Cinci-Wide TOUR!

Holy tour guide.

I'm fairly certain that the last time I spent even half as much time traversing all over Cincinnati in one day was when I was still with Clearchannel. Welp... records are made to be broken, yeah?

[Another backdated entry]

Here's Saturday, in a snapshot:

1. It's Just Crepes!
I called Catie and coerced into rendezvousing with us down on Court Street at one of Cinci's local digs, It's Just Crepes. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. They make crepes. Lots of 'em, pretty much however you want 'em.

it's just crepes. it's just awesome.

2. Eden Park
My FAVORITE place in all of Cincinnati. Enough said. This was my hideaway in college and well after: I couldn't tell you how many times I escaped to the overlook if for nothing else than to just retreat into myself and turn off school, work and whatever else was current news for me. I of course wanted to take Rob there; he thought it was great... duh (: 

overlook from cincinnati, across the river into kentucky | eden park

3. Round 'N Round: Norwood, Rookwood, Kenwood, Hyde Park, Indian Hill, Loveland...
Yeah... I know, it's a lot. After Eden, Rob and I took off on an adventure through all the hills [as opposed to the rolling flatlands of Illinois... :| ..] into some of my old stomping grounds. We started off North, and made a quick round through Norwood [Trish & Catie, I had a sweep of terrific memories on this jaunt!!], aka Norhood, where I used to live. We trekked up through Rookwood Commons, into Hyde Park Square, and through there into Hyde Park. I was instantly reminded of just how compact Cincinnati really is: the wide variety of neighborhoods you can see in just 20 minutes is a night & day contrast, and just about everything in between. Hyde Park wound up a hill through Madison into Madeira & Kenwood, and eventually into Indian Hill. We passed the mansions and stopped to get gas just past my old house in Miamiville, in Loveland. *PHEW!

l-r: old house on floral [hey trish & catie!!]
buca di beppo, rookwood commons | rookwood/norwood
kenwood towne centre | madeira/kenwood
mushroom house [aka atlas house] | hyde park

4. Eastgate Jungle Jim's. 'Nuff Said. 
My only [& I do mean only] irritation with the brand new JJ in Eastgate is that they built the daggone thing after I moved out of the area. Prior to that, the only location was in Fairfield, which although was not an awful commute, was still further than I cared to venture just to go grocery shopping. Well, I should visit more, because JJ is definitely more than just a grocery store. Picture an average grocery store... in any given country. Now combine ALL of those stores into one mega-space, and you've got Jungle Jim's. If you can't find it there, I'm gonna bet you won't find it anywhere. Sorry, Trader Joe's. Let's face it, what other international market has a mini zoo out front??!


teaser! [look it up yourselves, yo]

5. Newport on the Levee. Welcome to Kentucky [again]! This is one of the little gems of the greater Cincinnati area [for the folks back in IL/MO, this is kind of like the bordering between IL & STL.. yes, it's that close]. I forget how nice it is sometimes to have a levee view and to be able to see it from both the Kentucky side and the Ohio side. Pretty cool. 

newport [view from the cincinnati side]

6. Township Fields & Tavern... & Brittany!
In a random turn of conversation yesterday, Brittany sent me a note asking if I knew of any job-seekers back in that area for her company. I told her I'd be back for the weekend, and she insisted I make an appearance for her roommate's 30th birthday over in Newtown. I love backwoods shindigs, I love Brittany, and I love birthdays, so of course that was a given.

love... and love.

7. OTR! [Over the Rhine]
Before you old school Cinci folk freak out, let me go ahead and say that when I first heard that OTR is now a happening spot [as opposed to the crim-infested zone it was when I lived there the first time around]. I didn't believe it when Nader told me that months ago, but it's true. I'm truly proud of the progress Cincinnati has made in developing the area and making it more of an amiable place. We met with Catie at her place, then along with some of her coworkers, strolled off into the evening and wound up in the heart of OTR at The Drinkery. 

i love them.

8. Shangai Mama's
Ya heard??! Hahaha. This is another call on our part that would've been considered negotiable five years ago. The reason I say that is because these were trips usually made after long nights of other questionable decisions and accrued liquid courage. None of us were in that state when we got to SM's, but I must say... it was delicious. Go figure! Plus, we ran into Nick, Roxy & Kenji [shocking]. Not a bad way to wrap up a night downtown.


soooooooooooold.

Oh sleeeeeeep. Hello (: (:

xo | cmd

'Ello Again, CinCity. I Brought a Visitor (:

So Rob and I have been talking for a little while about taking a weekend break from Madison & St. Clair County, but outside of that just Illinois and Missouri in general. I figured a great first [& small] step would be a quick little road trip to Cincinnati. He's never really been, so we agreed to trek back to my stomping grounds for a change and let him have a change of scenery.


check out the obey posters!

This is backdated, in case you were curious as to how we got here in time for daylight [nope].

I saw this mural and I wanted to share it; we're in Northside at Becky's for the moment and I have a feeling it's gonna be a great weekend! Stay tuned... (:

xo | cmd

Snow? I'm From Ohio, Dude.

One thing I've noticed in the short couple of years I've spent here in Illinois is that snow creates a very similar wide-spread panic that it does in the south [i.e., Alabama... etc.]. When I lived in Huntsville, I thought it perhaps more admissable for schools to shut down for the following day at 1pm the previous day due to "expected flurries" looming on the approaching nightly forecast.

Welp, it's not a whole lot different here, which baffles me to end because are are still in the Midwest, and as far as weather goes, there's not a massive difference in the weather, other than that it changes its mind more than a toddler in a funhouse, and just about as frequently, too.

I'm from Ohio. North-central Ohio. There were days when getting out of your driveway entailed driving backwards just to avoid getting stuck. We rarely got snow days, and usually they were dictated only when the principal was physically unable to shovel his way out of his front door. Kids these days ;)

I saw this earlier and had to laugh.

I'm a midwesterner at heart, and a hillbilly-raised one at that. This is perfect.  

Here's to any more snow days ;)

Just a random funny for today. It's almost Friday!

xo | cmd

The Band Perry: Then & Now

A few summers ago, Kalyn and I got ourselves hooked on The Band Perry. Then it was the song If I Die Young that got us both out to buy their whole first album. [That was a great summer, haha]



Now, it's Better Dig Two.
The song itself is a liiiiiittle stage five for me, but it's catchy, and I'm a fan of TBP to start, so I'm gonna stay undecided for the most part on whether or not I'll go and snag another album if and when they release it. Haha.

I figured I'd share, and see what everyone else thinks...



Thoughts?

xo | cmd

Unhealthy Eating, Made Simple...

I... Will... Make... This.
... Maybe sans pepperoni, since I don't eat it.
But yeah. Bring it on (: 

why didn't i think of this??

Thanks, Pinterest (;

[[yeah, it's been a while since I was last there.... doesn't change my affinity for some of those posts!]]

xo | cmd

Sally & Naomi Date Night

Remember this place? :) ... We do.

All I have to say is that it was a great night for sushi. Ali and I decided earlier today that it was time for a date night, and since we spent the majority of the day being addressed by the wrong names on the phone [Sally & Naomi? Right....], some R&R was in heavy order.

WINNING:  



yeah, sushi (: (: (:

DOUBLE WINNING:


mochi!!

I love my friend.
Thanks, Sally :p

xo | cmd

Snowy Day!

I woke up this morning and decided I wanted to have coffee on the deck.

What I didn't take into account was that there was a few-inch thick dusting of fresh snow as far as I could see.

What the snow didn't take into account is that I'm a hillbilly, and my determination to stand on the stinkin' deck and drink coffee would not be thwarted by snow. Or my apathy regarding shoes. Barefoot it was.

I went to the mailbox that way, too... which I didn't realize would be documented by Ali when she showed up with a picture of my footprints next her her shoeprints. Hahaha. Oh well. I love snow just... that.. much (:



shoes are still optional.

Meanwhile, Rob decided he was going to be festive about the whole experience and sport the hat he bought me. He has a matching one but since that was unavailable, he wore mine around the house for a few hours before deciding it was too warm for indoor gear. It was funny for a little while though... I do adore that lumberjack (: 

lumberjack beard + fur hat + rhcp shirt? = win.

It's been a lazy day of sorts, and I'm just fine with that.
Here's to a happy weekend!

xo | cmd