cleveland's a plum

Let the summer of fun begin

2013-06-18T06:43:00.000-04:00

Can't stop won't stop.

That's the theme of this summer.

With more weddings, bridal showers, baby showers and bachelorette parties than I even thought was humanly possible to be invited to I'm making it work. I may go broke trying, but with all these awesome people in my life how can I not be excited to celebrate them all?

It's going to be an awesome summer!

Friday Heather and I short road and boat-tripped it to Kelleys Island, Ohio for our dear friend and generally awesome human being Alana's bachelorette party. While we only could stay for one night that wasn't going to stop us from making it one hell of a good night.

Island life is for me and Alana the sailor bachelorette....

Let the random bachelorette party gifts begin, ya know, like a sailor outfit from Kimi, duh. + Heather on our ferry ride + Kimi and Julie in our spacious swimming pool.

I'm being kind to Alana by not sharing the rest of her special bachelorette party gifts ;)

It was so great getting to spend time with some of Alana's friends and family I've yet to meet - such a fun Friday night crew! + Mackenzie and Courtney love the "Island Ride"

Dinner at the Island House Martini Bar and Restaurant + strawberry shots at Bag the Moon + Dancing at the Casino = Kelleys Island in a nutshell of fun

Let me just tell you that the 7:30am ferry came QUICK Saturday morning. I'm not sure how we made it, but we did - what a whirlwind celebration and fun all in honor of Alana. It's always a good time when she's around - her future husband Deano isn't too bad either, ha.

Saturday CK, his little one and I all headed to Canton to celebrate Lukas's baptism and his brother (my godson) Bobby's 2nd birthday. Family time is the best time.

Precious Lukas on his baptism day + My not so little anymore cousin Emily and my new little cousin Nicholas being adorable + kids! + Bobby blowing out his birthday candle looking at his Nouna (godmother, me) like what are you doing? I keep telling him he's going to like me one day :)

Sunday was spent spoiling CK with his little one for Father's Day, house hunting and celebrating MOB's birthday at Market Rocky River with CK, Muffin, Beaver and the guest of honor.

And because it was Father's Day here's my favorite shot of my Dad being so 80's awesome - gold chains, open shirt, tinted shades and a cigarette. This photo makes me miss him more than anything simply because it makes me wish I could sit down, split a bottle of wine and just talk about life.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Can't stop won't stop.

Happy Tuesday, kids!

Chicago (the band) ticket giveaway!

2013-06-13T09:28:00.000-04:00

I've often said I was born in the wrong era as my music taste has a heavy classic rock and R&B with piano and horns influence. Some of my favorite acts including the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, The Band, ELO, Cat Stevens and Billy Joel.

These also may be some of Stepho's favorite bands so we can blame my mother for my music taste being ingrained in my brain from the womb.

That being said, when I saw the band Chicago was heading to Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica this summer it caught my eye.

Hello, gentlemen.

Considering I play Saturday in the Park on repeat some days it's about time I see them live, right?

I got my tickets to the Wednesday, July 24 show - you can buy yours online here - OR win a pair here on the plum courtesy of Live Nation Cleveland.

You have three opportunities to win the pair of tickets:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Chicago song is.

2. Tweet the following, leaving a comment telling me you did so (you can do this daily for extra entries):

I want @clevelandsaplum + @LiveNationClv to send me to see @ChicagotheBand on 7/24 at Jacobs Pavilion http://bit.ly/11BIQqG

3. Share this giveaway on Facebook - http://bit.ly/11BIQqG - leaving a comment telling me you did so

You have until Thursday June 20 at 5pm to enter to win and I'll announce the winner here on the plum shortly there after.

Good luck, and happy Thursday, kids!

Tell me you'll staaaaaayyyyyy

2013-06-11T14:58:00.000-04:00

The weekend started on Thursday with lots of tears upon signing the papers to list my townhouse that even carried over to Friday evening.

CK, my fiance, is a saint.

I'm hoping that once I find a new place that I'm excited about it'll be better, but until that day comes I'm allowing myself to pout, cry and moan about the fact that I'm not thrilled with any of the areas I'm "allowed" to live in. Bitter, party of one.

Thankfully my friends the Driggs' were there to make me laugh on Thursday through our slightly inappropriate vines and NKOTB dance party.

Saturday night brought an evening at XYZ the Tavern, Luxe Kitchen & Lounge and Spice Kitchen + Bar with CK, the Alexander's, Beaver, and the soon-to-be Clark's in my beloved Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood for the pARTy in Gordon Square.

Chalk haiku + pARTy + hands in! + Spice patio relaxing

Sunday brought some house-hunting walk-throughs with my real estate extraordinaire mother and last minute tickets to see The Package Tour, aka. Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees and NKOTB at the Q.

I've never heard the Q so loud as during NKOTB's part of the concert, it was deafening. My ears were still ringing Monday morning but it was AWESOME. Still love those boys, er, MEN.

The ladies who suite + random awesome Britney Spears denim vest + CK and Driggs pretending to be in a boy band + the ridiculous crowd at the Q

All in all it was a productive and semi-stressful but yet still fun weekend - thankfully the fun outweighs the stress.

With a pair of bachelorette parties, a baptism, birthday parties and bridal showers on deck for the next two weekends this summer is going to fly-by!

Happy Tuesday, kids.

Operation: sell this house

2013-06-06T06:34:00.000-04:00

When I accepted CK's marriage proposal I gained a handsome future husband, an adorable future step-daughter and the acceptance that I'm going to be selling my townhouse so we can all move into a different house together as a new family.

In the last month or so, between all my travels, I've been slowly but surely prepping my townhouse to be put on my market.

Painting thanks to Paint the USA!

My initial checklist:

- Exterior painting and sealing - CHECK
- Interior painting and touch-ups - CHECK
- Carpet cleaning - CHECK
- Hire a cleaning service for a good deep cleaning - CHECK
- Plant flowers and mulch - CHECK
- Pick a real estate agent - CHECK
- De-clutter closets - almost a check but not quite done

All in all I'm feeling good, CK and I are trying to figure out our budget, have been browsing listings for our possible next home and are anxiously waiting to finally be under the same roof after 3+ years of dating.

That being said, it could be months till that actually happens. Who knows when my place will sell or when we'll find something we both like to buy.

I also may or may not be secretly hoping it doesn't sell until after summer so I can enjoy my little urban backyard and the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood for as long as possible.

It'll happen when it happens though - wish me luck and let me know if I'm missing anything!

Happy Thursday, kids.

#Stepho60 in Northern California

2013-06-04T08:45:00.000-04:00

I'm writing this Monday evening, post red-eye back from California, post full day at work, post fabulous fabulous fabulous weekend celebrating my mother Stephanie.

I'm super tired, but in the way that it was so worth it.

My Mommy, or Stepho according to many, turned 60 this past weekend and to celebrate sissy and I whisked her away to Northern California for a long weekend trip.

We hit up Sonoma, Napa Valley, Yountville, Sausalito and San Francisco. We hit up quite a few wineries, restaurants and shops too. It was your stereotypical girls trip filled with driving up the coast, fun, sun, a little bit of arguing (because that's what we do best), laughs and about ten pounds gained.

I probably took about 273 photos and videos but the following accurately take you through the journey that was #Stepho60.

Happy birthday, Mom. I hope your 60th year is your best yet! xoxo

First stop, Sonoma. Home to a picturesque and quaint downtown and the girl & the fig - a DELICIOUS (zomg the chicken liver) start to our trip. I mean, they had Barbie and Ken(?) guiding the way to the restroom.

Next stop, Yountville. A beautiful, swanky and place I want to move to town where we kicked off our start at the North Block Hotel with a massage for us all. The hotel grounds were amazing as was the service. A short walk to Bottega, Chef Michael Chiarello Napa Valley mainstay got us buzzed on cocktails and filled with unique and fulfilling food. This trip was off to a great start - jet lag be damned!

We spent our morning in Yountville at the famous Bouchon Bakery where we ordered pretty much one of everything and the quiche ruined all other quiches moving forward for me.

By now you guys know my love of bubbles, so naturally our first winery was Domaine Chandon.

Next stop, Darioush Winery - FANCY pants here, delicious wine and $550 candles ;). We got back to normal for a second with PlumpJack Winery before we went right back to the ritzy vineyards.

Opus One Winery needs no introduction in wine circles - it's world renowned and such a treat. We took a grand tour at this stop and learned all about the history and the process of making Opus One - it's a big deal! Also, please note the sky in the top left photo, it looks fake, right? So beautiful in Napa Valley.

With the wine tasting time winding down we headed to Rutherford Grill where I had the best french dip sandwich in the universe before getting on the road to San Francisco. After a bit of unexpected traffic we finally got to the W San Francisco and passed the eff out. We had grand plans of dinner reservations but after a day of vineyards and driving the jet lag did catch up with us.

Not to fear though, we had a fun day planned for the morning.

On Saturday we played locals with our friends Gil and Kyle who moved from CLE to SFO about six years ago and I still miss them in Cleveland! We got to cocktail at Balboa Cafe and party at the Union Street Festival and various other local haunts (including their awesome apartment rooftop) before having a wonderful dinner at A16.

Sunday we played tourist in Washington Park and the Ferry Building and had a defining brunch (in my opinion the best meal of the whole trip) at Park Tavern with my dear friend Tigger who was kind enough to join us even at 8 months pregnant. So good seeing her - love, love, love!

Our final meal was that the Greek (how fitting) hot spot Kokkari where the above image only covers about half of what we ordered. I could eat lamb off a spit for days.

After too many glasses of wine and the meat sweats the Marinos girls boarded the red-eye home back to Cleveland, Canton and NYC respectively. Such a great trip celebrating such a great Mom, let's do it again at 65, okay?

Happy Tuesday, kids!

a memorable Memorial Day weekend

2013-05-30T06:26:00.000-04:00

Ahhhhhhh, weekends in Cleveland.

Nano Brew continues to be a favorite spot for my friends and I and their sweet street dance moves. As does Tina's Nite Club and their sweet karaoke sounds.

When MOB is having a baby (!!!) it's time for baby shower fun with all the ladies which naturally is followed by day 'tails at Market. Hands in!

Post baby shower we headed to Tremont for The Annunciation Greek Festival - MY PEOPLE! There was Greek dancing and even Greek fish winning by the jerk, Beaver named him John Stamos, naturally.

My friends are the best.

Happy Thursday, kids!

Cleveland Cares Celebrity Fundraiser

2013-05-27T15:16:00.002-04:00

The Cleveland Courage Fund of the Cleveland Foundation was established by Cleveland city council members Brian Cummins, Matt Zone and Dona Brady after the discovery of three women help captive in a Cleveland home for a decade.

The fund, named because of the courage shown by these women, serves to provide immediate/ongoing assistance and to facilitate the recovery and healing of Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and her daughter.

There have been many fabulous benefits all over the city raising money for this cause including the one that Cleveland Browns player T.J. Ward and his celebrity friends are hosting Friday!

What: Cleveland Cares Celebrity Fundraiser (#ClevelandCares)
When: Friday, May 31st, 8pm to 12am
Where: House of Blues Cleveland, Cambridge Room
Why: Raise money for the Cleveland Courage Fund and to celebrate and support the courageous acts and future of Gina, Michelle and Amanda. All money raised will benefit the survivors.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online. Make sure you get them in advance as to not miss out on this fun and worthwhile cause celebrity bartending event.

Happy Memorial Day, kids.

Greetings from Las Vegas

2013-05-21T17:23:00.001-04:00

Hi guys!

I'm writing this from sunny Las Vegas where I'm attending the International Council of Shopping Center's (ICSC) 2013 RECon convention on behalf of my client, Cleveland's own Forest City.

I've been here since Sunday morning and surprisingly I am up at the casino (thanks to blackjack), up in the lbs (thanks to all the catering) and down in the sleep hours (thanks to all the fun).

No complaints from me though - it's been such a great industry event and I'm spoiled by an awesome client.

But that's not the point of this post, the point is to tell you who won the $100 gift certificate to Provenance at the Cleveland Museum of Art - drum roll please - congrats to Katie Battistone! Katie, email me and I'll get you your prize.

Now if you'll excuse me I have some blackjack to play.

Happy Tuesday, kids.

UD kids are the best kids

2013-05-17T06:36:00.000-04:00

Don't forget to comment on this post for your chance to win $100 to Provenance at the Cleveland Museum of Art!

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This past weekend I got to play hostess to one of my dear friends, Miss Manning, who was in Cleveland from St. Louis for our friends' Jess and Brian's wedding. So what did I do to welcome her to my fair city?

Peaced out of work an hour or so early to meet her at The Greenhouse Tavern for cocktails and frites of course! After a few we headed back to my neighborhood for dinner at Luxe Kitchen & Lounge with Seanski and Nugget. I love Luxe and you should too - always fabulous.

Post Luxe we walked to XYZ the Tavern for cocktails before heading to the The Old Angle Tavern to meet up with the rehearsal dinner party. You think we'd be ready for bed by then, but Flannery's and late night Wendy's was still on the docket.

There's something about hanging with University of Dayton kids that makes me want to play - I can't help it.

Miss Manning and I kinda shadow like + Seanski and Nugget + The Edmonds' siblings + BFFs Anne and Miss Manning + Dan the man

I'm pretty sure that post Friday night antics Miss Manning and I were completely okay with laying on the couch fairly hung till it was time to get her to the wedding. I had a few more hours to recover before I headed to XYZ the Tavern (again) for dinner with Stephanie, Ginenne and Martha. We ran into timmybennet, KJ, Hartzell and Kat too where I joined their party and headed to Nano Brew before meeting up with the wedding kids.

It was back to The Old Angle where I got to also see the beautiful bride Jess, the handsome groom ~~Silk~~ Brian (CONGRATULATIONS! xoxo), my old roommate Bizzo and her husband Brian.

Me and my bizzo, one of my 520 roommies + the bride and groom! + the Walkers! + UD friends 4-eva

Sunday brought Mother's Day and my mom heading up to Cleveland for the day and me crashing like a champion on Sunday night.

I can't party like I used to, kids. But Dayton kids will forever be the best kids.

Have a nice weekend all!

Provenance at the Cleveland Museum of Art + a giveaway

2013-05-14T07:34:00.000-04:00

Oh hi guys, sorry for the near radio silence last week - life happened!

Now while I'm not going to go back two full weekends and properly recap Greek Easter and fun nights out on the town with friends, I will talk about good food and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Enter, Provenance.

This unique dining concept, housed within the world renowned Cleveland Museum of Art, is brought to you by one of the best chefs in Cleveland, Doug Katz and the Bon Appetite Management Company.

By know you should know I'm obsessed with the CMA (ahem, join Column & Stripe) and with the atrium renovation they kicked the dining options up a notch to include Provenance, Provenance Cafe and Catering by Provenance. There really isn't anything they can't do and when you have Chef Katz and his brilliant team involved the food is guaranteed to be fantastic.

So when I was invited to a cocktail and food tasting at Provenance with some of my favorite Cleveland bloggers naturally I said yes, plus it was timed to fall on a MIX First Friday Happy Hour - hello, date night! Or in our case a much needed GNO.

A slightly blurry but still worth sharing photo of some of my favorite Cleveland bloggers (Michelle, Crystal, Jen, Amanda and Alana) + Mack and Muffin

Cocktails, cheese and charcuterie, scallop deliciousness and the oh so talented chefs.

Good food, good drinks and good friends - doesn't get much better.... until I say I'm giving away a $100 gift certificate to Provenance!

You have three opportunities to enter to win:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me a Provenance lunch, dinner or brunch menu item you're looking forward to trying.

2. Tweet the following, leaving a comment telling me you did so (you can do this daily):

I want to win $100 for Provenance at @ClevelandArt from @clevelandsaplum - http://bit.ly/17pb4vZ #CMAeats

3. Follow me on Facebook leaving a comment telling me you did so or that we are already friends/followers

You have until Sunday May 19 at midnight EST to enter to win and I'll announce the lucky reader who's heading to Provenance with $100 in their pocket early next week.

Happy Tuesday, kids!

a winner and a miracle

2013-05-07T06:31:00.000-04:00

Congrats to my buddy Cortney, commenter 7 out of 156, chosen via random.org who just won herself a pair of ticket to the 19th Annual Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party.

Sad you didn't win? Heather's giveaway is still open and you can buy tickets online and at the door next Wednesday. Hope to see you there!

Now, while I have a whole post worth of fun stuff to tell you about from my weekend - including another fun giveaway - I simply can't peel my eyes away from the Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight story.

The fact that three women (two of which were just teenagers when abducted) had been missing for over a decade and were all found together, ALIVE, about a mile away from my home has me glued to the television and internet.

Also, the hero of the day, Charles Ramsey, proving he's quite the comedian in interviews is priceless - watch the video, what a character.

It really is a miracle in Cleveland today.

Stay safe, Cleveland

2013-05-03T06:48:00.000-04:00

You have until 5/6 @ 5pm to enter to win a pair of tickets to the 19th Annual Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party - comment on this post today for your shot!

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So this next post is probably a bit atypical for you expect here on the plum, but it's something that when I was approached about sharing it I couldn't not see the value. You guys, I live in the Cleveland city limits and I LOVE it. But it's also not for the faint of heart, this ain't the 'burbs baby.

You need to be alert and aware of your surroundings to enjoy all the perks of living in the city - but I promise you it's worth it. And when it doubt, just get an alarm system like me and sleep a little more soundly at night.

Happy Friday, kids!

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Daily Safety Tips for Living Clevelanders - by Adina Berzofsky

Cleveland's a unique place to work, play and enjoy life. It has the same issue as any other city, ranging from construction to crime. Locals know where the speed traps are, and how to avoid downtown crowds after a Browns game. It's a relatively safe city, as long as you use common sense and pay attention to your surroundings. Here are a few basic safety tips to help you stay safe in any city:

- Keep your location private. That means being careful about what you share online - even the location tags your smart phone adds to tweets and status updates. Check your settings and turn off any geo-tags or GPS tracking. On this blog, Alexa does a great job of posting photos and information after her weekend, not sharing where she will be in advance. Follow her example and don't give anyone clues when your home will be empty or where to find you.

- Be aware of where you are. It's so easy to get absorbed by a phone call or to pop in your headphones and get lost in the music when you run errands or commute. Unfortunately you might not notice someone steal your wallet or accidentally walk into a poorly lit area. When you stop paying attention, you put yourself at risk. Save the status update or YouTube video for when you get home.

- Get security apps for your phone, tablet or laptop. If any of your devices get stolen, you'll be able to retrieve your data, track its location, or shut it down and render it useless. Identity theft is a big mess and not something you want to risk.

- Pay attention to the battery life on your cell phone. A dead phone can be big trouble if you find yourself stranded somewhere. It's easy to buy an extra power cord for your office so your phone can charge on your desk all day. If you don't have an iPhone, you can also buy extra-long-life batteries online for less than you think.

- Make sure your home is secure, whether you are at home or away. Whether you rent or own, you need security. Home security systems in Cleveland are affordable, and can be installed in any house or apartment. Wireless apartment alarm systems can be installed without drilling holes and can move with you when you move.

Staying safe in Cleveland doesn't require paranoia or a big expense. If you make tiny adjustments to your daily routines, you can develop good security habits that will keep you safe throughout your life. Share these safety tips with your friends and enjoy Cleveland life!

About the Author: Adina Berzofsky is a writer for LifeShield Home Security. She writes about home security, family safety, technology and parenting topics. She shares safety and security tips on the LifeShield blog and social media. You can find Adina Berzofsky on Google+.

Toast + SOHO + Gervasi

2013-05-01T06:39:00.000-04:00

There's still time to enter to win a pair of tickets to this year's Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party, comment on this post for your chance to attend the event on May 15th!

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Let's chat about the weekend shall we?

Thursday night I checked out the newest edition to the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, Toast. I'll be the first to admit that upon checking out the menu prior to my first visit I was kinda meh about it - well, I was wrong. The ambiance of the space, service and food, glorious food won me over. I will most definitely be back - it doesn't hurt that it's right down the road from my house either.

Deviled eggs (ZOMG), pan-seared chicken roulade and market fish

Friday night CK and I hadn't planned on going out, but a few beers at Nano Brew in Ohio City were the perfect night capper - I just can't get enough of the Hoppin' Frog Brewery Turbo Shandy. I don't even drink beer normally and I CRAVE this beer. We also got to catch up with Shibani, Nick, Danielle and Wes - which is always a good thing.

Saturday morning I woke up early to spin per my usual routine but those Friday night beers didn't help, not my best ride by a long stretch. It was okay though because I had a fun afternoon planned with CK in Ohio City. The sun was shining, the city was bright and there's nothing wrong with a little whiskey in the noon hour.

Brunch and cappuccinos at Bonbon Pastry & Cafe + relaxing in Market Square Park + Whiskey + Fun at SOHO including bourbon, bar snacks and fun conversations with new friends at the bar.

I LOVE SOHO Kitchen & Bar and you should too - head over to their Kentucky Derby Porch Party Saturday for plenty of fun.

My Saturday fun day turned into a Saturday night of tv and work but Sunday brought a day in Canton with MOB and my mom looking at wedding reception venues - spoiler alert, we found one, and a date.

As exciting that that decision being made was our celebration lunch at Gervasi Vinyard & Italian Bistro was a highlight of the day. The vineyard compound is only about a mile from my mom's house but it's like you're in a different world once you step foot on the grounds. We had an AMAZING meal at the bistro with wine tastings, pizza, pasta and desserts - service was on point and I even got to take some goodies home from the marketplace gift store.

Wine tasting at Gervasi + the bistro in all its rustic charm + manga manga food + sweet tooth anyone? ZOMG the hazelnut brownies!

With villas available for overnight stays and a new wine bar in the works I recommend Gervasi Vineyard to all you Clevelanders looking for a one tank trip, long weekend or bachelorette party - this place is IMPRESSIVE.

I know I say it a lot but this really was an awesome weekend.

Although now that I'm looking back at these pictures I'm 100% confident that I won't be losing any weight this week in my work Biggest Loser Competition - fact.

Happy Wednesday, kids!

Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party 2013

2013-04-29T09:10:00.000-04:00

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS - it's that time of year again, time for the 19th Annual Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party!

Presented by The Huntington National Bank, the always awesome strolling food and wine tasting event features over 30 of Northeast Ohio's best restaurants and Silver Spoon Awards winners chosen by Cleveland Magazine readers like you and I.

The 19th Annual Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party details:
when: Wednesday, May 15th from 6-9pm
where: InterContinental Cleveland
why: To benefit the mission of the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeast Ohio and have a heck of a good time

I'm especially happy that this year Spice Kitchen + Bar won best new restaurant, as one of my favorite spots in my neighborhood (and the whole city) they couldn't deserve the recognition more. If you attend the party this year you'll get to sample their food, a win/win in my book.

There are two levels of tickets available for purchase, $85 for general admission and $135 for VIP, when purchased in advance online.

You can also win a pair of general admission tickets here on the plum!

There are four simple options to enter to win:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me which of the participating restaurants you're most excited to try

2. Follow @clevelandsaplum, @SilverSpoonCLE and @ClevelandMag on Twitter - leaving a comment telling me you did so (or already do)

3. Tweet the following - " I want to eat all of the #CLEFood at @SilverSpoonCLE on May 15th and for @clevelandsaplum to send me there http://bit.ly/12IzZpE " - leaving a comment on this post telling me you did so. You can do this daily for extra entries leaving a new comment each time.

4. Share a link to this post - http://bit.ly/12IzZpE - on your Facebook page, leaving a comment telling me you did so

You have until Monday, May 6th at 5pm to enter to win and I'll be announcing the winner the following day here on the plum - GOOD LUCK!

Disclosure: I was provided a pair of tickets to this event for myself and a pair to giveaway to my readers, as always my opinion are my own.

Binder full of brides

2013-04-26T06:43:00.000-04:00

It's been over two months since CK and I got engaged and no, we don't have a date set.

It's cool, we're working on it.

Finding a date that fits into our very full 2013 wedding guest calendar has been a problem, so has finding a venue we can afford on our budget that we actually like in Canton, Oh.

But it's cool, we're working on it.

I mean, I have a board on Pinterest...that counts as planning, right? I also know I want to get married at St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church and wear white - but that's about it.

TOTALLY COOL, we're working on it.

Well, thanks to my dear friend Moe I officially have planning binder, aka she's oh so slightly publicly nudging me into getting my shit together.

I love how I make Moe pose with the binder she gifted me instead of me actually posing with it, ha.

So after officially receiving this binder, I wrote "Chris & Alexa" in the cover where I'm suppose to and left the "date" section and everything else blank... we'll get to that, eventually. May 2014 sounds nice.

Happy Friday, kids.

520 Lowes, too many years to count later

2013-04-23T06:42:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of wonderful things that happened this past weekend, but this one was one of the best...

On Saturday I headed to Pittsburgh to hangout with a couple of my old University of Dayton roommates and dear friends, Teen and Seifs. We played catch-up, ate delicious food, drank a little too much wine and even crashed a bachelor party.

All before midnight.

We're good like that.

Happy Tuesday, kids.

#BVBonfire 2013

2013-04-17T12:48:00.001-04:00

For the second year in a row my good friends Alana and Dean have invited over a motley crew of folks, comprised mostly of people who met through social media, for a #BVBonfire.

The "BV" stands for Bay Village and if you haven't partied in the BV you don't know what you're missing, P-A-R-T-Y.

Most of the awesomeness happens because our gracious hosts:
- Have an amazing party pad
- Like to play with fire
- Let us dance on their coffee table

I'm gonna try to talk them into making it a biannual event because one just isn't enough - Browns away game anyone? Just saying.

In breaking from the dancing and debauchery of the party I didn't take many photos, why you may ask? It's because I'm currently obsessed with Vine, the Apple only app that allows one to record and share 6-second video clips.

Thankfully, because I'm all tech savvy (not really) I stitched all my 6-second Vines from the evening together and uploaded the video to YouTube.... see the damage below.

Dancing. Twerking. Yoga. Congo-line. Pudding shots. Yeah, it was fun.

I did take a few photographic gems:

A little blurry and dark? Yes. But I still love this photo of my buddies.

More friends + Tabitha's FAMOUS pudding shots, zomg the Banana Cream Pie is my new favorite + Seanski bringing back his infamous "double V"

The one and only #BVBonfire + The chambray/denim shirt mafia and their various shoe choices, duh.

Good times, good friends. I'm a lucky lady.

Happy Wednesday, kids!

@InTheCLE

2013-04-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

Normally you can find me on Twitter at @clevelandsaplum sharing my thoughts on life, Cleveland, marketing and anything else I see fit, such as in this past weekend's case, slightly inappropriate dancing Vines.

This week though, I'll also be tweeting from @InTheCLE!

Starting today through Sunday I'll be the featured tweeter of the week for @InTheCLE - the citizen's voice social media channel that allows Clevelanders share and promote their love for Cleveland, one tweet at a time.

Each week there's a new Clevelander taking over the @InTheCLE Twitter handle and if it's something you're interested in doing you can find all the details and how to apply online here. We're looking for all types of people, eastside/westside, interesting careers, sports fanatics, etc. - we really want an eye into what living in Cleveland means to YOU.

This week at @InTheCLE it's all about what living in Cleveland means to ME so I hope you follow along to see an even more detailed look (if that's even possible, ha) into my life in the city.

Happy Monday, kids!

Court, the bride-to-be + Tremont Scoops + Indians Home Opener

2013-04-10T06:43:00.000-04:00

The weekend.

Thursday: Delicious as always dinner with CK at Tremont Tap House in celebration of our three-year anniversary - yay!

Friday: Fun with CK and the little one.

Saturday: An amazing day celebrating the upcoming nuptials of my dear friend Court with a shower at Wine Bar Rocky River and a bachelorette party taking us all over the near westside of Cleveland.

Court and her Mom - like mother like daughter, right? Beautiful ladies! + Court modelling her new china, which just so happens to match her dress + menu + the shower hostesses Heather and Muffin with the bride-to-be!

Surprise, Court, you're riding in style tonight - party bus! + beautiful ladies + Muffin and "Momcat" at Old Angle + more beautiful ladies at Speakeasy + Court on stage at Bounce, drag queens for all!

Sunday: Hangover city made better with a trip to the under new ownership (who happen to all be my friends) Tremont Scoops. Being able to support local business in one of Cleveland's best neighborhoods and eat delicious ice cream while doing it? AWESOME. Just like the peanut butter pretzel sundae. mmmmmmmm.

Tremont Scoops, how adorably delicious. Go check them out TODAY!

Monday: Last minute invitation to the Indians opening day from my friend Colleen = lots of fun at Progressive field in some GREAT seats with great people. The annual trip to Moiraty's Pub post-game was pretty cool too.

Indians Opening Day pomp and circumstance + me and Colleen in the very brief rain + Colleen, party of one, at Moiraty's

Good weekend, great friends.

Happy hump day, kids!

Happy home opener, Cleveland!

2013-04-08T10:09:00.001-04:00

First off, thank you all for your awesome advice, reassurance and truth bombs on my last post - that post reminded me of the amazing network of people that are out there - and helped me, a lot.

Also, to ease the fears of those of you (my mom) who are now officially worried about me - chill out - it's better for me to get it out then keep it in. I've been publicly sharing parts of my life on the internet for over 5 years, you should be used to it by now :)

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When I was driving to the office this morning I wasn't planning on attending the Cleveland Indians home opener. But with one text from Colleen as I was pulling into my downtown parking lot I'm now going to be in the park for the 4:05pm start time against the Yankees.

Luckily did dress in my Indians gear as D&E is celebrating opening day with a jeans and ballpark themed lunch day - so yeah, go Tribe!

It's going to be a beautiful day (with hopefully no rain), the Tribe are off to a great start this season and Indians baseball is officially back and underway on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Tribe time now.

Happy home opener, Cleveland.

IT'S ALL GOING TO BE OK

2013-04-04T06:45:00.000-04:00

WARNING: You will find an atypical plum post below.

I'm stressed.

My engagement to CK is supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life but instead I'm in a mourning period.

I'm mourning the wedding that I thought I'd always have with the realization that it's not going to happen.

I'm mourning the fact that I'm going to have to sell my perfect townhouse and move to an area of Northeast Ohio that I have no desire to live in. Away from my friends, my life and the city that I've lived in for the last 8 years and honestly, I'm kinda pissed about it.

Which makes me scared, scared that I'm not going to be happy, scared that I'm going to be resentful of decisions that were made without my say.

You see, I'm working on accepting that my wedding isn't going to be big, fat and Greek filled with unlimited friends and family.

I'm working on accepting that I'm not going to live in my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.... neighborhood of choice.

I'm working on it... AND my control issues, can't you tell?

There's one thing I'm not scared of though, my relationship with CK - it's strong, we love each other and this is forever. I'm just being open about my process of being stressed the heck out so that if you see me and I bite your head off you know why.

Kidding.

Kind of.

Happy Thursday, kids, IT'S ALL GOING TO BE OK.

Out like a lamb?

2013-04-02T06:46:00.000-04:00

Friday:
A last minute invitation to the Cavs game from Seanski and Matt means CK and I get to grub on B Spot Burgers with my favorite neighbors and take a trip post-game to Horseshoe Casino. Now, while the casino wasn't good to me (again), Seanski's brother Kevin made out like a bandit. At least I got a Fireball shot out of it.

Cavs game!

Saturday:
A morning spin class at Psycle and shopping at Eton and Beachwood Place with CK was the perfect primer for a fun night out with friends.

With the number of people in our Saturday night dinner group growing the fine folks at Market in Rocky River were awesomely accommodating and gave us the private room for our party of 15. It worked out perfectly, with our own TV for basketball watching and the opportunity to be as loud as we liked - not like that would stop us though.

Big deals closing at the giant boardroom style table in the private room at Market. Also worth noting, we were sitting boys on one side and girls on the other.

After Market we headed to Eddy and Iggy's for Fireball (naturally) and karaoke. My review of their karaoke? AWESOME. With the exception of the screaming drunk 22-year-old girls that grew with frequency towards the end of the night. If you follow me on Vine/Twitter videos of CK and "simba" for your enjoyment though - good times.

Sunday:
Easter for all you "Americans" but just a regular old Lenten Sunday for me as Greek Easter isn't until May, 5th this year. I did want CK to enjoy a nice Easter brunch the way he is used to though so I got to baking and ordering for Easter his style. We had a great Sunday and only a little bit of tears/stress while he and I worked on our wedding "scenarios" - lord help us both.

Everything in the above picture was consumed on Sunday, March 31st... even the Taco Bell Cool Ranch Doritos taco...at around 1am, haha. Mimosas, coffee, HoneyBaked Ham for the "American" and Gooey Butter Cake for the STL native CK.

All in all a wonderfully well balanced and awesome weekend with my main squeeze and great friends.

So, how was your weekend?

Happy Tuesday, kids!

Sissy is 30!

2013-03-28T06:45:00.000-04:00

I can't party like I used to, guys.

Upon arriving back in Cleveland after three ridiculously fun and amazing days/nights in NYC to celebrate the best sissy in the world's 30th birthday I literally fell asleep Monday night with my dinner in my lap. Totally normal.

The second night post trip I made it through dinner without falling asleep - barely - and on the third night post trip I'm finally able to gather my thoughts for a blog post.

It was that much fun.

Celebrating my sissy is easy, she's awesome, creative, beautiful, a pain in my ass and a great friend - love you, Nicolette!

Now, for the pictures, because even though I'm lucid again I'm not about to do a detailed, copy heavy, play by play of the whole weekend. Let's be serious here.

Sissy and I got to sit second row for a taping Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - he's as adorable, funny and talented as you'd think live. The Roots ain't bad either.


A swanky and THE BEST seat dancing 11pm dinner I've ever had at Beauty & Essex with Jason, C-Rossi and Sissy

Saturday we spent the day at 5 Pointz which is essentially this breathtakingly beautiful outdoor graffiti art "museum" and eating out weight in Greek diner food

Saturday night we celebrated sissy's birthday with a 50's themed murder mystery party with friends at Smithfield NYC - there were characters and investigators - C-Rossi was a waitress, I was a "mature" actress and sissy was a lounge singer (hello, sequins)

Friends from near and far!

More friends and fun - I mean, sissy even got a mugshot prop and made name badges for all the characters - so good.

Everyone (minus me and Leah) celebrating sissy!

After much investigator deliberation NO ONE guessed "Gerry Gill" as the murderer - she almost got away with it, ha. I still find this picture hilarious and love that C-Rossi was guilty.

Post party we hit up a couple more bars and headed home way past my bedtime but woke up in time to eat fried chicken and eggnog waffles for brunch at Melba's, see The Sapphires and eat pizza at Patsy's.

I'm tired just recapping this but already want to plan a Cleveland murder mystery party it was so much fun - who's in?

Happy Thursday, kids.

This past weekend was brought to you by the color green....

2013-03-21T06:47:00.000-04:00

I don't even know how it's Thursday and I haven't blogged yet this week. Actually I do know how, I've been busy as crap.

It's a good busy though, a busy that will lead to a long weekend in NYC to celebrate my sissy's 30th birthday... but that's for another post.

Last weekend was St. Patrick's Day and while I didn't celebrate in my traditional way of starting to drink at dawn and not coming home still the sun goes down it was still a wonderful weekend. Mostly thanks to good friends who let me pretend St. Pat's was on Saturday and not Sunday.

Friday night CK and I headed to Press Wine Bar in Tremont for a dinner double date with good friends Reena and Jody. The food and wine was delicious, definitely a spot worth checking out. The deviled eggs are TDF.

The beautiful Reena and Jody and the marginally attractive CK and I ;)

Saturday I headed to Canton for my cousin Kristen's baby shower at Congress Lake Country Club - a perfect location to celebrate Kristen and her soon to be baby girl and catch up with family. After the shower my mom and I headed to a couple potential wedding venues for me and CK - the jury is still out on that though.

When I got back to Cleveland I headed straight to the Driggs' new home in the Detroit-Shoreway (yay neighbors!) to celebrate Saturday St. Patrick's Day. There was Irish singing, Irish dancing, Irish drinking and friends all around. There was also some AMAZING video of Driggs and CK to be shared at a later date. A trip to the UnderDog of the Happy Dog rounded out the evening, good times.

Baby shower, pinky ring bling for Seanski and friends!

On the actual St. Pat's, CK, his little one and I headed to the FREEZING parade route in Downtown Cleveland, had fun at Mavis Winkles and to round the day off and a screening of Argo (finally) before sleep.

No complaints on the action from my end!

Happy Thursday, kid.

Out and about...

2013-03-14T09:49:00.001-04:00

Some fun pics from last weekend:

Me, Mcgahan and Lzone having fun with selfies at a Friday night out at the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland. I'm still waiting to make some $$$ there, although I ended up breaking even this night - I'll take it.

It was Mrs. (Holler) Doyle's baby shower and the UD girls are together - could she look any more adorable? Also, I love that they re-used their wedding centerpieces and added baby! Can't wait to meet this little bundle of joy :)

Well, good news, it's Thursday, the weekend is almost here and it's St. Patrick's Day on Sunday. Any fun plans?

Have a good one, kids.