social suite time

Earlier this week, I joined a group of lovely social media ladies to attend my first Indians game in the Social Suite. You know, that Social Suite that everyone should sit in every game because of the amazing seats.

A group of us were invited to come to support Wahoo Women, where $3 from every ticket of that night's game went to the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign.

view from the suite

Group shot stolen from Alexa's phone

rain delay!

While it rained, we talked about really important things like the weather as Alexa watched the radar explaining when it would pass, ran back and forth between the terrace club and discussed our favorite spanx brands. Really. Here's a tweet to prove it.

told you!

Jen and Janet's cute red shoes

Thanks Time Warner for the food.

Even with the rain, I had an amazing time for my first invite in the suite and oddly enough, I'll be back at the park this weekend for another game. Only I indirectly head to two concerts and two Indians games in one week!

sun hangover part II

Even though it was a bizillion degrees out this weekend, I managed to be out and about Friday through Sunday which may or may have not had to do with a hose and a beach chair during the super hot hours.

For us Clevelanders, we have this amazing little comedy club on East 4th that I always forget about for some reason - Hilarities. The last time I was here was for my 24th surprise birthday to see Rocky Laporte. Um, yes, that was four years ago - it's been too long.

yeah pink boas and surprises circa 2008

A group of 12 or so decided to see Frank Caliendo after a long week. I only remember him as the impression guy and the BF wasn't sure how he would be in person but he was hilarious! (He wore KSU gear too.) He did everything from Bush to Obama to Charles Barkley to Morgan Freeman. (Just thinking about his impression of Charles Barkley makes me laugh now.) Seriously, how the eff does he do some of those voices?! After checking out the lineup for the months to come, I'm going to talk everyone to coming back to see John Caparulo (the guy who wears KSU stuff on Chelsea Lately - Go KSU!) and for this murder mystery show they have through the end of August. I've alllllwwaaays wanted to go to one of things. Remember the Saved the by the Bell episode? Yeah, that's my only reference to a murder mystery other than Clue.

After our Veggie U trip, I traveled down to Tremont with Christina and her adorable sun to brave the humidity in the name of food.

I'm sweaty just looking at the kid with long sleeves and jeans.

We hit up Lolita, Bac and Dim and Den Sum before we called it quits. We only lasted 1.5 hours but it was a great end to a fabulous weekend. Now, what to do this coming weekend? I do believe a pool is in order.

memory lapse

Over the last weekend, I've come up with some hilarious ideas for blog posts with the help of friends and have forgotten all but one. (It involves a future mother-in-law creating a baby room for an unborn baby to an unmarried couple complete with clothes, dolls and painted it pink. No plans of a baby, not engaged but the woman has already started a room. I couldn't make this up if I tried.)
 
Anyway, I really need to start writing this stuff down or start the posts but keep them as drafts so I can remember to finish my thoughts. With my handy dandy iPhone, I have capabilities to keep notes and I keep them for everything else - grocery lists, book lists, spring fashion must haves (seriously, I do) complete with Lucky recommendations of skin care products to try. However, I never manage to jot ideas down but I really need to start doing this - all these brilliant ideas escaping my brain.

Besides forgetting future posts, we dined with friends on Friday night in Cleveland Heights at Dewey's Pizza, got take out from Peppermint on Saturday and spent Sunday Easter dinner with my family at Crop before it moves to Ohio City at the end of the month. We were all over the place with our food choices this weekend but I did manage to get two solid workouts. It's almost bikini season after all and some serious lbs need to shed off this body.

Here's to another exciting week in Cleveland with 60 degree weather and showers everyday. BUT, I'll take the 60 degree weather - beggars can't be choosers after all right?

yard decorations

To end this weekend in our sweet 81 degrees we experienced in Cleveland all Sunday, the BF and I took a walk through the neighborhood. It's been forever since I've had a on tank top and shorts so I was all about being outside as much as possible today.

We live in suburbia. Granted, it's right by a few kick ass shopping malls on the east side and a hop, jump and skip from other Cleveland neighborhoods, it's still suburbia. On our walk, I've never noticed how many people celebrate Easter in their front yards - it's like an easter basket on their freaking lawn.

Growing up, I remember my mom decorating with easter egg clings on the windows and baskets in our house. That's it. Plain and simple. Easter is like the spring Christmas when it comes to decorations now. It's no longer just window clings. There are colored lights, giant easter eggs, rabbit statues and inflatable flipping rabbits.

Inflatable rabbits!

Some rabbits even inside a basket surrounded with eggs. All lit up

It's incredible.

If I would've had my iPhone, I would've had pictures to show of these awesomely hilarious decorations but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Love it or hate it?

it's raining showers and mad men

My weekend has consisted of two things - showers and Mad Men. I couldn't get any more exciting I know.

Saturday afternoon I ventured to Youngstown for the boyfriend's future sister-in-law's wedding shower and then headed to a baby shower on Sunday for a college friend on the east side.

Cherry Blossom bridal shower

presents galore

Quickest gift opening ever!

While my day job is at an advertising agency, I somehow have never seen a complete episode of the show. Everybody talks about it all the time. The BF and I started watching the first season on Saturday night and are now even watching it now as I type this on Sunday night. I can't get enough of it.

Observations:
Could they smoke anymore?
I think the smoke is coming through the TV.
I feel like I'm getting lung cancer just watching this show.
I would've been fired on my first day if I were Peggy for throwing a punch or a middle finger at one of the male AEs.
Thank God I wasn't born until the 80s.

spring fashion time

With April almost here, I swear it's going to get warmer and I'll be buy to all the floral print dresses I currently have sitting in shopping carts from Zappos to Ruche looking for trench coats, platform and wedge sandals and fun, spring dresses with light jackets. With that said, I'm going to share some of items I've been loving and adding to my online shopping bags.

Ellie Goulding -
While this has absolutely nothing to do with fashion, I've been playing her music on repeat since I somehow I came across her music on iTunes. It reminds me of spring in some weird with her voice.

Lights, Your Biggest Mistake, Under the Sheets, This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)- favorite songs

Here's a video for the song "Starry Eyed"




By way of a coworker, she introduced me to my new favorite site - Ruche. It's a mix of Anthropologie with Francesca's pricing and I want every flower and light colored dress they have available. Here's the kicker - if you see something you love, order it and order it quick. Everything I picked below is currently sold out but occasionally certain pieces will become available again.

Love across the universe dress, $36

Debonair wear ruffle dress in mocha, $38

My silver lining ruffle tunic, $36

hitting the books messenger bag, $58

After looking for months, I believe I have finally found my perfect pair of nude-ish pumps after searching every brand you can possibly imagine. Nothing seems to fit my slightly smaller left foot to match my slightly larger right foot. I've also been trying to stay under $100, but screw it all to hell. These look perfect to wear with dresses, jean leggings and shorts if I'm brave enough to buy a pair of those things.

Meet Kelsi Dagger from Linzy

5 inches of perfection from Zappos, $120

Meet Jewel from Sam Edelman

love the mary jane pump, $99

Or a pair of espardille shoes like these from Vince Camuto

here we come wedges, $98

I do believe I've earned myself a spring spree, don't you?

house duty hell

Let's get real here people, I'm probably the last person who should own a house because I have zero patience.

I have zero patience when my heat stops working. I want to be able to call maintenance to come and fix it and go about my day. I have zero patience for annoying bill companies either. When I lived in an apartment, I didn't have to deal with the Cleveland Water department. If you live in Cleveland have to deal with this company, I'm sure you can empathize and if you've been fighting with them for a solid year now, you probably understand my point even more.

Plus, there's gardening, roofs that cost as much as three trips to Mexico and other items that seem to break at the most inopportune times.

Last week, the BF and I got into it about housework.
"Allison, I think it's pretty clear which one of us does more work around the house."
"Ohhhhhh really, BF. Because you've cleaned the bathroom how many times in the last year?"
"When have you ever mopped?"
"I don't even know where you hide the mop!"

(Yes, he hides the mop. How the hell am I supposed to find the mop when he puts it in a closet I didn't even know we had?)

Happy homeowning I tell you!

dark ride: vip experience giveaway

While I enjoyed a relatively low key weekend featuring brunch at Lucky's Cafe, a quick trip into Banyan Tree and seeing the King's Speech at Capitol Theater, I'm already looking forward to next Saturday because a kick ass party I was invited to along with Alexa, Alana and CleShopaholic.

This Saturday, Playhouse Square, 96.5 KISS FM and Cleveland/Akron Lexus dealers are hosting Dark Ride: VIP Experience and launch party of the Lexus CT200h starts at 8:30 p.m. in the State Theater with performances by Jay Sean, DEV and DJ Flaco.

For 700 lucky attendees, you will walk into the State transformed into the Lexus lifestyle experience to a nightclub with a red carpet, champagne, Absolut martini ice bar and hor d'oeuvres with special performances throughout the evening and the new CT200h on display. (I may try to even drive it out of the place somehow.I haven't quite figured it out but I have a few days to craft a plan.)

Tickets are available for the VIP event at Metro Lexus on March 15 from 5 to 6 p.m. (look for the KISS FM street teams), on KISS FM, from Metromix here or from my blog, so you can't purchase tickets for this anywhere.

However, the lovely ladies at Playhouse Square gave me 2 pair of tickets to giveaway for Saturday's event.

To enter:
1) Leave a comment of your favorite rap/dance/booty shaking song of all time.
2) Tweet about the contest  - I want to go to the VIP Dark Ride on Saturday with @allisonpeltz and @playhousesquare.
3) You must be 21 to enter and you HAVE to LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS because otherwise how will I contact you to pick up your tickets?

Contest closes on Thursday, March 17, and I will announce the giveaway shortly after winners are chosen.

Disclaimer: PlayhouseSquare provided me with tickets for this fabulous events and I'll be attending with friends, dancing all night long.

one year later...

One year ago this weekend, the BF and I moved into our house when it wasn't snowing in March as it is this March.

Isn't moving soooooooo much fun? To recap our move, read this little post here.

Since we've moved in, we had high hopes of quickly painting every room, buying new furniture and maybe even getting a head start of making some changes to the kitchen like countertops and flooring. (Real sexy stuff, I know.)

However, in my whopping one year of ownership, I've learned a few valuable lessons and not completed half of those projects.

1) We have a narrow driveway so I must pay attention as I back out my Mazda 3 even though I want to ram it into the house to get a new car.

2) There are kids everywhere! So, I need to be careful as I back out of the driveway.

3) Money doesn't grow on trees in the backyard so we have to be selective in our purchases seeing as you have all these new fees like house insurance and ridiculous expensive water and heating bills.

But, we did make two key purchases that make me smile everyday since we've taken ownership of the little bungalow.

I bow down to the snow thrower. It makes the BF's life a hell of a lot easier to clear the driveway so I don't fall down and bust my ass from the garage to the house.

Look at him go!

And, a brand new queen bed! No more elbowing each other in the middle of the night or pushing each other around. Just sound sleeping for both of us.

Complete with an upholstered bed

While we still have awhile to go to update rooms, knock off a decrepit back porch and add furniture, I'm patting myself on the back for making two sound decisions. See Dad - I do listen to your advice sometimes, just sometimes though.

rewind: jump back ball 2011

As I lay here in bed watching the Oscars preview, it's safe to say that my first Jump Back Ball experience was an amazing success.

So much so that I've spent most of the afternoon (and into the evening) in bed.

Damn you hurricanes! 

We all had a blast. That's a complete understatement for my group of friends because it was such a good night of dancing, drinking, falling, then more falling, then ice luging and then more dancing. (There was so much food available (missed the damn pretzels!) but we were busy on the dance floor. While I didn't wear the dress everyone voted on (it didn't get great reviews) , I ended up borrowing the dress from my friend and was happy with the end result.

Quotes remembered from the night:
BF to his friend: "Why the hell didn't we come to this when we were single?"
His friend to the BF: "Seriously, what the hell were we thinking?" Cue eye rolling.
Same friend: "We are coming to this every year."

While I didn't spend too much eating food, it was definitely delicious but I missed the soft pretzels! Noooooo! I was too busy dancing to the Menus with my friends and then to RadioActive. Whoever booked this band should get a big high five- they were awesome. They played everything from Lady Gaga to Notorious B.I.G. and sounded amazing.


Now, on with the show!

Early on in the night

absolutely loved this band

great idea then, not a good idea in the morning. Doesn't my friend look like Kate Middleton?

The BF putting the moves on Lia

And here's a video recap of the night in 1:35 that didn't contain too much shaky video, laughing or talking in the background.


Jump Back Ball 2011 from Allison Peltz on Vimeo.


Disclosure: I was given a pair of tickets to attend this awesome event. However, I was planning on going and buying my tickets even if I wasn't given them and will continue to attend every year! Thanks Steph and Cindi.

winter weekend

Oh yeah, I'm back from not-so-snowy weekend like we had experienced earlier last week.

On Friday with about 6,000 other people, I laughed my ass off with my friend Erin and a bunch of new friends at the Q for the Chelsea Handler show. I had never seen her before and heard mixed reviews from friends the last time she was here. Some loved her and then some thought she was over-the-top raunchy or just drunk.

Having read two of her books and seeing as I watch Chelsea Lately on a regular basis, I was hoping to expect the same humor. She was on stage for about an hour and a half, telling some jokes from her book, mentioning Angelina Jolie and told the story about "the feeling" from Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang. She makes fun of Ted a lot and that was probably the most entertaining part when she would imitate him and described the demise of their relationship.

Unfortunately, no pictures were taken from our sweet view it the suite because I was too preoccupied trying to get a package backstage to Chelsea on behalf of a client. Sadly, we came up empty handed but I still enjoyed her show and would definitely not turn down tickets to another show or to her show in LA.

On Saturday, I headed west to decorate cookies with my aunts. They baked everything earlier and I showed up to add my decorations to the cut outs. Seriously, I probably ate one too many but that's part of the fun, right!

i ate too many while i frosted

On Sunday, the BF and I met up with friends to watch the game and we attempted to do some Christmas shopping earlier. It was a mess. Legacy Village was a mess with parking and the stores were packed, so we knew it would be even worse at Beachwood Mall. We said screw it and headed to bar.

Here's too a long week that will end with a holiday work party!

the one where i lose my mind on my daily commute

If you don't live in the midwest of the east coast, you can't truly appreciate how snow can really eff up your morning or evening commute.

You may say, " you should be used it" or "it comes everywhere, you dummy," but nothing can quite prepare you for what would normally take 20 minutes maybe 30 minutes to get home in snow to 2 hours and 23 minutes. My journey started at 4:27 p.m.

According to Mapquest, my house is 10.4 miles from work. Now, if you are in LA you are probably thinking, "that sounds about right in rush hour."

Well, folks, this is Cleveland, not LA. My biggest decision is to get off or not get off at Cedar/Brainard and for those of you who live on the east side can appreciate what a cluster f*ck that exit normally is.

So? What did I do on my 2 hour and 23 minute commute home?



Let's take a look at my tweets during that fun-filled time:

I'm just beginning my journey and blown away by all the snow and how crappy the roads are this point.

 I'm now completely astonished that it's taken me this long to go one mile.

By this time, I'm past the part of having a dance party in my car, have gone through the whole new Rihanna album once and realizing I'm going to be here awhile.

 For anyone that was also stuck in their car or parking garage, I felt it was important to share that I wasn't in fact driving, just sitting in my car wishing I was driving.

At this point, I was way over my dance party phase and people started laying on their horns as if that was going to stop the snow or make people start moving. Fact: It didn't help one bit.

I saw this on Twitter which made me turn on my Lady Gaga playlist to make it another few inches closer to home.

After 6 p.m. slowly came and went, I soon reached a familiar landmark.

almost home!

 

 

 

 When I finally turn on my street, I glanced at the lock and it read 6:51 p.m. Seriously. Is that even possible? I gangstered up the driveway because it was covered in snow with my little Mazda 3 (bad decision to share for another post) to hopefully get it in the garage. I lunged forward toward the garage to see the BF shoveling snow and barely hit him as I finally pulled into the safe zone.

To find this hilarious boy, sliding all over the place with his shovel.

It's good to be home. It's good to be home.

christmas tree hunting

If you are in the midwest, chances are you got a little or a lot of snow this weekend. I convinced the BF that this would be the perfect weekend to go purchase our first live Christmas tree.

When we lived in the apartment, we had a little dwarf fake tree that didn't quite cut it so when this holiday season came around, I knew we needed to kick it off with a bang.

First things first - the BF is somewhat of an organized person. Like when we were looking at Xmas lights, he needed to strategically think about which lights work the best on the front bushes and calculated how long of an extension cord he needed. (I was huffing and puffing to get the hell outta Home Depot and just pick up some lights and cords, hoping it would all work out.)

So.

Let's just say I wasn't sure how much patience he would have for me and my tree hunting. When I'm shopping for anything, I like to look at all my options whether that's buying toilet paper, purses, shoes or cereal. I like to have options.

I was looking for the right tree that I only I could picture that was 6-7 feet and the right fullness. He was picking out short and fat ones but I really saw something with more height and fullness. I also almost saw the snow up close and personal because I almost fell twice and one of which was caught on film. Of course.


Picking a Christmas tree from Allison Peltz on Vimeo.


And, here it is, all dressed up. When we were shopping for ornaments, I let the BF pick silver versus gold but lucky for him, I had more ornaments my mom gave me.

Ice blue, silver and gold

Do you have a fake or a real tree

it's too early for Jingle Bell Rock

So, I'm in Cleveland.

And I assume other cities have already started doing this.

Why is there Christmas music playing? All. The. Time. Thanksgiving is next week and I swear that this Cleveland station as been playing it since November 1.

Now, I love a little Stevie Wonder Christmas mix (What Christmas means to me to be exact) with the rest of them, but don't you think it's a tad early to start playing Jingle Bell Rock?

I live in the part of the country where I think we should determine when the holiday music should start. Granted, we did have a quick snow last weekend, but I still think that was a little premature gift from the weather gods. They knew it was too early and it's been 50 here every other day.

Plus, I'm not hating on Christmas music. I love Christmas music, too. I really do. You better believe I'm jamming to "All I want for Christmas" and the whole first version of Mariah Carey's Christmas album. But, it's just a little too premature.

So, I will leave with you George and the other member of Wham! whose name I don't know, singing a song covered by everyone from Jimmy Eat World to Taylor Swift. Because they make down coats and ski lifts look, tough cheesy and cool all at the same time.

And, he sings

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I a) love Lady Gaga and b) have been caught singing in the shower by the BF.

Because he thought it "was only right" that I shared my singing-in-the-shower videos, I thought it "was only right" to tape what I had to listen to this week while he was working.

I love that we have a separate office space now in our house. When we lived in the apartment, we only had the dining room area to work and both had to utilize that space. It wasn't easy to get work done there because it connected directly with the living room.

So, on this random week night, the BF is upstairs in the office working away, blaring my iTunes from my ancient computer and belting out part of the lyrics. He thinks my music sucks. Phrases often heard from him: "You have no taste in music. Who ARE half of these people? You have....techno? Lots of techno!"

For all those times you made fun of my music catalog, apparently you really did like some of the music after all, huh?


the bf sings from Allison Peltz on Vimeo.

don't pick up

 I interrupt this regular blog post to share breaking news:

Get off your phones!

That's right - all you people talking on your phones on your morning commute, to pick up the kids or on the way to dinner, get the hell off your phones.

Each morning last week on my short 10 minute commute to work on 271 south, I count at least 10 cars on their phones. I know they are talking because they either swerve slightly to the left or slow up the traffic pattern by going 60 mph in the left lane. Or, they look over their right shoulder to get over, turn on the turn signal, then have to look again with their neck in this weird cocked position because they are trying not to drop their phone. You know what I'm talking about, right?

I'm going a mere 8 miles and all those people are talking on their phones. They are talking on their phones and messing up the traffic pattern. Most of the offenders are women who can't drive as it is (sorry, statistics say we can't), so I'm not sure how diverting attention away from the road makes sense to anyone.

Since I've had the Malibu, I have bluetooth and have been using it religiously in the car. I'm no saint - I talked all the time in the car. It's just about time I stop. Cold turkey. No talking while driving and sure as hell no texting.

If you text or tweet while driving, that's just plain stupid. It can wait. Really, it can. At least wait until a red light and not when you are driving 70 mph an hour.

Say it with me Clevelanders - get off your phones.

it's about the small things.....

I’ve officially had the Malibu for a little over a week now. I’ve driven to lots of my usual spots but drove it down to my friend’s wedding this weekend, which is the farthest drive I’ve gone in it and it's a whole 20 minutes away.

I bring it up because I forgot what it was like to enjoy driving a car. Let me first back up to explain.

Over a year ago, my lease was up on my Ford Fusion and I decided I wanted  “zippy and sporty” car and decided to get a Mazda 3. This was a great on paper idea – it really was, or at least so I thought. After six months, I tried to unsuccessfully return the car and upgrade to a better model because I didn’t realize what I had given up in a car. The guy looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Wait, you want to return the car?"

Fast forward six months and I’m still driving that car and not enjoying it. While I know you can’t compare the cars apples to apples, I like driving the Malibu. I enjoy getting it into it. It’s more comfortable, more steady and I don’t feel like I’m being blown all over the road when I’m on the highway. It also has a decent horn so when I lay on the horn when I'm cut off, I feel like the person takes me seriously versus the high-pitched beeping they receive in the Mazda.

The other tiny feature I’m enjoying is when you start up the car. When you start it up, you hear nothing, just the hum of the engine. When I fire up my current car, there is this incessant beeping until I put on my seat belt.

It is the most annoying sound that I have to listen to for the next two years. People actually ask me, "What IS that noise?"

I don’t know about you but when I start up my car, I don’t have my seat belt on. I start the engine and then put my seat belt on. (I ALWAYS wear my seat belt and wear my helmet when on a motorcycle. Safety first.) I can’t put my seat belt on fast enough with my 3 but with the Malibu, I don’t have to worry about that noise.

It’s peace and quiet. No beeping.

At least for the next three weeks that is. 

To follow my journey along with other Cleveland bloggers, click here for more videos and blog posts of my Gotta Love Chevy adventure.

director's cut

As part of my Chevy test drive for the month, I have to film a few vlogs to accompany my posts both on my blog and here. I asked the BF to help me film a simple, yes a simple intro, and nothing with him every turns out to be simple with him as you will see below.

Here is the actual video:

Mission 1: Grocery shopping at Heinen's from Allison Peltz on Vimeo.



And here is what it took to get there:


The outtakes from Allison Peltz on Vimeo.

sweet lady gaga

If you follow me on Twitter or ever read a single post, you know I love the artist known as Lady Gaga. So I don't bore you with my review of the concert (because you know I give it an A+++++), here is our night in pictures and a video.

With Christina, nine months pregnant and in a maternitard

With Gaga's number one fan (he had a picture with her from two years ago on his phone) and my concert BFF

 Start of the show

Boys, boys, boys

In a live dress, or at least it moved while singing

Put your paws up - Bad Romance Finale

For those of you who didn't attend, here is a taste of the concert where I picked my most favorite performances with the exception of Teeth. Somehow I stopped filming during Teeth and it was awesome - she rocked and sang her ass off.

Lady Gaga in Cleveland from Allison Peltz on Vimeo.

cheese, cheese and more cheese

When warm weather starts to grace Cleveland, I get particularly excited about flip flops, cookouts and dresses. I also love all the patios we get to enjoy at restaurants. I LIVE for eating outside after being cooped up all winter. The BF and I eat out quite a bit, which is mostly on the weekends with friends or just the two of us. If we get home late for work on Friday, I normally don't feel like cooking (yes, I do the majority of the cooking because if I didn't, we'd be eating pasta every night). There are a slew of restaurants I want to visit based on the patio alone, and I was finally able to get myself to L'Albatros after being invited to their wine and cheese tasting with my friends Michelle and Alexa.

I love cheese. I love all kinds of cheese. I could eat cheese, drink wine and sit on a patio for hours. Ask the BF - he personally gets annoyed, I'm sure.

Our cheese samplings (Starting at the top, the first three were my favorite (La Tur, Casatica di Bufala, Salva Cremasco) plus the orange-ish color (Monte Veronese Malga) one on the left.)


The menu with maps of the areas in Italy where we were eating from


Brandon sharing his knowledge with the group


Although we weren't on the patio, it was a great time and I learned about the age of some of the cheese, regions and some new wines. I loved the Kerner tasting so much that Alexa and I both picked up a bottle of it while Michelle bought the port. (It was a close tie but I went with the Kerner.) Nothing says summer to me than a crisp glass of white wine and cheese of course.

We didn't order anything off the menu but we will be back to try the pork two ways, chicken confit and maybe even the escargot, which were all recommended from Twitter.