Party like it’s 2007

So remember when this blog was all about our rockstar Life in Cleveland? When we did fun things like pubcrawls and had stories about leaving our cell phones places and checking out swanky local restaurants? Right. Those days may be mostly behind us but every once in awhile we can still party like it’s 2007.

Friday we had a big step in the whole baby thing – she stayed overnight at her grandparents’ for the very first time. It was a bit nerve-wracking since she’s only 5 months old… but you know what? It was good for everyone involved. It’s good for her to be that comfortable with her grandparents. It’s good for her to be able to not be with us at all times (at some point she’s going to be invited to a sleepover somewhere, right?). And I have no guilt in admitting that it was good for us to have a full night out with friends. Even if I did have to have them remind me several times not to call and check in with the baby….

I was fine, mom! Grandma & Grandpa’s house is the best ever! They have a fish tank and a really big doggie!

So the first place we hit up was Redd Stone. I’m going to go ahead and make the statement that their patio is the Best Place to Drink Outside in Cleveland. It’s this great, multi level, brick space underneath old trees complete with a fountain. Very, very cool.





As were the pomegranate martinis. And their summer burger w/ guac and red peppers was pretty decent, too.

But once we ate dinner we got fidgety and decided to migrate to the Stone Mad:

They also have an outstanding patio but it has a completely different feel. It’s all made out of handcrafted stone so the whole thing is hard surface. Even the benches are stone:

Although they do have a firepit:

And I’m pretty sure fire beats trees.

The Stone Mad does win for the Best Bathroom in Cleveland. No, really. Not even kidding. The tilework is amazing. Complete with sparkly unicorns:

Uh huh.

Also sparkley and fantastic?

Sarah’s shoes.

So then we decided the only way to beat the best bathrooms in Cleveland was with the Best Drink in Cleveland. And for that there is only one option. The Velvet Tango Room:

For me the best drink in Cleveland, hands down, is the Moscow Mule. Although Carolyn would heartily disagree while sipping on their frosty and delicious Gin Fizz. That, however, doesn’t come in a copper mug:

Fuzzy pic b/c you don’t use a flash in a place with a live pianist but if you look closely my mug is copper. And filled with ginger and vodka amazing.

But I have to say the best part of the entire night was surprisingly not vodka flavored:

Our little girl slept through the night at her grandparent’s house.


Yay for happy babies!

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

So wait what now? It’s August already? Really? This summer is flying by… between out of town visitors, vacations, trying to get Destination Yarn going, and oh yeah taking care of a baby Life in Cleveland has been CRAZY. So rather than try to back blog everything I’m going to narrow this post down to my new fav. place in Cleveland:

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

1. clevelandmetroparkszoo_1-28, 2. IMG_0776, 3. Rainforest Building - Monkeys, 4. Look! Lemurs!, 5. Cleveland Zoo - Flamingos, 6. Shark Panning, 7. Wolf, 8. Happy Fish :), 9. Koala named Bulkee

We first went with Matt’s sister and her husband when they were in town:

And I ended up buying a membership. Best idea ever. We’ve been several times since. And I’m not sure how our zoo compares to other cities as far as rankings or whatever but I think it’s spectacular. So does the Girl:

Checking out some wallabies


She hates the hat but loves watching the creatures move around.


Monkeys are fun... Just like her doggie.

But her favorite part of the zoo? The Aquarium:

She LOVES watching the fish and I have discovered that the benches behind the shark tank are a great place to discreetly feed her. Even though thanks to watching too much shark week they TERRIFY me…

To this shark my child is a snack. Pic from here.

I think the best part is showing her animals that we’ve seen in the wild… like the macaws:

Pic from the Amazon Rainforest in Peru

Pic from the Cleveland Zoo.

That has even inspired a new colorway: Scarlet Macaw.


Which is not exactly a destination but certainly is inspired by travel.

So yeah… Life in Cleveland is good:

Family pic from our first visit.


All funned out.

It's just a bit wild right now. (har har har)