and tear that time provides on the surfaces.

The local businesses had some interesting details that they added too.
Like this restaurant we chose, called The Ship, with a whole ocean/cow town theme.

Yep, ocean/cow town.

Sounds oddly random, like the owners threw a bunch of themes written on slips of paper into a hat and plucked two out, then said, okay, this is it.

The place was hopping, with a live country band and 20-30 yr olds dressed up in their best cowgirl outfits whooping it up on the dance floor.

I'm afraid we were more sightseers than patrons. At my age, a loud bar is interesting to peek at, but not where I want to sit and talk during dinner. Maybe we can go back on a night when there isn’t live music. I did mention my age, right? Ha! Getting me to stay out after dark in Kansas City is a rare occurrence. I enjoyed our night out (we drive to a tapas place, and I didn’t get home til after ELEVEN PM), but the odds of dining out at night in KC again soon aren’t great.

Jammy time in front of the tv calls out to me pretty early on most evenings. But it’s good for the soul to get out and explore sometimes. I recommend a walk through the Bottoms to get out of your own rut if you’re in one as deeply as I am.

At sea with the Pirates

celebrations, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 25, 2025

The Disney Wish cruise was a magical weekend, and not nearly long enough. 3 days zip by, and I’m just starting to figure out how to find my cabin when it’s time to leave.

While there was a ton to do, and so many activities that you could never do them all, I have to say the pirate night was the highlight for me.

My kids and I have always been all in for any reason to play dress up. Add in a night of frolicking , dancing, and glee?

Under a rainbow of sparkling lights in the sky?

Surrounded by people I love, family who came from long distances to celebrate together?

Aargh, matey, ye can bet thy barnacles I was ready to dance the night away like a swashbuckling sailor and love every minute of it.

Our kiddos were over 18 except Dewdrop, who seems older than her age, so we joined the party from the upper deck away from the heavy crowds down below us on the dance floor. I’d asked a bartender where the best spot was to view the fireworks and watch the band, and he was right. We hung out together above the fray on the adult deck lounge, as he suggested.

Plenty of seats, and a big open space to dance or just watch the spectacular made me almost glad that I didn’t have tiny grandfairies to tend to. (Almost, not quite, I’ll always miss those sweet, magic years with preschoolers). There is something to be said for traveling with near adults.

I don’t think I’d ever even seen the adult deck before. Let alone watch the serene sunset with a glass of wine while enjoying catching up with family. Which doesn’t mean I was too grown up to abandon my own adult behavior and dance like a kid myself once the band of pirates began rocking out to 80s music.

It’s of course, good to be home again. But my heart might still be at sea for a bit. I’m missing my pirate gang.

Crafting Crowns with Randy

guncles, jewelry, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2025

Of course Randy and I made time for hanging in the craft room!

One of our go-tos is making crowns.

Lots of crowns!

Then we have fun playing with them, finding critters around the house and yard to wear the new creations.

Soooo much fun! We never have quite enough time for all the projects we want to get done, but we love the heck out of each we do.

Treasured times in Guncleland

dogs, Food and Drink, guncles, jewelry, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2025

We enjoy traveling with our dogs, and there is no better place to take them along than to the Guncles’ house in Jax. They get the full royal treatment there, complete with a throne to rest upon.

They aren't the only ones feeling queenly on this vacation. Randy and Kevin make us all feel special with their pampering.

See how they feed us? Deliciously beautiful!

We’ve been crafting, touring the antique mall they have a spot in, drinking good wine, and playing with pups.

As well as being fed the best meal I think I’ve ever had. Honestly, the red snapper and rosemary honey carrots rank at the top of anything I’ve ever eaten.

The dinner was so perfect that we couldn’t think of erasing it from our taste buds by eating dessert. So, I’m considering having this tart for breakfast instead.

I’d brought fresh peaches from our tree and made this a little differently, with a tiny bit of brown sugar, spices, and some white wine drizzled over the fruit. I think it will be an appropriately decadent breakfast for Guncleland.

The girls are enjoying the trip as much as we are. They travelled well, stopping at dog parks along the way. All are freshly groomed to be their loveliest selves for the adventure, including Honey. We take the doodles into the groomer a couple times a year, with home trim ups as needed, and regular baths in the garden hose.

But not their mama dog, I didn’t even think about getting a haircut for a golden retriever, til I saw one being styled when I picked up the golden doodles from their appointment.

So Honey Bunny got the full treatment, including a furminator brushing. Worth every penny! On the drive here, no clouds of hair were wafting from the backseat and floating up my nose. Who knew you could avoid fluffs of fur like that? And doesn’t she look pretty for going to see the Guncles?

We are heading out to a cruise this weekend, and the dogs are staying behind in the lap of luxury here on Sweet Cherry Lane. I know they will love every minute of it. That’s how we all feel here.

My Mosaic Group Friends and a New Adventure for Seashell Fairies

friends, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 24, 2024

My buddy, Shanna, has hosted a mosaic group in her home studio for years. Its always nice to bring a project and visit with friends.

Not too long ago, she switched it up and rented a studio with our pal, Mary. The group continues in this new location and we have the same members plus a few others joining in.

As artists, we are often working alone. So, an opportunity to hang out with friends while creating, catch up on each others lives, chat about books, restaurants, travel, hear some funny stores, or commiserate over problems, well, that is something I feel lucky to have.

Seeing what’s up with others’ work is inspiring too.

Even though I’m not a mosaic artist, I love the medium. Every once in a while I take on a glass project, but typically, I bring some other, small portable job I’m in the middle of.

This summer it’s been a lot of mushrooms, or beading. I really wish I could attend the group more weeks, but I am pretty sporadic about attending. It’s on a Friday, and that seems to be a hard one for me. Not just First Fridays each month at Juju, but other weekends for travel, or who knows what. Fridays just are a busy day for me.

So, when I get a shot at being there, I make my best effort to pack up a tub of supplies (typically only forgetting a few things I’ll need for the afternoon) and skeedaddling across town to see what everyone is working on and hear about what’s up with who.

Technically, I guess this is a mosaic craft. I decided to make some sea shell fairies that aren’t washed away by the waves, so I took a basket of shells to work on last week. (Oops, after taking the photo, I realized the right wing wasn’t right, so I flipped it around while thinset was still goopy).

These little sprites are something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. On one of my sister trips with Bobbie and Sissy, when I was feeling really bad due to a concussion, along with the anniversary of Ryan’s death, we explored Passe Grille Beach after a walk through the Don Caesar Pink Palace.

The beach we were staying at was low on shells. When I visit Indian Rocks, I always scrounge to find enough to make just one little fairy to leave on the sand.

But this spot? Holy Moly!

Now, the shells I found aren’t what most beach goers are looking for. I like odd shapes and broken pieces, and this place was ankle deep in those. I filled bags with heads, wings, arms, I was in a fairy makers dream location. The terrain was rocky and the beach itself wasn’t as inviting, the parking was awful, but it wasn't crowded and the views were spectacular. My sisters patiently hung out while I climbed around boulders and searched for just the right bits and pieces.

So here I am, a few years later with these baggies full of memories of a special day when my family went out of the way to big sister me, using one of our limited vacation afternoons to take me someplace to gather art supplies. Sis had brought her post cataract surgery sunglasses to help with my concussion headache and Bobbie, who had some mobility issues, hung out with me while we walked this rocky shoreline that wasn’t easy to get around on.

I’m still experimenting with the right technique to transform my fairies into a permanent piece of art. And thanks to my sissies, I have plenty of shells to work with. Each one I create will hold special feelings from our day on the beach.

Mistakes made while planning for Disney World (I should know better)

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 29, 2024

Florida was chilly and our evening at Magic Kingdom was downright cold!

But did we care? Well honestly, yes we did, we were shivering.

More important- did we let it stop us?

No!

We mortgaged our entire future and hit the stores to buy some layers, and stayed on into the night. I’d packed what I thought were plenty of warm items, but had soon discovered they weren’t enough. Sugarwings needed warm, heavy sweat pants over their jeans, I needed one more cozy sweatshirt.

I never go to Disney without scarves/shawls. They keep the sun off you on hot days and prevent cool air conditioning from giving you goosebumps when inside. For our below average temp day, I packed a fuzzy, cuddly, shawl, some gloves and a hoodie. It’s just hard to know for sure what you’ll need for the entire day, no matter how prepared you think you are.

On our second day, we were joined by Dewdrop and my boy for time at Epcot and of course I preached and nagged ahead of time about broken in shoes, layers, and warm socks. Did people listen? Well, a little bit.

At Epcot, your car is much more accessible than at Magic Kingdom, so I brought extras to leave in the parking lot, and besides for a few issues, we did fine.

Once again, the weather was not ideal, but the company was. But if you are prepared, it doesn’t stop you.

And sometimes it means crowds are lighter. I’ll take lighter crowds with a light drizzle any day.

We stayed at the Coronado for the first time, I booked one of the poolside rooms in the auxiliary buildings, not in the tower. And surprisingly, we used the adjacent pool as well as the main pool quite a bit. Florida cold is different than Kansas cold, and the temps fluctuate so much that you can squeeze in a swim at the heated pools even if the weather is subpar for the south.

Pool snack bars are our favorite places to eat when we get a chance. And at Disney, the food at them is usually better than at some of the resort food courts.

Another mistake I made was not bringing food to keep in the room. My son and Dewdrop had to cancel joining us (or so we thought) plus Sugarwings and I mostly share meals. I had a few drinks in the room for us, and we were fine.

Then we got the happy surprise that the other half of our group was coming after all! A grown man and a teen require more food than I’d planned on. Seriously, even if it was just two of us, I should’ve had fruit, yogurt, and other snacks in the hotel fridge.

We had a late night at Epcot and realized we were hungry after getting back to the room. I had not packed a scrap or tiny tidbit of anything to eat. We all went to bed a little hungry, so I got up early, walked the trail over to the main building, took out a second mortgage on my house and filled up a bag with pastries, juice, and fruit to surprise everyone with breakfast in bed when they woke up.

The pink sprinkled donuts as big as your head were as good as they looked, but for under ten bucks, we could’ve eaten much healthier if I’d simply thrown some groceries in the cooler before driving to Orlando.

Even though I hadn’t planned as well as I should’ve, the weather wasn’t close to ideal, the trip was short, and half our group could only make it half the time- I treasure the time we had there.

We found Hidden Mickies (This is the back of a koala’s head in Small World), explored, laughed, and just hung out together.

With my husband retired, and our budget tightened, I know what a splurge going to these parks is. Rich doesn’t like being there himself, so it is very generous of him to send me off on my own or with family while he does other things.
Sometimes I feel very selfish about my obsession with this place. I tell myself that I am done with it, I’ve been enough. And I’m fine with that.

For a while.

Then, thoughts of Mickey shaped food start popping into my head. And I’ll find myself reading recaps of other’s trips and travel hints online. Next, I’m looking at calendars to see what dates kids are out of school that can mesh with a quick trip that direction, or sneaking an extra vacation day onto another planned trip to somewhere sorta nearby to slide in “just a little visit” while I am so close.

Mickey, I have tried, but I can’t quit you. I’m a Disney magic junkie.

3 Seashell fairies, 1 hag stone, 10 hearts, and even a piece of seaglass

sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 25, 2024

We were blessed with plentiful Seashells at the beaches we walked the dogs on. And very large ones at Walton Rocks, this fairy is at least a foot tall.

Some that I found there were huge.

And one afternoon, Jupiter beach was carpeted with shells.

Most were full, little round ones, but within the mix, I could find plenty of broken shapes to make a sprite.

She is a larger one too, with her long, elegant oyster shell skirt.

This is a rare find for me- Sea glass! I hope to drill a tiny hole in it to make a necklace.

There were multiple hearts scattered across the sand.

This one was tucked into a nest of seaweed.

Most of the hearts I found were rocks, not shells.

This heart rock looks like it is camouflaged and hiding in the shell pile.

Tiny Dorothy even found one for me. Thanks, Dot! It’s as sweet as you are.

There was a funny rock that caught my eye, I thought it looked like a full body. She is very different than most of the beach fay I leave on the shore, but I thought she was cute.

Not all hearts are solid bits, this floral-y sprig of seaweed is a lovely shaped one.

And some are a little wonky, but still count.

Most are left where I see them, but every once in a while, one goes into my pocket I kept this one.

Typically, the ones I find are flatter, this puffy heart was a special one too.

Walton Rocks was a great beach for finding hag stones. This one not only kinda looks like it has a face, its “eye” was extra large. A good one to look through for spotting mermaids out in the surf.

Both of these beaches had unique personalities. I love the way various shorelines offer differing loot. Even along the stretch of a single beach you can find variety. I studied one patch of Jupiter where many of the shell fragments were worn as smooth as worry stones. My guess is that there were rocky areas off shore where they tumbled themselves smoother than other parts of the beach.

Each step is the possibility of a new discovery that I never tire of. I’ll miss my walks in the sand, it has been a beautiful break from the iciness we left behind.

Escaping the cold

dogs, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 21, 2024

There has been some biting cold and downright dangerous weather all over the country. Between hurriedly packing up and zooming out of town earlier than we planned then driving through snow anyway, family members missing Disney time due to storms, and shuffling flights around for Sugarwings, we have been on the edge of succumbing to the horrid cold ourselves.

We have been so lucky to get to our destinations and avoid the worst of the chill. Jackets on the beach? Who cares? I’m at the beach! And thrilled to be here.

The pups love it as much as I do. They have ran full speed into the waves, rolled in the sand, and happily trotted alongside us for hours.

Our first day was windbreaker over jacket type weather, and a bit gray, but the second? Up in the 70s and the water gleamed in a tropical aqua blue.

Both days were uncrowded. January in Florida might not be the most popular, sun drenched, time of year to be vacationing in. But to me? I love the low crowds.

And being away from MINUS TWELVE DEGREES in Kansas.

And having to wearing a windbreaker while dining outside with a view of the ocean is not something I will complain about. We spent our first morning at Walton Rocks dog beach, then took a meandering drive down the coast to find a place to eat on the beach, then headed to Jupiter dog beach for a couple more hours.

I gather shells, look for heart shapes and chat with the dogs as I walk, and couldn’t ask for much more.

In the evenings, we grill a piece of fish back at the camper, then watch Netflix or whatever sounds good on streaming while I craft and the dogs fill the floor of our 19’ rv space.

At this point the dogs are more sand than fur, and don’t quite get all the way dry, and of course the floor of the camper is as sandy as the dogs.

We have blown some fuses, still can’t get hot water to work, and our spot is a little too close to the highway. Not a perfect trip, but a very good one none the less.

Are vacations ever perfect? They don’t have to be, to still be perfectly nice.

While I was with Mickey

dogs, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2024

While I was exploring the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and visiting the Evil Queen with her nemisis, Snow White at the enchanted forest, the guys were wrangling 8 dogs while ripping out the Guncles’ back fence wall and rebuilding it.

We have a tradition of staying with our bros during part of our camping adventures in Florida and helping with a project.

One year it was redoing a deck, then another was the other side of the fence.
I might have been a little more helpful with those than I was this time. I skeedaddled my way to Orlando to meet up with two grand fairies and my boy for some Disney fun. It was MLK weekend, so the kiddos had an extra day off.

Sugarwings flew in (Barely. With the country wide weather problems, this was an iffy enterprise and some flight shuffling was required). Dewdrop rode down from NC with her daddy. They were delayed due to weather, but made it eventually.

The guys were nice about letting me off the hook for the big job, but I did come straight back from Epcot to help with finishing touches while the kids had some time together with their dad to go meandering in Daytona Beach.

I was happy to give the kids time together while I arranged flower pots and garden furniture. Look at how we are fed while working in the yard! Never ending fresh seafood prepared by first class cooks - those Guncles both are experts in the kitchen.

The only trouble is that we have completed most of the rebuild at this point. Only one more side of the fence to go. If we want to be invited back to the paradise of Guncleness seafood dinners, my husband is going to have to learn a few new building skills beyond patios and fences!

Heck for the special treatment they show us, maybe I’ll learn how to build something.

Blessed by A Year of Sea Shell Fairies in 2023

sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2024

2023 was a light year for sea shell fairies, at least compared to other ones. I was very lucky to have lots of trips and family visits, but only a couple were beachy. This sprite is from my impromptu visit to see my sissies on the gulf coast.

Over the years, my sisters and I have gotten into the groove of planning an annual trip to the seaside each fall. Then, they started sneaking in an extra visit in the spring. Which I’ve partially joined in on, but have not been able to stay the full amount of time they’ve gone. For this one, I knew I was just too busy. After bonking my head again, I’d taken a lot of time off work and needed to catch up.

Then, the day they left, I decided to go anyway. I just packed up, got a Southwest ticket (free with points, but still more points than I’d have used if I planned ahead) and told them I was on my way.

What a fantastic idea! And I loved every single moment of the trip, even with post concussion syndrome, and being behind on work. Looking back, I wish I’d just said screw work and stayed the whole week instead of a few days.

And for such a home body, I LOVE travel. But taking on this booth at Good Juju has stolen some of my flexibility in getting away. 6 weeks in an RV full of dogs to get away from winter and do some beach hopping didn’t happen last year.

Funny, the sale is only two days a month, so it sounds easy to get away. But I have to put so much time into shopping, cleaning, repairing, tagging old stuff, then crafting new things, plus setting up displays, that I am constantly working.

We’ve managed to get around that by taking smaller trips in the middle of the month. Where I can be at First Friday weekend, then flip the space in the next few days.

So we were able to visit our North Carolina family and spend some time in the mountains. And I’ve had a couple of trips to Indiana to see my family there.

Then October our sister trip was even more special with nieces and aunties. I saw the Guncles, and snuck in a Disney adventure with Terry, all in one, tight week.

I made this fairy on Venice beach while we were shark tooth hunting. I feel very blessed for the getaways I’ve managed to tease out of my time.

And after a year and a half of getting back into the swing of being a dealer and building up some inventory, I’m feeling like I can squeak out even more time. I have plenty of small crafty items to work on while on the road, too. We are planning a January camping trip right now, where I’ll be away most of the month. Taking off right after the Juju sale and just scooting back in time for the next.

My business income would suffer if I made this a regular practice, but for a couple of longer stretches I can pretend to be retired like my husband is and head to the shoreline. I think it’s doable.

I need more beach fairies in my life! Thank you, 2023 for the loving family visits, and the beautiful views.