It finally has started feeling like fall here! Which makes sense, because Saturday was the first official day of fall and it was only in the 50s all day.
Do I prefer summer? Yuppppp! But it was still a good few days.
Some of the fun included:
Finally getting to see the Infinite Mirrors exhibit by Kusama at the art museum.
If you ever have a chance to so this, i HIGHLY recommend it. It was amazing.
After the exhibit, we decided to get some wine and cheese, which was the perfect way to end the night.
The weekend also included some homemade pizza. FW helpes with the dough.
Saturday was pretty fun, too. We started off the day with a trip to one of the coolest playgrounds nearby and met up with Celia and Maura and Maddie.
FW had a blast with Celia.
And I’m sure LM had fun with Maura, too.
The day also included some basil picking and pesto making.
And even a short walk.
And B and I made dinner together, which hasn’t happened in FOREVER.
Penne with bacon, leeks and mushrooms.
The night ended pretty boring- catching up on work with football and ice cream as aids (I had a Sunday a.m. deadline and a call that started at 11pm).
Sunday morning fun included a family run!
We brought our nephew and niece along for the ride, too.
The day also included a walk and ANOTHER playground visit!
And some monkeying around with the cousins.
I have another busy week at work coming up, so I also tried to get in all the snuggles I could.
We finished off the weekend with dinner at B’s parents’ house. And make-your-ow sundaes!
And now I’m ready to take on a crazy week! Some questions for you:
What’s your favorite sundae topping? I’m team caramel ober chocolate syrup any day!
Okay, maybe not – this was his face when we went out to breakfast, because that’s how our weekend started. With pancakes! I got the lemon ricotta pancake because it’s truly the best. It’s custardy and I pretty much am in love with anyone and everything lemon that’s sweet. I also don’t typically put butter or syrup on them either, because they’re just so good.
Friday started out with 58 degrees and rain (and a run in short sleeves!) – and then it ended up with sleet and then snow. The weather actually got so bad that my Friday night plans had to change. I was originally supposed to have a girls night with my sisters-in-law and go to the art museum to see their new Jazz Age exhibit, but due to the weather, the museum closed early!
Luckily, our dinner plans didn’t fall through and we were able to have some french food at L’Albtross. We started with cheese …
And after our main course, ended with dessert!
Saturday was pretty good too. The day included some surprise chocolates from B — Mitchell’s has some great chocolates near me, and I love their pretzels and chocolate covered ginger.
The day also included a 2+ hour car nap for FW!
While he napped, I baked some zucchini breakfast cookies for FW to hopefully enjoy. They weren’t that sweet, but I’m hoping FW will want to eat them for breakfast.
After the nap, we headed to the art museum to finally catch the Jazz Age exhibit. Since the museum was closed early Fri. night, we were able to exchange our tickets and go Saturday. All of us ladies couldn’t all schedule the same time, but
I was able to go with B and FW – and Katie – instead.
The exhibit was great! It had so many cool parts and pieces – jewelry, textiles, cars, dresses, and more.
After the art museum, we went to Little Italy for some pizza and dessert.
It was a cold night but we had to walk to get some pastries, too!
Chocolate cannoli and rainbow cookies. My favorite!
Sunday morning started off with some ME time! B and FW went outside to brave the cold and get in some sleighing, while I stayed home. I was able to get in a short run and walk.
I was also able to start some cookies (and do some laundry, but that’s not as exciting 🙂 ) – so that means I baked TWICE this weekend!
We finished off Sunday with a trip to visit our friends’ new baby girl (she is so sweet!!!). I brought some of the cookies over and B made some homemade chicken soup to bring as well.
And then it was time for a Polish-inspired dinner with B’s family, where FW enjoyed playing with his cousins. Pretty much perfect comfort food for a COLD weekend!
FW’s daycare is closed tomorrow, so I’m spending the day with him. Thus, the three-day weekend! Some questions for you:
Any tips for keeping a toddler entertained when it’s cold and snowy/icy outside?
Spoiler alert: This post contains 1 dose of bird poop and 6 Christmas movies. In one weekend. You’ve been warned.
I don’t know what’s up with me this year, but I just can’t get enough of the holidays. Christmas may be more than 2 weeks away, but I’ve been feeling SO in the holiday spirit. Really – I’m like the anti-Grinch. From watching waaay too many holiday movies, to decorating my apartment, to seeing the Cleveland Orchestra holiday performance to attending not one, but two, holiday festivals – I had quite the holiday-themed weekend. And it was amazing. Here’s a little peek at some of the fun:
Friday night B and I made plans – to stay in and do our annual decorating/Love Actually night. It was awesome. This year, we added red wine and sushi to the mix – a combo that was pretty amazing.
another dinner thanks to Sushi 86
Best holiday movie.
Saturday we slept in for the first Saturday in a while – which was definitely needed. I deemed it was too cold and slippery for an outdoor run, so we headed to our apartment gym and I was able to get in 5 miles on the treadmill plus a kettlebell workout. Yes, my muscles are still sore.
After our workout, B and I decided it wasn’t too cold for a walk to Ohio City. Grocery bag in hand, and super bundled up, we walked over the bridge to get in some shopping at West Side Market, as well as check out the Ohio City Holiday Festival. There, we were introduced to mulled Christmas Ale, which made standing outside and drinking a little less cold and miserable. Oh, and I also got pooped on by a bird. Which I hear is good luck, right? I’m not making it up – MSN says, “if a bird lets loose on you, then good things are coming your way. One idea is that it’s a sign of major wealth coming from heaven, based on the belief that when you suffer an inconvenience (albeit a pretty gross one), you’ll have good fortune in return.” Can’t wait to see what luck I have in store!
bundled up along the walk to Ohio City
watching them make the mulled Christmas Ale
After hanging out at Great Lakes for a little while, we walked back downtown and decided to hit Gallucci’s and pick up supplies to make pepperoni bread for dinner. When we got home, something amazing and hard-to-believe happened – B gave me the remote control and I promptly turned on the Nightmare Before Christmas and then a holiday movie I hadn’t yet seen – 12 Dates of Christmas, starring Mark Paul Gosselaar. It’s a pretty cute holiday movie, if you ask me (don’t ask B what he thought), and with that as the backdrop to our cooking pepperoni bread, I was pretty content.
PEPPERONI BREAD!
B headed out to watch the OSU game, but I was pretty stuffed from our pepperoni bread and previous beers, so I decided to take on the daunting task of seeing how many other cheesy holiday movies I could get in before the game was over. How many holiday movies can I watch during an OSU game? The answer is nearly 2 whole movies: I’ll Be Home for Christmas (starring JTT and Jessica Biel) and Holiday Engagement (originally a Hallmark channel movie). So yes, that brings the total to 5 Christmas movies.
Sunday B and I had big plans – we were going to go to the east side for their holiday festival, Circlefest, before catching the Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday performance. I of course had to fit in another holiday movie – so I set my alarm so I could get up early, run on the treadmill, and watch my next made-for-tv holiday movie, Holiday in Handcuffs (starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez) at the same time. Don’t worry, I didn’t finish the movie so I never made it to 6 full movies.
Anyway, after my workout, we headed out east. We started out at the Cleveland Museum of Art for a holiday lunch with a few other members of the Cleveland Phi Beta Kappa board that I’m on. The food in the cafe is pretty good – I had a great beet and butternut squash salad with some pork and barley soup and we enjoyed the view (and some live music) in the Atrium.
After lunch, we walked around the holiday Circlefest and checked out the food trucks, live music, ice skaters and ice sculptures. Most of the institutions were letting people in for free, so we got to ride around Lolly the Trolley and check out the Botanical Gardens (and the Gingerbread House contest entries) AND MOCA!
old stone church gingerbread house at botanical gardens
outside MOCA – it’s all reflective!
After Circlefest, it was time for the Orchestra. Each year, B’s family gets together and gets dinner in Little Italy before seeing the Cleveland Orchestra perform their holiday repertoire in a private concert for St. Ignatius students, alumni and their families. I loved it! They even played a few songs from Home Alone – don’t worry I am not counting those songs in my tally of Christmas movies, but it was a fun and festive show!
It was a great weekend – filled with tons of holiday fun. And I can’t wait to continue the holiday fun this week – I’m traveling to DC for work (I’m getting a major award!!), celebrating the holidays in our building holiday party AND seeing A Christmas Carol this week!
Some questions for you:
Do you like running outside in the winter or do you prefer the treadmill? I always prefer outside. Even though I had a cheesy holiday movie to keep me entertained on Sunday, I was still wishing the roads were cleared and I was outside.
What’s your favorite holiday movie?
Have you seen any of the holiday movies I mentioned above?
Any fun travel plans this week? DC on Tuesday – and then that’s the last travel until I go home for Christmas!
Last weekend, my parents came to visit me in the CLE. It was a great weekend in Cleveland, with weather finally almost warm, a gorgeous sunny day on Saturday and of course, no lack of things to keep my parents busy.
Those of you that know me know that I’m one of the biggest Cleveland cheerleaders. I have so much civic pride and go out of my way (a little too much at times) to show it. Still, it’s easy to forget sometimes how awesome this city is. That’s why I love when family or friends come into town – I can act like a tourist!
So how did we spend our weekend?
Dining out at one of my favorite Cleveland Restaurants – Chinato
Friday night I made reservations for four at Chinato, a restaurant on East 4th by one of my favorite Cleveland Chefs, Zack Bruell. It didn’t disappoint. I usually get their pizza or their Col Buco with slow roasted pork (I don’t typically like pork a lot … but their pork shoulder is amazing) but since it was Good Friday, I got the salmon with escarole and white beans and it was ah-maz-ing. Seriously. I want to eat it again. And again. My mom ended up getting the same and I got to enjoy her leftovers!
East Fourth at Night
Walking to the West Side Market
Saturday morning B and I met up with my parents and we walked to the West Side Market for the first time in forever! Last summer B and I walked to the Market for groceries nearly every weekend, but it hasn’t been warm enough or nice enough for us to do that yet this year – until last weekend with my parents! It was great – the Market was crowded and we were able to pick up all the veggies and meat and fish we would need for the week. We walked back through the Flats and took some fun pictures along the way.
Walking to the West Side Market
Visiting Gallery One at The Cleveland Museum of Art
Our original plan had been to drop off our groceries back at my apartment and then join my parents at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while B played basketball with his family, but after realizing that the Rolling Stones exhibit wasn’t yet at the Rock Hall, and that we only had a few hours until it closed, so we decided to drive over to University Circle instead to visit the Museum of Art. I had been there since the renovation and seen the beautiful Atrium, but hadn’t been to Gallery One yet. It was awesome! I can’t wait to come back and bring our iPad to try out even more of the interactive features.
Parents in University Circle
Parents loving Gallery One
Inside the Atrium at the Art Museum
We enjoyed dinner at B’s parents house and the next morning my parents drove back to NY. It was a quick trip, but a great way to enjoy just a few of the great things that Cleveland has to offer. I can’t wait until they come back later this summer! I’ve already started making my list of what we have to do next:
Try out another restaurant they haven’t been to – still on my list of places we can walk to are Pura Vida, Zocalo, Johnny’s Little Bar or Wink’s for simple burgers/beers
Visit the Botanical Garden – the last time we went with my parents it was March 2008 or 2009 and the weather wasn’t warm enough for most of the plants
Hit an Indians Game – being from NY, my dad is still in awe about how cheap tickets to the game are and what a great value you can get for your money … and loves professional baseball
Walk to Voinovich Park and enjoy the view
What’s on your summer Cleveland bucket list? What do you like to do when family and friends visit?
I Crashed The Web 