Category Archives: holidays

{May 10, 2013}
  family : Happy Mother’s Day

Hey CLE, It’s FRIDAY! My first full week of work after returning from vacation. It totally flew by but I have to admit, I’m ready for two free days of summer at home. Just a few things, tonight the monthly Tremont Art Walk and it looks to have great weather for it, go check it out. Another thing to note is while Great Gatsy hasn’t gotten totally stellar reviews, it is out and I really want to see it this weekend. Plus, to all the Moms out there, Sunday is YOUR day so whoop it up and enjoy a day with your family or totally just for yourself. Happy Mother’s Day!

Now, onto my friend, “i heart cleveland families” as she offers a few tips from her perspective with regards to the weekend holiday. Happy weekend everybody!

“Hello CLE! What incredible weather we are having! And it looks like Mother’s Day on Sunday will be equally shiny and bright. I want to extend a big shout out to all you fabulous moms! You work hard, and deserve a beautiful day.

Many of my friends prefer going out to brunch or dinner, and after perusing some of the fabulous CLE eateries websites, almost all had a Mother’s Day offering. Some other friends prefer planting flowers on their day and right now the garden centers are bursting with color. Petitti’s Garden Centers never disappoints, and I recently came home from Dean’s Greenhouse in Westlake with this little gem. A succulent arrangement that’s almost impossible to kill :)  MORE! →

Posted on May 10, 2013 by charity
Posted in families, family, holiday, holidays | Leave a comment

{Mar 28, 2013}
  Guest Post recipe : Carrot Cake

Every now and then you come across a blogger who makes you smile. Today I get to introduce you to Courtney a fashion student, chef and fellow CLE-lover. I hope you enjoy the recipe she has “whipped” together for you, perfect for Peter Rabbit who might be hopping down your bunny trail for Easter weekend. Thanks Courtney & happy baking weekend to ya!

Hi Friends! My name is Courtney McCrone and I post my musings at 23 Skidoo Blog. I am a Cleveland-lover (what classy lady isn’t?) currently completing my fashion design degree in L.A.; upon graduation this June, and will quickly hustle back to the CLE to live the dream! This summer I will be working on launching some of my designs, so look out world!

Easter is just around the corner, so I am really excited to share a great recipe with you to enjoy with your friends and family–perhaps even some little bunnies that might stop by for brunch!

MORE! →

Posted on March 28, 2013 by charity
Posted in bakery, baking, blog, blogs, cooking, eat, families, family, holiday, holidays, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

{Mar 14, 2013}
  St Patrick’s fun!

It’s almost time! Just few more days until we all drink the green beer, dress in our finest tweed, enjoy the perfect soda bread & butter, do a jig or two, and enjoy a years worth of bagpipe tunes. It’s almost St Patricks Day people!!!

The famous Cleveland St Patricks Day Parade is this Sunday, kicks of at 2pm beginning on East 18th and Superior and continues the fun looping around town. The weather report looks good so far, at least it should be dry. The Boys from County Hell will be performing at House of Blues, Flannery’s AND The Harp. There will be plenty of corn beef served at some of our city’s traditional hot spots including Slyman’s, Corky & Lenny’s and Nate’s Deli and even the not so traditional eateries like Hodge’s (the perfect outdoor hot spot!) or Market Garden Brewery on 25th.

So you got your parade, your music, your corn beef so besides reminding everyone to take the RTA downtown I guess my last little wise words would be don’t forget to wear your green or you might get pinched!

(The image is from the Official Parade fb page by ©2012 Buckeye Photography, Inc)

Posted on March 14, 2013 by charity
Posted in event, events, holiday, holidays, outdoor, outdoors, outside, parade, restaurant, seasonal | 1 Comment

{Feb 14, 2013}
  inked for (lovin) Ohio

Happy hearts day all my fabulous CLE-lovers! This morning I stopped at Blackbird Bakery for adorable heart shaped shortbread cookies (for a meeting of course) and couldn’t help but note the ink on my friendly morning barista/baker…

For awhile I was in such a great habit of finding Ohio-CLE themed ink, but during our winter months it’s sometimes a hard job…being that we wear layers, sweaters and parkas on days like today. Anyhow, this sweet, CLE-loving tat caught my eye and so I bumped a few posts around to share with you a bit of true permanent city love. Happy Valentines everybody, keep on loving…it’s what makes the world go round. :)

(Aren’t the cookies too sweet, they were super buttery, sugary goodness! Love Love Love)

Posted on February 14, 2013 by charity
Posted in bakery, baking, holiday, holidays, tattoo | Tagged | 2 Comments

{Feb 13, 2013}
  Last minute sweetie gifts!

Have you got your special someone a little something for tomorrow’s holiday? I just heard a radio commercial for getting your sweetie a gift at your neighborhood CVS…I almost died inside. I mean, not that I am above a huge box of Dove chocolates, a cheap bottle of red wine, an InStyle or Us Weekly Magazine, some new black liquid eyeliner, an itunes gift card or a few new lipsmackers…However, why would ANYONE shop at CVS for a gift when Cleveland has a plethora of talented creatives, hot spots & activities to support?

Looking for last minute…gifts that you can call an order in for or pick up tonight? Check out a few of my suggestions…

Flowers : Don’t call 1.800.Flowers, but instead support your local florist. Shops like V2V (Lakewood) and Urban Orchid (Cleveland) are two very stylish floral design shops. Give them a call for something unique for your sweetie. Also, there is also Heinen’s (also a local family owned  business) flower department which usually has fun little bouquets and plants, at a much more affordable cost than turning to the web.

Chocolate : This morning I saw a small plane in the air pulling a “CHOC” flag; I knew it was Malley’s right away. There is nothing like a Malley’s Chocolate covered pretzel and we all know they have chocolate covered strawberries for special occasions! besides Malley’s there is also the fine art of chocolate made by Lilly’s Handmade Chocolates (Tremont), a few of these make an impressive gift. Or, you could cure the chocolate craving with a red velvet cupcake from Cookie and A Cupcake or the recent America’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie (by Food & Wine Magazine) at Blackbird Bakery (Lakewood.) Seriously, so many wonderful options.

Jewelry : If you’ve ever been to any of the holiday indie craft shows you know there are so many wonderful jewelers in the area. But just as a reminder….guys…my friend Erica of On the Lookout Jewelry makes such detailed beaded pieces, your Valentine would love a necklace by her! Or “she” also loves Oceanne creations (especially the cupid earrings) (wink wink) Both of these jewelers sell to many of our little area boutiques so check out their websites or drop them an email to find out where you can score a last minute gift.

Food & Drinks : There are so many local places, I can’t even begin to list them all. However, I will say one option  I think is really cool is from Gatherings Kitchen located in Lakewood. Where you reserve your dinner, swing by on the way home and pick it up, reheat and voila a 4-course romantic dinner (including short ribs!) at home with NO clean up! $50 for the dinner feeds two lovebirds. Call NOW and you might still be able to reserve a dinner!

Activities : From the events at the Rock Hall, to a night out with the fish at the Aquarium, you could get all yoga twisty at a hot yoga class together or relax to the orchestra…find something special to do with your friends or honey to celebrate the day together. Get creative!

I hope some of my last minutes ideas were helpful and while I don’t mean to knock CVS…please people, we can do better than that! Happy (almost) Valentines!

Posted on February 13, 2013 by charity
Posted in etsy, event, events, explore, fashion, favorites, friend, fun, hand made, holiday, holidays, local, love, neighborhood, orchestra, passion, promotion, relax, seasonal, shop, shopping, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

{Feb 7, 2013}
  Valentines crafting for you!

Happy Friday Craft Day CLE! Do you have lots of fun sweetheart plans for the weekend? Hanging with your best gal pals or enjoying a nice dinner out with someone special? I think a lot of people are celebrating the Valentines Day holiday this weekend…why not kick off happy hearts day this weekend and celebrate the entire week…sorta like we do for Christmas.

Remember when you were little and you would make Valentines for your classmates? We would drop our creations into little classroom mailboxes each individually decorated by the entire class. I love to give little notes and cards to my friends and loved ones for Valentines…I thought maybe you’d like to make some too.

MORE! →

Posted on February 7, 2013 by charity
Posted in craft, crafts, creative, holiday, holidays, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

{Feb 6, 2013}
  Coffee love

Morning friends! Loving the sunshine today, how it makes the snow covered earth extra sparkly, so pretty.

As I was getting dressed this morning I realized that to me February means dusting off all of my red and pink apparel and accessories and giving them extra love during the happy heart month. I usually start by adding small splashes of the select colors (today red high heels) and end on the 14th with full on big hearts, red, pink and every sparkly accessory possible. I have no idea why I do this..but I guess it get’s me through these winter fashion blahs and is sorta a fun challenge unto itself. Do you do weird things like this?

Anyhow, I wanted to share this adorable little promo I picked up from Starbucks on Sunday morning. From 2/6 to 2/14 and after 2pm, Buy one Latte, Mocha or hot cocoa and get one free for your special someone. Sounds like it’s time to invite your bestie, your mom or your beau out for a warm winter drink…but make sure they are wearing something red and pink…all the cool kids are doing it. :)

Posted on February 6, 2013 by charity
Posted in clothes, coffee, free, friend, holiday, holidays | Tagged | Leave a comment

{Nov 27, 2012}
  Vintage Holiday @ Suite Lorain

Hey CLE. Hope everyone had a great long holiday weekend giving thanks with family and friends. I took a one tank trip out of town to celebrate with the fam and enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving fun; too much turkey, a bit of black Friday, Lincoln at the theatres, some college football, a winery and a few Manhattan’s. It was truly delightful.

Don’t you think sometimes when you go away for a few days, you come back refreshed and re-enthused about home and your community? I get such a thrill out of how my dog get’s all crazy as we pull off the exit to home, it’s like he knows that his little fenced in yard is within minutes. Sometimes getting away for a few days gives you a shiny bright look on things you may take for granted. MORE! →

Posted on November 27, 2012 by charity
Posted in holiday, holidays, shopping, Uncategorized, vintage | Leave a comment

{Nov 22, 2011}
  Holiday tunes & Browns fans pics

Hey CLE. Just a few days until sleeping in, Macy’s Day Parade, Turkey with stuffing, football and a slice of pumpkin pie goodness.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a few tunes for your holiday playlist. Enjoy!

“Sweet Potatoe” by Sia
“Cornbread” by Dave Matthews
“Cranberry Bog” by Sebadoh
“Pumpkin Soup” by Miss Kate Nash
“Turkey Dinner” by Hoodoo Gurus

(How fun is that? Have others to add to our turkey playlist? let me know!)

Like the images above? I LOVE them! They are by Cleveland’s super talented pho•tog Billy Delfs published by Cleveland Magazine. Check out more of his spectacular work on his site. BTW…GO BROWNS!

Posted on November 22, 2011 by charity
Posted in artists, arts, Cleveland Browns, holiday, holidays, music, photo, play, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

{Apr 14, 2011}
  Gotta Groove Records & Record Store Day

So, last year I was craving the tunes of my childhood past, the sound of the needle as it hit the vinyl, the small nuances of melody and harmony as the blended together on the turntable…I wanted a record player!

After some vintage store scouring and lots of online shops I settled on a small portable number that calls my dining room bar cart home. The sounds of vintage and new vinyl music can warm up any dinner conversation.

Well, knowing that this Saturday is National Record Store Day, I set out to see what was going on in Cleveland for the celebration. Not only did I find a wonderful list of all the record stores in Cleveland, I also stumbled upon an actual vinyl record manufacturer, right here in Cleveland!With that, I called Vince at Gotta Groove Records about coming in for a tour.

A lawyer by trade, Vince founded this business out of passion for vinyl records. His love of music and his knowledge that vinyl was “making a comeback” made the transition from attorney to small business owner a fun challenge.

“All of our equipment was sourced from another manufacturer that was closing in New Jersey” explained Vince. After bringing the retro album-making equipment the Gotta Groove team brought in a master record maker to teach them things like how to physically run the presses, tweak the sound, check for imperfections in the records and other small nuances important to the trade.

Q : How many grooves are there on a vinyl record?
A : 1 groove on each side, so 2! (most people think each song is a groove, not so.)

Q : How is the sticker applied to the center of the vinyl album?
A : It is actually heat pressed into the vinyl record during production (most people think it is a sticker that is applied at the end of the process)

Q : “What is the most bizarre record manufacturing request you’ve ever encountered?”
A : “We once were asked to place ashes into a special edition album, come to find out it they were ashes from a German Bible from the 1800′s, overall those records didn’t sound the best”

Thanks to Vince and the rest of the team at Gotta Groove for showing us around the plant and for all the great record facts and stories. If you are ever in the mood for a tour, Vince is a stellar tour guide and welcomes interest in his music making manufacturing passion.

So this weekend, get out your record players and celebrate National Record Store Day…Go Vinyl!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by charity
Posted in artists, business, celebrate, event, events, explore, holiday, holidays, music, tour, Uncategorized | Leave a comment