Why? Weekends!

For every weekend that hands us gorgeous weather, there’s one that hands us, well, less gorgeous weather. That’s OK, though! We didn’t let the rain and coolness dampen our fun!

Friday night, we chilled at home with what is a not-often-enough Friday ritual of homemade pizza, a bottle of wine, and catching up on the DVR.

I’m completely addicted to Scandal and, as a DVR watcher, need to stay spoiler-free until I can catch up with the show, which is not usually easy! I somehow managed to avoid the spoilers and was completely shocked at the end of the episode.

On Saturday, I got in my morning vinyasa flow at Harmony Yoga. I’m also part of Team #yogaallthelivelongday, which you can read more about here, so I’m committing to practice at least a small bit of yoga every day (more to come on this, I’m sure).

After that, I headed to check out the new Earth Fare in Solon. Stay tuned later this week for a post on that and a giveaway to go along with it!

To round out the day, Matthew and I went to his college friend Jenn’s house for the first BBQ of the summer. I think it’s great that Matthew, Jenn, and Jody have maintained their friendships for so long! On the way to Jenn’s, we drove through Matthew’s alma mater, Kent State University, for a little more college nostalgia.

Plus, weekend BBQ’s with friends are one of my favorite things about summertime. Even though the weather wasn’t too summery, I still sipped a beer or two and got ready for lots of grilling and cornhole ahead this season.

Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day by taking my Mom to brunch at XO Prime Steaks.

The brunch menu was a nice mix of breakfast and lunch items. Mom and Dad went the breakfast direction with apple and pear crepes and lobster eggs benedict, respectively. Matthew and I chose lunch, with blackened salmon and wild mushroom ravioli. Matthew and I also shared a very dense, but tasty, white chocolate, raspberry and macadamia bread pudding for dessert.

Everything was delicious and it was a nice, relaxing afternoon for Mom!

I grabbed another yoga class on Sunday evening. I generally have a tougher time practicing in the evenings, but find my energy level is definitely better on weekend evenings than during the week.

How was your weekend? Did you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Why? Mother’s Day!

Dear Mom,

From here:

To here:

Photo creit: New Image Photography

And everywhere in between, you’ve been my confidant, my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, and my biggest motivator. I owe so much of who I am to you and I will never stop being grateful.

I love you. Happy Mother’s Day!

Love,

Why? Sweet Melissa and Lure!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win two tickets to the Silver Spoon Awards Party? Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

I recently got a chance to check out great after-work spots on both the West side and the East side.

Earlier this week, I met up with Kimberly and Amanda for a lovely happy hour at Sweet Melissa. I had been to this tasty and cute locale for lunch, but had heard great things about their happy hour and was anxious to check it out.

The happy hour runs from 4pm until close and is available in the bar area only, which is small, so get there early to snag a seat. You can get $2 or $3 select beers, $5 select wines, and $3 or $5 select appetizers.

I chose a glass of chardonnay, the crab cake appetizer, and the fried Brussels sprouts.

The crab cake was tasty! I really enjoyed the roasted red pepper and asparagus that came with it, too. The Brussels sprouts were delicious, particularly when paired with the sweet chili dipping sauce.

Being at Sweet Melissa, we couldn’t pass up dessert! I took a key lime tart and a lemon berry tart home to share with Matthew. Both had a graham cracker crust and delicious tangy, creamy filling.

For a sweet after-work deal, I definitely recommend Sweet Melissa.

The next day, I had another chance to check out a great after-work spot, this time on the East side, when I met up with my Mom for dinner at Lure Bistro. It was a beautiful evening! We got a table on Lure’s expansive patio and enjoyed a cocktail to start.

I recommend the Elderberry Fizz, with St. Germain Elderflower liquor, Chambord, Pink Moscato, and fresh raspberries.

For dinner, I couldn’t pass up Lure’s sushi. I had the Red Devil roll (red snapper, red pepper, crab, and chili sauce), the Two Timing Tuna Roll (spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, topped with white tuna and seaweed salad), and the yellowtail nigiri.

Lure’s sushi is always super fresh and the rolls offer unique flavor combinations. This is one of my favorite patios in Willoughby, too!

Where are some of your favorite after-work spots?

Why? Corleone’s Ristorante!

I love finding hidden gem restaurants, like Corleone’s Ristorante in Parma. For years, Corleone’s has been cooking up high quality, elegant Italian meals, boasting a stellar wine list, and earning awards such as placing in Our Lady of the Wayside’s Finest Hors d’Oeuvres contest. Tucked in a small shopping center in northern Parma, it’s not exactly where you would expect to find this kind of restaurant.

Last week, Mom and I had a fabulous dinner at Corleone’s. We started with the award-winning Shrimp Sammy.

Huge shrimp are breaded in macadamia nuts and coconut, served with a sweet chili glaze and pickled red onion. Absolutely delicious!

I almost forgot to mention the cocktails! I enjoyed a Rosemary French 75, with gin, rosemary, agave syrup, and champagne. We sipped and enjoyed the live music being played in the bar area.

For our entrees, Mom selected the classic veal marsala. The sauce was rich and packed with tender mushrooms.

I chose the chicken Patricia, which is lightly-breaded chicken with mushrooms in a spicy marinara cream sauce.

While I thought the chicken was delicious, the spicy marinara could use a bit more kick for my taste.

Despite being stuffed, I got an order of cannoli to go, to share with Matthew when I got home. The cannoli filling was creamy, not overly sweet, and had a perfectly smooth texture. Matthew declared them the best cannoli he’s ever had!

So, if you’re looking for a tasty Italian meal in an unexpected spot, check out Corleone’s. What are some of your favorite hidden gem restaurants?

Why? Weekends!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Today is the last day to enter my giveaway to win 2 tickets to Market at the Foodbank. Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for more entries!***

It was a wonderful weekend of friends and family celebrations! On Friday morning, I went to a butt-kicking vinyasa flow at Nishkama Yoga. I don’t get to practice at Nishkama as much as I would like, so I was happy to take advantage of one of my days off before I start my new job to get to class there (more on the new job tomorrow).

I spent the rest of the day on Friday learning how to make nut roll and poppyseed roll with Mom. This is a traditional Eastern European holiday dessert and I’m all about tradition at the holidays.

For my first try, I was pretty happy with the results and, from the way they were gobbled up, everyone else was, too!

Friday evening, Matthew and I met up with the usual suspects to fete our lovely friend Kimberly for her birthday. We started with the ridiculously well-priced Friday wine tasting at Wine and Design. Two delicious wines for $5? Yes, please!

Then it was off to dinner at Dante. Matthew and I decided to share a little bit of a lot of things on the menu. I love Dante’s options of tasting or appetizer-sized portions, which gives you a chance to taste even more dishes.

We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered: the wild mushroom and baked brie tartlet, the Hawaiian tuna tartare, the “chunky” soup with lobster, potato, and leeks, the green spaghetti, the three-cheese polenta, and the black squid ink risotto.

Since Kimberly and Chris are Dante regulars, Chef Boccuzzi treated us to quite the dessert spread on the house. I was so blissed out, I don’t remember the exact names of most of the dishes, but there was a chocolate and orange meringue, baklava with pistachio and cherries and cardamom ice cream, a chocolate banana crepe, and a heavenly s’mores-like sundae.

It was a fabulous evening befitting a fabulous friend! Kimberly is truly one of the sweetest, most caring, funniest people I know and I am so blessed to have her in my life! I hope this year is her best yet!

Saturday morning brought more yoga, this time at Harmony Yoga. Then, it was into holiday prep mode. I hosted my parents, grandfather, and Matthew’s father for a traditional Holy Saturday dinner of kielbasi and sauerkraut.

We got our kielbasi from Pinzone’s Market Fresh Meats, which is one of my go-to stands at the West Side Market. Tradition is tasty!

On Sunday, we went to Easter Mass and had dinner with my parents and grandfather.

I also broke my Lenten no-sweets fast (Friday night’s dessert bonanza excluded) with some yummy chocolate from Malley’s. All in all, it was a great weekend with some of our favorite people!

How was your weekend? Do you celebrate Easter? What are your traditions?

Why? Cancun!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Check out my monthly guest post on the Lake County Visitor’s Bureau blog!***

Every once in awhile, even an ardent Cleveland-lover needs a little break, especially when the weather doesn’t want to seem to provide one of it’s own. Matthew, my parents, and I just got back from an all-too-quick trip to Secrets Silversands resort in Mexico.

View from Matthew’s and my balcony

One of the things I love most about Matthew is how well we travel together. When we had been dating only a month, I spent a weekend with Matthew and some of his extended family in Virginia Beach. That trip kind of sealed our dating fate and, since then, I’ve loved exploring new places with Matthew.

We did a little of everything and a lot of nothing while on this trip.

Mom, Matthew, and I spent a luxurious morning at the Secrets Silversands’ Spa. Mom and I got body wraps (Water Lily for her, Chocolate for me) and Matthew got a massage. After that, we were able to take advantage of the Spa’s awesome relaxation pool.

From pampering my body to working in time for morning yoga class, this vacation provided balance between indulgence and healthiness.

Speaking of indulgence, our resort had some great restaurants, with a lot of different themes from French to Pan-Asian to Italian.

A favorite indulgence of ours was to grab a nightcap of the Mexican coffee served flaming hot and with quite the theatrics in the lobby bar.

We also went to one of our favorite restaurants in Mexico: Lorenzillo’s. Known for their amazing lobster, with over 20 different preparations, Lorenzillo’s is always a favorite vacation stop.

On our last full day in Cancun, Matthew surprised me by signing us up to swim with the dolphins at Delphinus World. This was a definite bucket list item check-off for me! We got an hour in the pool with the dolphins, doing everything from petting them to learning hand signals to getting pushed across the pool by the beautiful creatures. It was an amazing experience!

All in all, it was a perfect vacation, with time for family and time for just Matthew and me.

I even finished an entire novel in the four days! As happy as I am in CLE, Cancun provided just the right time out to relax and reset.

Where do you love to vacation?

Why? Weekends!

This weekend my dear friend, former bridesmaid, fellow dog-lover, and all around fabulous gal Jen came up from DC for a visit. She brought her black lab Skylos as well, so we had a full house of three people, three dogs, and lots of fun!

Jen is pretty laid-back and her only request for while she was here was dinner at Melt Bar and Grilled. So, Friday night, we headed there for some cheesy, carby goodness. I had the Rising Sun melt, Jen had the Gyro Melt, and Matthew had the Northcoast Shores Melt.

Saturday morning, I met up with my friend Katie to burn off the cheese and carbs at Harmony Yoga. This was Katie’s first power vinyasa class and I was so impressed how far she’s come in just a couple months of practicing.

Saturday afternoon was spent doing a photo shoot. Jen is an awesome photographer who is building up her business in the DC area. She kindly offered to do photo shoots for friends to add to her portfolio. So, we spent a sunny Saturday afternoon bopping around Ohio City and the Flats doing a glamour shoot with an urban backdrop.

We started with lunch at the West Side Market. The Market is a gorgeous backdrop for photos and a must-see for any non-Clevelander, plus we got to eat some tasty crepes from Crepes De Luxe. The Market was absolutely jammed and it was great to see so many people out and about!

From there, it was down to the Flats for some more glamorous photos. I felt like a model and I definitely credit the photographer for that! Matthew also came along and not only got to play around with his camera, but even got pulled into a few photos. It was a really fun experience and I can’t wait to see the finished product!

After all that hard modeling work, it was time for some refreshments. Matthew, Jen, and I met up with Beth and Enzo at Barrio for margaritas and tacos.

I really like Barrio’s build-your-own-taco concept. Don’t be afraid to add on lots of sauces and salsas. The meat was all very mildly seasoned, so you need those add-ons for flavor.

Sunday, it was time for another photo shoot, this time with my too-cute nieces! Apparently, after photos, we just naturally need margaritas. We headed to my mom’s for a southwest-style feast. Alicia and Amanda joined us, too. We started with a beginner’s yoga session to introduce my Mom to yoga, then proceeded to enjoy great food and great conversation.

This morning, Jen is hitting the road back home. It was a whirlwind trip and we packed in as many friends and as much Cleveland goodness as we could. Now I owe Jen a trip to DC!

How was your weekend? When friends visit Cleveland, where do you like to take them?

Why? Weekends!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Today is the last day to enter to win a $25 gift card to B. Lux Boutique! Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

For every crazy, Jump-Back-Ball-type weekend, there is the low-key, mostly-relaxed weekend. Balance is a good thing. This weekend, I found myself back in the flow at Harmony Yoga. I was away from my regular studio for a couple weeks, taking workshops at Nishkama Yoga and Pink Lotus Yoga. While I enjoyed my workshop experiences, it felt good to get back to Harmony, which is how I know I found a studio I like.

Plus, our teacher on Saturday morning dropped this yogi knowledge bomb on us:

So true!

Saturday evening, Matthew and I met up with my parents for the John Carroll Cleveland Alumni Chapter‘s first Mass and a Meal event. The idea of these events is to pick a neighborhood to both attend Mass and share a meal with other John Carroll alumni. We attended Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Little Italy, followed by dinner at Trattoria on the Hill.

For dinner, most of our table chose the chicken marsala, which had a delicious, dark brown gravy packed with mushrooms.

Mass and a Meal was a great chance to connect with other alumni, while spending an evening in a wonderful Cleveland neighborhood! If you’re a JCU alum, check out the Alumni Calendar for other great upcoming events!

On Sunday, Matthew and I spent most of the day visiting with his sister, brother-in-law, and their adorable girls. They’re growing up so fast, that even a few weeks seems to make a huge difference in them!

I got to spend lots of time in kitchens, both helping make dinner in the actual kitchen and helping my niece “cook” in her play kitchen.

It was a perfect, low-key weekend! How was your weekend?

***Disclosure: I am a member of the board for the John Carroll University Cleveland Alumni Chapter. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? B. Lux Boutique!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a girly girl. I love to shop and I love spending time with my girlfriends. So, when I found out that I could do both those things without even leaving my house, I was pretty excited. Last night, B. Lux Boutique in Hudson brought a plethora of fabulous clothes and accessories over for an in-home fashion party.

What could be better than sitting on your couch with your friends, sipping wine, and hands-on shopping at the same time?

Owners Michelle and Lia were just generally amazing from setting up their wares to bringing champagne to talking fashion. Anyone who shows up at my house with sparkles and bubbly is welcome! We had a great sample of the items in the B. Lux Boutique store to peruse and try on.

Plus, all of the pretty clothes and accessories are really affordable. I got all this:

plus a pair of fleece-lined yoga pants for under $200. Yup, I said fleece-lined yoga pants. Let the wonder of those marinate for a minute.

Ready? OK. Want to check out all the fashionable and surprisingly affordable fashion that B. Lux Boutique has to offer? Head down to Hudson, have them ship you whatever your heart desires (for free!), or contact B. Lux Boutique to arrange your own in-home party. Even better: You can enter here to win a $25 gift card to spend at B. Lux Boutique!

Here’s how to enter (leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry):

1. Leave a comment telling me what item you most want to add to your wardrobe for spring. Check out B. Lux Boutique‘s Facebook page for some inspiration.

2. Tweet the following phrase and leave a comment letting me know you tweeted: I want to spruce up my wardrobe for spring by winning $25 to B. Lux Boutique from @WhyCLE: http://wp.me/p1fb9r-1k1

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

The giveaway will close on Monday, March 4 at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced the following day. Good luck!

***Disclosure: I was asked by B. Lux Boutique if I would be interested in hosting an in-home party. In exchange for hosting and blogging about the party, I received a $50 gift card for myself and a $25 gift card to give away. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Weekends!

This weekend was as low-key of a weekend as Matthew and I have had in awhile, which was so nice! On Friday afternoon, I met up with Mom for lunch at The Oak Barrel. Yes, I was just there, but Mom really wanted to check it out and there is still a lot on the menu I want to try!

We started with the spicy bar nuts, a mix of almonds, pecans, walnuts, and cashews with spicy seasoning. Served piping hot, these were a great way to warm up on a cold day. For lunch, I chose the Boston lobster roll.

This sandwich reminded me of summertime! It is absolutely packed with huge chunks of lobster, not too heavy on the mayonnaise. The micro greens, celery salt, and radishes add texture and freshness. And the buttery toasted roll can barely hold all the seafood goodness.

Friday evening, I met up with my friend Melissa at Wine Bar Rocky RIver for happy hour. The happy hour deals are great, with select glasses of wine only $4 and half-off select appetizers. We split the “Wino” fries and the risotto arancini.

For dessert, we split the lemongrass creme brulee topped with crystallized ginger, which was a sweet ending to a great evening of catching up. What’s even better is that each of our tabs only came to $20 with tip. That’s a great happy hour deal for quality wine and food!

On Saturday evening, Matthew and I met up with yoga pals Jeff and Erin for dinner at Pranzo in downtown Willoughby. The restaurant is BYOB. Any place I can walk into with a bottle of wine in my purse and not get funny looks is OK with me!

We started with splitting a margherita flatbread. The flatbread pizzas at Pranzo are perfect for an appetizer for a table of four: they are very thin crust, so you don’t get too filled up before your entree.

For my entree, I chose the braciole, which was beef rolled with cheese, egg, and herbs and served over pasta. It was tender and flavorful, but I could have used a bit more of the stuffing. Matthew had the lobster pappardelle, which not only had langostino meat in the sauce, but a huge lobster tail on top. The homemade, tender pasta really made this dish.

Erin chose the shrimp linguine, with huge scampi, a light cream sauce, and fresh rosemary. Jeff had the Norwegian salmon. All of us enjoyed our meal and the company. Three hours, 2 bottles of wine, and all this food later, we still weren’t done chatting and grabbed a nightcap at Erie Street Wine Market right across the street. What a fun evening!

The other parts of the weekend were spent practicing yoga, running errands, and generally relaxing. How was your weekend?