Which Red Shoes?

So, if you read clefoodgoddess' blog, then you know that she's getting married in the Spring. She's having a little shoe dilemma for her wedding day, and asked me to help. We both decided that it may be fun if we got all of you involved too, so here goes. Please help clefoodgoddess pick her shoe for her wedding day. Her criteria are as follows:
1. Must be Red
2. Cannot be too high (nothing above 3")
3. No peep toe
4. Below $100
5. Something fun and funky

Here's what I've come up with:

1.  Diba Babs

2. Kamik Ellie

3. Chinese Laundry Kasha Python

4. rsvp Leeann

5. Onex Asha

6. rsvp Floria

7. Unlisted All Natural

Please put your preferred shoe in the comments section, and we'll see what gets the most votes!

Shopping local in Cleveland on Black Friday

So, what are you doing on Friday? Are you waking up early to go shopping? I did that a couple of years ago, and I figured out that as much as I love shopping, the early morning Black Friday thing just isn't for me. I'm usually sleepy and my shopping juices aren't flowing, and there's people with reindeer ears and walkie-talkies, and all the madness just makes me cranky. So, over the past couple of years, I've either skipped the Black Friday thing all together, or I end up shopping late in the evening. This year, however, I'm going to try something different: shopping local!! Most of the boutiques don't open until 10:00 am anyway which is PERFECT for sleeping in and grabbing a wonderful mimosa laden brunch before hitting the stores.

I've come up with a little local shopping tour, and I will post updates on Twitter and Foursquare (find me, I'm cleshopaholic on both!), so feel free to join me on my shopping tour!!

I'm going to start with a stop at the NEW AND REVAMPED Room Service, now at 2078 West 25th Street in Ohio City. I can't wait to see the new space, AND its also the return of Made in the 216. I went to my first ever Made in the 216 this summer and I ABSOLUTELY LUUURRVEED IT! I can't wait to go again! If you're never been, its essentially a pop-up store that features apparel, jewelry, bags, and other accesories designed and created exclusively by Cleveland artists!

Next, I will be in Tremont, at Banyan Tree and Evie Lou. Evie Lou has not yet decided on its Black Friday specials (yet), but it will be open from 10:00 am- 9:00 pm. I've blogged about Evie Lou before, and I can't wait to visit again. I'm fairly certain that I'm going to end up buying stuff for myself here, but hey, self gifts are very important too! Banyan Tree will be open from 11:00 am- 9:00 pm. Any purchase in excess of $150 made at Banyan Tree on Black Friday Weekend makes you eligible for 10% off your first purchase in December.

Depending on how I feel, I will then head over to Coventry in Cleveland Heights to visit Brigade and Blush Boutique. I haven't heard anything about any Black Friday specials at Brigade, but its my go-to place to buy gifts for N. They do a great job merchandising, and I've never gone wrong getting N a gift from there.  Blush Boutique is hosting a sale and trunk show Black Friday weekend, and will be open from 10:00 am-midnight on Friday. You get 40% off from 10:00 am- noon and 25% off from noon- midnight. There's also a happy hour from 7 pm - 9 pm, and an accessories trunk show from 9 pm- midnight!

I urge you to buy at least one item on your holiday shopping list from a local store. We're lucky to have some great stores that feature some  fantastic merchandise, and you're guaranteed to gift something absolutely unique! Are you up for the challenge?

Reviewing the Compassion from Fashion Event

Remember when I blogged about the Compassion from Fashion Event? Well, it happened on Saturday, and I attended with the contest winner Jess. It was a really fun evening, and most of the stores offered special discounts just for the event. There was a fashion show (that we missed), and food stations catered by Maggiano's: my favorite was the antipasto station- I seriously LLLUUURRRVVVEEE roasted veggies!!!

I had planned to make some progress with my Christmas shopping, and, to be honest, I was pretty successful!! I still have a lot to do ofcourse, but I was happy with my start. It should come as no surprise that I did a little shopping for myself, and of course, it included a couple of J.Crew sweaters (OBSESSION!). But, beyond my sweaters, my favorite purchase from Saturday was these beauties:

That said, I REALLY need to focus, and stop doing my usual "one for you, two for me" holiday shopping routine!! Do you end up buying more stuff for yourself during the holidays than you do presents?!

Cheater, cheater, donut eater

Are you one of those people that eats healthy during the week so you can give yourself a "cheat" day where you indulge in whatever you want to eat? Do you like desserts? I have to tell you about a dessert that is SOOOOOOOOOOO worth blowing your diet out of the water....

Last week, N and I went to Light Bistro for dinner. Our meal was fantastic, but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the dessert: coffee and donuts. But not any ordinary coffee and donuts. They were beignets, dusted in cinammon sugar, served with chocolate dipping sauce and espresso icecream.

TO.DIE.FOR. Seriously, go get it this weekend. I promise, its worth every bite.

Will you be Jumping Back?

I LOVE the arts. Music, design, art, architecture... I love it all! I especially love the theatre scene: for a relatively small city, we have a really vibrant theatre scene, and one the caters to every budget. I try to make it to 2-3 shows a year, and its usually with my best friend Jess, since N doesn't always want to go, especially if its a girly musical. I really LOVE Playhouse Square's Broadway Series (which incidentally makes a GREAT gift for someone who enjoys theatre or live performances). Over the past few years I've been to see Wicked, Legally Blonde (so fun!), In the Heights, Bombay Dreams and Chicago. In a few weeks Jess and I are going to see The Santaland Diaries and in March, N and I are going to see Stomp.

In addition to hosting some fabulous performances, Playhouse Square also hosts one of the best parties in Cleveland: Jump Back Ball. I haven't been before, but having looked at pictures from earlier this year, I decided that 2011 is definitely going to be the year for N and I to attend. So, last night, we attended the Jump Back Ball Kickoff Party at Zinc Bistro where we placed our ticket orders for the 20th annual Jump Back Ball, which will be held on February 26th, 2011.

Here's why I want to go:
1. Its a FANTASTIC PARTY that ALWAYS sells out. (Don't believe me? 950 people attended last year)
2. Its a great reason to kick-start a healthy eating and work-out plan at the beginning of the year.
3. Not that you need one, but its a FABULOUS, and totally justifiable reason to buy a new outfit, especially if you achieve (2) above.
4. Its going to be cold and snowy. What a great reason to get out of the house!!!
5. There will be lots of super fun people including some Cleveland bloggers (the plum, Allison, and Seanski, to name a few.)

So, if you want to attend, the good news is that tickets officially go on sale November 17th at 11:00 am. Act fast and order your tickets, and I hope to see you there!!

mmmm Licorice. And, a GIVEAWAY!!

So last week, I was contacted by respresentatives of Panda Licorice, who asked if I would review their licorice flavors and blog about it. Being a candy-lover, of course I said YES!! So come Monday, the candy arrived, and I couldn't wait to dig in!

Panda has been making licorice in Finland since 1920, and its been sold in the U.S. since 1963. Over the years, they've definitely perfected their licorice, and it is absolutely delicious!! I was sent a few different flavors: regular black, creme filled black, raspberry, and cherry. Panda licorice is made with natural ingredients, so the fruit flavors are really fruity, and taste a lot like all natural fruit chews. The regular licorice has a perfect balance of licorice flavor; just right, without being overwhelming. I think these make the perfect mid-afternoon pick-me-up snack. Sweet, but not too much; low fat, and for 100 calories, a really delicious treat! These would also make excellent stocking stuffers, and unlike chocolate, would probably not turn into a goopy mess when placed near the fireplace (although I have not tested this theory, so try at your own risk).

I had N taste the licorice too, since its one of the few candy's he will actually eat (the man does not eat sweets. I mean seriously, who does that?!) He was watching football at the time, so I've edited to include only his candy related quotes. Here's what he had to say:
Black licorice: "mmmmm"... "Nice and chewy. Licorice-y but not too much"
Creme filled Black licorice: "surprisingly better than I expected". A few second later..."a LOT better than I expected. Creamy"
Raspberry: "its amazing". "Tastes like real raspberry, doesn't taste fake. I'm looking for the little seeds, it tastes that close to the real thing". This was followed by "I'm taking the cherry to work".

If you would like to try some Panda licorice, you can find it at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and also on Amazon. OR, you could enter my Panda licorice giveaway by doing the following:

1. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite candy
2. Follow Cleshopaholic on facebook and leave a comment there
3. Tweet the following:
I entered @cleshopaholic's @PandaLicoriceUS giveaway
4. Follow @PandaLicoriceUS on Twitter

Each of the above will get you one entry, so do them all for a maximum of 4 entries! This contest is open to U.S. Residents only, and winners will be announced the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Winners will receive the following:

It's really really really good, and I'm not just saying that because they sent me free candy. Even Clair liked it (don't worry, we only gave her a tiny piece).  Good Luck!!!!

Farm Fresh

So a couple of weeks ago, a signed up to participate in Fresh Fork's CSA. If you're unfamiliar with how CSA's work, essentially you "subscribe" to receive a package of locally farmed groceries. Pickups (at multiple locations across Cleveland) are usually every week in the summer, slowing to every two weeks in the winter. I missed the opportunity to participate this summer (boo procrastination), but I got my act together for the winter season.

I picked up my "basket" this Saturday, and was greeted with this:

Amongst other things, the basket contained 1lb nitrate-free bacon, 1 whole chicken, brussel sprouts, beets, roma tomatoes, gouda cheese (YUM!), green cauliflower (never seen that before), apples, and miscellaneous other veggies. I am SO excited to make it through the basket. I've already decided that I'm making the brussel sprouts with bacon, and doing a whole rosemary-lemon roasted chicken. I don't know what I'm going to do about the beets (do I even like beets?), but I'm sure I will come up with something!

So far, I made roasted cauliflower (OMG! So delicious!! Toss cauliflower in olive oil, with garlic, salt and pepper. Bake in a covered pan for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and broil for 5 minutes), and a tomato salad (sliced thick with seasoned salt, drizzle of olive oil, parmesan, let sit for atleast 5 minutes), and maybe its all in my head, but I swear that locally farmed, minimally processed produce tastes better than the stuff at grocery stores! Even N, who doesn't care for cauliflower or raw tomatoes, enjoyed both!!

The good news is there are still a few CSA spots available, so sign up soon!! The next pickup is the week of Thanksgiving, and I absolutely can't wait!!!