Patio Date Night

Today started off with a downpour. Not a metaphoric one, but a literal, very angry lashing of the clouds above. A few thunder claps made us wonder if the power would hold out - we were lucky that it did, and within a couple hours, the rain had stopped all together.

It didn't take long at all for us to settle into a rhythm for the evening: Food, quality time together, and a flower-lined patio as a backdrop.

our perfect date nights: low key! 

because nom nom nom nommmm..

We really did plan on Jurassic Park for a post-dinner outing, but because we're us and also because we decided to eat dinner just down the street from our house, we agreed that Netflix as a backup plan was more of a primary plan, and went with that.

.... This is why I love this guy. Get on our level... haha.
Netflix it is!

xo | cmd 

First. Day. Of. SPRING!

Dear Google,

You're right, this is what I would have liked to see on the first day of Spring: 

Instead, it's this:

8am in norwood.
lovely.

Swell, huh.

Fortunately, the day went by as not much more than a blur of ringing phones, interviews, shuffling papers and orders FILLED [because we're awesome like that]. It ended well after 6pm, and I decided after that it was time for a date with the Mister... because it's been one heck of a week and I feel like I haven't seen him at all.

Sushi it was! We wound up at the usual destination of Mango Tree in Mariemont, but not before I made a trip through Ace Hardware to pick up some hard hats and glasses for work. *Sigh. We do it all.. haha.

A couple of fun things happened during dinner.
First, my sister sent me these:

20s flapper party! 

My mom, sister and nephew are probably the cutest ever with this. Let's talk about how my mom for starters looks like she could by sisters with my sister.. She is gorgeous, amirite?! ♥ LOVE you guys.

Oh, and Becky invited us out to soccer after dinner. I debated over taking my gear, just in case, but with this sinus infection still rearing its head, I couldn't bring myself to do it, especially knowing I'm down to 1 week before departure to Panama. An awesome night of kicks isn't worth the irritation of having an extended sinus infection hiking through Panamanian mountainsides. Gahh. Choices.

soccer cityyyyy

I've officially become one of those spectators, who arrives in full civilian attire to an indoor soccer facility. I always said I'd never be that girlish sideliner, but there I was tonight. Talk about the opposite of what I'm usually doing there. Woops. Haha.

Anyway, it turned out to be a good night, but I'm tuckered out. I've already pre-emptively called off for a birthday outing I was set to attend tomorrow, because my body is still going through a fit of being 89 years old for some reason. Graahhhh.

Oh, and I'm due back at work at 8am tomorrow - Saturday - to take care of a couple of things, so yeah. There's that. We'll call it a night for now.

xo | cmd

Grown-Up Calamity Days? Nope. :/

Guess who got all dressed up today, and then had nowhere to go?

rub it in.. just ruuuub it in, kiddo.. haha

It was a cold one today. When it's this cold, the kiddos don't go to school. I'm know I'm not the only one who remembers this happening in my childhood just about ... NEVER.

Guess who got to spend a large part of her afternoon traipsing through the remnants of this beautiful weather? [Although said she didn't actually mind it.... ]

i love my job! ♥  

With the snow overflowing out of my wheel wells [& just about everywhere else in the city], I voted for a change of pace for the evening; instead of bundling up, I went a few layers lighter for a quick circuit at the gym with Rob beforewe decided on dinner. The snow had set in heavy by the time we wrapped up at the gym, so at the last minute it was decided that we'd stop somewhere on the way home:

nom nom nom

Phew.
It's still snowing! I imagine this will be fun in the morning, so I'm calling it a night for now.. Be SAFE out there, blogbots!!

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Jessica! | Pre-Valentines Valentine

Ya'll know me; I LOVE birthdays.

We're heading south to Red River Gorge tomorrow to celebrate this gal's 30th, but today is her actual birthday, and I hope it was phenomenal! She's one of my "newer" friends [thanks, Cassie & Shayne!], and I'm so grateful we connected.. because she's a flippin' blast.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESSICA!!! 

jessica! happy birthday!!

At work, we had our own mini version of Galentine's Day: Elisa, Carri and I ventured out of the office for lunch and found ourselves at Wild Ginger. We tagged this as Elisa's early birthday lunch as well, and that was that!

sushi lunch with the ladies - early birthday lunch for elisa! ;) 

Back at the office, I rounded out the week by completing a project that's been on my plate for... since we opened, pretty much. It's amazing how difficult climbing up and down a ladder can be when you're wearing heeled boots. I made it through with no crashes, but I absolutely do not recommend this.

workers comp in the making ;)
[jk. jk. JK.] 

So TGIF! With Valentine's Day approaching tomorrow, Rob & I were planning to celebrate everything tomorrow when we are in the Gorge for Jessica's birthday. What I didn't expect to see when I returned home was this!

he knows i'm not a flower kinda girl...
... unless i can eat them. he's a keeper!! 

We also opted to head out for dinner, and settled on Buca Di Beppo. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, like many of our choices are, but the food was delicious and for his first time being there, he really enjoyed it.

garlic bread... just the tip of the iceberg..... nom nom nom!

Happy birthday again to you, Jessica.. and happy early Valentine's to the rest of you!

TGIF!

xo | cmd

Sunrises & Subies & Some Food, YAY!

gorgeous! 

Rob sent me that panoramic shot this morning from his work, just as the sun was making its appearance over his shop. It's not the Grand Canyon, but it is a nice solid reminder that even the ordinary doesn't have to be mundane. Not an awful view to start Monday, right?

So, yesterday as we were running errands with Syd, we rode past a dealership that happened to have a used Crosstrek sitting in the front lot. Anyone who's ever had a Subie knows that it is not often that you find a decent used Subie up for sale. People don't really part with Subarus, because well.. Subaru.

They're pretty awesome.
Yes, I'm partial.

love. ♥

For the record, all those things you hear about Subaru owners are probably true.  I believe there to be generally two types of Subie owners: The ones who have Subies to race, add functional and aesthetic modifications, and the ones who use their vehicles as road-tripping, all-terrain vessels of adventure. Whichever camp, we bond together in a weird unspoken way [kinda like Jeep owners do]. We're AWD, so yes, we do love trying to drive through snow, mud and other things that get our cars dirty. We have an affinity for roof racks and will use them. We generally enjoy doing things that include hauling other things that are necessary: canoes, kayaks, snowboards, skis, tents, backpacks, etc. [thus the need usually for a roof rack..]. A lot of us own Chacos, which we wear in and out of our Subies. We have an unwavering faith that our cars will remain reliable and persevere through whatever we ask of them.

I could literally be that "everyday average person" Subaru spokeswoman. Bring it on.
So all of that being said, we stopped yesterday to test drive the Crosstrek we saw in the lot; Kalyn has one now so I was vaguely familiar with them when they came out a year or so back. I liked hers, and am at a point with my Impreza now that it's realistic to weigh out the options of an upgrade... so after our test drive yesterday, Rob did some digging and found another couple to check out at the Subie dealership close by.

If you're not sure what a Crosstrek is:

lol.

^^ Okay, I'll admit that's a hilarious picture of a car.. any car. It looks like Heaven literally just sent that to become some sort of wonder-of-the-world and inhabit the Earth. I don't value my car that much, but I still love them. :)

My fiancé is the best for mapping out these things for me. [[♥Thank You!♥]]

Stay tuned; I didn't commit to any changes today, but it may not be far off ;)

Oh, here's a free plug for The Anderson Pub:

go there. goooo there :)
cincinnati | oh

It's amazing how many places are a hop skip & a jump from me that I've still never visited. We ventured across the street from the Subaru dealership tonight and had our first experience at the newly-reinvented Anderson Pub.. and it was delicious. If you're a quesadilla lover like I am, this is your place!

nailed it.

Their wings are apparently pretty good, too. Ask Rob ;).

Nothing like a good solid Monday to get the week going. Here's to the next four days! ♥

xo | cmd

Pre-Birthday Birthday : Yay, Carri!!

Well, her birthday isn't until tomorrow, but that obviously meant we had to celebrate it TODAY! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARRI!!! 

yayyy!! 

If you know me, then you know I love birthdays. I love other people's birthdays more than my own, which is weird.

happy birthday, girl! 

For lunch, we voted for Carri to take her down to the OTR food staple, Taste of Belgium. If you know anything about me, you know that that is one of my favorite places in this city. If you don't know me, well... you should look into visiting Taste of Belgium the next time you find yourself in Cincinnati [& I think now in Columbus, too??]. It's... amazing.

chicken + waffles = on. point. 

Perfect experience, as usual, and made even more fun by the fact that Carri had never been before today. She hasn't explored much of the OTR scene at all; we decided over our three plates of C&W today that for Elisa's birthday, we would do The Eagle, just down the street. We'll see if that holds true, but knowing us and our shared affinity for food, it will ;)

A couple of Carri's friends are in a band: Eclipse The Movement. She invited us all down to the newly-renovated Woodward Theater [YOU GUYS. I don't know if I'm the only one that preferred the center staircase of the old theater, but eh. The renovation is still gorgeous..].

woodward theater | cincinnati, oh

We at first hadn't made any concrete plans to oblige, but ended up deciding it would be the perfect follow-up to dinner at yes.. The Eagle [I'm a fatty.. dontcha dare judge..]. Rob & I wrapped up eating with just enough time to jog through the chilly air to The Woodward and join Carri, Elisa & her roommate and a fun crowd of others to watch a few bands play.


Definitely a fun little outing.. :)  

my date.. he's kinda cool ;) 

Happy [1 day early] Birthday, Carri!

Thanks again for the invite out tonight, & make it a great day tomorrow!!

xo | cmd 

Friday FUN :)

I spent some money today.... but I think it's justified, right?

it's... warm! 

I've needed a new coat for a while now, and it didn't hurt that they were all on sale. Because, let's face it.. Full-priced retail & I have never really been friends. ;)

Oh, and I picked up one of these as an early bday treat for Elisa:

happy early birthday, elisa!! :) 

Rob and I took advantage of it being Friday night, and went to see this:

two thumbs up! 

^^ Oh, and let's all talk about how REBEL WILSON is in this?! She.. is.. always.. hilarious. #DateNightSuccess!

No complaints here! AND...

♥

^ Right you ARE, little dog! TGIF!

xo | cmd

What Year Is It?!

I had a very mixed response to a lot of what I saw today.. haha.

First things first, we are all aware of the recently-plummeted gas prices. I've seen post after post of my friends fueling up for pennies in comparison to what was nearly $4 per gallon just a month back. Per gallon prices of under $1 have been spotted in several places, and while I didn't manage that, I can't say I'll complain at all about the $1.57 I paid today. I'm in college all over again!

is it 2003? i'll take it! 

On to the rest of the day: Our business' subject matter is considerably slow at this point in the year; most of our key decision-makers are nowhere to be found within 2 days of the new year, which left us with a bit more flexibility with our lunch hour than is typically afforded. We took advantage of it as a unit; Carri, Elisa and I made our way down to Findlay Market, a short trip during which we learned Carri's never actually ever been [until today!] to Findlay.

We gladly cured that ;).
And while we were there eating, we spotted a rather spectacular doppelganger!

and now, it's 1950?
i'm wholly convinced mr. einstein was in the building.

I'm telling you, I don't believe I've ever seen such an uncanny resemblance..

amiright?!

So we ate lunch and chatted some with Becky; Carri got her first full experience of the awesomeness that is Findlay Market, and we headed back to the office to wrap everything up. Today was the last day that we'd all convene this year [wild thought!], so with an extra pep in our steps, we tied up the loose ends and bid our office adieu until 2015.

At home, Rob and I headed out to pick up some last minute things for our trip to Illinois, made a pitstop at Jungle Jim's and eventually landed at Fuji for dinner.

chicken katsu, sushi & rice
fuji steakhouse | cincinnati, oh

^ Dinner brought me full circle back to the present, here in 2014, which we'll leave behind in Cincinnati and return "next year." Tomorrow's going to be a jam-packed day, so for now it's off to get a head start on the sleep I won't be getting tomorrow night, haha :)

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

And On To The Next One [Christmas Destination, That Is!]

Rob had to work today, which is one of the reasons we didn't get moving north until the late afternoon. Sydni and I took advantage of the opportunity to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping, clean house and tackle some laundry before his return.

First order of business was breakfast!

breakfast date with my little ham! ♥♥

Sydni and I are the ultimate team; between the two of us, we managed to knock out the final gift shopping, clean the house up, paint a few pictures, play a card game, watch a movie, play with dolls, finish laundry, pack everything for the weekend and relax a little bit before it was finally time to load up and head north. Phew!

Oh, and we learned this today:

harry's

Looks like we'll be set for Harry's for NYE in St. Louis! More details on that a little later, but the list of things to look forward to is growing! :)

We made it Mt. Vernon safe and sound, and we're about to call it a night. Santa's making another stop here tonight for all of us, so off to bed it is, so the jolly man can do his work!

xo | cmd

Oot & Aboot, Eh?

So today marked my first time in this office interviewing a true Canadian, and I must say it was a fun experience. It's the small things that intrigue me so, and this gent was nothing short of exactly what most people envision in conversing with a true northerner:

"Yeh kin tale me aboot thee hours, eh?" 

^ No, he didn't have a speech impediment or poor spelling skills; phonetically though, that's exactly what I heard when we sat down, and I thoroughly enjoyed just listening to him talk.

And so launched the rest of my day in which my brain translated everything in and out into what my brain imagined I would sound like if I were in fact a true Canadian. Fun fact for ya there.. haha..

Anywho, since Elisa's still out, Carri and I held down the fort for the final day of week and decided on a Christmas gift for our boss. We put our heads together and in a matter of minutes had selected, personalized and ordered our group gift. I volunteered for pickup, which I'm blaming as some out-of-body decision, given that I would be going to Kenwood Mall, on the Friday night before Christmas.

Here's a few movie clips that fairly encapsulate not my view of Christmas itself, but of the very concept of Christmas SHOPPING: 

Usually, I'm prompted by someone else to go with them. It's like employing the buddy system, because there is no telling what kind of crazy has materialized in the form of crazed, maniacal shopaholics.


So to all my friends who've ever said, "Yeah, it'll be fun to go shopping together!":

And then when I get within a 2-mile radius of just the mall parking lot [not even the actual mall]: 

When [today] I walked up to the counter with my online order receipt, and the poor underpaid gal at the desk couldn't find it anywhere in the mountain of completed orders, and turned back to me as though I would be able to sniff out the white stapled bag that was mine: [You know, that awkward moment when you second guess yourself on whether or not you should  know the answer to a question like that, so instead of audible words, you respond with a weird smile that makes it even more awkward...] 

feeling's mutual, girlfriend.

And then, that feeling after I'd been there for two and a half hours waiting for the product that I was there to retrieve [which by the time it was handed over was three hours past the pick-up time on the receipt]:

i'm doooooooooone!!!!!

Yeah. I and many of my friends/family have held retail positions in our past lives, and if there is one thing that bands everyone together like the dysfunctional little store family that you are, it's holiday shoppers. It's easy as the consumer to lose patience, become irritated, huff & puff over whatever-it-is-that's-really-not-as-big-of-a-deal-as-you're-making-it, and whatever other irrational behaviors that feel appropriate at the time, but as a general PSA [& reminder] to myself and all of you out there this year, please don't take it out on the store personnel, unless they have somehow deliberately and obviously taken strides to personally offend or inconvenience you. They're working the hours we don't want to, for pennies when you think about the chaos of Christmas shopping. So be aware, and even if you want to rip your hair out as you battle a crowd like a fish swimming upstream, just remember... Be Nice :) 

Ok, so mini rant aside, I did realize that I've apparently been gone from Kenwood long enough for them to install THIS without my noticing. This is dangerous for me: 

i'll be back for you, after Christmas shopping is over..... 

I'm not a fan of shopping in general, but I am a beanie fanatic, and this place knows my heart all too well when it comes to that. So yeah... (: 

I finally made it home to Rob, who was ready for some dinner, and suggested The Eagle in OTR without a second thought. GOOD CALL ♥

We made it down to OTR, found a parking spot directly in front of The Eagle, put in our name on the hour wait list and headed off to The Lackmann for a drink in the meantime. 

FYI, there's this at The Lackmann: 

kcco brew?? ok then! 

And finally, at The Eagle to wind down the night: 

nom nom nom!!

My man sure does deliver on a date night - we had a blast out with just each other and I'm so thankful for the fact that we can do that on any given night. 

Oh aaaaaaaaaand... it's the WEEKEND!

WooOO! :D

xo | cmd 

Boots & Music

Gooood Monday morning! I hope your weekends were incredible, and that you're off to a blazing start for the week like we were. My day started off alongside Carri & Dave, with a client facility tour, complete with the required on-site gear.

Oversized steel toed boots + leggings, anyone? ;)

ow ow!

Some desk-bound folks would see this as a burden in the middle of their day, but I embrace these things and probably have more fun than I should walking around warehouses and factories with my clodhopper feet and safety glasses awkwardly parked on the bridge of a nose that on my face doesn't even exist [#pinoyproblems]. Yay!

The rest of the day took something of a musical turn: I stumbled across this video by Steffany Gretzinger, an acoustic outpouring of her soul that moved me to share it with a few other people and listen to it multiple times.


^ So. Gorgeous!

Here's the part where I remind all of you that I'm heading to Panama in 2015 for the purpose of missions, and am starting NOW on the prayer part of that. There will be more details to follow on that, but for the time being, just... listen to that song and try to absorb it in the moment. Thank you, Steffany for sharing your gift with us! [#SonRisePanama2015]

Rob and I took a step into a new restaurant tonight and tried the Mexican place down the street from us [recommended!] before heading back home to let the ACC Awards carry us into the last part of the evening.

I had to share this, too, since Reba is not just an icon in country music, but truly a legend. I love the lady and realized that we're privileged to see these moments unfold; Sydni will grow up and hear stories of legends like this, but won't be able to experience them the same way we do now.

Congratulations to Reba, with love and gratitude for what you've contributed to the world of one of my favorite genres!


That's a rap here, folks. I've got Fancy stuck in my head like a broken record, so on that note, I'll call this one and pick up where we left off tomorrow!

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Finding the Christmas Music Spirit

It's almost that time of the year!

Well, actually.. it is that time of the year, and has been for almost 3ish weeks already; I've simply chosen to avoid it until after my birthday, as I resolve to do every year.

IT'S CHRISTMAS MUSIC TIME!

Am I the only one who just.... can't... get into the traditional radiocast Christmas playlist[s]? I really try some years, but I just can't. It seems so .... repetitive to me, as it usually is with radio, but that's really just hypocritical of me to say, given that I have a list of a whopping what, like... 6 songs that I actually really enjoy?

Maybe it's the fact that there are endless renditions of every Christmasy song out there. I think that's what makes it the best for me: finding artists and groups who conceptualize a song while still keeping its integrity.

Pentatonix & Tori Kelly are just a couple of those entities that accomplish just that... instead of directly post every single video of theirs that moves me, I'll share the two I saw today, which absolutely put me in quite a jolly Christmas spirit. ♥

& this one....

I'm starting to get excited about Christmas preparation! The knitting needles have started flying, and won't stop until the last second I'm sure, and we're scheduled to get the Christmas tree to the house and decorated next weekend. Our shopping is almost done, too, which means plenty of time for Christmas baking, decorating..... and of course, music! 
For now, it's a date out with the mister: sushi it is! 
See ya soon, blogbots! 
xo | cmd

Yoga + Sushi = Monday

First, THIS:

clinomaniac. raise on up, cori's hand.... 

^ On. The. DAILY. Haha ;)

So.. Rob and I determined today that we have something of a tradition in the making. It's so clichè, I know, but it's becoming one of our things to do now: 

Mondays when we don't have Sydni have seemingly consisted of work, yoga... and sushi. 

1.

modo.

2.

mango tree.

And that's a fact, Jack! ;)

I'm a lucky girl to have this guy. 

Date night > Blog Night. 

xo | cmd

Beating the Monday Bear

There's nothing like a Monday to crush some of whatever residual joy I have from the weekend. That's a little dramatic, but it's true and I needed something to kick-start my week.

This did the trick:

Watch it a few times if you need a smile like I did this morning ;)

To say that the rest of the day floated by like a cotton candy cloud is a blasphemous statement of trash, so I was more than ready to sacrifice my body for the sake of yoga when the work clock wound down.

[before] .. because the after... is just gross. 

I sweat like I've never sweat before; if I'm being honest with myself, I may have had a little more than I could handle on Saturday, and am clearly still paying for it two days later.

That little theory of mine was proved by the time I showered, got home and headed right back out with Rob to Mainstreet Cafe. Thankfully, Chad was working, and in a greatly-appreciated act of empathy, I survived dinner without the need to ask for a refill:

thaaaaaank you, chad! 

So yeah. The Monday bear has been tackled, and I think I can handle tomorrow without as much fuss or cloud as today ;)

xo | cmd

Aaaand We're Home

First things first, a hotel arm selfie ;)

new midi ring!! 

 ^^ This little midi leaf is my new favorite accessory. Many thanks to the Jondie Boutique in Franklin for this perfect find. Add that to the stack of bracelets and the Marianne-matching tattoo, and my I've got a happy arm and hand going for me.

We loaded up for the ride home and off we were, destination: Cincinnati.

Fast forward back out of the mountains and across the plains back to Ohio, and we were finally here:

i spy..... 

Home sweet home. Phew.
Rob was ready when I got home to stuff me back in the car for a date night at Mango Tree; aside from being back inside the confines of a vehicle, I couldn't have asked for a better evening; two days felt like a lot, and I'm content that we missed each other rather than the opposite of that.

It's back to the conventional office tomorrow.
ZzZz.

xo | cmd