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Our VERY Busy 2nd Anniversary! // wrap-up

May 4, 2014 by Rachel 2 Comments

I’ve been meaning to post this for the last week, but life happens, y’all!

We were exhausted after our whirlwind travel weekend in Buffalo + Canada when we got home late Sunday. It took us a while to get our butts moving on Monday — but we both had the day off. Sure, we could have (should have?) rested. But we wanted to take full advantage of pretty much the most beautiful weather we’ve had all year in Northeast Ohio! And to celebrate our actual anniversary, of course!

Chad was able to make it to our last Spring session of story time, which I had been hoping he’d get to go to at least once. He got to see all of the adorable that is Moosh at storytime.

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Something super random happened while we were there… Chad ran into a friend he was in Big Brothers Big Sisters with (she works at the library). They hadn’t seen each other in years (however I had seen her before but didn’t realize she knew my husband). She mentioned that her kids were on their way to the library with her sitter. Chad made a joke about us needing a full-time sitter and was she available. Not only is she available (and willing!) to start watching Ari for us, but she lives DOWN THE STREET. NO joke. Like, a 2 second walk from our house! Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time, friends! True story!

After our library shenanigans we took a chance — we skipped Moosh’s nap and went straight to the zoo. Brave decision, friends! B-R-A-V-E! But the day was BEAUTIFUL. Seriously. 75* and not a cloud in the sky!

It turns out everyone in Akron decided to venture to the zoo. There was a line probably a couple hundred people deep just to buy tickets. I couldn’t have been happier that we are Akron Zoo members and were able to skip the line entirely!

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We rode the carousel for the first time (because Moosh insisted — no joke). He was so excited. And then… not so much. But he clung to that penguin for dear life! Ha! zooanni3-1

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Then Chad took him on the train (I promise we DID see animals! Ha!). He is OBSESSED with trains these days, so his excitement was adorable!

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See? We saw animals! Or at least empty glass cages! Ha!

We nearly cancelled our reservation for our anniversary dinner out of pure exhaustion, but we really needed a night out at dinner by ourselves. We went to Nuevo Modern Mexican in Akron. We’ve been really looking forward to trying it out. It did not disappoint!

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We sipped on some seriously tasty margs [made with juices freshly squeezed on-site], snacked on guacamole, and devoured our dinners in record time. It turns out we’re still trying to master the ‘slowing down’ to eat thing. Every time we eat without Moosh we eat like he might walk in and take our attention away from food any second.

It was an awesome second anniversary. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And we’ve officially realized that going out without Moosh is incredibly important, so we’re working in regular date nights! 🙂

Filed Under: Akron, another year, Ari Davis, cleveland, drinks, explore locally, family, food, fun, life, live happy, love, marriage, mommyhood, Ohio, parenthood, pictures, Zoo Tagged With: akron, ari davis, explore locally, family, food, foodie, life, local, marriage, motherhood, oh baby, ohio, pictures, weekend

Blogger Date at Charles Scott Salon //

December 6, 2013 by Rachel 2 Comments

Last week I met up with Charlene (aka @cacoughlin) from Life In The CLE and Jess (aka @Mojamala2) of the Tambura Runner last week for a blogger friends mani-pedi date at Charles Scott Salon in Rocky River!

We each had manis and then met up in the massage chairs for our pedis! The girls at Charles Scott Salon treated us so well. The environment there is so welcoming, so inviting, and SO serene! I love that it’s such a chill place. And I love that my manicurist, Rae, had a full-sleeve tattoo down her left arm. It made me feel right at home. 🙂

And yeah I know that they’re supposed to treat clients well and supposed to make us feel comfortable, but the girls who work there are awesome. They aren’t stuffy and they aren’t pushy or too talky. Just AWESOME.

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Jess opted for red nails, Charlene for grey, and I decided on hunter green — toes AND fingers!

I’ve yet to check out their location in Crocker Park because I’m already so attached to the Rocky River location — plus it’s where my stylist, Allie, works!

After our manis and pedis we grabbed a bite to eat at The Wine Bar, Rocky River. I know I should venture out and go to other places in Rocky River, but their food is SO good!

We ate, we had a glass of wine, we chatted and it was totally worth it. From the start of the night it was clear that we all needed a night out — a night away from reality! 🙂

Thankfully I am ‘forced’ to go back in just a couple weeks because I’ll ‘require’ a haircut! Ha! The joys of having a pixie cut!

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Disclaimer: All 3 of us are brand ambassadors for Charles Scott Salon and as such, receive a discount for services provided. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: bloggers, cleveland, drinks, events, explore locally, food, friends, fun, hair, life, Ohio, pampering, review, sponsor, wine Tagged With: bloggers, cleveland, drinks, events, explore locally, food, foodie, friends, hair and fashion, life, local, ohio, pampering, sponsor

birthday weekend round up //

October 9, 2013 by Rachel 2 Comments

Guys – I had THE best birthday weekend! I rang in my 29th year in a fantastic way. The weekend started with going to see Sweeney Todd at the Hanna Theater in Cleveland. I’m a fanatic for musical theater of all kinds. I hadn’t seen Sweeney Todd live before (only the movie) and it did not disappoint!

We even took full advantage of the “featured drink”, which was actually suuuuper strong (gee, thanks, Buckeye Vodka!). But the Barber’s Revenge was yummy, nonetheless.

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// Sidenote: If you’re interested in seeing Sweeney Todd at the Hannah Theater, purchase tickets online using the discount code PR6 for $10 off each A Level ticket you purchase!! //

After the performance, we decided to take full advantage of our sitter situation and grab a late bite to eat at Momocho! We’ve been dying to try it but never had the chance. Crab guacamole, tamales, and a blood orange marg?? Sign. Me. UP.

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After a few drinks and arriving back home at 1:30, my 9 am massage I’d had scheduled for 2 months seemed like a huuuuge mistake. Especially considering I had to get my new drivers license before my freakin’ massage. Oy! So yeah, I crawled my butt out of bed, got my new license, grabbed a free birthday Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, and went to get my massage.

Once I was there, I realized how freaking worth it it was to wake up early. Cause y’all? Massages are totally WORTH it! Post-massage I headed to Peace Love & Little Donuts in Westpark to try a maple bacon donut (totally worth the weight watchers points!) before heading to Charles Scott Salon for my big haircut!

That’s right, I chopped (well technically Allie at Charles Scott Salon chopped) over 12 inches of my crazy long hair off! I’ve had dreams of getting a pixie cut for ages. About a week ago I completely committed to the idea of getting a pixie cut. I figured the worst thing that could happen was that I would hate it. Right??

Well, I freaking LOVE it. So far I’ve washed my hair every single day and not had to dry it or flat iron it or, really, do anything with it! Plus there will be headbands GALORE! Ha!

I spent the rest of my birthday in pajamas on the couch, scratching my (nearly hairless) head, sipping red wine and eating fun cheeses. That was seriously my request for dinner. Chad said “What do you want?” and I replied with “red wine and cheese please!” And so I did.

Sunday I took Ari to a yoga class at Yoga Bliss Akron, where he played with a couple of other tots while mama got her vinyasa on. Then Ari and I headed home for some naps, snuggling and all around Sunday laziness.

Perfection!

Filed Under: Akron, another year, birthday, cleveland, date night, drinks, events, explore locally, food, Ohio, pampering, sponsor, weekend, yoga, Yoga Bliss Akron Tagged With: cleveland, explore locally, food, foodie, life, local, night out, ohio, pampering, weekend

Fat Tire Bike Ride and Wine Tour.

June 21, 2011 by Rachel 3 Comments

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A week ago we did our first wine tour — on a bicycle! I found out about this wine and bike tour {called the Fat Tire Bike Ride} on Living Social and figured, why not?

Others I talked to were… skeptical. Drinking wine and riding a bike!? Seems dangerous. I assured them, no, it would not be dangerous. It would be leisurely biking and sipping on some alcohol infused grape juice. No big deal, right? Right.

To start, the wine tour was held in Conneaut, Ohio — which is pretty much as close to Pennsylvania you can get in the upper right hand corner of the Buckeye state. So we packed up our car, bikes in tow, and drove the hour and a half to Tarsitano Winery.

On our drive up there, it started to pour rain. Crazy amounts. But I was hopeful! I told the BF “It will clear up!” Luckily, it did. Right before we got to Tarsitano.

So we started our wine tour with three {or was it four?} tastings. They were all delish, and reasonably priced {$15-$20 a bottle}, but we hesitated to buy bottles at our very first stop. So we told ourselves {and the very friendly workers} that if we made it to the end and still wanted to buy a bottle, we would before we left with our car {we parked at their winery}.

A note about Tarsitano: More than for the wine, I am anxious to go back and try their food. Apparently they require reservations because they are always so busy. Which wouldn’t be unusual except you should see how this place is located literally in the middle of nowhere in the smallest town in the world. Seriously. The smells of the homemade pastas and breads have been the subject of some serious food envy ever since.

{at Markko Winery}

When we left Tarsitano for the next winery, I realized that I might have been mistaken about the terrain — we weren’t riding on trails; we were riding on dirt roads. Very, very hilly dirt roads {which had just been rained on}. And we were sharing these roads with cars {well, pickup trucks, mostly}. And I left our helmets at home {What? I thought we would be on trails, not roads!}.

Our second stop, Markko Winery, was about 2 hilly miles from the first. It was… an interesting place. It looked like a shack, but the vintage riesling was to die for! Seriously. But it was also $30 for a bottle. So we passed. With the intentions of coming back if we didn’t find something we liked better.

{frizzy hair between winery 2 and 3}

Our third stop was Buccia Vineyard. By the time we made the lengthy ride to this place, we were ready to relax for a while. And the wine was incredible. Seriously. We had our two tastings each, we bought a few additional tastings, and then decided to share a — very full — glass. 

It was about then that the head started to get to me and I started to feel pretty good and relaxed! Shortly thereafter I ran into Becca from Peace, Love, and Bagels! Except, at the time, I didn’t realize it was her! Well at least I figured it out later, right?

We enjoyed our wine, chatted with some fellow winos and bikers, and watched a not-so-exciting game of cornhole. And debated whether or not to buy a case of wine from Buccia. Seriously there wine is so good! But we only got 4 bottles. {We have tickets to a wine festival they will be at in August, so I’m not worried if we run out!}

{sipping on wine and eating some chex mix. Notice the dirt on my legs}

Our last stop on the bike and wine tour was a place that didn’t exactly live up to it’s name — Biscotti’s Family Winery. I don’t know what I expected. Well, I lie. I hoped for biscotti. But what I got instead was concord grape wine and some watermelon to snack on! 

The wine was fruity and delicious, and after my tastings, the thought of riding 10 miles back to our car was exhausting! So the BF took a shuttle back to our car while I sat at the winery with our bikes and had a glass {or two} while I waited.

By the time we both were in the car, I was exhausted. From head to toe — exhausted.

It was fun; it was muddy; it was sweaty; and I would do it again next year! Maybe next time I’ll bring a helmet!

Filed Under: adventure, BF, bloggers, deals, drinks, fun, Ohio, summer, wine

October 7, 2010 by Rachel 7 Comments

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I was too exhausted to thank you all yesterday!
My birthday was fantastic!

When I woke up, BF had put little gifts around the house because he isn’t usually awake before I leave for work. Which definitely made me want to just hop back into bed with him all day, but I forced myself to get my butt to work.

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For my big birthday celebration, he took me to Vegiterranean, a vegan restaurant in Downtown Akron. We had been meaning to go here for a while, but timing had never been right or we always had something going on.

The food was fantastic! The restaurant serves cruelty-free vegan dishes.

I delighted in a little pre-meal, tasty beverage. I had a raspberry mojito and it was delish!


We started with the “Chrissie Promises Best Fries” which are a sweet potato fry served with house-made balsamic ketchup.

{pic via my iPhone… hence the poor quality}
For our main dishes we ordered the Mango BBQ Pizza and Spaghettini with Italian Vegan “Meatballs” with Scot’s House-Made Marinara!

It was delicious.

{Please ignore my cheese-ball face.}
So pretty much the most fantastic birthday ever!
More birthday celebrations tonight, but more to come on that later!

https://itsahero.com/632/

Filed Under: about me, age, Akron, BF, birthday, drinks, food, fun, life, love, Ohio, pictures, thanks

things i’m loving.

April 21, 2010 by Rachel 11 Comments

This post from Em on bed nooks. Love it.

Lindeman’s Framboise. It is fantastic. If you’ve never had it, you should try it {disclaimer: unless you are under the legal age 😛 }

Syracuse friends. Like Tracy. & Gilbert. & Emily, to name a few. & the amazing friendships I’ve built via the amazing Syracuse Twitter community, like Mitch & Josh & Bill. These people have welcomed me back to Syracuse in such an incredible way! I will be forever grateful!

Sandwiches on pretzel buns. Seriously. There is nothing better in the world than a sandwich or burger on a pretzel roll. If you

{Image here}

The fact that my inbox looks like this:

Yes, folks. My inbox has gone from over 7,000 emails, to only 43.

Knowing that in just a couple of days {2. not that i’m counting}, BF & I will be together again… indefinitely! And for those who are wondering, Yes, I will be living with him.

What do you love at the moment?

Filed Under: BF, drinks, food, friends, links, lists, love

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