Red White and Boom

I started the weekend by attending Red, White and Boom, which is a 30 year old tradition in Columbus. Somewhere between 300,000-400,000 people gather in downtown Columbus to watch the fireworks being shot off over the river. There were tons of street food vendors and tons of people. Luckily, the weather was nice and cool and we had a good spot that didn't make me feel like we were packed like sardines.

We decided to get "Bahama Mamas" from Schmitt's which is a German restaurant in Columbus. Bahama Mamas are these huge spicy sausages wrapped in hot dog buns. Delicious!

We also decided to split one of their famous cream puffs. I let Justin eat most of that, and he thoroughly enjoyed it!

Then we settled in and enjoyed time with the friends that were with us until the fireworks started.

We had a pretty good view of the fireworks...I learned that fireworks are difficult to photograph, especially when a lovey dovey couple is standing right in front of you!

Getting home was another story! We decided to park on campus and then ride COTA (public transportation) to the event. We hung around a little while after the fireworks to let the crowd die down, but it still took us a while to get home. Justin and I were a little afraid we were going to get thrown up on because the girl sitting behind us was really drunk. Let's just say that was one bus I was glad to get off of!

I'm back

So...I'm back. Apologies for the hiatus. Here's the deal:

I really really love to read blogs...it's a great way to keep up with friends and I follow a number of blogs that give me great inspiration for cooking, couponing, decorating, shopping and basically life in general. However, I am not so great at blogging myself! It's my goal to work on this...Step 1: Always have my camera with me so that I can document the happenings of my life. Blogs are always better with pictures, right?

So...let's talk about two things:

FREE STUFF!

Thanks to a little website called Hip2Save.com, I have embraced the world of coupons and free samples. This picture is of a few of the items I've received in the mail over the past week. I love getting the sample shampoos, deodorants, contact cleaners, etc. because they are perfect for travel! Probably the most exciting thing I got in the mail over the past week were the free Chipotle coupons. I called J the moment I checked the mail and we quickly nixed our plans to make porkchops and decided to hit up Chipotle. It was delicious and I love the fact that the food is always so fresh and that the company supports sustainability and food with integrity.

Speaking of food...I have recently stumbled upon a great site for recipes:

All the recipes on this site are healthy and DELICIOUS! I have made several of the recipes, including the pasta with asparagus pictured above. So far, I have tackled:

pasta with asparagus

strawberry cheesecake

banana cream pie

I have plans to make this for J on Thursday and I'm planning to take this to a 4th of July celebration on Saturday. Seriously, everything I have made so far has been simple and delicious. A fantastic combination!

That's all for now...I'll be back later in the week!

under construction...

Please excuse the haphazardness of this blog! I am hoping to find time soon to figure out how to make it look pretty!

beach getaway weekend

This weekend I escaped Ohio for the sun and sand of the glorious beaches of 30a!

It was great to see my family for a couple of days and spend some time soaking up the sun, eating some yummy food and reading this book (which was good, but not my favorite of Emily Giffin's books)

My trip was pretty short since I had to come back to Ohio for finals and work..luckily after this week I will be a on a break from classes until the middle of September!

Right now, I am about to head back to the airport to pick up Justin who has been in Colorado visiting a friend this weekend. I can't wait to see him!

Wordless Wednesday: My Happy Place!

Two days until I'm here....life is good!