Gardening with Petitti's!

So!  It's planting season!

Or... yard de-shaming season depending on your point of view.  Our yard needed a whole bunch of de-shaming this year:

This house is vacant, right?

See we live on a super main road and last year(s) I've had completely non-trustworthy toddlers.  So I'd pull out one weed and then frantically chase a kid who was too near the road.  Nope.  Our front yard has strictly been only what you need to survive levels of maintenance.

SERIOUSLY DO RACCOONS LIVE HERE?

That changes this year.  I used to really enjoy gardening - you can dig through the archives and find lots of posts about salsa gardens and sunflowers.  But that was before the tiny humans ransacked our house and priorities.  They are finally old enough now to either help out or at the very least not flail towards the street while we're pulling weeds.  So this weekend with a little help from Petitti's we did this:

SO MUCH BETTER!

We replaced the edging which was a rotten mess with some bricks that match the patio we built.  Pulled 6 lawn bags full of weeds and spread a ridiculous amount of mulch:

BOOM, BABY.

But we wanted a finishing touch.  A new tree to make us excited about our yard again.  We've always wanted a fruit tree.  So we took the kids out to Petitti's in Strongsville to pick one out.  It was such fun!

I have never been to a gardening place this big before.  It was a ball.  The kids loved playing in the rows and rows of plants.  I loved being able to ask a knowledgeable person an insane amount of questions so that I don't immediately kill our new plants.

Although they come with a year guarantee and they've been raised in Ohio - so they are used to our winters.

After much debate we ended up bringing home a peach tree AND a pear tree. Because SPRING.  We couldn't decide and the kids wanted both, so... here we are.  Also a whole bunch of hanging baskets (they were on sale!). 

Our new Peach Tree!

We needed to move their playhouse a bit to put in the pear tree but I think it worked out.

 And it's amazing how much color and fun the hanging baskets add to our yard!

Anyways if you want to de-shame your yard, too, Petitti's has generously given me a $50 giftcard to share with my readers!     Here's how to enter to win:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yay for spring and gardens!!!

Disclosure:  I was provided with a giftcard to Petitti's in exchange for this post.  As always all opinions and shameful yards are my own.

UncommonGoods and Mother's Day!

So!  Mother's Day is this weekend!   And I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know about an awesome place to find a last-minute mother's day gift:

I just discovered this company - Uncommongoods - and I have to say that they are awesome. They bring together all sorts of interesting and unique gifts in one place for easy shopping.  And a good portion of their items are hand made.  Which as someone who sells handmade products I FULLY support.  A company that gets customers in touch with artists in an easy-to-access way?  YES.  And they have an entire section of Gifts for Mom!

Also?  They have gifts for knitters.  Seriously check out this basket:

Handmade basket for yarn.  YES YES YES.

Or these yarn bowls. 

I actually haven't had a chance to use a yarn bowl yet. Most of my projects get dragged around the world with me so I use the super fancy ziplock bag instead of anything nice.  I've always wanted one, though. Are they as amazing as I"m picturing them? 

Anyways!  They sent me this beautiful necklace to introduce me to their line of products:

It's hand blown glass and so, so pretty. 

I chose it because in the artist description (the hand made items have artist descriptions!  I love that.  I always like to know the story of who is behind something) it mentioned that she was obsessed with color.  SOUNDS FAMILIAR!

They have a ton of other great products that would be perfect for Mother's Day as well.  They even put together a whole collection of Mother's Day Gifts to help you shop.  Just an FYI, though, today is the last day to order and have your item in time for Sunday.  Have fun shopping!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with the lovely necklace in this post in exchange for this review and post.  As always all opinions are my own.

Family Concerts at Severance Hall.

So! I am thrilled to be giving away family sets of FOUR tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra!

Wait.  Let me rewind.  The Cleveland Orchestra is one of our city's best assets.  It is literally one of the best orchestras in the country if not the world.  And Severance Hall is in a word STUNNING:

Image from flickr here.

But!  With little kids I thought it was out of reach.  For us to go would mean babysitting which is few and far between.  And toddlers aren't exactly appropriate at the symphony.  So we'd take the kids to Blossom Music Center for a concert every summer and figured that was all we could do.

Blossom way back in 2012.  We've gone every year since!

Turns out?  I was completely wrong.  The Cleveland Orchestra has an entire series of concerts specifically for children!  And they are awesome.  There are two types of concerts (from the Cleveland Orchestra Website):

PNC Musical Rainbows - ideal for children 3 to 6

Which instrument is bigger – violin or viola?  How many strings are on a harp?  What’s a bassoon?  Children will discover the answers to these musical questions and more during our 30-minute Musical Rainbow concerts.  These presentations are a fun, interactive way for our youngest listeners to learn about the instruments of the orchestra, one at a time.  PNC Musical Rainbow concerts are performed by Cleveland Orchestra musicians and guests, are hosted by local actress and singer Maryann Nagel. Children have the chance to sing, clap, and move to the music as they have fun learning all about orchestral instruments.  Musical Rainbows are performed in the 400-seat Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall.

Family Concerts - ideal for children 7 and up

Family Concerts are a great way to get kids excited about classical music!  These narrated, 60-minute concerts performed by The Cleveland Orchestra in historic Severance Hall, are structured around a theme and feature guest artists such as young musicians, mimes, dancers, actors, and more.  Family Concerts offer a unique and fun-filled opportunity for families to spend quality time with their children, enrich their lives through exposure to the musical arts, and share the excitement of live music performed by one of the world’s top orchestras.
All Family Concerts are preceded by free activities, including hands-on Instrument Discovery, throughout the hall that enhance your child’s enjoyment of the performance.

 We took our kids to a Musical Rainbows concert on Saturday and they had a great time:

It was super fun.  The concert was exactly the right length to hold even Tiny's attention and was interactive and fun!  They loved it:

The concert was held in the Reinberger Chamber Hall - a smaller more intimate venue than the main concert hall - but equally beautiful:

Image from here.

Really everywhere in Severance is beautiful.  Such an amazing building and space.  I was proud to share it with my kids for the first time:

ART DECO MAKES ME SWOON.

So I am very happy to be sharing the opportunity to go to one of these great concerts with my readers!  I am giving away 2 sets of 4 tickets for each of their upcoming children's concerts - Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery on Saturday, May 3 and The Vivacious Viola on Saturday, May 9.   Feel free to enter both contests!!!!  


Cleveland Orchestra

PNC Musical Rainbows Concert - The Vivacious Viola – May 9


Disclosure:  My family and I received tickets to this event in exchange for this review.  As always all opinions are my own.

Bonus family portrait in MOCA.  We walked there for lunch after the concert.  It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday in Cleveland!

Clothe Ohio Giveaway!

So I was contacted by Clothe Ohio about doing a promotion on this blog.  Humorous Ohio Pride clothing for a good cause?  YES.  Check out their statement:

Local Ohioans are in need! With each order, we are able to donate a new T-Shirt or Sweatshirt to an Ohioan in need, helping them stay warm and feel loved. We all need to look out after each other in times of need, and now's the time! Pick up a sweet new Ohio item for yourself or that Ohio lover in your life, and together we’ll help Clothe Ohio.

 Plus their shirts are pretty awesome:

There are shirts specific to all of Ohio's cities.  I'm a Clevelander but I went to college in Cincinnati so some of the 'nati shirts are very tempting.  I especially love the West 513 one.  A whole bunch of our college friends were (are) Cincinnati Westsiders and I"m thinking this shirt would be perfect with a westside cooler (doubled up shopping bag filled with ice and beer):

They carry baby, toddler, and children's versions of their clothing.  Very fun and stylish!  I think the dude would be adorable in the fountain square shrit:

It's especially nice that you can browse their site by city - and even some of the smaller cities are represented:

.

Youngstown.  What up

Anyways!  I'm happy to be giving away one of their awesome T-shirts!  Enter below before midnight on Friday, March 6.  I will choose and email the winner on Sat morning.  Yay Ohio!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer:  I received a sample shirt from this company in exchange for this promotion.  As always all opinions are my own.

Girls' Weekend at Put-In-Bay.

So!  Last weekend some friends and I hopped on the Miller Boat Line and headed to Put-In-Bay for a much anticipated girls' weekend:

It was Halloween weekend at PIB so there were lots of shenanigans.  That .... we had no interest in, honestly.  Instead our weekend looked more like this:

Relaxing in front of a fire with good wine, good conversation, and noone needing anything from me?  PERFECT.

I wouldn't have thought of Put-in-Bay as the spot for a trip like this.  I know the island is fantastic with families (we took ours there last year and had a ball).  But for an adults only trip?  Mainly I picture bars and  well... shenanigans.  But my friend was certain it would be perfect and she was right.  We stayed at a "cottage" owned by her family.  Her descendants have been vacationing on PIB for 104 years.  Yes.  104.  Completely amazing and interesting.  I was fascinated.  So she took us on a little tour of the west side of the island:

The yellow house was her great-grandparents.  It's down the street from her grandparents' house, her cousin's house, and her parents' house.

It was the perfect day for a walk.  Fall on the lake is so beautiful!

We went out to dinner and ate the best fish fry on the island (it was good but nothing can compare to how my dad does a Lake Erie fish fry.  I'm spoiled on that one.):

We went to the Put-In-Bay Winery and tasted delicious wines with a fantastic view of the harbor and lake:

I liked the "Red Witch" wine in particular.  Interestingly it's a white wine.

It's one of these.

 We shopped the "junk store" aka the Antique Store where all of the proceeds benefit the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society:

And we enjoyed a fantastic Lake Erie Sunset:

 And caught the ferry home on Sunday in time to watch football with our families:

I missed them even if they are Steelers fans.

All in all it was a perfect, relaxing weekend.  We're talking about making it a bi-annual tradition.

Yay PUT-IN-BAY!

Disclosure:  The Miller Boat Line provided me with round-trip tickets to the island.  All opinions and photographs are my own.

WIN 4 Tickets to Halloweekends at Cedar Point!!!!

So last month I had SO much fun at Halloweekends at Cedar Point:

And now you can go, too!  I'm giving away a family 4 pack of tickets!!!  That's nearly a $200 value. 

YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!

The tickets are only valid this year, and the lucky winner only has three more weekends to use them. Cedar Point is open on Friday nights (after 6 p.m.), Saturdays and Sundays now through Nov. 2, 2014.

 
This competition only runs until 11:59 PM on Thursday, October 16.  I will email a winner on Friday morning.  Yay Cedar Point!

I also have some news.  I changed my Twitter name. And my Instagram name. 

I'm hoping for more consistency across social media platforms.  LifeInCle makes sense with the blog Life In Cleveland.  Although I have to admit.  It was sad to say goodbye to Sourire11.  The name  originated as my AOL name back....when AIM was still a thing....in the mid '90's....20 YEARS AGO AAAAH I AM SO OLD.

Haaaahahahahaha my mommy remembers the '90's.

Anyways!  Follow me at my shiny new name LifeinCle for a chance to win!



 4 tickets to Halloweekends at Cedar Point

Disclosure: I am a Cedar Point Blogger and have an ongoing relationship with the park. However I was not compensated for this post.  All opinions are always my own.

Halloweekends at Cedar Point.

So. HalloWeekends at Cedar Point is pretty fantastic.

We brought our kids on Sunday and it was So. Much. Fun.  We just had the best day.  My parents offered to come with us and watch the kids while we rode a few coasters.  And as luck would have it my brother and sister-in-law were planning on going the same day!  So my entire family was there together:

My sister-in-law loves the Mantis so she wanted to be there for a Last Stand before it closes next month:

We didn't all hang together all day, though - they had coasters to ride!  But we met up for some key moments:

The Woodstock Express.  The Dude is hanging on for dear life!

It was the kids' first time at Cedar Point so it was their first real experience with roller coasters.  They were hesitant at first... And then got really into it - they rode the Wilderness Run 3 times in a row!

The Parent Swap was awesome. It's  a system where only one parent has to wait in line for the coaster.  The other parent can be with the kids.  Then when the first parent is done riding the other parent gets to go directly on the ride.  Makes SO much sense so that everyone can have a great time and do the things that they want to do! We used it all day.  The kids even got into watching us ride:

Watching Matt ride Top Thrill Dragster from the grandstands - he's the guy in the orange shirt right in the middle.  The picture on the right is of my dad and Matt on the Millennium Force - they are right in the middle of the train.

Fall is so much fun at Cedar Point.  The Halloweekends decorations are really neat.  There are a bunch of haunted houses that we didn't do b/c kids but even the stuff for the little ones is fun.  They especially loved trick or treating through the Kiddie Kingdom.  I loved the graveyard for old rides.

There were almost no lines all days:

I can't believe the Raptor is 20 years old!!!!  I remember waiting in every one of those switch backs the summer after 8th grade when it was brand new.

And the weather was PERFECT:

Other highlights include taking the kids on the Dogems.  We did it once at the beginning of the day and once as we were leaving because the Dude loved them so, so much:

The Sky Ride - another one we did twice.

I even took Tiny on it.  He LOVED it.  Pointed at all the coasters and said CHOO CHOO.

And Dinosaurs Alive - the kids loved the dinos, the adults enjoyed the views of the Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster.

Bottom line?  We ALL had fun.

Yay Cedar Point!!!!!

Disclaimer:  I am a Cedar Point Blogger and was invited to attend their BloggingatCP event.  Tickets were provided for me and my family.  All opinions are as always my own.