Downton Abbey Exhibit & A Wedding Reception

We traveled back to New York again in December for a wedding reception of Chris' long time friends - Erin and Sean. We flew into NYC and spent a little time with Chris' family before heading up to Albany. It was perfect timing to be back in NYC because the Downton Abbey Exhibit was still open there. It was really impressive. They had lots of set pieces and costumes, but also several bits of background information on the filming and the historical elements. I spent a solid two hours soaking it all up.

The wedding reception itself was held at an Albany bar called The Hollow. We enjoying catching up with folks and mingling with the bride and groom for a bit. It was a fun way to celebrate with the lovely couple before returning to Ohio.

Have you ever been to a December wedding? 

Andrea :)

Viva Las Vegas!!

Despite the limited vacation time due to our move and me starting a new job the month prior, we still found a way to sneak away for a long weekend to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. Since Chris had never been to Vegas (and I had no interest in returning unless he came along), we went all in. Ha! Neither of us are much on traditional gambling, but they say there is something for everyone...

The timing of our trip ended up being just a few days after the mass shooting from the Mandalay Bay so that had us a little on edge, but it ended up being quite a unique trip altogether. We stayed at the Tropicana and our first order of business after getting checked in was to find some lunch. We stumbled upon a spot called Bruxie - known for chicken and waffles. We were sold.

Our first night, we went to see magician Mat Franco from America's Got Talent. He was just as incredible as he had been on the show. I loved every second of the show. I've always been fascinated with the smooth nature of magicians and enjoyed the humor Franco brought to the stage as well.

We stopped by to watch the Bellagio fountains do their thing after the show. I enjoyed it, but I think Chris would have been fine moving on. He's a good sport though!

The next morning, we kicked off the day with treats from The Dapper Doughnut before making our way over to the Westgate. Betting on sports is much more up our alley than any of the other array of gambling so we had fun placing a few wagers and then enjoying the games. We won a couple bets, but mainly it was fun to watch all the massive screens with every game going at once.

We spent some time in the afternoon investigating and solving a crime in the CSI: The Experience tourist trap. It was a fun way to pass some time out of the hot afternoon sun, but not something we would do again. I think we envisioned it being more like an Escape Room type set up. In reality, it was probably meant for teens or families with middle school age kids. We made the best of it though.

Our main event - One, the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil show - took place at Mandalay Bay. It was eerie walking over there from Tropicana. There was a huge memorial of flowers on one of the concrete islands in the street and the Route 91 concert signage was still in place, but police tape cordoned off much of that specific area. It was all incredibly sad.

One was a fantastic show. Chris was singing along to nearly every song. It was very high energy and quite enjoyable. The acrobatics in the cirque du soleil shows are phenomenal.

The next day we just walked around the strip and enjoyed each other's company. I managed to talk Chris into riding The Big Apple roller coaster that sits atop the New York New York Hotel & Casino. It was a rough ride, but we did it. When my family visited Vegas many years ago, my brothers rode the coaster while I stayed inside testing my luck at slot machines so I was glad to finally see what I had missed out on all those years ago. Turns out, not too much!

We were both ready to relax for a bit after all that adrenaline. As we walked by the CBS Television City store, an employee asked if we watched much TV. We answered a few questions and before you know it, we were part of a paid focus group. Men and women were separated, but we watched an episode of a new show and answered some questions before we went into rooms to provide vocal feedback. It was a really interesting experience. In the end, I don't think the TV show lasted long on the market. I wasn't surprised based on the feedback in the women's room.

We took our profit from the focus group and decided to have a little fun back at the Tropicana. Chris opted for slots while I tried my hand at roulette. Fortunately, I had a couple of nice folks at the table with me because there is A LOT more to it than picking a number. They definitely helped make it less embarrassing for me...even though I managed to double my money. Chris won a chunk as well so we decided to call it quits and grabbed some dinner before our flight back to Columbus.

We had a great time celebrating our anniversary in Vegas! Not sure it is a place we would be quick to return to for a week long vacation, but we were easily entertained for a couple of days!

Andrea :)

Fall Wedding Fun

Our first trip back to New York after our official move at the end of August proved to be a fun long weekend in Albany for Matt and Alyssa's wedding. We had been looking forward to this big event for some time...and it did not disappoint!

We drove from Columbus and enjoyed seeing so many great friends from Chris' days in Albany. The church was gorgeous and the weather was perfect on the wedding day.

I love all the little details at a wedding. The centerpieces were lovely and the photo booth was actually in a cute little camper style trailer set up in the back of the reception venue. So fun! The donut bar was awesome, too. Nothing beats cider donuts in the fall!

We had a blast! It was great to catch up with some of the Albany crew, and Chris loves nothing more than to bust a move on the dance floor. Definitely a fun first trip back for us.

Andrea :)

Murder Mystery Weekend in Vermont

Along with taking improv classes, going away for a murder mystery weekend where you dress up and play characters was high on my list of things to do before we left New York. I had seen these weekends advertised many times, but we finally made in work toward the end of April.

When I called to book the trip, I was asked a series of questions about how involved we wanted to be in the weekend and how comfortable we would be with singing/dancing. We were prepared to go all in and we got some great roles. They emailed those to Chris and me separately so we had no idea what the other one's role would be for the night.

The time period was the 20's and our entire group was really fun. There were a few other couples and even one whole family participated. On the night we arrived, we all met to go over some preliminary notes and socialize a bit. We all stayed at the Big Bear's Lodge in West Dover, Vermont.

We were able to relax and then check out the nearby towns on Saturday before we came back to the Lodge to get into character and report to the dining area around dinner time. Ironically, our group had an actual black bear nearly join us. I wasn't quick enough to capture it, but the room has floor to ceiling glass on one side and we looked up at one point and there was a bear. Eek! So wild...literally!

I won't say much about the actual mystery and our characters and how they interacted specifically, but we had THE best time!! I did have a musical number to perform at the end of dinner. It was a hit...and SO much fun. However, Chris was the star of the night...easily! He even managed to win the acting award at the breakfast vote by all the participants the next morning.

We would highly recommend a murder mystery weekend getaway. We enjoyed every moment of the entire weekend. If you decide to give it a shot, my advice is to go big...you'll have a blast!

Andrea :)

Weekend Getaway in New Hope, PA

After spending roughly six weeks apart while I was in Kentucky helping my parents as my dad recovered and began rehab, Chris and I were due for a fun weekend away. He did all the planning and surprised me with a bed and breakfast getaway in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

We stayed at the Pineapple Hill Inn and had a full couple of days checking out the area. On our first night, we made a stop at Crooked Eye Brewery for some cider and a flight before dinner at Louie's Old Mill. We enjoyed both places, but certainly felt the small town vibe of the area.

 

The next day, we tracked down a cupcake shop and eventually made our way to the highlight of the trip - a Girl Scout cookie wine pairing at Sand Castle Winery. It was so fun...and we each got to take home a box of cookies. I picked Samoas and Chris went with Thin Mints.

We ventured out into nature for a walk and some fresh air before dinner. We tried Bowman's this time and enjoyed it as well. However, my favorite dish came at breakfast the next morning. The blueberry crumble was SO good. I will definitely try to replicate it soon.

Our final adventure was a ride on the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad. It was a bit windy for an open air train ride, but we had fun learning more about the area and its history. We walked around the town checking out the shops and stretching out our legs before the car ride back to LIC.

Have you ever visited a bed and breakfast? Would you return?

Andrea :)

Mickey's Christmas Party!

I got an early start on celebrating Christmas this year when I joined my brother's family for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney World. They had year long park passes this year so I had the best tour guides possible for my one day adventure!

We spent the morning checking out all the fun stuff at the resort and swimming at the pool. Since we weren't able to enter the park until 4pm, we also had time to grab a delicious lunch at Cracker Barrel. The kids were even able to mail off their wish lists to Santa while we waited for our food.

We arrived at the park about 10 minutes before entry time. We went non-stop from that point on. Our group took the divide and conquer approach so Jordan and I pushed the kids in strollers from ride to ride while Jen waited in line for the top characters of the night. We started the day on the Jungle Jingle Cruise - definitely a fun way to get things started.

After that, it was off to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Big Thunder Mountain roller coasters and Splash Mountain. I took turns riding with the kids using fast passes or companion passes while Jordan entertained the waiting kid. A couple of times - Dumbo and Alice's Tea Cups - I had both kids by myself while Jordan ran drinks and treats back to Jennifer. At various locations throughout the park, cookies and drinks (or in one case a snow cone) were served for guests at the party. We slowed down enough to grab those from each location. The snowman sugar cookies were the best alongside the hot cocoa.

We met a slew of character beginning with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from Zootopia.  The party marked their first appearance for my niece and nephew so that was pretty neat. We also met Jack Skellington. He was quite interactive which was cool to see. We also came across Goofy in between rides on the Barnstormer. He was a lot of fun for our group.

I was able to watch the Frozen characters light the castle turning it into a brilliant background for photos. And we saw bits and pieces of the parade - talk about a packed crowd! The kids fell asleep during the fireworks show, but it was spectacular.

We found more characters - Minnie and Daisy, the Seven Dwarfs, and even some Prince and Princess pairs. We rode more rides - It's a Small World, Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Flying Carpets, and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

After riding pretty much every ride in the park, eating our way through a variety of cookies, and meeting super fun characters, it was time to say goodbye. We took lots of fun photos on our walk down Main Street to the exit. It sure was a day packed full of fun and adventure for all. Big thanks to my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew for showing me the ropes - I absolutely loved spending the day with you all at the most magical place on Earth!

Andrea :)

Hail to Pitt!!

Our annual trip to Pittsburgh was a snowy one this year, but we love getting the chance to spend time with some of our most treasured friends each fall. And, if it includes a Pitt victory that is even better!

The main event of the weekend was the Pitt-Duke football game. Say it with me everyone, "Boo Duke!" :)  We had fun at the game despite the freezing weather and snow shower to end the game. Thank goodness for hot chocolate!

It was even more special this year because the husband of one of my college roomies is a Pitt special team assistant coach and we got a chance to visit with both of them after the game. It was nice and cozy in the friends and family waiting area, too!

Nothing beats a weekend with friends, especially when it doubles as a chance to play with one of our favorite little guys! Chris' godson is growing up SO fast. We brought him a couple of books and enjoyed the time we were able to spend hanging out with him.

Do you have any annual traditions with your friends?

Andrea :)

Austin Sweets!

It's no secret around these parts that I have a sweet tooth. Austin proved the perfect place to indulge in some tasty treats! There was an unbelievable array of option from ice cream to cupcakes to donuts. We visited as many as we could manage over the course of the week.

Amy's Ice Cream

Ice cream was high on my list of sweet treats to try because it was hot while we were in Austin. Amy's was similar to Cold Stone Creamery in that you were able to add various mix-ins. The selection was unique, but we stuck with basic vanilla and strawberry (with banana topping). Definitely recommend stopping here for a scoop or cone. And there is also an airport location!

Gourdough's

Hands down this was the best eating experience of the trip. We had Gourdough's on our list, but weren't anticipating that we would have time to make it there. As luck would have it, we passed by its food truck location on our way to lunch one day. It was simply meant to be. Please, please, please put this on your list of MUST visit places. The doughnut creations were heavenly!! I had Miss Shortcake (cream cheese icing with fresh cut strawberries). Chris had Funky Monkey (grilled bananas and cream cheese icing with brown sugar). Don't miss this deliciousness!!

Sugar Mama's

Cupcakes are my jam. Sugar Mama's met all my expectations. The options were ample, but not overwhelming and everything we tried tasty fabulous. We tried Champion Carrot Cake, Southern Belle (red velvet), Jack's Lemon, and Strawberry Shortkick. They kept well in our hotel for a couple of days as we worked our way through them bite by bite. Certainly worth a visit!

Voo Doo Doughnuts

We wandered upon Voo Doo Doughnuts' Sixth Street location after our Esther's Follies show. The wait was insanely long, but there was an interesting live band that helped us pass the time. We tried four different types - The Arnold Palmer (plain cake doughnut with vanilla frosting and lemonade/iced tea dust), The Neopolitan (chocolate cake doughnut with vanilla frosting, strawberry dust, and three marshmallows), a regular glazed raised yeast doughnut, and The Grape Ape (raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting and grape dust and lavender sprinkles). None of them blew me away. I'd actually suggest skipping this place unless you just really want to try some crazy doughnut combinations.

Cheesecake Bites

On our search for food trucks, we found Peace, Love, & Cheesecake Bites. We both tried one of the tasty little bites. Mine was caramel apple - delicious! We pretty quickly headed off to find some trucks with more of a lunch menu, but this neat truck was worth a mention.

Hey Cupcake!

Hey Cupcake! was another random food truck find. Honestly, I wasn't super impressed with the limited menu, but I had heard of the company so I wanted to give them a shot. I got a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese icing. It was pretty good, but I definitely preferred Sugar Mama's.

What is your favorite dessert option?

Andrea :)