OSU Parents Weekend

Schmidt's Jumbo Cream Puff

We had such a sweet weekend with our daughter. It was so good to squeeze her tight, meet her friends (great bunch of nerds!), and just hang out together. We ate...and ate...and ate.

Stephanie and Matt (from Tennessee) came with us to Schmidt's Restaurant and Sausage Haus Friday night. Located in the quaint neighborhood of German Village, the restaurant is in an historic brick livery stable--since 1886. We waited about an hour and 20 minutes--it was worth it! The world famous Bahama Mama sausage and bratwurst, oh my. I personally inhaled four different kinds of sauerkraut--all so delicious.  The kids tried their jumbo vanilla cream puff for dessert--definitely jumbo. Schmidt's has been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel's Man v Food. The place was packed and the live accordion entertainment was fantastic.

Saturday, we went to Brio's for a late brunch and shopped at the Easton Center, major inside/outside mall. Picked up goodies at Cheryl's and Cinnabon. Julia and I had fun shopping and buying and shopping and buying. For dinner, we went hog wild with The Thurman Cafe. Steven and I shared the Thurmanator: bottom bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers, 12-ounce burger, bacon, cheddar, another 12 ounce burger, sautéed mushrooms and onions, ham, mozzarella and American cheese, top bun, served with fries and a pickle spear. Julia got the more modest Garden Burger: (its real meat, not vegetarian) burger heaped with sautéed green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and smothered with Swiss cheese, over lettuce, tomato, and mayo, served with chips. We also ordered 24 whole, jumbo wings--buffalo sauce and Cajun. Too good.  

    Hardest part was saying good-bye. :( Soon into our trip home, Julia e-mailed us that her phone was kaput. She was able to get it repaired on Monday...and get her bike unlocked (lost bike lock key) on Tuesday. It is all good. Back to work and back to school. So proud of the life she has built for herself at OSU. Oh, and as for the OSU Parents Weekend--we didn't actually participate in any OSU events, lol. But, we love the campus and everyone is super nice wherever you go. Go Bucks!

 

OSU Homecoming

Fall decorations

Fun week at The Ohio State University for Julia and her friends experiencing homecoming for the first time. Check out Brutus in the parade! Buckeyes won against Rutgers--landslide!We are so happy, that Julia's so happy. Can't wait to meet these kiddos this weekend: Patrick, Matt, Chemistry Matt, Ayla, Hannah, Big (?), Rochester Matt... (and see Stephanie too!)

  

Presentation, GT Cupcakes, and Al Dente

This grown-up freshman sent me a shot before her engineering presentation (and before changing her shoes:). She has two more mid-terms this week. Classes are going well and we can't wait to see her on Friday! We sent her a surprise Trick or Treat dozen from Georgetown Cupcake--1 Vanilla Bat cupcake, 1 Pumpkin Spice with “Spooky Tree” fondant, 1 Chocolate Ghost cupcake, 1 Chocolate Salted Caramel with “Jacko-Lantern” fondant, 1 Lava Fudge with “TRICK OR TREAT” fondant, 1 Chocolate Spider Web cupcake, 1 Red Velvet with “BOO!” fondant, 1 Vanilla Spider cupcake, 1 Chocolate Squared stuffed inside with green buttercream with “Green Ghost” fondant, 1 Pumpkin Cheesecake with “Black Cat” fondant, 1 Chocolate Cubed with “Haunted House” fondant, and 1 Peanut Butter Fudge with “Witch” fondant. Rave reviews from OSU students--thank you Georgetown Cupcake!!

Saturday, Steven and I went to see "Gone Girl." We both read the book and liked it--and surprisingly, we really enjoyed the movie version as well. Sunday, we went to Al Dente, which is conveniently located next to our favorite butcher, Wagshals. Al Dente served the best grilled octopus we have ever had--great smokey flavor, perfect texture, and complemented well with olives, fennel, and orange sections. Steven ordered their meatballs and wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza (looks boring, but he enjoyed it with the meatballs and no cheese). I had a salad with delicious anchovies and poached egg. 

Restaurant info: Al Dente Ristorante, 3201 New Mexico Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016, 202-244-2223, www.aldentedc.com. 

Olentangy, Food, and Fun

Julia and Jon doing homework.

Tribe update
Julia is busy with school; chemistry is challenging and the two-credit engineering class is requiring more time than most other four/five-credit classes. Stephanie went home for the weekend, so she's had the room to herself. Between classes and homework, she's managed to walk along the Olentangy River and go out with friends. Is it parents weekend yet??? We are counting the days until we see her. She needs rain boots, rain coat, and winter jacket. Can't wait to shop, stock-up her food supplies, and take her out for yummy (healthy) meals.

Steven and I have off tomorrow. It has been raining here off/on this past week with more to come next week. It feels like fall with temperatures barely reaching 60.

Julia's walk along the Olentangy River

Georgetown Halloween decorations

New2OSU Chip Overdose

OSU engineering student powered by chips!

Home for the Weekend

Tribe update
Words cannot express how wonderful it was to have Julia home for the weekend! There is nothing better than squeezing her tight and taking care of her. It was much harder to say goodbye this time. :( Her only request for the weekend was to have a family dinner. Big thanks to Lisa and Tony for a delicious steak dinner Saturday night. We had a tasty brunch on Sunday and ventured for ice cream made with liquid nitrogen at Nicecream Factory in Arlington. We weren't sold on the texture of the ice cream at all, but very cool to watch them make it. And, we were able to cross off one thing from Julia's to-do list--get new, quirky/cool/hipster glasses.

We started a Halloween puzzle; the finished product will be shared in a future post. Julia worked on planning out her courses for next semester and plowing through the rest of this semester. Hard work + determination = success. Stay confident, Jules! We love and miss you.