Cleveland Indians

Explore Ohio // Downtown Cleveland { AND A GIVEAWAY! }

June 5, 2017 by Rachel 32 Comments

It’s a great time to be a Clevelander, friends! We’ve been in the spotlight a lot over the last year, thanks to a couple of championship games. But for those of us who’ve grown up here, we’ve long known that the city of Cleveland is a diamond in the rough!

Which is why I’m beyond excited to bring you my next chapter of my “Explore Ohio” series — Downtown Cleveland! If you’ve followed along with the last few chapters of this series, you’ll know that I grew up here in Northeast Ohio. I was born in East Cleveland, but grew up in the country, before moving to New York state. Then I debated moving further south (and even went so far as to look at real estate in Dayton), before settling into my home here just south of ‘the land.’

I’m almost ashamed to say how frequently I make the drive to downtown Cleveland. I mean, it’s close, but it’s still a bit of a drive from Akron (think 25-30 minutes). But when I visit, here are some of my absolutely favorite things to see and do:

The Cleveland Flea. Artisanal products, makers, and doers come together once a month for an amazing event. Think food trucks, the “Flea Bar” featuring incredible hand-crafted cocktails, and a DJ making sure everyone is having a blast. It’s seriously the most fun event of the month.

Barrio. Build your own tacos + crazy margaritas + out of this world guacamole = my idea of heaven, ya’ll. The original location is in Tremont, but the location downtown is huge and easily accessible before concerts and sporting events. They honestly have the best tacos and an awesome atmosphere.

Great Lakes Science Center. Located right next door to The Rock Hall, the GLSC features 3+ floors of hands-on learning and exploring for kids of all ages — and adults! Ari loves it and I’m certain that as soon as Miss Bea feels comfortable in crowds, she will push her way through the exhibits to get down and dirty with learning! My favorite part of the science center is the IMAX theater. It’s definitely a must-see if you’re in from out of town.

Hilarities. I feel like Clevelanders take for granted that we have this amazingly popular comedy club! Chad and I have gone to see Joe Machi (from Last Comic Standing) and we loved it! I’m so bummed that I recently had to miss Mike Birbiglia (we were out of town!). He’s my absolute fave! And seriously, every single seat in the venue is close! It’s such an intimate location.

The Greenhouse Tavern. James Beard award winner Jonathan Sawyer serves the most incredible poutine at the Greenhouse Tavern. Seriously. It’s heavenly. He’s a master at what he does for a reason and his menu at GHT shows it! Also? Rooftop patio, yo!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sitting on the North Coast, this museum is home to so many great artists and exhibits! Everyone should visit at least once in their life! I’ll never forget walking in for the first time and seeing the division bell from Pink Floyd’s cover of the same name!

Heinen’s Downtown. Heinen’s is a local grocer here in Ohio, but they fixed up an old building downtown and made the most beautiful grocery store ever! If you haven’t yet, you should check it out for the wine and dinner!

the Cleveland Arcade building. My mom still talks about this building from when she was growing up. But I have my first memories of the arcade building from when I was about 6. And since then I’ve been able to witness business booming and even a wedding inside of this incredible location!

E. 4th Street. This is, by far, the hottest street in all of Cleveland. For those unfamiliar, it’s a pedestrian-only brick road and home to amazing restaurants and shops. CLE Clothing flagship shop sits on the corner and so does Corner Alley, an iconic bowling alley and sports bar!

The Jake. Yes, it will forever be The Jake. But honestly, Progressive Field (it’s newest name) has had some incredible improvements. They even now offer special tickets to a place in the field called “the corner” (which is at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario). These tickets are standing room only and include a beverage of your choice! Not bad!

Jack Cleveland Casino. I’m not big on gambling. Heck, I spent a total of $20 on slots in Vegas; but this casino is exactly what downtown Cleveland needed. And, in it’s current location in the old Higby building, it’s absolutely gorgeous!

Hodges. Yet another incredible chef with an incredible restaurant on E.4th! Hodges has long been one of my favorite restaurants, featuring drinks in mason jars (before it became popular) and cornbread with every single meal (cornbread, ya’ll!). I absolutely love Chris Hodsgon and all of his restaurants, but Hodges forever has a place in my heart!

Playhouse Square. The largest performing arts center in the United States outside of NYC, has 9 individual theaters with productions year-round! It’s recently received a facelift with it’s new chandelier, which resides over the center of square itself. It’s absolutely beautiful!

I just have to stop. I have to. Because I could go on and on and on about this city. I would like to also mention Brew Boat CLE, the City Club of Cleveland, Walnut Wednesdays, and Lolly the Trolley. Cleveland is just such an incredible city. I know we may get shamed as being ‘the mistake on the lake,’ but we aren’t. I swear it; we aren’t!

And to celebrate the best city on the North Coast, I’m giving away a $25 gift card to Heinen’s — which can be used at any of their locations across Northeast Ohio, but I urge you to check out the downtown location anyway — just enter using the rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is a partnership with Nakturnal. As always, all opinions herein are my own.

weekend wrap up //

May 6, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

After last weeks drama that nearly put Moosh into the hospital for an overnight stay, we welcomed the weekend with open arms — and hesitation. Cause who knew WHEN this kid would have another episode, right?

Well he definitely wasn’t feeling himself Friday. In fact, after a quick trip to Café O’Play where we pretty much just stood in the dance room, we picked up a pizza and headed home. It was definitely needed after our week. Chad went to an NFL Draft party with some of the dudes in my family and I stayed at home with my snuggle bug watching movies.

Scratch that: we watched movies together for a while; then this mama scrubbed the house from top to bottom before Mimi showed up for a weekend visit!

But let’s talk about how seriously not himself this kid looks. It definitely was NOT cold; but Moosh kept saying “Mommy, I cold! Blankie Tom, peas!” And then he wanted my Lululemon Vinyasa scarf to wrap around his head (he’s been a bit attached to it since I wrapped him in it in the hospital last week).

We ate “peetzy” and salad and watched Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo on repeat until Mimi arrived.

And then? Mass chaos! Ha!

Yep. That’s my kid running around in his underwear. Moosh finally fell asleep way way later than he should have. With promises of lots of fun on Saturday and goodnight kisses from Mimi, that seemed to do the trick.

My mom and I had planned to wake up early to get a long run in Saturday morning. But we stayed up WAY too late. And then Moosh woke up earlier than anticipated. So we improvised. We brought him with us. I despise running with the jogging stroller, but Mimi decided that we could switch off pushing him, so I agreed. Hesitantly. Ha! We got a couple miles in before having to head home. But every step counts, right?!

Mimi agreed to babysit Moosh while Chad and I went on a day-date to see the Avengers: Age of Ultron. The movie was amazing! Yes, yes… I’m a total dude-movie nerd. I love all of those nerdy comic book movies. But it really was good. And funny. Also? Robert Downey Jr?? LOVE that guy.

While we were at the movies, Mimi took Moosh (or is it the other way around — Moosh took Mimi?) to Café O’Play in an attempt to wear him out and get him to nap. Well, he was worn out. But he refused to nap. Which was extremely inconvenient because we had suite tickets for the Indians versus the Blue Jays that afternoon. So a nap of some sort was nearly required to prevent crazy-baby meltdown. But the little dude did extremely well. We even got to meet the hot dogs! Moosh loved Mustard, could care less about Ketchup (weird considering he eats ketchup as a main course these days), and was downright terrified of Onion! Ha!

Mimi and Chad had fun watching the game. Moosh and I mostly just played. Cause for me, a ballgame is more about the experience of the ballpark than paying attention to the game. SPORTS! Ha!

I’m super bummed that I didn’t get any photos of our food. We visited the new Right Field District and I was in awe of the food and drink selections! My mom ordered a sandwich from Melt, Ari got ice cream from Sweet Moses, and Chad and I split nachos and a taco from Barrio. And GLBC on tap for the win!

On the way home we indulged a little more with some Rita’s Ice. Moosh wanted “Boo ice!” which means blue ice, if you haven’t figured that out. 🙂

Moosh obviously didn’t fall asleep on the way home. And he went to bed really late. Like 10:30.

And Sunday morning he was up at an ungodly hour. 6:00 am. This kid sleeps til 9:30 on the reg, and decides after a day of no napping and staying up late to wake up at 6am!? Sigh, kid, sigh.

Mimi and I took him to Café O’Play for an hour or so before calling it quits! Kids had fun but was nutso! So we grabbed lunch from Planet Sub and headed home.

PS. I’m not certain how I feel about Ari’s most-recent obsession with Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. So he just does this “Roar!” face all of the time. Sigh. It’s cute; but not when he’s meeting new people. KID you do NOT greet people with a roar! Ugh!

We totally bailed on a family party (sorry fam!) so that our teeny family could rest. We were all exhausted and Mimi wanted to get home to Poppy before it was too late. Honestly, we needed it. We slept and slept and slept! It was perfection. The night ended with a clean house and happy hearts.

The perfect ending to a perfect weekend. 🙂

weekend wrap up // July 10th thru 13th

July 17, 2014 by Rachel Leave a Comment

GUYS!! This weekend was amazeballs. Seriously.

Thursday —

After work I met up with some friends at the Nauti Vine Winery for my friend Cristin’s birthday celebration. Cristin and I nearly accidentally stumbled upon this winery a month or so back during a girls night out. The location is beautiful — it’s located on Portage Lakes in Akron. Super scenic for being in a (near) city setting!

We laughed SO hard. SO much! My soul needed that. Fo sho.

Sidenote: When you go to a winery, it’s generally not safe to order their house-made beer. (The exception in this case being Cellar Rats brewery from Debonne). The beer was terrible. The laughs were awesome (and so was the wine — of course).

Chad & Ari were at a family function with our Denver family that night and we ended up getting home pretty much exactly at the same time (which means late night #1 for Moosh!).

Friday —

Friday I would love to say that we slept in. But that totally didn’t happen.Well, at least not for me. I woke up early to get a workout in and get some cleaning done. … and then Moosh slept til like 10:00 am. Aaaand we rushed out of the house to meet my cousin Maryssa to go bridesmaids dress shopping. For those who don’t know, my sister is getting married this October. I put off dress shopping until the last possible moment. But I’m happy to report my dress has been ordered for the last couple of weeks. And now my cousins’ dress is ordered too! Woo hoo! Mission accomplished! And it feels SO good! Gah!

Moosh, Maryssa, and I went out to BW3’s post-dress shopping where the food was bland but the service was hilarious. Our server came running out of the kitchen screaming “We got Lebron! We got Lebron!” Hahaha! He was like “Did you hear?” Yes, dear… my husband sent me a text right away.

Post-B-Dubs, Moosh napped for 2-hours (TGIF!). And then I took him to Babies R Us for a baby-registry extravaganza with my BFF. Moosh & I didn’t get home til super late (again). But he was a complete champ (again). And he slept in until 9:30 Saturday morning.

Saturday —

My mom and I went up to Lincoln Park in Tremont for Yoga Rocks the Park CLE. The morning provided beautiful weather for a beautiful practice.

Scott Sulper from Cleveland Yoga led our vinyasa practice for 60-minutes. The practice was warm, sweaty and fun!

The view from my mat….

… was awesome. Beautiful, bright blue sky and a giant tree above me.

It was great to connect with my fellow bloggers… Alicia, of Poise in Parma (left) and Jill, of The Year of the Phoenix (middle).

and my mom! Family + friends = what dreams are made of!! <3

Props (and thanks) to my husband for some post-yoga fuel of grilled chicken, grilled asparagus, and quinoa!

Saturday afternoon, Chad & I went to Whiskey Island for SC4k Luau on the Lake while my mom hung out with Ari. They spent some quality time together visiting family and we took selfies.

It was our first visit to Whiskey Island and we totally loved it! Only thing we regret is not bringing a chair! Oops! Lesson learned!

And again it seemed to be a mini-blogger meetup!

Kimberly (Smitten in CLE). Alicia (Poise in Parma). And me!

Kimberly (Smitten in CLE), Alicia (Poise In Parma), Charlene (Life in The CLE), Anna (Anna In The Raw), and me!

Matthew, Jen (Why CLE?), Me & Chad! It was our parents-day-out without the kiddos! Jen & Matthew have a teeny tiny 8-week old-ish baby at home, and we left Ari with Mimi for the day! It turns out Mimi & Moosh had TONS of fun on their own. They went to see some family and went out to dinner — just the two of them!

We snacked, we laughed, we cheered Alicia on in the limbo contest! … and we still beat Moosh & Mimi home from their adventure!

I didn’t tell Moosh that we stopped at his fave ice cream place, Mitchell’s in Ohio City on our way home from the luau! Their strawberry jalapeno is incredible PLUS it’s sourced locally! 🙂 Double win!

Sunday —

Moosh finally slept in! Thank GOODNESS! But this mama didn’t have that luxury. Nope. I went for my long training run and I rocked it!! Post-workout Moosh finally woke up and we all headed to the Indians Family Social Suite versus the White Sox!

The family social suite was awesome. Moosh was kept super busy with toys and coloring while the rest of us watched the game. PLUS it was another mini-blogger meet up! I finally got to meet Brad from Cleveland Food & Brews!

And this view! The view from the suite is awesome!

#Moosh! He thought the whole experience was kinda cool. Plus he got to meet Slider. Soooo there’s that.

…. and then we all needed a vacation from too much fun. Thankfully, today is our first day of our staycation and we have very little planned (woo hoo!). PS. I say that now, but I KNOW I’m going to make a ton of plans for the next 6 days! Ha!

Summer Lovin’ // July 12th

July 12, 2014 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Winter in the Midwest seems to last FOR.EV.ER. Come Spring (which lasts for two days) and summer, it seems like all of us Ohioans try and cram as much into these short few months as possible. And the events are a-plenty, my friends!

Just looking at my social calendar for the next several months has me wondering when I’ll actually fit other important things in. Like sleep. And work. 😛 I kid! I kid! … kinda.

But seroiusly if you’re looking for something to do there is so much going on. Here’s what’s on my ‘can’t miss’ list for this weekend:

Saturday July 12th —

Luau On The Lake : Whiskey Island, 4 PM : $60 at the door

Yoga Rocks The Park : Lincoln Park, Tremont, 10 AM : $15
Akron Farm & Flea Market : Musica, Akron , 9 AM – 3 PM : Free

The Cleveland Flea : 3615 Superior Ave, Cleveland, 9 AM – 5 PM : Free

Sunday, July 13th —

Moms Run This Town Half Marathon Training Run : Mustill Store, Towpath Trail, Akron : Free
Cleveland Indians Game : Progressive Field, Cleveland, 1:05 PM : Ticket Prices Vary

Free Concert & Food Truck Round Up : Keyser Barn, Cuyahoga Falls, 4 PM – 8 PM : Free

All of THIS happens in just ONE weekend! Bring on the summer, Northeast Ohio!

What’s on your summer “MUST DO” list?? And what big plans do you have for this weekend?

weekend wrap up // June 27th edition

July 1, 2014 by Rachel 1 Comment

This weekend can be summed up in just a few words — Busy. Fun. Tired.

Friday started with a whirlwind of ‘stuff ‘ to do. First and foremost I had to take my car to have my brakes done. Not the most glamourous errand but it needed to be done. Then Moosh and I were off to try on bridesmaids dresses! YES, I may be crazy for taking him with me to a bridal boutique by myself (!!!), but yet another thing that needed to be done. It just so happens that it was a thousand degrees out (OK, maybe in the 90s) and Moosh was super uncooperative (read: wouldn’t sit on my hip and so I basically carried a 20-pound weight out to the side for 30 minutes — I’m fairly certain my left arm is now more muscular than my right).

We ended up meeting up with my aunt — Ari’s Grandma Dee, for some ice cream at Mitchells! Before we even walked into their Beachwood location, we heard a “Hi Ari!” from someone on the patio! This kid is such a freaking rockstar! 😉 I didn’t know the gal, but apparently she’s my cousins friend who knows him from hanging out with Grandma Dee! I swear this kid knows more people than I do.

Moosh ate some of Grandma Dee’s Key Lime Pie ice cream, and had his own teenie scoop of Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp! He hammed it up for all of the employees (obviously) and watched the train go round and round the track!

Post-ice cream I rushed my butt home to get Moosh a nap. Ari isn’t much of a car-napper, but kid passed out hard on our way home.

Poor guy. He was exhausted from bridal boutiques and ice cream fun!

Last year I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural #BelieveInCLE event at the Rock Hall and it was life changing. I wasn’t going to miss this summers hottest (literally?) yoga event.

So I rushed to meet up with my BFF Carli (and two-thousand other yogis) downtown. We set up shop right in front of Chill Pop Shop!

Which ended up being pretty perfect because we needed something to cool us off while we waited for the evening to begin. It was H-O-T out! Kiwi/cucumber for the win!

People piled in and tons of spectators came out to just watch us all practice yoga on the front steps of the Rock Hall! So cool.

It all got started with Alex Sheen, founder of Because I Said I Would, talking about the social movement of making promises and keeping them. His story was incredibly moving and it was hard (OK, impossible…) to keep it together while he was talking. I went away with 10 #BecauseISaidIWould cards and I’m putting a lot of thought into these ten promises. (Learn more about the movement here.)

The practice itself was awesome. There are few things cooler than grabbing the hand of the total stranger next to you and supporting them in chair pose and boat pose. And there are fewer things cooler than feeling that support back from that stranger. Carli + stranger to my left — thank you!

And yes, there was an aerial drone taking overhead pictures of us the whole time. A little distracting at first, but these totally awesome shots (without my watermark) came from the drone!

Post-#BelieveInCLE, Carli and I went to Progressive Field for Grapes & Ales, an event benefitting Our Lady Of The Wayside. By the time we arrived, most of the food was gone; but I did get to sip and sample a few wines while my pregs BFF sampled some pork nachos.

We ran into a few friends but, sadly, didn’t get any pictures with them (maybe this was a blessing because we were so sweaty from a humid night and yoga). Next time, gals!

Post-Grapes & Ales we were… hungry. Mega, mega hungry. Good news is I finally had a reason to try out The Greenhouse Tavern! Bad news is I made a delicious, yet poor, food choice… animal frites.

Animal Frites is basically poutine + mustard + bacon + 2 eggs. Here’s a better picture of what it looks like (photo cred):

I had to work Saturday morning. Which was rough. Really rough. I sent Chad a text message pretty much explaining how a night out at a yoga workshop felt like an all-night college party to me. Well, at least the next day it certainly feels that way!

Growing old is fun. Ha!

Saturday night we hit up a graduation party and then a pool party. The pool party started at 8:30, which is usually the time Moosh is going down for the night. Playing with fire, y’all!

He ended up doing great, considering how late he was out. He was wide awake but super nervous in the pool with all of the other people. He tends to do better in the pool when he’s less stimulated.

And thanks to this half marathon training, I had to wake up early Sunday morning to fit in a 4-mile run. It was humid but the run went really well. And that means that my first full week of half-marathon training is complete!! Woo hoo!

That’s IT. That’s all our Sunday consisted of. And it was everything we needed.

PHEW! I feel like the whole weekend was action-packed! As much fun as that was, I think I need a vacation to recover from my weekend 😉

2013 // a (blog) year in review.

December 31, 2013 by Rachel 1 Comment

January //

Slow Cooked Spicy Chicken Tacos — Which honestly feels like the last time I cooked! Just looking at these instantly reminds me of how delicious (and easy!) they were!

Tales From A Working Mom // Why I Choose To Pump — As silly as this may seem, this was really my ‘coming out’ post as a new natural mom. I haven’t really used the term ‘natural mom’ on my blog before, but it’s always been super important to me and to Chad to raise Ari sustainably and in the most healthy and natural way. Which meant breast milk. Which usually means breastfeeding. But I couldn’t do it (try as I might & try as much as others did to convince me that with a little more effort, it was possible).

My Husbands Life-Changing Guacamole Recipe — There are few things I find more sacred than avocados (and guacamole). So when my husband perfected his guacamole recipe, I had to share it — you know, in the same way that people feel the need to spread the word of Jesus?? I feel that way about his guac recipe. #TrueStory #NotSorry

February //

This Weekly Mantra — For the simple reason that I talk about chicken wings and say the word vagina in the same blog post.

Red & White on Thursday Night Wrapup — Because it was: 1. Our first night away from Ari; 2. SO much fun! 🙂

March //

My first real post on being a little crunchy granola (about green cleaning products) — This barely scratched the surface of how crunchy-granola we are. Expect more crunchy to come in 2014! Ha!

Ari’s 5-Month Update — For the picture alone. Dang, this kid has changed!!

Bullshit Supermom — Although I feel like I’ve found my groove a bit more since March, I still overall feel this way. Too much pressure is put on moms (and dads) to be perfect. And not enough people realize how much EXTRA pressure this puts on families.

April //

Ohio City Date Day — We ventured out to Ohio City for a day of wandering, eating, and shopping. The weather was perfect and we were home early for an evening to spend with Babycakes. Looking back, we felt out of our element to not have Ari with us. But it’s gotten easier since then.

May //

Taking The Plunge — I joined Weight Watchers & I started to lose weight in a healthy way!

Ari’s First Cleveland Indians Game — It was one of the hottest days of the year, but we made the most of it and made it to nearly the 5th inning!

June //

You Are Not Your F*in Khakis — Such a great reminder to think about as we close 2013. Nothing matters but family and loved ones happiness.

July //

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Exploring Locally at the Cleveland Flea — It was my first experience at the Cleveland Flea and I soaked it up! It brought me back 3 or 4 more times since! The local vendors and new (to me) local foods!

Poise In Parma Guest Post — On fitness attractions between Akron & Cleveland! Great to get the perspective of a fellow yogi and fitness guru.

Stylish and Affordable Workout Clothes — My Target vs. Lululemon saga. Hint? Target wins for price! But I dream of Lulu.

August //

Weekend Wrap Up — The one where I went to Yoga Rocks The Park with Poise in Parma and Lilly Handmade Chocolates!

Crafty With Wine — My first experience with Wine & Canvas! SO much fun and I have a decent piece of art to show for it. Ha.

On Being A Boy Mom — When I found out I was pregnant with a boy, I was terrified. It turns out that I cannot imagine ever being the mom of a girl!

The Color Me Rad 5k — It was the first race I’ve ever ran with someone. Gretchen and I were team Sons of Mother Runners! 🙂

September //

The Earth Delights To Feel Your Bare Feet — A reflection of my desire to stop being a people pleaser.

Our Trip to Akron Childrens Hospital — Not necessarily a good day, but by far our worst day of 2013. So glad that we learned about Ari’s egg allergy sooner than later!

Our Busy Weekend — The #BelieveInCLE event, another 5k, a late night snack at Hodges, another Cleveland Indians game, and another painting via Wine & Canvas! One of the best weekends of the year. 🙂

October //

Birthday Weekend Wrap Up — A trip to see Sweeney Todd at PLayhouse Square, dinner at Momocho, and a bit of pampering! For the win!

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To The Love of Our Lives On His 1st Birthday — Reflecting on Ari’s first year.

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Operation Mama Gets Her Groove Back — That time I cut all of my hair off.

Ari’s Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Bash — A lot of planning ended up paying off!

November //

A Few of Ari’s Favorite Things — A list of our baby 1st year must-haves!

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One-Year Photo Shoot — My fave pictures of ALL time.

Another CLE Flea Weekend — Brewnuts + Masons Creamery = YUM!

December //

Blogger Date At Charles Scott Salon — Manis, pedis, and dinner with girlfriends!