Why? Ohio Blogging at the Cleveland Museum of Art!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win 2 tickets to one of Tri-C Jazz Fest’s concerts yet? Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

On Wednesday night, Matthew and I met up with a bunch of bloggers and blog supporters for the Ohio Blogging Association monthly gathering, this time at one of Cleveland’s greatest treasures: the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The new atrium area is stunning! You truly feel as if you were outside. We started with dinner just past the atrium at the new Provenance Café. I had a claystone flatbread with grilled swordfish, hummus, roasted eggplant spread, and more Mediterranean goodness.

I also highly recommend the mini bottle of champagne (you’re at a museum and being cultured and classy, after all) and the dessert bars (we split pecan pie and lemon).

After dinner, we got a tour of “The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection” exhibit. Our tour guide, Lucy, selected all the contemporary pieces for the exhibit and was a wealth of knowledge on both the classical and contemporary art we saw.

Hostess Alicia and Tour Guide Lucy

Matthew visited Pompeii during his study abroad semester in Italy, so he brought an even more hands-on perspective to the art. The exhibit has classic paintings of imagined life in Pompeii and then the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

Image Source – clevelandart.org

The Last Days of Pompeii also showcases contemporary works, such as sculptures based off body casts taken of remains found at Pompeii, which were some of the most evocative pieces for me.

Image Source – clevelandart.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art is truly one of Cleveland’s greatest cultural assets and, with its new renovations and this amazing exhibit, more than worth a visit to see what’s going on there. “The Last Days of Pompeii” runs through Sunday, July 7. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for students and seniors, and $7 for children.

In attendance at the meet-up were bloggers from:

Am I There Yet? (and boyfriend Justin)

Call Me Trouble

Craveable Cleveland

Eat*Drink*Cleveland

Go Run Jess

Poise in Parma (and Aunt Kathy)

ROJ Running (and guest Jason)

SOS Associates (and wife Julie)

@TalknCleveland

The next Ohio Blogging Association event is in the works, so stay tuned to the OBA Facebook page for more details coming soon!

Have you seen “The Last Days of Pompeii?”

***Disclosure: The Ohio Blogging Association members and guests received complimentary tickets to “The Last Days of Pompeii” exhibit, as well as a guided tour. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Tri-C Jazz Fest Giveaway!

Spring in Cleveland means lots of great events and fun things to do as we come out of hibernation. One of those great events is Tri-C Jazz Fest, happening Friday, April 19 through Saturday, May 4.

Image Source – tri-cjazzfest.com

Tri-C Jazz Fest was founded in 1980 with three missions: (1) foster the history and nurture the future of jazz; (2) provide educational opportunities for students of all ages and in all walks of life; and (3) bring world-class jazz to Cleveland. Since then, Jazz Fest has been doing just that! Beyond just the concerts, Jazz Fest features lectures, master classes, and much more.

To kickoff this year’s Tri-C Jazz Fest, there will be an opening party on Friday, April 19 from 5-7pm in the lobby of the State Theater at Playhouse Square. The opening party is sponsored by Great Lakes Brewing Company and is free and open to the public. There will be live music from Nadir & Distorted Soul, happy hour drink prices, food, and drawings for concert tickets and merchandise.

Image Source – tri-cjazzfest.com

After the opening party, Tri-C Jazz Fest kicks off with Aaron Neville and Dr. John at 8pm at the State Theater. The concerts are spread between Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus, the State Theater, and MOCA Cleveland. A complete list of the concerts and events for Jazz Fest can be found here.

I have two tickets to give away to the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, which close Tri-C Jazz Fest on Saturday, May 4 at 8:30pm at the Tri-C Metro Auditorium.

Image Source – tri-cjazzfest.com

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

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite musical festival that you’ve attended.

2. Follow @TriCJazzFest and @WhyCLE on Twitter and leave one comment letting me know you’re following both.

3. Tweet the following phrase:

I entered to win tickets to enjoy @TriCJazzFest with @WhyCLE and you can too: http://wp.me/p1fb9r-1q8 #TriCJazzFest

You can tweet daily for additional entries, just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

The giveaway will close on Sunday, April 21 at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced the following day. Good luck!

***Disclosure: I was asked by Tri-C Jazz Fest to help promote the festival. In exchange, I will receive 2 tickets to the Spanish Harlem Orchestra concert for myself and 2 tickets to give away. The choice of which concert to attend was my own. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Market at the Foodbank!

***A bit of blogkeeping: In the wake of yesterday’s tragic and senseless acts in Boston, here are some ways you can help. Thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the explosions.***

So, weekend recap part 2: on Sunday, Matthew and I headed to Market at the Foodbank. This fundraiser combined amazing local chefs and great auction items all at the Cleveland Foodbank’s impressive warehouse facility. You got to both enjoy the event and see firsthand where your donations supporting the Cleveland Foodbank go.

We met up with Kimberly, Amanda, and their menfolk and started to peruse all the yummy food options.

There was so much good stuff to nibble, from vegetable sushi rolls and Asian noodles from Parallax to AMP 150‘s pork belly to some of the best deviled eggs I’ve ever had from Press Wine Bar.

Hands down, my favorite savory dish of the night was the lamb burger from Grovewood Tavern.

Market at the Foodbank brought the sweet treats too. We loved Slice of Heaven Cakes, which had delicious cakes as well as an adorably creative table presentation. Mitchell’s Ice Cream never disappoints and I think the Toasted Pistachio may be my new favorite flavor. Plus, they had this adorable celeb scooper:

Aside from all the food, there were some amazing silent auction items up for bid that evening.

Matthew and I won the bidding for an overnight stay at Washington Place Inn, plus tickets to Cleveland Botanical Garden and Western Reserve Historical Society, plus a basket of Sub Rosa Tea. A great prize and the money goes to a great cause! Talk about a win-win!

If you’re interested in getting involved with the Cleveland Foodbank, join the YP Pantry or just check out the general volunteer information for ways you can help.

***Disclosure: I was asked by the Cleveland Foodbank to help promote Market at the Foodbank. In exchange, I received 2 general admission tickets for myself and 2 general admission tickets to give away. I am also a council member for the Cleveland Foodbank YP Pantry. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Weekends!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Congratulations to Julie @ROJRunning (comment #26), randomly-selected winner of 2 general admission tickets to MedWish’s Band Aid Bash. If you didn’t win, you can still purchase tickets by clicking here.***

It was such a busy weekend that I’m splitting my weekend recap into two posts. Tomorrow, I’ll recap all the I’m-still-full goodness of Sunday’s Market at the Foodbank. Friday and Saturday were pretty great too, though!

Friday evening, Matthew and I met up with friends Nathan and Lane for dinner at Ballantine. Despite Ballantine’s large craft beer selection, I couldn’t resist ordering a strawberry jalapeno mojito. I guess I’m hoping if I order patio-style drinks, it will be patio-style weather too!

For dinner, I had the crab and shrimp po boy sandwich, with crab salad, beer-battered shrimp, and hot sauce. The sandwich was good, but the standout was the rosemary and garlic fries.

We couldn’t pass up Ballantine’s adorable mini-dessert cart, with tiny pecan pies, red velvet cupcakes, raspberry cheesecake, coconut macaroons, and carrot cake.

Note our awesome server Lee’s photo bomb

It was a fun and tasty start to the weekend!

On Saturday morning, I braved the crowds and crazy Cedar Road traffic to attend the grand opening of the Microsoft Retail Store at Beachwood Place Mall. First, I snagged a Microsoft t-shirt in my favorite color, being handed out to everyone waiting in line for the opening.

At the ribbon-cutting, Microsoft awarded software grants to three local organizations. The YMCA of Greater Cleveland and the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland each received $250,000 grants and Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland received a $1 million grant! It’s great to see a huge, national company caring so much for local organizations.

Image Courtesy of Microsoft

Then, it was time to head into the store. The Microsoft employees made a tunnel of high fives and excitement as people headed in for the first time.

The store has a little bit of everything, from computers to smartphones to gaming systems to accessories. The staff at the Microsoft Retail Store are very friendly and super enthusiastic about the new location. Go check it out for yourself!

Saturday afternoon, as part of the Microsoft grand opening festivities, there was a concert featuring Kelly Clarkson! I will confess to being a huge Kelly Clarkson fan, so I was pretty geeked out about this show since I first heard about it.

Despite it being chilly and rainy/sleety, the show was awesome! I’ll definitely be singing Kelly Clarkson songs for awhile after that. Plus, Kelly just seemed so down-to-earth, including laughing off the fact that her fly was unzipped for the entire first song. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?!

How was your weekend? Did you check out the Kelly Clarkson show or the Cleveland Flea’s opening weekend?

***Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Microsoft Retail Store grand opening with a media pass. As always, all opinions and music addictions are 100% my own.***

Why? Fresh Fork!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win 2 tickets to Band Aid Bash? Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

Our winter Fresh Fork Market share rolls on.

What We Got:

1 whole chicken

1 package frozen green beans or frozen corn

1 package Luna Burgers (2 vegan burgers)

1 quart frozen melon mix – cantaloupe, watermelon

1 quart Velvet View Yogurt

1 block cheese – swiss

1 pint Roasted Heirloom Tomato Sauce

1 lb Whole Wheat Linguini

What We Made:

Potato-Ham Bake (click here for the recipe)

I don’t often make recipes I find on Pinterest (despite pinning a ton of them), so I was excited to try a Pinterest recipe with some of our leftover holiday ham. This was a tasty, easy weeknight casserole, plus I just love anything with asparagus. I substituted light garlic-herb Boursin cheese for the cream cheese called for in the recipe.

Ham, Apple, and Cheese Pie

This is a recipe that Matthew’s mom would make with leftover holiday ham (we had a lot of that this year). It’s simply chunks of ham, apples, and Swiss cheese, with a bit of flour for thickening, baked in pie crust. Easy, straightforward, salty and sweet: it was delicious!

Potato Kohlrabi Soup with Italian Sausage (click here for the recipe)

We often turn our Fresh Fork ingredients into soup and this one was pretty tasty, although I’d like to thicken the broth more next time. This soup has potatoes, kohlrabi, onions, garlic, red pepper, sausage (we used leftover kielbasi), and pancetta (more leftover ham).

Kathy’s Delicious Slow Cooker Chicken (click here for the recipe)

I love throwing a whole chicken in the slow cooker in the morning and coming home to a delicious dinner after work! This recipe seasoned the chicken with a lot of Asian flavors (soy sauce, sesame oil, etc.), so I served the chicken over saffron rice. I added some Fresh Fork carrots we had frozen to the slow cooker as well.

Now that spring is here, I’m looking forward to more vegetables and lightening up the meals a bit more. How about you?

Why? Playhouse Square Partners Bowl-a-Rama!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win 2 tickets to Band Aid Bash? Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

Last night, Matthew and I attended the Playhouse Square Partners’ Bowl-a-Rama. Neither of us is a very good bowler (Wii bowling excluded), but (1) we have never failed to have a great time at a Partners event and (2) Kimberly and Amanda planned the event, so we had friend peer pressure to participate.

Organizers/Attendance Police

The Bowl-a-Rama was held at Mahall’s 20 Lanes, a great spot for tasty food and drink, bowling, and live music.

Our admission got us two drink tickets, as well as food. We enjoyed some unique selections from Mahall’s beer list (I recommend the Two Brothers’ Domaine DuPage French Country Style Ale), as well as sliders, tacos, soft pretzels with the hottest hot mustard sauce I’ve ever tasted, and curry or cinnamon sugar popcorn.

Mahall’s is old school, so scoring is done by hand. I refused to download a scoring app either. In high school, for junior-year phys ed, we had to learn how to score bowling among other things. So, I took the helm with that task. I wanted to fudge the results, since we bet that the loser had to unload the dishwasher for a month!

I didn’t even come close to winning, but I got one spare, which caused this ecstatic reaction:

Yes, I posted this. No, I don’t have any pride anymore.

Look how Sara is judging my dance moves (and probably my bowling skills too)…

While I may not have had the most successful night score-wise, we had a great time hanging out with friends and once again enjoying our time with Playhouse Square Partners! There are some great Partners events coming up:

On Thursday, May 2, there is a Dine Around in Little Italy. You pick from Mama Santo’s, Trattoria on the Hill, Michaelangelo’s, or Mia Bella for a small group dinner, then meet up with all the Partners on the Dine Around for a nightcap at Washington Place Bistro. Click here for more details.

On Thursday, May 16, head over to Around the Corner in Lakewood for Bartending for Buses. Playhouse Square Partners members will be guest bartending and all funds benefit the Playhouse Square Bus Fund, which provides transportation for school children to visit the theater. Click here for more details.

Finally, on Thursday, May 23, get in on some massive fun at Life Size Game Night. There will be life-sized Jenga, Operation, Cornhole, and more. Tickets are $20 for Partners and $25 for non-Partners and include food from Sammy’s, drinks, and games. Click here for more details.

Whether you’re a member of Partners or not, these events are a great way to mingle with other engaged and interested Clevelanders and, often, help out one of CLE’s finest institutions. Hope to see you at a Partners event soon!

Why? Band Aid Bash Giveaway!

Two things I really enjoy are helping out great organizations doing good work in our community and beyond and going to a fun, swanky party. MedWish has combined these two things for their annual Band Aid Bash.

Image Source – cleveland.cbslocal.com

This year, MedWish is celebrating twenty years of repurposing medical supplies and equipment to send to developing countries. For more on MedWish’s mission and programs and my recent volunteering experience there, click here.

Image Source – medwish.org

Band Aid Bash is MedWish’s gala fundraising event, which transforms the warehouse space into a night club scene. Chef Chris Hodgson of Hodge’s and food truck fame, will be serving up delicious morsels. Master mixologist Joseph DeLuca will be shaking and stirring tasty concoctions.

There will be both a silent and live auction, as well as a raffle. In fact, you can buy raffle tickets online now for only $20 to win a Porsche!

Image Source – medwish.org

After eating, drinking, and bidding, you can dance the night away with the Party Crashers Band!

Tickets are $150 for general admission or $250 for VIP admission and can be purchased online. Or you can enter here to win 2 general admission tickets. Here’s how to enter (leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry):

1. Leave a comment telling me about a great volunteering experience you’ve had recently.

2. Follow @medwish and @WhyCLE on Twitter and leave one comment letting me know you’re following both.

3. Tweet the following phrase:

I want to eat, drink, dance, and #DoGoodCLE thanks to @medwish and @WhyCLE: http://wp.me/p1fb9r-1pv

You can tweet daily for additional entries, just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

The giveaway will close on Sunday, April 14 at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced the following day. If you are the winner of another blogger’s giveaway for Band Aid Bash tickets, you are ineligible to win this giveaway.

Good luck! And for those of you keeping count, …this is giveaway three of five!

***Disclosure: I was asked by MedWish to help promote Band Aid Bash. In exchange, I will receive two tickets for myself and two tickets to give away. Due to a scheduling conflict, a special guest blogger will be using my tickets and recapping the event here. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? American Cancer Society CPS-3!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Congratulations to Laura B. (comment #6), randomly-selected winner of two tickets to IPM’s Namaste. Please check your email and respond by the end of the day or a new winner will be chosen. If you didn’t win, you can still purchase tickets by clicking here.***

Cancer. The C word. It’s touched way too many of us and taken way too much from us. Cancer took my Grandma and the woman who would have been my Mother-in-Law before I even had the chance to know them. I know so many of you have stories of the devastating effects of cancer on your own families.

This is why I want to tell you about a way you can help on the road to eradicate cancer. The American Cancer Society, which will be celebrating its 100th birthday in May, is currently conducting a Cancer Prevention Study. CPS-3 will study the connections between lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors in developing cancer.

This is the third nationwide Cancer Prevention Study undertaken by the American Cancer Society. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1972, established the definitive link between smoking and cancer. The second, which started in 1982 and is still ongoing, established a link between nutrition/physical activity and cancer.

These studies clearly provide important research toward the goals of better understanding and, one day, curing cancer. The American Cancer Society hopes to enroll 300,000 people nationwide in CPS-3. In Cuyahoga County alone, the goal is 528 participants. The American Cancer Society is hoping for a diverse mix of study participants. This video explains more about the study and its potential impact.

So, how can you enroll? If you are between the ages of 30 and 65 and have never been diagnosed with cancer, you qualify for the study. Registration is taking place at St. Ignatius High School on April 18 and 20 and at Case Western Reserve University on April 19 and 20. Click here for more information on times, locations, and to sign up for a registration slot. There will be more registration days in both Cuyahoga and Lake Counties in June as well.

By participating in CPS-3, you can help the American Cancer Society in its fight to end cancer, so that we no longer have to add to the list of people it has taken from us.

Why? Weekends!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win 2 tickets to IPM’s Namaste? Today is the last day to enter. Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

It was another busy weekend of friends and family in the CLE! On Friday evening, Matthew and I met up with Amanda, Scott, Kate, and Brian at Dante. We had won $100 in gift certificates from our Playhouse Square Partners’Trivia Night victory and finally were cashing in our winnings.

I hadn’t been to Dante in awhile and now we were there two weekends in a row! Luckily, there is plenty on the menu to tempt me. Matthew and I started with the Maine lobster spring roll, with butternut squash, shiitake, and ginger sauce. The spring roll had huge chunks of lobster and the delicate vegetable and ginger flavors all stayed distinct enough to identify and enjoy.

For dinner, Matthew had the bone-in strip loin, served with oyster mushrooms and a horseradish potato puree. I had an appetizer size of the pasta special, which was ricotta cavatelli with lamb ragu sauce, and a tasting size of the pasta carbonara with poached egg and pancetta.

Matthew’s steak was absolutely delicious: perfectly cooked and seasoned. I loved the pasta special with tender lamb and hint of mint in the sauce, but felt that the carbonara tasted a bit flat. For dessert, I ordered another special for the evening: a chocolate mousse with sesame crunch and ginger ice cream.

One of the things I love about dining at Dante is getting both Asian and Italian-influenced dishes in one meal. It was a tasty and fun evening!

On Saturday, I went up to John Carroll University to speak to potential incoming JCU freshman on a panel called “JCU: Preparing You for the Future.” The incoming freshman class will be the class of 2017! Having just registered for my 10-year reunion, that number gave me pause. But, I got over that and was happy to be able to talk about the role JCU played and still plays in my life.

From there, I continued the college theme for the day by attending a christening party for my college friend Tracy’s daughter, Nina. It’s hard to believe that a bunch of us who met as freshman are now celebrating children’s lives milestones together.

The christening party was held at Gambitta’s Party Center and was quite the affair. Tracy’s husband Luca comes from a large Italian family, so the parties tend to be big, filling, and fun. And Nina, the star of the show, was a very well-behaved and entirely adorable guest of honor!

On Sunday, my friend Katie and I started the day at Harmony Yoga for a power vinyasa class, where I saw this, which I just love:

Oh yoga studio chalkboard, you are so full of wisdom!

Later that day, we celebrated Easter with Matthew’s side of the family, a week late so everyone could attend. As usual, it was a blast playing with our nieces and spoiling them with Easter treats. The weather was so nice and we took the kids outside for an Easter egg hunt and lots of drawing with chalk.

I love her face. Pure amazement at the wonder of the Easter egg.

How was your weekend? Are you still involved, formally or informally, with your college?

***Disclosure: I am the VP of Special Initiatives for the John Carroll University Cleveland Alumni Chapter and a member of the Class of 2003 Reunion Committee. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? The Cleveland Flea!

***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win 2 tickets to the International Partners in Mission’s Namaste benefit? Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.***

There’s nothing I like to do more on Saturdays than shop. So, I’m excited for the launch of a new Saturday shopping option: The Cleveland Flea. Saturday, April 13 marks the first in a monthly series of a pop-up urban market in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.

Every second Saturday of the month, from 10am-4pm, The Cleveland Flea will fill St. Clair Avenue with more than 50 vendors selling all manner of handmade and vintage goods. The Flea on Saturday, April 13 will focus on modern domestic items for your home.

Image Source – theclevelandflea.com

The Cleveland Flea will also offer workshops from “Makers” such as Cleveland Whiskey, Klink Creatively, Hans Noble Design, and more. Click here to find out more about the workshops. The Friday night before each monthly Flea, there will be a Design Dinner, pairing a chef and a designer for a creative and unique dining experience.

Food trucks will be a regular part of shopping at The Cleveland Flea, with KRAV, Pig Lickin Good, and Jibaro World Eats on hand for April 13. Also, the first Flea will feature a musical performance by the Saint Martin de Porres drum line, a short film screening, and a beer garden with libations from Market Garden Brewery.

So, if you’re ready to shop and learn from a treasure trove of local artists  and to have a fun urban shopping experience, head on over to The Cleveland Flea on Saturday, April 13!

Where is your favorite place to shop local? What’s your best vintage shopping find?

***Disclosure: I was contacted by The Cleveland Flea about promoting the market. I received nothing in exchange for this post. Some images provided by The Cleveland Flea. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***