foodie

weekend wrap up

May 14, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

It’s been a busy, busy, few days, y’all!

Saturday morning Ari + I drove 2.5 hours to Columbus, bright & early, to visit with my sister and my parents. When we arrived we ate a little breakfast and headed to the German Village to pick up some yummy macarons and lemon tarts from Pistacia Vera.

The macarons were amazing! Beautiful and delicious!

After hitting up a couple of other places, including Columbus Brewing Company [hello — if I’m in Columbus I’m going to try and locate some Bodhi!], we went wedding dress shopping.

My sister and her fiance are getting hitched October 4th 2014 [the eve of my 30th birthday!]. And even though it seems a little soon to be wedding dress shopping, she is beyond relieved to have chosen THE dress and to be done with it! One less thing to worry about!

Ari did so well running all kinds of errands with us. He even stayed awake through most of dinner. But on the way home, my napless baby went crazy. Well, until he fell asleep. Luckily he slept most of our drive home.

On Sunday we planned to celebrate my first Mother’s Day by having a low-key day and then go out for a late lunch.

Buuuut that didn’t happen. I had an errand to run Sunday morning, and afterward I went for a 3-mile run. Followed by a super cranky Babycakes. I can’t blame him. Our Saturday was full of travel and it threw his schedule way off; but he was pretty much a nightmare all day Sunday.

Oy. My nightmare.

Thankfully, going to the sitters on Monday seems to regulate his schedule and put us all back on track. Who would’ve thought that we’d be looking forward to Mondays??

But Monday was pretty much just as crazy for us. We celebrated Chad’s birthday as a teeny family after work. We ate dinner, opened presents and ate lemon tart [instead of cake!].

Hopefully by the end of today we’ll all be back into our regular routine!

date day, weekend edition!

April 8, 2013 by Rachel 1 Comment

Thank goodness for family.

Because of my moms willingness to hang out with Ari, Chad and I had a chance to go on a little rendez-vous Saturday!

We planned on getting a [semi] early start and heading up to the West Side Market. But, we got on the road later than expected, and when we finally got to Ohio City, the West Side Market was packed. Like, beyond packed.

So we decided to skip the market — which in itself took a good 20 minutes; thanks traffic! — and head straight to our lunch spot. Chad has been eyeing up Bac Asian American Bistro & Bar. I’ve heard great things, but it certainly wasn’t my first choice [I’ve been dying to try out Barrio in Tremont. And Hodges is always my go-to!].

I mean, I knew it would be good, but I guess I just didn’t realize how good it would be! I ordered the Barbacoa Banh Mi sandwich special with panko crusted sweet potato fries; and Chad ordered the coconut crepe and papaya salad. Everything was so yummy!

Then we hit up Lucky’s Cafe, Lilly Handmade Chocolates & Sweet Designs. While we were in Lakewood we were able to swing by and visit with a friend for a bit.

And before we knew it, it was time to head back to Akron to see our baby.

Truth be told, we are still in that “talk a lot about Ari while we’re out on dates” phase. Our lives are so all-consumed by that little guy, it’s hard to avoid talking about “Ari this,” and “Ari that.” We’ll get there. In the meantime, I’m just happy that we have family who’s willing to spend alone time with Babycakes so that we can get out!

Best yet? Today we both have the day off. We were going to head up to opening day for the Indians, but instead we’re going to see Jurassic Park in 3D [I know you’re jealous] and get some lunch. 🙂

Happy Monday, folks!

march date day // wrap up

March 15, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

Our date day Thursday almost didn’t happen. I’ve been battling a sinus infection since Monday night, and Ari started to come down with some form of it by Wednesday. But after a successful trip to the pediatrician to determine that he just had a cold, we dropped Ari off at the sitter + started our date day extravaganza!

First up, breakfast. Our favorite breakfast spot, The Blue Door Cafe & Bakery, is always jam-packed on the weekend [and it’s seriously no surprise because they are just that good!]. But Thursday just so happens to be their slowest day. Lucky for us!

Chad ordered the Yogurt/Lemon/Poppyseed Quinoa Pancakes:

And even though it was only 9am, I ordered a Grilled Cheese with Nueske Bacon on Brioche with Tomato Soup. AMAZEballs.

We followed breakfast up with a nap. Ahhh, sleep! We miss sleep these days. After an hour and a half nap, we seriously considered spending the rest of our date day napping.

But, alas, we decided to continue on with our grand plans!

We drove to Lakewood to pay a visit to my favorite chocolatier, Sweet Designs! And guys!! I found sponge candy! I thought I was dreaming. So happy to find a local retailer to provide me with my sponge candy fix!! We left with an assortment of sponge candy, truffles, and bars of the cocoa crush nibs signature chocolates.

After walking out of there spending a lot less than I anticipated, we found our way to our next destination — lunch at Noodlecat! Noodlecat is a Japanese-American restaurant specializing in gourmet ramen, udon and soba noodles. They also have a tasty array of steam buns. Pretty much the most delicious food ever. We had tried Noodlecat’s stand at the West Side Market, but had yet to try out their Euclid Avenue location.

I ordered the “Roscoes” Fried Chicken & Ramen:

And I ordered a Japanese Fried Chicken Steam Bun:

I couldn’t tell you what Chad even ordered because I was too excited about my food!

We followed up our lunch with a quick stop by CLE Clothing Co, where I seriously lusted for these stemless wine glasses! They also sell this design as beer glasses, but both can only be purchased in store (unless you buy directly from the Hello Fizz etsy shop 😉 )

Guys, all of this fun made me feel like an adult again — not just a mom! Lately I’ve been so in mama overdrive that I feel like I’ve been losing the pre-baby part of myself — that part that is just an adult. And a wife! So great to reconnect!

Even after all of the excitement of our date day extravaganza, we were excited to pick up Babycakes [early!] from the sitter and get in a few extra minutes of snuggle time before he went to sleep.

Perfect, perfect, Thursday. 🙂