Seeing The World Through Polarized Lenses

This year, N got me a pair polarized wayfarers for my birthday. I used to be the kind of person who always misplaced my cheapie sunglasses, until I realized it might have been a chicken-and-the-egg situation. Maybe I was losing them because they were under $20!

In any case, I've had these new sunnies about a month, and I absolutely LLUUURRVVEEE them! Not only are they an absolutely classic style that will NEVER go out of fashion, they really cut down on glare. Its odd, but instead of just making everything darker, they almost seem to pick up the ambient light and then gently tint everything. SO worth the premium for polarized!!!

Natural daylight vs. polarized

Now if only we had more days of abundant sunshine so I could REALLY get some good use out of them!! 

A very happy birthday indeed

Thank you all so much for your tweets, facebook posts, calls and texts wishing me for my birthday!!!! I celebrated ALL weekend!!

Friday night, N and I had date night at Dante in Tremont. If you haven't been there, you should definitely check it out- the Pasta Carbonara is TO.DIE.FOR! Seriously, it is so so so so SO good!! N ordered the tasting as an appetizer, and I ordered the appetizer as my entree!! We also tried the shrimp and calamari (so deliciously salty), the cheesy polenta, the bolognese, and N had the duck. What an incredibly perfect meal, although we were so full that we didn't have room for dessert.

Saturday, I headed over to Saks where I got a mini makeover courtesy Chanel! My makeup artist Lauren chose a very natural look for my face (just some bronzer), and played up my eyes with some gorgeous purples (of course, I forgot to take pictures!!!). I seriously fell in love with everything in the fall 2011 collection, and I will definitely make a trip back to pick up some more goodies (especially the eyeshadow quads). A quick trip to a few more stores, and it was time to head home! Later Saturday night, N and I met up with D&J, clefoodgoddess and burningriversports for some drinks, frites, and sunnyside pizza.

Sunday was a super low-key day, hanging with the pups, grabbing some beers at cropicana, and eating my weight in ice cream. A perfect birthday indeed. I received some fabulous birthday presents: jewelry, gift cards to Dredgers Union (they know me so well!), and my darling N got me this little beauty (but mine is an F).

I luuurve this necklace!!! Its incredibly delicate, and its probably going to be something I wear every day!!! 

Today I woke up another day older, with a few more grey hairs (that LITERALLY showed up overnight), but happy having spent another FABULOUS weekend in CLE!!!

A 30th birthday surprise

Clefoodgoddess and I are close friends in real life. This past weekend, she turned 30. Due to a massive scheduling conflict and oversight on my part, N, Dave and Jess ended up having plans on Clefoodgoddess' birthday; specifically, we had tickets to Playhouse Square's Jump Back Ball 20 (more on that in the next post). Since we were going to miss her actual birthday, I decided that we had to come up with a super special gift. Something that she would absolutely love, and make her day truly spectacular. Since she has a food blog, my first thoughts went to some sort of experience with one of Cleveland's amazing chefs.

I tried getting Clefoodgoddess and her fiance a seat at the Chef's table at Lola, with a tasting menu. (This is an option if you would like to gift it to someone; call Lola for details). Of course, Lola gets booked up weeks in advance, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, and especially when its restaurant week. My only options were either a 5:30 table or a 8:45 table. Either would've worked, but since it was a weekend, they would be sharing the Chef's table with other diners. A solid option, but I decided to do some more exploring.

I thought back to my own 30th birthday in July, and the fabulous meal N and I enjoyed at L'Albatros. On a whim, I shot them an email inquiring about their Chef's table, and received an almost-immediate response from Sommelier Brandon Chrostowski. As I told him about my idea for a special culinary experience, he recommended an experience that they had previously created for another diner; an experience in the kitchen itself, followed by dinner at the restaurant. DING DING DING!!! I knew we had a winner.

The plan was this: With fiance's help, we were going to keep this whole experience a surprise. Fiance would drive a blindfolded Clefoodgoddess to L'Albatros around 3 pm. The blindfold would be lifted, and she would then spend a couple of hours in the kitchen, experiencing life behind-the-scenes. She would be given an apron and a knife, and put to work! After that, she and fiance would enjoy dinner at the restaurant. I requested that the staff sign her apron and hand it to her as a souvenier, and Brandon was more than happy to oblige. What do you know?? Things went EXACTLY according to plan. In fact, the experience went above and beyond plan, in that Chef Bruell HIMSELF handed Clefoodgoddess her apron!!

I can't say enough positive things about the staff at L'Albatros. They were an absolute delight to work with. Its not everyday that you can go from idea to plan to execution so easily, and it was in very large part due to the fabulous staff, and of course Clefoodgoddess' fiance, who helped coordinate the surprise. In all seriousness, if you're looking to plan an important and/or special event, I highly recommend that you consider L'Albatros as your location. I can tell you from experience, if you're looking for flawless execution, they certainly know how to deliver!!!