Chicken N Pickle
Posted on February 25, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.
In case you didn’t know, Chicken N Pickle is officially open. Brian and I have been there a few times already. We were there for the lunch and learn event on Martin Luther King Day, during their soft open, for the Ditch the Date Valentines Day event, and again on Sunday morning for some pickleball. I’ve also been out there with Uncle Roy and his group for pickleball on a couple of Tuesdays.
Here are some pictures we got on our very first visit.
The indoor courts were ready but that was pretty much it.
They had a few food items you could buy for lunch but the main restaurant wasn’t open yet so the food selection was limited. It didn’t bother me too much, though. I was there to play pickleball mostly.
Brian and I were both off work that day for the Martin Luther King holiday so he took me to play pickleball at West YMCA first, where they play on Monday mornings starting at 9 AM. Then we went to Jay and Becca’s travel agency office to book our Costa Rica trip, since we were just down the street. After that we took my car to the dealership to get washed.
It was warm enough for the carwash to be running but, we found out the hard way, that it was actually still very cold. Chicken N Pickle is just down the street from the dealership so I talked Brian into walking over there for the lunch and learn while we were waiting for my car to be ready. I think Brian was cursing me under his breath the entire walk over. Anyway, despite the proximity, we ended up taking a Lyft car back to the dealership afterwards because neither of us wanted to deal with that cold wind again.
My next visit out there was for pickleball with Uncle Roy’s group. It worked out because we needed to pick up a TV mount at Best Buy so I went over there to play and then Brian took a Lyft ride over after taking care of our girls. Then we just went to Best Buy before heading home after pickleball.
I’m glad we went because Roy and Bonnie’s daughter Maddy who is an event coordinator at CNP was there and she told me about the soft open (read: free food).
Alex and I met up with Brian for lunch there the next day and had the opportunity to try several menu items.
I’m not sure what it is about free food but it’s always so tasty. Kidding aside, everything was truly very good.
We enjoyed everything we ate. In case you are wondering what all these are, here’s the menu card that we drew:
Here’s a picture of the vast dining room.
It is the perfect place for a party because they have so much space.
The following Tuesday, I was back again for pickleball with Roy’s crew. I took a picture of the card they had showing all of the upcoming events.
Then Brian and I were back again for “Ditch the Date” on Valentines Day. For $25 per person you got free food, two free drinks, and free pickleball from 6 PM to 9 PM. It was a pretty good deal!
Here’s a picture of us with Maddy.
When we arrived, we ran into one of the ladies who goes to my Zumba class (Diana Miller) and her husband. The four of us ended up hanging out for most of the evening on an accidental double date of sorts.
Here are some pictures of the beautiful exterior grounds, which are a far cry from the state they were in just a couple of weeks prior.
Another one of the Millers.
I also ran into some folks that we play pickleball with at the church that night. These are Debbie and Tiffany.
And, yes, Brian and I were nerds who wore matching outfits from head to toe.
It was such a fun night. Overall, I’m really pleased with CNP. I think it’s my new favorite place now. How can you go wrong with drinking and pickleball?
Brian and I like it so much that we actually went on location and did our Sunday morning FLIP + CHING video live from there.
If you haven’t tried CNP yet, I highly recommend it.
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First Time at 6S Steakhouse
Posted on February 21, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I finally had the opportunity to dine at 6S Steakhouse thanks to Rune. He hosted a recognition dinner of sorts for a successful year. Spouses were invited so dinner consisted of the six of us: Rune, Kristen, Debbie, Mike, Brian and me.
As is Rune’s lavish style, he ordered a couple of bottles of Prosecco and the drinks flowed freely. Brian, who is not a Prosecco drinker, drank a glass of beer. I stuck to the Prosecco while others also enjoyed some cocktails.
Even if someone else is picking up the dinner tab, I still try to be responsible. Although I have to admit that, after looking at the cocktail menu, I was very tempted to try one.
Here’s picture of the bread they serve with your meal. I took a picture after I’d already taken a bite from it. Oops!
Here are some pictures of the rest of our food (not in any particular order).
6S is the kind of restaurant where everything is a la carte and when you order sides they give you a large enough portion for sharing with the entire table. Anyway, Rune encouraged everyone to order sides so that we could all try the different menu items. We ended up with entirely too much food.
Despite having already had too much to eat, we still got dessert. We got almost one of each and everyone shared so we could try the different desserts as well.
Dinner was amazing — the food, the company, the service — including the napkin ninjas (inside joke, which is funnier if you were there). Anyway, we don’t always think of 6S because it’s clear out on the West side of town but it’s now definitely on our radar of great restaurants to visit for special occasions or when we’ve got something big celebrate. Until next time. GNG.
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2019 YMCA Annual Celebration
Posted on February 20, 2019 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I have been attending the YMCA Annual Celebrations a few years now. I don’t think I documented each time we’ve attended but I found a blog post from 2017 and also one from 2018.
The event was back at the Andover Farha Sport Center again this year so that was convenient. As usual, they did a great job of decorating and turning the courts into a banquet hall.
I am always so impressed with the volunteer and coach of the year nominees. These folks give so much back to the community in terms of their time, effort, and other resources. There’s always just one winner in each category but it’s a huge honor just to be nominated.
These are some very generous people.
Besides the awards, they always unveil new marketing campaign videos and it’s always fun to see your friends in them. This year we had a Joel sighting.
We also ran into Brandy, who I know from Zumba class and is also the cousin of one of my friends from work.
Speaking of sightings, we also ran into Greg and Karen Perkins. You will remember them from our dinner at Prost back in December. They do shared seating at Prost so, since they had space at their table, we ended up getting seated with them. We had a lovely visit over dinner. We finished at different times but must have had the same idea because, when Brian and I went to the Little Lion Cafe for a bit of dessert after dinner, we ran into them again.
Fast forward to the YMCA Annual Celebration last month when we ran into them again. I joked that we should probably plan on intentionally getting together next time instead of accidentally running into each other at various places.
I’m not sure it’s wise to be exchanging phone numbers and connecting with complete strangers but they seem like a lovely couple. We’ve enjoyed both of our visits with them. Anyway, if they support the YMCA then they must be good people, right? I may be wrong to assume this but that was my assessment.
That’s all for now. Until next time. GNG.
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This Year’s Valentines Gift
Posted on February 17, 2019 by Ching under Life, Toys.
We didn’t have time for a Valentine getaway this year and so we decided to buy ourselves a present instead. Brian had been wanting a new TV and, as it has been almost ten years since we bought our last one, I guess it was time. The TV we’d been looking at last year that was $4000 had just gone on sale so it was a sign.
We had musical TVs in preparation for our newest addition. Brian moved the one above the fireplace to the garage. The one in our bedroom went to replace that one and then the 55″ in the basement went into our bedroom.
I’m not really a fan of having TVs in the bedroom but what can you do?
Here are a couple of pics to show you the difference between the old TV and the new TV. It’s so big that it barely fit on our TV stand.
We should have had the GeekSquad guys mount the TV to the wall when they came to deliver and set up the new TV but we didn’t have the foresight to buy a wall mount at the same time. We thought the TV would fit on the stand. However, after a few days of it barely fitting on the stand and Brian not feeling comfortable that it wouldn’t fall off, we finally caved and went back to Best Buy to get a wall mount for it. (Incidentally, the wall mount is now on sale for $79 and our TV is on sale for $300 less than want we paid. Darn it! We should have waited! I hope we remember to wait until Presidents’ Day ten years from now when it’s time to buy another TV.)
Dad came over last Sunday to help Brian get the TV mounted. Here are a few pictures I took while they were working.
Finished product.
Brian spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the wires so it actually looks much better. I need to get a new pic. Anyway, that’s pretty much our Valentines gift for each other this year. (I suppose this is better than the year we got each other his and hers handguns for Valentines.) We are so unromantic! LOL.
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Happy Valentines, Baby!
Posted on February 13, 2019 by Ching under Relationship.
We’re not the most romantic people so we don’t really do anything fancy for Valentines usually. After being together for 20 years, Valentines Day is just another day really. It’s all the other days that matter. And, I must say, Brian does a great job of making me feel special and loved each and every day. Thank you for being not just the best husband ever but the best friend I could ever hope to have.
I love you, baby!
Here’s to another great Valentines together. May we have many, many more!
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