7 Quick Takes: Double Dose!

So turns out when you move your entire house without professional help it takes awhile.  Hence my absence from the blogosphere.  If for no other reason except to keep track of my year, I present a double dose of quick takes

7 Quick Takes: Week ending February 14 
{this should have been posted last Friday morning}

-1-

We made another dent in our Oscar movie watching quest!   Dallas Buyers Club and Captain Phillips were both very enjoyable.   I must say, I was a bit apprehensive about Captain Phillips.   I don't really know what I thought it would be like, but it was awesome!  Highly recommended.   I figured Tom Hanks would be amazing and he was.   Totally got hosed on the lack of an Oscar nod.

-2-

We had a lovely meal and concert experience on Saturday.   The Cleveland Orchestra did not disappoint, and Michael and I could not decide which part of our meal was the best... his cauliflower and blue cheese soup, my chopped salad, his hanger steak, my chorizo mac n cheese or our amazing cinnamon bread pudding.   #thisiswhyIrun

-3-

Tuesday afternoon we headed to Florida to begin our PACK THE HOUSE project.   Nene was kind enough to take us to the airport on Tuesday.    In typical Nene fashion the garage opener wouldn't work, and our iPhone player got stuck in the car outlet, so we could not take it with us for our drive back.   We were all cracking up at the "Nene-ish" situation

-4-

So it turns out that packing is a lot of work.    We started Wednesday morning by unpacking the boxes of boxes, and got help from The Moms.

 We worked for hours!   Even though we don't have a lot of stuff, we managed to keep busy

Mom looked like she was hugging a ghost.  It was just a lamp

-5-

There were injuries!

Mary Lynn pinched her fingers a few times and I injured myself pulling apart a bed frame.   The worst part?  We decided to LEAVE IT BEHIND!  

Why yes those are Muppet band-aids and yes they helped me heal quicker

-6-

Thursday we loaded the pod.    But first I did a little jig to kick things off

It took longer than expected.... about 4 hours to load a 3-4 room POD.   Now, keep in mind we have a 3 bedroom house, so I would say that's pretty good, stuff-wise.    We celebrated by taking a WONDER picture.   

As in, I WONDER why we did not hire professionals.   And that is a very good question to wonder.

-7-

What would a move be without Jules in a tall box?

7 Quick Takes: Week ending February 21

-1-

A few days in Florida after a frigid Ohio winter really gets you appreciating the sunshine and warm weather.   I could not resist capturing this moment on the patio after running outside for TWO consecutive days (!) including a 10 mile slog with Al.   We both earned our birthday cake that day.

-2-

I spoke at my alma mater this past week; I felt so old.   My mission was to speak to the seniors [only 100 days til graduation!] and get them pumped about their transition to LRA alumni.    Despite the free pizza and KLONDIKE BARS they seemed less than thrilled.  I like to think it was high school angst and not me or the others who spoke to them!

-3-

Michael and I drove from Orlando to Cleveland Monday and Tuesday.   It about a day and a half.  It was epic - we listened to good music, had lively conversation, and played the license plate game.   What can I say?  We travel in style.   Highlights?  Stopping in Atlanta for lunch with Gabrielle on Monday.   We forgot to take a picture!   But also, we drove past a familiar sight of my childhood.   The Florence Y'All water tower in northern Kentucky

-4-

Sadly our moving escapades severely limited our Olympic watchings thus far.  But I am happy to say we arrived at our destination on Monday evening just in time to see ice dancing.  I must say, Davis and White get me every time.   I love that they have been together so long and seem to almost move as one person and know exactly what the other person will be doing.  It's awesome

-5-

While we were away, Oliver spent his first session in Ohio kitty boarding.    He was not a happy camper when we dropped him off, but boy was he pumped to be home on Tuesday

-6-

I discovered MyFitnessPal this week.    [Thanks Al!] Whoa.   I thought I was OCD with Fitbit....  The fact that Fitbit syncs with MFP is making me ridiculously excited.

-7-

My mom turned SIXTY last Friday.   Yes she is a Valentine.    Her request?  To spend the day at the Magic Kingdom.  We were more than happy to oblige.

Relatedly, I almost died last Friday.   Say what?    Well you see...... My mother wanted to ride the damn Tea Cups.  It was her birthday so I couldn't say no.  It's not my favorite ride.

Mom insisted that she did not want any gifts.  But I love giving gifts {much more than receiving them, in fact} so I would have had none of that.  We gave her a pretty awesome gift, which I will be writing about in the next few days.

Better Late Than Never: NYC Edition

Yes I was there a month ago, but I don't want to forget what we did!   More current events will resume later this week.  In the meantime I have created a Cliffs Notes version of my travels if only so a year from now I have an inkling of what occurred.


THURSDAY

Arrived at Penn Station after a brief train ride from Newark.   Noticed a flower vendor so I got some flowers for Al and her roommate for hosting me.   They both commented that their BFs never got them flowers, so a sister would have to do.   I am happy to accommodate!  The three of us ate at a wine bar / tapas restaurant and enjoyed catching up

FRIDAY
Off to Chelsea!   First stop Loehmann's so I could find a dress for Marissa's wedding.  No luck.   Al was a Loehmann's rookie and found an entire bag full of stuff.   Typical!  But she was pleased to have found a new store, and we had lots of fun trying on clothes and making comments.   We also stopped in a very fancy pants consignment shop where there were tons of designer duds- tags still on- way marked down.  Nothing I was looking for, but quite the experience being in Chelsea.

Time for me to have a first- going to Brooklyn!  Can you believe I had never been there?   Al and I met up with Sally and walked back to the city via the Brooklyn Bridge.  

We had to rest up before our night at the Barclay's Center to see Pearl Jam in a luxury box.

SATURDAY
Eleven miler in Central Park.   It was gorgeous running weather - 60ish and cloudy.   The leaves were changing and the park was stunning.  [I did not have my phone since I was focused primarily on running but gosh I wish I could have taken photos]  We even got free pretzels and hummus near the exit!  This type of thing does not happen in my Florida neighborhood.  We took the train downtown to get TKTS tickets to see Newsies and a strange woman told us not to eat hummus because it's fattening.   Thanks, lady.   I am sweating and wearing running clothes.  I think I got this one.

One bad thing about running a long distance in NYC and then going somewhere else is that you don't have a change of clothes and are bound to be a bit chilly.   But this is why you treat yourself to a CAB when you're done buying tickets.

Dinner did not disappoint- gourmet grilled cheese and craft beer before heading to midtown for the show.  It's a good thing the lady from the train did not know how much fat I would consume that day.  The hummus was the least of our worries!

I was not impressed with Jack Kelly's singing, sorry to say.   Luckily the dancing more than made up for it and it was a terrific show.   The leg room, however, left something to be desired.

Energized from the fantastic music, we had to go to 16 handles for frozen yogurt.

SUNDAY
Back to Chelsea to enjoy brunch with Tony and Carmen [who live there] and Marissa and Howie [who were in the city for the day].   We had yummy food and good visiting before heading to Chelsea Market.    Al and I even met up with Marissa and Howie later for a drink after exploring High Line.

Dinner included Shake Shack with Sal, and a tour of his new apartment.  Talk about a good food day - holy cow.

MONDAY
Went to the gym like good little 1/2 marathon trainers.  Then we headed to the Upper East Side to explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art and grab lunch.  

For my last night in the city, the tenement museum in the East Village did not disappoint.  The hardest part was selecting a tour - we went with Sweatshop Workers and had an enthusiastic young woman tell us all about life at the turn of the 20th century.   Al and Melissa's apartment is above a pizza place and I FINALLY ate there with Al for dinner.  We topped off the evening with a stop at Momufuku Milk Bar and Al practiced doing my hair for the upcoming 1/2 Marathon… Full House Style

TUESDAY
Got in a cab in the East Village and clearly say 31st and 7th please.  Aka PENN STATION but on the NJT side.   Cabbie heard 34th and 7th.   I got to walk a little extra to the train station.   Once inside, I must have looked like I had it together because someone asked me how to buy a NJT ticket and how to get to the trains.  Um ok.   I dashed down a flight of stairs, hopped on my train, and made it to Newark in plenty of time.

Nobbin' with all the muckety-mucks, I'm blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe

Yes, Newsies fans, I was in New York to see Al, and we saw the show!  What can I say, I am a lucky girl.  

If you follow me on Instagram [yes, I got an iPhone and have joined the 21st century!] you have seen some of these teasers.   Let me show you some more while I further delay my full recap of 5 days in The Big Apple.

Nothing quite like arriving at Penn Station via NJ Transit on a Thursday night.

Girls night out!  Drinks and apps at a wine bar in the East Village.  

Melissa [our auxiliary sis and Al's roommate] took the photo

Selfie on the Brooklyn Bridge - my first time into the borough! 

Newsies at the Nederlander Theater

We totally took a photo during intermission despite the rather LARGE no photo signs.   

Whatever - it was the mezzanine and the stage was empty.  No regrets

Just a normal day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Recreating the Full House opening scene as I test out hair options for our upcoming race.  

Instead of Michelle, I got a Fat Bison

Tribe in Tampa

Earlier this month we took an overnight trip to see our beloved Cleveland Indians take on the Tampa Bay Rays.   It was a nice break from the work week, and allowed us to see a new stadium while rooting for the Indians.   Below, a few highlights


We stayed at the Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel in downtown St. Petersburg.

Source

It's centrally located downtown, so we walked to Tropicana Field on Wednesday night, and were able to take advantage of the free stadium shuttle afterwards.

Check out the adorable rooms. . . .

I was smitten with the bedding and color scheme; you can barely see the checkered bed skirt and shams, which also included navy blue.   It was intense, but I liked it!

The halls were a bit busy, but again, it worked.   The building used to be a local inn back in the day, so it has a funny layout, and the folks who run it decide a quirky decor would be a good idea.

Initially known as the Heritage Inn, this building was built in the 1920.   I asked Michael to stand by the sign that explained it was one of the first hotels to offer a chilled ice water system to their guests.  Guests could refill the pitcher from their  room with chilled water before retiring for a relaxing night's sleep.   Naturally I tried to turn on the spout.   Michael explained that modern hotels featured ice machines and cold water in the bathrooms so this feature has been rendered obsolete.   Right.   Good call, Cornellie.

Time to go to the baseball game!   Tropicana field is a dome, so it's climate controlled and full of big lights. 

Our seats were very good; we were seated about 5 rows up on the third base side.  

Most importantly, I had a great view of my boyfriend, Michael Brantley, because he bats left handed.

The Tribe ended up winning the game, 10-6 overcoming shaky pitching.   Our section had a smattering of Cleveland fans, which made the end of the game that much more fun!  There was a bit of trash talking among some silly guys, but it's a sporting event.  What do you expect?

It was a late night, but we got back to our funky hotel room around 11:30 and were asleep around midnight.   The 3 am fire alarm (seriously!) was unwelcome.   We were jolted awake, only to stand outside in 80 degree heat and excessive humidity.   Thankfully there was no fire - especially because it took the 7 fire trucks more than 10 minutes to arrive.   Sheesh.  We were all allowed inside after about 30 minutes, but I was not amused.

We had a little free time the next morning so we went for a stroll along the bay.   I was evidently channeling my sister, because I came upon a stray kitty cat sleeping on a picnic table.   So I took a picture and talked to her.

We headed back to "The Trop," this time remembering to take a photo.   The sidewalk leading up to the stadium depicts fish and sting rays and other Florida motifs.   Just as you'd expect!

Since we got in so darn early, we took some time to explore the stadium.   The Sting Ray tank is a highlight but there was a crazy line, so we headed up to the 'bleachers' and got a birds eye view instead of walking right in front of them.   We even found a guy to take our picture with home plate behind us.

Sadly the Tribe was shut out 6-0 on Thursday afternoon.   We were glad to have had the opportunity to see our home team in a new stadium, and even happier to see them win one night.   Seeing any kind of live baseball is always a great way for the two of us to spend a few hours!

Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair

Yes, we're still talking about California.   We are almost done, which is probably a good thing because if I wait much longer, I am bound to forget more than I already have.   I should probably take better notes.  Or just blog more frequently after such fun.

Anyway.   I mentioned that we went on a super cool tour of San Francisco.  It was a great way to spend several hours (with bathroom stops thankyouverymuch) but it did not cover everything that we wanted to see.   Truth be told... neither did we.  There is just too much cool stuff for our short jaunt.  We must go back.  And we shall, some day.  Here are some highlights as to what we did without the tour guide.

Aside from seeing many cool spots during-- and after-- the tour, Michael did not disappoint in the food department.   I did not take pictures of everything.   I am so not that girl.  Mostly because I am hungry 99% of my waking hours and by the time I think to take a picture I am halfway done with the food.  Oh well!

Soups in bread bowls from Boudin.   And some wine from Sonoma, naturally.  This is all placed precariously on the little tiny end table in our hotel room.   It worked great, and it was the cheapest dinner we had all week.   And perhaps the tastiest.

Michael enjoying Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista, which claims to have brought the drink over from Ireland.   Thank you, Buena Vista.  Good idea.

OK so I wanted to stop for donuts, not Michael.   No surprise there  We were walking on Fisherman's Wharf and the mini donuts were calling to me.  I didn't want to disappoint them.  They were delish.

Also while on the Wharf, we took a few touristy pictures.  I couldn't resist.

The sea lions have been there for more than 20 years

Pier 39 (obviously) with Alcatraz behind us

We had to take the boat out there!  So so so windy (again... common theme)

Check out the ROCK!

Michael is in a jail cell?  Yeah.  Had to take a picture of that one!

Aside from learning all about "the most secure prison in the United States" via their very informative audio tour, we also made it to Lombard Street 

and rode the cable cars numerous times

Fun, but talk about inefficient transportation!  If it weren't so hilly I am quite confident I could outrun a cable car any day of the week.

Verdict of our California Trip:
I cannot believe it took us each 28 years to get out there.  Rest assured, we will be back to further explore San Francisco, wine countries, and new areas, too.  It sounds cheesy, but in my opinion, it is so cool that the country is so divers in its people and landscapes and what is has to offer.  There is no excuse to not take advantage of as much as we can!