Otto's for Sunday Brunch

This Sunday my homies and I went out for a Sunday Brunch at Otto's in Mainstrasse Village. My homies being my husband and two daughters. It's a cafe, or a bar, or something; but they have killer brunch on Sundays. Their website can be found here.

If I had to describe this place in one word.... hmm, I couldn't. Home-y, artsy, quaint, southern friendly- like you're in the south. I mean they do serve Shrimp n Grits for dinner after all. I love Shrimp n Grits. I was meant to live in a big Georgia mansion in another lifetime, except I don't believe in other lifetimes, but you know, I can still use the saying.

If only my wiggly worm would stay still for 5 seconds for my camera to auto focus, this would be my ultimate favorite picture. It's still pretty up there on the list though.

We had a good time and kids were civilized halfway into my Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast, so I'd call it a win for a restaurant outing.

The french toast was unreals. It should defiantly make it to the Food Network in my opinion.They also served fresh peach sangria that made the meal perfect. As my side I got a potato cake full of creamy potato and peppers. 

Hub and the girls got Belgian Waffles topped with strawberries and blueberries and that crispy little tart is a piece of goetta. Although I love food, I can't consider myself a foodie because I couldn't tell you what makes a waffle Belgian as appose to a regular ole' waffle. One day I'll learn all the secrets. 

We love to go to and contribute to small businesses around the city. That being said, we of course occasion Cracker Barrel and IHop from time to time, but there is just something you can get from these places that you can't get from the big chains. I would definitly suggest it as one of my little gems in our city to visit.

Washington Park

When I was in high school, I used to know exactly who I was. I was a minority, but I knew exactly what my plan was in life. I knew my morals, and interests, and was totally comfortable with the person I was. It's weird how things change in different seasons for people. Now that I've achieved a good majority of those goals I set for myself in high school and my interests have changed I'm not really sure what's next. Do I think we will live in the suburbs? Or even in the same city? Who knows. The endless opportunities of the future excites me though. We can do anything and go anywhere really. We have been talking a little more about selling our home and getting an apartment downtown and living an urban lifestyle for a little while. When we were downtown at Washington Park it validated a little bit more of why we would want our family to have this life experience.

The city of Cincinnati has been throwing money into projects around left and right. There are so many new things and renovations happening and the city is definitely showing  more and more promise.

I have loved being downtown ever since I was little. I have memories of my mom taking me to Newberrys and getting photos in a photo booth. We would visit these Christian bookstores and I always enjoyed being down there. I would beg my parents every Christmas to take me down to see the Christmas train display at Cinergy, now Duke Energy, a family tradition of my own families now. We would go to Riverfront Stadium to see the Reds play and play at Sawyer Poinit. I have even had two jobs downtown and loved the hustle bustle of it all.

I love that a lot of my girls childhood memories are the same as mine and involve the city.

Washington Park:

The backdrop of this park is Music Hall, it's beautifully amazing. 

The park has fountains that are lit with colors and sometimes coordinates to classical music that you can choose on an app on your phone. I have not experienced it, but it sounds fantastically futuristic. You can read about it in an article found here.

You can somewhat see a stage in the center background of this photo. This is where they play music and have movies projected on the weekends in a huge field of beautiful green grass.

When we first arrived at the park Riley was really hesitant to get wet because she had on one of her favorite shirts, but I packed her a change of clothes and she agreed to have fun. Silly girl, it is crazy how much she is like me. It didn't take long before she was running through the fountains and laughing with new friends.

The girls are so funny because usually I'm packed with everything when we go out, but since we kind of impromtly went to this park the only I threw in my bag was my camera and a change of clothes for them in case they did get in the water. They promptly asked when we got there where their bathing suits were and what snacks and food I brought. I'm not always super prepared I guess, but I'm glad my kids think of me to be.

An even cooler part about the park trumps your average park is the amazing backdrop to this park. That's the Kroger building in the background and beautiful apartment buildings of Over the Rhine. The city is definitely shaping up nicely. 

The play structures at this new park are pretty impressive too. They have boats, castles, and AstroTurf mounds my girls pretended to the queens of.

I give this park a 10/10 and would suggest anyone to visit. http://washingtonpark.org/ has information about events and things at the park.

Kingergarten Must Haves - the incomplete list

I know it's July, but I like to plan things ahead and be prepared, most of the time anyway.  I think it's easier to purchase things in moderation rather than on big lump too. So we have slowly been collecting things for kindergarten for my new little kindergartener. I thought I would offer a sneak peak to what we have so far, and hope to complete the list before the end of August when school starts.

Trendy Owl Backpack and Lunch Box

 These are the perfect size for my little kindergartener and oh so cute. 

School uniform.

I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't part of the reason I chose this school for my little. We still have a few more uniform things to purchase.

Mables Labels

I think these  products are so wonderful. We use these for our pool toys that inevitably get lost at our community center and when they end up in lost and found we know they are our's. We label sippy cups and everything one can imagine that goes to preschool with the girls. Now I plan to use them to label kindergarten school supplies.

 

 The Night Before Kindergarten

A cute little book to read the night before we take the plunge into grade school.

We have also got new socks, underwear, and undershirts. We still need new shoes and school supplies when we get our list among other things. Any suggestions from moms that have already had their little go through kindergarten?