Hey all. I mentioned on Sunday that I was going to start bringing some local posts to my blog each week. I want to connect with my community and to give potential visitors a taste of what they can expect if they visit the Finger Lake region in New York. I wanted to go ahead and get that started this week as I visited a new to me restaurant over the weekend that was AH-MAZ-ING.

Red's Place, a unique dining pub has it all. A bar. Great menu. Great help. Me and R decided to catch a late lunch when we were shopping on the Commons on Sunday. It was 2pm and the weather was perfect so we were not able to get a table outside, but the interior was enough to make us forget all about the tables outside. The light fixtures are made of mason jars, and the wood on the bar from an old barn. There is a mural of NYC on the wall and the table tops were beautiful.


Being it was a warm day, we both decided to go with one of the many beers they had on tap. They have a nice beer list, including seasonal and local beers. We were brought our beers and 2 mason jars of water. I don't know about you, but mason jars are the way to my heart. They are so versatile and you can dress them up or down.


After a few minutes of deciding on a meal, we decided to try a few items and share them. We ended up with 3 Rosebuds (chinese five spiced bbq pulled short rib sliders with coleslaw), A Wild Thing Flatbread (wild mushrooms, rosemary, prosciutto and fontina) and a basket of steak fries. We mostly wanted fries because of the cute little basket they came in.



The food came really quickly and I have to admit it was gone just as fast. Everything was really good. The pulled bbq was tender with flavor and the flatbread was soft and crunchy in all the right places. The french fries were what any french fry tastes like to me. Nothing fancy, but hit the spot!

While R paid the bill I hit the bathroom. I have to say it is one of the nicest restaurant bathrooms I have been in a long time. Very clean and a full on changing table for mothers who need to tend to an infant. That gets a gold star in my book!

Overall we enjoyed out experience. The food was good. The place was clean. The staff were great. For both of us to eat our bill was just under $40. I would say that is just above average for Ithaca. 

If you would like to visit Red's Place they are located at:
107 N. Aurora Street ("Restaurant Row")
Ithaca, NY 14850

You can check out their menu here -----> Red's Place Menu

Stay tuned for more local posts! If you are in central NY and would like to work with me, please send me an email! I would love to work with you!

Ahh Sunday. So nice to see you. I don't normally post on Sunday but today I felt like I had a lot to say and I wanted to just get it all out rather then wait until next week. Taking a bit of a break from the blog was nice for me. I didn't take the break for clarity but I certainly thought a lot about where I want my blog to go and what I'd like it to look like. I have been blogging almost a full year and really wasn't sure where my blog "fit in" and what I wanted to become of it.

This past week I really put into perspective what I wanted from this blog. I want to get gratification from knowing someone was able to read something I wrote and use it somewhere useful in their lives. I am definitely drifting slowly into the health and fitness world, but I don't want to be labelled as that one thing either. I was out and about today in this beautiful weather we are having in Central New York and thought about the city in which I live.

My city is a very health conscious place and there is always something to do here that links in with staying healthy and fitness. There are oodles of yoga studies and massage therapists. Health food stores and natural artisans making all kinds of soaps and green options. It is here in my city that brings all kinds of inspiration to my every day blogging.

By the time I hit my 1 year bloggy birthday on May 1st I want to be incorporating more local posts here on my blog. I want to share with the world some of the great things you can find and do here in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Anything from state parks, restaurants, wellness options, hospitality options. I want to dive into as many things as I can and bring a weekly segment here.

Summer is quickly approaching and this area is an amazing place to visit for a couples, girls weekends, or families. Whether you are a fellow neighbor or someone looking to explore the area I hope you will enjoy these weekly segments. A few things you can look forward to that I will be attending this coming week and writing about are:

 4/16/2015 Avanti Trunk show at Miel Beauty Bar featuring Red Head Wine

4/17/2015 The Hangar Aces Red Event at the Hangar Theater

4/19/2015 3rd Annual Spring Tea Fundrasier at the Dryden Community Center

I also visited a newer restaurant in Ithaca today called Red's Place and will be writing about that as well!

If you are local to me and have an event coming up that you would like me to write about please send me an e-mail! I would love to work with you! 

I hope you will enjoy these upcoming posts and have a great week!

Planning a trip to New York? No I don't mean New York City. I mean the rest of the state. New York is a very large state that is packed with more cities than just NYC. Take for instance, Ithaca. Ithaca is located in central New York. It is tucked away in some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever experienced. During the time when glaciers graced the land, the Finger Lakes were created, along with many beautiful gorges. Ithaca is located on the southern tip of Cayuga Lake.

Because of the lake, Ithaca offers tons of activity options. Boating, kayaking, sailing, and swimming are just a few of them. There are trails and paths that hug the lake for hikers, walkers, and runners.  These trails also offer great photo opportunities if you are into photography. For me, I love waiting until the sun is setting over the lake for the perfect photo op.

A beautiful view of a wind surfer on Cayuga Lake

Now onto my favorite part about this area. Ithaca is home to dozens of waterfalls. One in fact is right in town, and its is quite massive! Ithaca Falls is a must see if you are in the area. Moving outside of Ithaca you can take in another breathtaking waterfall at Taughannock Falls State Park. It is a gorgeous waterfall and requires only a small walk to view them.

A Fall view of Taughannock Falls

Ithaca Falls right in downtown! Beautiful! (Source)

Moving away from the lake, the Finger Lake region is also home to dozens of wineries. You can pick any direction and you will most likely fall upon one. Each winery is unique in itself and often host events unique to them. One of my new favorites is Americana Vineyards which also has a cafe. They have excellent brunch!

(Source)

Not into wine? Ithaca is also home to a few breweries for the beer lovers. One of my favorite places to sample local beers is at the Ithaca Ale House in downtown on Aurora street in downtown Ithaca. They have great beers on tap and a menu to pair your beers with! And they have blueberry beer! With real blueberries in it! Sweet!

Ithaca Ale House and Blueberry Beer!

Speaking of drinks, visit the Ithaca Commons to find cute little shops as well as bars and restaurants. Although under construction at the moment, it is a great place to come to people watch, shop, and eat. During the school year you can find that area very busy with all of the college students in town. Ithaca is home to 2 colleges you may have heard of: Cornell University and Ithaca College. The college kids really bring the city to life with all of the diversity.

Ithaca Commons at night (Source)

This really is a great little area to visit. There is so much to do and see, so make sure you have a car! And why pay lots of money to rent a car when you can save up to 40% on a rental car by using a carsharing service like RelayRides.  This service is kind of like renting a room from someone, but add in a car instead. It includes everything a rental company would. The car is insured and has road side assistance. You can rent a car for days or just a few hours. Its pretty sweet for both the renter and the rentee!

 *This post was written in collaboration with Relay Rides. I was not compensated for this post and I enjoyed sharing a beautiful town with you in the process! All information is of my own knowledge and opinion.

So what do you say? Come visit New York! And see more than just the city! Visit the Finger lakes. You won't be disappointed!

I have been thinking a lot lately about places and things I would like to do in my city. A local real estate agent is doing a project 365 on all the things you can do here as a way to show potential customers why this place is so great. I think it is brilliant and has given me so many new places I need to explore. I have lived in my city for just over 2 years and seeing this post on all the places made me realize how behind I am with all the wonderful gems there are here!

I want have to see these things, so I have decided over the next 4 months (Til the end of 2014 folks) I want to cross off as many of these things as possible.  Thankfully there are a mix of things that can be done indoors and outdoors so I can achieve the outdoor ones first while the weather is still good and once winter comes I will have to move it indoors! You should join me! Explore your city.



Just to give you a little taste of that's been included on this list so far, (In case you need some ideas!) here are a few of the categories she has touched on:

• Visit a plantation/garden/ect
• Go to a festival
• Hike at least 3 new locations
• Visit a zoo
• Go to at least 3 2 plays (Crossed one off already!)
• Go to a yard sale
• Visit a museum
• Visit 3 new restaurants
• Wine Tour
• Visit an antique store
• Special events unique to your city
• Research what your city is known for

Now I will probably go back and add to this list as I go because I am sure I am missing some key things. All of these categories can be achieved in my area. I can't wait to share some of my experiences with you all over the next 4 months!

Have you ever "vacationed" in your city? How was it? Share your links or experiences!

 

Camp site

Fire!

Smores!

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend went well. June is here and all things summer start lingering on the mind. I can't help it. Everywhere I go I smell wonderful bbq cooking, I see kids running around in the park, and I hear music being turned up while the windows are being put down. Its a great feeling. I had a wonderful first experience last Thursday where I attended the Ithaca Festival Parade. I have heard it is a really unique parade and one you have to see at least once in your life. Let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. The only way I could really capture the uniqueness of this parade was to take photos. I have picked out the more unique ones to show. I hope you enjoy and get a chance to visit this parade in the future!

Lots of people!

Stilts!

Ahh Fun stuff!

Horses

Mini car

Balloons

Make Fire!

Groovy truck!

Cupcakes!

Birth Control Man?

Lots of culture here

Now the one thing I have always heard about as a must see is the Ballerina Volvos. Yes there are no words for how unique this is, You really need to experience it in real life, but until you do here is an idea of what to expect!

Add caption

There you have it! The most unique parade I have ever been to! Have any of you been? Whats the wackiest parade you have ever attended?