Is there anything better than a topical getaway in the middle of winter? I donât think so. However, thatâs not the story here⊠Instead, Karen, Sarah and I headed over to Hazel Ravines in Downtown for the crab trap.
The drinks were tropical and make you just wanna wear your sun dress and nap in the sun. So I got the Niki Tiki which consisted of rum, chambers and coconut. Sarah grabbed a sonza beaches which is basically tequila and juice. Karen grabbed the equivalent of an orange creamsicle which was whipped vodka and Sunkist. They also were served in fun festive glasses. It was just the best of a tropical vacation in the middle of Birmingham.
After we managed to order drinks came the impossible task of deciding on an appetizer. It shouldnât be that hard but oh my lanta we couldnât decide what to try! We finally decided on a sampler. This had coconut shrimp, peel and eat shrimp, French fries, hush puppies, grouper bites and alligator bites. It was pretty clear to Karen and Sarah when the waitress came close with our food as my mouth dropped open. Iâm not gonna lie. I passed on the alligator but really enjoyed everything else. I love the texture that coconut adds to shrimp. It makes it extra crunchy and flavorful! Plus the hush puppies were crunch, savory and filling. We mightâve loaded up on the appetizers but it was delicious so no regrets.
After we started munching on the appetizer we did manage to order dinner. Sarah grabbed a sandwich it looked really good, however Karen and I kept our eyes on the prize and ordered crab! Karen got the stone crab while I got the king crab. After we ordered we munched on our appetizer and chatted the evening away.
After a bit our waitress came walking over with two crabs and a sandwich. It was so much food! I really love warm crab with butter and that is exactly what they delivered! The crab literally melted in my mouth with that butter was rich and delightful. The crab also came with two sides; Mac and Cheese and chowder fries. Iâm a total baby when it comes to spicy food. The chowder on my fries was spicy! I had to add in sour cream to make it more mellow and not burn my mouth. I ate a bit of my fries, but I barely ate my mac because my tummy was too full.
Thank god for the waitress. She came at the perfect moment and boxed up my food for me. Iâm not even sure how I wouldâve boxed that up! Iâm still not sure how in the world she managed it! I have a wonderful lunch planned for later. (If anyone has a good recommendation for a cracker for the crab legs Iâm all ears.)
Once we were finished with our food we mightâve decided to get a coconut cream pie to share with each other. This pie was different than most Iâve had before. Normally the pie has the crust, then coconut custard then whip cream with coconut shavings on top. This one had the custard and the whip cream mixed together so it was a heavier consistency but it was light and not over filling. It tasted heavenly! I would happily recommend it and Iâm happy to go with any of you who wanna try it! The dessert wasnât too heavy which I really loved since I wouldâve never been able to eat it all if it had been.
After dessert came the bill and the conversation never stopped. We laughed, we cried and Sarah took embarrassing pictures of me. Thanks Sarah đ who doesnât love those silly pics! After we paid we all piled into Karenâs SUV for the ride home.
Omg what is it about live music? Itâs almost infectious You want to smile, sing along and dance? Last week Bridget and I grabbed tickets to see Jordan Davis perform over at Bogarts. It was a last minute thing and we had the best time.
So before we went to the concert we got ready over at my house then loaded up in Bridgetâs car. (If I drove we wouldâve parked miles away in a lot or a garage itâs still a new car!) With our McDonalds drinks on hand we managed to grab a spot in a lot about a block away from the venue. We applied our lip gloss and headed over to the concert.
It was very chilly and snowy but we left our coats in the car and powered through. The line to get in was actually really short and we were inside fairly quickly. Once inside we grabbed drinks; then headed for a spot on the dance floor. We got a nice spot in the middle fairly close to the front and waited.
The opening act was Kassie Ashton. Iâm gonna be honest. Iâve never heard of her. I donât know her music but she had a nice voice. To be honest I think I loved her personality the most. She was all about being yourself and whatever stress was bugging you to send it her way that she would take it off your shoulders for the night. Iâm not sure why but with everything going on in our world that really resonated with me. I want more people to be open and honest about their lives and the struggles they are facing. If you donât talk to us about what is going on how can we even begin to help one another?
There were a few other things I really liked about Kassie Ashton. First she taught the crowd how to perform a holler and swallow. This is where you scream as loud as you can to get as pumped up as possible then to proceed to chug your drink. I didnât think chugging my white claw really worked for me but I was happy to yell and cheer as loud as I could. Then if youâll excuse my jumping to the end of the show for the next story she also came out during the encore and was dancing in her sweat pants and slides. Can I get an amen?! Like girl; thank you for being real. I donât know how many times Iâve been dancing around my own house in my sweats. Thank goodness she gets it.
After Kassie Ashton there was a break while the crew set up for Jordan Davis. This was the perfect moment to run to the bathroom or grab a refill. In true Monica and Bridget fashion she ran to the bathroom while I grabbed us drinks. The perk of being the drink person is that I got to find a killer spot to wait for Bridget. Once we got situated again it was just about time. They were dimming the lights and Jordan Davis was comin out!
Holy Moly when that man walked out on stage everyone went crazy. He has this smooth deep voice that just makes you want to close your eyes and dance. I love me some good country music and when he sang âSingles You Upâ I just belted our along with him. In all my glory.
One thing that I really loved about this show is that while it was a county concert he sang everything from Cold Play to Ed Sheeran. Iâm honestly surprised that a country music star could sing viva la vida the way he did. It was great. I was actually really impressed.
Also I kinda like when country music artists let you in on songs that they really love and inspire them. We got to hear him sing Jo Dee Messinaâs âHeads Carolina, Trails Californiaâ. It was actually really good. I would love it if he put some of his covers on a CD. They were well worth hearing again.
I think my favorite was still âSingles You Up.â Itâs just such a catchy song. I sing along every time. I also think I have a new favorite of his âLeaving New Orleans.â Itâs such a sad song; youâll have to listen to it and just enjoy it. Let me know what you think.
Overall I think it was a great concert and Bridget and I really enjoyed the show. We will happily be going again. Also I have to give a shout out. Bogarts is just one of my favorites. Itâs a smaller more intimate venue where you really canât get a bad view no matter where you are.
Oh my. Priya text me a bit ago about a soup bowl happening over in Royal Oak So of course Grant, Sasha and I had to go with her. I wasnât really sure what I was expecting but it wasnât this!
When we got there we checked in and they had booths everywhere from restaurants with soup to bakeries and even merchandise shops. It was great. The only downside is there is construction so itâs a little hard to park at the farmers market.
The first stop Grant and I made was to hit Lockhart. We grabbed the samples they had. I got the chili. It was chunky and flavorful; everything a good chili should be. They also had a seafood gumbo that Grant got. I wouldâve had more but it had some heat and Iâm a solid chicken when it comes to spicy food, I just pass. (Side note Lockhartâs BBQ actually won best soup with their gumbo.)
The next restaurant we tried had a line but you know it has to be good when there is a line for soup samples! This place actually won peopleâs choice award for best soup. The Ideal Bite is located over in Farmington and the next time I go into the office Iâm stopping over. I actually didnât finish all my soups and took a Cheddar Chicken Chowder home with me to eat the next day. Omg that chowder melted in my mouth it was perfect and creamy. It was rich and flavorful. I couldnât recommend it enough. I also tried their Seafood gumbo it wasnât spicy at all. It was really a rich and savory soup. I was already getting full after two soups and I had five tickets left for the nightâŠ
The next soup I tried was over at the Sedona Tap House. Mind you this is no ordinary soup. It won the best chowder. It is really good and creamy. It kinda tasted like getting up from the sand at the beach and walking over to a restaurant right on the ocean where itâs completely open and you can feel the salt on your face. It tasted incredible. I wouldnât have guessed it was from a restaurant in Michigan.
I was getting really full and thought well why not try a lighter soup like some chicken and dumplings. I tried JI Concessions Chicken and Dumplings. Okay Iâm probably biased. It is a very polish restaurant so maybe itâs supposed to be more like chicken noodle soup but in my world Its always a creamy soup with no noodles, lots of chicken and dumplings. This one was basically chicken noodle soup with dumplings. It was good but it was just that; chicken noodle soup with dumplings.
Grant had a much better soup choice this round. He grabbed soup from Blu VI. He had Tuscan chicken soup. I got to sample it and really enjoyed the spices in the soup. It had a really good broth with rich Italian herbs. It also had chicken. It was really good. I would definitely have that soup again.
The last soup that Grant had was from Davison. He grabbed the Chicken chili since he was craving a chili. The chili was really really good. It had a rich flavor without any real spice. The last place I grabbed was Czapskiâs kitchen and catering. They had homemade chicken noodle soup with actual homemade noodles. It was fantastic. I loved the broth. It was a bit of a salt and warm flavor. I actually ate the remainder the next day when I had a hint of a sore throat. It was like a miracle worker; hot, savory and just makes you feel better.
I mightâve grabbed dessert from White Wolf Japanese patisserie. We had this seventeen layer cake with crepes and strawberry whipped cream between each layer. It was really good. Itâs what dreams are made of.
Here is a screenshot of the actual judges choice awards. I think I agree with most of their choices but Ideal Bite shouldâve won best soup, just sayinâŠ
So sorry for the delay in posting this! I know I promised to have it in your hands on Sunday and today is most definitely after that but what can you do.
On Saturday I went on a pub crawl over in Royal Oak. The funny part is it was a onsie pubcrawl meaning that everyone who went dressed up in their best onsie appeal or at least in their PJâs. I didnât have a onsie so I put on my coziest red PJ pants and I rocked it. Grant loved us enough to go and be supportive but not quite enough to wear a onsie with us. Our group consisted of Nikki, Priya, Sarah and Sasha. Nikki was a kitty cat, Sarah was charmander, Sasha was a cheetah, and Priya was a dinosaur!
We started off the pub crawl over at Fifth Ave. Priya, Sasha and Nikki checked us in. Grant, Sarah and I mightâve been a bit late as we took a minor detour to Detroit when we were driving along the highway and just didnât realize we had long since passed the exit. We did recover and show up in time to have a teddy bear shot; more formally known as a gummy bear shot.
After the teddy bear we packed up and headed out. We then went to OâTools where they had a unicorn sunshine which is a berry sour with eddies grapefruit vodka. It was interesting but Iâm not sure Iâd ever drink that again. The margarita Sarah ordered seemed to be a safer drink choice. We mightâve picked wrong but hey thatâs the point of these pub crawls right. To try a bunch of different options and see what we like and donât like. The shots mightâve been a little overly sweet but we did get into the bar before it got busy so thatâs always a win!
After OâTools we headed over to Tequila Blue. We mightâve had a small hiccup at this bar. They charged me full price for the drinks instead of the pub crawl rate. The difference was almost double. As soon as the mistake was realized they fixed it for us. We were able to grab some really cute group photos on the dance floor! The drink here was really good. It was called past bedtime and it was made with peach vodka and sprite. It was a bit sugary but I liked it.
We hit the point in the pub crawl where we needed food and they had face painting over at Messa. Hello food and face painting. Grant and I actually shared a brisket quesadilla. It was really good and surprisingly filling. Okay fine. I ordered then Nikki, Priya and I hit up the face painting line. It was two people ahead of us and moved really quickly. Nikki got a kitty face, Priya had her write GRRR and RAWR since she was a dinosaur. Then for me I had her paint a snow flake since my pajama bottoms were snow themed. The paint looked fantastic on all of us. Plus as soon as they were finished our food was on the table.
Iâm skipping a few bars as they were packed and the drinks honestly just kinda sucked.
Our next stop was over to the Royal Oak Tap House. Since it was a bit off the main drag we did have a small walk but the bar wasnât busy. We grabbed a really big booth and ordered a round of drinks. While I normally love their drinks it was way too much sugar for me. The drink was a melon liquor and sprite. They called it Unicorn tinkle juice. Which while itâs a funny name is not a great finish for a pub crawl drink. After the Tap House we hit Pronto where I skipped drinking but they had mini shots of jagermeister in the cutest bottles. I skipped it but Sarah and Priya rocked it.
Since the crawl was ending and we were hangry we wandered over to HopCat for yummy food and winding down. After we finished our foods we all headed to our respective rides and headed out.
I mightâve stopped at Walmart and picked up ice cream to truly end my PJ filled day.
It is with absolute devastation and maybe a broken heart that I am writing this post today. I found out early this morning that my mentor passed away. Iâve known Todd Portune for a long while now and to be honest with you I know the cancer was bad but I truly believed he would fight until the bitter end and he would beat the cancer.
I know by writing that Iâm sure a few people will scoff and remind me that this isnât something you can just be stubborn about and win but if you knew Todd, you might get it. He has (sorry if I switch to has I just still canât believe itâs he had instead of he hasâŠ) overcome impossible odds before. He had tumors along his spine. It should have killed him or put him in a wheel chair for the rest of his life and it didnât. I have been in countless parades with him where he walked the entire route. Then he lost a leg to cancer; that shouldâve been a final blow but he refused to give in. He continued to be mobile and walk with the prosthetic. Even when the cancer diagnosis came again he was a fighter. I thought it was bad but this is Todd and he wonât go down without a fight I guess part of that statement still stands true; he most definitely didnât go down without a fight.
I know that many people are aware of who Todd Portune was. He got more votes in Hamilton County than President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He was a dedicated leader (he always made time to hear a concern from one of his constituents and he took notes to follow up.) He was also a lawyer and maybe a crazy driver but I want to give you the chance to see him as I first met him.
He has three kids. His son played basketball growing up and for a few years he was on the team my younger brother Nick was on. Dad coached the team and as always when your parent is the coach for a junior pro team you get to help with something or another. I decided to keep the books as to who played when, who scored, and worked the score board. Well this parent volunteered to work the score board with me from our team. I didnât give him a second thought. We became buddies. He laughed at my sarcastic remarks and my love of the game. Further into the season my dad asked if I knew who that was. To be honest I had no idea. In my teenage mind I just responded yeah Dad duh thatâs Ethanâs Dad. My dad just kinda laughed at me (okay maybe he did one of those dad chuckles where they know something you donât and want to educate you but whatever) and then proceeded to explain who he was and why he was important. While I agreed with Dad, I honestly donât think it changed the way I saw him. He was still just Mr. Portune; the man who worked the score board next to me. We kept that up for a few years.
Fast forward a few years I love political science and have just accepted an internship on my first campaign by myself. (I have to insert that there because my mom is a die hard advocate, she has had me wearing political buttons since I could first understand the topics, she even bought me a childrenâs book on Clinton. We have worked countless hours canvassing or passing petitions but this is my first one as an adult.) I gave everything I had to that campaign and to be honest while some of it might have been grueling I loved every minute of it. One moment in particular comes to mind. I volunteered to help work a political fundraiser where Bill Clinton would be speaking. When I was helping usher people to their seats, who did I see walking in, none other than Todd Portune. He took the time to acknowledge me and ask how I was and how my family was. It really struck me because in the midst of everything he asked how I was. Mind you in about twenty minutes he would go on to introduce President Clinton. We lost that election but the fire in me never died down I knew in that minute I wanted to stay in politics.
The next Summer was approaching quickly and I needed some kind of an internship, I knew I wanted to work in government but wasnât sure what I wanted to do. As many of you know I am a go getter and not afraid of a little rejection so I emailed Todd and asked if he could use an intern that summer. I was very happy to find out that he could and he had me come in that week to get started. I was so excited. My mom and I bought a business professional outfit and everything. I went in and he said he wanted me there three days a week and for four hours (I had another job at the time as well.) but I took it. I went to commissioners meetings, got to meet everyone and helped draft a proclamation or two. I reported directly to his chief of staff, Kathy Binns, and worked with his assistant, Lisa Daria. Iâm not sure when it happened but sometime along that summer I fell in love with the work they did and the importance of this office. I learned so much but I honestly believed that I still had more to learn, I ended up staying on through the fall and the spring.
As I kept working I guess I proved my worth enough that when it was time to reelect Todd I was asked to be the Volunteer Coordinator on his upcoming campaign. As a member of the team I got to go to campaign strategy meetings, team building events and even Hamilton County Democrats meetings for candidates. I got to have a back stage pass to see exactly how politics worked. I got promoted within the campaign to be Deputy Campaign Manager and I couldnât thank Kathy enough for everything she taught me and showed me. I probably put in about sixty hours a week doing campaign work. During the summer it was great. I babysat by day then campaigned by night. Once college was back in session I did the majority of the work I could online and then spent my weekends campaigning. During this time I got to watch President Obama speak, I saw President W. Busch speak, I met Jerry Springer (stop it right there. Please google Jerry and see his activities in Cincinnati politics and then resume reading.)
I met other politicians that I completely adore. Todd was a rock and was always explaining everything to me. On the 4th of July when we had already done two parades he pushed us wanting to represent ourselves in a third parade. We rallied; we showed up at the tail end of the Harrison Parade where the police blocking the parade route actually escorted us honking their horns and sirens so the parade watchers knew we were coming. The look on everyoneâs face as we slid in last but certainly not least was well worth it.
The night before election day Bridget, Todd, a volunteer and I went all over Cincinnati putting literature on peopleâs cars so they had one last chance to learn before election day. Then on election day we were out right after the polls opened to support the election volunteers by bringing them snacks and water so they knew how much each candidate was appreciated and supported in what they were doing. We won that election! At one point, if you know where to look, you can see me in the background of election coverage behind Todd right as he was formally announced to have won. We were in the board of elections and it was one of those nights I donât think Iâll ever forget.
Following that night I went back to school and was just a student for a while. When the first Commissioners Meeting of the year happened and they had their swearing in I skipped class and went down to celebrate my mentor being sworn back into office.
During the campaigning I took my LSAT. The night before I took it Todd and I were at a festival by our homes and he kicked me out early to get a full eight hours of sleep to make sure that I was fully prepared. Todd also reminded me this is a logic test and not to let it freak me out. I took that test and I bombed it to be honest but I took it again and then I, with a letter of recommendation from Todd and a few other (thanks guys!), I applied to law school and got in.
While I was in law school a friend of mine didnât meet the ABAâs requirements for a GPA. I was angry and wanted to take on the world. I texted Todd upset and wanting a lawyerâs opinion of the circumstances. Unfortunately, or maybe it was fortunate, he walked me through the rule and showed me why it was necessary and beneficial. I took his guidance to heart and trusted the system. I continued to take classes and become an attorney.
As a law student we are able to work researching cases for attorneyâs and get paid for it. Todd called me needing help researching a case. It was my first paid research experience and Todd helped walk me through what I needed to look up and how to lay it out to be the most helpful for attorneys. The best part is that I got all of his help and experience and he paid me for my time. It was a wonderful learning experience.
When I graduated law school I told Todd and he was incredibly proud of me. We grabbed a coffee to celebrate. Then I had to tell him when I failed the bar and Iâm not sure why but it felt absolutely miserable to tell him that I failed my bar. Mind you he wasnât the least bit disappointed in me and told me to stay strong and retake it.
When I passed the bar this past summer he was struggling with his health but still took the time to make sure that I knew he was proud of me for all my accomplishments. I can honestly say that I wouldnât be the person I am today if I hadnât had a mentor like Todd to look up to. I am going to miss grabbing coffee with him and hearing about his next ideas (he called them his irons in the fire on his notes to himself.) I will say that while he is gone he will never be truly gone as those of us who has been influenced and inspired by him still continue to pass on the hard work and determination he did.
If youâre reading this I guess I did decide to post this. Iâm not positive Iâm going to.
Lately Iâm just feeling really lost; like I need to find my true north again. I just feel like I need something more, like another spark. I love my blog. I do absolutely love it and all of you for your continuous love, encouragement and support.
I have the very best family a girl could ask for. (Donât get me wrong. Some days I wanna put on my sunnies and walk away from them pretending Iâm not with them. ) They encourage me, challenge me and force me to be the best version of myself I can be.
As for friends, omg, donât get me started. They would do anything for me (ok they try to refuse to Black Friday shop with me claiming Iâm too intense but I try not to hold that against them Or they think Iâm crazy bananas for wanting to do it.) If you wanna read more about my friends or my family check out my old posts. Youâll fall in love with them the same way I did.
Where I feel truly lost is in my career. The company I work at is fantastic, the people that work there with me are top notch. I hope to have them in my life forever. Even past the point when one day weâre no longer coworkers. My boss Kim is an amazing mentor. She constantly teaches me new things and pushes me to be better. (No literally! One time she told me itâs time to fly baby bird.) I work as an independent contractor (my choice) I work there part time doing what I used to do (if your not sure what exactly a compliance and legal analyst is donât worry. Most people still get confused, but basically I help reps comply with the law and help review contracts/gather documentation for regulators and outside counsel.) Iâm getting better at working in the industry but I donât know what I want to do next.
Should I get my Securities licenses and see what my true potential is in the financial industry is, do I use my law license, the one I fought so hard to obtain, do I pack up my life and run away to Europe? (Okay that one may sound extreme but doesnât it sound really nice?)
I just feel ready to be passionate and engaged everyday. Iâm ready to feel a fire in my soul; something to satisfy this wonder Iâm feeling. Iâm really tempted to post the song from âFrozen 2â about going into the great unknown.
Iâm not writing this post to complain or brag about my life I guess I just wrote it hoping it would lead me to figuring out where to next. Do I go back to full time compliance and/or legal, should I get securities licensure, go into legal for financial, move to Cincinnati and practice criminal/family law there or is there another option I havenât even thought of yet? Feel free to comment or email me with suggestions/advice. My email is: therealellewoodz@gmail.com
Do you ever have those days where you are just running on fumes and feeling exhausted? Between traveling and working I just reached capacity. So I checked my calendar and on Tuesday Morning I had a bit of flexibility with my day and took it as my opportunity to do a mental health day.
I woke up when my alarm went off at nine and I just didnât feel it. Knowing my schedule it was my moment. I put on some Netflix and rolled over napping on and off till noon. After that I took the opportunity to munch on some leftover Chinese food.
From my Chinese food I grabbed a pup named Dex and grabbed a coffee (thank god for Sherree. Iâm telling you right now I wouldnât have made it this far into January without her searching online for my reusable free cup of coffee or tea per day Starbucks mug). Then homeward bound to begin our spa day.
As soon as we got home I hit the storage closet. I was going for my Lush supplies! I grabbed my cup of coffee, face mask, my roots deep conditioner and a bath bomb to really relax.
I applied the mask and deep conditioner while the tub filled to perfect, lit a few (okay fine maybe ten or so) candles and just let the stress melt off.
After I soaked for an unreasonably long amount of time I showered off my face mask and deep conditioner. From that moment I put on a face mask sheet with tea tree oil to help relieve stress. While that was absorbing I threw some Moroccan oil in my hair to let it work itâs magic (if you havenât used Moroccan oil in your hair yet omg you need to try it!)
Once I took the sheet off I put on some lotion and just relaxed on the couch with Dex while sipping my coffee. Overall I highly recommend these kinda days.
Itâs mid-January at this point How are you all doing with your New Years resolutions? This year I picked a few really good resolutions, I had a theme with mine that I wanted to be happier and healthier in 2020.
My resolutions are:
đTo be more present in my life
đEat healthier
đSpend less money
đCook more food at home
đRelax more
So my resolutions are going pretty well. Iâm working on meal planning more and buying groceries ahead of time instead of falling into the well I have no food I guess we should go out for dinner. The perk of cooking more is it also correlates into eating healthier since I can control what we make as well as spending less money since generally grocery shopping and cooking are generally cheaper than take out for every meal.
Iâm not necessarily the greatest cook but I want to work on that as part of my resolutions. I figure, hey, practice makes perfect right? (If not, hey, donât correct me. Just leave my crazy ideas alone). Plus Iâm cooking tonight and thatâs what counts!
As for being more present I want to actually stop and enjoy more of my life instead of letting my life run me. For that goal Iâm trying as hard as I can to stop doing things that I absolutely hate. I hate grocery shopping. I donât know what it is but the whole process kills me so Iâm using the services the store offers where they shop and load it into my car. It allowed me to have an extra hour or so in my day to do whatever I wouldâve liked. This also lets me focus on relaxing more since Iâm not stressing over going, I can have the freedom to do what I want.
Surprisingly enough by using click list Iâm actually saving money. It lets me meal plan and shop my pantry before going to the store.
Iâm also working on curbing my spending this year. I want to shop my closet more instead of just going out shopping. (In a perfect world I would go workout instead of going to the mall but lets be honest. That isnât going to happen yet but weâll keep dreaming.)
Iâm just sticking with that theme as I think itâll help me achieve a happier me this year. So what are your resolutions this year?
Last night I met up with a few friends. We planned to go over to DâMarcos in Rochester for a nice meal and just to spend time together. We thought ahead and grabbed reservations!
Sarah met me at my house before dinner she and I actually got lucky and Grant drove us down to the restaurant. In true me fashion we were about ten minutes early which meant we had just enough time to sneak over to Holy Cannoli before dinner! I grabbed a traditional cannoli and Sarah grabbed a cappuccino flavored Cannoli. They were delicious! We munched on them while we walked to the restaurant.
When we got to the restaurant we were seated almost immediately. It was really nice. The restaurant felt like an old fashioned Italian New York joint included with Sinatra playing in the background. We looked over the menu and Iâm pleased to announce the entire front page was wine and cocktails. I ended up getting the winter margarita. It was heavenly. Sarah grabbed a blood orange old fashion and Karen got a mule. We were all very very happy with our drinks.
Then we looked over the menus and decided what we wanted. I choose a nice vodka shrimp pasta. It had a hint of spice to it but was rich and creamy. Plus it had Shrimp. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.
While we were eating; the conversations were flowing and we were laughing. It was a great experience. (Side note: Iâm really lucky and happy to be able to have dinner with people I truly enjoy where hours pass and you donât realize itâs been that long.)
After dessert we sat and talked drinking water until we decided that the restaurant was closing and we might need to head out. Karen was very generous and drove Sarah and I back to my house. In typical Sarah and I fashion she lunged for the back seat to make a coat fort and I took the heated passenger seat. We talked in Karenâs car well into the morning when we couldnât stop yawning and we called it a night.
What did you do for New Years Eve? Let me tell you about my night. It was great; really entertaining.
To start off Grant and I left Kenwood Mall and headed downtown. We mightâve made a whoops or two and ended up in Kentucky; then backtracking to Downtown. We eventually made it into the garage and parked. From there we went up onto the square where we met Bridget and Neil.
It wouldnât be a true event if I didnât make everyone take a million pictures before we started off (they will thank me later.)
Our overall plan was to park the cars at Fountain Square and then walk over to Newport on the Levee. It might have been overly ambitious but we made it. (Iâm counting that as working towards my New Years Resolution of losing weight. It was roughly a thirty minute walk with many hills and a bridge.)
It was really cool walking over the bridge; seeing the lights on the bridge overlooking the Ohio River. When we first got onto the Levee we went into Deweys Pizza, put on names on the waitlist (only waited ten minutes) and then were seated. We ended up all sharing a large mixed pizza. I donât know. I wasnât a huge fan but I donât love pizza. Everyone else loved the pizza though.
After pizza we filed up to AMC to watch a movie. We got tickets to see âBombshellâ the Megan Kelly movie about Fox News politics and sexual harassment. It really makes you think. I really appreciate that they told the movie from the womanâs perspective as well as the manâs so we could see all sides of the event. Iâm really glad that we are showing both sides of the story and it showed interesting dynamics.
After our movie was over we got all bundled up and headed back into the brisk evening air to walk back over to Cincinnati. The walk back was a bit tougher than the way there; more uphillâŠ.
Once we reached the square we had maybe three minutes to get situated, then boom fireworks were going off over our heads to ring in the new year! I love fireworks. The sounds; the lights. It just makes everything more magical.
The Real Elle Woodz 