Russo comes to Cincy.

Last week our guest room saw it's second non-family-member visitor.

AND, he came bearing tickets to the Western Southern Open.

Prior to moving here, I had no idea this tournament was such a big deal, but it is the last one before the U.S. Open, and draws the best in the world every year.

Thursday night we watched the Federer/Blake match, and while he (Federer, for those unfamiliar with pro tennis) may no longer be #1 in the world, he was still the one I was most excited about seeing. Holy cow. So fun!

We also had the opportunity to see Jankovic/Schiavone, the Bryan brothers, and Djokavic/Monfils over the course of two evenings. I was excited to be so close to the tennis action and took way too many pictures.

We did our best to give Russo a true taste of Cincy during his brief stay, and had a blast. So wonderful to have a reminder of home for a few days. And (hopefully) he had so much fun that he will send the rest of you up to visit soon :)

Before heading home on Saturday, he wanted to get a group picture (Bella included) on the front porch as a way to commemorate his trip. We couldn't figure out a way to swing the self-timer on that one, but with the camera perched on the bed of Russo's truck (classy we know) we managed the front steps. This is after Bella sneezed in his face as a thank you for his insistence on her being in the photo.

This sort of looks like it should be a family/sibling picture to me, but I like it. Thanks for coming Russo! Next time bring your significant-other-half :)

Several exciting weekends on the horizon, but for now we are looking forward to a peaceful, semi-planless couple of days at home!

Weekend recap.

Columbus
The purpose of our inaugural trip (or mine at least, Walker frequents quite often on business) was for a regional company-wide softball tournament. Hard core stuff, folks. I spent all day Saturday with our car backed up to the outfield, trunk open, seats down, on a blanket gazing at this,

reading this (a mindless James Patterson thriller, nothing academic I assure you),

taking occasional walks, and hanging out with one very content pup.

The weather was perfect, and this introvert-at-heart enjoyed an entire afternoon of much-needed peacefulness and solitude.

Don't worry, we (Bella & I) watched some softball too (again, from the outfield, hence the fuzzy photos).

Did you catch that team name? So clever those accountants. Other favorites included "Where My Pitches At" and "I'd Hit That".

Saturday evening was spent exploring the Short North (Columbus's happenin' downtown scene) with Walk's work crew,

and hanging out with some dear friends from B'ham. Stephen is doing his residency at OSU, and we had a blast catching up with him and Amanda and exploring the adorable neighborhood they live in.

We walked from their house to the infamous Jeni's Ice Creams, and oh.my.word.

I went with Brambleberry Crisp and Strawberry Buttermilk (wasn't quite brave enough to try goat cheese with red cherries or Queen City cayenne) and they did not disappoint. So unique and amazingly delicious. While I doubt too many people reading this frequent Columbus on a regular basis, those of you living in or visiting Nashville (if you haven't already), should absolutely take advantage of having one in your vicinity. Although if it is as popular there as in Columbus, be prepared for a wait, as the line was at least 40-deep during our visit.

Ice cream
While on the subject, when we were out in California a few months back, we were craving dessert one night and asked someone in the small town of Mariposa (outside Yosemite) if there were any ice cream shops around. She responded something along the lines of "no, but UDF ice cream is amazing, and you can buy that at the CVS around the corner." We were skeptical but hungry, and gave it a go. Little did we know that UDF's (United Dairy Farmer) would be EVERYWHERE in our new city (including one within easy walking distance to our house), the ice cream is delicious, AND it is sold in the ginormous Kroger's (seriously, never been in a grocery store so huge).

Game Night
Our third in the past couple months. So relaxing and fun and the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend.

 

We are LOVING the weather right now. Highs last week of around 80 degrees, lows at night in the 50s. Just glorious. Although come March I know you all will be throwing this weather-bragging in my face as you enjoy the beginnings of Spring and we are still hanging out in snow. Oh well, for now we are quite content :)

Hope your weekends were wonderful!

Week in Review.

Rewind
Finally got around to uploading iPhone photos. Remember the deer I told you about?

And the sushi? Guess whose culinary skills are responsible for this poorly formed overstuffed roll (see arrow)?

Thursday night date

Upon the advice of one of Walker's coworkers, we splurged on a fancy dinner at a steakhouse in trendy Mt. Adams. This steak with this view (pardon the phone-quality photos)? Yes please.

I still don't know what bernaise sauce is, but a filet smothered in it and topped with lump crab meat made for maybe the most delicious piece of beef I've ever tasted.

California Wine Country
California, Kentucky that is. Two fellow interns and I took advantage of a Saturday off and explored three of the vineyards on the Northern Kentucky Back Roads Wine Trail.

The wineries were beautiful, charming, and had some unique and delicious types of wines we had never tried (or heard of) before. The furthest one away was less than 40 minutes from Cinci, and it made for an easy and enjoyable afternoon. We will definitely be back!

Dogs & Thunderstorms.

They don't mix. Old news right? About a month ago our 4.5 year old pup out of the blue decided that thunderstorms are scary. We have no idea what sparked this, but last night a pretty intense storm rolled through, and Bella insisted on being on top of one of us with arms wrapped around her. Despite these measures she still shook for the entire hour of thunder and lightning. In sum, it was a less than ideal night's sleep (but we still love her).

Sunday night dinner

Maybe my favorite night of the week. Usually involves a long walk. Always involves good food. Perfect way to close out the weekend and ready ourselves for another week.

Hope your weekend was as fun and enjoyable as ours!

Visitors.

We had company this weekend! Walker's mom, Lele, and sweet Laney came and spent a long weekend with us and it was just the best. Cinci has not been spared this ridiculous heat lately, but we still managed to spend a good deal of time outdoors exploring the city.

Since the last time we saw her at the beach, this little one has blossomed into quite the mover and shaker.

She was seriously a champ during this trip. We totally messed with her typical schedule and she took it all in stride. It was pretty sad coming home from work Tuesday to an empty home. She is an adorable bundle of energy that can't help but keep you smiling. We miss her already, can you tell?

Monday we celebrated Sissy's (Walker's mom) birthday. We grilled out, drank delicious sangria, and ate maybe the most amazing cake I've ever tasted (the opera cream cake from Cincinnati's famous BonBonerie). If you come to Cincinnati for your birthday I will buy a cake for you too. And it just may be worth the price of your flight up here.

Sharing our new city with family was so wonderful. We shopped, ate delicious meals, enjoyed conversation on our front porch, and explored some of the great parts of Cincinnati that we have come to love. It was fun. And easy. And so not stressful. I seriously have the best family-in-law around.

Come back soon guys - we miss you already!!! (Check out Lele's blog for more from their visit!)