The Holiday Spirit (or lack thereof)

If you're having a hard time getting it together to decorate this Christmas, might I suggest you visit Flower Child on Clifton Blvd? If you've never been, Flower Child is a vintage store, carrying an eclectic mix of clothing, home goods, jewelry and accessories from decades past. Tina and I stopped over this past weekend, and we had an absolute blast walking around. A word of warning- this is vintage retail, not vintage thrift, so you should expect an appropriately different price tag too!

I absolutely LLLUUUURRVVEEE how over-the-top Christmas this store is right now!!

Listening Now: Timeflies

Earlier this week (yesterday), I tweeted about a new group (duo, technically) I discovered, called Timeflies. Now, this duo has been around for a while, playing on the college scene, but sadly, I haven't been in the college scene, for ummm, quite some time...
Things I've learned about this duo over the past day
1. The are originally from Boston.
2. They do something called Timeflies Tuesdays, where they release a remix every Tuesday on YouTube.
3. They are really cute.
4. They have a recently released EP that is really worth downloading.

They remind me a little of LFO (of Summer Girls fame)-- totally pop, and totally enjoyable!! Here is one of my favorites from the new album- One Night. ENJOY!!!!

Visitors

This weekend, my dear friend Tina came in to town for a visit. Tina has been to Cleveland a few times before, so we didn't do the typical West Side Market tour. Instead our weekend consisted of this:

FRIDAY: T didn't get in until after 9, so we hung out, opened a bottle of wine, snacked on cheese and caught up on each others lives.

SATURDAY: After a quick walk with the dogs, we headed out to Li-Wah for dim sum. I've talked about this many times but you definitely have to try dim sum at Li-Wah one weekend.  So long as you eat pork and shrimp and have a sense of culinary adventure, you will be just fine. They also have an a la carte menu for dim sum (rather than just the carts) and the baked BBQ pork buns are soooooo good. Next we headed out for a little shopping: we started with the Bazaar at The Tower Press Builing and then headed over to Tremont for a little gallery hopping, including of course the Hot Toddy Party at Banyan Tree!! I got some Christmas shopping done and even got to keep a super cute souvenir mug!!!

Shopping was followed by a little relaxation at home, including some bubbles. Dinner was at Black Pig (the bahn mi is TDF!!) followed by a stop at Old Angle for the Big 12 football game. This is where the real fun began. We were joined by Allison and then headed over to Market Garden where we were joined by even more friends: Ahmed, Joe G, Seanski and Matt, Lisa and Suzanne!!

SUNDAY: We were moving pretty slow Sunday on account of our Christmas Ale induced hangover, but we rallied for brunch at Luxe. I LUUUUUURRRVVEEE Luxe brunch- half price Bloody's and Mimosas until 1pm, and super yummy brunch offerings, many of which currently feature pork belly. Mmm mmmm mmmm!!! T had to leave early afternoon and then it was time for my usual boring Sunday chores.

Big thanks to all my CLE friends for showing T how fun and fabulous our city truly is! I'm hoping she is considering making Cleveland a permanent home!! (Fingers crossed!!)

Listening Now: ZZ Ward

As much as I would LURVE to keep the Thanksgiving theme going with this post, I don't believe there is such a thing as a Thanksgiving song. That said, if there is one, please let me know...

A few weeks ago I downloaded an album by a fabulous new artist named ZZ Ward. I really knew nothing about her when I sampled a few of her songs, but it literally took just two samples for me to buy the whole album. ZZ's sound is a little bluesy like Amy Winehouse, and her voice sounds a little like Shakira. I am so bummed that I missed the opportunity to see her live- she was at the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues earlier this month, but sadly, I had too much going on at work to make it out. Although, I'm pretty sure that she will be back, and it will be at a larger venue, and I'm definitely not missing her the second time around!!!!

So without much further ado- Put the Gun Down. Enjoy!!

 

A little touch of the Holidays

I know its a little early for Christmas decorations, but over the weekend I was greeted by an absolutely intoxicating smell as I walked into Heinen's, and I was powerless to resist...

Winterberries + cinnamon scented pine cones for under $20 total. Yup. They're up. And I'm not even ashamed. Because my kitchen smells AMAZING!!!! Also, I've been told the winter berries will last all season, so really, if you think about it, its less expensive than fresh flowers!!

A Thanksgiving Cocktail

I LLLUUUURRRVVEEEE Thanksgiving. Its my most favorite holiday of the year!! We always do Thanksgiving with N's family, and about a year or so after we were married, we started a new tradition of always bringing mac n cheese to Thanksgiving dinner. We've tried many different recipes over the years, including carbonara, but this year, we're going back to basics with The Pioneer Woman's Mac & Cheese recipe.

Over the summer I pinned a recipe for an Autumn Sangria and on Saturday, I decided to take it to our neighborhood party.

Source: kirantarun.com via cleshopaholic on Interest

However, I'm practically incapable of following a recipe exactly, so I modified it as follows:
1 bottle red wine (I used a tempranillo)
3 cups cider
3 apples cut in small pieces
1/4 c craisins
1/8th tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (which is what I did) or ideally overnight.

And here's what my final product looked like:

It was DELICIOUS!! Lets just say it didn't last very long, and there was definitely none left over!! I am definitely taking this over to N's parents on Thanksgiving day for pre-turkey cocktail hour(s)!!!

Do you make a special Thanksgiving cocktail? Please share recipes!!!

Its time to get your tickets and Jump Back!

For long time readers of this blog, its no secret that I absolutely LUUUUURRVVEE Jump Back Ball. I honestly think it is THE best event in Cleveland. For newer readers, you can find out more about my JBB thoughts here, here, here and here, just to name a few.  2013 will mark the third consecutive year of attendance for N and I, and I CANNOT WAIT! Ever since the board game theme of "Jump Back 2 Spaces" was leaked on twitter earlier this year, I've been thinking outfits!!

I can't wait to see outfits inspired by some of these themes!

Well, TODAY marks the official kick-off for Jump Back Ball 22, with a happy hour at Market Garden from 5:30 pm- 7:30 pm. Its also your FIRST opportunity to score tickets to the event, AT A DISCOUNT! For tonight ONLY, tickets will be $135 ($110 for Playhouse Square Partners). Tomorrow, the ticket prices jump by $20 plus handling fees. I can tell you that this event has sold out for at least the past two years, so if you would like to go, please make sure you get your tickets EARLY!

If you're looking for more information, visit the Playhouse Square website.

And with that, Ladies & Gentlemen, I'M BACK to blogging since my post-Labor Day hiatus!!!! I've missed you!!!!