#177 He Endures Jazz Clubs

I hate when vacations are over. I always find myself thinking on and off throughout the following week something like this: "Last week at this time, I was here (fill in random place or excursion of my trip), doing this (fill in related action). Now I'm stuck back here (New Jersey, work, home), doing this (something not so fun) instead." 

It doesn't help that today was a miserably yucky, humid* and rainy day in New Jersey while last Thursday was an almost spring-like day in Chicago.

*It did reach 65 degrees, which was nice, but the exchange for warm weather from cold included stickiness and a spike in allergens.

Getting our car at the parking lot that protected it all night.**

**Confused? Read my last post for understanding.

For the morning, we planned to do a little laid-back shopping. I'm slowly learning my shopping preferences for when I'm traveling in new cities. Though I love shopping in general (chances are I would be content shopping even in a dollar store), when I am on vacation I prefer shopping in two kinds of places: 1. Outlet Malls 2. Independent Boutiques

We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago on Saturday before our flight.* From the massive amount of options, we were able to find plenty of boutiques to browse around, and even had time to stop into some luxury shops with ridiculously overpriced items that we may never in our lives be able to afford, nor want to afford.**

*Note: This outlet mall had the best parking lot I have every experienced in my life. Digital signs of how many spaces are left in each area, plus a red or green light over spots to show if they were filled or not.

**Second note: I’m totally lying. If someone offered me the $500 Armani jacket I was drooling over, I’d wear that puppy in a heart-beat. 

Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park was our first shopping stop. It was lined with all sorts of novelty stores and boutiques, my favorite were the Green Goddess Boutique and Laudi Vidni.

Laudi Vidni is a custom leather handbag store and I was resisting all desire to splurge on one of their 21 originally styled handbags, custom made with fabric and finish of my choice. I took one of their cards to taunt myself with and so that my inner fashionista can have something to crave for the next time we visit Chicago.

Green Goddess Boutique had everything from clothes to antiqued furniture to funky jewelry. With prices ranging from fair to crazy expensive, I managed to find myself two pieces of jewelry that will now and forever always remind me of our trip. The only thing that dragged us away was the need for coffee, and of course, pastries. (Read about it at The Orange Strainer). Here’s a sneak peak of some of our goodies:

Guess you’ll have to read the post to see what was inside…

We spent the early evening shopping along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, which was basically made just for me. One whole mile of high end, low end, and every kind of designer in between--be still my heart! 

I basically butchered this pretty simple name, each time choosing a different 'M' word to attach with ‘mile’. I wish I could say that they were all at least adjectives, but I'd be lying: Marvelous, Millennium, Maleficent...yeah I have memory commitment issues. 

Simplest way to spread love. Cold? Need a scarf? Take it.

Though its crime rate is surprisingly higher than NYC (at least according to neighborhoodscout.com), the streets of Chicago had a more open and cleaner feel (which I suppose translates to me as safe). Though Hubby swears Chicago had a distinct smell to him upon exiting the airport, I felt overall that this city is doing a pretty good job at dressing to impress.

Naturally, one cannot go to Chicago without trying pizza, and as a Jersey girl it wasn’t just a ‘Should do’ it was a ‘Must do’. We ate dinner at Giordano’s, and though I’ll be blogging about it eventually let me just say this; Chicago puts up a good fight against New Jersey.*

*Don’t worry, Jersey. We still win. You already knew that, I’m sure.

Jazz Showcase was a solid ten-minute walk from Giordano’s. Any longer and this girl might’ve needed a cab because as soon as the sun went down the spring tease we had been getting all morning instantly transformed back into the brisk chill of winter.

Reviews of Jazz Showcase said to get there early for good seats, so naturally we got there early….45 minutes early. In the NYC world, 45 minutes early usually means you will get a good seat, but you might not be the first one there. In Chicago, it means you are the first one there.* The trio was still practicing, so we waited in the lobby with not only some of the staff of Jazz Showcase, but also the founder, Joe Segal, who can be found in the same spot for every show, greeting his guests as they arrive.

*It was Thursday, so perhaps weekends are different.

The ten minute wait before they opened the doors was worth it. There are two different pricings for Jazz Showcase: $25 general seating, $35 reserved. We went for the $25 seating since most of the reviews said that there isn’t really a bad seat in the house, but that you should arrive on time to actually get a seat. They were right. We were escorted in and told we could sit anywhere that didn’t have a ‘reserved’ sign. Half a dozen tables at the front of the room had reserved signs, but the cozy, over-sized couch seating four in the middle of the room was sign-less.

As we settled into our couch I was certain of two things: 1.) I was glad I had purchased the $25 tickets; 2.) I was glad we got there early.

Wouldn’t it have stunk to have to sit on a boring ordinary chair for $10 more when there was an open opportunity to sit on a comfy couch?

Going to a Jazz club always spells love for me because Hubby has a deep, deep hate for the genre in general. This always makes me sad because in another life I would have been a jazz pianist, I’m sure.

Our entertainment for the night was pianist Chuchito Valdes accompanied by bass and drums. I’m always amazed at how these three instruments can blend to make such a smooth, enjoyable sound. As a violinist, I’m fascinated by bass players. Most of the time they aren’t the spotlight, but when they are they shine by covering the neck of their instrument with stretches of their fingers I didn’t know were humanely possible. Towards the end of the performance Valdes played a solo with such a combination talent and emotion that the room was frozen for just that moment in time, awestruck with the place he had taken us and the saddened stillness he was able to convey.

I think, just maybe, even Hubby enjoyed it.

#156 He Spoils Me

Weekend I’d Forget

I have reached a weekend where there wasn't anything too spectacular that occurred.

So if I bore you with the simplicity of this Weekend I'd Forget, I apologize.  

I've never been too big on shopping at Ikea.  It isn't anything against Ikea.  They have some good products, a lot of which can be obtained at a cheap price.  My limited shopping there might reside on the fact that most locations are at least a half hour away from my home.

I found a need to go to one though, and Saturday Hubby took me there.

One day, I will have the perfect kitchen with a walk-in pantry and a wide open section just for my spices.  Until that day, I have been managing my spices in the most cluttered of ways that although I could have pictured it for you to see, I have opted not to.  It's such a mess.

I decided I should look into a spice rack to make my life easier and save my kitchen from the aggravated screams of frustration I let out whenever I need to search for an obscure spice hidden among the rest.

Spice racks are down right expensive.

The best price I could find was $70 and I wasn't even thrilled with the shape or color.

Then I found Ikea's individual racks at $3.99 each.  Sure, they need to be assembled.  Sure, the wood is probably cheaper than the fancy spice racks I've researched.  But I can make it what I want it to be.

We bought five and I'm going to paint them mustard yellow to match my Kitchen Aid mixer and teapot that are both the same color.

It's going to be awesome.

It's the little things in life that excite me.

  

#135 He Does Vegas

When I was in first grade, my grandparents on my father's side moved to Las Vegas.  Perhaps as a way to ease the blow of this move, my parents told my brothers and me that one day we would visit them.  I'm sure they instantly wanted to kick themselves for making such an off the cuff suggestion.  From then until about fifth grade there wasn't a moment that I wasn't either asking when we were going to Vegas or packing a bag for Vegas, just in case.  The summer after I finished fifth grade, my Vegas grandfather passed away suddenly from a heart attack.  My dad made the trip to Vegas for the funeral, and I don't think I ever asked to go again.

Until my mother decided a few years ago to treat my family to a trip to Vegas with inheritance money she received from some random great uncle I had never heard of before.

Thank you random great uncle.

After this most recent trip to Vegas for Hubby's 30th birthday, I realized I really love Vegas.  Like, I really really really love it.  So here it is:

My Top Five Likes About Vegas

(I hope you are as excited about this list as I am)

1. Everything is open late

I am not a morning person.  However, I am also not the type of person that stays in bed until noon.  I can be awake in the early morning, I just don't want to speak to anyone, and I certainly do not want to smile.

Night time is a different story.  I'm happy, I'm awake, and I'm ready to go.  It depresses me that everything closes at 9 pm because that is when my day is just getting started.  I don't want to be home at night, I want to be out.  The worst part is, it doesn't matter to where.  We could be headed out for a night on the town or only going to Target to pick up toothpaste and I'm in my element.    

So when I tell you that the stores in the casinos are typically open until 11 pm and that most other things on the strip are open even later I'm not exaggerating when I say that my heart is palpitating just a little bit over the thought of such things.

2. Every casino is different, a world within itself 

We stayed at The Flamingo this year because we had comps that made us only have to pay something like $12 a day in taxes (can you say, 'sweet!!!'?).  Plus, The Flamingo is basically in the center of all the action.

Every casino has its own little theme and cutesyness to go along with it.

Yes, cutesyness.  Cutesy is a word, so why not cutesyness?

What I remembered from a few years ago was that The Flamingo had real flamingos at it, and for some reason that came back with me as extremely awesome.

It was funny watching them fight.  I wasn't sure if I should go over and break it up or not.

There are so many casinos with different features it's too hard to describe them all.  Some of my favorites are: 

• Paris: Featuring a mini Eiffel Tower that you can go up in for a view of the strip (it also has a restaurant inside just like the real Eiffel Tower), French restaurants (delicious breakfasts to be had there!), and ceilings painted like the Paris sky
• Circus Circus: WAY off the strip but a very kid friendly casino with circus acts and its own theme park inside
• Luxor: It's a pyramid.  Enough said.
• Excalibur: This casino probably has the best outside and inside appeal.  Shaped like a castle, inside and out sticks to the Medieval theme in a classy and also kid friendly way.

3. The food

As I said before, food is one of the main attractions of a vacation for me.  With Vegas you have to be leery of getting sucked into too many buffets.  Some of them are awesome, others are just posers.  They have all the bells and whistles on the outside, but as soon as you've shelled out $25 (and up) and are heading towards your seat...that's when you realize perhaps not all buffets are created equally.    

The best buffet we went to was Bacchanal Buffet in Caesars.  And no wonder, it was voted the best buffet in Las Vegas.  Did we know that when we went there?  Of course not!  So we wound up eating there for breakfast, but I can only imagine that their lunch/dinner is amazing.

I know it's a little blurry, but I had to include the above picture of my crepe I got there for breakfast.  There was an omelet station, a crepe station, seafood (even at breakfast), and other average and non average breakfast delights.

'Cravings', the buffet at The Mirage, was decent.  We had dinner there before seeing a show.  Wine and beer were included in the dinner price, which was pretty good considering most buffets charge you separately for alcoholic drinks.  Although they didn't have soft-serve ice cream (which Gram had been craving), they had some pretty gourmet desserts which not only looked gourment, but had a taste that matched. 

The Venetian recently opened Carlo's Bake Shop, and although I could make a trip anytime I want to Hoboken to go to the original Carlo's Bake Shop, I figured I'd spare myself the trip by trying this one out.

I knew it was going to be good, but I had no idea how good.  Hubby and I went there for breakfast on our last day in Vegas.  We had two hours to kill, so we shopped a little in the Venetian, then stood in a considerably short line (in comparison to what it looked like a few nights before) for our goodies.  

Hubby got a Midnight Chocolate Mousse which was without a doubt the smoothest, creamiest, most delicious mousse I have ever tasted in my life.

I had been craving a cheese danish since the middle of the week and had yet to find one.  They were sold out of the individual cheese danishes, so I unashamedly ordered the $13 danish ring.  I won't say how much of it I ate, but it was more than what is pictured below.

4. The shopping 

If you wanted to, you could stay on the strip and get all the things I love about Vegas: food, shopping, and shows.  We did this for most of the week.  Pictured below are the Miracle Mile Shops which house 170 shops.  Every casino has some form of shopping.  Some such as The Venetian and Caesars offer a more mall like option.

We did, of course, venture off the strip before our trip was over to the North Premium Outlets.  That's right, Las Vegas has a North and a South Premium Outlets.  Both seem to offer most of the same thing, except North had more and that is how I made my decision of where to go.    

5. The shows

Tix 4 Tonight has booths literally everywhere on the strip and they offer a decent discount on show tickets and other attractions.  Depending on the show you can even purchase the tickets the night before.  This time around we saw three shows and I wish we had squeezed in one more.

First, for Gram, we saw Donny and Marie which was much more bearable than I expected.  They sang a lot of their hits, paid homage to performers who have inspired and influenced them, recognized a man in the audience celebrating his 103rd birthday, and ended with a taste of their favorite Broadway hits. 

I wanted to see The Rat Pack, even though Hubby and I had already seen them before.  They were performing in Rio which is so far off the strip it makes Circus Circus seem smack dab in the center.  It wasn't until we made the agonizing walk in 102 degree heat  from our hotel to Rio (which looked from our hotel to be much, let me stress MUCH, closer than it was in actuality) to pick up our tickets that the man at the box office told us that our hotel should run shuttles to Rio.  This was after we realized we forgot our voucher that we needed in order to pick up our tickets. 

Regardless of that fun and embarrassing story, The Rat Pack makes you feel like you are in a nightclub watching the real Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra perform.  If that's your kind of scene, you'll swoon for sure.  I know I did.

We saved the absolute best for last.  It was between Blue Man Group (which is still on my list) and a Cirque show for our last night in Vegas.  I had been interested in seeing Cirque Du Soleil's Love featuring The Beatles' music and Hubby made it happen.

When we found our seats I was in shock with how close we were:

We were four "rows" from the front.  I use quotes because the first "row" sat two people, the next four, and progressively larger as the rows went back.  I can't describe the show any better than to say it was the most amazing show I have ever seen in my life, and I promise, I am not exaggerating.  There are so many different acrobatics taking place on stage at once that Hubby literally had to shut my jaw once because my mouth was hanging wide open in amazement.  The fact that the music was The Beatles just made it even better.

If you've contemplated going to Vegas but weren't sure because of the bad rap Vegas seems to get from television and movies, have no fear: it is as awesome as it seems.  There are so many things we still haven't done (Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon) that I know we'll be coming back again, and maybe even again?        

#113 He Dislikes Daylight Savings Time

We all moan and groan in the spring when we lose an hour and have to spring forward.  This cruelty and unfairness is completely gone from mind when in the fall we gain an extra hour.  Hubby, the ever rebellious individual that he is, not only dislikes daylights savings time during "Spring Forward", he also hates it during "Fall Back".

This I can't imagine.  How could anyone ever dislike having an extra hour added to their day?!

Yet Hubby still declares to me twice a year that it is preposterous that America has adopted such an idea as to adjust our clocks to fit in accordance with the seasons.*  In fact, early in our marriage I distinctly remember his standpoint and my urge to challenge him leading into a wham bang drag out argument.  

*Note: There are more reasons and Hubby would probably have my neck for simplifying it to such a basic point.  Unfortunately, this is the way my mind summed up his issue.

One hour, even as an adult, can be like a million years.  The freedom and possibilities that lie within one hours are endless.  Somehow the knowledge of that one extra hour made this weekend more glorious and noteworthy for me than ordinary 48 hour weekends.*

*Second Note: My weekend really begins around 5:00 on Friday.  In my mind, the weekend is truly 55 hours long, but for argument's sake, I wrote 48.  Whew, glad we cleared that up.

I zoomed from work to home to Hubby's work on Friday night to pick him up.  From there we headed back to that famous highway that I recently wrote about to go to a wedding of one of Hubby's coworkers.  In my mind, this was the start of the loss of my extra hour.  The wedding started at 6:30 pm and the reception would go until midnight.  This left the certainty that we would not arrive home until at least 1:30 am.

We pulled up to High Lawn Pavilion in West Orange, NJ and everything changed when I saw this:

Instantly I regretted not being in the habit of carrying my DSLR on my person at all times.  Yet, it would have been quite impossible to squeeze it into the little clutch I had brought along that night.  I was left with a smart phone picture of the breathtaking view of one of my favorite places.  

If it hadn't been so cold out, I would have stood and enjoyed the view deep into the night.  But it was cold and Hubby had friends waiting inside, so we walked away--translated: Hubby dragged me away.

From the start of the wedding, to the cocktail hour, to dinner, and even, gasp, dancing* I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

*Dancing ordinarily isn't my thing.  Ordinarily as in never.

The bride was gorgeous, and the love between her family and her new family was strongly represented.

I had such a good time, that I actually lost track of time and didn't mind the fact that I was still up at 11:30 pm and over 50 miles from home.

Does this picture make anyone else want to start singing Eiffel 65's "I'm Blue".  Da boo dee da boo die?

With this late night start to my weekend, one would imagine that I would spend my extra hour on Saturday recuperating.  Unfortunately, Saturday mornings do not lend extra sleep time for me since I teach piano lessons bright and early.

Somehow, I managed to find enough sleep, teach my lessons, and still be in a decent mood by the afternoon.

Because of a series of boring reasons and events, Hubby's car was at work and we needed to get it before the weekend ended.  After giving me a variety of options for how and when we could get the car, I told Hubby the best choice was to go shopping fifteen minutes north of his work at the Jersey Gardens Mall and then get his car on the way home.

Shopping is always the best option to make a long trip worthwhile.  

Even at this point, I only thought I was spending my extra hour shopping at the mall.  But before I knew it, it was 8:00 pm (really 7:00 pm) and I was back at home.  We had a quick bite to eat, then decided to go back out shopping because apparently we hadn't already had enough.  

Our next shopping trip wasn't for ourselves.  At least, it didn't start that way.  Somehow a few things for me found their way into our basket.  

Our church is participating in Samaritan's Purse: Operation Christmas Child.  Hubby and I decided to put together two boxes, one for a boy and one for a girl.  It was fun picking out little gifts to bless someone else this Christmas.

Saturday night I found myself in bed at my normal Saturday night time (irregardless of Daylight Savings Time) and Sunday morning, when Daylight Savings actually occurs, I woke up at my normal time.  When I turned over I was met face to face with a tray filled with breakfast delights that Hubby had prepared for me.

Looks like the extra hour gave him something extra to do as well.

Of course, I was half way through my eggs before I thought to take a picture of Hubby's thoughtful surprise.

Sunday afternoon, I was still left with time on my hands.  Hubby asked me to sew a button on a jacket he planned to take on a business trip this week.

What started with just this:

turned into this:

and then this:

The moral of this nonsensically long post is that one hour extra provided by Daylight Savings Time isn't just an hour.  It is a world of possibilities for things that can be done and accomplished if faced with the right attitude.

I wonder if I'll feel the same around March, 2014.

#43 He Chooses Atlantic City

While we were dating, my hubby and I spent many a summer day in Atlantic City. While this is my overriding reason why I will always love Atlantic City, there are so many others.

Oh, so many others.

1. Shopping

The hot spots include:

• Tanger Outlets The Walk; After all, who doesn't love discount prices on their favorite brands?
• The Quarter at the Tropicana; My favorite store: The Old Farmer's Almanac General Store
• The Pier Shops at Caesar's; My favorite store: It'Sugar, pictured below

It'Sugar is one of the places that I have to go to when I'm in Atlantic City no matter what. And even if I'm not particularly craving anything in specific (like that could ever happen) I have to buy something there too. Yesterday, it was a lot of somethings as I came home with a bag filled to .48 of a pound with sugary delights.

2. The Boardwalk

T'was a sad sad day when I learned that there are actually beaches without the magical feel of a boardwalk filled with dozens of pizza shops, game booths galore, and stores pushing $5 souvenirs. Yes, it was a sad sad day indeed.

I've gotten to the point where I never buy anything on the boardwalk anymore (with the exception, of course, being a honking slice of pizza), but I still love to walk up and down the boardwalk filling my mind with wonder of all the strange spectacles that lace up and down the walkway.

3. Seagulls

Because, what would life at the beach be without those pesky creatures?

This guy was so greedy, he tried to swallow a good quarter of a piece of pizza down whole so that he didn't have to share it with his friends.

I didn't say I agree with their morals, we just need to have them around.

4. Food

Aside from numerous buffets that casinos always have which are guaranteed to make me roll out of the casino rather than walk out, there are also other delicacies.

Such as donuts. Donuts, donuts, donuts!

Bally's is home to the best glazed donut I've ever had, hands down. Formerly known as "Gold Tooth Gertie's" the "Corner Cafe" is on the walk from the casino to the Claridge Tower. This is where I have my breakfast, and yes, it is 100% healthy.

How? Because I said so.

5. Free

Who doesn't want something for free?

As much as I love the homey, clean feel of 'dry' beach areas, I'm done with paying $5 (or more) per person to sunbathe and not swim.

I like a free beach.

I also like free hotel rooms. If you gamble, even just a little, you get comps out the wazoo for free rooms.

6. Boardwalk Empire

In the last year, I've become addicted to the HBO show, "Boardwalk Empire", about Atlantic City in the 20s during the start of prohibition. It is based on the non-fiction book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City" by Nelson Johnson.

After two seasons, the city finally seems to be embracing the show. During the first season, the most representation the show had was a billboard sign. Now, they have a mock set up of the town from the 20s at what once was a very empty spot on the boardwalk.

Someone also got a brilliant idea to rebuild the Ritz into condominiums with an entryway that strongly resembles that of the past.

I was about as excited as I could possibly get. The only thing that stunk was the condo entrance was locked. So I had to settle with pressing my nose to the glass door, scanning the room with my eyes, and imagining myself standing in the foyer of the Ritz, back in the 1920s.

Bottom line, I really love Atlantic City.

And always will.

#18 He Loves Halo Farm--as anyone in their right mind darn well should.

If you are reading this and have never experienced ice cream, milk, juice, or any other splendor from either Halo Farm itself, or a Halo Pub location, you have not lived.

And by you have not lived, I mean that anything you once considered to be ice cream, now, should be seen as child's play.

Trust me, I know ice cream. Look at my second post and you'll see, I'm just a little bit of an ice cream-aholic. (I assure you, I have not always been this way and I do not blame my parents).

Halo Farm is just so fantastico that it makes me use easy Italian translations of English words like fantastico for fantastic.

First, for all of you who are into "natural" foods--yeah, it's that. They make all their ice cream in small batches, they don't use artificial ingredients or flavors, there are no preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup. That makes me feel good inside, but isn't enough to win me over completely.

Now, those of you just into flavor and taste, it is ohhh so much that and then some! Halo Farm was built in 1975 and their biggest competitor then was Haagen-Dazs. (Ben and Jerry's followed behind in 1978). Because of this they worked in order to develop a taste which was better than Haagen-Dazs and cheaper too. Trust me, they have done it. The taste is beyond belief. Theirs is the only ice cream that I can eat plain chocolate and float away on a cloud of complete satisfaction and happiness. But you don't have to just get plain chocolate. They have ice cream with chocolate chips, with cookies and candies, coffee flavored, with fruit, with nuts, liquor flavored, and even sorbet.

I've always gone right to the source for my stash of Halo Farm goodness--the source being: the farm itself. There you can get 3 pints of ice cream for $5 and a half gallon of milk for under $1.50. You can choose from an assortment of fresh juices and also pick up your bread, butter, and other tasty prepackaged delights that you might have a hankering for. (At the same price or cheaper than the supermarket!) And I must mention the delicious delight in drinking their chocolate milk. In high school, I remember there being this big craze over Wawa's chocolate milk. And then once I saw that Turkey Hill claimed to have "The Best Chocolate Milk". Sorry folks. Halo Farm is It. Drinking their chocolate milk is like drinking a bar of chocolate, Swiss milk chocolate. (Toblerone, I hear you calling). It is so thick that in order to prolong the life of my half gallon, I mix it 50/50 with white milk...without affecting the taste. Yes, life is good.

But it was not until recently that I found another fantastico part of Halo Farm: The Halo Pub. I knew of their existence before and think that I had even been in one as an unaware child, but now, I'm totally addicted. Addicted in like a nicotine way, but I'm thinking it could perhaps be worse. Because the pounds will hit my thighs faster than nicotine could hurt my body, and then it will take years and years to undo the damage I've caused.

Ok, I've just had a minor panic attack.

But it's so worth it. First of all, forget about the fact that the Halo Pub not only serves the ice cream you can get at the Farm, but it also serves sundaes, milkshakes, coffees, soft serve, and their very own hot fudge and caramel. (P.S. The soft serve is less calories and you can get it as frozen yogurt--even less calories. But then again, why would you do that?) These delightful treats are worth the trip to Princeton or Hamilton Square for surely. The one thing I will point out is that you should not buy a pint there. The pints at the Pub are about $3.50...and do the math, they are clearly cheaper at the Farm. But, obviously, there are always emergencies.

The quaint decorative touch is what pulled me in and made me promise right there inside the building to never enter another ice cream establishment again (Yogurt Land, you are yogurt and therefore I will enter your premises again).

After I had constantly squirmed my way out of going to a Pub location with my brother by using the excuse that I knew I could get the same stuff at the Farm; I finally conceded to go to the Hamilton Square location with him.

They had me after I opened the door. This Pub is decked out with all the right accessories to give the feeling of life on the dairy farm. Cow bells and old ice cream scoops dangle from the ceiling, cow shaped milk saucers line a kitchen hutch, an impressive collection of milk jugs decorate a shelf surrounded by rural paintings of life on the farm.

As if it couldn't get any greater than this (what with the abounding old fashioned decor and tasty delights) they also every Saturday in the summer have entertainment from 7:00-10:30. From jazz to folk rock, to rhythm and blues, to blues, to rock and blues, to original folk...yes, I am in love.

Go to Halo Farm or Halo Pub now, before you do anything else. Your life depends on it.

(My brother enjoying his tasty delight with that "I told you so" look on his face. Stinker.

*Ice cream has not been pictured to keep you from salivating all over your computer*

**Information about Halo Farm's history and nutrition is taken from their pamphlet, I am not all knowing.**