René of the Day // 9.8.11 // Quack

On New Year's Day, MR went duck hunting for the third time in his life. Cliché as it may be, third time was a charm. The first two trips, he and Elrod and Vale came home without any game. But on the first day of this year, they were successful.

I love duck and I tend to think of it as a "special" food. It's not going to end up in a gunky casserole or flash fried on a fast food menu. It must be prepared and cooked carefully. We had decided to stay in for New Years Eve at MR's new apartment in Cookeville, TN (superbly classy) and just enjoy the evening without waiting in line for drinks with drunks or paying an astronomical amount for a glass of cheap champagne and a sparkly blower thingy. woo-hoo. So I went to Findlay Market and bought duck breasts and towed them to Tennessee in a cooler... along with a fabulous yellow bottle of Veuve Cliquot. We made a maple orange glazed duck breast with homemade beer bread and mashed sweet potatoes - it was a wonderful meal to ring in the new year. Then we finished our champagne through a Wii tournament - which I won and am patiently awaiting my prize - dinner at The Celestial in Cincinnati.

But I digress - I spent a nice amount of money on duck and the boy turns around and kills them for free the following morning! Perhaps the meal fueled his victory. I find it ironic. But we had driven to our friends the Elrod's house and spent the night and the boys got up at the ass crack of dawn to go hunting. A few hours later, the sun was up and I could hear the boys in the backyard. I'd stayed in bed, careful not to wake Missy, who was 11-months pregnant. I looked out the window and saw feathers flying by the stone wall in the backyard so I got dressed and ran downstairs to congratulate them on their manliness. Elrod showed them how to cut and clean the breasts and they packaged them up for freezing. I've been telling MR for months that we need to cook them before they get funky in the freezer - I wasn't going to eat any foul fowl... so this past weekend, we decided to pull them out and enjoy them before the next New Year rolls around.

Originally we planned to make the classic duck recipe, a la orange. But after a full work week and a 4 hour drive, I didn't feel like spending 3 hours making a meal. We love to sit on the deck with drinks in the evenings and I hoped to spend most of my evening doing just that. We used a Bobby Flay Food Network recipe for Asian-spiced duck breasts with ginger-chile glaze. MR was a great sous chef and took care of the grilling and made the chili-garlic noodles as I mixed the spice rub and concocted the spicy glaze - ooh, was it spicy! It paired well with cold Yuenglings. I was thrilled with how much he enjoyed it and honestly, it was the best cut of duck I've ever tasted. It was natural from the woods of Tennessee so it wasn't oily or greasy... lean, not tough. We make quite the team - he kills, I cook. We'll see if the boys' next hunt is as successful! (I've never cooked a turkey before.)

I snuck a photo of the boys cleaning the duck from the bedroom window.

René of the Day // 9.7.11 // Ooh, Farmer's Market!

Of course I love the local Hyde Park Square farmers market, which has expanded this summer, and it's always a great adventure to explore the markets in other cities - Union Square in NYC is one of my favs. But this post is about one of my favorite scents. It's a common 21 questions or getting-to-know-you inquiry and in recent years, this has been my answer: Farmers Market candle by Yankee. They like to describe it as "Autumn's freshest bounty... sweet berries, juicy apples, succulent peaches and warm spices." MMM...

The scent isn't overwhelming and it doesn't smell too much like chemical jarred foods like many candles do. It's fresh, clean and bright. It's a seasonless scent and had become my signature for the apartment. So even after the vendors have packed up for the summer, I still enjoy the aroma.

René of the Day // 9.6.11 // Otto Armleder Park

One of our favorite places in Cincinnati is Otto Armleder Park. When Fin finished all of his puppy shots we used to go to the dog park there - it was fun but I didn't love it. You have to deal with yappy dogs, humpers, biters, toy-snatchers and weirdos who have one-on-one conversations with their pooches - not my cup of tea - or yard of shit. Just sayin'. But there is a beautiful 2-mile nature trail at the park. If it's a quiet time of day, I can let him off his leash and he roams on his own unless I call him - and he stops and cocks his head or runs right back to me - good boy! It's very therapeutic and quiet and a great workout. He's a really good runner but a lot of times I bring my iPhone and listen to This American Life podcasts. It's our little happy place... one path takes you to a little overlook and bench by the river. I'd love to rollerblade there - the pavement is smooth but I'll have to investigate... a friend recently told me she has taken it up and it may make you laugh since it was such the awesome thing to do when we were younger, but it's fun and great for your buns! It would be the perfect place to train for a 5k (yes, I need to get back to that).

There are pretty little bird sanctuary areas and it's amazing how the plants and wildflowers change every few months... from high grasses to beautiful wildflowers, it's always different. Earlier this year the entire park - dog park, soccer fields, playgrounds, everything - was flooded for weeks. See photo below taken from the overlook at Ault Park - one of our other favorite places.

But the Otto trail is my favorite place to clear my mind, get away and really enjoy Findlay's company and I love how he sacks out so hard for the next few hours when we return home. Truly a cleansing opportunity for us both.

Mr. Fin on the trail

View of Otto Armleder from Ault Park after the flood

René of the Day // 9.3-5.11 // Lazy Labor Day

Going into Labor Day weekend, I rarely ever make plans. Riverfest and the WEBN fireworks are such a cluster and my groups of friends are all over the place - so many people go out of town and some of us are dating, married or single and none of us really have great places to throw big parties, so things are usually up in the air. Generally, making plans on the fly makes me a nervous wreck. I worry I'll sit at home alone and bored - this never happens, so why I fret I do not know. It's my nature, I suppose. But the weekend turned out to be one of the best I've had during that holiday...

Saturday after brunch with Lindsey, I enjoyed a long nap and although MR was stuck in Tennessee working all weekend, his friends are wonderful and pulled me along with them to a BBQ. Our friends Eric and Katie had two 50" TVs set up in their living room with the TN game and LSU game and made homemade gumbo, which was delicious! We had around 15 people hanging out, playing corn hole and Beersbee in the backyard and watching the games, grilling out, enjoying drinks and then playing board games until 3am. Then Sanker, Dave and I walked to Dave's parents house to crash - they've been biking across the US this summer so the house was empty but sleeping without AC was a bit brutal. And per usual, they just rolled the party into the next day.

I had plans for brunch at nada with Lori. I'd been dying to go there for brunch and I was so pleased - the huevous rancheros was creamy, spicy, crunchy and lovely. We had bloody Marias (tequlia!) and caught up - and she asked me to be in her wedding in April! :) After that I took another nice long nap... Then Dave picked me up and we made it across the bridge the Newport to our friend Steph's amazing place. Ironically, she lives just a few houses down from our friend Danh who used to host Labor Day every year, but he's recently moved to Chicago. But he still has the house so I was able to walk down and see him like old times!

We had a phenomenal view from Steph's rooftop and played flip cup and darted inside when the rain started... we met some very entertaining and interested Kentucky characters and enjoyed showing our friend Caroline and her sister visiting from Connecticut a great time. Side note, but Caroline went to UVA and moved here in February and it's been a blast including her on a lot of great times over the past few months like Opening Day and canoeing. This year, the fireworks were a bit of a bust - literally. The music wasn't rock and roll, there were long pauses between bursts and the weather was crummy so they weren't as bright and beautiful. But the food and company were fantastic!

The next day, we woke up and decided brunch was in order... But it was a Monday and Labor Day so a lot of restaurants were closed and none of them were serving brunch. So we defaulted to B-Dubs. OMG - their new Thai curry wing sauce on boneless is so yummy (and I rarely use that phrase)! It was a chilly day so we spent the afternoon around a fire pit in the boy's backyard in sweats and made s'mores and just chilled our beans - it was so relaxing and random - I loved it. I need more days like this in my life.

Our lazy Labor Day bonfire

Soggy fireworks!

Our view

See us up on the rooftop? :)

Eric & Katie's delicious gumbo

René of the Day // 9.2.11 // Kings Island with KP!

It smelled the same. But it didn't look the same... I hadn't been to Kings Island in 5 years. My friend Pinzi from Scotland and I went 5 years ago when we returned from our summer in the woods of Connecticut. The evening we arrived in Cincinnati after a 12 hour drive and 3 months in open platform tents, I learned my grandmother passed away the night before and we spent the evening drinking champagne. And the next day I vommed on a kid on the Vortex.

Following my vow to make the most of summer hours and taking advantage of the big half day commencing Labor Day weekend, I received free tickets from a friend at work and was thrilled that Kristin was off work at 1:00 and has a Gold pass - w00t for free parking! We tried on silver shoes to match my bridesmaids dress for her upcoming wedding, shared exciting new news and downed a few Captain + Cokes before hitting the amusement park.

We had a hell of a time! It's amazing how many of my childhood and teenage memories are wrapped up in that place. So many recollections of when my parents were still married (until I was 6 years old) and riding & getting soaked on the log flume, the Smurf ride and scarfing blue ice cream. It took years for me to grow tall enough to ride the "big kid" rides and a few more years to muster up the courage to actually get strapped in and go for it. And spending the time summer in lines, sweating through spaghetti-strap tank tops with Bubba and Danni in junior high. I think we all had a running pad of paper with boys numbers and dead end puppy romances from those days - ha. "Hey girl, what's your screen name?"

Without Paramount, I do think it's lost a lost of the luster. Although I love the Peanuts & Snoopy, nothing will ever top Hanna Barbara land. I'm gutted that the old fashioned cars and the taller log flume are gone... Those were the days! So anyhow, the rides now have lame names and all of the pomp and circumstance that decorated the rides and faded into chipped paint and sagging set ups. For example, Top Gun, my old favorite, is now called "Flight Deck." womp womp. I loved that we didn't stand in any lines longer than 10 minutes but it almost seemed like the place doesn't attract the crowd that it used to. But we rode almost everything I'd had my heart set on - starting with Amazon Falls to get a little wet because it was a scorcher, Top Gun, Adventure Express, skipped a few that didn't really appeal to me (Drop Zone; The Racer and the Beast because they knock the hell out of you); the ride that used to be Tomb Raider isn't half as cool as it used to be without the movie parphenilia - it almost seems like they don't have the funding to keep things up like they did under Paramount ownership. I hated that Rivertown has been replaced with a garb shop for Diamondback - which was an amazing new coaster that luckily doesn't have hills (I didn't vom this year but I did need a break after the Vortex) but it's so neat how it dips down into water in the last dip. And of course we ended the day with blue ice cream - it's tradition! 

I definitely feel like I made the most of summer hours and I'm so happy I got to go to Kings Island because it was on my list all along and I wasn't sure I would be able to go - and for free at that! But to be honest, I think the next time I'll go I'll be pushing a stroller :) 

René of the Day // 9.1.11 // Happy Birthday, L~ers!

Happy birthday to one of my best friends, Lindsey! Many of my best college memories are with this gal. {Wake up, wake up, wake up, it's the first of the month!}
We celebrated her birthday over a few Dude vodka cocktails at Becca's house then went to nada and enjoyed my fav mango chile margarita - tangy, sweet and spicy - perfect! From there we walked to Mainstay, met batman in front of The Palace and drank big ass beers upstairs to the "Betty Bar." After that I split off with Julie to meet up with some of her radio personality pals who were quite the characters and hit Skyline in Clifton - I wished the other girls were still with us because all my memories there are SO college! As we get older (gasp!) it's more and more difficult to get the whole kit-and-kaboodle together so it was great to go out together.

The next morning Lindsey and I had brunch at Enoteca Emilia - a fantastic new Italian tapas and wine restaurant in O'Bryonville. We had wonderful service and loved the proscuitto, pear and goat cheese flatbread sandwich, "cheesy" bread (a little loaf, sliced, with cheese oozing through all the cracks) and little fried balls like beignets or donuts, dusted with powdered sugar and served with chocolate sauce and an orange marmalade. Divine! I'm really looking forward to going back for dinner and Sunday brunch.

Wishing a wonderful 25th year and avoidance of the quarter-life crisis to my favorite lil veggie!

Mango chile margarita at nada

René of the Day // 8.31.11 // Mastering the Toasts

You know a great speaker within seconds of them stepping in from of the audience. So that is the goal… I spent an evening in Northern Kentucky with my mentor, eating the longest pizza slices of my life – seriously. (I need to find out where it was from!) But I was there for officer training for Toastmasters. Little did I know that the position I was placed in was the second behind President of the club, but I’m really looking forward to the duties of Vice President of Education and informing our group of ways to excel and propel ourselves towards awards and achievements. Since it’s required of us, and everyone is so busy, it’s difficult to hone in on where we’re there and what the ultimate goal is. It was great to receive guidance on these items and to think about how we can make the best of the experience for our professional endeavors. In college, I always thought Toastmasters sounded so cool. I knew I wanted to join a club when I graduated and it’s amazing how the opportunity eventually presented itself. It will be interesting to see what our club can achieve and I’m excited to have the chance to contribute to our growth and learnings.