i went to north carolina this weekend!

here is the first and only unhappy photo from my trip to north carolina.

it's aaron, the sweet, capable aaron, pulling over for the third time to check under his engine.

perhaps we almost did not make it back on sunday evening!

i sat calmly in the front

while aaron pulled over 1, 2, 3, 4 times to see why his 1995 honda civic was spazzing out.

we made it.

finally.

made it back to cincinnati, and passed out almost immediately.

granted,

i did not do any of the driving.

which was actually making me bonkers. :)

i was a passenger, incapable of driving a stick shift! how terrifying!

a learning lesson is indeed in order

but here is actually a very happy photo from this trip to north carolina.

the "No Caro" is a place I had never been before.

and over the thanksgiving weekend,

as in,

wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, return sunday

i visited it.

i met aaron's mom and daddo

and hilarious birds, marty and pava(sp?)

i slept in a guest room and on the couch

and aaron and his padre worked on aaron's car all weekend.

north carolina was quite uneventful.

other than

all the wonderful chatting that happened

we ended up going out to dinner with friends of his parents every night!

thursday: thanksgiving dinner with a close group

friday: italian dinner with a jovial two

saturday: fancypants dinner on the top floor of a private club in downtown charlotte (which, by the way, has incredible views and divine furnishings.)

and after dinner friday and saturday, aaron and i bopped out (the way "young people," do,) and met with old friends of his, which i found endlessly entertaining! i love childhood pasts!

who woulda thunk that sleeping, napping, and getting dressed for dinner would be so exhausting? :)

there's something to be said for spending five days getting to know everybody around you,

five days in a place pretty much on your own.

with aaron working on the car, i was left to myself to create meaningful connections, or suffer the consequences that come with self-imposed isolation.

thankfully, aaron's mom proved such a wonderful woman, and by day three i was immensely more conten than before.

hopefully next time i will get to see more of the fantastic charlotte, north carolina!

the very beginnings of it seemed absolutely divine. :)

Unbelievably Tasty Brunch: The Comet

hey internet.

how's it going?

oh me? just fine, totally fine.

just stopping by to say hey,

ya know,

and mention the most amazing, unbelievably tasty brunch i've ever had.

i'm not gonna lie;

i've pretty high standards for breakfast/brunch.

my parents make pretty excellent breakfast

and made it my entire life

at home

from scratch.

hooooommmmmeeeemmmaaaddde.

and so i love breakfast!

i try it everywhere!

but i never

died and went to heaven

until i had brunch at The Comet.

now, i use commonly,

what i like to call "exceptionally pleased language."

meaning, i'm fairly liberal with my "amazings," and "totally unbelievables," and "ohmygod this is freaking incredibles!"

which, although i do actually select such language for an appropriate combination of my commentary on reality and my experience of reality,

it does sometimes leave me at a loss.

like now, when i want to tell you about how incredible this breakfast is.

i almost can't.

but, of course, i can.

and the "can" of it becomes impossibly simple.

The Comet's brunch (where i've had a frittata, pumpkin french toast {which is actually a freaking custard delight, and aaron and i both wished we had gotten an extra one for the night,} and aaron has twice had a "hot mess" and probably eight thousand other things since he's been there so often,)....

The Comet's brunch is satisfying.

Very simply, satisfying, to the highest extent of the word.

During and after I've had my breakfast at The Comet, I want for nothing. My life is peaceful, content, and full of possibilities.

I know you could use this experience; I'm certain nobody could ever have too much of this calm.

So please, if you know what's good for you

and by "what's good for you,"

i actually mean, "think it's fun to take my advice."

go eat brunch on sundays at The Comet.

You are not going to regret it.

and you will forever think fondly of your time spent there.

i promise. <3

Cincinnati's American Sign Museum

i became "Said Date" on Saturday,

for the second time,

taking aaron on a date;

the first time being a magical night of dancing and bayou tunes

 in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky.

but i kind of cheated,

taking him some place that i've been wanting to go for over a year.

but  what can i say!

things are better when you're sharing!

so, it counts. as a date.

a fun one. :)

ANyway, the American Sign Museum is very cool!

an old guy named Tod,

who's been in the Sign Magazine Industry for years,

up and started a museum six or seven years ago.

and now,

he roams the country

paying big bucks for big vintage signs.

and then sometimes giving tours in cincinnati on the weekends.

the tour is GREAT.

Tod, our tour guide, proved a hilarious compendium of knowledge,

sprinkling all the historical, factual information

with personal opinions, antidotes, and very heartfelt facts

("that was the original artist for our studio...yep, died in the shower of a heart attack one day,

a big man, just up and keeled over.")

amidst all the wonderful personality, he proves an HAVEN of information

answering all my pesky questions, like,

"what do they use to make different colored neon?"

and

"what are the prices on neon letters/inflation rates/how much does this cost?"

and

further illuminating (get it? "illuminating") everyone on the very fascinating, very interesting

history, production, journey, blips, tricks, and essence of Neon Signs and signage, in general.

it was quite amazing.

 i absolutely recommend that you go.

ten bucks a person for a weekend tour, given three times on saturday at
10:00, 12:00, and 2:00 pm.

we spent the time after
enjoying a FREAKING DELICIOUS LUNCH
at Allyn's Cafe,

and the afternoon, picking up aaron's trials bike, and

i lost my mind playing with a five year old who likes to be kissed.
woohoo! kisses!

Evening spent at The Blind Lemon

aka "THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BAR I'VE BEEN IN YET IN CINCINNATI"

(ummm, srsly. i totally posted on this yesterday, spur o' the moment)

where friends of aaron's
and happy acquaintances of mine
were celebrating an hours' old engagement!

Congratulations, Liz + Fiance'!

it was quite a blissful weekend,
 quite the happy days and evenings.

YOU GUYS

EVERYONE.

I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING.

i'm a total knock-out fan of

The Blind Lemon

in Cincinnati, Ohio.

in fact, i'm gonna use a common word for my life, lately:

SMITTEN

i'm entirely smitten with

The Blind Lemon

in Cincinnati, Ohio

;)

and more importantly,

their delicious cold-weather drinks

of which aaron has bought me two of in the past three days.

(milkyway milkyway we both have had nothing but drinks called "the milkyway")

pssst, mischief managed: Queen City Walking Tours

that person i like

my "Said Date,"

on previous occasions, referendum in blogging

took me on a date last friday.

a cool one!

which is common, but man! it was cool!

we did the

Queen City is Haunted! walking tour

through Downtown Cincy

(a sometimes terrifying place in its own right.) ;P

let me just say that it was literally a FREAKY awesome time.

our three hour tour

complete with three silly tour guides

dressed in reminescent period clothing

filled us in on all the happenings in a three block area for the past hundred + years, or so.

the tours began when the city of cincy requested the touring company to expand their ventures and provide recreational experiences for citizens across the tri-state.

and the premise is exceptional.

based in fact, the tours come to fruition

from cross-referenced stories.

stories told from multiple perspectives, having basis in actuality

with witness accounts

newspaper reports

significant life events and changes to back them up.

and then they bring in a psychic.

and they take her on the tour, without telling her any of their learned research

and she has all these freaky moments that back up all the research they've uncovered

and then, like very freaky magic,

the tour is born.

and then you bring in the poor saps

like the two above

who pay money to freak themselves out.

which, by the way, was super fun.

we walked the tour for three hours

visiting the streets of cincy

memorial hall, music hall, and 1313 vine st.

the two halls were UNBELIEVABLE.

like all performance spaces,

they totally, absolutely carry an aura with them

in a way that could easily and most usually

be counted as haunted.

i flipped out over those two places.

gorgeous. amazing. beautiful architecture. history

we even snuck up onstage at memorial hall

and snapped a picture

(mainly because we both knew that any normal house manager of that space would FREAK OUT

if they knew that we were actually up there and

subsequently encouraging the rest of the tour to be so emboldened.)

and in 1313 Vine, I again, flipped out

but mostly because the SPACE WAS TERRIFYING.

it used to be an old goth-freak-dominatrix club called "The Warehouse,"

in which WHO KNOWS WHAT happened.

we walked into the main room, and i immediately freaked out.

squeezed my eyes shut.

wrapped around aaron.

and whimpered?

perhaps i did, i'm a grown woman, so what! :)

and did i mention i grew up with ghosts?

very true. in my parents' home in texas.

ANyway, we made it out alive

and when the tour guides started leading the tour to suspecting

"activity and haunts are verrry common here! just look at our blinking EMF"

i stopped freaking out and realized again that it was all just play.

play, indeed.

very fun play.

i was so happy!

pssst IV: Allyson West, giant FAIL

oh, i was thinking about "Said Date" recently, noticing that I hadn't anything too terribly Eventful to blog, when I realized, actually, that besides movie dates, I had been the one to initiate the last date.

and oh my god, wasn't it a big FAIL on my part.

I invited Said Date over for dinner.

with my "parents."

("parents" only because my birth-parents live in Texas. and these "parents" are undeniably my parents here.)

First things first, Said Date was awesome.

Second things second, my "parents" really like him.

Third things third, I was a FLAMING MESS.

i was so nervous!

i was nervous asking "mom" if he could come over.

i was nervous cleaning and vaccuuming since he was coming over.

i was nervous taking a shower and talking to "mom."

Me: I'm kind of nervous.

Elizabeth: Why?

Me: I don't know! I just am!

Elizabeth: Are you nervous we won't like him?

Me: No, I know you will. He's great.

Elizabeth: Are you nervous he won't like us?

Me: No, I know he will. You guys are great.

Elizabeth: So what are you nervous about?

Me: I guess I'm nervous I'm going to do something stupid! Or say something stupid!

Elizabeth: Allyson, you say stupid things all the time. We all know this already.

Actually, the dinner was great. Elizabeth was smart enough to send me out for half and half so she could make biscuits to disperse some of my psychotic nervous energy, and she ended up making absolutely delicious biscuits and vegetable soup. Said Date was amazing, as always, and the evening was pretty chill, with everyone poking fun at me occasionally for being a flaming mess.

Me: I'm so nervous!
Said Date: Why?

Me: Just because!

Said Date: (to "parents") Are you guys nervous?

Parents: No.

Said Date: Well, I'm not nervous. Apparently you're the only one. :)

Ridiculous.

Guys. People judge me by my choices.

I've seriously FAILED BIG TIME with past boyfriends,
and this is one worth not failing with.

Wouldn't you be nervous if you suddenly realized you've got a gem on your hands?

Ohhh, snap. I was.


of course, if you want to read about past dates with "Said Date,"
you can do so.
date 1     date 2    date 3



a perfect, happy sunday (pssst III)

i had the most amazing sunday.

the facts are these.

Fact 1: It was a date day.

Fact 2: Said Date (as mentioned before HERE and HERE,) picked me up on his moto bike at 9:45 am with his two friends, also on their moto bikes.

What's that internet? You've never had three sexy motorbikes pull up outside your house, waiting for you? Trust me, it rocks.

Fact 3: Said Date suited me up in moto jacket, helmet, gloves - all his. HOT.

Fact 4: I RODE ON A MOTO BIKE ALL DAY. 

Fact 5: I SQUEEZED SAID DATE ON THE BACK OF HIS MOTO BIKE ALL DAY.

Fact 6: ^It rocked.

Fact 7: The day began by pit-stopping for a couple of hours at an outdoor coffee place, packed with other motorcyclists. We walked around talking about bikes and i laughed and smiled the whole time. AWESOME.

Fact 8: Took the long route for brunch; ended up with the most amazing brunch with some very nice people.

Fact 9: To a park! More riding!

Fact 10: Hung out all day, talking. Perfect Sunday weather for it. 

Fact 11: Watched Said Date wire his kitchen. HOT.

Fact 12: Long, happy ride home. 

Surmised conclusions: IT ROCKED.

pssst II

had an impromptu date Friday evening at a barn dance, aka probably the most magical experience of my life.

oh my god, internets, it is SO DIFFICULT to divulge my open bleeding heart publicly online.

why?

because IT'S A FREAKING BLOG, OH MY GOD.

let's run through the facts, though. i'm sure you'll surmise said open bleeding heart from here:

Fact 1: It was my pal's bday, and we were going to a barn dance.

Fact 2: Our favorite band was playing.

Fact 3: Said Date was happy to come along (even though admitting he was hesitant.)

Fact 4: Barn Dance was AMAZING. Small space, wonderful, joyous people, everyone happy to be there. Our band was incredible. Lights strung everywhere, lots of smiles and hooting. Everyone dancing.

Fact 5: Said Date KNOWS HOW TO DANCE. and danced with me.

Fact 6: The above-mentioned made me feel so amazing.

Fact 7: I will never forget how happy I was.

ohmygod if only if only i could divulge so much! 

there's so much heart to risk when recounting new dates.