I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and break from the daily grind. I know that my family truly is. Trey couldn’t have been more excited for Christmas this year and Paige is quickly catching on. In fact we found her a couple of times opening miscellaneous gifts that we had sitting under the tree in the days leading up to Christmas.

Christmas Card 2014

I am off work until Jan 2nd so posting will probably be very light to nonexistent over the next week or so. I’m looking forward to spending so much extra time with my family and friends. Happy New Year!

I’ve been a big fan of The Head and the Heart since seeing them open for The Decemberists back in 2011. Since then I’ve seen them play at a couple of music festivals but never saw them as a full headliner until a week ago. And to make it even better I had second row seats in the pit!

PHOX

PHOX opened the show with their eclectic folk/indie mix. Though the one thing I remember most was lead singer Monica Martin drinking what appeared to be whiskey out of a plastic water bottle. It must do wonders for her voice as she sounded wonderful.

Honey Come Home

Josiah and Jonathan

My seats were too close to get a full band picture with all members of The Head and the Heart in it. But I guess that’s a good problem to have.

Charity and Jonathan

The band is very active on Twitter and was taking requests leading up to the show. I was happy to get my request in and hear one of my favorite vocal melodies of their’s in “Honey Come Home.”

@edpaffjr on it.

— The Head & The Heart (@headandtheheart) December 13, 2014

Josiah

Jonathan

With two albums out they definitely have enough material for their own headlining shows and I’m glad to see it happening. Their biggest hit is still their first single, “Lost in My Mind,” but they have had additional success with “Down in the Valley,” “Shake,” and most recently “Another Story.”

Rivers and Roads

Down in the Valley

They do not have any tour dates currently posted, but hopefully we will see some more soon! I can’t wait to see this band again.

A month ago my wife and I treated ourselves to a night on the town without the kids. After checking in to The Cincinnatian we walked up  Vine Street toward Over-the-Rhine to check out some of the recently opened establishments we had yet to visit. Though before getting too far north we decided to stop into Scotti’s Italian Restaurant, a place we had both wanted to try for quite some time.

Outside

Scotti’s has been a family-owned and family-run establishment since 1911. Inside was like nothing I have ever seen before. The quaint dining room walls are completely covered with random tiles along with old pictures and memorabilia.

Inside

Old Italian wine bottles hang from the ceiling, while other bottles can be found on each table holding a candle resting on a sometimes massive pile of old dripped wax. There is certainly a lot of charm inside.

Dripping Wax

Most entrées include a cup of soup, an Italian salad, along with bread and butter. Garlic bread can also be ordered with fresh garlic, parsley, and olive oil for $2.50 per order. I’m not much of a soup person, but the minestrone style soup was actually very good. It was rich on flavor and had a ton of pasta rings floating throughout.

Minestrone Soup

The salad was our second course and it was also delicious. Most of the vegetables were shredded giving it a somewhat coleslaw vibe, while the dressing was an overall sweet vinaigrette style dressing but it had an awesome tartness that I really loved.

Salad

For dinner I enjoyed the manicotti speciale ($21 including the above). The ricotta cheese was outstanding and the tomato sauce was of pure Italian style. The serving size was manageable, though I still have to stuff myself pretty good to conquer all three courses.

Manicotti Speciale

My wife went with the eggplant ala rusticana ($23.50 including the above and a side of pasta). The eggplant was a generously thick slice and was so soft it nearly melted in my mouth. While both meals were great, I think the eggplant stole the show.

Eggplant ala Rusticana

The dining room is small, so reservations are recommended. Though if there is room they will definitely do their best to seat any walk-ins like ourselves. Service can be very direct and to the point, but don’t be surprised at the occasional grin and chuckle. The only thing that needs to change are the restrooms downstairs, which are in desperate need for a renovation.

A couple of month’s ago I took a business trip back to my former stomping grounds of Denver, Colorado. It was the last week before my company would be moving offices from the far southern suburbs to a new office downtown. Therefore I didn’t have many dining experiences worth sharing, as most eateries out by our old office are of the nationwide chain variety. I did make it closer to downtown one evening to meet with some friends at the newer Atomic Cowboy on South Broadway.

Inside Atomic Cowboy

The Atomic Cowboy on East Colfax was a favorite of mine years ago, though I never tried their in-house pizza from Fat Sully’s. This time I was quick to grab a slice of their massive New York style pizza ($3.50 per slice plus toppings). The pizza was great, with a little spice to the sauce and plenty of toppings on a perfectly cooked crust.

Massive New York Style Pizza

One slice was enough for me, though I probably could have finished another though I would have been too stuffed to enjoy the Cowboys great selection of craft beers. Two slices are definitely the most you would want to eat, making Fat Sully’s a pretty cheap place for some excellent pizza and beers.

Last night I saw The Lone Bellow perform for the fourth time in a year and a half. First was their very intimate performance at Mayday in May 2013. I saw them later that year in November at the 20th Century Theater. Finally was their performance at this past summer’s Buckle Up Festival. It seems their appearance at Buckle Up helped to double the crowd at 20th Century last night compared to what it was a year ago. I really enjoy seeing them in this intimate theater so I hope it is not the last time, but I fear that they will soon outgrow the limited capacity.

Fake Roses

Last night’s setlist was a very solid mix of tunes from their self titled debut album and the soon to be released Then Came The Morning, due out January 27. “Working with producer Aaron Dessner of the National, the Lone Bellow has created a sound that mixes folk sincerity, gospel fervor, even heavy metal thunder, but the heart of the band is harmony: three voices united in a lone bellow.” The new songs that I heard have definitely evolved from their debut material, but I still feel that they are at their best in their stripped down acoustic numbers where their incredible voices truly can unite.

Shared Mic

As my friend Will said on his instagram, it was another passionate and spiritual show, which is what I’ve come to expect from this band. I look forward to seeing them perform more of their catalog in future performances. For now, enjoy this live recording of “Then Came The Morning,” which could very easily be my favorite track off the new album and I’m saying that after only hearing a handful of songs.

Our neighborhood has a new pizza delivery option thanks to Romeo’s Pizza, which has taken over the spot formerly occupied by Naked Pizza. While Naked Pizza was alright, my family and I only ordered from there a couple of times. Romeo’s has only been here for a couple of month, we have already ordered from them three times.

Specialty Pizzas

Our personal favorites are easily Romeo’s Deluxe (pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, red onions, and mushrooms) and Dante’s Peak (same as before but banana peppers instead of green and tomatoes instead of mushrooms). With a few common ingredients these two pizzas make a great option for  combining half on each side ($18.49 for large).

Kid’s Pizza

Romeo’s sauce is sweeter than it is spicy, and the toppings have always been piled high. They also sell pizza by the sheet (and half sheet) which are perfect for any parties. We ordered one on Halloween to share with our family members who came over to pass out candy at our house. Romeo’s is quickly becoming one of our favorite pizza delivery options.

My wife’s employer, American Financial Group, held their annual Christmas Party down at Music Hall on Monday night. This event has proven to be my yearly opportunity to visit Music Hall, which is a shame as the building is just beautiful. However with two kids my wife and I don’t get out often enough to explore the arts.

CHCA Choir & Band

Kieth Urban was this year’s featured entertainer. Honestly, I know him better as a judge on American Idol than I do as a performer, but I was very pleasantly surprised by his performance.

Well Behaved Audience

Keith is one heck of a guitar player and his drummer was no slouch either. I didn’t recognize many of the songs, which shouldn’t be surprising as I very rarely listen to country music, but I found the performance to be entertaining and enjoyable.

Stage View

Urban also was very interactive with the audience. He brought one fan onto stage for a quick conversation and a selfie after she loudly professed her love between songs. He also left the stage during one song to perform from the back of the room.

Beautiful Music Hall

Previously we have seen Journey, Tim McGraw, and Carrie Underwood (from the pit no-less), but this performance ranks up at the top with those that I’ve recently seen from this annual party. Who will it be next year?

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Just as I normally do, I headed out to a state park to celebrate with my in-laws. This time we headed for Maumee Bay State Park, where we enjoyed a couple of nights earlier this year. Again my family and I stayed in the Lodge, while some of my in-laws stayed in a couple of the twenty-four cottages available nearby.

Deer From Balcony

We saw many deer during our stay. Some were brave enough to stand just a few feet away from us, whether it be while viewing them from our hotel room balcony or while on the two-mile boardwalk through swamp and marsh wetlands (though it was mostly dry during this winter visit).

Lake Erie

We enjoyed the large indoor pool area with splash area for the kids and two whirlpools. We also spend a good chunk of time on the racquetball and wallyball courts, as well as the adjacent game room.

Model Rockets

Many years ago I was an avid model rocket builder and I had forgotten just how much fun launching these rockets can be. My youngest brother-in-law is the perfect age for building these rockets and it was fun to piece together a rocket with him and send it flying high in the sky, even if one of the rockets did turn into a missile after a couple of duct tape repair jobs.

Missile

We also spent an hour or so finding a few of the parks hidden geocaches. This was my first time geocaching, a fun activity using a GPS device to find hidden containers typically with a logbook inside and sometimes even little trinkets for trading. We left an arrowhead in one of the containers for someone else to find.

Geocaching

We had another awesome stay at Maumee Bay and something tells me that this won’t be the last time we take a trip there.