Dandelion Eye

I spotted this walking through Goodale Park a few weeks ago.  We were walking along and I stopped dead in my tracks and walked backwards to take a second look.  I thought I was imagining it...but nope - someone stuck googly-eyes on a pair of dandelions!  The flower on the right was shriveled up and dead, but you can still see the eye on it.  Only in Goodale Park - and that is why it is an awesome park!

Clippers Game - April 29

It was unexpectedly nice on Sunday, so we decided to walk to the Clippers game.  We have limited time left of walking everywhere that we want to, so we wanted to take advantage of it while we can.

I love how you can see downtown from the stadium...

 Right field...

I love the Hot Dog Race during the game....  I always root for mustard because ketchup and relish are gross on hot dogs.... 

Mustard is in second!

See that Lion/Bear mascot ahead (I have no idea what it is)....he's about to cause some major ruckus.

The Bear/Lion plowed down all of the dogs and then dragged Relish across the finish line his (its?) foot. 

Perfect day! 

After the game, we relaxed at home for a bit and then walked to zpizza for dinner to use an Eversave certificate.  We ordered the gluten-free zBQ pizza and it was GOOD!

Columbus Food League Bike Tour

 We are majorly in love with 5 restaurants around downtown that are part of a “family” of restaurants called the Columbus Food League.  Last fall we talked about how we needed to do a bike crawl to that group of restaurants on afternoon, at which we’d get a drink and something to eat.  We never got around to it, so we wanted to make sure we were able to get it done as soon as possible. 

The last few years we’ve stayed home for Easter – meaning we didn’t drive 1.15 hours to visit Lo’s family or 3 hours to visit mine.  Traffic is always so sucky on Sunday coming back to Columbus, and it was just nice to have a holiday for which we didn’t have plans.  The first year we went to Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits to eat – because they posted a pic of a martini with a marshmallow Peep floating in it.  The next year we went to Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace, because we’d been wanting to try their brunch and it seemed like a perfect day that probably wouldn’t be as busy as normal. 

This year, my mother-in-law’s birthday happened to fall on Easter, so we decided that we needed to break our tradition and visit his family on Easter.  BUT since Saturday was going to be so beautiful, we decided to do our Columbus Food League Bike Tour that day.

We had brunch at our friends’ house and came home a couple of hours later in need of a short nap before we embarked on our journey.  I woke up, and after a quick scan of Facebook, realized that it was Gallery Hop day.  Our intent was to start our tour at the further point from our place and work our way back – but that was going to put us in the Short North right around the time that Gallery Hop would really be hopping, which could make getting a seat at Betty’s and Surly Girl difficult.  We decided to change our order to Surly Girl, Betty’s, Jury Room, Dirty Franks, and finally Tip Top. 

I got dressed while Lo started to fill up the bike tires.  That was a problem because one of his tires was completely flat AND the pump was suddenly broken (it worked fine last year).  After a quick online search, he found that a lot of people had the same problem with this pump and there was no fixing it.  That was annoying.  Off to Target we had to go to get a pump and a tube (in case it was bad too).  He got everything fixed and off we went.

We got to Surly Girl Saloon around 5 and grabbed a spot at the bar – right before a group traveling on the Cycle Tavern got there.  They were D-Runk.  I had a Surly Temple (Red Pop and Vodka) and we ordered Frito Pie with the veggie chili (because it was GF). 

Our second stop was Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits.  It was clear at this point that Gallery Hop was really picking up.  We got a table, but within minutes, there were people waiting.  I had a Berry Betty, which was Blueberry-Strawberry Infused Finlandia Vodka & Pink Lemonade.  I didn’t realized that the berries had actually been soaking in the vodka until I started eating them and realized how boozy they were. So I ate all of them.  We didn’t get any food this time since we just had Frito Pie at Surly Girl.  We had some good people watching from our window table including a guy wearing a leopard print fur shrug with a very casual outfit (he ended up coming inside briefly, so I snapped a pick), and a guy wearing an American Flag tracksuit (old school with the tightly cuffed elastic bottoms) and a tshirt with an American flag and 3 wolves.  Luckily his tracksuit jacket was tied around his waist so I could see his fantastic shirt (I have no idea what American flags and wolves have in common).  Sorry, no pic – I was too slow.  Traffic was packed through the Short North, but we just rode in the lane beside the parked cars and it was fine.

We went to Jury Room next because we wanted to go to the furthest one left in this direction and then work our way back.  Jury Room is awesome because it’s a little out of the way, so it’s never too busy.  Plus they mark their gluten-free items on the menu, so I know what I order is safe.  We just got the Truffle Fries and I had an Executioner, which is XRated Liqueur, Citrus Vodka, and 7up – though I had him sub club soda for the 7up so it wouldn’t be so sweet.  Very good substitution.  

On to Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace for our 4th stop.  We weren’t surprised to see a line outside, as it’s a tiny place and we were getting there around prime dining time.  We put our names in and stood inside so we’d know if anyone got up from the bar (it’s first come, first serve to sit at the bar).  Within 10 minutes, we had a seat at the bar and I was enjoying a Vodka and ½ red pop ½ club soda.  I ordered a Whoa Nellie in a GF wrap (beef dog topped with pulled pork and BBQ sauce), while Lo had a Doginator (bacon-wrapped dog –seriously- topped with beef brisket, bbq sauce, cheddar, and onion rings.

Our final stop of the Columbus Food League Bike Tour was Tip Top.  It wasn’t crowded at all and they were playing obscure-ish hip-hop, which was pretty great.  I had a “Commit to be Lit” for my final drink (Orange, vanilla and raspberry vodkas mixed with cranberry juice and a splash of 7up, served tall).  We were still hungry since we’d just been snacking all day, so we ordered Ohio Nachos and the Salmon Dinner to split. 












That was a tour!  The ride home was a little chilly, but it was a great evening!  We hung out at each place for awhile, so we were gone for 5+ hours.  I’m already looking forward to having our friends join us for this tour next time! 

Colors and Bottles 2

A few months ago, several friends joined me for a Colors and Bottles event at Camelot Cellars because it was a great deal and a cool painting.  Shortly before that 2 other friends and I made plans to go to a class in March using Eversave vouchers that we'd bought. 

We picked the class based on our availability and which painting we liked on the website - and this one was even better because it was BYOWine.  It was held at 83 Gallery, which is a neat art gallery in the Short North near Bodega.  There were so many cool paintings on the walls that were really inspiring.  Kelley and Ashlee brought some wine and I put together some snacks (cheese, gf pretzels, and blackberries). 

My painting, minus the shadow on the bottom right

I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going to want to use the colors in the "model" paintings - purple and white.  I wanted to go with blue/green tones to match an original painting from a talented client that I used to work with - and also my first Colors and Bottles painting.  Unfortunately, the green was too "hunter" and I couldn't get the color mixed that I wanted consistently.  I tried mixing a bunch at a time, but I kept running out anyway.  So I'm not thrilled with this painting, but it's okay.  I'm also annoyed that it's so similar to my first painting - completely my fault, as I didn't follow along with the instructor in either case.  I guess the swirly waves are my "style".  I really liked Kelley's striped paiting - she actually used one of the painting hanging on the wall as inspiration, instead of the "model" painting for the class.   

My client's painting



My First C&B painting

Regardless - it was an awesome event with awesome friends (and a super-nice woman who joined our table).  I highly recommend these classes for just something different to do.  It's a great ladies-night event or date night idea.  Our husbands (fiance in Ash's case) met us at Marcella's for dinner - their gluten-free menu is REALLY good.  I had the chicken piccata and it was delicious! 

Goodale Park

Goodale Park March 26, 2012

Goodale Park is one of my favorite places in Columbus and it was beautiful last Friday while we were walking to the Blue Jackets game.  I would have taken more pictures, but it was actually raining at the time and I didn't want to get soaked.

St. Patrick's Day Recap and why it'll never be the same for me...

They're all so good!

For the last two years, St. Patrick's Day has been a hard day for me.  Not hard in the way that anything bad happens, but just that I am a little disappointed in the day.

Two years ago I was in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day with my sister and two friends.  You can't really beat that atmosphere.  I am absolutely in love with Ireland and it was just amazing.  We went to the Guinness Factory in the morning, saw a flash mob (before they were everywhere in the US), hung out at a carnival, and went to a bunch of pubs.

Look how happy Guinness makes me...

Bar at the top at Guinness

Guinness Factory

Flash Mob in Guinness Factory

At the original Brazen Head

St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland

Last year, things just didn't work out with plans after work, and I had to work the next day anyway, so I didn't do anything.  Lo made me a green beer when he got home from meeting friends because he thought I should have one.  

This year, I had a good day, but it just wasn't the same now that I can't drink beer.  I really love Guinness.  Vodka just doesn't have the same appeal on a day when everyone is drinking beer.  Luckily, my friends are awesome, so I still had a good time overall.  We went to Tilted Kilt and watched the Buckeye game and after a stop at home (and a quick nap for me due to a bellyache from sweet drinks), we met friends at Woodland's Tavern.  We spent the last few hours on our friends' porch just hanging out. 

Sadly, it's never going to be the same until I can have a Guinness!

Columbus 200!

The year 2012 is the bicentennial for Columbus, Ohio.  Yay, Columbus!  Nationwide occasionally spells out words in the windows at night and I have to admit when I first saw this several weeks ago, I totally asked Lo why they spelled out "Columbus Zoo" in the windows.  And then I got it 3 seconds later....
Happy Birthday Columbus!

Colors and Bottles Painting Event

from the Colors and Bottles FB page

Last week, Colors and Bottles tweeted about a special price for this Tuesday's painting class at Camelot Cellars. Colors and Bottles is company that holds painting parties - with wine! The have an artist lead each event and the attendees can either choose to follow along with the painting, or do their own thing. Classes are normally $35 (all supplies included), but this class was only $17.50 - and I liked the painting a lot - so I bought tickets for Kelley and I in case they sold out quickly. Luckily they didn't because 5 of our friends decided to join us!

She's that good!

I hadn't been to Camelot Cellars before, which is ridiculous because it's 3 miles away, but was looking forward to it because I've heard so many good things about it over the last year since the new owner took over. It was bigger inside than I expected and was really nice. There was a side room towards the back that they had set up for the class. We bought bottles of wine when we got there and claimed our tables. I think we all started off pretty hesitantly, but we had a ton of fun. Six of us used the artist's painting as "inspiration", and one (who is an art teacher) painted a sunset-inspired picture instead.

I'm am fairly horrible with art. I can draw about as good as a third-grader. But I really enjoy this and ended up really liking my painting. I initially tried to imitate the featured art, but realized pretty quickly that I had veered pretty far from the design. I started to like the shape that mine was taking, so I stuck with it. It was really cool how unique all of the paintings were in the end!

The artist's original

My painting

Afterwards, we went to Sushi Rock for dinner and more wine. I had a Groupon to use, so my bill ended up being less than $2! We had so much fun that we discussed trying to do a regular ladies' night every month - as well as a private Colors and Bottles party this summer so we can paint outside.

I'm looking forward to the other Colors and Bottles event that I booked with two friends for March, from when they offered an Eversave! That event will be BYOB, which is pretty awesome!