Healthy Breakfast/Lunch Place in Cleveland!

So I've always wanted to open my own breakfast/lunch place in my area because it's so lacking in a really good, healthy breakfast place. I am a huge believe in using fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy ingredients, to make amazing food. While I was down in Columbus visiting friends we went to have breakfast at a place called the Northstar Cafe. It was very refreshing knowing that a company in Columbus is purchasing locally, organically grown fresh produce and utilizes sustainable, environmentally-friendly business living (down to the staff t-shirts). Let me tell you, it's amazing food. We also stopped at a place called Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. She buys local, organic ingredients and keeps the environment in mind as well. Once again, a phenomenal product!! They also donate money to Veggie U, a local farm that educates children on growing a eating vegetables.

So here's my question, why does it take certain areas to produce these type of businesses. You know you can get this business in San Francisco, CA, or Boulder, CO, or Seattle, CA, or Portland, OR, or Asheville, NC, or apparently now in Columbus, OH. But why can't you get them in Cleveland, OH? I know there are some business around our area, such as Lucky's Cafe in Tremont, but there's not enough in my opinion.

You know, at some point in my future I will realize my goal of a breakfast/lunch place in Brecksville, Ohio that has fresh/healthy options for those who are interested in eating local, organic meals that taste amazing!!!

~B

Enjoying Summer :)

I'm so happy to have the sun out (almost) every day this summer! Clevelanders are actually smiling and trying to remain positive, outside of the whole LeBron thing. SO far, my summer's been going really well. I finished up nine credit hours of school work to lighten up my school load for the last year. Decisions have finally been made as to my future, been in between just working or going on for my doctorate. The doctorate decision was made, and I'm not taking the steps to ensure that I will be a great candidate. I finished my patio by adding a storage bench and two new conversation chairs!
Also, I got my herbs to grow again... last year they died because I was too busy wedding planning than herb growing :) This year I have cilantro, rosemary, thyme, dill, curly parsley, flat parsley, basil, chives and lavender. They smell amazing! Also, since classes are wrapped up, I'm back to focusing on my diet and fitness schedule. My husband and I joined Ballys two months ago and just haven't found a great routine on getting to the gym. However, I have the next five weeks off so we're hoping to get something cemented that gets us both at least an hour workout three times per week. This morning I had some yogurt with fruit, raw oatmeal and cinnamon. MMmm, it was perfect! Fingers crossed, I would like to maintain this healthy diet moving into next year. My problem is the preplanning of food. It's really hard to think of what you'll be in the mood to eat the next day... and then wake up early enough to cook it! But we're also house hunting right now so any way to save money is good enough for us!

All in all, as typical, I have a lot of things up in the air but I finally have a positive attitude and feel like it will all get accomplished when it's meant too. So all I have to say is Yeah! Sunshine!!!!

Easter Break Update

So over my Easter break my husband and I finally got our place looking like it ought to – we have a couple of little things left to do, but it feels so much better. It's amazing what a little spring cleaning can do for you. I went through my mail, and shredded the large amount of junk that I get. If anyone has any ideas on how to get our mailing system to flow better, I'm up for advice!

Other good news, my husband and I went grocery shopping and have been packing our lunches every day! It normally consists of a 100-calorie English muffin or coconut milk yogurt with fruit for breakfast; a sandwich with veggies & hummus, fruit, fresh cut veggies, & baked pita chips for lunch; and hot tea with small dark chocolate or popcorn for a snack. I’m going to say that I feel very proud of us!

The bad news, unfortunately, we have been attacked by Asian lady beetles… so gross. So we can’t open our windows or sliding door for fear of further infestation. Terminex is coming by on the 15th to spray, and I really hope that helps! We also are on the verge of getting our taxes filed, so that’s a relief! Also, I haven’t been working out to my fullest potential yet. I need to start getting on the ball and do something every day, so hopefully I can get motivated! And on that note, I’m just not on the ball this semester with my homework. Really, I’m not sure what the problem is (other than burn out), but my lack of motivation is really beginning to get me down! My husband said that when I get this stressed I can find any excuse for self-sabotaging, so hopefully I can not do that and become accomplished and knock his pants off!

You know what I need? A personal assistant!!!

Gardens/Backyard Dreams

So while my husband and I are not really looking for a new home just yet, now that the Cleveland weather is ooooohhhh so nice, I'm daydreaming of what my dream backyard would look like. Some blogs have posted some great ideas - including A CUP OF JO and La-di-da - and I can always look to a Pottery Barn catalog as well for some great inspiration!

I am just a garden type of girl, and if I could have my property framed in with trees and have carte blanche to do what I want with my backyard, you could imagine that it would look something like this:













Realizing that's a lot of pictures - I would want the elements of fire, water, earth, and air located in the garden. I would want lush greenery with a spot for my herbs, vegetables, and fruit - and a major section dedicated to entertaining, relaxing, and a spot for future children to play :)

One can always hope - right???

B

Spring To-Do List :)

Generally, I am an organized person. I have everything I need to get done listed in some to-do list just waiting to be crossed off. After Christmas though, and certainly after my wedding, I started to get to-do-itis and no longer care about getting things accomplished. I was burned out!!! I’ve been on vacation since then, and it’s definitely made things worse. However, the sun’s out again. The snow is gone. My clothes aren’t fitting well and my place is a mess.

It’s spring cleaning time! I have a five day break and I’m going to clean the tubs & showers and bathroom floors, the refrigerator/freezer and the kitchen floor & scrub the rest of the apartment (and our laundry) clean. Oh, I can’t wait to turn off the heat and open all the windows!!! I swear things are going to get accomplished.

The most important thing is to finish all my homework for this semester, including finalizing my qualitative research report so that I can apply for speaking opportunities. I also want to follow up with my practicum/internship site to set up a lunch with my supervisor to calm my nerves about counseling people – for real!

I also need to GO THROUGH MY MAIL. I need to see what events I missed that I didn’t RSVP for, and apologize to friends for lacking in the friend department. Also, now is the time for me to get back on a working out schedule and start pre-planning my meals (groceries shopping) so that I can finally lose the 13 pounds that have been plaguing my ass!!! I also am still itching to do something creative - like knitting, drawing, or photography. Hopefully I can get it accomplished over the summer when I have time.

Other things that I want to get accomplish file our taxes so that I can apply for financial aid, get my external hard drive to On Track Data Recovery to see if I can get my data back, get my husband’s website up, and I want to get together all my clutter items to sell on Craigslist & eBay. Also, I want to send my wedding invitation & fall leaves to my photographer because I forgot to have pictures taken for my wedding album. On that topic, I also have to file the paperwork to legally change my name.

Wow, no wonder I’ve been avoiding to-do lists! I’m already stressed out again. Oh well, give me a glass of wine and some fruit, I’ll get it all accomplished somehow.

Thanks for your support!
B

A Little Gray....

Right at this very minute I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with school, work, life, etc. However, I do want to note that it’s a gray day today, and I’m nearly 80% certain that I suffer from seasonal affective disorder! The only highlight of my day is looking through the blogs that I follow. These men/women are so creative and thought inspiring.

Today’s blog, in particular, is really a kudos to A CUP OF JO’s blog, and I thought I would share some cool things from her blog recently!

When I was planning my wedding last year, I was watching an episode of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? and I thought this designers 8x8 flower wall was amazing. http://www.eventergonomics.com/floral.html Just recently her blog shared another designer who is selling these vertical gardens! Now I am all about helping the environment and being eco-friendly, so I wanted to share that they have a do-it-yourself kit for purchase. Check it out here

Also, I am noting another one of her post’s sharing photographer Paul Octavious collection of photographs that he take over the past 2 years of a place he calls "the hill." Each time he came to find a new story as he describes “is told to me as if the hill is my stage and the locals are the actors in this daily play.”





Finally, A CUP OF JO recommended my next summer read! It’s called Eat, Memory, and it's a collection of 26 essays that originally appeared in the New York Times Magazine, connecting to foreign places and familiar people through tastes and smells. She recommends it as something fun and yummy. :)


Thanks again to A CUP OF JO for sharing so many interesting things. I hope by the end of this summer, you’ll be looking for one of my blogs for inspirations!

Family Portrait

As I have been getting older, I have begun to appreciate my family more and more. Through an intense interest in genealogy, and constant questioning of my family as to where we have come from, I have recently begun to uncover where my family is from via Ancestory.com. Within 24 hours, looking through Census forms dating back to the 1800s, birth and death records, marriage records, articles, etc., I traced back eight generations on my father’s side and five generations on my mother’s side! I feel so enlightened already knowing the occupations of my ggg grandparents and I can almost imagine what life was like for them back then!

Honestly, I feel like I’m understanding where I come from better and I feel like hopefully that will help me understand even more about myself. And eventually when my husband and I start a family of our own, it would be awesome to be able to tell our children more about where they came from! One note of warning though…. Ancestory.com is very addicting. You could sign on first thing in the morning and stay on it for 24 hours without realizing it!

I’ll keep you updated on anything fun and new that comes from this!
Thanks to MadeByGirl for the photo!