Since it’s “The Last Birthday” I’m celebrating, I don’t feel bad putting together a Wish List. I’m a pretty simple girl though. I’m already pretty thrilled about who I’ll be spending Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday with to celebrate my Last Birthday.
But on my list this year:
1. This adorable apron. I’ve taken on cooking as a hobby (and I LOVE baking). Thank you Pinterest for all the ideas. And this totes matches my kitchen/dining room. It’s a must have.
2. What girl doesn’t want some Tiffany’s? No need to explain this one.
3. Tickets to see Aerosmith. It’s my rocker chic wanting to come out. 4. A night out with The BFF. This is seriously at the top of my list. I’m crossing my fingers that he gets to join at least for a little bit on Friday. I’d like an old-fashioned karaoke night out where we drink too many double Jack and Cokes and sing the most outrageous 80’s and 90’s songs. (Pic above is circa 2005. Around the Corner. At least 4-5 double Jack and Cokes in. And the night we owned the stage at ATC during Karaoke. Also the night The BFF threw up in my car. That’s true friendship.)
5. This purse makes me happy. It’s totally unnecessary but the girl in my comes out occasionally and really wants a Coach purse.
Feel free to let me know if you’d like to make any of the above come true for me this year. I kid, I kid…(but no really…)
It’s my birthday week. And it’s snowing. It never fails.
Typical Cleveland weather.
But regardless, it was another great weekend spent with friends and my “second” family in Lakewood, which meant some hilarious stories/memories (such as: “remember that one time we did a keg stand with a keg of Christmas Ale…that didn’t end well, did it?”) and lots of laughs. Needless to say, I love my second family. And I write that as I wait for The BFF to call and do our usual Tuesday catch up session.
Easter included the usual family time, as well as my parents totally hooking me up with an Easter basket. Which included: two bottles of wine (Pinot and Riesling) and a bottle of Skinnygirl Sangria (my fave!) and some makeup. Score! We also had the family birthday celebration (which included me drinking a bottle of said wine that was in said Easter basket…oops).
I’d like Bethenny to be my best friend and be like her when I grow up. End of story.
Monday, I’m 90% sure I said to a coworker that I wasn’t going to drink until Friday’s birthday celebration. About an hour later, at Yelp Cleveland blogger event, there was a glass of champagne in my hand. Can you blame a girl? Bubbles. Monday. It was like it was meant to be. But really no more drinking until Friday…
How was everyone’s Easter? We’re almost half-way through the week!
Obviously, I’m not talking about the Browns yet (let’s get through summer first, people).
I’m talking about the fact that starting next week, I’m going to be practicing to participate in the first annual Cleveland Blonde vs. Brunette powder puff football game for the Alzheimer’s Association. When I saw my friend Stephanie tweet and blog about BvB, I immediately got excited. A few emails back and forth with people and I’m officially signed up with the Blonde team (though I was stressed – after all I change my hair every few weeks but I think I’m sticking with blonde at least through the summer). I’ll also be acting as an official blogger for BvB.
So first things first – what is BvB? It’s an annual event pairing Blondes vs Brunettes on the football field (redheads are free agents!). Throughout the next few months we’ll be raising money, practicing and raising awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. So be sure to check back to learn more about Alzheimer’s, the Association and our upcoming practices (we’ll see how the April 14th one turns out…the day after my birthday…could be rough!)
Wanna donate now? Check out my personal page and consider a donation – any amount helps the cause! And you should totes come out and cheer on Team Blonde this June! We got this ladies 🙂
I love Indians season. There’s really not much better than going to Jacob’s Field (or Progressive Field if you’d like to call it that) with friends, having a beer (or a couple) and enjoying a great baseball game.
And the season is officially kicking off and I am so excited. While I’m not going to the home-opener you know I’ll be watching and that I’ll be attending plenty of games this year (in fact, we’re already planning our first Girls Night Out at the game).
If you are heading to games this year, you are in for a treat as The Indians have made some changes this year – all positive ones, of course. I’ve got to say, the Indians really get it. Whether it’s the social suite, inviting fans to meet with players and staff or making adjustments to Field regulations to make fans happy, they do it.
So this year what can you expect? Re-entry is allowed. So if you need to leave the game, you can come back (through Gate A). You are also now allowed to bring a 20 oz. water bottle (not vodka, people). The Indians are also expanding the kids area on the mezzanine level, creating the Kids Clubhouse, which will also include a reduced menu for kids under 48″ (no comments about my height). Club level seats have also been reduced this year so you can enjoy the view for not nearly as expensive. This year you can also enjoy more fireworks and an additional Puppypalooza day (which makes me wish I had a dog).
So grab your gear and get down to the Field this year.
There’s a strong possibility that my 29th Birthday Weekend could be the best ever. Coworkers and friends have already promised me a fantastic time (which I’m wondering if I should be worried about?). The BFF has mentioned coming out (which rarely happens and should it happen this birthday will for sure be the best ever). And the best part?
One of my favorite things about Cleveland is Playhouse Square. Playhouse Square adds so much life in to Cleveland – whether in the fabulous events they throw (like Jump Back Ball) or the plays and musicals they bring to Cleveland.
And this week’s announcement of the new Broadway series brought excitement to anyone who enjoys the theater life in Cleveland. Literally, the announcement made me so excited that I’m debating becoming a Broadway Series season ticket holder.
The 2012-2013 series will feature a few known musicals, as well as some up and coming ones: Anything Goes, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (my personal favorite and no I’m not kidding), Priscilla, Sister Act, War Horse, Guys & Dolls and The Book of Mormon. Classics mixed with some modern, award-winning musicals. Can you really go wrong with any of these shows? Personally, I’m having a really hard time deciding which show to attend.
(I’m completely bummed out – due to an emergency root canal I missed the Broadway Launch at Playhouse. I’m sure it was fantastic and that the preview of these shows would have just caused me more excitement.)
One of the major benefits to my job – having an office. Especially coming from where I had a cube (yes, a large one, but a cube nonetheless). And when you have a cube, not everyone wants to listen to a wide variety of music everyday (especially the Biebs at Christmas…which still shocks me!)
Often, I play music while I work. It helps me concentrate and write and even proofread. Luckily, I have an awesome team who also often blares music down our hall. Not to mention, our amazing Friday Dance Parties (featuring Ke$ha).
Here are the songs currently being blared in my office:
1. Starships – Nicki Minaj. This will be my summer jam. I can already see myself singing this in Delonte (my Scion tc) with the sunroof open.
2. International Love – Pitbull. Thank you Mo for getting me into Pitbull. End of story.
3. Banjo – Rascal Flatts. I love me some RF, especially in the summer. I cannot wait to see them in concert (again).
4. Boyfriend – The Biebs. Laugh it up. But I like it.
5. I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz. Not as upbeat and dance-worthy but I adore Jason Mraz (he’s been one of my favorites for YEARS) and this song is just so cute.
I was an extremely bad blogger this week but life just kind of got in the way. Literally, every night this week I had something going on, whether originally planned or not.
Time for a little wrap-up of the week:
Monday I was fortunate to score a pair of awesome seats for one of my favorite band’s concerts in Cleveland on Tuesday: The Black Keys. Needless to say, my excitement level was super high. Yes, I have that eclectic of taste in music. If you were to walk into my office on any given day the music you may hear could be: The Black Keys, John Legend, Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, Madonna or Ke$ha. But The Black Keys own my rock section of my heart.
So on Tuesday, after a quick happy hour/dinner at Bar Louie, Cortney and I headed over to the Q for the concert. Of course, a ton of friends were also there and literally it seemed like everyone on my Twitter timeline was there too.
It was awesome.
Photo: Joshua Gunter, The PD (cleveland.com)
I prefer The Black Keys in a smaller venue and when it’s just the two of them. The Q just seemed too big. But the encore was AMAZING. I think everyone was tweeting that. It literally was my favorite part of the whole hour and a half concert. If you haven’t checked out The Black Keys – you should. You won’t regret it.
Photo: Joshua Gunter, The PD (cleveland.com)
Wednesday, after a Venti Starbucks, I was ready to go and excited to meet up with some of my favorite Tweeps at another cleveland.com TweetUp. This one, in coordination with United Way’s Guitar Mania, was held at The House of Blues. I got to meet some of my favorite Tweeps in person, and also was able to see so many of my favorite tweeters/bloggers. I heart a good tweet-up. Thanks to cleveland.com for organizing another great event and to United Way for including all of our Twitter handles on a guitar for Guitar Mania (starting Memorial Day weekend at the Rock Hall). (Thanks EatDrinkCleve for the pictures – I sucked and forgot to take pics!)
Thursday, was another night out – this time meeting up for drinks, dinner and girl talk with a former coworker. More or less, a perfect night. Patio drinking at Around the Corner is always one of my favorites.
Onto Friday. Where I insisted I was not going to go out. I wasn’t going to do happy hour and definitely nothing past 8pm.
Peer pressure gets Charlene again.
5:30 – Bar Louie for drinks with lots of coworkers.
7:00 – Bar Louie for Dinner with Stacey, Sean and Crackers.
8:30 – Crackers and I meet up with Joe at Around the Corner.
11:30 – Relocated to Merry Arts.
1:30 – I’m finally home and in bed.
One of these days I’ll stop giving into peer pressure. Apparently, I may be going out again tonight too (Saturday). I say, we’ll see cause right now these sweats that I’m wearing and the books on my couch are pretty much owning my life.
I was very fortunate to be invited by Smitten in Cleveland to attend ONE Styling’s blogger party on Friday, at Spa West in Westlake. From the minute I walked in, I knew we were going to be treated well. It was great to finally meet so many bloggers who I follow, whether it be on Twitter or through their blogs.
What girl doesn’t love some pampering? After some fantastic bubbles and catering from Brio, we were able to all have our hair styled – using one of the many fantastic tools from ONE Styling.
I had the Bubble Wand used on my hair and it worked so well. I usually can never hold a curl in my hair, but the Bubble Wand created the perfect summery waves, which held all night. And I wasn’t the only one. I heard so many girls commenting on how well all of the products worked. Literally, every one of us walked out with fantastic hair.
The team at ONE Styling was kind enough to send us all with some fantastic swag bags. Literally, I felt like a kid on Christmas when I got home. We each walked out with:
EPIC Medium Flat Iron
EPIC Dryer
Bubble Wand
Crush Black 1 and Mini Flat Iron
3 in 1 Curl Stick
Heat Mat
I’ve already used the EPIC Flat Iron and EPIC Blow Dryer and LOVE it. Literally, my hair has never been so straight. Usually after a full day (especially outside like on Saturday), there’s a little bit of a wave that shows up, but literally all day my hair was straight. This week I’m going to experiment a little bit more, including using my flat irons to try and curl/wave my hair. We’ll see how it turns out.
Be sure to check out ONE Styling for more info and for all of my lovely readers/followers out there, the team at ONE Styling is offering a fantastic deal: Visit onestyling.com and use LIFECLE35 as your coupon code and receive 35% off your total order AND free shipping! As a bonus, they will also throw in a heat mat with your purchase. Take my word ladies – you don’t want to piss out on this deal!
Thanks again to the crew at Spa West, Brio and of course, ONE Styling for a fantastic evening!
(Disclosure: ONE Styling provided me, as well as the other bloggers, with our swag bag filled with wonderful hair styling tools to try out. However, all opinions are my own.)
The weekend officially started on Thursday night, since I knew that Friday wasn’t going to be an awful day at work, with happy hour at the usual Map Room, with the usuals. Followed up by a few drinks at Merry Arts in Lakewood with a couple friends, including one of my favorite people Shaunte. Shaunte and I are the type of friends that could not talk for months yet we can pick up right where we left off. We laugh a ton and get each other really well, which is rare.
Friday was a pretty laid back day at work, mostly writing proposals, followed by an afternoon of #TeamAssKick meetings (my account team is the best!). Friday evening I had the opportunity to attend an amazing blogger event at Spa West with One Styling. Check back tomorrow to get the full wrap-up but let’s just say I have a new favorite line of hair tools!
Saturday was the official day of insanity in CLE. St. Patrick’s Day. High of 77 degrees. Oh and just hanging out with 500,000+ of my favorite people in the world – Clevelanders. Downtown was amazing to say the least. Shaunte and I got started around 9:30, taking shots of Jamison by 10 (hello, I’m Irish!), bar hopping a little and spending most of the day downtown. Early evening, a group made our way to Around the Corner in Lakewood, where I seemed to have forgotten that one of my most favorite people in the world bartends (one of The BFF’s close friends who I’ve known for years and years). Which of course meant free drinks for me (Thanks Kalf!). It was just like our old Thanksgiving Keggers (which I still miss to this day).
Sunday was of course, recovery day. A day of lounging, catching up on DVR, watching My Week With Marilyn (which was really good) and doing the usual post-St. Patrick’s Day phone conversation with The BFF. A direct quote from him: “I love St. Patrick’s Day because I live vicariously through you and all your bad decision making.” I heart that guy.
I’ve taken on cooking as a hobby (and I LOVE baking). Thank you Pinterest for all the ideas. And this totes matches my kitchen/dining room. It’s a must have.
4. A night out with The BFF. This is seriously at the top of my list. I’m crossing my fingers that he gets to join at least for a little bit on Friday.
I’d like an old-fashioned karaoke night out where we drink too many double Jack and Cokes and sing the most outrageous 80’s and 90’s songs. (Pic above is circa 2005. Around the Corner. At least 4-5 double Jack and Cokes in. And the night we owned the stage at ATC during Karaoke. Also the night The BFF threw up in my car. That’s true friendship.)
Life in the CLE 