Columbus Corners - El Arepazo

One week before I move away from Columbus, I've discovered a new favorite restaurant, El Arepazo, a Venezuelan restaurant in Pearl Alley downtown. They only serve lunch and it's very busy so I would avoid the noon hour if at all possible, but they serve the most delicious, fresh Venezuelan food (which I have never had before, but will now seek out).

I forgot to take a photo of the outside so this one if from the Restaurant Widow.

Donny and I got fish burritos (the special today)

And Larry got the talapiaBut I'm dying to go back to try the arepa, which they are known for (kind of a mix between a taco and sandwich, the outside is made with a cornmeal cake). Everything comes with a side of cilantro hot sauce and it's so good they have signs telling people they have to pay extra if they want more than two cups of the cilantro sauce.

You might want to try to visit on a Tuesday or Friday during the Pearl Alley Market with some local farmers, bakers, and crafters.

Columbus Corners - Hayden Falls

I think I mentioned this here long ago, but in case I didn't, did you know there's a waterfall nestled in between Columbus and Dublin? Hayden Falls is in the south side of Hayden Run Road between Riverside Drive and Dublin Road just to the west of the bridge over the river.

There's a tiny parking lot that was unmarked for years, but now it has a brand new parks and rec sign clearly marking it. At the east end of the lot, you'll see these stairs leading down to a creek. These stairs are new so it used to be a lot harder to get down to the falls. At the bottom of the stairs just follow the dirt path and use stepping stones to cross the stream heading away from the river. It's a very short walk to another wooden platform, where you'll see this.

And you'll completely forget that there's a busy road so nearby.

Creed even thought the falls merited some applause.

Sometimes if the summer is dry there's not much to the falls, so if that happens, be sure to visit another time.

Columbus Corners - Homestead Park

Recently my sisters and I have complained that they just don't make playground like they used to because all of our favorite playground equipment is now deemed unsafe; no teeter-totters, no Merry-go-rounds, no super-tall swings (never mind that I would never let Creed on a playground merry-go-round like the one I used to love). Every playground I've seen lately seems like it has the same old generic equipment. Well, never fear, there are still some amazing, original parks out there and one of my favorites just really upgraded.


Have you been to Homestead Park lately? I already loved how different it was from other parks in the area. It still has the caboose kids can climb on, it still has the fishing pond, it still has the huge wooden fort with built-in squirt guns (at least I think the squirt guns were just stored for the winter). But now, my friends, you need to head back to the park because they have an incredible new playground. The playgrounds on the south side of the park could use a bit of rehab, so head to the north playground and check it out.


They have a crazy triple-slide

All sorts of things to climb on

including this cool jungle gym/sculpture

And two of these cavesCreed's favorite is still the sandbox, but Larry and I loved the rest of the park so much we headed back a few nights later with Nikki, David and Audrey (do public sandboxes like this make anyone else a bit uncomfortable too?)

Go Speed Racer, Go!

Our friend David celebrated his birthday this weekend and Nikki threw another unforgettable party. David loves to be outdoors so she planned a picnic in Hocking Hills followed by a hike to Old Man's Cave. It rained all morning, but by the time we finished our picnic under a pavilion, the skies were clear.

David says he loved Speed Racer way before it was cool so Nikki threw him a Speed Racer party complete with Speed Racer themed plates, cups, napkins, tablecloth and cake and to top it off she gave him this. (David joked that anyone walking by would think it was Creed's birthday instead of his birthday) Isn't that amazing? A guy at her office does them. I was being lazy with my camera so I shamelessly stole the Etch A Sketch picture from Nikki's blog and I don't have any picnic photos. I did bring my little camera along on the hike so here we are at the lower falls.

And here's the rest of the crew. They have really become our family here so we loved spending the day with them.

Audrey was so good in her pack.

Creed was another story. Here he is with Larry enjoying the upper falls (and by enjoying, I mean, being very annoyed that we would not let him climb in the water).

We lived in Columbus for years before we headed to Hocking Hills, but on our first visit we realized that it's really not that far and well worth the journey so we've visited many times since and it was one of the things we HAD to do one more time before we left so thanks to the Hudsons for helping us cross something off of our list!

Columbus Corners - Historic Downtown Powell

We've had a busy week, and I'm behind on blogging so I have pictures to feature about eight Columbus Corners, but let's start with one of my favorites, Historic Downtown Powell. Ok, technically it's not IN Columbus, but it's an easy drive and a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon.

Jessica and I try to have Wednesday dates a few times a month because she doesn't work on Wednesdays so we go adventuring. We first explored Powell with the Zozzes, and since they are moving out of their house this week, it only seemed natural to spend one last afternoon there.

To get there from Columbus, take Sawmill North of I-270 for a ways and then turn right (east) on Olentangy Road and follow it until you see lots of cute little shops. I'm a little worried about Downtown Powell because there's a lot of construction going on and my favorite part about it is the small original boutiques so I hope that they don't get squeezed out by chains with all of the new buildings going up and changes happening. That said, there are some really fun new boutiques right now so hopefully Powell will stick with that trend and it will just get better and better.

If I only had time for two shops, my personal favorites are Bloomsbury Loft and The Collection (The Collection is actually on Depot Street a little North of Olentangy). I can't afford most things at the collection, but I love going there for new ideas because every time I step foot in there,
it's completely different. They are constantly rearranging and repainting and coming up with the coolest collections of things. I could do a whole post just about the different cool ways they've painted their walls and arranged things on them. I didn't have my camera so Jess snagged a few pictures of our outing for me on her handy dandy I-Phone. Here's a canopy that I think would be so fun in a kid',s room covering the bed and more (plus I just noticed the bookshelves with the pediments to the right that are pretty cool too.)And oh how I love Bloomsbury Loft! They actually do have a few things that I can afford, and I'm always wowed by the unique things they carry. And now, they too carry Amy Butler fabric. We should have taken a few more pictures because this photo is in a room at the back of the store and doesn't quite capture Bloomsbury Loft's spirit, but it does include a very cute baby. The owner of Bloomsbury could not be nicer and she's full of information about items they carry and other things to check out around town. I love these new fabric frames from Georgia that she just started carrying. Aren't they so cool?

If you're heading there with kids there are a few things in town that they will love and the promise to visit them just might allow you to check out a few shops. First is a new bakery started by some women from our church called Beehive Bakery. It's in the new shopping center just south of Olentangy on Liberty. Most of the shops in the center aren't open yet, but the bakery is and it's down at the end so don't miss it!

Everything we tried was amazing and Jess and I both ended up heading home with delicious bread.

But Donny told Jess, she better bring him back a cupcake from the Pink Moon Cupcake Bakery too and a trip to Powell really isn't complete without a stop there anyway.

And last, but not least, Powell has an awesome spray park for kids. The water was still off for the winter, but it should be on again soon and I can't wait to take Creed there. It's so nice to have a spot where he can get soaked without the worry of drowning. Oh, and not to mention, the Columbus Zoo isn't far either.

So have you been to Downtown Powell? What's your favorite stop?

Columbus Corners - Sew To Speak

Fabric shopping in Columbus can be a disappointing experience. Maybe I'm just not knowledgeable enough about the options, but it seems like JoAnn's took over the world around here and most other large fabric shops closed several years ago so your options were basically JoAnn's, Wal-Mart (bleck) or some small very traditional quilting shops.

In the last year or so, new shops have been opening up and things have been getting better, but now I'm thrilled by the newest option. A new fabric shop called Sew to Speak just opened, and it is unlike any other in town. The owner Anita saw a lot of beautiful modern fabric for sale online and thought there should be a place somewhere in Columbus to buy fabric like that, and since there wasn't, she decided to open just such a shop.

Sew to Speak is located on the East side of High Street between Henderson and Morse Road (4610 N. High Street). Right now they have a fairly small selection of fabric as they learn what kinds of fabric are in demand. It's a bit expensive because they are mostly designer fabric lines like Amy Butler, but it's so pretty you won't be able to leave with out some.
Creed was totally going crazy while we were there and the owner, Anita, could not have been nicer about it. She brought out whatever she could to help entertain him so I could shop and smiled as he ran around like crazy telling me there was nothing that he could hurt.

There are sewing machines at the back of the shop and a variety of fun patterns that will tempt you.

Check it out if you have a chance.

Columbus Corners - North Market

As I'm thinking about the places that I'll miss, I'll be featuring some places around town that may be a little more familiar to some of you, but I have to recommend them because I'll miss them and this way I can think about all of you visiting them. The other day I had two of my favorite people up for a lunch adventure so we decided to head to the North Market.
The North Market is in an old warehouse right in between downtown and the Short North. Unlike a lot of downtown lunch spots, the North Market has plenty of space for parking and a discounted rate as long as you remember to bring your ticket in to be validated at one of the booths. I generally avoid the lunchtime rush if I can, but after about 1:00 things really slow down and it is be a bit easier to roam the booths. Saturdays are also busy, but worth it if you want to go to the Farmer's Market there on Saturdays throughout the summer. I usually don't go on Mondays because many of the vendors are closed on Mondays.It's one of my favorite places to meet friends for lunch because there is so much variety and everyone can get what they want in one places. There are delis, Chinese, an amazing Pasta place, great Japanese at Nida's, and beautiful desserts like these in the case at Mozart's.
Jess opted for Indian, and I wish I had noticed the sign for fresh ginger lemonade because that sounds wonderful.






I like to be adventurous and used to try something new every time I visited, but since Larry introduced me to the Vietnamese at Lac Viet, I can't resist it. Larry and I usually each order a number one (a sandwich I don't need to be able to pronounce to enjoy, and it is my very favorite sandwich in the whole wide world) and then we split one of the noodle bowls. Great food and it's cheap!Per tradition I ordered the number one, but skipped the noodles and opted to visit my other favorite North Market vendor, Jeni's Ice Cream! I suggest you do the same!

Columbus Corners - Columbus Architectural Salvage

It seems like every big city has at least one architectural salvage company. Years ago Candice and I went searching for one in Columbus and came up with . . . NOTHING. Pretty sad considering the amount of old buildings around here being torn down or remodeled.

A few weeks ago, Larry and I were heading to visit a friend at the hospital when we saw a sign (and by sign, I mean a small piece of posterboard) that said, "Architectural salvage open today". Of course we had to stop by later to check it out.

Columbus Architectural Salvage was recently opened by Chris Sauer, a carpenter who started the business after being disappointed in the lack of local businesses with vintage building materials. He had salvage parts stored in his small workshop and opened it to the public on Saturdays. We stopped by to visit just before he moved to a new location at 1270 Edgehill Road in Grandview.

It seemed a bit pricey, but it was still fun to look around, and I hope he finds a lot of customers because we need a business like this in Columbus! you can't buy doors like this at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Columbus Corners - Tasi Cafe

Larry and I went out for Valentine's Day the next Saturday because we didn't want to ask anyone to babysit on Valentine's Day. The plan was to head to the new Cameron Mitchell restaurant in the Short North, Marcella's, and then head to a dollar movie (classy, I know, but Larry was taking me to see Enchanted so he scored big points with me). Marcella's ended up having quite a wait and we didn't want to leave Creed for long so we decided to walk over to Tasi Cafe because I've been dying to go there since it opened.

Tasi Cafe is a new restaurant opened by the owner of Rigsby's in the alley behind Risgby's (680 North Pearl Street - the old Pistachio location). It's named after his wife and it serves breakfast all day, but also has great lunch and dinner menu options. They do as much take-out business as they do dine-in.

It's small, you order at the counter and there are only a few tables, but lucky for us there was no wait. Since we weren't waiting for a waiter, this ended up being a quick dinner for us, but there was no compromise on the food. Most dishes are between $6 and $10 and almost everything is made from scratch. Larry opted for the lobster mac-and-cheese

And I went with the roast chicken.

And we split a fruit salad.

We both left very happy. We can't wait to go back to try their breakfast some time.