Tag Archives: fun

Apr13

Friday Night Dinner Club

Posted on by
Standard
Friday Night Dinner Club

Hello!! Johnny and I are incredibly lucky – close to three years ago, we moved into a bigger apartment and it is still nothing short of a gift. Of course, the extra space is nice but one of the best things is, easily, our neighbor. Our downstairs neighbor, Tony, has been a staple in our lives since he moved in shortly after we did. We quickly bonded after our numerous chats while he was outside smoking and these chats turned into full fledged hangouts. We love going to the shooting range, playing pool, and my personal favorite – Friday Night Dinner Club.

Friday Night Dinner Club is exactly what it sounds like lol. One Friday per month, we will go out to eat together and take turns on picking where to eat and picking up the tab. We have hit up all of our favorite spots together and tried new restaurants too and it is always a blast. With the unpredictable winter and early spring weather, our Dinner Club meetings have taken place in Tony’s apartment. I will cook or we will order takeout and watch a movie for our entertainment. We had our March meeting this past Friday and it was a raging success:

For Dinner Club, I decided to cook us a huge dish of baked ziti, garlic bread, and salad. Then, we made the short trek downstairs to our co-founder’s digs to eat, drink, and be merry. Our original plan was to rent the newest Jason Statham vehicle, A Working Man. Unfortunately, that plan was foiled because it isn’t available yet. That was no matter because we watched another Jason Statham vehicle, instead. One of all of our personal favorites – The Beekeeper. We have watched The Beekeeper several times together during Dinner Club and it hits every time. Johnny, Tony, and I will spend the entire duration quoting the movie, hollering, and laughing whenever I react to a particularly “ouch” moment. We live for action and horror movies and this one takes the cake!

Even though Johnny and I have lived in our apartment community for upwards of five years, we have never had a neighbor like Tony. It is so special to have a friend literally right downstairs and it makes all of our lives so much better. I love having a neighbor that I can fix an extra plate for, shoot the breeze with, and shoot – have an entire club based around our friendship. A club that is deserving of jackets at some point in the future because we have definitely discussed it extensively lol. 😀

I cannot wait for our next Dinner Club meeting with the improved weather! Me and my favorite guys will be stepping out on the town and we are all already looking forward to it!

Do you have an amazing neighbor? Do you have any “clubs” with your friends? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr1

Fun & Games: Horrified – American Monsters Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Fun & Games: Horrified – American Monsters Edition

Howdy!! One of mine and Johnny’s all time favorite board games is called Horrified. In this game, you save a village from classic horror movie monsters like Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, etc. While we love the first edition of the game, we would always lament over the fact that different boards weren’t available. So, you can imagine our delight when we found out that wasn’t the case at all. Actually, there are three additional boards of Horrified. There is World of Monsters, Greek Monsters, and our newest addition – American Monsters. We played our first round a few days ago, absolutely crushed, and a fun time was had by all. Check it out:

Like the other expansions of Horrified, the game play in American Monsters remains the same: Complete the tasks to defeat the monsters and bring safety to a peaceful town. The only difference is, of course, the monsters, heroes, villagers, and items. In the American Monsters expansion, the monsters are all cryptids that include Bigfoot, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, Chupacabra, Banshee of the Badlands, and the Ozark Howler. As per the game’s recommendation, we played against the Chupacabra and the Banshee of the Badlands. And, as per random selection, I played as the Cryptozoologist and Johnny played as the Mountain Man and can I please repeat that we totally dominated!

The pairing that the directions suggested was a way to dip your toes in the water in terms of difficulty. Despite the Chupacabra and the Banshee of the Badlands being the easiest way to start, I really think it was the characters we ended up with that helped the most. If you are new to the game, the Cryptozoologist and the Mountain Man worked incredibly well together against these monsters because of their special powers. Johnny’s character could move to any space and mine could move to any space with a monster in it. This gave us the ability to move here, there, and everywhere with ease which was so beneficial for the tasks we needed to do. Had we randomly drawn different heroes, the game probably wouldn’t have gone as smoothly and I highly recommend the monster and hero pairings we did if you are a brand new player. It will definitely help boost your confidence to learn the game in a lower key way and get an easy win under your belt.

Because Johnny and I are not new to Horrified, we plan on going BALLS TO THE WALL when we purchase the Greek Monsters expansion. We know the game like the back of our hands and the training wheels are coming off. We are going to break in the board with the most difficult pairing and see what happens. I can’t wait!

Have you played Horrified before? What is your favorite cryptid? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar29

Birthday Fun!

Posted on by
Standard
Birthday Fun!

Hello! This past Saturday was a glorious day because it was my adorable mom’s birthday!! She is truly the best and my sister, brother in law, sweet nieces, and I couldn’t wait to celebrate her with a birthday lunch. We hit up the most dynamite Mexican restaurant around, El Meson, for the festivities and it was the epitome of eat, drink, and be merry. And, believe you me, the emphasis was on drink lol! Check it out:

Whenever we go out for Mexican food, the tradition is the same. Step 1) Order Margaritas. Step 2) My mom will drink a thimbleful. Step 3) She is gone to the wind! This has been a standard in my family for as long as I can remember and it is nothing short of hilarious every time. In fact, some of my favorite “all together” moments have taken place in a Mexican restaurant lol. I, of course, expected a repeat of the same old for this birthday lunch and was SHOOK when my mom flipped the formula on its head.

Not only did my mom finish her small Margarita but… SHE TOOK A BIRTHDAY SHOT TOO!!!

Naturally, I had to let our wonderful server know it was my mom’s big day so the restaurant could break out the birthday sombrero. Usually at El Meson, the birthday treat is a dish of fried ice cream. So tell me why we were gifted with four shots of tequila instead for the adults at the table! When the tray of shots was placed before us, we were in stitches because what even. My brother in law and I were prepping to take our shots, then my sister and mom decided to go for it too. Waste not, want not amiright? We clinked our glasses, cheered to my mom’s birthday, and down the hatch the shots went. I was nothing short of impressed!

On our way home, I asked my mom if she had ever taken a shot before and she thinks she might have once lol. Could have fooled me! By the time we got home, my mom was ready for a birthday nap and was asleep on the couch as soon as she laid down. All I have to say is, you only turn twenty-one once!! I also have to say: Mom – YOU GO, GIRL!!!!!

What is your favorite restaurant in your neck of the woods? How are you celebrating your birthday this year? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar20

Treat Day Birthdays

Posted on by
Standard
Treat Day Birthdays

Howdy! Johnny and I are the proud Fun Aunt and Uncle to five amazing kiddos – four girls and one boy. We value our time with each of them so much and they bring us such an immeasurable amount of joy! Johnny and I coined the phrase Treat Day for our outings with the kids because that is exactly what it is: A day where we get to spoil them rotten. Our typical Treat Day MO is a lunch at whatever restaurant they would like and an outing somewhere fun like the zoo, an indoor amusement center, or trampoline park. We will give options or will go with whatever our little has in mind. This past weekend, we celebrated our niece’s sixth birthday with a Treat Day bonanza and she knew exactly what she wanted to do: Dinner at Chipotle, a Target shopping spree, and a slumber party. It was a blast!!

Treat Days are amazing, but Treat Day Birthdays just hit different. It creates not only a celebratory atmosphere but a day where it is literally all about your little and anything goes. This could be a great option if you have a kiddo, niece, or nephew with a birthday on the horizon so let’s discuss a few key components to make it the best day ever:

Gifts:

For our niece’s Treat Day, shopping was the move so we were able to gift her with whatever her little heart desired. I did, however, make a sentimental gift for her to be able to physically open up: A photo album filled with pictures of me and her, her and Johnny, and all of us together. It was a huge hit! Chances are high that the Treat Day location you end up at will have plenty of opportunity to make purchases there as extra presents on top of the gift of experience. This formula served us well this time around because our niece was able to make her own choices and select toys and crafts that she knew she would play with. It also eliminated the possibility of her parents taking on the task should anything we picked out need returned.

Follow The Leader:

Our eldest niece is such a little planner and she simply comes alive during Treat Days because of that. Johnny and I are literally making her plans happen and use the Follow The Leader approach to solidify that it is “her” day. Whether it is the order in which she wants to do things or changing plans on a dime like an impromptu craft break during a viewing of Moana 2, it’s all good! During the birthday extravaganza, I couldn’t help but utilize the “Yes, and?” model of improv back in my theater days. Kids change their minds, you might end up doing something completely different than what you had in mind, and? You just go with the flow!

Prepare Accordingly:

For our niece’s outing, weather wasn’t a concern because we were simply going in and out of different places. If you are having an outdoor based Treat Day, then I cannot emphasize this enough: Plan it well! This seems like a no brainer, but there really is nothing more disappointing than a plan falling through that you were looking forward to – especially for a kiddo. Schedule your outing on a day with no weather surprises and should the unexpected happen, explain an equally fun Plan B a few days before and the promise of Plan A happening when weather permits. Springing a Plan B after disappointment might make matters worse and we can’t have that.

And, of course, if you are having an outdoor adventure – pack accordingly too! Prep a bag with sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, snacks, drinks, and items of comfort if needed. Don’t forget to bring some cash too as you might need it to do a wagon rental, photo booth, or activities at the location itself like feeding animals at the zoo!

Johnny and I truly have Treat Days down to the T and we cannot wait for our next adventure with our favorite littles!

What is your ideal Treat Day? How are you celebrating your little’s birthday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar19

Airbrush Plush Review

Posted on by
Standard
Airbrush Plush Review

Hello! This past Friday, Johnny and I had the most amazing time celebrating our eldest niece for her sixth birthday. We wanted it to be the ultimate Treat Day for her and she gave us a grand plan of what she would like to do: Dinner at Chipotle, a shopping spree at Target, and a slumber party at our apartment. So that is exactly what we did!! After noshing at Chipotle, we shopped till we dropped at Target. Our niece picked out plenty of toys and a couple of crafts and it was so sweet that she wanted to play with everything and complete the crafts with us. On Saturday morning, we broke out the Airbrush Plush craft kit and it was seriously the cutest little project and the kiddo loved it. Check it out:

As soon as our niece locked eyes on the Airbrush Plush kit, she was all about it lol. Anything that comes with a unicorn plushie is an instant yes so into the cart it went! I was really excited to help her with this craft because it was so delightfully reminiscent of the DoodleBear. The DoodleBear was a toy that I had as a child and it was basically the OG version of the Airbrush Plush. It was a teddy bear that came with markers, you could color all over it, and then wash it and do it again. The Airbrush Plush had all the same sentiments and my niece couldn’t believe I played with something so similar when I was little too.

This kit cost twenty bucks and I consider it to be money well spent based on the fun factor alone. The ease of use and the fact that you can rinse and repeat the process only solidified that and it would be such a great gift or a craft to pick up for a rainy day. The Airbrush Plush kit came with an airbrush, four markers, and plenty of stencils in a wide variety of patterns. All Johnny and I had to do was put two AA batteries in the airbrush and our niece was able to handle the rest completely on her own. She had a solid idea of how she wanted her plushie to look and airbrushed away until she was satisfied, then added stencils to give the unicorn magic powers lol. Our hearts exploded when she said she was giving the plushie “rock n roll” hair!! We have taught her well. ❤

The Airbrush Plush fully dried in under twenty minutes, the cleanup was nonexistent, and I think we were all very happy with this purchase. If you were a 90s kid and unlocked a core memory with the DoodleBear mention, you will enjoy it just as much too. Highly recommend!

What was your favorite toy as a child? What is a really cool toy that your kiddo has? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar11

Fun & Games: Horrified – World Of Monsters Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Fun & Games: Horrified – World Of Monsters Edition

Hello! Johnny and I love playing board games together and one of our favorites is, hands down, Horrified. In this co-op game, your mission is to work as a team and save a village from classic horror movie monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein and his Bride, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Each monster has its own unique way of being defeated with tasks you must complete and all the while, you have to protect yourself, teammates, and villagers on the board. It is so much fun!!

We have gotten great use out of Horrified and Johnny and I always hoped they would make a new board with new monsters. You could imagine our surprise when we found out there was three! In addition to the original, there is a board for American Monsters, Greek Monsters, and World of Monsters. This past weekend, we made a Target Run to see if they had any of these new boards available. They had World of Monsters and we played it as soon as we got home. We had an absolute blast!

The premise of World of Monsters is the exact same as the original Horrified but with brand new heroes, monsters, villagers, items, action cards, and objectives. In World of Monsters, you can go toe to toe with the Sphinx, Yeti, Jiangshi, and Cthulhu. As per the game’s recommendation, we battled the Sphinx and Yeti first to get a feel for the board. Johnny played as the Buccaneer and I chose the Parapsychologist. Both of these heroes worked really well together and we were able to utilize their strengths for optimal results because we reigned victorious. Granted, our Life Counter was getting down to the wire but we still won so who cares lol.

Despite the fact that the way you play the other Horrified games doesn’t change, World of Monsters still felt so fresh and new. It was exciting to see everything the new board had to offer and it looked amazing too! If you are as big of fans of the first game as Johnny and I am, then this is a must buy. We plan on getting the other two boards as well and I have a feeling we are going to be playing a lot. I am SO not mad about this and would love to pencil in a game if we are both up for it after work instead of retiring to the couch. These new boards are what we have been waiting for and, as great as the original is, it’s going to make returning to it after playing something different even better!

Horrified is an easy to learn, fast, total blast of a game and I cannot recommend World of Monsters enough. And I cannot wait to play more!!

What is your favorite board game? Have you played Horrified before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar5

Girls Night!

Posted on by
Standard
Girls Night!

Hello!! One of my New Year’s Resolutions was making more time for friends and fun and I am doing pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. My goal to achieve this was to have one outing per weekend with friends, family, or Johnny. Aside from a handful of lazy weekends, I have been crushing it and it has helped make my life feel fuller – especially considering that I used to have little to no work/life balance. This weekend, I had a girls night with a friend that I knew from high school but started hanging out with this past year thanks to our mutual bestie. We had a glorious night on the town planned until those plans fell through. Plan B was just as glorious, though!

Originally, my girl and I had grand plans of going to the Cashmere Cricket. Like literally everyone in the greater Akron area, this charming martini bar is our favorite. In fact, it’s where Johnny and I had our first date and celebrated our engagement! The Cashmere Cricket has the best food and drinks and the move was to go there for Pickle Martinis and their heavenly Grilled Cheese Dippers. We had been talking about it ALL week and were counting down the minutes until our food fantasies could come into fruition on Saturday. With a pep in my step, I headed to the bar to score us a booth and the joint was jumping. It was packed to the gills and a table wouldn’t be available for several hours later. Talk about a bummer!

Blessedly, there is always Plan B because the best Mexican restaurant ever, El Meson, is right up the street from the Cashmere Cricket. Like the Cricket, El Meson was hopping and it felt like everyone in our neck of the woods had the exact same plans as us! As luck would have it, we got one of the last tables available and were able to eat, drink, and be merry. This was actually a special occasion because my friend just had her second child and this was her first drink after the fact. It made me feel so good that she wanted to share in that with me. ❤

It was an honor to treat her and we did it up with margs and a surprise shot. Our delightful waiter randomly put shots on our table and we weighed our pros and cons. My MAJOR con was that the last time I took a shot at a bar five years ago I threw up immediately SMH. I have never taken a shot since but, hey, when at El Meson. I am pleased to report that it went down smoothly but 5/10 would probably not do again! Sometimes, Plan B just ends up being even better than what you originally had in mind and I don’t think we would have been getting random shots at the Cashmere Cricket! 😀

Cashmere Cricket will definitely be next on our agenda because we now know we should make reservations lol. I cannot wait for another fabulous Girls Night!

What is your favorite local bar or restaurant? What is a perfect night out for you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb19

The Daily Catch

Posted on by
Standard
The Daily Catch

Howdy!! Johnny and I had a glorious Middle Class Fancy Valentine’s Day at Red Lobster. Truly, it was one of the most fun dates ever! We got dressed up, started a Lobsterita Frenzy at the bar, and ate like kings. The meals were great but the presentation was simply thrilling for Johnny. He ordered his go to fish and chips and was elated to find that Red Lobster brought back their fake newspaper “The Daily Catch” to place the food on. The last time we hit up The Lob, they did away with The Daily Catch so its return was nothing short of a Valentine’s Day miracle:

Prior to meeting me, Johnny was dating some girl or another and ended up at Red Lobster with her and her father. As per ushe, he got his usual order and saw The Daily Catch for the first time. It humored him deeply and his date did not appreciate his laughter over the fake articles throughout the meal. Fast forward to us dating and he told me about this story. In case you hadn’t noticed, my husband and I share a very similar sense of humor. So, of course, I found delight in The Daily Catch too because it’s just objectively funny lol. Even if I didn’t find it funny, it was nothing worth getting upset over!

Having this backstory and seeing the comeback of The Daily Catch when our food arrived was the cherry on top of our V-Day date. Johnny vowed to take his copy of the newspaper home and I told him absolutely not because of the grease. Blessedly, we built a fantastic rapport with our waiter and had to shoot our shot by asking him for a copy. He brought us a non-grease stained edition of The Daily Catch and it was so sweet that he followed through with our odd request. ❤

With our Daily Catch in tow, we headed back home and have grand plans of framing it to add to our apartment’s decor. This is, honestly, such a typically “us” story and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What is one of your favorite inside jokes with your partner? What is your go to Red Lobster order? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb18

Middle Class Fancy Valentine’s Day

Posted on by
Standard
Middle Class Fancy Valentine’s Day

Hello! Johnny and I live for a good Middle Class Fancy Date Night and that is exactly what we did for Part One of our Valentine’s Day celebration. After work on Friday, we got ready and headed over to Red Lobster for a V-Day dinner. It might seem like a strange choice because I don’t eat seafood. BUT, I freaking love their pasta and have been craving it something fierce. In fact, I have told Johnny I had been craving it for weeks which is how he decided upon our date night location. It was absolutely perfect and we even started a Lobsterita Revolution at the bar! Check it out:

Despite getting to Red Lobster around three thirty, the joint was already jumping. We were more than happy to wait the twenty minutes for a table, but we were famished. So, Johnny had the ingenious idea to eat at the bar which was fairly empty. As we decided on drinks, I planned on going for a classic Margarita. That was until we learned that Lobsteritas were a thing lol. The Lobsterita is basically a super sized Marg that comes with a festive lobster necklace. We were immediately sold and couldn’t stop laughing about the enormity of the glasses our drinks came in.

By the time our drinks were made, more people arrived at the bar and were nothing short of intrigued by what we were sipping on. And it was thus that the Lobsterita Revolution began. Guys, I kid you not: We literally had everyone seated around the bar drinking them. What made it even better was that people were actually wearing the necklaces too, just like us! A frenzy was created and it was hysterical to see what transpired simply from our drink order. Johnny and I essentially turned into the mayors of Red Lobster and we were chatting it up with everyone and toasting to an excellent Valentine’s Day. Truly, it doesn’t matter where Johnny and I are because we always end up having fun!

After the Great Lobsterita Revolution of 2025, our food arrived and not a moment too soon. We were ravenous! Johnny got his traditional fish and chips and was elated to see that Red Lobster had brought back The Daily Catch that nestled his meal. There is a story behind that so stay tuned! I ordered my go to garlic Alfredo pasta and it was so divine. I’m not sure if it was because I was really hungry but it was even better than I remembered it being! We finished our meal, said goodbye to all of our new friends at the bar, and headed home with full bellies and giggle fits. Our V-Day concluded with a viewing of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and the joy of one of the best dates EVER. Every date with Johnny is the best EVER. ❤

Our Part Two of Valentine’s Day will happen this weekend when we do dinner and a show. We are seeing our favorite musical, Hadestown, and cannot wait!

How did you spend your Valentine’s Day? What is your favorite chain restaurant? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb10

Completed Lego Malfoy Manor Set

Posted on by
Standard
Completed Lego Malfoy Manor Set

Hello! My brother treated Johnny and me to a Target gift card for Christmas and we both knew what we would like to spend it on: A new Lego set! During our Target Run, we decided on the Malfoy Manor from the Harry Potter collection. I had no idea that this set even existed and we were really excited by it because it spoke to our spooky vibes. In fact, this is probably one of my favorite Harry Potter sets yet. We completed this build in two parts and here is the end result:

^^^ Why does the Dobby Minifig look so terrifying but this one looks so cute?!

Johnny and I have countless Harry Potter Lego sets and they are great. As we expanded on our Hogwarts Castle, however, all of the sets kind of blurred together. Yes, they formed a cohesive whole. BUT each set was so similar to the last. The color palette was the same, the building process was the same, and themes were repeated. That is exactly why the Malfoy Manor was one of my favorite and most memorable builds. It was so completely different than the Harry Potter sets we were used to and it was invigorating to try something that felt brand new.

The Malfoy Manor set was not only exciting to complete but a ton of fun and we were enamored as it began to come together. The dark colors, gothic style build, and snakes at every turn enhanced the creepy aesthetic of this set beautifully. I am especially partial to the gargoyles, moving stairs, and the NPU of the monster hands. They look so cool!! Our Malfoy Manor really does look old and haunted and it reminded us of an old and wildly expensive Lego haunted house set that we both want desperately. Although we may never get our hands on the throwback set we covet, this was definitely a suitable replacement! I highly, highly recommend it if you are looking to add to your Harry Potter Lego world.

I’m not sure which Lego set Johnny and I are going to purchase next. Whatever it is, I can’t wait because building Lego together is one of our favorite things to do! ❤

What is your favorite Lego set? Which old Lego set would you love to have? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah