my life in Cleveland
Showing posts with label my life in Cleveland. Show all posts

If We Were Catching Up Over Coffee...

Monday, October 30, 2023

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If we were catching up over coffee, I'd probably still be drinking an iced coffee, even though it's finally gotten chilly. I thiiink I might be one of those people who drinks iced coffee year-round now?
 
If we were catching up over coffee, I probably wouldn't seem as outgoing or chipper as I usually do. I would only go into it if you asked, though, and even then, with caution. I recently deleted my social media apps for a bit because the Israel/Gaza war has been weighing so heavily on me. Things feel really bad right now, and I'm scared, and it's affecting literally everything.
 

 
If we were catching up over coffee, you might ask me how the adoption process is going, and I'd do my best to update you without inundating you. It's long and slow and arduous and honestly kind of heart-breaking because we just want to be able to become parents but can't rush the process. We are in with two adoption agencies and applying to a few others, and we're just trying to continue to believe that it will happen when the time is right.
  
If we were catching up over coffee, I'd try to change the topic by telling you about some of the fun things I've been up to lately. I saw both The Jonas Brothers and The Eagles recently (I am a woman of many interests!), and I "graduated" from my boxing program but am still going to classes. One of my best friends recently moved down the street, and I also just went to a two-day work retreat, where I got to see my remote colleagues in person. 
  

  
If we were catching up over coffee, I might nervously reveal to you that I have been struggling with body image and self-esteem lately, which is, I guess, nothing new, but that doesn't mean it's not still difficult to deal with. I've gained a little more weight, yet again, and I just can't seem to stick to any sort of healthy eating regimen or shake the extra weight even when I do. (Halloween candy isn't helping.)
 
If we were catching up over coffee, I'd tell you about how I convinced Mike that we should go as Harry and Marv from Home Alone for Halloween. Though he initially felt that I was doing too much in the pursuit of the perfect costumes, I feel that you can never do enough when it comes to Halloween. People really enjoyed our costumes and most importantly, we loved them, which made for a very fun holiday party with friends.
  


If we were catching up over coffee, I'd tell you that I miss blogging and that I worry that I'm never really coming back to this space. I want to, I mean to, I intend to, but then it always falls by the wayside. I wrote all day every day for my job, and I've been doing a ton of freelance writing, and I'm so grateful for all of it, but it means I don't want to keep sitting at a computer and writing when the day is done.

Speaking of writing, if we were catching up over coffee, I might have to leave early to go work on some freelance projects. I'd share how lucky I feel to be overwhelmed with the work, which is something I literally attempted to manifest (do I believe in manifesting? I dunno), but now here it is... overwhelming and overloading me on a regular basis. What a blessing! What a stressor!
 
Relatedly, did I write this blog post instead of meeting two fast-approaching deadlines? Yes. Yes, I sure did.
  
Guess that's the end of this coffee date. How are you?

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Places I've Eaten Lately, a Roundup (CLE Weekends, Pt. 7)

Sunday, February 26, 2023

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I share a lot of food content on Instagrambut I enjoy it so much that sometimes it seems a shame for it to be so short-lived! I thought it was worth putting together a roundup here, too, of some of the places I've been lately and enjoyed. 

There's always more than I could possibly share, but here are the spots that have been at the forefront of my mind. Tell me: Where have you been lately?


  

Nature's Oasis
I guess I thought this spot was just... a health food store? But wow, it's so much more. It's an all-natural foods market and cafe that also sells lots of locally made goods, like candles, stickers, cards, and other trinkets. They have plenty of seating, very friendly staff, and a great vibe. I've only been once, and all I got was a latte, but I expect I'll be back here a lot over the summer! 15613 Detroit Ave., Lakewood.


   

Ready Set! Coffee Roasters
My friend Annie (check out her new Lady Gaga book!) has been recommending this spot forever, so I finally went with a couple of friends after a Saturday-morning training session. It is just the absolute cutest, with a really bright, clean aesthetic and delicious drinks that, at least around Valentine's Day, were creative and adorable. 7306 Detroit Ave., Cleveland







Agave & Rye
Hoo, boy, this place bills itself as "epic," and it isn't lying. While based on Mexican cuisine, their menu is completely unique and over-the-top in a very fun, very tasty way. I was given a promotional gift card to visit on National Margarita Day, so I got a prickly pear margarita and Flamin' Hot Cheetos-encrusted coconut shrimp over mango salsa. Mike got taquitos and the Happy Meal taco (!), and there was so much fun that we could barely eat even half of it. 1352 W 6th St., Ste. 152, Cleveland



Dewey's
I guess this place is a chain, though it looks like it's only in Ohio and Minnesota? Even though this is nottt my best photo,  trust me when I say that their pizza is so good. It's got just the kind of crust I like, not too thick or too thin, kinda crispy and kinda puffy. We ordered pickup and got the Bleu Ribbon, a white pizza with mozzarella, provolone, smoked ham, Amish chicken, brown sugar caramelized red onions, garlic aioli and parsley. Chef's kiss. 18516 Detroit Ave, Cleveland (and other locations)





The Vegan Doughnut Co.
I'd tried these popular, delicious square donuts at past events, namely the Cleveland Flea, but that was a loooong time ago. And... yeah, now, I've been three times since the start of 2023! Yes, their donuts are completely vegan, and they're also nut-free, preservative-free, and trans fat-free, while still very very big on flavor. We brought a half-dozen of them to a Super Bowl party and got pÄ…czki and king cake donuts on Fat Tuesday. 14811 Detroit Ave., Lakewood



Prosperity Social Club
As former Tremont residents, we've been to this hotspot many a time, but it had been a while! My mom's college friend was visiting Cleveland for a weekend and wanted to go here for their pierogi. I, for whatever reason, was really in the mood for... vegan wings?! Everyone at the table made fun of me, but I love their buffalo tofu, and nary a regret was had. (Also, Mike and I split a side of pierogi.) 1109 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland
  
Where have you been lately? And if you're here in Northeast Ohio, got any recommendations for me? 

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A Flower Bar, a Great Meal, a Used Bookstore (CLE Weekends, Pt. 6)

Sunday, February 12, 2023

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Hey, hi, 'sup, etc. I haven't done one of these posts for a while, and surely I've experienced/checked out many more cool things since the last time I did... but hey, might as well round up and recommend a few good things, right?

As always, more of my adventures are captured in real-time (or realer-time, I suppose) over on Instagram. But here's a little bit more info on some of the things I've posted about and alluded to as of late, should you be looking for things to do in the CLE.
  

  
Coffee at Edda
I finally stopped into Edda, Ohio City's newest coffee shop. It's located in the brand new Intro building, which is truly a wonder to behold, and the coffee is really good (though I know basically nothing about coffee, so this is based on taste alone). It's a spacious with great lighting and lots of seating, plus sandwiches on bread from Leavened. Get the ham and brie!
  


DIY Bouquets at Blossom Flower Bar
Some friends and I signed up for a Galentine's Day event at Blossom Flower Bar, a Lakewood staple that recently moved into a new, more spacious location downtown. We sipped on BYOB booze while making our own flower bouquets... and luckily, someone else trimmed them and ultimately made them look nice in the vases we chose. I am committed to ensuring that my cat does not eat these beauties. 
  

  
Dinner at Bartleby
I met up with a few CLE influencers (@lostinlaurelland, @oliverstwistblog, @aimon.ali, @everyday.connor, and @camrynnicolem) for a luxe dinner at Bartleby in Ohio City, in the building that used to house Crop Bistro. I wrote about Bartleby for a recent issue of Cleveland Magazine, and it was a delicious and lovely, if expensive, evening out with friends. It's always so nice to hang out with people who also want to photograph everything.



Browsing the stacks at The Bookshop in Lakewood 
When I learned that The Bookshop in Lakewood was struggling due to transphobia, I asked friends and neighbors for book donations that I could take in. I ended up with store credit I didn't plan to use (after all, I wanted to help them make money!), but I did spend a bit of it on a few excellent finds, including a Jewish cookbook, a home repair guide, and Greta Thunberg's memoir. 



This bumper sticker has nothing to do with anything else, but I saw it, and it delighted me, so I thought I'd share. Personally, I would've gone with Jack Kelly over Patrick Bateman, but delightful nonetheless. 

What have you been up to lately? Been anywhere new? 
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Potato Pizza, Free Baseball, Flawed Art, & More (CLE Weekends, Pt. 5)

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

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I don't know that "CLE Weekends" is the right name for this series, after all. It's essentially a round-up of anything fun, tasty, or otherwise notable that I've done lately... & often not on the weekends at all. With summer in full-swing, we've been going out with friends (& each other) a lot, not just on Saturdays & Sundays but during the work week, too.

I'm feeling a bit burned out, to be honest, because as extroverted as I am, I also need a lot of alone time to recharge, to write, to sleep, to just be. I don't have quite as much planned in July as I did in June, so I'm hoping things will slow down a bit while remaining fun.

Here's what I've loved lately. How about you?
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Sandwiches & Shave Ice, Beer & Boba Tea (CLE Weekends, Pt. 5)

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

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None of my recent weekends has been jam-packed enough for its own post, but little by little, we've been on some fun mini-adventures, almost all of them involving something delicious to eat or drink. I thought it might be time to round up a few of them.

What have you been up to? And if you live in Northeast Ohio, especially, can you recommend some good spots for me to check out? You know I'm always on the hunt!

Here's where we've been as of late. 

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Exploring Lakewood: A Few New Faves

Friday, April 22, 2022

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As the weather warms up, I’m starting to explore more of my new neighborhood. Last weekend, I started with a bit of a solo exploration day, meeting up with Mike for lunch. I visited a few spots that aren't included here yet because there was just so much to do & to see. That just means there's more to share soon.

If you're a Cleveland person, I'd love for you to share some of your favorite local spots to tell me what else I need to check out. Obviously I've been a Clevelander for awhile now (seven years this summer), but my Lakewood knowledge could use some work. Get at me!

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Taylor Swift by Candlelight & Other Adventures (CLE Weekends, Pt. 4)

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

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We'd been so busy moving into our own house that I hadn't been to my mom's for a few months! On Thursday, I headed to Cuyahoga Falls to hang out with Joyce for a bit so we could watch Station 19 & Grey's Anatomy together, & I stayed through Saturday morning, working from her place. 

We were also blessed, finally, with some warm weather. It was over 70 degrees on Saturday, which felt downright tropical after all the snow we've had this year. I never think I suffer from seasonal affective disorder until the sun finally comes out & it feels like a mental fog has been lifted. 

Here's what the weekend held, aside from bad TV & a break from winter weather.
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The NBA All-Star Game Comes to Cleveland! (CLE Weekends, Pt. 3)

Thursday, February 24, 2022

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Whew, what a weekend! If you follow me on Instagram (no pressure, but I'm fun over there), you know that I had a whirlwind few days here in the CLE. The NBA All-Star game was in town, & I had the honor of being one of a few locals invited to work with the NBA to help them create an authentic Cleveland experience. In return, I received tickets to most of the weekend's events.

I don't even really know how to recap it all here, & does anyone even care about recaps? So here's a highlight reel, the written kind. (If you want the video kind, check out my IG video, which doesn't include the All-Star game itself.)

Here were the best moments of the weekend.

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Crepes, Chairs, & Super Bowl Cheers (CLE Weekends, Pt. 2)

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

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Another weekend come & gone. This one wasn't nearly as jam-packed for me as the weekend before it, but it still had plenty going on. And I got to see my mom for the first time in a few weeks; it felt like it had been forever.

This coming weekend will be my busiest in... well, years, really. The 2022 NBA All-Star weekend is coming to Cleveland, & there's so much going on all throughout the city. (If you want to check out the NBA Crossover event, you can get 25% off day passes with code KATE.) I'm rooting for Team LeBron, by the way. Obviously.

But first, a retrospective...
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CLE Weekends, a New Series (Pt. I)

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

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I feel like I haven't had a ton to write about lately, but I want to be able to get back in the groove of regularly sharing blog posts. SO for now, I'm going to start doing these "Weekends in the CLE" posts to share what I've been up to, where I've gone, & what I recommend.

Truth be told, my weekend was largely spent indoors, hiding from the snow & bingeing Chicago Fire. I did approximately zero house-related things this weekend, too, because that shit is exhausting. And I finished my first books of February, though I already know I can't compete with the 11 books I finished in January

But I got in some fun stuff! Here's what I checked out over the weekend. What did you get into?! 

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Everything I'll Miss About Living in Tremont

Friday, January 14, 2022

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The news is out: We've moved to Lakewood. I'm thrilled, really! But I'm also kind of devastated to say goodbye to Tremont, where we'd lived since 2015. It was the first place in Cleveland I called home, & I loved it.

Yes, we'll get used to Lakewood life (Brewella's, here I come!), but for now, I'm sending out a little extra love to all my Tremont faves. Here are the things I'll miss the most — & miss already, to be honest.

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What I'm Looking Forward to for the Rest of the Summer

Friday, July 9, 2021

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One of my favorite things about summer (not the heat) is looking forward to all the adventures on my calendar. That wasn't a part of summer 2020, for me, as we didn't go anywhere, for the most part. We ate on a patio once or twice, but even that felt fraught. It was a summer of fear & indoorsiness.

But #vaxxedgirlsummer is here! I'm not yet fully vaccinated, but I'm one shot down & still hopefully riding some antibodies, so I feel relatively safe. I'm still not ready to hop on a plane or head to a crowded concert, but I finally feel ready to hit up some events & spend time with friends & family.

Here are some of the things I've looking forward to for the rest of the summer. How about you?

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I am a Proud Cleveland Public Radio Nerd! (Plus, a Giveaway from a Local Artist)

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

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I was never an NPR person… until suddenly I was. As a kid, something about the voices of public radio hosts seemed to lull me to sleep, reminiscent, no matter the show, of long car rides with my parents. And although I don’t know when the change happened, exactly, at some point in my 30s, out of the blue, I became an NPR listener.

I get NPR news alerts on my phone. I listen to whatever NPR show is on when I get into my car. And I listen to Up First every morning, the NPR Politics Podcast every weekend, and Pop Culture Happy Hour whenever I want to lighten things up.

Here in Northeast Ohio, I have ideastream – the home of Northeast Ohio’s member-supported public broadcasting stations – to thank for that. And now, on the 20th anniversary of its founding, ideastream has become Ideastream Public Media.

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A Day in the Life: An Average Awake-to-Asleep Look at Being Me

Monday, May 17, 2021

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Full disclosure: This seems like the most egotistical blog post to write, but I never feel that way when I read them from other people. I always love a little behind-the-scenes peek at other peoples' lives, so I figured I'd try my own. Have I ever done one of these? Who can even recall? 
Anyway, let's do it. This was a random Wednesday toward the end of April, after I'd started my new job but before I'd gotten into the swing of things. Here we go!
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Oh, the Places You Won't Go: 12 Places I've Eaten Amid the Pandemic

Monday, April 12, 2021

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Things are starting to feel a little bit more normal here, especially after Mike & I both recovered from COVID. With antibodies coursing through our veins like superpowers, we've been feeling more & more comfortable heading out into the world even going so far as to eat inside restaurants a couple of times. 

Before we contracted COVID, though, we did our best to keep supporting restaurants new & old, from places we'd long loved to new spots we hoped would succeed. Here are 12 of the best places we've eaten from lately – mostly takeout & delivery – throughout the last few months of this pandemic.

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What Life Looks Like Right Now

Thursday, January 14, 2021

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Sometimes when I don't know what the hell to write about or don't have the brain capacity for a "themed" post, I just do these round-up posts that round up... life lately. What have you been up to? Here's where my brain is these days. 

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Autumn in Northeast Ohio: Pandemic-Safe Adventures in CLE & Beyond

Monday, November 16, 2020

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We're fortunate to be able to experience all four seasons here in Northeast Ohio, but the one I consider to be the best of them – autumn – is also the most fleeting.

This year, it seems 2020 has thrown us a bit of a bone (finally), giving us what feels like slightly more autumn than usual, & I, for one, have been trying to make the most of it before cold(er) weather sets in for good. 

Here's what I've been up to as the air gets crisper & the leaves start change color (OK, fine, most of them have fallen by now...) How about you?

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The Time We Rented an Entire Bookstore for Date Night

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

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Mike is notably difficult to buy gifts for. He doesn't want, need, or care about stuff, & he rarely gives me any semblance of a wishlist. This year, as we prepared to celebrate his 35th birthday amid the pandemic, he wouldn't even tell me what he wanted to do that day, so I was left to my own devices.

Enter Visible Voice Books, an independent bookstore in our neighborhood. It's located on the top floor of a building that also houses Crust, a popular pizza joint, & Proof, a new BBQ spot. 

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All the Things I Miss

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

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I've been trying to stay upbeat during the pandemic in part because... well, what's the use in moping? (God, I sound like my grandmother.) That said, as this thing drags out & drags on, I'm starting to dread the approach of colder weather – because with it comes our return to isolation, without the option of outdoor hangs.

I've been thinking about all the things I miss most, & I'm keeping a little list, just because I find that it makes me feel a little bit better to have it all written down. I thought I'd share it with you here – & if you're inclined to share, I'd love to hear what you're pining for, too.
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5 Life Lessons from My New Beachcombing Hobby

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

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Here in Northeast Ohio, beachcombing seems to have blown up this summer, probably as a result of the pandemic. Local beach glass Facebook groups are bursting with new members, & a radio station recently ran an interview with a beachcomber about the best spots in Cleveland (which revealed a bit of an open secret, flooding that beach with new hobbyists). 

I'm new to beachcombing myself, so who am I to judge? As the pandemic-laden weeks carry on, I'm finding my beachcombing hobby to be more & more integral to my mental health – an opportunity for me to be outside & in nature, mind clear & heart open, just me & my thoughts & my headphones & my digging hands.

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