Valentine's Day and Bonge's

(Pardon the almost two week late post on Valentine's Day. The flu invaded last week and blogging was just about the last thing on my mind...ok, maybe eating was right there, too.)

Jake and I spent a terribly romantic Valentine's Day at White Castle this year. No joke, this is the first year we've been able to get reservations! We noshed on a nacho and cheese appetizer, little burgers, and fries, all by the light of an electric candle. The fake roses and cupid cut-outs set the mood perfectly. :) So fun, though. Definitely a Heart Day we will always remember!

 

One of our winter traditions is dinner at Bonge's Tavern outside of Anderson. We made our annual trip last weekend. They always have the most interesting dishes, and you know it's going to be GOOD. I had goat cheese stuffed chicken and Jake had shark. Yep, SHARK! We always look forward to this dinner. It's such a cozy place with good memories. 

First anniversary: Louisville Restaurants

Well here's the thing...

The bulk of our Louisville trip completely revolved around food. Seriously. There are some wonderful, creative restaurants and coffee shops in Louisville, and we visited quite a few. 

Here's Jake and Kik's list of restaurants to visit in Louisville. Enjoy some instagram pictures from our trip as you read.

Harvest prides itself in only buying produce and meat from a 100-mile radius around Louisville. They even have portraits of their local farmers decorating their walls. We liked the squash hummus.

 Please and Thank You is a coffee shop whose slogan is "Coffee, Treats, Records." They even had records playing as we drank our coffee. This was our kind of place. Can you open one in Morristown, please and thank you? :)

 Oh, Hillbilly Tea. We loved you the most (we went back twice). Hillbilly Tea is a "tea cafe" serving southern comfort food. The decor was full of mason jars, wooden crates, old benches, and pieces of wood used as serving trays. I want to be friends with everyone who works here.

 

Last but not least, The Mayan Cafe serves authentic Mayan-inspired dishes. I had a black bean, egg, mole combo that reminded me of my trip to Guatemala a few year ago. Our favorite (and their specialty) were the lima beans. Weird, I know, but trust me. They are good.

Well now I'm hungry. Ready to head back!

Back 40 Junction

I'm currently on a little road trip with the family, Grandma, and Grandpa. We're headed to Bay City to a WW II museum Grandpa contributed to. On our way, we stopped by the coolest restaurant just outside of Fort Wayne called Back 40 Junction. Grandpa remembered going to Back 40 years ago and my belly is so glad he did. Holy moly, they had a whole buffet of made-from-scratch salads, main dishes, and desserts. Plus, the decor was the coolest!

Columbus Weekend

Jake and I took a little road trip over to Columbus, OH to visit with my very good friend Blair for the weekend. We hit up quite a few vintage-inspired shops and the huge local market in town. She knows me well. :) We had a wonderful time catching up with Blair and seeing the sights of Columbus. Every time I go I like the city a little more. I'd love to take another weekend trip there again soon!

We visited Bodega and Basil on Friday (yum!).

 

We browsed quite a few vintage shops.

We ate our weight in ice cream at Jeni's. Two of my favorite flavors were lavender and salted caramel.

We went to North Market and took in the Fiery Foods Festival (that's Jake tasting the winner of Houston's hottest hot sauce! From his reaction I think the prize was warranted).

...and we did quite a bit of walking on a brisk but nice Saturday afternoon.

 

Weekend well spent!

Dinner Date

January marks Jake and I's fourth anniversary of dating. Each year we go to Bonge's, one of our favorite restaurants outside of Anderson. It's a little pricey, but the food and atmosphere are great. I got a chicken and crab dish and Jake ordered skate wing, better known as sting ray! Yep, sting ray. We haven't had a legit date night in a while, and this one was pretty great.

Bdubs, Bowling, Donuts

This past Saturday, Jake and his band, Letting Love, were booked to play a show in Muncie. Because of the snow, we found out that the show had been canceled just as we got into the Anderson area to pick up his drums. Sounds like a bummer of a day, but it turned out to be pretty great.

Since the show was canceled, all of the guys in Jake's band and their spouses were free and able to hang out. We devised quite the plan at the last minute! We ate dinner at BW3's, then headed to the bowling alley where I proceeded to score a 114 in my second game. Believe me, this is big news in my bowling career. We rounded out the night with a trip to Deluxe Donuts: a 24 hours donut place. I recommend their cherry cake donuts. Yum. I always enjoy spending time with these dudes. It's a great group to be a part of.

Highlight of the evening was finding this gem: A claw tank where you can catch your own lobster and they'll cook it for you...right in the bowling alley. :)

Visiting Sister

I headed to Lafayette this weekend to visit the sister. Kels and her good friend, Kyle, gave me a great tour of just some of the hot spots in the area. I even got a tour of Purdue's campus where Kyle is in Vet school. I absolutely enjoyed my four years at Hanover, but it would be cool to have as many options for things to do as Purdue students have. I highly enjoyed my weekend catching up with Tessie and hope that we can explore more of the area during my next visit!

 We attempted to eat at Triple XXX Family Restaurant, but the line was out the door (next time!). Jimmy John's wasn't a bad second place, though.

This is Kyle's dog, Doc, and I love him.

My day, in pictures

Today, I...

...wrapped presents and watched Christmas movies with the husband.

  

...visited Indy CD and Vinyl on an impromptu trip to Broad Ripple.  

...ate at Ripple Bagel and Deli during said trip to Broad Ripple (you must do this SOON).

..busted out the uke for the first time in months for Christmas songs.

 ...made Christmas cookies using my new, glorious mixer. I am in love.

All of these are reasons why I wish it was Christmas all year round. I even ate dinner with mom, dad, and Miss Tessie to top it all off. Today was festive and awesome.

Speaking of festive and awesome, it's a very special two-post day on Misters and Misses! Make sure to check out husband's Christmas Music Post below.

My weekend, in photos

Late lunch at Lil Charlies, a very Christmas outfit, best breakfast ever, huge IU win, wedding thank yous

Small Business Saturday

Did you know that today was Small Business Saturday? It's a day dedicated to supporting small businesses in the midst of the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Jake and I participated by eating lunch at Little Italy in Greenfield (read the "About Cesario" section of their website and be inspired) and buying some holiday candles at Root Beginnings next door. We also tried to buy a ladder at our local hardware store, but they were closed. I felt a little bad at Home Depot but it's the thought that counts, right?

If you didn't participate today, support a local business this week, please. :)

Panera Dates

I had two Panera Bread outings this week.

One with this wonderful Grandpa of mine:

He went on some wedding errands with me on Wednesday and had his first Panera experience. He said it was "pretty good," which is like saying it's the best place in the world, in Grandpa talk. We had lots of fun.

My other date was with this other wonderful guy:

We met with our photographer, Jenn, to finalize our wedding schedule. Thanks to her, we now also know of the hipster coolness that is the north side of Cincy. Can't wait to visit. We are SO excited to work with her!