Oh my goodness. Bridget and I had the best time last night over at Buff City Soap! If you aren’t familiar with who/what they are it’s all about the fresh soap made in store and the bath bombs (also made in store)!
Last night I was invited to come and check them out and make bath bombs! I went over to their newest and in my opinion greatest store the Newport, KY location. Living downtown anything with easy parking is a huge plus for me and this is a stand-alone location where you park in front and just walk right in!
When I first got there I did have a moment of overwhelmingness. However it passed in a second when I started smelling all their wonderful scents! I started with their local scents that the store designs themselves! Spoiler alert: they were wonderful and I left with a soap!
Then I moved over onto the fall scents and of course the pumpkin spice soap came home with me! I also checked out their laundry detergent. Recently I wanted to switch it up to something that is more environmentally friendly and they have soaps and dryer balls that are scented! I actually grabbed a set of both and will report back.
For the main event of the eve we actually made our own bath bombs. If you haven’t done this before it is an experience you have to check out! They have all the ingredients right there and have a recipe book to make sure they are perfect. Plus we mixed everything up in a stand mixer. I felt like such a pro!
After mixing you then roll the dough into the molds to make the actual bath bomb. It’s harder than it looks. You can’t twist you have to smash! Once you have that mastered it’s super easy to make! (Bridget who routinely bakes was able to handle the molds much more quickly than me🤣). Once we had them molded we were able to decorate the tops! Mine is beautiful if I do say so myself.
Did I mention you can also make your own scented soap? No? Well you can! Plus they have space available for parties where you can all make your own scents and have customizable soaps!
Overall I loved this and I hope it was a lot of great things to smell. They have a huge space so it isn’t overpowering at all! Now for the best part the pricing is great! The huge bars of soap and bath bombs are around $7! When we were there they were doing specials where you could get 4 bars of soap for $20. Trust me if you haven’t been yet you are missing out. Take this as your initiative to go and explore. The store was great and the staff were perfect!
I had the most amazing date night with Grant! I booked a romantic picnic with Hey Sweet Cincy for the two of us to help familiarize him with some of the amazing parks around my apartment. Grant and I had the picnic over at Eden Park at the overlook. When we got to the picnic Julie had set up the most amazing picnic layout I have ever seen! Like really though, if you don’t believe me take a look at the pictures below. It was the most beautiful turnout I’ve ever seen.
In addition to the picnic layout, we booked a photoshoot with Julie the picnic organizer (also the boss babe behind the brand!) As many of you know Grant is a lot more introverted than I am so getting him to warm up for pictures could be tough but Julie was able to get him to open up and take the most beautiful photos. At one point to get a better smile (an authentic one too) she had us telling each other jokes. Mind you I had no jokes come to mind except for one the Bushman kids loved when they were little (Guess what? Chicken Butt. Guess how? Chicken pow!) I know it’s the lamest joke you have ever heard but it’s all I could think of at the time.
Then have I mentioned the food? If you think these pictures are a work of art and talented then you clearly haven’t had her food yet! The white chocolate covered rice crispy treats to the chocolate covered cherries, everything was exceptional! There was no detail overlooked. We even had craft sodas in cute glasses.
Plus, if you are looking into booking one for a first date, she has a speaker included with small board games to make sure to break the ice. These parties are also great for proposals or girls’ night. They are literally the perfect date night idea. I couldn’t have been more impressed with the food, the setup, the professionalism like literally I could go on and on for hours raving about the picnics.
When we took the pictures, I did have to wait (as expected when using a professional) to see the final results and oh my! The pictures turned out perfect I am absolutely in love with how they turned out and I am already looking to book a fall (okay all four seasons) photo shoot with more picnics!
I can’t wait to reintroduce you guys to one of my favorite places in High School. This is where Grant and I spent the majority of our dates. Where I saw more movies than I can count and bought more books than I can remember.
About ten or so years ago this was the coolest place to go. It had a bookstore, movie theater, Game Works, tons of stores and just a great place to hang out. I’m thrilled to share that while a lot has changed it’s still the cool and exciting place I remember with different stores and places to hang.
Bridget and I went over to spend Friday night and while Gameworks and AMC is still there (okay even they have updated and become better than ever!) everything else feels refreshed. When we got there we parked in the garage and went up to explore.
When we first got to the Levee we saw this green space and maybe ten or so food trucks, pop up venues and built restaurant stands. We decided to go in the main building to start our exploration and saw a great local market with tons of artisan shops, a new brewery going in, a great grab and go restaurant and a cafe!
To say there were too many choices is an understatement! But the Tiffany blue walls sold me on the cafe (The Little Spoon Bakery and Cafe) so we had to go in there first! The had bakery items, cupcakes, dog bones and coffee. The cupcakes were phenomenal!
Bridget and I took our cupcakes and headed back outside to enjoy our desserts. We grabbed great adirondack chairs and sat down to snack. Much to our delight the cupcakes were huge and needed a fork to eat… So we decided to grab dinner instead then eat dessert.
For dinner we grabbed crepes from the food truck (The Crepe Guys) right next to the green space. I had a pepperoni pizza crepe and Bridget had a chicken salad croissant. They were both fresh and delicious plus buttery! The perfect mix to just enjoy with sitting in the sun.
After dinner we did chomp down on those cupcakes. They were fantastic; like mouth watering. I would happily go back and get another cupcake any day of the week. I grabbed the salted Carmel cupcake and Bridget got a chocolate raspberry cupcake. Both tasted as good as they looked.
After we had dessert we walked around the Levee and checked out all the bars. We decided on Kon Tiki for fun tropical drinks to sip on and people watch. The drinks weren’t too pricey and tasted really good. We changed seats and sat closer to the bars. The seats were still great and we really enjoyed all the seating options they had available.
After we finished our tropical drinks we walked around a little more and decided to grab another drink I went to Bee Line on the Levee and grabbed one of their house cocktails. We sipped our drinks on a bench overlooking the river and all the wonderful views of Cincinnati. The best part of our seats was we were able to enjoy our cocktails and watch the fireworks from the Reds game.
After the fireworks we headed back to the car and headed home. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with how our night turned out. We had a blast! The food was great, the drinks were delicious and the atmosphere was right on point. Plus every single bar had fun nonalcoholic options for people who prefer not to drink and kids. I did see a lot of little ones playing and really enjoying the views and open spaces to play. This lived up to every expectation I had for the place I spent so many nights at as a teenager.
Also the Levee is dog friendly so while a pup named Dex didn’t get to go with us this time he will be going with us next time. If you are in the area and looking for something to do this summer with friends or the family I highly recommend it.
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. I’ve 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 I’m sure a few people will scoff and remind me that this isn’t 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 can’t believe it’s he had instead of he has…) 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 didn’t. I have been in countless parades with him where he walked the entire route. Then he lost a leg to cancer; that should’ve 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 won’t go down without a fight I guess part of that statement still stands true; he most definitely didn’t 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 didn’t 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 that’s Ethan’s Dad. My dad just kinda laughed at me (okay maybe he did one of those dad chuckles where they know something you don’t 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 don’t 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 children’s 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 wasn’t 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. I’m 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 couldn’t 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 everyone’s 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 people’s 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 don’t think I’ll 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 didn’t meet the ABA’s requirements for a GPA. I was angry and wanted to take on the world. I texted Todd upset and wanting a lawyer’s 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 attorney’s 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 I’m not sure why but it felt absolutely miserable to tell him that I failed my bar. Mind you he wasn’t 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 wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t 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 you’re reading this I guess I did decide to post this. I’m not positive I’m going to.
Lately I’m 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. (Don’t get me wrong. Some days I wanna put on my sunnies and walk away from them pretending I’m 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, don’t get me started. They would do anything for me (ok they try to refuse to Black Friday shop with me claiming I’m too intense but I try not to hold that against them Or they think I’m crazy bananas for wanting to do it.) If you wanna read more about my friends or my family check out my old posts. You’ll 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 we’re 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 it’s 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 don’t 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.) I’m getting better at working in the industry but I don’t 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 doesn’t it sound really nice?)
I just feel ready to be passionate and engaged everyday. I’m ready to feel a fire in my soul; something to satisfy this wonder I’m feeling. I’m really tempted to post the song from “Frozen 2” about going into the great unknown.
I’m 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 haven’t 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 didn’t 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. I’m telling you right now I wouldn’t 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 it’s magic (if you haven’t 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.
It’s 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:
🎇To be more present in my life
🎆Eat healthier
🎇Spend less money
🎆Cook more food at home
🎇Relax more
So my resolutions are going pretty well. I’m 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.
I’m 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, don’t correct me. Just leave my crazy ideas alone). Plus I’m cooking tonight and that’s 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 I’m trying as hard as I can to stop doing things that I absolutely hate. I hate grocery shopping. I don’t know what it is but the whole process kills me so I’m 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 would’ve liked. This also lets me focus on relaxing more since I’m not stressing over going, I can have the freedom to do what I want.
Surprisingly enough by using click list I’m actually saving money. It lets me meal plan and shop my pantry before going to the store.
I’m 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 isn’t going to happen yet but we’ll keep dreaming.)
I’m just sticking with that theme as I think it’ll help me achieve a happier me this year. So what are your resolutions this year?
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 might’ve 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 wouldn’t be a true event if I didn’t 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. (I’m 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 don’t know. I wasn’t a huge fan but I don’t love pizza. Everyone else loved the pizza though.
After pizza we filed up to AMC to watch a movie. We got tickets to see “Bombshell” 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 woman’s perspective as well as the man”s so we could see all sides of the event. I’m 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 uphill….
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.
Today is the very last day of 2019 and I think this year might have been one of the best years of my life. Don’t get me wrong. There were definitely some low points but overall I have to say it’s been a win.
Let’s do a quick month by month overview. In January of 2019 it was a rocky month but it was a lot more of a miracle that I would’ve expected. My mom had open heart surgery in December of 2018 so when we rang the bell in 2019 and mom was doing better than ever I couldn’t have been more thankful. She is my rock. That being said I caught a sinus infection I couldn’t shake and it actually got me banned from the office for a few days! I recovered though!
Then in February I had my birthday month. Bridget came up and spent the week with me. We did manicures, pedicures and I got to celebrate Princess Monica in full swing. Plus I got an unlimited car wash pass for my car. Trust me, if you knew me you would know that a car wash pass might be the greatest thing in the world for me.
When March rolled around I was getting really sick of winter but it wasn’t going away anytime soon. I slowly started discussing the option of maybe taking the bar again. I hadn’t decided anything yet but it was my moment when I realized that if I wanted something badly enough I should do it. I talked with my boss at work and she agreed. She supported me in taking my exam again, see how it went and that I had an entire work family behind me cheering me on.
In April we had Bridget and Grants birthday and for his birthday we got tickets to go to a music festival and got to go home and spend time with the family bit was great to just take a break. I also started preparing for the bar; buying the course and making reservations, it led me to start studying for the bar slowly at first but getting my head into study mode.
In May we had a lot of ups and downs. I started to study for the bar exam. It was a big struggle trying to study full time and work full time. I got a mini weekend off when we went home to see Bunberry. It was a three day long music festival. I loved every minute of the stress free weekend. It also gave me the clarity I needed to make a really hard decision in June.
When June started it was with a bang. I drove all night from a music festival back to work for our annual conference. It’s at that point I realized how far behind on bar prep I was getting… I knew I needed to make a change or I wouldn’t pass the bar… With a very heavy heart I gave my two weeks notice and met with a former professor at Law School who helped me come up with a plan to study and ace the bar.
July was dark; like really dark I’m not sure what day it was for most of July with studying (I want to give a huge shout out to my family, Priya, Grant and Bridget for supporting me, letting me miss everything and talking me off the ledge daily.) I also developed a great friendship with Karen and Sarah over occasional dinners (this continues after the bar too!) At the end of the month was the bar!
The bar also continued into August which felt too good to be prepared for and ready. I felt like it went really well but after the bar it was all about me, a book and a baby pool! I spent most days laying around in the pool soaking up the sun with minimal cares in the world. It was fantastic!
When September rolled around it was back to reality. I emailed my Concorde Family and asked to come home and they said of course with open arms. I resumed working as an independent contractor. It let me have the flexibly to create my blog and I am very very thankful for that!
Since I started this blog I know you know all about my October but I was able to give my mom the best Birthday present I ever could. We passed the bar! I have never been more anxious and ready for anything as I was opening up the web page that morning than to see my name on the list!
In November it felt all about the travel. We have been to Canada, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky all in one month! It was worth it though to spend time with our loved ones. Plus we got to come home for a week (something we haven’t been able to do since high school) and actually enjoy home.
That leads to here and now I’m kicking ass at my job, loving my blog, and making the best friends a girl could ask for. This isn’t how I saw my year going but it’s been better than I could’ve expected. I’m really eager to see how 2020 is going to shape up for me. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!
Okay, this might not be the most popular opinion but I think I like the Zoo better at Christmas than during the summer. I know it’s silly but enliven though I love seeing the animals and the blooms; my ultimate favorite is how they light up the Cincinnati Zoo for the Holidays.
This year I went with Bridget and Grant. Our first trip was an epic fail. We spent over an hour just trying to move a mile up the road. Obviously we didn’t get into the Zoo that night. So we tried again on Friday night and were successful!
We started off the afternoon by Bridget coming over and then us heading down! I offered to drive to be nice and hello heated seat! We parked in one of the auxiliary lots which is fine and entered the zoo while it was still day light out. We visited the reindeer (still exhausted from their trip around the world). Then we hit the food trucks up to grab dinner and Hot Chocolate with Holiday Cheer (Baileys Irish Cream). We sat and ate our food waiting for it to get dark.
Once it was dark we were off! We walked all over the zoo and I must admit there are a few new spots this year that really caught my attention! They have this newer light that is like a weeping willow leaf. They had it dangling on a good amount of their trees and it was absolutely stunning. I might’ve hidden in the “leaves” a few times.
Another light they have that I really love is the butterflies outside the insect house. The way the light moves it looks as if they are flying. Bridget and I really enjoyed watching those while Grant checked out the insect house.
Right before you get to the Christmas Tree they have this area decorated wig color changing lights. It’s all over the trail so it’s like walking through a fairyland! I loved it. I could have stayed looking at those lights all night long.
They also have the ever famous Christmas Tree that I can’t help but pose in-front of. I have taken a picture in front of that tree every year for probably the last ten or so years. It’s funny watching how much has changed and how much hasn’t by looking at those pictures.
After the tree we walked over to the lake where we listened to the music and watched the light display. I think my favorite was watching “Do you wanna build a snowman?” I’m not sure what it is but I absolutely adore the “Frozen” movie. It’s really cute and makes me smile whenever I watch it. Plus watching the lights change as the song continued was magical.
After we walked past the lake we did visit the animals I got to see the brand new baby giraffe who was absolutely precious and the manatees. I love how Cincinnati takes in Manitees then rehabilitates them to release them back into the wild. I love that this is normal for our zoo and they are always working to better the world for animals.
After the animals and the lights it was time to head towards the exit. The very last thing we did was to walk through the tunnel of lights. It’s basically a giant rainbow tunnel for everyone to walk through and feel inspired. I love it.
After the zoo we walked back to my car to head home. We debated dinner but couldn’t eat anymore after all the hot chocolate we drank. Have you checked out your local zoo yet?
The Real Elle Woodz 