wildlights

I have finally recovered from an amazing holiday weekend with my friends and family. It was a jammed packed 5 days filled with food, cocktails and holiday festivities galore. I’m exhausted but every minute was worth it! Keep stopping by this week for updates. I have some pretty cool things to share with you all that you too can enjoy this holiday season.

First up, the Columbus Zoo wildlights.

One of my favorite yearly activities ever since I can remember, is going to see the zoo wildlights during the holiday season. Covered in twinkle lights, the zoo transforms into a festive holiday hot spot where families of all ages can go and enjoy roasted nuts, hot chocolate, santa’s workshop, decorate cookies and take in all the beautiful LED lights that light up the zoo with Christmas cheer. It’s a great, fun way to ring in the holiday season, support your local zoo and see some cool animals.

Each section of the Zoo is themed with different colored lights. North America is blue, gold and white. Asia Quest is bright, bold reds, pinks, oranges and purples. The Shores is blues and greens. And the main walkway and pond is red, green and white until the music plays and the lights dance and change to each Christmas carol. I love they way they use the lights to mix, match and tie together. It is always amazing to see. Very creative and candy for they eyes. I think you will love it too!

Here is a quick picture recap of our 2012 Wild Lights adventure….

I found my inner child and played in the kids area when seeing the Polar Bears.

We saw Elephants, Tigers, Buffalo, Koala’s, Polar Bears, and so many other animals.

Graham loves the lights as much as I do, or he sure acts like it!

I was even allowed to stare at Santa while wishing I could tell him what I wanted for Christmas. Graham said no – bah humbug! At least I was able to decorate a Christmas cookie and Mrs. Clause’s Kitchen!As you can tell, the whole family was getting into the holiday spirit – JK & DK, Sister and Bro-in law!

         

I love the zoo and I love the wildlights. If you do one thing this Columbus Christmas it should be the wildlights. It will really put you in the Christmas spirit and pump you up for the Holiday’s! It’s even a bonus that you can support your zoo and a non-profit!

Only 27 days till Christmas!

friday favorite: christmas albums

Happy black Friday readers! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. I know I did!! Graham and I spent the day visiting and splitting our time between his family and mine. I will post a thanksgiving wrap up here soon, but today I wanted to share my top four favorite Christmas albums to help you get into the holiday spirit.

Home for Christmas by Dolly Parton

When I was little my mom had this album on rotation when we baked cookies and decorated the house. This album for me is home and Christmas. Plus I love Dolly and she even stars in one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies A Smokey Mountain Christmas.

A Smooth Jazz Christmas by Dave Koz and Friends

Christmas is not Christmas without attending the annual Dave Koz and Friends Christmas concert. It is the one thing JK asks of us every Christmas and it has become a family tradition.

White Christmas by Bing Crosby

White Christmas, enough said!

Michael Buble Christmas by Michael Buble

If you have that special Christmas date night, this is the album to play. Such a classic!

Which Christmas albums will you listen to this year?

restaurant review: pies & pints

I love pizza. I love beer. I love pizza and beer together. I mean who doesn’t?!

After an intense Christmas shopping session with my mom at the Worthington mall we decided to grab a bite to eat at a new pizza place here in Columbus – Pies & Pints. A menu filled with gourmet pies, 30 beers on taps and even more beer in bottles, we decided it would be the perfect place to refuel in order to continue on our shopping adventures.

The whole menu looked delicious, but we decided to go with what they were known for – Pie aka pizza in case you were confused!

 We dined on the following:

I indulged in a beer. The Elevator Dark Horse to be exact. I love dark, brown ale beer so this was perfect for me! DK indulged in a Pinot Grigio and wouldn’t stop talking about how good it was. She would know, she is a wine connoisseur.   

Greek salad

Can you believe this was the small salad?! It was big enough for us to share and even have some left over. It was delicious and DK thought it was one of the best salads she has had in a very long time.  

Cuban Pork Pie

 

We ordered the small pie and it was perfect for two. The mix of pork, crème fresh, jalapenos, red onion and pine apple, over white sauce (aka olive oil) this pie was surprisingly delicious. Everything worked extremely well together. Not too spicy and not too sweet, it was a perfect balance for my taste buds and we ended up eating the WHOLE thing. I highly recommend this tasty creation as I would for sure order this again!

Curious on the origins of Pies & Pints our nice waitress informed us it is from West Virginia and family owned. Only having 3 locations, they are slowly expanding. The location at the Worthington Mall is their only Ohio location (so far)!

Overall, the food was great and I would send you to Pies & Pints for that reason. I was not a fan of the ambiance as I feel ambiance is half of your dining experience. Our table was shaky, the restaurant was broken up into sections, there was no true flow on how things were set-up and I just was not a fan. However, the food definitely made up for the lack of atmosphere!

book review: perks of being a wallflower

I was traveling for work last week and needed an airplane read. I didn’t want to carry around anything to thick and heavy so I picked up the Perks of Being a Wallflower. I had seen the movie trailer a few weeks back and was intrigued. I really didn’t know what the book was actually about but I thought I would give it a go.

I eneded up reading the book in 3 days. I couldn’t put it down. It was suspenseful and a real page turner. I kept finding myself wanting to know what the next page was going to read.

I thought it was clever that the whole storywas written in a letter/journal format with only one point of view. I was able to emotionally connect with the main character, Charlie, and truly feel for him and what he was going through. I almost thouhgt he was writing to me at times for how personal the letters were. I just kept shaking my head thinking I really understand what this character is going through. I was even reminded of how much I never want to go back to adolescents and high school and have to live through that angst, unknown and social pressure all teenagers face. Good job, Charlie!

A true tale of what being a social wallflower is like, written by someone who seems to be writing about his own experience at that age. It was an honest and a real perspective about Charlie’s life yet written with an innocense and light air about what was happening that even  the darkest pages had a level of humor to make it bearable. A true twist at the end with an “ah-ha” moment, I thought this book was a refreshing read and a departure to what I usually read. A true gem and worth the read.

I especially recommend if you are a fan of Catcher and the Rye. These two novels you would think were written from the same cloth!

friday favorite: lunchtime manicure

This week’s Friday fave is one that has saved my insanity on more than one occasion. It’s what I like to call the lunchtime manicure!

Once a month I love to schedule myself a little pamper and “me time” during my lunch hour. Work can be crazy and stressful with most days being that I have to work through my lunch hour and/or stay late. It’s a time where I can stop, leave my desk and just take a 45 minute breather to regain my thoughts and tackle the second half of the work day with a clear head.  It also doesn’t hurt I get to look at my beautiful manicured fingers while I type on my keyboard. It’s the little things, right?! Oh and the hand massage, well you can imagine how life changing that can be. 🙂

My fresh manicure:

 

(Yes, I have little nails. The technician always loves to comment on how little my hands and nail beds are. I call my hands little kid hands!) 

I do like to switch up my nail color with the mood I am in that day. I have been really into the following Essie colors lately:

• Allure (same color Kate Middleton wore on her wedding day!)
• Chinchilly
• Merino Coal
• Limited Addiction
• Little Brown Dress
• Bachelorette Bash

Having fresh manicured nails always puts that little pop into my step. I feel pretty and put together and ready to make moves and shake hands. It’s also that little feminine touch to remind me I am worth it and to always take time for myself.

Cheers to the lunchtime manicure!

local columbus artist: OneSEC

Happy Tuesday readers! Today I would like to share with you all a local artisan who happens to be my best friend!  As the creator of the Etsy online store, OneSEC, Steph has created a stylish way to help woman add that extra little embellishment to top of an outfit!

After planning a perfect shabby chic and vintage feel wedding this year, Steph became inspired to share her feminine and soft style with others. Her inspiration turned into OneSEC.

Creating delicate, feminine, simple and soft everyday jewelry, OneSEC offers the perfect accents to your little black dress or your basic white work blouse.  She is able to capture the elegance and simplicity of her esthetic by translating through the pieces she creates. By doing so, she has truly created one of a kind pieces.

Ranging from handmade necklaces, bracelets and earrings, these little embellishments are perfect for bridesmaid’s gifts, Christmas gifts, or even spoiling yourself.

Affordable yet stylish, I’m sure you too can find the perfect embellishment for your LBD!

Check Steph’s creations out this weekend at the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. Sunday November, 18th from 1:30pm-3:30pm.

shops at worthington place

There are only 43 days left till Christmas, but who’s counting?!

I decided this past weekend to get a jump start on my holiday shopping. I like to stay ahead of my budget and presents instead of feeling rushed, overwhelmed and broke. I usually pick gifts up throughout the year especially when the inspiration hits me or something screams Christmas present I tend to purchase right there on the spot. I also keep an ongoing list of gift ideas on my iPhone so when Christmas does come around I am not struggling to figure out gift ideas!

So this weekend I went out a mission to get some holiday shopping done. It was a success as I picked up gifts for 4 of the people on my list!

I went off the mall beaten path and decided to go to the Shops at Worthington Place . The new Orvis store just opened and I wanted to check it out while also picking up a few special items for a few special people.

I had not been to the Shops at Worthington Place in a VERY long time. I honestly didn’t even know stores were still there. It used to be a hot spot when I was little and was the home to my favorite Little Professors book store.

To my surprise, the mall was filled with shops. The Orvis store was a sight to see. The staff was extremely helpful and the layout to the store was easy to navigate. My favorite part was the 2 entrances; one by the men’s clothes (main entrance) and an entrance by the woman’s. The store was rich with words, fishing supplies and your expensive outdoor wear. I was very impressed.

I ventured inside to see what else was there. Here is what I found:

• Talbots
• Everest Gear
• FrontRunnder
•  Crabtree and Evelyn
• Montero Native Market
• A cute little baby store
• Jo. A Banks
• Pendleton Woolen Mill
• Panera
• First Watch
• Pies & Pints (a new restaurant for beer and pizza!)
• Piada (coming 2013!)

All in all, this mall might not be a Polaris or Easton, but it sure does have stores and restaurants neither of those malls have. The Orvis and Everest Gear won me over and I cannot wait to go back and check our Pies & Pints!

friday favorite: frye boots

(For all my readers, I thought I would start sharing a few of my favorite things every Friday. Just a few things I love and would like to share with you!)

It’s that time of year again when Santa, aka my mom, is asking for my Christmas list. She has been asking for a few weeks now and I still have yet to provide her with anything. It’s pretty simple as to why I am stalling, I do not want to commit to my list to soon in case there is that last minute gift idea I want to add.

However, as I think about all the ridiculous things that I want, but maybe not need (or totally need!), I thought I would share one gem of an idea with you all to help spur some gift giving inspiration for you!

For today’s Friday favorite I present, Frye boots.

Last year for my birthday Graham bought me my first pair of Frye’s (style: Melissa Button Boot). They are a beautiful carmel brown color and the leather feels like butter. They are the PERFECT ridding boot and complement every outfit. Oh and I cannot forget to mention, they are very comfortable (SCORE!).  

I would stare at these boots everytime we would go to Nordstroms as they are on the expensive side. So call me 100% surprised when I opened Graham’s gift to find the above beauties inside.

My feet are spoiled now and rarely ever leave the inside of these boots. I love them so much I am now a professed boot snob. They truly are my favorite pair of boots I own and I wear them every chance I get!

Now back to that Christmas list as I am sure you see where this is going. This year I am hoping I am on the nice list and will find these exquisite boots under the tree.

(Note, to all those guys out there stuck on what to get their lovely ladies for Christmas this year. You cannot go wrong with a pair of Frye’s!)

my musical playlist: life after training

It’s been awhile since I last shared my playlist with you all. Things have drastically changed in my playlist since my last runners musical playlist with my training for the half marathon done and done!

My current playlist is not just made up of up-beat jams to keep me motivated during those long 13 miles, but a mix of artists I enjoy listening to at work, in the car or when I bake. Here is what I am currently listening to:

• I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift
• Stars – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
• Die Young – Kesha
• Stubborn Love – The Lumineers
• Between The Raindrops – Lifehouse
• R.I.P – Rita Ora
• Madness – Muse
• Queen of the City -Joshua James
• Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
• I Need Your Love – Calvin Harris
• One Day – Matisyahu
•  Bottom of the River – Delta Rae
• 40 Day Dream – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
• White Dress – Ben Rector

Enjoy the music!

restaurant review: grass skirt tiki room

Rain, rain go away, you have over stayed your welcome.

It’s been rainy here in Columbus for the past week – dark, wet and depressing – so I thought for my birthday celebration why not celebrate at the Hawaiian inspired Grass Skirt Tiki Room and indulge in some Polynesian inspired cocktails and food and pretend I was on vacation.

Located downtown in area with not much going off, the Grass Skirt Tikki Room is the next quirky restaurant brought to you by none other than Elizabeth Lesser – restaurant guru behind Surly Girl, Tip Top, and Betty’s.

With my family in tow we dined amongst the Columbus hipster crowed and had an excellent birthday celebration.  

We enjoyed the following tiki cocktails:

• Dark N’ Stormy – Gosling’s rum, Gosling’s ginger beer and lime
•  Polly Want A Kraken – Kraken rum, Gosling’s ginger beer and lime

Indulged in the following delicious treat:

Mini Pork Egg Rolls – these were awesome and so was the dipping sauce.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice Bowl – not my favorite and probably will not order again.

Loco Moco – a awesomely tasty traditional Hawaiian dish that I highly recommend! (looks bad, but tastes so good!)

 Hawaiian Burgers –  Two was NOT enough. The Hawaiian buns and grilled pineapple made this burger for me!

The food tasted great and was reasonably priced. However, if you do dine at the Grass Skirt, portions are small and everything can be served as tapas. Order plenty of food because if you do not, you will leave hungry!

The atmosphere was cool tool. It was dark, cozy and you felt like you entered a true tiki hut experience (the picture does not do it justice!). Table size is perfect for 2 or 4 per party. They do not take reservations and we got lucky with seating for our party of 8!

Overall, we had a blast! They are still working out a few kinks, but I will let it slide since they have only been opened for a month!

This restaurant was also JK approved and THAT alone says a lot!