Dear Kid,

We had a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

On Tuesday I took the day off to play with them and after a leisurely start to the day, we went down to Findlay Market.

Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine. A great outing! DearKidLoveMom.com

The first (and perhaps most important) thing we did was to walk over to the Samuel Adams mural and find the second hidden perfect pint glass and the word C I N C I N N A T I. I feel so much better! It was tricky and I never would have figured it out without help. (If you’re dying to know where the hidden letters are let me know—I will share the love).

I finally found the hidden beer bottle, two perfect pint glasses, the flying pig, and C I N C I N N A T I! Love this mural at Samuel Adams. DearKidLoveMom.com

Cold Nitro Coffee. Really. DearKidLoveMom.comThen we found Maverick Chocolate, and how could we not investigate? Especially when there was a big sign promoting Cold Nitro Coffee. Say what? Clearly we had to try some! They infuse cold nitrogen into coffee which makes it fizz up and build a foamy head (like beer). Either the nitrogen or the coffee was bitter so we added simple syrup. (Really? Not drinking coffee black? Yes, in this case really.) Summary: Grandma and I are trendy enough to try Nitro Coffee but not to order it again. At our urging, Grandpa tried it. Fortunately, I had a piece of gum to help him get the taste out of his mouth.

Then we found a spice place which had all kinds of interesting things (before you look, can you guess what was in the Simon and Garfunkle (spelled by the singer Garfunkel but by the spice people Garfunkle) mix? We bought a little bit of this and little bit of that and had a wonderful time.

Shopping for spices at Findlay Market. DearKidLoveMom.com

At the oil and vinegar place, we tasted and bought peach balsamic vinegar. Unlike some flavored vinegars which are, um, subtly flavored, this has a bold right-up-front peach zing. Yum.

From there we wandered around and eventually had Vietnamese food for lunch.

Lunch at Findlay Market. DearKidLoveMom.com

Our final stop on our outing was at Pet Wants where the store, the employees, and the puppy compete for adorable-helpfulness. We got some food for the Puppy (a mix of lean and salmon—quite yummy if you are of the canine persuasion), chatted a bit, and headed home.

It’s amazing how nice a day can be when you hang out with people you like.

Love, Mom

P.S. If you didn’t get (and can’t read the fine print), the Simon and Garfunkle (see note above about spelling) mix has parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.