best ice cream EVER

I don’t remember when I first discovered Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams–I was familiar with the OUTRAGEOUSLY priced pints ($10 each at Dorothy Lane Market!) before I first tried their “Salty Caramel” flavor at Susy’s house.

It was amazing. Salty Caramel is perhaps their best-selling flavor; it’s slightly creative without being too off the wall. That’s the thing about Jeni’s–they don’t have just plain vanilla or chocolate or cookie dough. They offer flavors like Ugandan Vanilla Bean and Riesling and Poached Pear. Seriously, they do. And they all taste exactly how they sound.

Andrew and I made a pit stop on our way up to NY Sunday. Jeni’s has seven (I think) locations in the Columbus area, and we always go to the High Street shop when we’re in Short North.

It’s on the corner of Lincoln and High Streets.

I love chalkboard signs. They make me want to have my own little shop so I can write on them.

This is what you see when you walk in. Well, not everyone gets to see a very indecisive Andrew looking much like ‘The Thinker.’ That’s it–he can’t give me any more crap about taking too long to decide what I want to eat. I now have proof he has his moments of indecision, too.

Thank goodness for the explanation of flavors! I’ve had Bangkok Peanut before, and it’s HOT.

I love that every flavor is so fresh. For example, the Lime Cardamom with Rhubarb you see above was just Lime Cardamom this spring when we were here for Dave’s track meet and stopped in Easter Sunday (They were open on Easter Sunday, of all days! while I thought it highly sacrilegious, I was happy to have some Jeni’s). It was yummy then, and it’s only better with the addition of rhubarb.

This is Jeni. I love funky glasses. I was actually a teensy bit disappointed when I got PRK a couple years ago knowing I wouldn’t need glasses for another 15 years. They can be such statement pieces without even trying. Anyway, about Jeni. She certainly looks proud of herself; and she should be. She’s doing something she loves and worked hard enough and was blessed with enough luck to actually make it big. You go, girl!

This is Andrew thoroughly enjoying his ice cream. He got Ugandan Vanilla Bean (his usual), Strawberries and Buttermilk, and something else. I can’t remember and it was hidden at the bottom of his cone. Side note: the t-shirt he’s wearing is from Homage, a vintage t-shirt store off Pearl Street behind Jeni’s. We stumbled upon it after dining at Tasi, a French bistro also behind Jeni’s, when we were here for the Family Life Marriage Conference a few months ago. Anyway, we LOVE Homage and Tasi. You must visit both next time you’re in C-bus.

I got Bourbon Buttered Pecan, Sour Cherries and Goat Cheese, and Pistachio and Honey–YUM. The Pistachio and Honey was awesome–I saved it for last. It was slightly salty, slightly sweet and a little nutty.

Loved it. The best part? Susy got me Jeni’s just-released ice cream COOKBOOK for my birthday! Cannot wait to make room in this tiny freezer here in the hotel to try out some recipes! Yes, I did bring my ice cream maker to the hotel. I figured, why not? I can’t bake and it’s summer and I knew I was getting the cookbook…

Shenanigans, part 6 or 7 or 8…

After the packers left and Andrew and I did some cleaning/rounding up around the house, we settled in at Jen & Dave’s to hang out before Jen came home from work. Translation: Andrew fell asleep and Dave and I watched a movie. Defiance. Daniel Craig is hot. In an older-man sort of way.

Jen was up for some shenanigans when she got home, so we headed down to Rita’s to meet Emily for some water ice.

Andrew wanted to make sure he said goodbye before we leave. Emily introduced me to Mint Oreo Cream Ice–yummy! I’m kind of a Rita’s “purist;” I grew up on Rita’s back when there were no “Blendinis” or “Mistos” or cream ice. Mango has always been my favorite (along with everyone else apparently; it’s there most popular flavor and is available every day) with plain chocolate (something I have yet to find at the Rita’s here) being a close second. Anyway, back to being a purist. I like my water ice plain or a gelati. No mixing for me. I splurged and got a gelati with vanilla custard.

Jen and Dave can be pretty goofy when they want to be. That, and Jen was already up past her bedtime.

I look so pale. And I want Emily’s hair. She’s so beautiful!

And because Rita’s at 9:45 at night wasn’t enough sugar for our bloodstreams, Andrew got a craving for pizza. We threw caution to the wind and headed to Little Caesars. Sadly, they were closed.

Not to fear; we drove to Emily’s where we plopped down on the couch and turned the television on. Has anyone ever heard of “Heartbreakers?” Neither had we. It was weird.

Emily prepped fruit for her early-morning drive and we said hello to Dan via phone:

Hi Dan! We missed you last night!

Then, the inevitable happened: Pizza was ordered.

It may not have been the best, but anything covered in cheese while hanging out with dear friends is just fine with me.

And you better believe my butt was on the treadmill this morning working it all off!

Movers are here loading up the truck and the basement is empty already.

First Watch for the last (sniff) time?

I HAD to see Emily once more before we leave, and since she’ll be out of town this weekend, we met for brunch this morning at First Watch near the Dayton Mall.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE First Watch. I have no idea why. There isn’t anything super unique about it. Maybe because it’s always really light and bright in there, they have International Delight coffee creamer (sweet!) and their staple meal is breakfast. LOVE breakfast.

We did the whole hold-the-camera-out-as-far-as-you-can-and-hope-for-the-best thing. It worked the second time; the first time I forgot that I was still on zoom. Picture of Holly’s left eye and pores? Check.

I’ve never been very good at that, especially with Andrew’s unwieldy camera. I should ask his sisters…they have got it down to a science! About 75% of their photos are self-portraits, taken at arms’ length. I love them.

Anyway, back to brunch. I was running late, so no makeup. Oh well…I was in yoga clothes and Chacos. Emily was on her way to work, so she was beautiful and had awesome lipgloss on.

Susy and I did our last (sniff, tear) long run this morning–we met at the gym at 6:30 to get 10 miles and some lifting in–whoo hoo! So, I splurged and got the Floridian French Toast:

I usually try to get something off the “healthy” part of the menu or do enough substitutions on a regular item to lighten it up, but I figured that today, of all days, I could go carb-heavy. I love the addition of fruit (they have regular french toast, too) so I can use less syrup.

Emily was a good girl and got the Healthy Turkey, another of my faves after she discovered it when we went to First Watch in Columbus on a couples’ weekend trip.

It’s a yummy egg-white, turkey omelette with feta, spinach and tomatoes (she left them out) for about 190 calories–it does not get better than that! I feel so empowered to make healthy decisions at the grocery store and restaurants because of all I’ve learned about food. I get sad when I see people make decisions THINKING they are healthy ones, when in reality, they aren’t. And don’t get me wrong; I’ve made my share of bad decisions thinking I was making good ones. I just chalk it up to a learning experience and try to do better the next time.

I was SO TIRED on the drive home from brunch! Seriously, I could have fallen asleep at the wheel! Perhaps I was slipping into a sugar coma after all the caramels yesterday, a major depletion of energy this morning, then a sugary meal? I tried to nap on the couch when I got home (despite all the things on my to-do list today) but I don’t know if I fell asleep or not. (Story of my life!) At least I got some rest–I’m going on SEVERE sleep deprivation here! I haven’t slept past 6 a.m. in months…(this morning it was 4:40 a.m.) Seriously, I am not exaggerating.

Made an iced coffee and now it’s back to work for me!