An Hour In... Ohio City

This past weekend, N and I had an our to kill, and so we decided to spend it in a part of Ohio City that I really haven't taken the time to explore yet. If you haven't checked it out yet, West 29th between Church and Detroit is an absolutely charming little party of Ohio City. 

Our first stop was Urban Orchid, a delightful floral boutique. To be honest, this is not the first time I've been here, but what I love most about this boutique is that you can give them a budget and an occasion, and they will create an absolutely stunning one-of-a-kind boutique that is GUARANTEED to put a smile on the recipient's face! AND, I always learn something new there, like...

Ornamental Kale-- I didn't know that was a thing!

Beautiful pink roses!

In addition to flowers, they also carry small gift items like vases and jewelry, and of course, adorable Cleveland themed merchandise!

We then walked around the corner to Rising Star Coffee Roasters, but not before I stopped to take a picture of this camper...

For someone who really doesn't care for camping, I am REALLY enamored with campers! I blame Charity.

2 Vietnamese iced coffee to go, please!!! 

I love this bench at Rising Star

A few steps across the streets, and we were at Cleveland Museum of Art's newest outpost, Transformer Station! Incidentally, Transformer Station is hosting Ohio City Stages every Wednesday in July, which is an awesome street fest with live performances! 

I absolutely LUUURVEE the industrial details in the space! There are usually 4 different exhibits each year, and like the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Transformer Station uses technology to help guide patrons through the exhibits (hint: take a mobile device with you!)

Another quick stop to check out the newest pet store: Kutya Rev.

Seriously, how adorable is this?!

I am also really excited that Harness Cycle will be opening at the corner later this year!! I can totally picture myself sweating it out and then heading over across the street to get some post-workout 

coffee!!! 

So, if you haven't explored this little part of Ohio City before, I strongly encourage you to do so! It is a really lovely way to spend a few hours! 

Glimpses of Mumbai: Day 4 and 5

So although Mumbai is 9.5 hours ahead of Cleveland, I'm a little behind getting you caught up on what I've been doing! I've been hanging out with friends, and doing some shopping- not nearly as much as I would like because I'm having some sticker shock!! In the past two years, prices in Mumbai have risen quite dramatically, but there are a few things that remain a good value- jewelry, leather, and scarves! Lucky for me, I love all those things, so its not so bad : )

Monday night, I went to dinner with some girlfriends from high school. In Mumbai, we graduate from high school at 16, and then enroll in Junior College (for 2 years), at which point you pick the broad discipline of your major: Art, Science or Commerce. In any case, I hadn't seen some of these ladies in 15 years!! As soon as I booked my trip to Mumbai, I emailed my friend Shivani (who I try to see on every trip), and she organized a mini dinner-reunion at Olive Bar & Kitchen. I had never been to Olive before, but it has a really fun and relaxed atmosphere, and is reportedly a hotspot for the Bollywood crowd. Note: Mumbai is both the New York and L.A. of India. No, I did not see any celebrities, although I'm not sure that I would have recognized them anyway. 

I had SUCH a FABULOUS time with these ladies- loads and loads of laughs and catching up. And the best part was that we picked up right where we left off- it was like we'd never lost touch at all!!

Tuesday I spent the day hanging out with my mom; we had a fun time and I learned that in India, you can either exchange your gold for cash OR other jewelry at the same value!!  Tuesday night, I went to dinner with my parents to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE seafood restaurant in Mumbai: Trishna. Trishna is a MUST-EAT when I'm in Mumbai, and although the tables are very close together (if you're 6' tall like N, you will be a little uncomfortable), the food is absolutely DIVINE!! Their specialty is the butter-pepper-garlic calamari, and it is TO-DIE-FOR (and not one bit spicy. The pepper is just black pepper). If you make it to Mumbai, Trishna should be your must-eat too!!!

As you can see, I'm enjoying some really great meals here. I'm sure I will pay for this when I'm back home and back on my bike! But in the mean time, I'm luuuurrrvvving EVERY SINGLE BITE!!

Glimpses of Mumbai: Day 3

After a busy Saturday night with family, I spent Sunday hanging out with my parents at some local art galleries. The art scene is BOOMING in India and art is the new "must-have", which is a great development for India's artist community! We looked at some really beautiful pieces and some that were just mediocre (you'll have that), but unfortunately I wasn't permitted to take any pictures. 

We also stopped by one of my favorite home stores, Fabindia. I have to admit, I did have some sticker shock here! It's no where near as inexpensive as it used to be!!! That said, its all relative, and I did pick up these cushion covers for way less than what I've seen in Cleveland. Fabindia does ship international, so take a look if you're in the market for home furnishings!

Here's some more pictures from around Mumbai:

A different part of the Mumbai skyline.  

N's favorite building in Mumbai- an apartment building designed by Charles Correa

The Haji Ali Daragh- Mumbai's most famous mosque. For more on this landmark including legends surrounding is origin, go here

Pretty buildings constructed pre-Independence

Yes, that is a silver horse drawn carriage. Probably one used at weddings. 

Indian food carts. This one sells raw pressed sugarcane juice. 

So back in the day, before malls were all over Mumbai, shopping for clothing meant (1) you traveled internationally/waited for friends and family to bring you clothing from their international travels or (2) scoured the city looking for "finds" often in places like "Fashion Street" in the next two pictures below.

There's an art to shopping at fashion street: (1) You MUST have patience (2) You must also have a poker face. (3) Haggle, haggle, haggle. It usually goes something like this: You find something you like. You ask how much it costs. You're given price. You feign outrage at the suggested price and start to walk away. You are then presented with another price. You go back and forth for a few minutes and leave with a sense of immense satisfaction having successfully negotiated the transaction. The piece will then promptly fall apart 2-3 washes later. 

So, if you make it to Mumbai and decide to tackle fashion street, you've been warned! : )

Restless

Around this time every year, I start to get a little restless. Its January, the Browns are done, and there's still atleast 2 months until we start to see Spring. This is when I usually start planning trips. Last year, N and I went the all-inclusive route in the Dominican Republic. This year, I'm hoping we do something here:

Although the title says "shoestring", I will NOT be staying at hostels. If you've met me in real life, you know that I'm not the type of person to rough it. At all. I'm using the Lonely Planet guide more as a reference book to help us plan an itinerary, and then we'll use TripAdvisor to help pick our hotels. Right now I'm really drawn to Istanbul, although N and I really want to visit Prague as well. I love planning vacations; its the second-best thing to the vacation itself!!

Are you planning any trips in 2011?