Ah, The Grand Home STATE!

Greetings from Cincinnati!

I was a bit reluctant to originally book my flight home to Cincinnati this weekend, since I've basically come to cherish each and every precious weekend I can have in Chicago (since I'm back to traveling during the week for work).

I just have to say that that reluctance pretty much disappeared as soon as I set foot in the good ol' Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport.

I don't know what it is... I'm in love with the Midwest in general (hence my move to Chicago to begin with) but there's something... just so darn special about the grand home state of Ohio. It's just so relaxing, so simple, so cozy, so SPACIOUS - let's just say... I'm a fan (understatement).

My dad was picking me up from the airport so after locating him in the arrivals area, we began our sojourn home... with a slight detour.

I love all (well, okay, most) libraries - I've even kept each library card I've owned from each city I've lived in! (It's all very exciting, I know.) My neighborhood public library is absolutely no exception. Going to the public library was part of my dad's and my Saturday afternoon routine when I was growing up, so needless to say, requesting this quick detour on the way home from the airport was more than welcomed by good ol' Papa A (Nicole, that one's for you ;)). To be fair, I did want to get through (a wide variety of) reading materials for this weekend!

With that glorious pit stop, I knew that the weekend could only get better and better. After getting through my day of work on Friday, I had just enough time to run a few errands, take a (quick!) nap, and then... head to Reunion #1 of the weekend.

Let's try that again...

My family's been friends with this family for over 20 years (before these kids were even born!) and to say that I adore them is an understatement. They're like a second family to me and, honestly, the happiness and excitement of each reunion never fades. This reunion was no exception... complete with a live reading of "Oh, The Places You'll Go" by the lovely new graduate on the very right of this picture (so proud! :)).

Needless to say, Reunion #1 was easily a sweet success.

Come Sunday, I was off to Reunion #2 in... COLUMBUS, OHIO!!! Hollaaaa!!!

This reunion was actually the main reason for my visit to the grand home state for the weekend, since one of my dearest friends from college, Nicole, was back in the country for a fleeting period of time (she's based in South Korea with the Air Force).

Add two other good friends from college (Meg and Lindsay) to the mix and you've got yourself one. sweet. REUNION!!!

(Please disregard that nonsense of a peace / V for victory sign.)

After meeting in the Short North of Columbus for brunch (and hugs galore, let me tell you), we began just meandering around... and, look at that, somehow ended up... well, back on Ohio State's campus.

Talk about a walk down memory lane - I haven't been back to campus since I graduated and I honestly could not stop BEAMING as we walked through campus (no matter how much it's changed!). Now, while most people would likely walk down their college memory lanes with trips to their favorite bars, the football stadium, etc... MY idea of walk down memory lane consisted of... well...

My Chemistry / Organic Chemistry building!!!

I'm not sure WHY I was so excited to see this building...  I mean, some of the memories I have from my days of Chemistry / Organic Chemistry are... less than pleasant to say the least. Maybe it's simply the fact that my love and devotion for the one and only Dr. Casey still reigns supreme... but I digress.

And of course... of COURSE, no trip on campus would be complete without a visit to my beloved... my sacred... my one and only...

Science and Engineering Library (SEL).

Sigh, we need to have a moment. Just one.

Unless you went to college with me, you will not understand the love and devotion I had for this library... hell, even people who DID go to college with me did not understand. I mean, I was definitely NOT of the Science and Engineering variety BUT this library was just my home away from home... my happy place, if you will.

(It really is amazing that I actually had friends in college, considering how much time I devoted to this sacred place.)

Unfortunately, they've since changed the name of the library from the SEL to something like the "18th Avenue Library" so I couldn't take a picture with the sign itself (it just wouldn't be the SAME!). Oh well, no matter. Might as well just head inside to get a few "action shots", right?

Good thing we didn't disturb the entire 4th floor with our ridiculous picture-taking extravaganza (well, we TRIED to suppress our exclamations... and giggles... as we walked down memory lane here).

Ah, how far we've come from circa 2003...

Okay, so maybe not ALL our time in the library was spent hard-core studying. But we needed some lighthearted moments to get us through finals week! (On a completely side note, check out that CELL PHONE! Wowza.)

Okay, enough about the SEL. Moving on to...

No trip would be complete without a big ol' hug for Brutus, right?

Ah, good times through and through.

Okay, I'm cutting off this post since it's (much) longer than I'd previously anticipated. Get ready for my next post about the grand home state... let's just say that you'll be 110% familiar with the terms Skyline, Graeters, UDF, and LaRosa's by the time you're done reading THAT one.

Where Did March GO?!?!

My oh MY! I just noticed that my last post was from the beginning of FEBRUARY! While I realize that my tweet on Katie Couric's show was a slightly life-altering, monumental occasion, it was NOT meant to be the end-all, be-all of my blog!

Given how dreary are these late winter months in Chicago (oh, the woes), I wasn't really expecting all that much for the month of March. My only goal for the month was to consume a Shamrock Shake. (Random, I know. However, I've never had a sip of one before, and my friend and I made it our goal for this month to consume at least one Shamrock Shake. Dream big and all that.)

Ohhh... how eventful the month of March turned out to be instead. I've divided this post into two main sections: Denver and St. Patrick's Day (in Chicago), in case it helps you navigate a bit more easily. You are welcome in advance.

DENVER!!!
It all started with my friend Neha randomly calling me one day asking if I wanted to do an impromptu trip to Denver. While the intent was NOT to crash her husband's guys' weekend in Denver... well, that's what ended up happening, let's be honest here. Neha had never been to Denver and had always wanted to go. I had been to Denver a few years ago and LOVED IT (understatement) so of course, was ready and willing to venture back.

I was actually wondering how this was going to turn out, but it ended up basically being a Cincinnati "reunion" in Denver. Reunion is in HEAVY quotes because it was my first (well, okay, second) time meeting some of these people and some others hadn't met each other at all... but it all worked out so beautifully. I mean, what else can you expect from a bunch of Cincinnati-ans?

I wish I could draw like a little family / friend tree of the random mix of Cincinnati-ans that descended upon Denver for one delightfully chill weekend, but since I can't... I will just list the characters involved (and some of my personal sentiments developed along the way... haha - get ready).

1) Neha - Neha is one of my FAVORITE people in Chicago. You have likely seen her name sprinkled throughout my blog. Anyway, we are kind of attached at the hip. Which explains our Denver shenanigans.

2) Eashwar - Neha's husband. Also awesome (especially when it comes to playing Celebrity). Fun fact about Eashwar - he is joining Neha and I for the BEYONCE CONCERT IN CHICAGO IN JULY!!!!!! HOLLLAAAAA!!!!! (Eashwar and Neha are out of the country currently so I have no concerns about him killing me for sharing that information with the general public. Yet.)

3) Shekar - okay, Shekar's one of those people that "everyone knows". He is basically Eashwar's brother and I have to say - the bromance between the two of them is pretty cute (the hugging and kissing is only minimally disturbing). I'd heard of this Shekar character intermittently over the years but had only briefly met him once at Neha and Eashwar's wedding in May. Anyway, we finally got to totally bond in Denver and well, my only regret is that I didn't get this guy's autograph. You will likely see him in Congress / the Senate at some point. Just a friendly FYI.

4) Kiran - another one of Eashwar and Shekar's good friends who currently resides in the ATL. While Kiran isn't exactly from Cincinnati, he IS from Columbus which is nearly as good (OH-IO!!). Yet another character of that whole bromance thing...

5) Rayna!!!! - okay, Rayna totally gets a few exclamations because she is one of my favorite people from high school who currently lives in Denver! It was SUCH a lovely little surprise to be able to spend some quality time with her this weekend - it had been a few YEARS and, well, we had a LOT to catch up on!

6) Dan - Rayna's boyfriend who I met for the first time this weekend! He is a winner... I don't mean to stereotype people from Colorado but to me, well, he just EMBLEMIZED what I would picture a "Denver person" to be like... so CHILL and so FUN!

Sadly, I didn't take a ton of pictures of the weekend. It was kind of a whirlwind trip since we were just there for the weekend but overall, it was just a great time with some great people from only one of the best cities in the U.S. - Cincinnati.

Neha and me - hip attachment in progress...

Cincinnati love! I think Rayna and Shekar (center two) knew each other in high school? I think.

(L to R): Future OH State Senator, Future Katie Couric/Oprah and Future [Insert Firm Name] Partner- the Nati produces some pretty awesome folks, let's be honest here

Rayna and me - read: URSULINE / CINCINNATI LOVE!!

ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN CHICAGO!!!!
Just last weekend, I had a few friends from my days in San Francisco descend upon Chicago to experience what can only be St. Patrick's Day in Chicago. What can I say? Chicago just does St. Patrick's Day RIGHT. Everyone is just so HAPPY and the city is so FESTIVE - it's the one day of the year that I don't really mind a bunch of overtly drunk people traipsing about the city streets.

Unfortunately, I caught a bug on Thursday night so was under the weather for most of the weekend. But I was DETERMINED to see Cara (who flew in from San Francisco) and Sonali (who drove in from Michigan) as MUCH as POSSIBLE.

Friday started off with a late dinner at Mercadito, only one of the best dining spots Chicago has to offer (if I do say so myself). It's trendy, yet DELICIOUS. I just couldn't believe the two-ish hour wait we had to endure on a Friday night of crappy weather! At least Mercadito had some pretty sweet drinks to offer to keep us happy.

Saturday was filled with all things St. Patrick's Day. I met up with Cara, Sonali and Sri downtown and we headed straight to the Chicago River to see it in all its dyed green glory.

We clearly couldn't get enough...

After that super touristy activity, we moved on... to a super touristy bar - Mother Hubbard's! For what else? Some green beer of course. Thank goodness Cara had come prepared with some green straws for us to sip our green beer in super classy form... God bless her.

After Mother Hubbard's, we ended up going to a house party and then out to Wicker Park for a bit. I was seriously struggling by that point (with exhaustion and stuffiness) so I ended up calling it quits at like 9:30 on Saturday. But hey, I tried.

After 12 hours of sleep on Saturday, I ended up waking up to the sun on Sunday... thank GOD! It's been SO LONG since I've seen sunshine and it's amazing what it can do for one's mental state. I ended up meeting up with Cara, Sonali and crew for one last lunch at Pequod's Pizza (YUM!) before saying some heart-wrenching goodbyes (haha - a little dramatic flair never hurt anything, right?)

I swear, I can't believe how quickly these weekends have FLOWN by. But all in all, I have to say - what a delightful month it's been.

Ironically though, I still have yet to consume a Shamrock Shake...

SunCHIne and Summertime: Festivals, Brew Tours and GRAETERS!

Finally. After last week's DISASTROUS weather (I mean, how can you ring in summertime with 57 degrees, gloom doom clouds, and torrential DOWNPOURS? Wtf- I totally KNOW!), I had pretty much given up hope on summertime in Chicago.

I love giving up hope. You can never really be disappointed, if so. Man, talk about glass-half-full kinda thinking at its FINEST. It's a gift, really.

Irony of ironies, as soon as I had completely written off summertime in Chicago this year... well, the weather somehow magically skyrocketed 40 degrees in a 24 hour time period (no joke- it was in the 50s on Sunday, 90s on Monday... again, wtf, I know)... and the sun finally decided to grace us with her magical rays... ALL WEEK LONG!!!!lkjasldkfjlds!

Now, summertime in Chicago is pretty well-known as an unbeatable kinda wonderland. The city really just comes ALIVE... the streets are suddenly flowing with people coming out of hibernation, street festivals are all OVER the place, and everyone just seems that darn happier. Sigh. I love this place. Can you tell at all? ;)

This first summer weekend (that actually FELT like summer) was no exception. From MayFest in Lincoln Square (a German summertime festival? Sigh. Pitter patter goes my heart.) to outdoor drinks at Zella's to a Goose Island brew tour...



...to the Chicago Tribune's LitFest (where I attended a social media lecture... MAN, I can just listen/talk/discuss the wonders and glories of social media FOREVER, really)...


Well... a perfect inaugural summertime weekend it has been.

And yet. All I want to focus this blog entry on is my recent discovery that...

Weeeeee!!!! My neighborhood grocery store now carries... GRAETERS ICE CREAM Lfdflkjsdklj!

Sweet heavens. I wish each and every one of you had been there to see my jaw fall to the ground and my heart do some SERIOUS pitter pattering when I walked by my lovely little neighborhood grocery store earlier.

Pandemonium, at its finest, if you will. Internal pandemonium, that is (I mean, I do have SOME discretion!).

If you are from Cincinnati, you will clearly understand why this news is cause for such jubilee. If you are not from Cincinnati... well, get ready. Because you are totally about to hear ALL about how/why this is cause for such merriment/jubilee/sunshine - you know, all things "sunCHIne and summertime". (Like that? I thought of it all on my own, thank you very much.)

Okay, so Graeters is this ice cream shop that has its roots in the beloved 'Nati. GOD, it is the best thing ever. I'm not the biggest ice cream fan, but that rule is TOTALLY null and void when it comes to Graeters. I mean, it's just so rich and creamy and flavorful and... well, all that is good and right in the world today.

Okay, maybe I'm getting a little carried away.

Nah. I never get carried away. (Haha) It is just that good.

AND it was on SALE?!?!?!

Yeah, okay, I know. $3.99 for a dinky pint of ice cream? A little steep for my frugal little self.

But seriously- you just need to taste it. Then, and only then, will you wholly and completely understand why this thing is worth every single penny. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. GOD, it's taking some serious willpower to not just waltz on over to my freezer right now for a little spoonful (or bowlful.. potayto, potahto, really) at this very moment.

While their signature flavor is Black Raspberry Chip, you really just can't go wrong with anything you get there. And the best part about Graeters is, while they have skyrocketed in popularity (they are TOTALLY known nationwide... I'm beaming in pride, naturally), they still maintain their down-home charm. It's totally one of its more endearing qualities, if you will. Whenever I go home, you better believe this is one of my pit stops... in addition to Skyline... LaRosas... UDF... well, okay, so kill me. It's not my problem that Cincinnati has some darn good food.

Sooo... summertime festivals? Summertime drinks? SunCHIne? I'm all about them- I mean, don't get me wrong. But they simply don't hold a candle to... well, hometown ice cream, apparently. What can I say? I'm a down-home gal at heart.