Archive for the year 2018
Prost at Revolutsia
Posted on December 26, 2018 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I finally got around to checking out the new German restaurant at Revolutsia, the new shipping container mall at Central and Volutsia. It’s actually not really new. It’s been open for a while but it’s new to us because we hadn’t gotten around to checking it out until now.
Prost is actually pretty good. I liked their food much better than Imbiss Grille. Imbiss was located in Old Town Square and used to be the only German restaurant in town. It’s been closed for a while now. I used to think Wichitans just weren’t that fond of German food but, with the popularity of Prost, I think their food just wasn’t that good and Wichitans know the difference.
Personally, I’m not that fond of German food but I do like schnitzel. You can’t go wrong with pork in my book. LOL. Although, in terms of German food, my favorite is still Grunauer in Kansas City.
Here are some pictures from our first dining experience at Prost.
Brian had the Schnitzel Sandwich with pomme frites (basically German French fries). I had the Jagerschnitzel. It was actually really good. I even enjoyed the warm red cabbage, which is not usually my thing.
Here’s a picture of the menu which you can peruse on their website here.
Prost does “shared” seating so we were seated at the corner table with another couple. They both had the bierocks. I would have taken pictures of their plates as well but they were well on their way to finishing.
The above picture is the view looking out from our corner table. Prost also has upstairs seating. It’s actually really cute up there with all the flags.
Upon finishing their meal, the other couple left. Here’s a picture that I took of Brian at our table while I was standing at the stairs.
Here’s a picture of the stairs.
Looking up at the flags from our table.
Another interesting feature of Prost is their Stein Club. Membership is $100 a year and you get $1 off beers and 10% off you meal each time you visit. It’s actually a neat concept and, I thought, quite clever because it guarantees repeat business.
The club has been quite popular because when we were there it looked like they were starting to run out of steins.
It’s a cute place with decent food. We will probably be back.
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Potwin Place Christmas Lights
Posted on December 23, 2018 by Ching under Things to Do.
My chance tour of the Christmas light at the Potwin Place Historic District in Topeka is definitely one of the highlights of the year. I didn’t even know what I was getting into until it happened. It was the best surprise ever.
Since several of us were in town last week, one of our coworkers decided to host a Christmas party at his house. I knew that he lived in a Victorian house in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Topeka but I knew nothing of it so I had absolutely no expectations. Even after he updated the meeting (party) invitation to include a picture of his home, warned us about the roundabouts, and encouraged us to drive through the neighborhood to enjoy the lights, I thought nothing of it.
Fast forward to that night. Most of our coworkers went straight to the party from the office but I had an errand to run after work. Misty had me a wild goose chase for this necklace she wanted made of copper from the State Capitol roof and I had to go to the Kansas Historic Society to get it. That is a whole story in and of itself but I digress. Since the place is right by our hotel, I decided to drop off my stuff first. I was the only one coming from the hotel so there was no one to carpool with. I don’t particularly enjoy driving so I decided to order a car. I had a 25% off special on all Lyft rides so I think the ride cost lest than $10 before tip. It was very reasonable. Anyway, this has got to be the most memorable Lyft ride I’ve ever had. (If we don’t count the time that I had a big box of the driver’s donuts on my lap on the way to the office one morning. But that’s also another story.)
The Lyft driver followed the instructions on the GPS (as they all typically do) and we pleasantly chatted on the way to my destination. I casually mentioned what my friend said about the neighborhood Christmas lights. She asked me where I was going and I told her that I think he lives in an area called Potwin. That’s when she perked up and got very excited. Apparently, she is very familiar with the area. She decided to disregard the instructions of the GPS and told me she was going to take me another way so I could enjoy the lights. That’s when I found out that the Potwin Place Historic District Christmas lights displays are a very big deal up there. Potwin Place is a highlight of every Topeka Christmas lights tour.
I wasn’t in a hurry and I’m always down for a good “Easter Egg” (and she didn’t didn’t give the the axe murderer vibe) so I didn’t object. Although, I did tell her that her GPS was probably going to go berserk on us. As long as she was okay with that, I was too. So went for a nice, leisurely drive through the neighborhood with her pointing out some of the houses with the best decorations. Of course, you can’t really breeze through the neighborhood because of all the roundabouts which, I found out later, were installed back in the day to keep the horse carriages from racing through the neighborhood streets. Oh, I forgot to mention that she even tuned her radio to the special radio station as we entered the neighborhood. By the time she delivered me to my friend’s house, she had earned herself a very good tip. That was, by far, the best Uber/Lyft ride experience I’d ever had.
The evening was full of surprises so it didn’t end there. My coworker had actually arranged for his friend (who also lives in the neighborhood) to give us a hay ride to enjoy the lights. While I was very pleased with the tour that the Lyft driver had given me, this was even better. I didn’t have car windows between me and the beautiful lights. The only thing that could have made it better was if we actually had time to tour the lights on foot and walk through the displays.
I’m posting a few pictures below but, I must warn you, these aren’t going to do the Christmas lights display any justice. If you’re up in the Topeka area, I highly recommend taking a tour of the lights yourself. This year’s theme is “International Celebration” and will be up through January 5.
Click on one of the photos above and follow the trail to Flickr where there are even a few videos. Enjoy!
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Iron Rail Brewing
Posted on December 22, 2018 by Ching under Food and Drink.
On my last trip up to Topeka for the year, we got to try one of the brand new brew pubs in the area. This one is just two doors down from the office.
Josh, Kelly, and I walked over there after work and Darcy met us after her workout. She worked out at the office gym so she just walked over as well.
The place had been open for several weeks already so we were hoping that the novelty had worn off and we’d be able to get right in. We still had to wait. It wasn’t too bad, though. Just 30 minutes.
I think people were having their Christmas parties, which is what contributed how busy they were. Still it wasn’t so bad. We were seated well before Darcy arrived.
Josh ordered the sausage and beer flight while we were waiting. They ran out of the two beers that he really wanted to try and, instead of telling him, they just substituted with other beers.
The sausage selection was good but you don’t really get much. We were thinking he would get whole sausage links but he just got a few pieces of each.
Here are a couple of pictures of the menu.
The food menu is above. The drinks are below.
I got the Harvey Girl, which is their version of Sex on the Beach.
We munched on chicken chicharrones while waiting for Darcy. I must have been hungry because I completely forgot to take a picture of it.
I got the BBQ mac and cheese for my entree. However, between the chicharrones and the pieces of sausage, I got full and couldn’t finish my dinner. I put the leftovers in the fridge at work after dinner and Selena ended up enjoying the rest of it for lunch on Thursday.
Josh had the shrimp and grits.
Kelly had a two-meat plate. Not that you really need that much food but their portions are smaller than most places. This is explains all the reviews that say the food is overpriced.
Darcy had the salmon, rice, and broccoli mash. I was actually considering getting this but then finally decided on the mac and cheese instead.
I thought the food was good and the location was perfect. You can’t get any closer to work. So it’s extremely convenient. Except you wouldn’t want to drink and then drive. I only had the one drink but I’m a lightweight so I always try to be very careful. I had a drink drink that night because I carpooled with Josh to the office and didn’t have to drive at all. Otherwise I would I have just stuck to water.
I’d been wanting to try this place since I’d seen pictures posted by friends on Facebook. Now I can finally cross it off the list.
BTW, this was my last trip to Topeka for the year. I don’t have to go back until the middle of January. Yass!
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Women’s Network Event
Posted on December 16, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Projects, Things to Do.
I had the opportunity to attend the women’s network holiday event last weekend. Alex organized an outing for us at the Busted Pallet. Coincidentally, it was on the exact same day last year that the same group was at Paint the Towne painting Wichita flags. I haven’t been able to make all of the luncheons this year and so I was very grateful that the holiday outing turned out to be on a week when I’m in town so I can at least participate.
Here are some pictures from that evening…
When we arrived, they had all of our project materials ready. This is Alex’ blanket ladder.
This is Bonnie’s Wichita State Shockers porch decor.
This is Tasha’s “Have a Nice Poop” sign. I saw this option and didn’t think anyone would actually pick it. LOL. Don’t worry. It’s going in her bathroom.
When you book your workshop, you fill out an online form and you’re asked to select a project. They ask this ahead of time so they can have all of your materials (wood, stencils, etc.) ready for you on the day of the workshop.
Yuvina made a “Love Grows Here” sign.
Nykole picked “Believe There is Good in the World” which, when you see the finished product, actually contains two messages.
Shanda painted “The Luckiest.”
There were no two projects alike. Everyone picked something unique. Some even personalized their projects with their last name. It was really cool.
Not knowing who RSVP’d for the event, it was kind of fun trying to guess which project belonged to whom. As people arrived and found their workstations, it was interesting to learn what each person had picked. There was a story behind each one and you got to learn more about your coworkers. Kudos to Alex! This activity was truly a great pick for a networking event.
There were a couple of Busted Pallet people there to supervise but we pretty much followed the instructions on this board. One everyone arrived and found their stations, we got to work.
I was stationed next to Carly, who I hadn’t seen in forever. We used to work together in the contact center many years ago. I saw her every now and then when she moved to our billing group but now she works out of our new operations center so I rarely get to see her anymore. I try to keep up with her on Facebook. She recently returned from celebrating her 40th birthday in Mexico with a bunch of girl friends. It looked like such a fun trip.
This is Bonnie. She’s recently got promoted to supervisor in the contact center and is graduating from Wichita State (thus, the Shockers sign that she’s painting). She’s having quite a year, too! Congrats, Bonnie!
Here are some photos of people in deep concentration while working on their projects. Alex, and her big ladder project, had the biggest work space of all.
Here’s Kati and Kim busy with their projects. Interesting bit of trivia, Kati and I worked together many years ago when she was in the contact center. She was on my team. The contact center is kind of a springboard for people. It’s where most people start their careers before moving on to bigger and better things.
Here’s Kati reading Carly’s sign. Carly has been hanging on to this saying for a long time. She can finally put it on her wall.
Here’s Shanda and her friend.
A picture of Tisha carefully peeling of her stencil.
Tasha and Ennidh…
Alex and Yuvina… Yuvina looks so sassy in this pic.
Here’s Misty. I’m glad she was able to join us.
I took a selfie of the two of us. Full disclosure, I picked the easiest project of everyone because I wanted to make sure I had time to walk around and take pics. Also, I really wasn’t sure what I would be able to manage in the amount of time we had so I kind of underestimated my capacity. I think I was the first one finished with every step, which gave me plenty of time to go around and take photos.
Here’s a picture of Misty’s nearly finished project.
Here’s Alicia and Alex.
A photo everyone putting the finishing touches on their project.
It was a pretty good turn out.
This is Tisha’s nearly finished “HOME” sign. You can see her helping Ennidh in this photo. I think Tisha helped several people with their projects but mos specially Ennidh since they were at the same table.
This is yet another reason why the Busted Pallet makes for a great team building activity. You get to work on projects together and learn about one another.
Ennidh’s sign turned out perfect thanks in part to all the work Tisha put in. LOL. I love this sign. It’s funny and sweet.
Here’s Tasha’s finished “Have a Nice Poop” sign.
Kati posing with her finished project.
Kim made a personalized one.
Alicia made this one for her half-bath that people use when they come in to use the restroom during pool parties.
Here are the three porch signs that people made, side by side. Their projects were left at the store to be weatherproofed.
Before you ask to see pictures of my project, I have to say, I had the smallest and least ambitious project of all. I kind of wished I had picked a more challenging and bigger one after the fact but it turned out okay because someone had to take pictures at our event.
Here are some progress pics…
And the finished product…
By the way, I tagged this as a potential date activity because I do think this would make for a fun date. I’m thinking of bringing Brian over for a date night sometime.
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Pickle Ball
Posted on December 10, 2018 by Ching under Hobbies.
Brian and I made some new friends at pickle ball. This is the Thursday night crew.
One of them, Shelby, turned out to be the mom of one of my Zumba friends, Katie. What a small world!
In case you didn’t know, pickle ball is our newest hobby. We started a couple of months ago. It’s our new Sunday night thing since we skipped the fall league season and aren’t bowling this year.
I really like pickle ball because it’s so much more active than bowling and it helps me burn more calories. I’m hoping that we continue to keep it up throughout the new year. Until next time! GNG.
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