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breaking free from this rut.

November 22, 2013 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I’m in a rut. I mean, I’ve got my routine: wake up, take Ari to the sitter, work, run on lunch, work, pick up Ari, come home and feed Ari, put Ari to bed, eat dinner, take a shower, and hang out for like 30 minutes before I finally go to bed. It’s familiar. And most days, it’s fine.

But it can also lead to feeling like I’m in a bit of a rut; or a bit of a funk.

So this weekend my goal is to break free from my funky mood!

And here’s how I’m going to do it —

1. Yoga.
It’s been a few weeks since I was able to make it to a yoga class.
But I’ve already got it on my schedule for Sunday!

2. The Cleveland Flea.
Yep, the holiday Cleveland Flea is here!
Ari and I are going to meet up with my cousin to spend some time browsing (and perhaps buying)
some awesome handmade & local gifts!

3. Date Night. Or afternoon, really.
So Chad and I are officially going to go on a date Sunday afternoon —
without Babycakes! I’t’s been a long time, longer than I’d like, since we’ve gone on a date together.
Things have been so busy lately

4. Make Our House Feel Like The Holidays.
Which really means lighting some winter-y candles and laying around in big comfy sweaters. 🙂

5. Take Myself On A Coffee Date.
With my laptop in tow; A warm, holiday latte; and blogs.

6. Start Planning.
Everyone knows the holidays are hectic. I’m trying to minimize stressors over the next several weeks;
to eliminate potential anxiety, by putting it all on paper.
I’m hoping this includes at least some meal-planning, which I despise, but is necessary.

we’ve been busy!

September 5, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

Well I didn’t mean to be so quiet around here, but we’ve been keeping ourselves extra busy for the last week!

Friday night my friend Carli & I went to the #BelieveInCLE event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland. The event was hosted by the Rock Hall, Inner Bliss Yoga (located in Westlake and Rocky River), and Lululemon Athletica.

It was a night of “Yoga, music & connection;” complete with a DJ playing music live during a challenging 90-minute yoga class. The connection part?? That came from the pre-yoga talk on mindfulness and the deep breathing of the 1100 people who came out to practice together! It was an amazing night. So incredibly powerful and moving! I’m so happy to have been part of the night.

Post-Rock Hall-Yoga-fun, Carli & I grabbed some food from Hodges (obvi!). I was BEAT the next day! Literally my only goal for Saturday was to not leave the house — mission accomplished!! 🙂

Because it was pretty much the only day that we didn’t have anything going on.

Sunday my parents were up from Kentucky (just for the day — sigh — I wish that they were up here for good! I swear I’m still in denial about the fact that they aren’t living here in Ohio anymore) and we hit up the Fairlawn Food Truck Round Up! I seriously had this on my calendar for over a month. The thought of eating another sushi burrito (from a freakin’ mobile sushi truck!!) was mouth-watering. There were a gazillion (technical term) people there. The lines were crazy, but to be expected for a food truck roundup, amIright???

My sushi burrito was followed by some teeny tiny cinnamon sugared donuts from Donut Lab! Yum!

Monday morning I raced in a 5k in Hudson — the first annual Race to the Taste! There were wayyyyy more people than I expected for their first annual race. And I had set a goal for myself to finish in 28 minutes — but I ended up finishing in just over 27 minutes! Still not a PR, but my best since Ari was born!

Later in the day we went to a family cookout. My parents may have already been gone, but the rest of our family welcomed us with open arms! They are freakin’ obsessed with our kid — and I totally love it! Cause I’m totally obsessed with him too. 🙂

I thought going back to work Tuesday after a long weekend would restore some balance, but that’s not the case. A crazy work day was followed by an awesome family (and coworker) night at the Cleveland Indians game against the Baltimore Orioles! We ~~rarely~~ never say no to free tickets! Especially tickets in an awesome suite filled with free food [where Ari ate more than his share of pickles, tomatoes and melon!].

The long night made Wednesday even longer. But I had previously scheduled myself to attend another Wine + Canvas event — and I wasn’t going to miss it!

It is seriously SO therapeutic to get creative and paint. It gets me out of my head, just for a little while. And in the end?? I have this awesome creation to display! 🙂

So yeah… we’ve been busy. It’s totally worth the craziness… but I cannot wait to spend the entire weekend on the couch in pajamas! 🙂

weekend wrap-up!

August 26, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

Weekends like this past one are complete bliss for me.

Unfortunately, Chad was out of town for most of it — he had to go to Columbus to work some overtime Friday morning through very early Sunday morning. So I hunkered down with Ari for a “mommy and me” weekend.

Friday night I took Babycakes on some errands. I had to exchange our pillows at Sleep Number, then we hit up Earth Fare for some Vegan yummies, followed by Babycakes & I splitting a FroYo from Menchies!

I had our sitter set up to come over pretty early Saturday morning because I had signed up for Yoga Rocks The Park Cleveland like a month ago. So I said goodbye to Ari, grabbed some green juice, picked up my friend Carli and headed to Tremont.

Truth: Tremont is one of my favorite places in the whole universe. Well, at least in Ohio. The other? Ohio City. Oh how part of me would love to live right in the heart of Tremont or Ohio City! Perhaps just Highland Square here in Akron someday?? Perhaps.

We arrived at the park a bit early. So we grabbed a pre-yoga coffee at Civilization. And then headed to registration where the YRP CLE staff was happy and helpful!

After checking in, we set our mats out in the sun and settled into our pre-yoga thoughts. Before the practice started, we met up with Alicia from Poise in Parma and Andy from YRP Cleveland.

Our practice was led by two fantastic teachers from Inner Bliss (located in Rocky River & Westlake). The practice was challenging and intuitive, just like I’d hoped. The practice ended with a live performance by Jeff Tucker.

Vita Coco and Good Greens (a local CLE company that we actually frequently purchase from), sponsors of YRP Cleveland, gave us yummy post-yoga treats (which I saved for later, of course!).

Cause, of course, Carli, Alicia & I had a lunch date at La Bodega. We were also joined by Alicia’s fellow yoga teacher Kevin. We ate, we chatted, and I babbled. Why oh why do I find myself babbling on like an idiot sometimes? LOL! Sorry Alicia!! Ha!

Lunch was delish! I had a ham, pineapple, brie, and honey mustard sandwich on sourdough. Oh. My. Goodness! Alicia wasn’t kidding when she said this little hole-in-the-wall place was completely worth it!

Since we were in Tremont, I asked the girls if they would help me hit up some of my favorite spots before I headed home.

Like Lily Handmade Chocolates. Ever since the Ohio Blogging Association February meet-up with Sweet Designs, I’ve been obsessed with chocolate. I used to hate it. I know, crazy, right??

Once I saw the Sweet & Sour Chicken truffle, I couldn’t say no. I know, I know… it’s weird, right? But that’s what made me want to try it even more. Odd – Chad can rarely convince me to try new food — but I’m always more than willing to try odd/fun desserts.

Alicia suggested that we swing by Wine & Design, which happens to be right next to Lily! I grabbed a bottle of Malbec and then — jackpot! — found out that Saturday is Tremonts’ day for Fresh Fork CSA pickup. Although we chose not to be members this year, I pleaded my case to the nice guys running the pickup to let me ‘shop’ for a weekly bag and some extras. Thank goodness they agreed. Cause I miss the crap out of that amazingly tasty local food.

Thank you, to those guys working that pickup location! I promise we’ll be CSA members again soon! 😉

After all of these Tremont shenanigans, I headed back home to my very sleepy Babycakes. After a quick nap, Ari & I went to a mommy & me dinner at a local restaurant. We were even home in time for his early bedtime ritual — bath time and all. Ya know, I know that you may think a lot of motherhood is so boring & routine (which I’ll admit it — it is) but bath time and our bedtime ritual is by far my most favorite part of the day.

After all of this fun, Sunday I was completely wiped out. We spent the day exhausted and pretty much laying around. Well, besides a trip to Target where I snapped this adorable picture:

Aaaand spent! That’s exactly how I feel after this fun and exhausting weekend. And I’m totally looking forward to the next one. 🙂

weekend round up //

July 7, 2013 by Rachel 1 Comment

As much as this weekend feels like it lasted forever, I also feel like it flew by — even though I had to work Friday!

I ended up getting out of work early Friday afternoon + I decided to hit the gym. I’ve decided that I wish I worked until 3PM every weekday because I would get SO much more done in those two hours between 3 and 5.

And I still felt like I had the evening to do whatever I wanted!

We ended up going to our neighbors for an impromptu cookout. We ate BBQ pork, apple pie, and drank a couple of beers until the late hours of the night [which, let’s face it, actually means 11PM for us].

Nonetheless, 11PM is way past our bedtime; and way, WAY past Ari’s bedtime! He was a champ, though. And we learned that he absolutely loves sparklers! Ha!

Pretty much Friday night was exactly what we needed — a chill night near home… snuggling with Babycakes and laughing with friends.

Saturday morning we all [kinda] slept in. Ari has been getting used to sleeping in the pack n play so that he’s OK sleeping in it on our upcoming vacation. And the Pack N Play is in our room… so we have no choice but to wake up when he wakes up. And Saturday it was at 5am. He was hungry so I brought him into bed, fed him and then we both fell back asleep until 8 — which is pretty much unheard of around our household.

We spent our morning at swim lessons, as per usual. After swim lessons mama went for a nice 5.5 mile run, followed by a brisk 1.5 mile walk. I could have sworn that my pace was slower than Thursday; but it turns out I did the same distance in just a few seconds faster than the previous. That may not seem like a huge deal, but I’ll tell ya — in humidity and heat — it really is.

The rest of the day was spent at or near home. We have a crazy few weeks coming up so we’re trying to relax as much as humanly possible.

Which turns out means still staying relatively busy.

Sunday morning I practiced yoga with the ever-so-awesome Gretchen — outdoors! Gretchen is hosting a series of yoga classes in a park, outdoors, in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood. Today’s class was the first — and it was a sweaty, brilliant practice!

Post-yoga, I picked Babycakes up to meet up with Gretchen and her baby for coffee at Nervous Dog. Follow that up with a late lunch with the GrandparAunts and an early bedtime for Babycakes? Perfection!

weekend wrap up // weekly mantra.

June 10, 2013 by Rachel 1 Comment

This weekend was everything a gal could ask for.

Late Thursday night my parents came info town from Kentucky. Even though we love, love, LOVE our sitter, Ari skipped for the first time and spent the day with Mimi + Papi!

But Mimi was too excited to make him nap [cough-cough–that’s right Mimi–I know you’re reading this!], so my babe was a cranky mess Friday night.

Saturday Ari slept in! Oh hooray! Once he finally woke up [at 8!!!!!] Ari, Mimi & I went for a 30-minute run followed by an hour long walk.

Then we hit up the Haymaker Farmers’ Market in Kent. Fresh produce, local meats & cheeses & food vendors are what our foodie dreams are made of!

It was Ari’s second visit to the market but his first experience tasting all the food. And that wasn’t our choice! My parents got a local beef burrito & a bean + veggie burrito from one of the vendors. Ari saw it & immediately opened his mouth & started kicking his legs with excitement.

This is where the baby led weaning is really fun. The kid gnawed on the burrito like a champ! Follow it up with three — that’s right; 3!! — samples of sheep feta (he tasted 1 & freaked out until I gave him some more). The kid is going to have the most sophisticated pallet of any baby!

We finally got him to lay down for a nap after the market for a short time. And once he woke up, we headed out on another adventure. This time to a festival in Highland Square, a local neighborhood here in Akron. The community was hosting a food and music festival called Porch Rokr — where families and homes in a ten-block neighborhood host dozens of bands to perform on their front porches! How cool is that!? We walked for a couple of hours and stopped to listen to bands for as long as Ari would let us stop moving. And then we moved on.

After our legs were sore and our baby was getting sleepy, we grabbed some dinner from The Lockview. When my grilled cheese arrived, Ari started to get excited again and jump up and down. I had no choice but to let him ‘take a bite.’ I say that loosely because it was really just sucking on the sandwich. But he loved it.

My parents had to leave Saturday night, so we tucked one sleepy baby boy into bed.

After getting some rest, I woke up and went to an early yoga class at Yoga Bliss Sunday morning. I stretched my way to a completely full heart. After yoga, Ari & I met up with Gretchen and her baby for some coffee at Nervous Dog. And after sipping our lattes and playing with our babies [and chatting up a storm], Ari and I went for another walk. This time to the Riverfront Irish Festival. I was sure all of the walking would make him nap. But it didn’t.

Our weekend was busy but incredible. Filled with everything I needed: family, food, friends, and fun.

And that’s why my mantra for the week is:

To me, showing up means making the most of every day. And this weekend, I’m confident that I accomplished this. And I want to remember to do this every day. <3

weekend wrap-up

April 15, 2013 by Rachel 1 Comment

This weekend was how I wish every weekend would be — simply amazing.

It started on Friday when I spent the evening in my pajamas! I cleaned and relaxed and started the weekend out on the right foot.

Saturday I stayed in bed for as long as possible. It was a dreary morning and Ari was sleeping in [hooray! — but he was up a number of times throughout the night]. So I snuggled up in our big cozy bed and caught a few more z’s.

We spent most of the morning cleaning the house and preparing for our date! It was our first date where we had a teenage sitter watching Ari. But not just any teenager — our sitters daughter! The only teenager I would completely, 100% trust with our Babycakes! By 2pm we were on our way to Cleveland for the Indians game!

We had tickets to the Indians Social Suite — a suite reserved for people who frequent social media to observe and live-tweet the game! [you can check out all of the details and apply here; or you can follow the social suite by following #socialsuite or #tribetime on twitter.

We watched the Indians destroy the Chicago White Sox from the comfort of our suite, thankfully! It was cold and rainy, but we had a blast hanging out with @koskim and @jensteer!

The game ended by 7PM so we were home early enough to put Ari to bed. No matter how long or short of a time we seem to be away from him, we miss him tons!

And then Sunday morning was here before we knew it! Besides plans to meet up with my friend Gretchen and her new baby, we had very little on our agenda! Spending the morning at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar with Gretchen & the baby was perfect. Two lattes and lots of conversation later, and both babies started to get fussy.

After our coffee date, Ari and I headed to Earth Fare to pick up some delicious healthy food [and perhaps some vegan oatmeal raisin cookie dough as well!] before heading home! I was able to get a run in while Ari napped.

He napped! Like, a real nap! 2 hours and 45 minutes, to be exact. It was lovely. And it made our day. Once he woke up he was happy and playful and it even warmed up enough for us to go swing in the park!

It was pretty much the most perfect weekend ever. Any weekend that’s fun and leaves me feeling refreshed & ready for the week? Amazing.