Jeni's

Columbus, Ohio is the birthplace of Jeni's Ice Cream.   And I have never been more proud to promote a hometown product/business like Jeni's.   Their ice cream is out of your mind amazing.   The flavor combinations tease your taste buds and challenge them in a way that ice cream never has before.   

This past weekend, I indulged in some Jeni's.  I indulged in Jeni's several times.  I indulged in several flavors of ice cream and each one did not disappoint.   And my taste buds are thanking me, however, my hips are not.  

My hands down favorite ice cream (at least so far) is Strawberry Buttermilk.  Creamy, sweet, fruity with a hint of richness.  I love it and once I found the ComFest booth, I had to get some.   Jeni's was smart this year.  They had two booths at ComFest.

On Saturday, I decided to eat some more Jeni's.  This time I met some friends at the shop in the Short North.   I took a picture of the flavor description because the signs really do say it best.  And this flavor lived  up to the expectation.   In fact, it surpassed my expectations.

Below is the picture of Brambleberry Crisp.   Amazing. Sweet. Pop of Vanilla. Surprising crunch of crisp.  Perfection.

And my last night at ComFest I had to... just had to... eat Jeni's one more time.   That night I had Dark Chocolate and Salty Caramel.   The combination was amazing.   The dark chocolate was chocolaty but not as sweet as one would expect which was perfect for pairing with another flavor.   The salty caramel was sweet with just a hint of saltiness.

This past weekend was a perfect blend of friends, relaxation and fun.   And Jeni's was the perfect compliment to each day.

I do feel as if I tend to gravitate towards the same flavors of ice cream every time I go to Jeni's so I am going to challenge myself to try a new flavor every time I go there.   And, I promise to share my flavor tests each month in my monthly wrap up.

If you want to check out Jeni's for yourself- here is the link to their page: http://www.jenis.com/

**FYI: Jeni's does not know I exist.  I just decided to share Jeni's with my group of three readers because firstly- Jeni's is amazing and secondly everyone could use a little more ice cream in their life.   I do believe that if Jeni's was shared with the world- world peace might just be possible.

I live for the weekends....

I feel very fortunate to live in a city where there is always something going on.  And summertime in Columbus is the best.   I have decided that this year I am going to try to find as many fun and free activities to participate in.   I have a few of my summer favorites listed below.  

I love the FAIR.   Food.  Popcorn.  People Watching.   Bacon-wrapped-anything-you-can-dream-up.  Fair rides.  Food.  Horses.  Thin cut french fries with malt vinegar.   Food.  Deep-fried-everything.   Food.  Well, you get the point.   I think that the Ohio State Fair is one of the best around.  The Ohio State Fair is not free but one can generally get pretty good discount tickets.   If you go- look for me.  I will be the girl eating. Everything.  

I am thinking about attending this festival in a couple of weeks.   I remember going to the Powell Festival when it was just a small street affair.  Powell has grown as a city and this festival grows every year.

 

I signed up to do The Color Run this summer.   This is not a free event, but I am still super excited to participate.   I want to make it clear that the word "Run" is a little misleading as I do not plan on running anywhere.   In fact, I do not run unless I am being chased.   But, I am excited to walk this race with a fun group of friends.   We will certainly have a blast and I cannot wait to see pictures!!

 And lastly, but certainly my most favored is ComFest.   ComFest is a major holiday in my life.   I always look forward to spending as much time as possible at this Community Festival.   I think that ComFest is truly a festival that has a strong message of promoting community, environment, and social consciousness.  Live Every Day the ComFest Way.   You will find me there.  Hanging out.  In my element.

What are some of the local festivals or summer events that you attend?   Let me know so I can check them out.   Maybe I will even join you and we can find some deep friend goodness to share.  

Smiles,
Marci

Waffles what??

Every weekend I have a conversation in my head.  And it goes something like this: "Man I am craving Belgian waffles! I really wish I could have some Belgian waffles!" And every time I have this conversation I have to remind myself that I do not have a Belgian Waffle maker.  And then I cry.  

A long long time ago in a far away kingdom I had a Belgian Waffle maker.  It was a beautiful round waffle maker and it made beautiful waffles: crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  I enjoyed these waffles- I probably enjoyed them more often than my dentist would recommend.  But, then the evil queen came and broke my waffle maker and I have been alone ever since.   

I don't know why it took me so long to buy a new waffle maker.   Partly, I think I was shocked at how much money a quality waffle maker cost.   But I broke down recently and bought a new one.   And thanks to Kohl's bucks and 20% discount coupon, I did not feel like I mortgaged my house to get it.   

So today I tried my waffle maker for the first time.   My new waffle maker makes square waffles- four of them (oink oink) instead of one round one.   I must admit it took me a round of waffles before I had it down.   (it's like riding a bike)! But I did make some beautiful waffles.   But my year(s) long exile from waffles resulted in me consuming the waffles before even remembering to take a picture.

Yep- here is my plate.  It had a mound of fluffy waffles on it.   But no more.  

Since I do not have any pictures to share I thought that I could at least share my favorite Belgian Waffle Recipe.   Please don't torment yourself like I have over the years and just go out and buy yourself a Belgian Waffle Maker!! Trust me- you will thank me.  And then you can invite me over to eat breakfast with you!

Smiles,
Marci

Belgian Waffles

2 cups flour

2 TBS sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups 2% milk

6 TBS vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl with a whisk until blended and smooth.   In my new waffle maker- this batter makes about 8-10 small square waffles.  If you have a round waffle maker it makes 4-10inch waffles.  

I prefer my waffles with butter and powdered sugar, but have fun and add all kinds of toppings to these waffles.  

Enjoy!

May Wrap Up

May has been a good month.  There have been calm moments, happy moments, peaceful moments and moments where tears have been shed.   There also may have been moments where teeny tiny itty bitty temper tantrums have been thrown as well.  But not by me- of course.  

I always find these sayings all over facebook and Pinterest.  And some of them just speak to me and my soul.   This would be one of them.  I like to think of myself as a spontaneous, spur of the moment, type girl.   But, alas, I am not.  Why else would I carry a purse that weighs five hundred pounds? That way I can be prepared for anything.  Wipes- got them.  Anti-bacterial- fear not.  Chap stick- I got five to choose from.  Books- kindle- of course (but more on that later). Charger- phone, kindle, emergency phone. I have them all.  Pens- ummmmmm I may have a slight problem with collecting pens, but we shall not talk about that now.  

I was especially daring this month.   I tried seafood.  And I am not talking about the Fish and Chips thing- because I already have that down pat.   No, I tried real seafood.   The mussel kind of seafood.  The kind that I would always convulse at the idea of trying.  But I did.  And I enjoyed it.   They did have a slight texture-thing going on.  I tried not to think of that too much.  But the mussels were tender and the sauce they were prepared in helped pave the way to success.   However, I did not like those weird sausage things that were scattered in there.  Yuck.  (and yes I know only four year old children say Yuck.)

My culinary adventures were vast this month.   I was also introduced to Cookie Butter from Trader Joe's.   Oh My.   It is all I can say.  I can imagine that there are all kinds of amazing things you could do with this from spreading it on cookies to baking with it.  But, I just ate it with a spoon.  And sometimes with a fork if that is all I had.   It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.   I will always try to keep you up to date on the most tasty of things and so with urgency I encourage you to run to Trader Joe's to get some of this.

There were also tragedies this month.   My kindle died on me.   Dead. Dead as a door nail dead.   I got mad.  I "may" have called Amazon and ranted a little.  Just a little.  I am upset that this kindle is only a couple of year old and it seems far too soon for it to have died on me.  But, despite my frustration, I know I will end  up getting another one.   Because I love my kindle.  I love reading on the sofa.  I love reading while waiting in the car.  I love reading anywhere and anytime.

I also did bake some this month.  I tried out a new recipe combination.   Banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.  And they were GOOD.   I will surely post more about these later.

May was also a busy month in the office.  Surely you can see how productive we have been by the below picture.   I think May has been the month of office pranks.    I do admit the office filled with balloons was the best.   I remember hearing Fred walk into his office after seeing what happened and all I could hear was "pop" "pop" "pop".  But I give the guy credit.  He worked all day in that office with those balloons around him!

I am still day dreaming about getting a new camera.  One that I am convinced will instantaneously make me an amazing photographer.  cough cough.  However, I am always pleased when I manage to take a picture on my I phone that catches my breath.   This is one of them.   I love the weathered look of the house, the creeping vine and the brick contrast.   I just hope that I continue to live life looking around me instead  of running through life looking down.   Because if I do, I am sure that I will catch more gems like this.

Enjoy life.  Be kind and good to others.   Smile and be with friends and loved ones.  And say Thank you.

Smiles,
Marci