Concealing your sleep deprivation

I LURVE sleep. Seriously. I would be happiest with 8 uninterrupped hours every night, but that usually doesn't happen. Needless to say, I end up with horrific dark circles, that usually require lot of concealing. I usually use a Smashbox concealer (which works really well for me), but this weekend I decided to test out a drugstore version: Garnier Nutritioniste Skin-Renew Anti-Dark-Circle Eye Roller!

$12-$13 depending on where you buy it

The claim: Skin Renew Anti-Dark-Circle Roller is right for you if you want to instantly correct the appearance of dark circles and brighten the skin around your eyes.

How to: Apply Skin Renew Anti-Dark-Circle Eye Roller in the morning and as needed throughout the day.

Did it work? Well, sorta. When you roll it on, it instantly feels cools and refreshing. It contains tinted moisturizer, which you will need to blot with your fingers, but it blends well. Its a little beige for my skin tone, but nothing that some tinted moisturer doesn't fix. I think it would work for anyone with light-medium skin tone. As for coverage, it didn't really last that long, maybe a couple of hours before I needed to reapply. The problem with this was that if I reapplied, then I also had to redo my tinted moisturizer, which become annoying. Although, I think all of this stems from the fact that its not exactly the right color and goopiness for my dark circles; I wish they had a medium and a dark shade; I think it would work better rather than a one-size-fits-all that really doesn't fit all.

Conclusion: if you have light or medium skin, and dark circles that aren't SUPER dark, this might work for you. At $12, it might be worth a try!!!

Planning your Hump Day: Happy Hour for Puppies

This Wednesday, Garage Bar in Ohio City is hosting the Second Annual HumpDay Happy Hour to benefit SecondHand Mutts and Berea Animal Rescue Fund! 

From 4-9pm local celebrities will be serving up drinks for charity! 100% OF CELEB BARTENDER TIPS, 100% OF PROCEEDS FROM SPECIAL 'HUMPDAY' SHOTS AND SPECIAL DRAFT BEER, AND 15% OF ALL OTHER DRINK SALES WILL SUPPORT ARF & SECONDHAND MUTTS! The local celebrities include (among others) Councilman Joe Cimperman, an assortment of local radio personalities, Dr. Bob and Dr. Liz from Gateway Animal Clinic, sportswriter Bud Shaw, and of course, the evening's fabulous hostess and Burning River Roller Girl Ursula Allison!


Seriously, what can be better than celebrating Happy Hour, and knowing that its all going to two GREAT causes?! And BONUS: you get to bring your well-socialized dog on a leash!! N and I will certainly be there with Otto and St. Clair; you should stop by for a drink and say hi. We'd all love to see you!!

This weekend in CLE: Taking it easy before a big end-of-summer weekend!

This weekend was an a-typical summer weekend for N and I. Despite a number of events, N & I had early nights all weekend, and spent a lot of time relaxing...

Friday night, N and I had a craving for some sunnyside pizza, and went over to Bier Mrkt to indulge in it. This is my absolute favorite pizza. EVER!!  Thin crust pizza, no sauce, 3 over medium eggs, pancetta, parmesan and black pepper. It sounds wierd, but if you like breakfast, you'll LOVE this pizza. We even ran into the lovely JV, which only made the evening better!

Saturday afternoon, N & I went over to Mentor Beach Park for Adam and Tessa's wedding celebration party! I'd never been there before, but its a beautiful spot.

Look at this amazing view!!

This would probably be a great spot for a fall clambake!!! (P.S. I love clambakes. If anyone knows of any Cleveland restaurants having one, please let me know!)

The puppies woke me up SUPER early on Sunday, so after walking them, I decided to be productive and get my grocery shopping done early. I usually HATE grocery shopping; its crowded, the lines are insanely long, an all-over unpleasant experience. Turns out, the trick to pleasant grocery shopping on a Sunday is getting there before 9:00 am! There were maybe 12 customers in the store, and absolutely no lines!!! After a barbeque Sunday afternoon, we headed over to Prosperity Social Club to celebrate Sarabot's birthday! I picked up a fabulous vintage owl pendant for Sara (which also doubles as a magnifying glass!!) but unfortunately I don't have a picture for you.

All in all, a wonderful weekend!! I can't wait for Friday already; its going to be another great weekend filled with cookouts, and the air show! Too bad it means the summer is over, but the fall means clam bakes, apple picking, hot chocolate, and most importantly, FOOTBALL!! GO BROWNS!

Inspired by.... Jessica Alba

As summer draws to a close (in North East Ohio, anyway), I want to make the most of my summer wardrobe for the next few weeks. This look by Jessica Alba is one that you could easily carry into the fall too, by pairing it with a cute cardigan for those cooler nights.

My version includes:

paper bag skirt, $60, banana republic

 

georgette ruffle tank $60, banana republic

unlisted by Kenneth Cole, $69, piperlime 

(incidentally these are also a Rachel Zoe pick. Ba-nanas)

I hope you enjoy the last few weeks of the summer, including making the most of your summer wardrobe!!

100 and counting

OMG you guys, its my 100th post!!! I can't believe its come so quickly. Its almost like the 100th episode of a TV Show. I feel the need to celebrate with cake. I think I'm going to stop by A Cookie and a Cupcake in Tremont to pick up a sweet treat.

A Cookie and a Cupcake opened in 2008, right after N and I moved to Tremont. I remember walking Otto (when he was just a little baby) past the store, while it was still under construction, wondering when it would open.

Baby Otto. He was so little.... (picture unrelated to post : ) )

When it finally did open (it really didn't take that long, maybe a month or so), it didn't disappoint. On my very first visit, N and I got there just as they were closing up, and they gave us an ENTIRE box of cupcakes, for FREE!!! One bite of the yummy carrot cake, and I knew there was no way we could keep those cupcakes in the house; I would've eaten every one and instantly put on 10 lbs. The deliciousness has continued since then, and I've been back numerous times to pick up cupcakes for various occasions. My favorite flavor remains the carrot cake, with the lemon a close second.

Lately, there's been a new entrant in the West Side cupcake market, with the addition of Main Street Cupcakes in Rocky River. My coworker Laurie had these at her 2009 wedding, and the Strawberries and Pink Champagne cake is absolutely delicious!! Main Street has more available flavors than A Cookie and A Cupcake, but if you asked me which one was better, I'd have a really hard time picking one. I guess the only solution is for you to go to both places and try the cupcakes and decide for yourself!! Yes, I'm a cupcake pusher.

Dog Friendly CLE: Wine Bar Rocky River

Did you know that Wine Bar Rocky River has a doggie-friendly brunch every Sunday on its fabulous patio? Someone told me that a few months ago, so N and I decided to take our furry babies over for a nice meal. It was my first time here, and I'm a little mad at myself for not going there sooner! Their patio is absolutely amazing, and the staff is so welcoming of humans and dogs alike.

Otto and Clair waiting patiently for their sweet potato treat

For brunch, N ordered the sausage gravy over biscuits, and declared them the best in Cleveland. Both the biscuits and gravy were very obviously homemade, and the biscuits were perfectly buttery and crumbly and fluffy. I ordered the spicy tuna wrap with sweet potato fries, which were also absolutely delicious!! The tuna was perfectly cooked, and the salad greens were really well seasoned--- YUMMY GOODNESS!!! Otto and Clair were both in heaven; they got fussed over and petted by staff and guests, and had some wonderful scrambled eggs as a snack!! I also snuck them some sweet potato fries (shhhhh!).


I can't wait to go back for another meal!! The Wine Bar also offers a Flight School where you can learn all about wine. The first class is $35 (plus tax and tip) and each subsequent class is $20. A gift certificate for the Flight School would be a great gift for the casual wine lover who wants to learn more about wine!!!

Local Vino: Mon Ami

Saturday night, a group of us drove out to Mon Ami Winery in Port Clinton to celebrate Jessi and Jenn's birthday. Incidentally, Mon Ami is also the location for clefoodgoddess and fiance's wedding next Spring. We had SUCH a great time!! We tasted a few wines, Jessi and I split of bottle of pink bubbly (YUMMY), and we indulged in lots of DELICIOUS FOOD.

Jessi, clefoodgoddess and I ate crab legs for the very first time. It was a very messy but super yummy endeavor, and by the end of the night, with Angie's help, we'd each figured out how to crack the shells without going right through the meat! They were so good that the drawn butter was absolutely unnecessary!!
Later, we stopped by the gift shop and each walked out with our hands full of wine bottles: I picked up the Pinot Grigio and Haute Sauterne, and I can't wait to drink them!!

If you're looking for something fun to do and get away from the city for a day or an evening, I recommend heading over to Mon Ami. It's a great way to spend some time tasting wine and reconnecting with friends or loved ones!!

Eating Across Cleveland: Istanbul Grill

N and I LURVE Middle Eastern Food, and this Friday, we decided to try the newly opened (and newly liquor licensed) Istanbul Grill (2505 Professor Ave) in Tremont. N and I sat at the bar and found out all kinds of stuff about the restaurant: It was opened by two Miami grads (go Redhawks!), who, like N and I, are also a Miami Merger (two married Miami grads). They've been open two weeks, and the bar is the original bar from the old Hotz that formerly occupied that spot. The chef is Turkish, and all the meat is butchered in-house. I'm not joking when I say you can taste the freshness.

N and I couldn't decide on just one item each, so we decided to the Dinner for Two. At $39, its a FANTASTIC  deal, and includes appetizers, the mixed grill entree and two desserts. Absolutely everything was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!!

The appetizer sampler included humus, grape leaves, baba ghanoush, hayadari, tabouli, Soslu Pathcan, and Ezme salad dip. I'd previously tried most of the appetizers at other establishments, except for the hayadari (yogurt with walnuts, dill, and garlic), Soslu Pathcan (Eggplant in a spicy tomato sauce), and Ezme salad dip (mied tomato, walnut, onion, peppers). My favorites were the Ezme salad dip and baba ghanoush; the hayadari was ok, but I would've been fine skipping it.

The Mixed Grill Entree included Doner, Chicken and Lamb Shish Kebabs, and Adana Kebabs (really well seasoned ground lamb and beef), and they were melt-in-your-mouth good. Seriously, I can't even describe how good the entree was; needless to say, N and I can't wait to go back there!!1

The baklava is really good too, appropriately sweet, but not too much. All the desserts are homemmade too.

If you're looking for Middle Eastern cuisine on the near West Side (beyond Aladdin's), I highly recommend Istanbul Grill. They also have a lunch menu (all items under $10), and are open 11:00am - 9:30 pm, except for Friday and Saturday when they're open until 11:00pm. Closed Monday.

Temple St Clair for Target

Have you heard of Temple St. Clair? I hadn't either until I heard that she was designing a collection of jewelry for Target! She started designing jewelry in Florence, Italy in 1986, and has been creating beautiful pieces ever since.

I've taken a look at her fine jewelry on her website, and its absolutely beautiful! I love her use of colored stones, but there's no way I'm paying $275,000 for a bracelet unless I win the lottery, which I haven't done yet. From what I've heard, her collection for Target (launching August 29th) features the same beautiful saturated colored stones, but they will all be costume (aka fake). I will definitely be checking out the collection for a few reasons:

1. I LUUUURVE jewelry. duh.
2. I luuuuurve colored stones
3. Her name includes St. Clair (my beautiful baby girl's name)
4. She started in Florence (one of my favorite cities in the world)
5. The collection is for Target = cheap chic!

Again, the collection launches August 29th!! I can't wait!!

Inspired by.... Adam Lambert

I had so much fun doing my Inspired by... yesterday, I decided to do another one, this time for men! The look today is Adam Lambert:

The beauty of doing this for men, is that almost every guy has the basics: a pair of dark bootcut jeans and a graphic tee (if you EVEN picked Ed Hardy or Affliction, you should know that I just died a little inside.) For the jacket, here are my inspired pieces:

Faux leather jacket $148, guess

G-Star Raw "Work Dean" jacket on sale $107 at nordstrom

Mooskie Sunglasses, $14 Tilly's

To the men that read my blog: I know that shopping for casual clothing is a challenge, and you mostly hate doing it, but I hope this helps!!!

Inspired by....Angelina Jolie

So I thought it might be fun to try something new today. I decided to pick a celebrity outfit that I like, and then recreate a look inspired by it, and see how low I can bring the price. So here's today's picture:

Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Salt

And, my picks, inspired by the metallic look above are:

Dillards Jump Dress on sale for $45

Metallic Washed Linen Belted Sheath, $59 at Spiegel

Silk tricotine Robin dress in light pewter $60 on sale at jcrew

To complete the look, I would pair the dresses with a couple of light pink belts and a pair of nude pumps:

Covered buckle skinny belt $14, The Limited. I would probably double these up

Ok, so I was doing really well keeping this look under $100 until I got to shoes. But since I have a pair of nude pumps, I'm going to count these as $0. However, if you don't have a pair, here's one I really like:

Nine West Every in Taupe $62 at zappos

Angelina Jolie is not really wearing much jewelry in this look, except for a pair of earrings. So, for good measure:

Cubic Zirconia Drop Earrings $7, kohls

Of course, if you have a pair of real diamond studs, you should definitely wear them!

I'm a peacock, you've gotta let me fly

So Friday night, N and I decided to do something we haven't done in a long time; dinner and a movie. For a change, we decided to go to Crocker Park. We decided to try Blake's Seafood since we were still in the beach/seafood mode following Jimmy Buffet the night before...

So, in a nutshell, food= good, service= meh. Honestly, the food was really good, I would grade it an A for taste and price. N ordered the Surf and Turf with Lobster Tail while I ordered the All Surf, and both were an excellent deal at $19.99 each. The service was really C- at best. We sat at the bar, which almost always guarantees good service, but this time, the server was more concerned with her prep stuff than taking care of the 8 people at the bar. Not gonna lie, it kinda ruined the experience. That said, N and I had some very amusing people-watching; there were a lot of people that looked like they'd stepped out of The Jersey Shore for the 60+ crowd,  which made for a very entertaining dining experience.

After dinner, we walked over to Regal Cinema to watch The Other Guys. This is the new Will Ferrel-Mark Wahlberg-cop movie, and it was HILARIOUS!! I laughed out so loud so many times... its definitely one I'm going to buy when its released for DVD. If you're looking for a laugh, you should definitely go watch it! Maybe even go watch it tonight; it will definitely make Monday more enjoyable!!!

Cheeseburger in Paradise

So, this may come as a surprise to you, but I LUURVVE Jimmy Buffet, especially in concert. N has been to over 10 concerts, and this year marked my third consecutive Jimmy Buffet concert with N. I have only one issue with Jimmy: I wish he'd do a concert in Cleveland!!! It would be SO much fun; renting a limo bus with a bunch of people, tailgating with sand in the parking lot, lots of cheeseburgers and margharitas..... *sigh* I guess in the mean time, N and I will just to have to be content with going to Pittsburgh to see him, like we did this past Thursday.

If you haven't been to a Jimmy Buffet concert, its the most ridiculous time EVER; people of all ages dressed up with sharks and parrot costumes, LOTS of Hawaiian shirts, the CRAZIEST tailgates... the best part is everyone at these concerts is laid back and relaxed, regardless of how high-strung they may be in real life!

Here's some pictures from this year's Jimmy concert:

Sand and a baby pool on a truck bed

Straw hats $1 at a dollar store

There's nothing more I can say that this picture doesn't say already

 

The man himself

Thanks for the good time Jimmy. See you next year!!!

Romperiffic Anna

Everyone, meet Anna. I'm featuring Anna on the blog today because she looks fabulous in her outfit; she's one of the few people I know who can pull off a romper. She incidetally also just graduated from college, so CONGRATULATIONS ANNA!

So the outfit is comprised of the following pieces:

Romper from Kohl's

Green sandals from Wet Seal

Green belt from another dress that Anna owns

Green earrings from Macy's

Here's the kicker; every piece was $10 or less, so the whole outfit cost less than $30!! Cute AND budget friendly! What could be better?!?!?!!?! If you want your own romper, I will give you some options, but on the condition that you ask a non-diplomatic person (not a stranger) for their opinion before you wear the romper out in public. As I said before, rompers are not for everyone.

Jonie printed romper, $47 at dillards

Dance Away Romper $58, quicksilver

Sandlot romper $48, modcloth

Good luck romping!!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Kifus

This past weekend, N and I attended the wedding of our friends Ryan and Susan at The Bertram Inn in Aurora, Ohio. Ryan and Susan are so cute; they had these little jokes they whispered to eat other during the ceremony- it was so charming!

The happy couple. Susan's dress had this BEAUTIFUL purple sash that woulc also look super cute with a skirt. Particularly a high-waisted one...

This wedding had some great touches that I absolutely LURVE:

The place cards were envelopes stuffed with lottery tickets and pennies, which everyone scratched off during the groom's speech: so FUN!!

For the favors, you were provided with a box to fill up at the AWESOME CANDY BAR!!!!

And my MOST favorite of all, the wedding cake topper was a sculpture of their dog, Winston.

Wintson!!! He's an English Bulldog if you couldn't tell...

For their wedding present, I went off the registry. They had registered for wine glasses, so I got them a set of wineglasses from Banyan Tree (which is incidentally one of Susan's favorite stores, so if they don't like it, I'm 100% certain she'll find something else there to replace it).

 

Although I bought these at Banyan Tree, the wine glasses and tray actually came from Canton Box Company, from their vist at the Tremont ArtWalk a little while ago. If you're looking to get some of these yourself, its another good news/bad news situation. The bad news is that CBC isn't making this exact piece anymore. The good news is that later this week, they will be restocking their etsy store with these:

I'm a huge fan of stemless wine glasses (less tipping over) and you can never go wrong with a tray. Maybe even for breakfast in bed. Just saying.

High-Waisted

I'm going through a phase where I really LOVE high-waisted pencil skirts. Paired with a blouse, fun belt, high heels, and fabulous jewelry, I absolutely LOVE the look! I also love that there are so many options to fit so many budgets!!

$28 at freepeople.com. Yeah, that's $28!!!!

Denim Pencil Skirt, $44 at Arden B

 

Vendetta Pencil Skirt $98, Marciano by Guess

And, on the pricey side,

Moschino High-Waisted Skirt, $502, farfetch

Shopping local: Bordine by Kate Bordine

Saturday was the Lakewood Arts Fest. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to visit all the booths, so I don't have a full review for you. I was on a very strategic hunt for Kate Bordine's booth. I love hoop earrings, and I especially love when they're slightly atypical hoops. When Kate was at the Clifton Arts Fest, I found a pair of silver hoops, that I've blogged about before. This time, I was on the hunt for some gold-tone hoops, and as usual, Kate didn't disappoint.

The Goddess hoop $42 in gold tone at the Lakewood Arts Fest

If you're looking to acquire a pair for yourself, its a bad-news-good-news situation. The bad news is that she's only doing festivals right now as she finishes up grad school. The good news is that she's working on getting her website up, and soon, you should be able to view her collection and order pieces here. This website could be a very good/bad situation for me ; )

Eating across Cleveland: Danny Boys and Latitude 41N

Wow, it was a busy weekend. First of all, a big congratulations to N and his fellow grad students at Kent State's Architecture Program for graduating!! YAY!!!!

Friday night N and I took it easy; he's been exhausted from finishing his project, so we decided to try Danny Boy's for dinner. Danny Boy's was a reccomendation I received from my pizza poll back in May, and it lived up to expectations. Its a super cute restaurant, cute in the kitschy sense, but charming nonetheless.

Its a Rat Pack theme, so lots of Frank playing in the background. I enjoyed our order; we ordered a Cleveland pizza, which is a New York style crust, but topped Chicago style, with the sauce on top. N prefers his pizza less saucy, but it was a delicious pie. The bottom of the crust was perfectly crisp, and the sauce was a spicy/sweet style. The portions are HUGE. Since we knew that going in, we split the Buffalo chips (kettle chips smothered in buffalo sauce and cheese--- DELISH), salad and pizza, and stil had leftover pizza. I think my favorite part of the meal was the bread that came with the salad; it was like a pillowy cloud of goodness!!! btw, if you're trying to be healthy, forget about Danny Boy's. Its very much a cheat-day meal.

Sunday morning, N and I went to Latitude 41N for brunch. First impression: it reminds me of the former Buzz coffee shop in Oxford, Ohio (if Buzz had served food. RIP Buzz, I loved hanging out at your smoky tables). You go up and order and pay at the counter, and seat yourself. When your food is ready, they yell out your name and bring your order up to you. N ordered the Chicken and Waffles, while I ordered the Left Coast Omelet. Both were delicious. Incidentally, N is on the hunt for the best Chicken and Waffles in Cleveland, so your recommendations are much appreciated. So far he's tried them at South Side and Touch.

As you can see, I've been completely unhealthy this weekend, and I'm paying for it now. Its time to get back to healthy eating, at least until Thursday, when N and I go to Jimmy Buffet!!!

Swimsuit Mullet?

So, my friend MelRose is going to vacation to Florida in September. As I was helping her pick out swimsuits, we came across these:

Looks like a normal one-piece in the front....

But turn around, and....

I don't get these. Why would you want a one-piece in the front and a two-piece in the back?!?! Doesn't that defeat the point of both a one-piece and a two-piece? Talk about wierd tan lines!!! Its like a mullet: business in the front, party in the back....

This weekend in CLE: Krusty's, Lakewood Arts Fest, Warehouse District Festival

YESSSSSS! I LURVE happy surprises. Like this one: I love that my computer and therefore my blog are back and running ahead of schedule! A HUGE thank you to Amazon.com and USPS for getting my battery to me so quickly.

Since it almost the end of the week (I see the world as half-full : ) ), I figured I should let you know what's going on this weekend. If you're a reader of the plum's blog, then you already know that Saturday is Krusty's Summer Sauce Camp. Unfortunately, N and I will miss this awesome event. AGAIN! We're attending a wedding Saturday evening, and I have a feeling that Krusty's would definitely result in us missing the wedding. Instead, prior to the wedding, N and I will attend Lakewood Arts Fest. I'm particularly excited about visiting the Bordine by Design stand. Kate Bordine was at the Clifton Arts Fest earlier this summer, and I'm looking to pick up another pair of hoop earrings, this time in gold.

I LURVE these earrings!! I can't remember exactly how much they cost, but I know it was under $30.

On Sunday, N and I will be at the 6th Annual Warehouse District Festival. I'm really excited about this one; it will be my first time at this particular Festival, and its a great way to support Downtown Cleveland. There's also a cutest dog contest at 4:00pm, we'll be entering both Otto and St. Clair, obviously. Ooooh, and the Spazmatics are playing from 6:30-8:00 pm!!

Completely unrelated to this post (I'm experimenting with the Flip recorder N got me for my birthday), here's a video of Otto and Clair; we taught her to shake hands. We're very proud parents.

My dog ate my homework

If you follow me on twitter (@cleshopaholic) then you know that my sweet but naughty puppy Clair chewed through my power cord for my laptop. I'm outta juice. The good news is that I've ordered a new one. The bad news is that it won't be here until next week. I considered doing the blog anyway, but I don't know HTML and that's the only way do write posts on my iPhone. So my lack of HTML skills= posts with no pictures or links= FAIL!!! You deserve better. So I've decided to go on hiatus until I'm up and running again.

In the mean time, if there's anything you want me to talk about when I get back, please leave it in the comments or email me at cleshopaholic@gmail.com.

I'll miss you!!

To be continued...

Shopping local: Lilly Handmade Chocolates

This past Friday, N and I attended the 60th birthday party for a close family friend. The birthday girl loves wine, so I was on the hunt for a wine-themed birthday present. After various wine accessories came up short, I decided to go over to Lilly Handmade Chocolates, where the amazing amazing Amanda Montague whips up delicious chocolate confections to go with the equally delicious beverages in her store.

I've tried Amanda's tastings before, and I know from experience that its best to have her help pick out both the wine and the chocolate. I have a tendency to pick wine bottles based on the label art (I know, I know), so I ended up with this:

A sparkling Malbec with Blueberry ad Mixed Berry Bars

Of course, no visit to Lilly's would be complete without a little something for me

The nutty bark. Which I opened in the car. mmmmmmmmm delicious! (For my non-Cleveland readers, you can order this online by going here)

The birthday party was amazing: It was held at Patterson Fruit Farms and included a Neil Diamond Tribute Band! Delores, I hope you had a wonderful birthday, and I hope you enjoy your wine and chocolate!!!