Holiday Overload! The Must See Holiday Displays in Columbus of 2014

Yay! It's almost Christmas! For the last three years, I have gone out in search of free light displays.  I have tried to research light displays online to no avail.  There are always forums of people asking where the best residential light displays are around town with little to go on. The last two years I have visited the same two houses, so I sought out leads last week on social media. This year I lucked out with a few new finds. 

These displays are beautiful or beautifully tacky. They are the kind of displays that take months to create and rack up hundreds of dollars in energy bills but we love the way they make us feel when we look at them. They evoke precious memories of our childhood when things were simpler and exciting. They remind us of the days when some of us believed in magic. 

On Christmas Eve, after Christmas dinner or after you see the new Christmas movie release you've been waiting on; take a drive around the Columbus area to check out these cool displays. After all, this is something we only get to see once a year. 

1. All American Christmas 

This house is in my neighborhood, so I have visited this house for three years. This is one of my favorite displays because the design is always well thought out  and executed. It is the cleanest light display of the bunch. It changes a little every year. This year my neighbor added a lit American flag. Since I did not get any close up details, the second photo is a photo of what he did two years ago for a comparison. I loved the gift wrap windows that year.

Find it on the west side of Columbus on Richardson between Eakin and Mound.

Richardson December 2014

December 2012

2. The Christmas Melting Pot

This is another house I have visited the last three years. I call it the 'Christmas Melting Pot' because there is a little of everything in this display. The lawn is covered in wooden cut outs, wire figures and so on. I love this display because it is soooo over the top. I have never been by for any other holidays but I hear this house goes all out for more than just Christmas. There is also a house on the street to the right of this one that almost made my list. It is beautifully decorated but just not crazy enough for me.

Find this house in Upper Arlington off Riverside Dr. on Guilford Rd/Cambridge

Guilford Rd/ Cambridge 2014

details: Santas in the windows and hanging from the house

3. Land of Lights

This residence is new to me this year.  It was one of the leads I got on social media. It is on a large piece of property not too far from where I live. I am surprised I had not been until now since they have been creating this display for many years. The tradition of their holiday decorating has been passed down to the second generation. The display which spans over the property starting from a very long driveway includes 50,500 lights.  It was impossible for me to get the entire display in one photo. Even two wasn't enough. You are going  to have to check it out for yourselves. Don't be intimidated by the long driveway. They expect you to pull in.

Find this home on the west side of Columbus on Valley View Dr. off Hague. It is across from the YMCA.

Valley View Dr/ Hague December 2014

Details: figures are spread out all over the property December 2014

 4. The Musical Toy Box

This is the first year I visited this home. I am not a fan of blow up figures but this home became my second favorite. Not only is it colorful and fun but there is music. While you take in the colorful blinking lights and all of the blow-up  figures including a red M&M, Christmas songs permeate the air. I wanted to sit in front of this house forever.

Find this home on Santa Maria Drive in Grove City off La Rosa Dr.

Santa Maria Dr. December 2014

details: Lit arches to the garage that blink December 2014

I hope this post will help those of you looking for lights in Columbus this year. For my readers in other cities, you may want to check out the Tacky Light Tour site. There isn't much there for my area but there are locations for so many other cities. Thank you Stephanie for all of the great leads! I had such a great time looking at these homes. They were better than anything I expected.

Those of you who have anymore lights I need to check out in the Columbus area, please feel free to share. If I visit them I will add them to the blog and give you a shout out!

Until next time

Be blessed! Be Free! Be Adventurous!

Kris,

Christmas Cookie Tour!!! Twelve Days Of Christmas

Holiday decor in the Garver House B&B

 My day was spent exploring Amish Country this past Saturday. This is my second time writing about this particular setting. I was there specifically for the 7th Annual Christmas Cookie Tour of Inns presented by The Amish Country Lodging Council. It is a tour that benefits local charities and offers the opportunity for Amish Country Inns to get exposure and market their business. The participants visit each Inn to check out the rooms, holiday decorations and they receive a special cookie from each location. I heard about this tour two years ago. The last couple years, tickets sold out before I thought to purchase any. This year, once October ended; I ordered two tickets for the first day, of the two day event. Two weeks later I received two tickets in the mail along with two souvenir books. The books contained information about all the Inns that were participating, a map, the cookie recipes and images of quilt pieces representing 'Twelve Days Of Christmas', the theme of this year's tour.

I woke early Saturday morning to get to Amish Country for breakfast and allow myself time to reach the first stop as soon as the event began. We started at the Inn farthest away so we could work our way back for convenience. We had twelve Inns to visit from 12:30P.M. until 6:00P.M. This gave me and my travel companion thirty minutes per stop, which was more than we needed for any location. Some of the venues were further away and not easy to find which ate up some time. Thank goodness I was with someone who knew the area well. We made such good time, we were able to stop at a few places in between.

The Garver House Bed& Breakfast

The first two stops of the tour were in Strasburg. The Ramada Inn was stop one and my least favorite of the tour. You could tell they didn't budget much for their decorations. I didn't even turn on my camera. They had 'Nine Ladies Dancing' from the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' theme and used Christmas trees with dancing ladies ornaments to satisfy the theme. The next stop was Garver House Bed & Breakfast. The décor was country style with quilts and felt decorations. The Inn itself was beautiful, comprised of decorative wooden flooring and stunning stained glass windows. I could see myself spending a weekend there as soon as I walked through the door. Then they served us a tortilla soup and I never wanted to leave. It was so good. We finished the first two Inns in thirty minutes so we checked out a winery we had not been to. I will go into detail about that a little later.

Garver House 'A Partridge In A Pair Tree'

Carlisle Inn Sugarcreek 'Twelve Drummers Drumming'

Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek was our third stop. The hotel was beautiful and the holiday decorations were incredible. Their decorations were my favorite of all the stops. They displayed a large deer prop on a bed with pine-like garland and other smaller holiday pieces. The pillow cases said Merry Christmas and were lit using red lights in candle holders. Since they had day twelve 'Twelve Drummers Drumming', they displayed stacks of bright shinny drums throughout the hotel. They also had a reception area with a hot coco bar that contained four kinds of hot coco and toppings. The caramel coco was delicious. I left feeling spoiled. The cookie they presented was a gooey red velvet butter cookie. It was insanely good. On to a cozy Memory Lane Cabin in Walnut Creek, where I barely recall the holiday décor but was fascinated with the wall of taxidermy. In addition to the cookie we expected we were also given homemade chocolate turtles.

Carlisle in Sugarcreek lobby

Memory Lane taxidermy wall

The fifth stop was a new hotel also in Walnut Creek called Wallhouse Hotel. The hotel was furnished with modern pieces and the holiday decorations delivered the same modern feel. The white Christmas tree in the lobby was adorned with sparkly blue bulbs. The blue was a nice contrast to the lime green color found through out the rest of the hotel. Wallhouse had the best food presentation, offering stacked cheese, tomato and olives. The finger food offering was strange but visually stunning. They also had a bakery vendor there who was handing out mini cupcakes. Yum!
 

Wallhouse Hotel

Wallhouse Christmas tree and 'Three French Hens'

Our sixth stop was the Carlisle Inn location in Walnut Creek. They have two locations but the hotels are both pretty different. The decorations were pretty, not as nice the first location. They were assigned 'Five Golden Rings'. They incorporated their theme in the diamond ring cut out cookie they passed out. I didn't recall seeing decorations related to the theme anywhere else. It was a beautiful hotel regardless.

Carlisle Inn Walnut Creek 'Five Golden Rings'

The next two Inns were in Wilmot and Dundee. The Inn at Amish Door was assigned 'Eleven Pipers Piping'. They didn't do much with the theme but their holiday decorations were beautiful and creative. They gave out mint whoopie pies which were my favorite take away from the event. We got lost temporarily looking for Sojourner's Lodge in Dundee. Once we got there we didn't stay long. The decorations outside were nice but their wasn't much inside the lodge. They incorporated 'Six Geese A Laying' with their takeaway,  an egg cut out cookie and a goose prop surrounded by golden plastic eggs with Christmas facts and jokes inside.

Decorations from The Inn at Amish Door 'Eleven Pipers Piping'

Sojourner's Lodge Decoractions 'Six Geese a Laying'

Enlarged quilt piece by Loretta Coblentz ' Six Geese a Laying'

By the time we got down to the last four Inns we were just about exhausted, but we kept pushing on. Luckily the last four were fairly close to each other. In Berlin we stopped at Zinck's Inn, Berlin Resort and Berlin Grand Hotel. Then we finished in Millersburg at Guggisberg Swiss Inn. At Zinck's we were met with brownie Christmas tree pops, the only non-cookie on the whole tour. In the lobby they had a beautiful tree with paper 'Ten Lords A Leaping'and two of the cutest elderly people singing Christmas Carols and playing instruments. Berlin Resort had another one of my favorite trees in their lobby and they were creative with their theme assignment. They used cow printed throws with an Amish maiden outfit thrown across a bed and a Christmas tree covered with cow lights, cow printed bows and little silver milk pails to portray 'Eight Maids A Milking'. Berlin Grand Hotel went literal with 'Two Turtle Doves' by placing ceramic turtle doves paired with red candles in their tour rooms.  My favorite Inn in terms of playing with the theme was Guggisberg Swiss Inn, who created 'Seven Swans A Swimming' with towel swans on the beds of the two rooms we viewed.

Zinck's Inn Christmas Tree in Lobby 'Ten Lords a Leaping'

Berlin Resort 'Eight Maids a Milking'

Berlin Grande Hotel  'Two Turtle Doves'

Guggisberg Swiss Inn 'Seven Swans a Swimming' 7 towel swans on a bed

I did not eat any of my cookies until this week. The cookies have mostly been very good. I am thrilled to also own a copy of each recipe. I have already decided which cookies I am going to bake. The event also got me excited about planning an overnight in Amish Country. It helps that every Inn gave away coupons and codes to receive a discount on a stay, all of which expire a year from this month. Though I had a great time, I am not sure I will do the tour again any time soon. While it was definitely worth it, it was just a really long day. My advice for future tours is to stay in the area.

I enjoyed the tour. It allowed me to explore parts of Amish Country I have not previously visited. Previous to this trip, I visited the same places every time. For information on those stops check out my post titled, 'Home of the Original Green Lifestyle'. During the tour I stopped at two cities new to me; Strasburg and Dundee, Ohio. I have also never spent the night in Amish Country, so being able to check out rooms in the area was exciting. There is so much variety from the coziest bed & breakfast or cabin to family size lodges and standard hotels. Check out the Christmas Cookie Tour of Inns website for next year's event.

Me in the lobby of Berlin Resort

Swiss Heritage Winery
 6011 Old Rte 39 NW
Dover, Ohio 44622 

I have to quickly mention the winery I visited. I love Ohio wine so I am surprised that I hadn't made it to this place before now, especially since it is directly across from another winery I frequent often, Breitenbach Wine Cellars. Swiss heritage is located inside Broad Run Cheesehouse. The tastings were five for a dollar. They also had a bar full of complimentary cheese, spreads and crackers to eat while we tasted. We fell in love with the Cherry wine and a sweet red called Dog Gone Good. In addition to the normal white options I also tried some interesting flavors such as Watermelon and Red Raspberry. 

We left with some cheese, the Cherry and Dog Gone Good wine. I also bought a few fashion items from their fashion section. They had a lot of jewelry items and beautiful scarves. This is a place you must definitely visit if you are in the area. The wine is interesting and it is a great place to find gifts for wine lovers, foodies and fashionistas.

Broad Run Cheesehouse & Swiss Heritage Winery

 
until next time  
Be blessed! Be free! 
Be Adventurous!





Count Down to BDay 2014

Every year I get to see a Birthday is a blessing,I embrace getting older. I believe it is a gift and a privilege. We don't all get the same amount of time and the next day is never promised. With that said, I choose to treat each Birthday as a holiday. The main day is the most important but I plan small celebrations or activities throughout the month. My birthday is October 30th and I will be thirty-three this year. This Thursday I am not certain what I will be doing but if I wake up that morning I will be grateful. If I am blessed to see the weekend, I will continue the celebration. For now, I want to share with you some of the things I have been up to this month as part of my celebration.


Hakuna Matata

I have wanted to see The Lion King on Broadway for as long as it has existed. People who'd seen it before me told me about the beautiful costumes and how I would really love and appreciate it because I am an artist and designer. When I heard it was coming to Columbus, I knew I had to go see it. I told my mom that I wanted tickets for my birthday and the rest is history. I saw the show two weeks ago with my nephew. I was overwhelmed by the presentation. It was so intense and visually stunning. It was far more than I anticipated even after the feedback I got from those who attended previously. I was overwhelmed by the colorful cast and the positive homage to the continent in which the story takes place, Africa. I also really appreciated how the production managed to use so much of the beautiful and historic Ohio Theatre. There were characters in the balconies and walking down the aisles. I am a fan!! I will see it again in the future.The production leaves Columbus November 9th. There are still tickets left for the Columbus presentations. If you can't make it before then, they return to Ohio next year on March 31, at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati. For the rest of the tour stops visit The Lion King website.

Breakfast With Nick

Saturday morning I spent 3.5 hours with Dr.Breakfast. Nick Dekker is a Columbus, Ohio blogger and author of both the blog and book titled 'Breakfast with Nick'. I have been following his blog for some time now and recently purchased his book after first checking it out at the library. So when I learned that Dr. Breakfast and Columbus Food Adventures were teaming up for a Breakfast Tour, I was elated. The first tour was October 18th and filled up faster than I could get signed up. CFA has a passport program that rewards loyal customers with a free tour after collecting four stamps from purchased tours.I got my passports mailed out in time to be the last participant on the second tour. By then, the kinks had been worked out and I am sure the pressure was greatly reduced for Nick. He was very informative and by far the friendliest guide I have had during a CFA tour. Obviously, they are all friendly, after all, this was my fifth tour.

I have done a tour at the end of October for the last three years. Last year I did two. I have done the German Village and Short North walking tours, the Dessert Tour and the Taco Truck tour but this was by far my favorite tour. There is something very special about getting a tour of great breakfast spots by Dr. Breakfast himself. I admit, I am a fan. The tour gives his readers the opportunity to actually break bread with the man himself. He is easy going and makes it very comfortable to ask questions. He comes across believable and trustworthy. His choices in stops were brilliant, offering variety and food selections that were rare and special. For the brunch lovers, we got to indulge in two small plates; a chicken and waffle along with a mini pancake with maple pulled pork. At the same spot we also got a small Bloody Mary that we whipped up ourselves from the Bloody Mary bar. Ethyl and Tank, the brunch spot was the only place I had not been. Some of the other stops included Buckeye Donuts where we got to sample various donuts and listened to owner Jimmy's stories of famous patrons such as music legend, The Ol'So Fabulous Prince. Other offerings from the five tour stops were a 'Buckeye Pancake', a pancake with chocolate and peanut butter, a gravy covered piece of work called a 'Gut Buster', a Latin dish with chorizo and tortillas and a  'Doughssant'. The Doughssant, also known to some as the Cronut has been offered through the Auddino family in Columbus/Hillard for twenty years. You can find the 'Doughssant' at Auddino's Bakery & Cafe. I left the tour feeling full but not uncomfortable. I had to follow the tour with a long walk through the Short North.

The Zombie Escape

Occasionally I come across an activity in the city that blows my mind. I was browsing Experience Columbus when I found Room Escape Adventures and the 'Trapped in a Room with a Zombie' show. Lately all we have heard from doctors is how we need to pay more attention to our brain. It has been suggested to maintain a healthy brain and memory that our brain needs exercise.  This show is definitely a good way to do that. You are locked in a room for an hour with a zombie chained to a piece of furniture. You are forced to think through riddles and look for clues all while the zombie is trying to get you. The chain is released a foot every five minutes, so the zombie is getting closer and closer to you as time goes on. Teamwork is very necessary whether you know the people you are working with or not. Of all the cities where this company operates the show which includes big cities like: Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta, only 32% of the groups participating have won. Luckily we were among that percentile, escaping with just under two minutes left of the hour. 

I found the show to be amusing and challenging. I was able to offer some assistance during the game but found myself stuck many times. At the end the host will answer any questions you have and give you a run down of the highlights of your game. He announces a MVP and the people who helped the game along. I was happy to hear my name in the credits even though I knew what I'd done. Everyone loves a pat on the back.  This was something unique and interesting to do. They have been doing this show since February of this year but if you are looking for something fun to do for Halloween, there are still tickets left. However, there is no rush, you can also schedule for a show up until December. Should you go, look for my group photo. If you beat the game, you are added to the 'Wall of Fame'.

image courtesy of savvycities.com

The older I get, the less I want things. I have come to value experiences more. This year I have made sure to do things that I have always wanted to do and expose myself to a plethora of new experiences. That is what this blog is supposed to be about. I hope that you have enjoyed my entries so far this year. I have been inspired by so many people in my life, I hope that I have projected that same inspiration onto you as well. 

I would love to know!
What do you do special for your birthday? 
Or
What are your birthday plans for your next birthday?

Until Next Time,
Be Blessed! Be Free!BE Adventurous!
Kris, 

The Cure To Boredom Fall/Winter 2014

Adventure To Do List Fall/Winter 2014

It's that time again!  It is time for a new adventure list for Fall/Winter. This past April I decided to do a seasonal adventure list for every six months.The list is my cure to boredom. The list is compiled of things I want to experience this season and as I cross something off  I will share it with you. I will share information about the experience, my photos and my revelations as I did last season. Here is my adventure list for Fall/Winter 2014. 

The Bridge to Beauty: A photo I took while hiking in Hocking Hills. 10/12/14

My 'Adventure To Do List' is in no particular order. 

1.  Go Snow Tubing

2.  Build a fabulous snow-woman (completed  3/1/15)

3.  Go on a Columbus Brew Adventures Tour
 (any one of them)

4.  Take a scenic train ride

5.  Visit the A Christmas Story House & Museum

6.  Take a nature walk at least once a month

7.  See the Lion King Broadway Musical
(completed 10/11/14)

8.  Check out three new restaurants from 'Eating Your Way Across Ohio'

9.  Learn the art of Upholstery

10. Get comfortable driving 

( I am almost 33 without a license!)

If you haven't created an adventure list before, start one today. See how many things you can experience this season. I have read in many sources including Forbes that when you write things down, you are more likely to do them. If money is an issue with your to do list, there are discounts all over the place through services like Groupon and Living Social that help make some of these things more feasible. So start your list and enjoy the season!

For my last list click here.

Share! What is on your list? I would love to know. Maybe you will inspire me to add more to my list.

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable! 
 Be adventurous!
Kris,