Walk, Drink, Chill, Repeat.

This Saturday, my great friend Dan and I decided to enjoy the absolutely GORGEOUS weather, and roam all around Cincinnati. 

Our first stop: The City Flea! 

Over the summer this event happens once a month in Washington Park, and is pretty much like Etsy...but in real life! Tons of creative types gather on the lawn and sell their products. Vintage clothes, handmade crafts, original jewelry, unique gifts, everything! 

This park is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Cincinnati. Last Sunday Dan and I went for a free concert, Opera in the Park, presented by the Cincinnati Opera company. Every weekend there are free events at the park for the public to enjoy.

After browsing through the flea, we headed deeper downtown and grabbed a quick drink at Nada. I've walked passed this restaurant so many times and have ALWAYS wanted to check it out. They are a contemporary Mexican restaurant, and I can tell you first-hand that the margaritas are exceptionally yummy :) 

We dubbed our look for the day "hipster-hippy". 

Once we got our fill of downtown we thought, "Hey! Why not keep going and head up to Mt. Adams!?". So sticking to the theme of walk, drink, chill, repeat we wondered around and found ourselves at The Blind Lemon Cafe. This cafe is like a secret garden where magical fairies come along and serve you wine, beer, and little pint sized bowls of pretzels. 

I still can't get over those over sized vintage posters! And the mirrors expand the space by adding so much drama! Eric is going to come home one day and find a giant mirror propped up against our fence in the backyard. 

I could have sat there all afternoon. 

The last stop of the day was the Unwind Wine Bar in Hyde Park. If you enjoy wine, beer, appetizers, and desserts this is the place for you. We each had a delicious glass of vino and split a lick-your-fork-clean slice of lemon blueberry cheesecake. 

Walk, drink, chill, repeat. 

This should be the mantra for every weekend. I don't think we could have planned a more relaxing day of  exploring our wonderful city if we tried. 

So if you're in the area and looking for someplace new to hang out; Washington Park, Nada, The Blind Lemon, and Unwind all unofficially have the Dan and Beth Stamp of Approval! 

Brown Trim Be Gone!

Last weekend Eric and I began the daunting task of transforming all of that dark trim in our foyer, stairs, and hallway from boorish brown to a wonderful bright white. A LOT of taping-off was involved, which ended up being the most tedious part of the process. In the end we had to tape along the floor, 7 doors, 2 windows, as well as the entire staircase. Fortunately we plan on painting the back of the stairs white anyhow, so that was one less area that needed taped.

After an initial coat of Kiltz primer, we had to give it another two coats of Simply White by Benjamin Moore to get the coverage we were looking for. 

The green tape really gives it an extra something don't ya think? 

Even though each coat easily took two hours, and there were just soooo many doors to go around, this has to be one of the more rewarding transformations we've made. Not having that depressing brown darkening up every corner is a HUGE improvement. 

I apologize the horrible photos, or more horrible than usual I should say. These are kind of awkward spaces to capture, there's just not a great place to stand to get the whole picture. 

To make up for my dreadful photography skills, about a little before and after! The pictures on the left were taken shortly after we moved in. 

Notes on random things you may have noticed: 

• Yes the painting around the front door is spotty. The goal is to paint it a brilliant new color in the near future so we weren't too concerned about getting white on it. 
• Same goes for the back of the stairs. 
• We're Eric's also in the middle of refinishing the banister. That's why it's spindle-less and looks like a crazy death trap.  
• Why yes I still am in love with my adorable bathroom curtain! Thanks for asking :) 

There you have it! Gone are the days of chocolate-colored despair, and into to a world of finally-all-the-freaking-trim-matches white bliss!