What a Super Bowl! Loved the Half Time Show (go Katy Perry!) and the spectacular ending. Even if your team lost, you may still be a winner. Be sure to click here to see if you won the tickets to the Great Big Home and Garden Show.
What a delicious and fun night I had thanks to Red & White on Thursday Night, the annual fundraiser for the Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. It was a perfect excuse to make the very easy trek to Akron.
My friend EKC and I took full advantage of our VIP tickets by starting off the event with a glass of wine and chair massages. Shouldn't all events start like this?
VIP was worth every penny because in addition to our mini spa service, they had a mashed potato bar that was all kinds of YUM, a huge platter of roast beef, hot passed hors d'oeurves like pastry wrapped brie, a table full of sweets and kick ass wine all in a comfy lounge setting.
I found a new favorite wine: Lust by Michael David Winery, the same folks who make 7 Deadly Zins. Once I tasted this, I had to force myself to try some other wines but this was my favorite for sure.
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| The mashed potato bar was a huge hit with Rachel from It's a Hero too! |
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| Beef with chimichurri |
Oh, and did I mention the table overflowing with sweets?
So basically, you could have been stuffed without ever leaving the VIP area. By we definitely wanted to join the fun in the main room.
There were lots of ways to win great items while donating to the Arthritis Foundation, and the prizes were really good.
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| Aren't these cookies adorable?? |
The food stations were set up around the perimeter and the wine was in the middle. We did our best to try it all. Here's just a sampling of the food we ate (don't judge!):
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| Chocolate by Erin had chocolate covered grapes, Rice Crispy Treat balls and cherries |
And that's only a small sampling. My camera skills were lacking thanks to all my snacking.
With all that delicious food you think it would be hard to pick a favorite. Well, it wasn't! The clear winner in my opinion was the Thai inspired taste sensation from Hudson's.
I'm not sure what was my favorite - the spicy sweet glazed shrimp or the melt in your mouth polenta cake. And the Thai Cashew Brittle was such an awesome bonus. I may have gone back again. And again. And again.
Definitely need to pay them a visit! They have two locations, one in Hudson and one in Fairlawn.
I actually managed to learn a few things too. Did you know that nearly 1.3 million people of all ages in Northeastern Ohio have been diagnosed with arthritis? That's why events like this are so important. If you missed the event but would still like to donate, click here. And make sure to mark your calendar for next year!
** Disclosure: I received tickets to attend and to giveaway to a reader from the Arthritis Foundation. As always, the opinions expressed are my own. **