Nate's 30 Things Continues... even now that he's 31 :)

We didn't quite get around to all 30 of the "Things to do in Cincinnati" in Nate's 365 days of being 30.  A few things contributed to this... like getting married, taking a honeymoon, buying a house, bathroom renovations and full-time jobs.

We decided that it was still important to continue the 30 Things so are pushing forward.  Hopefully we can complete the task before 32 rolls around next May!

Here we are at a Xavier University Baseball Game vs Ohio University on 4/31. The school and field are just down the street from our old apartment on Victory Parkway in Cincinnati.  Great view of the school from the field!

We also went mini-golfing at Eastgate Adventures on 5/19. What a fun mini golf course! We even shot from the top of a waterfall.  Not that it matters (but it really does), I won by 1 stroke.  :)

Creating Curb Appeal

We've been keeping busy!  The past two weekends, we've spent outdoors working on our yard.

To the right of our house is a large tree in an area that doesn't receive much sun and currently doesn't have much in terms of grass.  We took the stack of bricks that our neighbors tell us had been there since 2003 and created a planter around the tree and banked dirt against the foundation to improve drainage away from the house.

With extra bricks, we created a planter around the mailbox where I'll eventually plant flowers.

We loved the look of it so also created a planter around the flower bed in the front of our house. 

The next weekend, we had three cubic yards of mulch delivered and poured 800 pounds of dirt in various places around the yard.  While we were sore at the end of the weekend, it is so fulfilling to work on our yard together and know that we are putting our sweat equity to work!

Below are our "after" shots.  We planted hosta bulbs along the side of the house which are starting to bud and the flowers in the front have begun to bloom this week!

The first big remodel project at the Ohiowa House... the Guest Bathroom!

My dad is a house painter, and while I grew up going to work sites with him throughout the years... I became his expert nail hole filler, drop cloth folder, putty spreader, and tape edger.  Notice that none of these job titles involve paint?  That's right.  I'm thirty years old and decided it was time to do some real painting.

We decided to start small, so gave Dad a call and he gave me the best products to buy and where to pick them up. He even made the cutest instructional video to show me how to use a tool for cutting in the ceilings.  Check out Dad's video, below.

While the guest bathroom wasn't in dire need of a remodel, it is a small space and was a good starting point for our series of project crashing.  This is what the bathroom looked like, "before" we started out:

 

 

I stopped at Sherwin Williams, picked up our "Cardboard" colored paint, and got to work on our guest bathroom.

Nate and I tackled electricity, plumbing, and teamwork... and in my opinion, conquered them all.  Nate removed the toilet for painting and re-installed it perfectly!  We removed the old mirror and light fixture and wired in a new light.  After multiple trips to two different hardware stores, we also chose new accessories to match the faucet.

 This is the finished product... what an exciting feeling!

The "Before" and "After" comparison, below.  We have now torn apart another bathroom... more to come on that, soon!

We love Chicago!

Nate and I visited one of our favorite cities last weekend... Chicago!

For my 30th birthday back in December, one of the gifts I opened from my dear husband, was a hotel stay at the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Avenue.  It was a beautiful hotel and our room number was 1213... which also happens to be my birth date.  I should have bought a lottery ticket! :)

Lunch at Grand Lux was not planned but was a treat. If you haven't been there... try the Asian Nachos - they are a.maz.ing.

After lunch we stopped by Marketing Werks to see my baby sis.  She was all grown up and busy preparing for an upcoming training.  She was a great host and walked me around to see old friends and former PlayStation colleagues.  Here is Elyse at her desk :)

We braved the nasty rain to visit a restaurant called Big Star in Wicker Park with our buddies, Mark and Mary.  Mark and Nate recently bonded over a shared love of bourbon so Mark recommended this place.  Quite the ambiance!  We ate our (delicious) tacos standing up and got M&M home early before their week-long vacay to California for spring break.

 Saturday we swung by Lou Malnati's for pizza to go and visited Alec and Shannon for a lunch date at their condo.  We had the honor of meeting three week old Devon, who is the most precious little boy.  He is tiny, yet very strong, ha.  Alec and Shannon are great parents and we had a wonderful time catching up.

 

Next up we picked up Elyse and headed to the Willis Tower for tourist time!  Nate had been there years ago but it was the first time for the Cress sisters.  After a quick elevator ride up, we had the best view in the city from the Skydeck.  Despite the rain, it was an exciting view.  We waited in line for the plexi-glass "Ledge" which ended up being cool... but scary!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was in Wrigleyville at a tapas restaurant called Twist.  Between the three of us, we ordered eight tapas to share with the table and had a blast trying all of the foods!  Mini Crabcakes, Chicken Quesadilla, Lobster Ravioli, Mac n Cheese a la Twist, Spicy Potatoes, Stuffed Chicken Breast, Beef Skewer... and of course, Pork Tenderloin Medallions.  Delicious!!!

 

 

After dinner we walked towards Wrigley to the Irish Oak.  Wendy and Rich met up with us for drinks, which resulted in a couple of 30 year olds staying up waaaaaaay past bedtime.

 

As if we hadn't had enough, on Sunday morning, Elyse, Nate and I went to breakfast at Ann Sathers... the best damn cinnamon rolls in Chicago!

It was an amazing trip.  Can't wait until next time!