Shaking It Off

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Charlene Ann

Last week was a crazy, insane, up and down week. By Friday afternoon I felt like I had been ran over by a train. It felt like one thing after another kept being thrown my way throughout the week. An emergency room visit for my dad, a pile of work that wasn’t going down and just overall stress.

Luckily throughout the weekend I was able to shake it off with a Blurred Lines dance party in my hall with coworkers (thanks to my favorite morning show; Jen and Tim in the morning), an evening with a bottle of wine and some reality TV on my DVR, Saturday retail therapy for an outfit appropriate for meeting Bethenny (more on this later! Eek!!) and the VMAs to see my love Justin Timberlake.

How’d you spend your weekend? Low-key or jam packed?

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Current Reminder

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Charlene Ann

Sometimes you just need a gentle reminder: 

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It’s Been Awhile

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Charlene Ann

Oh hey there….I almost forgot I was a blogger for a minute or two.

But really, life has just been really really crazy. But the good kind of crazy. August has been filled with happy hours, fun dinners out, work travel, seeing the Lion King with my mom, finally getting in some summer concerts, some more work travel and gearing up for the AAF CLE programming year. My calendar hasn’t been this booked in awhile.

A Night Out with this Lady? Yes, Please.

A Night Out with this Lady? Yes, Please.

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We loved The Killers

Phillip Phillips and John Mayer at Blossom? Just a great summer night.

Phillip Phillips and John Mayer at Blossom? Just a great summer night.

I’m not going to lie though. I’m looking forward to a break in the busy-ness. I absolutely adore Fall and am excited to spend time at tailgates, Browns Games, Clam Bakes and just with friends enjoying my favorite season. It almost seems crazy to me that August is almost over and Labor Day is a week away.

How’s your summer wrapping up?

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Blurred Lines

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Charlene Ann

I cannot listen to this song enough. (Also, currently listening to the entire album….so far, love!)

Moving on…last week was a serious whirlwind week…a little Hodge’s action on Tuesday night, traveling Wednesday afternoon-Friday night, a break on Saturday to head to Velvet Tango Room (back room party, what?!) and then back on the road Sunday-Monday night. Oh and an Indians game with clients/coworkers/friends last night (six in a row, yay!)

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The upside of the work travel? Coworkers that are awesome. A traveling buddy that listened to all of my bad pop music (Ke$ha included). 

The downside? Little time for blogging. 

But hopefully that’s going to change. Plus I have a great new idea that I’m beginning to explore for a new blog. Stay tuned…

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Life in the 30’s

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Charlene Ann

I’m more than a few months into my 30’s. I’ve started having to check the box that says 30-40 on forms. That was scary.

So when Monina sent me this on Saturday morning about dating in your 30’s compared to 20’s, I laughed out loud. Mostly because this is totally true.

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Anyone else agree? What’s the biggest difference that you’ve seen between your 20’s and 30’s?

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A Taste and a Luau

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Charlene Ann

A little blog note – my friend Rachel is away on a much deserved vacay and asked me to guest blog for her – check it out! 

I don’t know about you, but I feel like this summer is going entirely too quickly. Weekends are jam packed and next thing I know, it’s almost August (which will include Lion King, The Killers and John Mayer all in three days – stop it). This weekend was no exception with multiple events going on once again.

After a busy Friday, a low-key happy hour sounded just right. A quick mojito and home to catch up on books and magazines was the perfect Friday evening when there were storms rolling in. Saturday was more than busy with shopping, errands, a pedi and finally Luau on the Lake.

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I was excited to attend this event for the first time this year and support Shoes and Clothes For Kids. This eighth annual event raises money to help support the organization and this year, they could not have had better weather. Drinks were had, friends were ran into and there were plenty of laughs by the lake.

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Isn’t our city gorgeous? 

Sunday was one of my favorite Cleveland events – Taste of Tremont. After a delicious Southside brunch (how can you not love their chicken and waffles? I mean seriously.), we headed over to check out the vendors, visit with friends, have some drinks and end the day with Tremont Scoops ice cream. I’m pretty sure more than once I said it was going to be an easy day for me and that I was going to go home and get work/laundry/cleaning done in anticipation for the week ahead.

Mimosa Me.

Mimosa Me.

Clearly that didn’t happen.

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Rocco Whalen threw a great party and we had a perfect spot for plenty of people watching during Taste. One more drink turned into a carafe of sangria and later hanging out with friends at Tremont Scoops. Have you been yet? If not, I totally recommend it. Great owners and yummy ice cream.

Plus, I scored a new dress on Sunday which will be perfect for Jump Back Ball. Yes, I’m actually planning ahead (or I’ll wear it for another event and find an excuse for more shopping).

Oh, and I may have been way too excited for this:

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I love the Royals.

And now it’s off for a week filled with travel and more…wish me luck!

p.s. Happy Belated 217th Birthday to my most favorite city in the world. I’m #HappyinCLE. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Royal Baby and CLE share a birthday. Just sayin’… 

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Disclaimer – I received two VIP tickets to Luau on the Lake in exchange for blogging. All opinions are my own.

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Happiness

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Charlene Ann

Happiness: state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

For me, happiness this past weekend was being surrounded by so many friends. And seeing a friend share his passion with others, raising money for a great charity. And laughing – a lot. And karaoking with one of my new favorite chefs. And getting to know good people – with great hearts.

Thursday, our interns and I got to hang out in the social suite and it just so happened that some of my favorite radio personalities were in the suite too.

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This was all the perfect prep for a fun dinner on the patio with friends, many drinks with lots of people and a karaoke session with The Next Food Network Stars where I may or may not have sang Call Me Maybe with Damaris from the show (who says that our version of CMM was a top 3).  (oh and Jason Kipnis showed up too!)

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Saturday evening the weather was perfect, the patio at Hodge’s was full and drinks were flowing when the chefs got together to raise money for Veggie U. I can’t even tell you how much food was had (or how many drinks for that reason). Hodge and his team just know how to put together a great event and I was happy to be able to attend this one.

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The Chefs from Next Food Network Star – Damaris, Stacey, Rodney and Viet – were some of the kindest people that I’ve ever met. I loved listening to them tell stories about the show, their hometowns, their favorite food and what’s next while we all enjoyed drinks, the weather, the biggest bowl of tater tots ever and some of Rodney’s pies.

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And I hear through the grapevine that drinks post-event happened at Barley House on West Sixth. I will neither confirm or deny those reports.

If you haven’t been watching Next Food Network Star, (Hodge is gone – and already missed) Stacey, Damaris and Rodney are all still on the show – along with Nikki and Russell. Make sure to cheer them on!

Happy.

Happy.

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Glam Louder (Sponsored Post)

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Charlene Ann

Bling It On Glam Hpnotiq Logo Version 2

Are you a girl who hearts makeup the way I do? I may or may not have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to makeup looks that I love….some that I can recreate, some that I may need to go and have created for me (thank goodness for Sephora, right?)

Another thing that I heart and I know many of you do too? Vodka. Put those two things together and you have an awesome contest. Starting now and until July 28th, Hpnotiq wants to see you Glam Louder to win some amazing prizes. What’s Hpnotiq? It’s a blend of natural exotic fruit juices, vodka and cognac. Sounds perfect for a summer night, right?

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Over the next few weeks, you can submit photos in a variety of categories such as glammest makeup or overall look. Entries can be pics that you’ve taken or images you’ve found online (hit up Pinterest!) And the prizes? Well, they are legit. $1,000 gift card to Sephora or Ulta or a handbag of your choice valued up to $1,000. What are you waiting for?

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Adele always has a glam look in my opinion.

Adele always has a glam look in my opinion.

Ready to enter? The entry period for the glammest makeup ends 11:59:59 a.m. on July 14th. So head to your favorite websites and show your very best eye, catching makeup styles that you love. You can enter as many times as you want and you know there are Pinterest Boards and websites dedicated to the best looks.

During this round, 4 winners will be selected for the gift cards. If you are one of the finalists, you’ll also go on to compete in a final round for your chance to win a trip to LA to hang out with three friends (and my girl Khloe!).

To enter visit http://9nl.it/irby/, or visit Hpnotiq’s Facebook page OR follow @Hpnotiq on twitter and tweet them your picture using the hashtag #GLAMLOUDER.

Plus, I’d love to see some of your favorite looks – so let’s see and/or hear them!

*Full contest rules are available here: http://www.hpnotiq.com/uploads/glamlouder_rules/

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Hpnotiq. I was provided compensation to blog about this contest. As always, opinions are my own.

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A Staycation in The CLE

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Charlene Ann

I took a PTO day. This doesn’t happen often but knowing that most of my clients were going to be out on the 3rd and that we had the 5th off, I figured why not? I’m one of those people that at the end of the year need to use up PTO days (use or lose ’em peeps) and I’m trying to get better at that.

So I took the day off and hung out with one of my closest friends, drank Summer Shandy and adult capri suns, had dinner together, laughed a lot, gossiped, read magazines and watch fireworks at the park near her home.

It was the perfect day off. Seriously. 

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The staycation also included an evening at Hodge’s downtown, watching the Indians game and trying new drinks, viewing the fireworks from atop of the 668 parking garage.

A fun view, hanging out with fun peeps

A fun view, hanging out with fun peeps

Oh and Tower City Lights tweeted to me and asked what color I wanted the lights to be. And just like that they went pink.

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Even better was my Saturday. Filled with a morning/afternoon of shopping, girls night out with Kimberly was overdue and we had an important evening planned. Kimberly and I are both fans of Playhouse Square so when I had an extra ticket to Book of Mormon, I knew she’d be the perfect date. Plus having an early dinner meant we would have ample time to chat.

The agenda was prepared, dinner was had on the East Bank of the Flats at Willeyville and Book of Mormon was seen at Playhouse Square.

image c/o The Willeyville

image c/o The Willeyville

The Willeyville– Delicious. Fresh. Great service. Yummy summer drinks. (We enjoyed the shrimp ceviche, pork meatballs and gnocchi.)

image c/o Playhouse Square

image c/o Playhouse Square

Book of Mormon – non-stop laughs. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more inappropriate, oh it did. At the end of the night our cheeks and stomachs hurt from laughing.

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But time with a great friend – even better. 

How’d you spend your holiday long weekend?

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An Evening with the Next Food Network Stars

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Charlene Ann

First things first, congrats to Jessica M. on winning the two VIP tickets to Luau on the Lake! Please email me your information at lifeinthecle (at) gmail.com.

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And don’t forget – you still have time to purchase discounted tickets! http://www.luauonthelake.com/

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Second, is anyone else loving The Next Food Network Star as much as I am? Obviously Chris Hodgson is a favorite, but I’m loving so many of the chefs on this show. My other faves are definitely Viet (and I was bummed when he was sent home last week), Stacey and Demaris (helloooo, the girl was hilarious last episode when making cocktails – we may end up being besties).

The competition (image c/o Food Network)

The competition (image c/o Food Network)

Even better than watching the show? Getting to meet some of these chefs next weekend! Chris is bringing in some of his friends from Next Food Network Star, including Viet, Stacey and Demaris, as well as Rodney (the pie guy) to raise money for some local nonprofits. They will be doing a few dinners, including one for Veggie U at Hodge’s Cleveland on Saturday, July 13th. My excitement about this dinner is through the roof. I’m anxiously awaiting to hear what the dinner will be and can’t wait to meet the chefs.

Limited tickets are still available for this dinner and you won’t want to miss it. Hope to see you there!

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