Where do I start?

Where do I start on this fun filled trip with Becky?? Hmmm......how about FOOD! I am gonna share with you our adventure in food while she was here..........
Enjoy this because we did.........

North Market is a place that is unique to Columbus and it houses some of my absolute favorite things....none of which are WW friendly might I add! These Belgium waffles are TOO DIE FOR! You actually heat them in your toaster and then we served them with Jeni's Ice Cream! There is nothing like this anywhere else!

 This Cinnamon roll is a Columbus Foodie Staple so of course it would have been wrong not to indulge in one for breakfast!

 I took Becky to eat the "Motherclucker" at Knead and then we headed over to Jeni's Ice Cream for Becky's first "Oprah's Favorite Things" experience!

 Needless to say we were happy campers! I had Whiskey and Pecans and then Madagascar Vanilla bean in a homemade waffle cone! All the ingredients are local and organic.

 Saturday morning Matt went with us and we went to North Star where everything is local, organic and homemade....they even time stamp the moment your biscuit is made which is so neat! This place is heaven, my Mom and sister have already requested a trip here this weekend!

Monday I took Becky to Pistachio Vera for a French brunch and she fell in love with this place as much as I have.....which is good because I worried I "over sold" some places!

 I think we all know Pastries is a HUGE weakness of mine! We ate good the entire time she was here and I loved that I was able to cook at home 3 nights and share my love of cooking with Becky too!

Check back in for some historical hot spots we visited!

Kelton House

 On Thursday when we found out my Mom would not be flying out until the next day we decided to go take in a little piece of Columbus History! The Kelton house is an original home from 150 years ago owned by the Kelton family, what makes this house even more special is that this was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

 This is an original painting of Mr. and Mrs. Kelton......this home has been preserved perfectly and you can just feel the history as you walk from room to room. When you take a tour you get head phones that give you a wonderful walk thru the history of this home and those who lived in it. This family was touched by the Civil War in more ways than one which set the tone for this families tragic turn.

 Isn't this stunning? It is so cool to imagine what life was like back then and the hardships they must have faced. Yes, has the home has since been run for electricity and AC! Thank goodness! And yes, this home was also a big and expensive home owned by influential members of Columbus.

Look at this.....This is an actual tub that was used to wash the children usually on Saturday night before Sunday church. And yes, the servants had to walk hot water up from a well into to this basin and all the children used the same water.

 This is a recreation of the slave room which is rumored to have housed many many slaves on the underground railroad. Here is a little about this place from their website....

he Kelton family was sympathetic to the abolitionist cause and assisted fugitive slaves on their road to freedom. The Underground Railroad was a route for runaway slaves from the southern plantations north to freedom in Canada, using the North Star for direction. There was no actual train and it was not underground. Underground Railroad meant people who helped slaves escape to freedom by hiding them in safe houses called “stations.” Runaways were guided by a “conductor,” a friend who knew the area and would help the slaves reach the next station

 Outside the house is a beautiful garden that now holds weddings and events during the year......

 Mom and I! Cheese...........

 It was so beautiful outside ...........peaceful garden in the middle of the city, it was a step back in time.

 Want to hear something neat.....in 1993 the Junior League of Columbus took over as care takers for this home. So throughout the year JL raises money for the Kelton house and even provides the volunteers that make this piece of history run. That is just one cause the JL of Columbus works with there are many many more....but it is neat for me to be joining this organization with my love of history! This is also the building where the JL holds their monthly general meetings!

To learn more about the Kelton house click HERE! That is it for my family visit posts....I had a wonderful time and they did nothing but fill my heart with love.

Ohio Amish Country

*Warning** Picture overload.....23 pictures to be exact!!! I am not going to talk about every picture or we will ALL be here all day!!! 

Wednesday Mom and I took a day trip to Ohio Amish Country, Holmes county is about 78 miles NE of Columbus closer to the Pennsylvania border. The 78 miles took about 2 hours, 2 beautiful hours of windy/hilly/country roads!! We only wished the fall foliage had started because then it will be a stunning drive! I am fascinated with all things different, things I don't know much about like the Amish. Sadly, Mom and I only had 1 day so there were SO many places we didn't get to see or take in but we made the most of our time! We went to Berlin............

The next set of pictures are of picturesque Amish farms set in rolling hills, Amish road side markets and a few of the many buggies we passed along the way! There is a fine line between being a respectful tourist and a crazy photo stalker....and believe me we saw many types of people that day. You will notice only in 2 of my pictures have an Amish person in the background (by mere accident) since they don't believe in having their pictures taken......Enjoy...........

 Pst...I LOVE old barns and I like to imagine what all they have been thru and the history that has happened here!

 The main street of Berlin is much more "commercialized" than I thought but with demand comes supply...ya know? The street was lined with cute stores run by the Amish, antiques, quilt stores and a few Amish homemade cooking restaurants! Mom and I picked the place with the most people and actual Amish waiting in line.....and man-o-man was it home cooked delish!!!! Ya ya you know I grubbed!

 A lot of Amish speak German that is one of their heritages and influences.....since my Oma was born and raised in Germany as well as my Mom we felt right at home!! This Cheese Chalet may look small on the outside but it was massive!!! Every single cheese, meat, soup mix etc.....is homemade in this "factory"......we were like kids in a candy store!

 These are the large vats used to make the cheeses......the day we were was cleaning day! So cool!

 And here is just ONE isle!!!!! I loaded up quite a few things and about 3 of you reading this have a little "something/something" headed your way! (wink wink)

 Here is my "loot"!!!! Butter, noodles, cake mixes, cheese.....you name it, I tried to get it!

Alright, these last set of pictures are from an amazing Farm/Market Mom and I stumbled upon. And for me.....it was a dream come true! In a huge barn was animals upon animals.......ALL of them I could touch, hold and snuggle!!! NO JOKE! And if you know me you know what my favorite baby animals are and after you see these pictures you will know how ecstatic I was! This was just so much fun and the Amish were so nice to a "baby animal hog" like me! Enjoy..........

Yup, that face right there sums up our day! Sadly, Mom and I were too busy enjoying ourselves to think about how this is the only picture one of us were in.....trust me Mom was there! haha! I will 100% be going back to Amish country.....my friend Amanda is coming to stay in October and I think I will take her here!
Happy Saturday friends!

"We are Family".....

Saturday morning we took my family to the Easton Town Center one of my favorite places where we had brunch at Northstar, my favorite place to eat! That afternoon we shopped around and then went to show them Matt's office!!! Saturday night we went out to a new place I heard good things about in German Village called Lindey's! It was SOO good...like a fine dining bistro of a place! It was nice to get "dudded up"...............

Matt and I.........

 Sisters!!! Marissa told me she felt so at home and welcome in my home which gave me warm fuzzies!!! And I know....could she be any prettier? It is unreal!

 The "DuBois" ladies, Mom was so happy and relaxed all week.......loved every minute!

 The whole clan minus ONE...Curtis who we sent our love to in Cali!! I worked so hard on making the house a home, cleaning and getting things that would make my family feel at home...so I was so happy that they all loved the house so much!! I enjoyed cooking for everyone and playing host.

 Here we are outside of Lindey's with full bellies and happy hearts.......A Happy Belated Birthday dinner to my Dad!

 OK, I am kinda skipping somethings but I will come back to it.....last night my Mom was suppose to fly out but the universe was telling us something as her flight was CANCELED!!!! So we dined alfresco on the patio for her last meal........................ Roo is silly, he thinks he is a person!

 Yummy grub and this was one of the rare days it didn't rain all week!! Mom got a flight out this morning instead....it was nice to have her for one more night! Thunder Up of course!

 Our fishies.......................

 THEN, I got us a baby fire pit on clearance for $29 and we had make your own s'mores night!!!!!

 Yumm yummm.................

Don't worry there is a picture overload post coming soon.....we spent Wednesday in Amish Country!