island hopping.

As many of you know, the class of 2014 graduated this month making our official debut into the world. To celebrate, we basically crammed everything Cleveland into one really awesome week.

I have been a little slow on the updates (don't blame me, blame graduation, moving and the gorgeous weather!) However, I have plenty of fun summer ideas to share with you coming up so keep on checking back.

To kick off graduation, our class took a trip to Put-In-Bay, Ohio. Can I just say something really quick? How cool is it that Ohio has islands? We are so lucky to have a little escape like Put-In-Bay within driving (and ferry) distance! 

Our weekend was a blast. We had fun exploring the different bars, including one that had swings!  We had mimosas and a delicious breakfast at Frosty O's in the morning. I loved walking by the boats at night and taking a little morning constitution to Perry's Memorial. (Constitution just sounded right, so patriotic.) 

After leaving the island, we drove to East Harbor State Park to camp. The campsite was quiet and within walking distance to the lake. 

Not a bad view either. 

It would just be wrong to be so close to Marblehead Lighthouse and not make the drive to visit the beautiful landmark and shop around the quaint strip of antique stores. 

To wrap up the weekend, we spent the day at Cedar Point. Even though I am not a huge fan of roller coasters, I still enjoyed spending the day with friends and running around the coolest amusement park.

Congrats to all my 2014 friends!

sushi and sweets.

Sorry I have been a little lacking in the blog posting area. School is the culprit in this situation. So hang tight. I'm still writing, just a little less frequently.

For my sushi fans out there, I highly recommend trying Touch Supper Club for the sushi happy hour on Fridays from 5-7. It is delicious. Chris and I also split the Loaded Flatbread and Korean Sliders. Definitely check out the site. Touch Supper Club has such cool weeknight themes. Did I mention, Thursdays are gourmet tacos for $3? I am definitely going back for a little night with the girls!

On our way back, we stopped at Sweetie Fry for dessert. The concept behind Sweetie Fry is that heavenly combination of french fries and ice cream (Arby's Jamocha Shake and Curly Fries will always reign supreme in my book). While we weren't in the mood for fries, a Turkish Coffee with Salty Carmel cone and Mint Chocolate Chip cone sounded pretty good.

I think I might need to give Sweetie Fry one more chance. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. We sampled a few different flavors, but nothing really wowed me. If anyone has any recommendations for something I should try next time, let me know! I have heard such great things about Sweetie Fry and I do not like to be disappointed.

For my careful readers, I am still working on that pizza blog I promised. One more spot and I will select my winner.

Happy Weekend Everybody.

all about apples.

As I am typing this blog post, the delicious smell of baked apples has filled my apartment. Between the Pumpkin Apple Bath & Body Works candle, and the Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp in the oven, I am in apple heaven.

This past weekend, was spent checking number 8 off my autumn list. Number 8 was of course visiting an apple orchard and pumpkin patch.

In order to accomplish this task, we made our way to Miller's Apple Hill in Amherst, Ohio for the "Apple Pickin' Spree." This little festival was the a great kick-off to the apple season. We took a hay ride out to the orchard and filled our bags to the brim with Fuji, Macintosh and Empire, sampling a few as we went. (what?! quality control, that's all)

After taking the hay ride back, we shopped around the store and picked up the necessary items. Necessary items meaning Miller's Apple Cider, apple fritters and candy corn mix. We grabbed a quick bite from the vendors and headed home for the John Carroll homecoming football game.

Changing leaves, football games, and hot apple cider. Check, check, check. I am thinking haunted house next...Any suggestions?

tour guide barbie takes on cleveland.

This past Saturday I revived the Tour Guide Barbie within me. (She made her first appearance while studying abroad. My friend, Katie, deemed me with this title due to my enthusiasm when it came to sightseeing.)

I digress. This past weekend was Tour Guide Barbie's time to shine. I brought my boyfriend, Chris, to the brand new Cleveland Convention Center. The grand opening was June 15th, so I felt obligated to attend. The convention center is located right near the Browns Stadium and contains over one million square feet. ONE MILLION. The event brought a number of health related companies in the area to showcase their services on the main floor.

 The underground level was the fun part. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame set up a stage with performers, while local businesses had tables with little giveaways. The Indians, Cavs, and Browns all brought former players for autographs and games to play for prizes. Chris and I played Plinko. I won a sweet Indians tote. He won a keychain. hah.



 


Library Reading Garden

After the convention center, we walked across the street to the Cleveland Public Library. If you haven't been down to the library yet, it's my number one suggestion. I'll probably have to do a post just on the library sometime. It's one huge free museum. There is an exhibit of the world's largest chess set and the world's smallest print book.  Maybe you think that sounds lame. If so, I feel sorry that you do not get as excited about microscopic print as I do. The newer building has a cool tech center on the ground level. Chris really liked the 3D printers and is determined to go back and print a mini Colosseum.











Conveniently located across the street from the library is the Hyatt at the Arcade. A few years ago, I attended a New Years Eve wedding that held the reception right in the center of the Arcade. You will be able to understand how gorgeous of a reception that was with one walk through this iconic building.


Relaxing at The Chocolate Bar.
We were tired and hot and hungry because Tour Guide Barbie is a fast little walker. So we stopped for drinks and an appetizer at The Chocolate Bar across from East 4th. I've been to The Chocolate Bar once before with a few of my friends. I highly recommend it. Relatively inexpensive prices and a lot of fun food to try. And for the women of the world, Mondays are buy a martini, get a free manicure from 7-10. Guess where Tour Guide Barbie will be next Monday...