Summertime Weekends

I’m not going to lie to you or to myself. The last two weeks were sorta rough. Lots of hours, not much sleep and added stress did not help my mood. I was happy that the weekends though have been full of time with friends, even if I didn’t catch up on sleep like I really wanted to (helllooo – I’m a girl with a thyroid disorder, we like our sleep!)

Events included: Being joined by two close friends/coworkers Tierney and Rachel, for a play at Cleveland Public Theatre on a Friday evening. If you’ve read this blog before, you know I’m a big supporter of the arts. I was involved throughout high school and college in the arts and know what a difference it’s made in my life. While this play wasn’t my particular cup of tea, CPT is still an important part of Cleveland and Gordon Square and I was happy to offer my support. Plus CPT is within walking distance of so many great bars and restaurants and that gave us the opportunity to check out Toast. Like I said, it was a long week which meant bubbles happened.

image c/o CPT

I was able to visit with my friends Mark Zinni and Elisa Amiga at FOX8 while they offered their support of BvBCLE. Post-shopping at Legacy Village, I was invited to a Pinterest worthy bridal shower for my coworker and friend Caroline. I kid you not, Caroline’s sister should go into business. Everything was perfectly coordinated with the wedding colors and just felt like Caroline. I cannot wait for this wedding and am so happy for Caroline and Tim!

Polka dots, gold and bright colors. All things Caroline.

Lucky that we’re not just coworkers, but also friends.

After a morning of volunteering at the Kidney Walk last Sunday, brunch was in the cards and I was joined by Erini and Joe for a Tremont Taphouse, patio brunch complete with great convos and mimosas. Which like I said, were needed.

Sunday night’s have become Hodge’s nights and I can’t say I mind. With Chris competing on Food Network’s Next Food Network Star, I’ve been joining the team for watch parties which have been awesome. Its hilarious to watch Hodge twitch as the show plays, but also endearing to see how much Cleveland loves Hodge.

The Hodge Fan Club

But seriously, Food Network, can’t we make this show a little bit earlier? I’m too old to be out till well after 10pm on a Monday night.

Well CLE, how have your weekends been so far this summer?

Summertime Flicks

One of my favorite high school/college summer memory was Tuesday movie nights. Every single Tuesday a group of my friends would meet up at the local AMC Theater for a movie and free popcorn and pop (we were young…easy to please). During the school year we were all busy with extracurriculars (soccer, “Singers” and a million school clubs for me), so in the summer those Tuesday nights were special. It was time with people that may not normally get to hang out with – especially when two-a-days started for the football and soccer teams. We took turns picking the movie and after would always end up hanging out for hours, talking and creating awesome memories.

My favorite year of LW Women’s Soccer – the first women’s soccer team at my HS.

Fast forward to post-college, this tradition lasted a year or so. The group changed and it was often me and the guys so needless to say my “chick flick” selections never really happened.

But those Tuesday nights were some of my favorites. When I drive by that particular theater, those feelings of “home” and memories always flood back. It’s usually something small like walking from our HS parking lot to the theater, or going to Malley’s for ice cream after, or sitting on the hill in the park across from the theater/our HS talking about the upcoming year, classes, who’s dating who, or how my BFF was.

Maybe that’s why I enjoyed the movie Kings of Summer so much. It truly was a film about friendships. Those friendships sometimes change, but at the end of the day, there are certain friends that you know will always be there and be a part of your life.

Filmed in Ohio (yay!), during the movie you see certain locations throughout areas of Northeast Ohio (Chagrin Falls, Berea), that you will immediately recognize.

I think we all had those moments in your teenage years where you wanted nothing more than to run away. Kings of Summer takes that concept and brings it to life when three friends runaway, build their own home and work through difficult relationships.

Personally, I loved the humor throughout the movie and more than once me and my girl friends that I went with, were laughing and looking at each other knowing that we all love some of those awkward situations. Plus I honestly just love Megan Mullally.

If you are looking to get away, reminisce and see some great Northeast Ohio locations, make sure to mark your calendar this summer to see The Kings of Summer!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend a pre-screening of The Kings of Summer. I received no additional compensation and as always, all opinions are my own. 

#RunwayValerie

Cleveland is a really lucky city. We have great chefs, restaurants, and people. We also have a fantastic fashion designer in Valerie Mayen. Valerie has been on Project Runway previously and brought her talent back to Cleveland. Giving us unique, fashion-forward options right around the corner.

Another favorite thing about Valerie? She’s honestly one of the nicest people that I’ve met in Cleveland. Her genuine spirit warms up an entire room and you immediately want to talk to her more. I spent some time in Yellowcake Shop today, supporting Valerie, and pretty much fell in love with every single spring/summer option in the store.

Valerie has a great chance – to join Project Runway Season 12 and have her chance at Redeption. If you watched the first season that Valerie was on, you know what an awesome designer she is. And she’s ready for round 2. While I was in the store today, she was sharing about how she’s practicing and ready for the next round. But Cleveland she needs our support.

Here’s what we need to do to support Valerie, Cleveland: 1. Tweet, Retweet and Tweet again using the following hashtag: #RunwayValerie 2. Shop local at Yellowcake Shop the next few days. If Valerie is chosen for Season 12, the shop is going to take a financial hit so Valerie is preparing for that. Any money raised is going to help make sure that we still have Yellowcake while Valerie is on the show. If for some reason Valerie is not selected, money raised will go to cancer research. Win-win, right?

Now what are you waiting for? Get on your phone, tablet, twitter account and get moving!

#RunwayValerie

The Next Food Network Star…in CLE?

Cleveland has another reason to tune into Food Network this summer. Our own celebrity chef (and my dear friend) Chris Hodgson will again be making an appearance on a Food Network show. This time he’s turning the Food Truck in to get a stab at his own Food Network show. That’s right – he’s competing on The Next Food Network Star.

The competition (image c/o Food Network)

Chris is not one to shy away from competition so I have complete faith that he will do Cleveland proud. I mean, did you see him on The Great Food Truck Race 2?!

Want to watch Chris compete with other Clevelanders? Come in to Hodge’s on June 2nd for our first watch party…we’ll be live-tweeting the event, snacking away on all of Chris’ fabulous food and cheering him on!

Disclosure: I work with the Hodge’s Cleveland team on social media, hence why I’ll be there live-tweeting. Even if we weren’t having a watch party, I’d be at home watching Chris! 

A Needed Girls Night Out

Last week was a rough one. Which meant that I needed the girls night out I had on Thursday. Elle Magazine, Wella Professional and Canopi hosted a beauty event at Charles Scott Salon in Rocky River and it was one of the better events I’ve been to.

To start the night off, Erini, Rachel and I headed to Rocky River Wine Bar for a much needed class of wine and catch up. I absolutely adore this cute wine bar and it was the perfect night to sit on the patio and chat.

Charles Scott Salon continued the wonderful atmosphere with bubbles, wine, apps and pampering for all. All three of us had our hair done, nails painted and makeup done. In between the pampering, the three of us were able to chat, catch up with other bloggers and discuss potential next hair colors/styles. My hairstylist was amazing and had a ton of ideas on what I should do next (strawberry blonde? angled bob? TBD).

 

Rachel and I, Erini getting her nails done and my super sweet stylist Tina. How awesome is her pixie cut?!

Makeup Consultations and time with friends. 

All in all, the event was the perfect evening of pampering. Every girl deserves a night like this!

Food, Wine, Laughs

Pretty much the title says it all about this year’s Silver Spoon Awards. Held at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Cleveland Clinic Campus, this year’s event, benefiting the Arthritis Foundation brought out some of the best restaurants in town.

 

Pictured: Hodge’s lamb belly tacos (to. die. for), my lovely date Stacey, the always fabulous Kimberly and snacks from Great Lakes Brewing, Co.

The VIP lounge was filled with delicious drinks from Spice, Hodge’s and Great Lakes Brewing Co. Restaurants represented included: Angelo’s Pizza, BonBon Pastry, Cowell & Hubbard, Deagan’s, Dim and Den Sum, Hodge Podge Food Truck, Light Bistro, Melt Bar and Grilled, Pier W, Taki’s Green Kitchen and many more.

 

Above: Celebrity Chef Chris Hodgson serving up food at both Hodge’s in the VIP lounge, as well as at both of his food trucks. 

Two of my radio favorites (Jen and Tim from WDOK 102.1′s morning show) hosted this year’s event which also meant that Jen Toohey and I finally met in person. We’ve been tweeting at each other for years, mostly about shows we have in common (ahem…the bachelor, bachelorette or Grey’s Anatomy).

 

The always lovely Leah from TV20, the girls with Chris Van Vliet, Finally meeting Jen Toohey (!!! Twitter BFFs) and hanging with Chris. 

All in all, this was another great event, benefiting another fantastic Cleveland non-profit! I already can’t wait for next year!

What Stirs You? Match.com Summer Singles Event

While I myself haven’t dove into online dating, I’ve had plenty of friends who have and who have had success. And I gotta say, based on some of their stories, it seems like online dating isn’t such a bad idea. I’ve had friends meet the love of their lives through online dating services, Match.com included.

Match.com just a year ago introduced a new service – Stir events. The program has expanded to cities throughout the US and offer a wide variety of events based on age and city. Think: happy hours, events at some of the best city venues, tequila tastings or DJ lessons. Events have included partners such as House of Blues, Banana Republic or even the Warrior Dash.

Match.com’s Stir is celebrating its one-year anniversary in style! While Match has hosted 2,850 events over the past year for over 225,000 sings, there are more events in the future. Over just a year, that’s how much the unique-event based, singles “outings” have expanded. Pretty crazy, right? Imagine how many people have been potentially introduced at these events!

And Match.com is looking for singles to help create their own Stir event! If your event idea is selected, you will have the opportunity to work with Match Stir event planners to actually bring the event to life – pretty cool right? So whether it’s hitting up the latest, coolest location in town for cocktails, bowling, karaoke, or a sports event – it’s all up to you! What would be your ideal singles event for Match.com?

Now that you have your idea(s), you have to tell Match.com your perfect Stir event idea!

Visit Match.com’s “What Stirs You?” Contest Page now through Tuesday May 28^th, 2013 and tell Match.com what you think would make for the perfect singles event to be entered to win. Entries will be judged based on quality, creativity, uniqueness and geographical relevance.

The selected winner will have their idea re-created by the Match.com Stir Events team in their city, and will receive an invitation to attend the event along with ten of their singles friends – all at no charge! In addition, the winner will also receive a free six-month Match.com subscription.

Now that you have your thinking caps on…what would be your idea for a Stir event? Have you met someone through online dating?

Disclaimer: As a member of Single Edition Media, I am writing this sponsored post on behalf of Match.com. I received compensation on behalf of writing and promoting about the Stir Promotion. 

Singin’ at the ‘Cat

Do you like Karaoke?

How about giving back to a Cleveland non-profit?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, you should make plans for this Friday (the 17th) when I’ll be hosting Karaoke at Noodlecat, benefitting BvBCLE! My fellow Blonde teammates and coaches, as well as Team Brunette will be at The Cat, putting our pipes to the test to raise money for our upcoming flag football game.

BvBCLE – aka Blondes vs. Brunettes powder puff football – raises money for the Alzheimer’s Association in Cleveland. The game is just one way that we raise money for the Association.

You can even pay to have some of us sing (though I’m not sure you will want to hear that or not…)

You can also donate online to BvBCLE!

Exxopolis in The CLE

While I don’t have children (yet), Playhouse Square has done a fantastic job of introducing children to the arts and it’s something that I appreciate it. Whether it’s bringing school-age children into the theater or bringing child-appropriate musicals and plays to Playhouse Square, the non-profit really does understand the importance of arts for children today.

And this weekend families have the opportunity to expose their children, while enjoying themselves, at the Children’s Festival at Playhouse Square.

Part of this year’s festival includes Exxpolis, which I had the opportunity to attend a preview of and it was not at all what I expected. Okay, truth be told…I didn’t know what to expect! I knew this large “bounce house” looking structure looked interesting but I wasn’t sure what the exact experience would be like.

So what was it like? Think…very large…luminarium. Check it out!

The best part? This is both for adults and children and is only $5. Every experience is different (since it’s based on natural sunlight).

Disclosure: I was invited to a preview of Exxpolis and to hang out with fellow bloggers and some of the Playhouse Square team at Cowell and Hubbard for dinner. All opinions are my own. 

Summertime in the City

Yes, I’m a city girl but in the summer nothing feels, or sounds better, to me than country music. Yes, I bust out the cowboy boots at the chance to see some of my favorite country singers in concert. Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney….those are just a few that are on the must see list when they are in Cleveland.

And these songs are going to be playing on a pretty steady rotation this summer (and may already be):

Florida Georgia Line – Cruise (feat. Nelly)

Blake Shelton – Boys Round Here (feat. Pistol Annies)

Luke Bryan – Crash My Party (anything Luke Bryan makes me happy)

The Legend – George Strait – Give it All We Got

Hunter Hayes – I Want Crazy (I adore this kid)

The Band Perry – Done.

Any songs that are on your must play list this spring/summer?