Experience It: Classical Revolution

Last month, I had the opportunity to try something new-- I listened to Classical Music at the Happy Dog, courtesy Classical Revolution Cleveland! Classical Revolution Cleveland began in 2009, and is a loosely bound group of classically trained musicians who perform classical music at non-traditional locations (ex. bars) across the city. They have a standing residency at Happy Dog in Detroit-Shoreway-- its the third Tuesday of every month, which happens to fall on St. Patrick's Day in March!

Here are a couple of pictures from February's performance:

The performance usually starts around 8 pm and goes for a couple of hours-- Hot Dogs and tater tots with a side of amazing music-- SIGN ME UP!!

CLE Eats: The Grocery Ohio City

This past weekend, Nick and I stopped in at The Grocery in Ohio City to grab some lunch. It was my first time in this relatively new grocery store, and I was instantly charmed! The space is small-- no bigger than a bodega or small coffee shop, and has a very limited selection of items, but I would describe the selection as small but mighty--- very very well curated. From Inca Tea, Fruit Vibe Juice, Red Lotus Food, and Pope's Kitchen -- a selection of artisan products, all made right here in Cleveland. There's also a small produce section- the day we went, they had garlic, red peppers, tomatoes, and avocados, among other things. You can also buy certain items in bulk (by the mason jar): quinoa, barley, popcorn, etc. Buying in bulk is a much better deal than buying the same items packaged.

In addition to packaged and fresh foods, The Grocery also offers a selection of sandwiches-- high quality meat & cheese on equally high quality bread. Really, the basics of any good sandwich.

Nick and I each picked a sandwich and juice for lunch -- our meal was absolutely delicious. Overall, an excellent visit-- I know I will be visiting again soon!!

Listening Now: If You Love Someone

This song has made an appearance on many of my playlists recently, including the ones I share with my spin instructors and friends. Because sometimes you just want to listen to a song repeatedly. Also I really want my hair to be as long as the Origliasso sisters.





Enjoy!!

Sunday in the Kitchen

This weekend, Nick and I took our first steps to regaining normalcy following Otto's diagnosis. We reached some decisions (we're not doing chemo, only pain management), and have started to more fully embrace our time with Otto rather than worrying about what is to come. I don't know, maybe these warmer temperatures have something to do with our more positive attitude? Anyway, our diet has been terrible over the past few weeks and we decided that it was time for a massive cook-and-freeze session so that we would have easy meals to reach into over the next few months.

Nick and I went to the Westside Market on Saturday to stock up on ingredients. Every time I visit, I wonder why I don't go more frequently! Although the thing about visiting the market on Saturdays is that you have to either go really early, or go late--around 2. Anything between the hours of 10am - 2 pm is a madhouse! We went with a list, and split up, so a very efficient 30 minutes later, we were out of there, stocked with all the ingredients for Nick's meatballs and 3 different types of chicken.

Nick's meatballs. I could give you the recipe, but its a family secret ;)

I made chicken pot pie, cajun chicken, and tandoori chicken. I wish I could tell you I used some fancy recipe for the cajun chicken or tandoori chicken, but its basically boneless, skinless chicken thighs, some type of fat (oil or melted butter) and a seasoning mix. Marinate for 90 minutes- 2 hours, and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Foolproof and freezes exceptionally well. And when I'm ready to eat it, I just nuke the pre-portioned chicken pieces in the microwave for 2 minutes. Pairs well with salads, over pasta, in pita pockets, in enchiladas. Endless versatility with minimal effort.

Do you cook big batches over the weekend, or do you cook every night or some combination of both?

Try It: 3 ingredient Nutella Cookies

My diet recently has had four main food groups: wine, eggs, cheese and chocolate. One of my favorite things to eat are Nutella cookies--a recipe I discovered on Pinterest a few years ago. Basically, you take 1 cup of nutella, 1 cup of flour and 1 egg, mix it together, form it into little cookie balls, and bake it in a preheated over at 350F for 7-8 minutes.

There you have it. The easiest cookie recipe of all time.

Here's a video (that I didn't create) if you don't believe me.

PS: I didn't smash them or use a fork for the indents. Neither step is necessary.

Subscription boxes: Julep

Last summer, I signed up for a nail polish subscription box-- Julep. Julep is famous for its 4-free colors and striking bottle shape, but back when I signed up, I was really not one for painting my own nails. In fact, I basically sucked at it.  But over 6 months of a subscription (and one Clean Slate Polish Corrector Pen later), I have shown tremendous improvement.

Now, you may be thinking-- how many polishes does one human need? What if I don't like the colors? I'm here to assure you that there is no need to worry. Not only can you customize each box for whatever colors you want, you can also switch it out for beauty products. Personally, I'm a fan of their lip colors, especially their lip crayons that are super hydrating, as well as the pedi creme. And, they usually send you a little gift in each box-- sometimes its candy, but this past month, it was a glitter top coat with tiny hearts in it!!!

Now for the cost: you can get a monthly box for $24.99 (+ tax)/month or you can sign up for 3 months at a time, and the cost per month drops to $19.99 (+ tax).  You can click here* to join!

*If you use the link above, I do get a referral fee (which is open to any Julep Maven who refers her friends to the service)

Get Involved: The Circle

About a year ago, I joined the Board of The Circle, the Young Professionals group of the Cleveland Orchestra. To be honest, classical music isn't something I listen to regularly. But seeing the Cleveland Orchestra live has really changed my perception of classical music in general. For one thing, Severance Hall is a stunningly beautiful space with incredible acoustics. Second, despite perceptions of stuffiness, going to at Orchestra performance is not stuff AT ALL! Not only does the Cleveland Orchestra have one of the youngest Orchestra's in the country,  but we also have one of the youngest audiences in the country. What this means is that while some guests choose to go all out and get dressed up, you will see plenty of jeans and leggings so as to not feel out of place if you choose to go with a more casual dress code. But most of all, the incredible talent performing at each show is something you just have to see and listen to and experience live. 

Membership to the Orchestra is $15/month for a single membership, $20/month for two memberships at the same household. Your membership gets you 12 events a year-- at least half of which are concerts-- if you look at attending the concerts alone, the monthly membership fee is a STEAL! The other half are networking and behind-the-scenes events, which really are a lot of fun! So far we've had tours of Severance Hall and its incredible history, hearing about the upcoming program from the Orchestra members, a behind-the-scenes conversation with Yuval Sharon, director of the Opera The Cunning Little Vixen (which we then got to see with our membership), exclusive discounts on attending the Cleveland Orchestra Gala (which then included a surprise meeting with Lang Lang!!!), happy hours before or after concerts, pre-concert dinner and drinks at Blossom in the summer, volunteering at the Lakewood YMCA--- and this is just a SAMPLE of events. Oh, and you also get 20% off other classical concerts at the Orchestra. 

Our next event is March 13th-- Beethoven's Seventh followed by food, drinks, mingling and more live music. So, if you would like to be a part of the fun, join us by calling Margaret at 216-231-7558. You can find our schedule of upcoming events here, and you can see more of what we've been up to so far on our Facebook page  so please follow us!

I hope to see many more of you at future Circle events!!