Archive for the year 2021
Chicks that Click
Posted on December 13, 2021 by Ching under Community, Events, Things to Do.
I love the Snowbound pop-up bar concept at Chicken N Pickle so much that I welcome any excuse to go. When Kim Blackman and Lisa Orf invited me to the Chicks that Click event at Snowbound and told me I could bring some friends, I was all over it. I was already going to be playing at Chicken N Pickle that day anyway for the CNP ICT Major League Pickleball team tournament so I figured it was perfect because then I could just come out an hour early.
Sarah is the best bartender/mixologist/bar manager ever! She made an amazing “mocktail” for my friend Lesli Toubassi (below). I liked it so she made me an “adult” version spiked with rum, which was just as tasty.
Deana Holman, Karen Taylor, and Jenny Cole listening attentively to Abby and Kim. Deana and Karen are a couple of pickleball players from Oklahoma who were playing in MLP that weekend. They stayed at Jenny’s house.
We listened to Abby (brains behind the Snowbound pop-up bar concept) talk about how they did Snowbound at the Kansas City location (original/first ever CNP) last year and it was a huge success so they decided to bring it to the other locations this year. I’m not sure how it’s doing at the other locations but it is super popular with my circle of picklers so from that perspective I think it’s doing really well.
Missina Sharp (another out of towner), Krista Crawford, and Rachel McMahon.
The same ladies with Karen Fox. At first Karen said she couldn’t make it but she was able to come out after all.
Deana, Karen (Taylor), Jenny, and Michelle Pease with their fun drinks.
Group photo with most of the girls who attended. Lesli couldn’t stay.
I had to get a gondola pic with my friend Krista who I had ran into at Costco earlier that same day. Then we did again with all the other girls because everything is better when you do it with a group, specially a fun one like these ladies.
Jody Vinson was surprise when she arrived at open play because there weren’t many people there and when she found out we were still all drinking at Snowbound, she came to get us. LOL.
The pre-pickleball drinks made open play quite interesting but I did get a few good practice games in before heading over to Nahola for our more pickleball with Debbie’s group. Anyway, this was the day that we took my car in for an oil change and I didn’t realize they turned off my headlights which are normally set to auto so I don’t ever mess with them. Anyway, I didn’t realize I was driving around without headlights until I was on my way home. Ooops!
I highly recommend checking out Snowbound. I do not recommend driving around without your headlights on. I knew I should have checked but it was daylight when I went to CNP and, even though I didn’t have that much to drink, I completely spaced the checking my headlights because I never really ever have to mess with them. I will be extra careful in the future. Until then. GNG.
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Breakfast with the Hubs at HomeGrown
Posted on December 10, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian has only been to HomeGrown once before so he wanted to go again recently. We were downtown for an oil change so we were near the Naftzger Park location. They weren’t very busy that day so it was the perfect opportunity. Also, Brian’s first HomeGrown experience was at Bradley Fair so it nice for him to try a different location. There are three locations in town and, although I’ve never been to the New Market Square location, I have no doubt that they are all equally good.
Here are some pictures of our breakfast.
I had the Country Benny. It was so good! It’s basically an Eggs Benedict but made with biscuits and a sausage patty instead of a muffin and ham. I also had them fry my egg hard because I don’t like runny eggs. It had sausage gravy all over instead of hollandaise sauce, with sprinkles of bacon bits on top.
My breakfast was perfect in every way. Everything was cooked to delicious perfection. If I had one complaint, it would be that the potatoes could have been crispier. They were kind of soft.
Brian got what he always gets everywhere — biscuits and gravy with potatoes and eggs. I think that’s what most people order because I saw several of plates looking exactly like this come through.
For Brian, he dumps everything together and that’s how he likes to eat it.
This is how Brian looks before coffee.
This is how he looks after. It’s amazing how much difference a sip can make.
It was a cold day and Brian let me warm my hands with his coffee cup. He is much more amenable once he’s had his coffee and some breakfast in his belly.
I treasure leisurely days like this so much. It’s fun to just hang out and enjoy a nice breakfast with the hubs. Until next time. GNG.
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Leadership Wichita Holiday Get Together
Posted on December 9, 2021 by Ching under Community, Events, Leadership.
Our #LeadershipWichita class (class of 2014) recently had a holiday get together at Bill’s place. He has a 5,000 square-foot loft above Bite Me BBQ. It was the perfect place to gather because, being downtown, it’s centrally located for both East- and West-siders, and he had plenty of space for everyone.
Bill and his wife Marilyn were wonderful hosts. Besides providing BBQ for everyone, they also had a nice dessert selection and made a special cake for our group. It was fabulous!
Here are some pictures of our group. I’m glad several of my classmates made it to this event. It was great to see everyone. until next time. GNG.
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Illuminations with Mom and Dad
Posted on December 8, 2021 by Ching under Things to Do.
Brian and I were sick with COVID around this time last year so we missed Illuminations. I’m so grateful that we have both been vaccinated and have managed to avoid getting COVID (again) so we were able to go to Illuminations this year. Each year they do something slightly different so it’s always worth going. Plus, when you go, you’re supporting Botanica and helping them stay open for our community to enjoy throughout the year.
This year we shared the experience with mom and dad.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from that night.
Mom and I rode the carousel (twice). Dad and Brian didn’t really care to do it. They just watched us and took pictures.
I really like how they did the one-way flow for the walking path. It made the process so much smoother and more organized. Despite being somewhat scaled back from previous years (I suspect because they were offering a walk through and drive through option), Illuminations is still a really cool experience and I highly recommend it as a “must do” for the holidays. The display will be available through January 1 and you can get tickets here.
That’s all I have for now. Until the next post. GNG.
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Birthday Happy Hour with Jenni
Posted on December 7, 2021 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
Met up with Jenni for happy hour at O’Malley’s Irish Pub during her birthday weekend. I’d never been there before and, since she lives in Haysville, I thought it would be convenient to meet there. It’s also a favorite post-pickleball hangout spot among my friend Debbie’s pickleball crew.
I think one of the best things about O’Malley’s is their extended happy hour. Very few places have happy hour past 6 PM. Their’s is 2 to 7 PM! That means five hours of cheap drinks – FTW!
I had a couple of boozy root beer floats while we were there. Root beer floats are awesome but even better when they’re spiked.
Besides the cheap drinks, they also have half-priced pizzas during happy hour so that’s what we got. They claim to have “the best” in town, which is a tall order considering that we have some pretty great pizza places. I thought their pizza was just okay (my favorite right now is Piatto’s Neapolitan Pizzaria and I also like Il Vicino and Wichita Brewing Company and Ziggy’s and River City Brewing — okay so there’s lots of other pizzas that I like better — LOL). Their’s is just a basic pizza. Pretty good for the price but not stellar by any means.
Jenni also got some wings, which looked good, but I didn’t try them. The main draw of the place is the drinks. The drink menu is extensive and the happy hour drink prices can’t be beat.
It was really nice catching up with Jenni and hearing how her career is taking off. She’s definitely “manifesting that shit” — which is why I thought the candle I got her for her birthday was quite fitting. My little sister is finally all grown up!
Until next time. GNG.
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