Wedding Weekend: Queen City Nuptuals

Bill is one of Justin's roommates from college (there were a total of eleven guys in one house, so you can imagine the stories...), and one of the most frequent visitors we've hosted in our DC home.  When it came time for him to tie the knot with his long time girlfriend Jenny, Justin and I had to make a visit to Cincinnati, in order for us to return the favor and indulge in some shenanigans.

We started off the morning of the wedding...at the gym.  Yes, we were on vacation, and it is a time to relax; however, Justin and I knew we would be making some bad decisions throughout the weekend.  Besides, we had to "mitigate the damages" of our first meal of the day in the Queen City, the breakfast of champions, Skyline Chili! If you've never had Cincinnati-style chili, it is a must try! Hard Times Cafe in the DC Metro area makes a decent 3-way, but nothing compares to the original!

Here's a shot of my partially eaten 3-way (that means it's topped with chili, onions, and cheese).

A 3-way is not complete without some chili cheese coney dogs on the side! Yummy!

After our hearty breakfast (or was it lunch?) we got ready and met up with the rest of our friends. Because the wedding ceremony took place ten to fifteen minutes away in Ault Park, we boarded shuttles at the hotel and enjoyed a little scenic drive to our destination.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the beautiful sights, but I guess I was having too much fun getting reacquainted with some old friends.

As I had mentioned, the ceremony and reception took place at Ault Park, inside a beautiful pavilion hall. Here's a shot of the bride and groom surrounded by their bridal party.

The gorgeous wedding cake with beautiful cascading flowers!

The food was awesome and filling.  The meal was served family style and there was plenty to go around the table.  Here's a shot of my tasty salad topped with popcorn, yum!  

We sat at table 8, and yes that is Justin's hand demonstrating "the shocker." We're a classy pair ;)

I swear, Ault Park looked like something out of the English countryside! Very picturesque and pretty!

Afterwards, we went to a karoke bar that was near our hotel.  

Say Cheese!

James and Rich smiling for the camera!

Bottoms up!

Of course our night didn't end there. Because the DC area does not have the actual restaurant, we just had to get some White Castle.  As Justin always says, "the frozen kind is not the same as the real thing." Determined to get our fix, the fellas in the picture below made a White Castle run, via taxi cab. Although the chosen mode of transportation made us wait a little longer for this tasty treat, at least the guys chose to be responsible with their late night trip.  The rest of us that stayed behind piled into our friends' (i.e. the Jones') hotel room, to await the arrival of the slider/chicken ring goodness!

We had such a great time in Cincinnati with Justin's college friends. It's always hard to say good bye and head back into reality.  I think Cincinnati wanted us to stay a little longer than we had planned because our flight home was super delayed! By the time we got home, it was well past midnight. Our dinner options were very limited for a Sunday night, so we went to one of the few places that would be open on the Hill-Tune Inn of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives fame!

I got the Tuna Melt with Tater Tots...

And Justin got the Country Boy Omelet (ham, sausage, bacon, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, cheese) with a side of Tots.

Yes, our diet during the trip was very unhealthy, but we had so much fun!  Eating "awesome food" only once in a while won't hurt us :)



A Blog Break and Our Trip to Boston

Excuse the radio silence...

 

I know it's been about a month since my last blog post and I apologize for not keeping you informed about all things Brioni. My work initially blocked all things blog-related but has since removed the block (I don't write these at work, I swear! ;)

 

Anyway, I have a bunch of half finished posts that I'll try to complete so sorry I'm not sorry if it seems like "old news."

 

* * * * *

 

Now back to the regularly scheduled old as heck blog post. :)

 

Before and after the wedding, Justin and I spent some time in Boston. We stayed near Fenway for the duration of Boston leg of the trip. As soon as we arrived, we hit up a nearby brewery called Boston Beer Works. They make all their brews in house so of course I opted to get a sampler! My favorite ones were the the blueberry beer (the second from the left) with fresh blueberries and the pumpkin beer on the far right, rimmed with cinnamon and sugar!

 

We also watched a Sox/Yankees game at Fenway. It was a packed house to see this rivalry!

  

 

 

As intimate and historical as Fenway is, I like Nationals Ballpark better. Call me biased, but I like how at Nats Park they have beer vendors that serve you in your seat. I like having cupholders. Where else can you get a Ben's half smoke and a Shake Shake burger in the same place? Although Nats Ballpark is a gargantuan stadium full of concrete, I like having a view of the entire field no matter where you sit. I must value modern conveniences more than nostalgia. ;)

 

With all the injuries the Yankees had and the whole A-Rod scandal, I'm sure this game could have been more epic...but it was still a fun experience since I had no loyalty to either team. 

 

 

See how full it was?

 

  

 

The bullpen. It looked like if you were seated close enough you could reach down in it!

 

 

 

The Green Monstahhhh (said with Bostonian accent)!

 

Surprisingly, although the Red Sox were crushing the Yankees the crowd stayed for a majority of the game. At the end of the game, the droves headed out...probably looking for something to eat. 

 

So that's what we did :)

Honestly, the food outside of the ballpark at the various carts tasted better (and had better value!) than the food in the ballpark!

 

In addition to hitting up a baseball game, we also had a side trip to Plymouth Rock.

 

Here's a replica ship, perhaps like the one the early settlers sailed in on.

 

Justin and I thought it was interesting how these boats were docked. You would drop anchor in this inlet and a little rowboat would take you to the dock.

 

 

Ta-da! The Plymouth Rock. Sorry for the shadow, I couldn't get a good angle!

 

 

Apparently, this is only a small piece of the huge boulder the Pilgrims landed on. Instead of thinking of Pilgrims, Native Americans and whatnot, all I could think of was the famous (or infamous?) line from Malcolm X referring to Plymouth Rock. You know which one it is ;)

 

 

So that was our Boston trip in a nutshell! I'll leave you with a perfect shot of my Spanish latte from Pavement Coffeehouse!

Wedding Weekend: Ben and Ashley's Cape Cod Wedding

Weddings are always a fun time, especially when they take place in a location you've never visited before and the wedding has a unique theme to it.  When Justin's friend from high school invited us to his wedding in Sandwich, Massachusetts (i.e. "the Cape Cod area"), both of us knew we were in for a unique experience, considering the groom's personality and sense of humor.  The wedding took place at a campground, and guests were provided cabins, for lodging purposes if you chose to stay the night following the wedding festivities.  Neither Justin nor I had been to "the Cape Cod area," nor had we attended a non-traditional wedding like this one.  This trip called for some special music, Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa! :)

The weather was perfect and the ceremony had an interesting twist to it that was far from the traditional seating arrangement you would be accustomed to in a regular "church" wedding.

A shot of the snazzy footwear!

Because the wedding was in the Quaker fashion, everyone got a chance to stand up and say some words to the happy couple. Below are some of the Louisville crew that shared their memories and offered the couple their well wishes.

 

The happy couple looking lovingly into each other's eyes. How sweet!

After the ceremony, it was time to go to the reception hall for the rest of the festivities. Below is my place setting.

Here's a picture of our place settings. To signify their love of reading, each table was was assigned one of their books. Our table was The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgeman.

Then it was time to eat! Our meal was provide by a local smokehouse and the sodas were local too! I definitely enjoyed eating (and drinking!) my way through Massachusetts. 

Instead of a traditional guestbook, they had their guests fill out their marriage advice on postcards. I loved pursuing the eclectic mix of postcards ranging from graphic prints to pastoral Kentucky scenes. On the same table were "Ben and Ashley-themed" Mad Libs. Each guest had to fill one out, and Ben and Ashley would choose one to win a prize.

A shot of the lights and bunting hanging from the ceiling. 

The main stage centerpiece was a cow head, a huge tub of marshmallow fluff, and a marshmallow fluff cookbook. I'm not sure why they were there, but I'm sure there was some cool story behind it!

The reception capped off with an epic dance party, but after the reception was over the party wasn't over yet. We went back to our yurt (yes, we stayed in a nomadic dwelling structure used by such people as the Mongolians!) to get out of our dress clothes and into something more comfy!

It's thug life up in this yurt piece!

After we changed, we headed down to the campfire to share some stories (that didn't make the ceremony!) and drink some beers. They even had s'mores so I helped myself. 

The fire was so warm and toasty!

All smiles around the campfire!

After the campfire, we got hungry again so we went on a search for food. Because we were out in the woods, a drive-thru wasn't an option. Then a light bulb went off. We would look for the leftover barbecue from the reception! Luckily we found someone that gave us directions to the walk-in refrigerator. And Bingo! We hit the jackpot!

With food in our bellies wandered back to our yurt to get some shut eye. The next day we had breakfast and said our good-byes. 

But before we left the newlyweds announced the winner of the last night's wedding mad libs. And wouldn't you know? We won! Do you remember the tub of marshmallow fluff and the fluff cookbook? Well, that was the prize for the winners! ;)

Thank you Ben and Ashley for allowing us to be a part of your special day. Your wedding weekend was truly unique and one we'll never forget!