Midwest Roadtrip: Two Days, Two Cities

This weekend, we took a mini roadtrip around the Midwest! 

Both Brad and I are from the coasts (East & West respectively), but moved here for college almost eight years ago. We both loved the charm and character of the Midwest, and the friendly, easygoing personalities of the people. 

Charm, character, and personality were everywhere this weekend on our roadtrip to Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. Though they were both fairly close to Columbus (1 1/2 hours to Cincy, 3 1/2 hours to Louisville), it felt like we were worlds away from home. 

Our weekend kicked off with gorgeous weather on Friday...sunny and not a cloud in the sky! 

Brad had planned out our itinerary for the weekend - Cincy for Night One, followed by Louisville for Night Two!

The drive down to Cincy was beautiful - rolling hills and grassy pastures everywhere we looked! We had enjoyed our previous trip down to Cincy this past Winter, but seeing it in late Spring was ten times better...

On the top of our list was an area called Mt. Adams, where we grabbed a drink at a local bar called The Blind Lemon. When we were here during the winter, we loved the cozy atmosphere of the 1960s underground tavern - very Harry Potter-esque. 

This time, we were able to enjoy our drinks on the outside back patio - these pictures don't do it justice - it was absolutely beautiful! 

Mt. Adams is my favorite area of Cincy - young and brimming with local bars, shops and restaurants. We had dinner at The Rookwood Bar & Restaurant - easily one of my new favorite restaurants. The space was originally a studio facility for Rookwood Pottery Co., and the character and integrity of the pottery studio has been preserved beautifully.

We ordered the charcuterie plate, fried bacon (with jalepeno honey), and Grippos fries - delicious! 

The restaurant space was beautiful - we ate inside and then moved outside to enjoy its huge outdoor deck complete with plenty of patio seating, a lowered fireplace, and swings too!

If I lived in Cincinnati, this is where you'd find me every Friday night: drinks at The Blind Lemon, followed by dinner at The Rookwood!

While we were touring the Midwest, our dear Gracie was in the care of her Uncle Scherper & Aunt Lina - and being pampered like no other! We were getting lots of photo updates, and as you can see, she was one happy pup this weekend. Lots of time spent outdoors, riding in shotgun, and napping in Uncle Scherper's bed. She even picked up a little gardening! 

Check back in tomorrow for Part II - Louisville, Kentucky, where I picked up quite a few vintage goodies that I'm in love with! 

(As well as the breakdown from tonight's episode of The Bachelorette!)