Dogs bring smiles...

Sometimes when you have a rough day...certain things take all the trouble away.  

It's been a long week (and it's only Wednesday!), but one thing that makes me laugh is the playfulness of our dog, Ella.

Here are some pictures - maybe they'll make you smile too!

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park

We've been having some wonderful fall weather lately. JJ and I both had a Friday off from work recently so we headed towards Hamilton, OH to check out the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum. This outdoor museum is full of art pieces, flower gardens, lakes and walking trails. The spaces consists of 265 acres of woods and gathering areas for people to enjoy.

(This Sculpture by George Sugarman is titled "Cincinnati Story")

(This adorable chocolate lab was our buddy during our visit to the park!)

According to the park's brochure, the land was donated in 1995 by Harry T. Wilks, a Hamilton area businessman. Pyramid Hill Park opened to the public in 1997 and since it's opening they have hosted several community events, such as an Annual Art Fair and a Holiday Light display.

(LW & JJ enjoying our day at the park.)

(This sculpture by Alexander Liberman is titled "Abracadabra")

One cool part about this park is that you can rent an "art cart" for a $15 donation. You can see this decorated golf cart in the picture above next to the sculpture. It's a fun way to explore the park and who doesn't love driving a golf cart!

(This sculpture by Clement Meadmore is titled "Extent")

We had a great time touring this park and I'd recommend it as a day trip if you're in the southwest Ohio area.

Great Fall Picture...

From our trip to the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park in Hamilton, OH.
More details to follow in an upcoming post - Stay Tuned!

Boston Butz, would you eat there?

On Friday, after a great fall afternoon at the park, JJ and I stopped at a restaurant called Boston Butz, a place specializing in Southern Pitt BBQ & homemade pizzas.  I admit that we weren't really looking for a BBQ place, but come on, the name alone makes you wanna learn more, right?  Well, we had to check it out and we were pleasantly surprised to find a hometown place with good food and friendly service!

Boston Butz's is located in Ross, OH - which is very close to the Hamilton and Oxford areas of Southwest Ohio.  Here's a picture of the outside of the restaurant:

After perusing the menu, we started off with an appetizer called Boston Fries.  I'm a potato gal, so with out even knowing what came on the fries, I was game to give them a try.  Now, when these bad boys came out, I was really happy - crispy fries, with provolone and mozzarella cheese melted on top and crunchy bacon bits too!  Take a look - Yummy...

We ordered a small, but both commented on how we could have eaten a large!  Anyways, on to the BBQ sandwiches. The menu offers everything from pulled pork, chicken, & beef, ribs, pork chops, and pizza's.  

I went with the traditional Pulled Pork Sandwich (with the Mild Sauce) and a side of cole slaw. JJ ordered a sandwiched called "The Porker" (with Classic Sauce), which made us both laugh.  "The Porker" is tender pulled pork on a bun with their signature hot slaw.  Both sandwiches were very good.  I thought the Classic sauce was better than the Mild sauce.  

Overall, we enjoyed a great afternoon relaxing on the patio of this fun restaurant.  I make no claims to be an expert in BBQ, but Boston Butz is a cool locally owned & operated business that had good food & good service.  Check it out sometime if you're ever in Ross, OH.

PS - Get the Boston Fries, you won't be disappointed!!

My favorite time of year...

Fall.
Reasons I love fall:

* trees. leaves changing colors into shades of burnt orange, rusty red & yellows...

(perfect time for a weekend drive to check out nature's beauty.)

* sweaters. all kinds of comfy tops to wear - fleece jackets, over sized crew necks...

* football. college games or NFL - either work for me. I'm enjoying our season tickets to the UC football games this year - nothing like sitting out under the stadium lights, cheering on the "home team"...

(despite the Bengals record, I still enjoy those games too!)

* pumpkin and mums. - love heading out to a local pumpkin patch to pick the perfect pumpkin, tasting yummy hot cider, & grabbing a bag of apples for baking a homemade dessert.

(already have the mums on the front porch - went with yellow mum this season!)

* fire pits. - just enjoyed a nice fall evening this past weekend with friends gathered around the fire. we had some really good S'mores too - next time you make these, try using Reece's Peanut butter Cups, instead of Hersey's milk chocolate to go between the graham crackers & roasted marshmallows!

Dream come true...

Last night Momma Warrick and I (and a few hundred "friends") enjoyed listening to the great songs of the legendary Carole King! What a fun evening - we enjoyed dinner & drinks before the show, which was at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton.
(Photo credit=Dayton Daily News)

Talk about a dream come true. Mom and I have always said we would do anything to see her perform live in concert. So when Mom's company, Kettering Medical Center, announced that Carole King would be performing at the annual Heart to Heart Gala, well we just had to attend!

Now, more on Carole. I say Carole like she is a close, personal friend of mine. It simply goes to show how connected fans feel to her through her music. I was not the only one referring to her on a first name basis last night. Her latest tour, called The Living Room Tour, reflects how much she understand the closeness people feel when her music is played.

Carole King looked absolutely fabulous - dressed in a simple elegant black V-neck dress, with strapy, sparkly shoes. Curly shoulder length signature hair, though more grey than blonde in color now. Those curls bounced every time she hit those piano keys, you could tell how much she truly loved the music she was playing.

She looked so natural behind that baby grand piano, playing all her hits. She opened with the song "Beautiful" and treated us to so many other treasured songs. "So Far Away", "You've Got A Friend", "Where You Lead", and many others. Carole also surprised some of us by stepping out in front of the piano, picking up a guitar and strumming away on the great song, "Smackwater Jack".

Several times throughout the night, I closed my eyes, listened to her singing some of my favorite songs, and really tried to absorb the moment. What a treat - Carole King live in concert - Thanks for the ticket Mom!!!

Here is a professional review of the concert from the Dayton Daily News.

I See the Light!

We were lucky enough to have our power restored on Wednesday evening. Lots of people in the Tri-State are still without power and it really might be into the weekend before it's restored in some communities.

This power outage has got me thinking about things that need electricity to work that I've taken for granted, here is a short list in no particular order:

* the toaster - nothing like a hot piece of toast with butter & jelly.
* the fridge/freezer - for obvious reasons.
* a hair dryer - especially when you have natural wavy/frizzy hair.
* the alarm clock - i enjoy waking to the radio tunes, not the annoying beeping of my cell phone.
* the lights in the bathroom - no comment needed.

THANK YOU to the hard working Duke Energy crews who have restored the power in my neighborhood. I now live with a better appreciation of electricity and the power it has in our lives!

If you're reading and still without power - I truly hope you get it soon.
Call if you need anything!