NHL All-Star Weekend in Columbus

If you know me at all, you know about my Canadian-like love for hockey. So, when I first learned that Columbus was hosting the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend, I made a mental note to attend, at the very least to check out the festivities. Then, quicker than I expected, that very weekend rolled around and we found ourselves in Buckeye-land for some icy celebrations of both the sport and dessert variety.

First things first, we stopped at the Greater Columbus Convention Center for NHL Fan Fair. Despite the long lines for everything, the convention completely exceeded my expectations. With interactive games, autograph and Q&A sessions, and collectibles galore, the event was my personal version of hockey heaven. Although both Crosby and Malkin backed out of the weekend celebrations due to injury, they were all over the fan fair in the form of pictures, statues, and hockey cards. I took copious pictures. Duh.

While Filip Forsberg signed autographs, I tried to force Wheat to flash him the Predators shirt he was wearing underneath his pullover. No such luck. I bought hockey cards, played Puck-O (which was a giant version of Plink-O), won a Rick Nash 5x7 picture, admired the All-Star Draft stage that was used the night before, and ate pizza. I got autographs from two members of the U.S. Women's Olympic Team in Sochi (goalie Brianne McLaughlin and defense(wo)man Gigi Marvin), held their incredibly heavy silver metals (USA! USA!), hung out with the Oscar Mayer wienermobile, admired the Stanley Cup from afar, and compared my hand size to some of the NHL's finest.

Best of all, I forced begged Wheat to indulge my CROSplay fantasy -- see what I did there?! -- and try on full Sidney Crosby gear and pose for a picture kissing me. I asked the unsuspecting stranger behind me to take the picture and explained that I wanted it to look like I was kissing Crosby himself. Like the best friend I never knew he'd be, he responded, "Understandable."

Once we had our fill of hockey, we made our way to TJ and Tasha's apartment where, yet again, Tasha put all other hostesses to shame by popping a bottle of champagne and feeding us s'mores cupcakes in honor of our engagement. Excellent.

After a couple hours of conversation, we decided to head to dinner at The Old Mohawk, where we watched the Skills Competition and I ate a grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with mac & cheese and pulled pork. Yep, it was as good as it sounds. We promptly pretended that the cupcakes earlier weren't actually dessert and made our way to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. If you haven't been, go. Run. Don't walk. You can sample as many flavors as you want, but I highly suggest Brambleberry Crisp and Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet.

I know we're getting old because we called it a very early night, but Tasha impressed yet again by treating us to a delicious breakfast and warm, mulled apple cider the next morning. Despite the rain/ice hybrid that was falling, we decided to check out the Winter Park near Nationwide Arena. The park, complete with bonfires, a giant snow slide, an ice skating rink, concessions, a replica Blue Jackets locker room, NHL 2015 on XBox, a live country band, and more Canadian beer than I can name, was absolutely perfect.

We opted with Katzinger's Deli for lunch, where I devoured an authentic reuben, a pickle straight from the barrel, and my very first cheese blintz. We closed the trip with a quick stop at Pistacia Vera, the cutest little pastry kitchen in the German Village. I don't even like the chocolate and peanut butter flavor combo, but I couldn't resist buying a Buckeye macaron. When in Rome, eh?

I didn't want to leave, but heavy snow was threatening. So, we bid our farewells with the knowledge that we'll back in one short month for their Columbus wedding! Hooray!