Why? Cheering on the Indians!

Somehow the beginning of Cleveland Indians baseball season got away from me. All of the sudden, it was the end of May and I hadn’t been to a game! So, on Tuesday night, I gathered up some of my favorite girls and we headed to the ballpark.

There couldn’t have been nicer weather for the game, plus it was Fill the House night benefiting the Cleveland Foodbank.

Between ticket sales and in-kind donations, Fill the House raised over $20,000 for the Cleveland Foodbank! Besides the gorgeous weather and contributing to a good cause, we also took in a little baseball.

In my opinion, Progressive Field is one of the nicest parks in the major leagues (even though it takes great mental effort to call it Progressive Field and not The Jake). And even though the Indians lost on Tuesday, our hometown team has been playing some great ball this year.

We also enjoyed some Summer Shandy and Italian sausage sandwiches with grilled onions and peppers (and of course Ballpark Mustard) that I’ve been craving since last season.

I was really disappointed to see how empty the stands were on Tuesday. We have a good team, a beautiful park, and going to a game can be affordable. We had great tickets on the third-base line for only $20. Yes, the food and drink can be pricey ($9.50 for a Summer Shandy!), but you can also eat before the game or grab a much cheaper beer at Winking Lizard or City Tap.

If you need more motivation, the Fill the House nights turn your night at the ballpark into something good for a local charity. The next Fill the House is on Tuesday, June 19 to benefit USO of Northern Ohio. You can find information on other Fill the House nights by clicking here.

And if you still need more motivation, I found unequivocal proof Tuesday night that God is an Indians fan:

It took me awhile to get out to Progressive Field this season, but I’ll definitely be back and I hope to see you at the ballpark too! Go Tribe!

Why? AMP 150!

Last week, I happened to be out at the airport to pick up Matthew from a business trip. Since we were out that way, we decided to have dinner at AMP 150.  I had been to AMP 150 for events, but never to have an off-the-menu dinner.

We started with drinks: Matthew selected a beer from the extensive craft beer list (which has an awesome amount of local craft brews) and I had a Rockmill.

The Rockmill has Rockmill Saison, elderflower liquor, and lemon. The citrus balances the sweet perfectly. This cocktail is refreshing and light. I may have found my new summer sipper!

For dinner, I decided to put together a meal from the various smaller portions on the menu. I started with the celery root soup.

The soup was simple and delicious. AMP 150 is known for their amazing mushroom bisque and the celery root soup was equally good, with a frothy texture and earthy flavors.

Next, I chose the shrimp and grits small bite and the roasted cauliflower.

The shrimp came on a bed of grits with chorizo and cheddar and were topped with sweet potato straws. This dish was spot on: the grits were creamy and packed with flavor. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the sweet potato added needed texture to the dish.

The roasted cauliflower was mixed with goat cheese, pine nuts, and a beet vinaigrette. This dish was also fantastic! I’m pretty sure mixing in goat cheese is a good way to get people to eat their vegetables.

These three items made the perfect amount of food for a meal: I was full, but not stuffed afterwards. All three dishes were pretty salty, though, so next time I think I’ll change up the combination a bit.

Matthew chose the braised lamb for his dinner.

The lamb was served on goat cheese polenta, with a red pepper tomato jam accent. The lamb was tender and flavorful and the polenta’s texture was exactly right.

With AMP 150′s commitment to locally-grown ingredients, extensive menu of endless combinations of small bites, and friendly prices (almost everything on the menu is under $20), we’ll definitely be stopping by again!

Have you been to AMP 150? What’s your favorite menu item?

Why? Weekends!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend and the unofficial start of summer in CLE! To kick off the holiday weekend, my friend planned a State Road pub crawl to celebrate her 30th birthday.

There are a surprising number of little pubs on State Road in between Snow and Ridgewood Roads in Parma. We started out at The Hive. This place is half concert club, half bar, but the two sides are separate. From there, we headed onto Quikky’s Bar and Grill.

This definitely had more of the “dive bar” feel! Part of the evening involved a bar scavenger hunt, finding things like beer coasters, matchbooks, a bartender who would create a drink named after the birthday girl, and a mullet. Good times!

I headed home after Quikky’s, but the group continued onto Tradesman Tavern and Last Stop Inn. The State Road bars definitely offer cheap beer and a relaxed atmosphere. Cheers to the birthday girl for a fun idea!

Saturday morning started with a hot and sweaty yoga flow at Nishkama Yoga. For some unknown reason, I signed up for 7 days in a row of yoga classes. Saturday was Day 4 and I was starting to feel pretty tired. Luckily, Alicia and Kimberly practiced on either side of me. Their energy not only got me through the class, but made it really fun. Nothing like practicing with friends!

After class, the three of us needed to rehydrate with some of my mom’s famous margaritas.

Of course, Mom also made a ridiculous amount of food, including guacamole, taco dip, and tequila lime flank steak tacos. And just when we thought we couldn’t eat anymore, this showed up:

Four different kinds of Handel’s ice cream! Sooo good! I don’t think there’s anything that compliments non-stop girl talk better than margaritas and ice cream!

Sunday, I met up with Bridesmaid Beth for dinner at Two Bucks in Avon. This place is crazy cheap! There’s a fairly extensive list of beers for $2 – nothing too far into the craft beer range, but good options – and a lot of the appetizers and sliders are $2 as well.

We shared the fries ($2), the gouda mac n’ cheese ($2), and the boneless wings with spicy mango sauce ($7). All told, for our food and 2 beers a piece, we spent $20. You can’t beat that! And the food was good! The fries could have been crisper, but the mac n’ cheese was delicious and the sauce on the boneless wings was really solid.

Today is an around-the-house kind of day, with big plans of grilling ribs and chicken and making a fire in the backyard fireplace later. I hope your holiday weekend has been as fun and relaxing as mine! And remember to stop for a moment today and pay your respects to those who gave their lives so we could have a fun and relaxing weekend.

Why? MOCA Cleveland!

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland is on the move to a shiny new home. Yesterday, I got a hard hat tour of the new MOCA and got to hear about all the exciting things planned for the space.

I think this is a good look for me…

The building is located on the corner of Euclid and Mayfield. MOCA hopes that the location will serve as a gateway between University Circle and Uptown. The new MOCA space is focused on being open and welcoming to the public. One thing that strikes me about the new MOCA is that – along with Case Western’s Lewis Building – the University Circle area is becoming an architecturally interesting blend of the very traditional and the very modern.

Most of the building will be cover in black reflective steel, in order to reflect the community that MOCA is in.

The main entrance, however, will be a four-story glass wall. Passers-by will be able to see installations going up and get a peek at what’s inside the museum before even entering the doors.

The first floor of MOCA is designed to be an “urban living room.” It will be free (admission prices begin on the second floor) and designed for people to gather to talk, shop in the museum store, and eat from the cafe kiosk provided by Marigold Catering. The museum and its urban living room will be open until 10pm on Fridays, making this a great stop before or after dinner in Uptown.

The first floor also houses a performance space.

The second, third, and fourth floors are dedicated to galleries, a media production studio, an education room, and administrative offices. One of the coolest aspects of this new building is the interior and exterior staircase, which will allow people to wind through the building and, at the top, look down on the main gallery.

One of the main goals of the design of the new MOCA is to allow art, from its production and installation to its display to be transparent. From the view from what will be part of the four-story glass wall, art’s home has never looked so good!

MOCA Cleveland has its grand opening on Columbus Day weekend. The first exhibition features 13 artists from all over the world and is titled, “Inside Out and From the Ground Up.” On October 6, there will be a spectacular grand opening party. On Columbus Day, October 8, the entire museum will be free to the public. Stay tuned here for more details on MOCA’s grand opening celebration!

***Disclosure: I was invited by MOCA Cleveland to take a hard hat tour of the new museum building. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Upcoming Events!

Can you believe it’s almost Memorial Day Weekend and the unofficial start of summer?! There are tons of great upcoming events going on to get you out and about and active in CLE!

Akarui

May 24-June 9

Cleveland Public Theatre

Image Source – cptonline.org

Come experience this interesting and haunting play about a group of people thrown together in a rave cave at the end of the world. Tickets are only $10! For showtimes and to purchase tickets, click here.

Ronald McDonald House Night Ride on the Towpath

Saturday, June 2 at 8pm

Thornburg Station

Join Century Cycles for a 12-mile night bike ride on the Towpath Trail. There will be goodie bags, t-shirts, and snacks for participants. Proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland. Fee to participate is $20 in advance and $25 the night of the event. Click here to learn more.

ZippityZooDoo

Friday, June 8 at 6pm

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

The Cleveland Zoological Society hosts the 39th annual ZippityZooDoo fundraiser. The theme of this year’s event is “Zoolin Rouge,” with a night in Paris feel. There will be cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment, a charity auction, and a five-course dinner featuring amazing appetizers, fish, steak, and more. Tickets are $250 per person and can be purchased here.

Copper River Salmon Run

Saturday, June 9 at 10am

Pier W

Image Source – hermescleveland.com

Join Pier W for their first ever 5K race to benefit Malachi House. After the race, there will be a party on Pier W’s gorgeous deck overlooking Lake Erie. Nibble on salmon burgers or vegetarian options and enjoy being healthy and active for a good cause! Pre-registration cost is $25 and race day registration is $30. The first 300 participants receive a t-shirt. If you want to skip the race and just party at the Pier, lunch is $8 for non-runners. Click here to register.

 Blondes v. Brunettes Flag Football Game

Saturday, June 16 at 2pm

Cleveland State University Krenzler Field

Image Source – facebook.com

Come cheer on your favorite team as blondes take on brunettes in a powder puff football game to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. A donation of $20 gets you a ticket to the game. It’s sure to be a fun event and lots of CLE bloggers are participating, including Nidhi from Cleveland Socialite, Charlene from Life in the CLE, Julie from Wearing Mascara and Stephanie from Hungry in Cleveland. Click here for more information on the game.

Which upcoming events are you most excited about to kick off summer?

***Disclosure: I was asked by both Cleveland Public Theatre and the Cleveland Zoological Society to help promote their upcoming events mentioned in this post. In exchange, I was offered ticket(s) to these events, but declined both due to scheduling conflicts. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Bachelorette Party!

Thank goodness for the Ohio Blogging Association blog swap yesterday! It gave me an extra day to rest up before telling you all about my bachelorette party on Saturday.

First, four of my lovely bridesmaids got together at my house to decorate me for the occasion. This was the end result:

A pink feather boa, a sash, a crown with a mini veil, a light-up pin and a light-up ring and I was set! We then met up with the party bus for an afternoon at the wineries. Tammy from Miss WineOH was our tour guide and organizer for the day, along with my bridesmaid Beth.

Not only did Tammy lead us through all our tastings, she also kept track of 18 boisterous ladies, organized fun games for the bus, and handed out prizes. She did a great job!

Our first stop was Buccia Vineyard in Conneaut, which is not just a winery, but also a bed and breakfast. We got to taste 4 of their wines, plus have a quick bite for lunch.

Overwhelmingly, the favorite wine was the Reflections of Lake Erie white blend. It was perfect for sipping outside on a hot day, with just a bit of sweetness.

Oh, and if you make it out to Buccia, make sure you do the B&B tour and read the hot tub rules. You won’t be sorry…

Back on the bus and we were off to Ferrante Winery in Geneva. This is one of my favorite Ohio wineries, with fabulous wines, delicious food, and beautiful outdoor patios.

The group’s favorite wine seemed to be the Golden Bunches Riesling.

Pro tasting tip: pour these little shot glasses into your wine glass to appear classier. If you don’t like the wine, give it to the bride-to-be.

Our last stop was Grand River Cellars in Madison. We had more wine and some munchies, including a delicious baked brie and pear appetizer with blackberry jam. The Grand Red was a definite favorite wine here. We also got a tour of the Grand River wine cellar.

The winery tours were over, but the drinking was not! The bridesmaids and I headed for some dinner at Willoughby Brewing Company. Outside at the bar, we met Janet, who will be married 50 years this week. Janet shared some advice and we shared a shot too!

From there, we headed back to my house for more wine, food, girl talk, and chick flicks. Oh, and decorating the dogs…

It was the perfect day! The wineries made for great locations for relaxing with my friends and Tammy did a wonderful job planning our day. More than that, though, I’m overwhelmed by a bus-full of lovely ladies who came out to help me celebrate getting married (in less than 2 weeks!). From knowing people 13 years to knowing them for 6 months, everyone there is so special to me and helped make the day a truly memorable one! Cheers!

Why? Beauty!

***A bit of blog-keeping: today bloggers from around Ohio are participating in the Ohio Blogging Association’s May blog swap. Today’s post on Why CLE? is written by the fashionable and fun Kimberly of Smitten…in Cleveland. Much thanks to her for a fantastic post on on a place to go pamper yourself in CLE!

Check out Smitten…in Cleveland today for a post written by yours truly. For a complete list of bloggers participating in the blog swap, click on over to Poise in Parma.***

Hi, I’m Kimberly from SMITTEN…in cleveland. I blog about everything I’m smitten with, from fashion and beauty to food and home. We all need a little pampering and here in the CLE we are lucky to have many salons and spas offering just about every service imaginable. But where do you go when you need the best in makeup and skincare?

Powder Room Boutique

Located on the east side of Cleveland in the Eton Shopping Center, Powder Room Boutique is an oasis of high end makeup and skincare. Open since 2007, Kelly Miron has been providing Clevelanders with a unique experience that offers professional makeup application, brow sculpting, specialized facials and treatments. This is not your department store beauty counter. This is a serene environment that you just want to tuck into. Having trained and worked as a makeup artist under Laura Mercier and Francisco Nars, Kelly’s mission is to educate clients on makeup application and keep you updated on the latest in cosmetic and skincare trends – all while having a bit of fun (and perhaps a bit of bubbly!)

I stopped in a few months ago because I heard Kelly was an expert brow sculptor. Tired of being burned with hot wax or having my brows threaded within an inch of their life (leaving them thin), I sat in her chair and watched as she pulled out her tweezers. No wax here. Kelly believes tweezers are more precise. She tweezes (quite painlessly) each and every stray hair, leaving the ones that needed to grow. We were having such great conversation, I barely noticed I was in her chair for 20 minutes. She’s a perfectionist. I walked away with glorious brows and a few at home tricks.

This is one passionate woman. She’s been in this business for over 20 years and has seen it all. She has a talent for showing women how to build confidence by highlighting their best features. You’ve most likely seen her work as she does a ton of press and editorial makeup. Kelly features some cosmetic lines that aren’t available anywhere else in Northeast Ohio, like Face Atelier, Kevyn Aucoin and Girlactik Beauty and Ellis Faas.

She knows the good skincare from the over-hyped and over-priced and within a few minutes, can determine exactly what you need. Powder Room offers cosmeceutical-grade skincare, usually found at the dermatologist’s, like Cellex-C & Natura Bisse. No pressure to make a purchase, she’d rather send you home with samples to make sure you love it before you buy it.

Powder Room offers an array of facials to meet any skincare need along with makeup application, lessons and custom spray tanning. This is the perfect oasis to celebrate a birthday, bachelorette or simply a pampering girl’s night in!

Why? Five Things This Friday!

It’s been a long week, CLE and finally the promise of the weekend and beautiful weather seems to be here. So, let’s keep it light and breezy with Five Things This Friday!

1. You’ve probably already seen it, but it bears repeating. Check out Michael Symon’s awesome love letter to the city of Cleveland. As a two-time boomerang, so much of this rang especially true for me!

Image Source – cleveland.com

2. Looking for something fun and inexpensive for your Friday night? Check out the FiveOne Experimental Orchestra tonight (May 18) at 8:30pm at The Sculpture Center on East 123rd Street. They will be performing “Like She Said, Everything’s Fine,” a psychoacoustic piece. Admission is only $3!

3. Mondays suck, but free cookies make even Mondays better! This Monday, May 21 the DoubleTree by Hilton “Little Things Project” is coming to Willard Park from 11am-5pm. There will be free cookies, free wi-fi, a laptop/cell phone charging station, and deals to CLE attractions.

There will also be a DoubleTree “Swarm Car” delivering requested little things to lucky folks who tweet to @doubletree using the hashtag #littlethings.

4. Tuesday, May 22, Pier W is hosting a Mad Men happy hour. Aside from the normal fabulous happy hour deals, there will be giveaways and prizes for the best dressed. So break out your 60′s attire and head on over! For more info, click here.

5. Tomorrow is my Bachelorette Party! Woo-hoo! I encourage you to take my tweets and Facebook posts tomorrow with this information in mind.

Image Source – umbrellagrouplv.com

What are your Five Things This Friday?

***Disclosure: I was asked by DoubleTree to help promote the Little Things event. In exchange, I was invited to ride along in the Swarm Car, but declined due to scheduling conflicts. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Cleveland Marathon Weekend!

This weekend, the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon is taking over the streets of our city. Good luck to all the runners and congrats on making it through your training!

Image Source – my.clevelandclinic.org

So, what if you’re not a runner? Or, like me, you tried running and figured out that if you’re not being chased, you don’t really want to do it…

The weather is supposed to be fantastic and there are plenty of ways to participate in the excitement of Cleveland Marathon weekend!

Cheer!

There are lots of great spots to watch the runners do their thing. Here’s a list! Make a sign, show some love, give out high fives, and just generally encourage these awesome people.

Image Source – ncpreventionpartners.org

There will also be entertainment along the course, with everything from high school bands to jazz to rock to a dance party to John Adams, the Indians drummer.

Eat and Drink and Play!

If all that cheering makes you want to refuel, plenty of Cleveland restaurants will be open to serve you and the famished runners. Last year, Matthew and I had brunch at Latitude 41N right around the time the race finished up. It was packed with medal-wearers, their friends and family, and other spectators.

From Latitude 41N to Luxe to XYZ the Tavern to Sweet Moses, Gordon Square offers some great options for race day munchies.

As the runners make their way through Ohio City, you can be enjoying brunch at SOHO Cleveland, Market Garden Brewery, or Heck’s Cafe.

Also, you may have heard a little something about the brand new Horseshoe Casino, which will be open all day. Who needs to win a marathon when you can win at the slots?!

Image Source – multivu.com

Congrats and go get ‘em to all the runners! Whether you’re running the half or full marathon on Sunday or the 5K on Saturday, you deserve mad respect for your effort and dedication. And to all the spectators, friends, and proud Clevelanders, get out there and have some fun with a great event happening in our town!

Why? Fashion Week Cleveland Runway Show!

Saturday night was the pinnacle of Fashion Week Cleveland: the black-tie gala and runway show. My giveaway winner, Amy, and I split the recap to give you two different perspectives on the evening.

All glam on the red carpet with Amy

Amy’s Recap

When I won the tickets from Why CLE? to Cleveland Fashion Week’s Black-tie Gala, I made a bargain with Jen: in return for the two tickets she provided, I would help her write the recap of the event and provide a few pictures.

My favorite part of the evening was dressing up and going out with my husband for a night on the town. I also enjoyed meeting new people like the writers of some of the Cleveland-based blogs I follow. I think everyone who attended the event felt like the evening was a perfect opportunity to people watch! The fashion show itself was fascinating, and my favorite designer was Lotty Lewis.

It’s Nidhi from Cleveland Socialite!

 There were a few suggestions I would make for next year’s show. The doors were scheduled to open at 7:30 p.m., but they didn’t open until almost 8:15 p.m. This seemed to set the tone for the evening, and it felt like we had a lot of time to stand around. I think there are opportunities to tighten the schedule – perhaps shorten the reception, but have some of the models walking around throughout the reception with the looks from the runway…just to give us a “teaser” for the show itself. I think there was a lack of organization too – I received a lot of questions from other attendees about where they could find the bar, the restrooms, the VIP section, etc.

I also would like to have seen more about the FWC organization and what they are doing to answer the question “Why CLE?”

My Recap

Before we headed to all the glamour, Alicia (my date for the evening), Kimberly, her husband, and I decided to grab some appetizers and cocktails at Pier W. The restaurant just lends itself to dressiness. We snagged a spot in the bar and were able to get in on happy hour prices. Yes, they have  happy hour on the weekend: $5.75 martinis and  glasses of wine and half-off almost all appetizers.

The food and cocktails were delicious (lobster bisque, calamari, and short rib pierogies, oh my!), plus we were able to have a mini photo shoot on the deck overlooking our beloved city.

From there, we headed to the Halle Building. Our tickets said the doors opened at 7:30, but word on the street – literally, we were all waiting on Huron – was that the time had been changed to 8:15. We certainly got in some good people-watching, though!

Once inside, we made our way first to the champagne fountain. Good thing we started there because by the time we went for a refill about half an hour later, there was no champagne left and the fountain was all packed up!

From there, we checked out the nibbles. Stone Mad served up mini sandwiches of their famous beef brisket, Flour served up pasta, and L’Albatros served up three different cheeses, pate, taurine, and homemade sausage.

In keeping with the late entrance to the Halle Building, the runway show started about half an hour late. By the time we made our way through the line and downstairs, we weren’t able to see any of the fashions from our seats. Literally, we saw models from the shoulders up. Perhaps if the runway had been raised, it would have been easier for all the attendees to see the clothes.

I love that Fashion Week Cleveland gives a forum for local designers to show off their talent, but overall, the event could have been better organized and executed. VIP tickets cost $100. While I was fortunate to have received a pair of tickets, I think that the value for people who bought tickets is compromised by late starts, running out of champagne, long drink lines, and not necessarily being able to even see the runway show.

However, I never have a really bad evening when I’m with these ladies, so cheers to getting glammed up with my girls!

Did you attend Fashion Week Cleveland’s runway show? What’s your take on the evening?

***Disclosure: I was asked by Fashion Week Cleveland to help promote the Runway Show by running a giveaway and blogging about the event. In exchange, I received 2 VIP tickets to the Runway Show. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***