busy with a capital B

So I don't have this crazy and wild weekend of activities to share but I do have one hell of a busy week ahead of me. As usual, I enjoyed the ridiculously hot weather outside and then had dinner at Ballantine with friends and saw Horrible Bosses. Ever since the BF saw previews and the extended trailer, I knew this would be the next movie we saw even though I'm all about Ryan Gosling and his abs in Crazy Stupid Love. Oh my god - I can't wait.

I was mentally preparing myself for what will be a hectic and loonnnnng (but very exciting) week. On Tuesday, I head to Britney Spears to basically listen to her album played through the Q's sound system where she will dance and lipsynch her way through my favorite pop songs.

Complete with screened t-shirts for the Circus tour

Post concert, I'm meeting up with high school friends who I haven't seen in months and some who I haven't seen in a year, but I'll take the lack of sleep anytime to hang out with this group of friends.

On Wednesday, I'll be back at the Q with Michelle and Suzanne to dance our asses off to New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, but I think we all agree we are more pumped to hear Step by Step and Hangin' Tough. (Although, seriously I will sing at the top of my lungs to I Want it That Way any time. You want to karaoke - I'm there.)     

Oh Joey McIntyre circa 2008

Group shot

By Thursday, I'll be sleep deprived and possibly deaf from the loud music but I'll have to rally together to take my brother for dinner after he completed his bar exam. Two days and 12 hours of testing later, I think he deserves a dinner out, don't you?

Good luck, Greg!

And, it will be the weekend before I know it. Here's to a full 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.

sun hangover

Way back when, a group of bloggers attending the patio opening at Washington Place Bistro and owner Scott Kuhn introduced the group to Farmer Lee Jones and Veggie U. He surprised the group with tickets to the event and off we went! On Saturday, that same group headed west to the country for the Veggie U Food and Wine Event with a bunch of other fabulous people in Jeff's sweet sexy van.(Yep, we took a party van to the event.)

Van in background, group in front

If you followed any of us on Twitter or #veggieu, you probably saw a lot of tweets and photos from the group on the way there, at the event and on the sing along van ride back to the Lakewood. Because I've had a sun hangover weekend from all day in the heat on Saturday and a short trip to Taste of Tremont today, I think a photo recap post is in order!

Me and Christina in the back of the van

Nothing says fancy like busch light and macaroons

Champagne anyone?

Jeni Britton Bauer and Govind Armstrong signing books

Jeni's ice cream, mmmm, maybe I tried 3 flavors

Sweets by Maggie from my hometown of Amherst

Taking a picture of Charity taking a picture

It was a fabulous event - great food and people and so glad we all ended up making the trip out for it. And, a big thanks to Charity and Ben for organizing the van and for bringing friends who bring hors d'oeuvres
on the ride. Clutch, very clutch.

Disclaimer: I was given a ticket to attend the event along with everyone else featured in the photo.

apparently I was a Kardashian

I had a very vivid dream Tuesday night that I was  Kardashian and woke up thinking, "OMG, did I really just dream that?" It involved a really sweet mansion with pool and a bunch of Kardashians running around and apparently I was one of them. (Because that's pretty normal, right?)

Apparently that's what happens when you go out on a typical Tuesday with a bunch of blogger chicks and one guy. Waving hi Seanski! If you would like to see what we look like according to Alexa's 3rd grade drawing, hop over here to take a peek. Who knew that girl was an artist!

This was a pre-event  mixer for us because about half of those present will see each other this weekend for the Veggie U food and wine event on Saturday all the way out in Milan. A group of 15 or so of us will trek the distance west to eat, drink and hopefully not sweat through our clothes. (Weather please cooperate and don't be too humid - I'm a mess in humidity. Who isn't?)

 So what did we do?

the menu  - we did order food

We ate. We drank. We laughed. We talked too loud and probably laughed too loud but luckily we didn't get any ugly stares. We drank some more and probably ordered the most "Shoreway Coolers" for one table. Ever.


Sadly, I woke up from my Kardashian-esque dream with the same size butt, no hair extensions or Louboutin's and continued to have equally as descriptive dreams the next night too.

Do you dream in celebrities too?

it's paw-ty time

Meet my friend Erin.

Rocking out together in Vegas

She is one of the crazy dog people that I make fun of and love at the same time.

Ever since she purchased Winston, her boxer, she's been uploading pictures like crazy to Facebook and texting me with funny messages of the dog. Texts I'm sure I received in the last year -  "Winston rolled over!" "Have you ever seen a cuter dog!" "Winston says smile - it's party time!"  She even created his own Facebook page with 183 friends mind you. Only her.

Well, this weekend I will be attending a party to attend in her dog's honor. A Paw-ty if you will at a dog park. I'm laughing as I type this because she's so hilarious some times.

Winston - almost 1

 

the bone cake for the party guests

Apparently, there will be quite a few "guests" who will be diving into this cake. 

Here's to the weekend!

memorial day whirlwind

Oh, how I love long weekends that bring summer back into the mix instead of the usual rain we've been experiencing in Cleveland.

My weekend was filled with driving all over northeast ohio to visit friends and family for cookouts and girls' nights - because you can never have too many of those.

Meet my friend's new puppy, Mira

First stab at making funnel cakes since the rain kept us away

However, you better believe I spent some time outside laying out and planting a few flowers too.

I was hopping all over the place from the far west side back to the east side and then the Detroit shoreway neighborhood yesterday for a long motorcycle ride. From the east side, we came down Chester into the city and the ride in was an interesting way to view the city, seeing as most of the area was deserted for the weekend. I've never noticed some of the remodeled homes that are on Chester, leading into the city. Normally, I'm driving so I'm not paying attention but this time I had to chance to look all around and just hold on for dear life so I didn't fall off the bike.

We stopped for dinner at Reddstone but they stopped serving dinner so we headed over to Stone Mad for a late dinner. Who knew we weren't the only ones who didn't attend a cookout on Memorial Day?

I'm all about the warm weather and don't want to hear anyone complain about it. Here we come summer. Now, if I can just get bathing suit ready and not scare my neighbors?

shop til you drop - a legacy village shopping event

Last weekend, I was cordially invited to a shopping event at Legacy Village on the east side to Charming Charlie, one of my frequent stops for jewelry because of the prices and because it is so close to my house. My friends and I frequent the other shops and restaurants there, especially in the summer and fall to sit on the many patio options. Because I'm easily distracted by shiny things, I have to narrow down my search before I go in to stores like Charming Charlie. I go in and keep my search for specific colors because if not, I will be overwhelmed and not be able to make up my mind.

I saw a few friends there like Cleshopaholic, Michelle from All Lacquered Up and Pauline from Classy Chaos and was introduced to a handful of other CLE bloggers whom I've never met. White House Black Market shared some new dresses and we all shopped throughout the store to look for jewelry.I walked away purchasing one long necklace with a bunch of charms on it.

shopping night begins

Cleshopaholic and Michelle from All Lacquered Up

swag bag contents

With summer officially here with this weekend's weather, it's time to get a-shopping! One lucky reader will win a $25 Legacy Village giftcard to spend wherever your little heart desires. Want a date night, new jewelry or clothes? You will be $25 closer if you win this giftcard.

How to enter the contest:
Two ways to enter:

Tell me what you are most excited for this summer in a comment. Vacation, flip flops, swimming pools or patio dinners? I can't wait for lazy Saturdays to layout and cookouts with friends. Nothing like beers in the summer with a cornhole game.

Tweet giveaway: I love _______ about summer and entered @allisonpeltz 's Legacy Village giftcard giveaway.

Winner will be chosen on Friday, May 27.

Happy shopping!

Disclosure: I was invited to the Legacy blogger event and provided a $50 giftcard and swag bag for attending this private shopping event.

weekend warrior

Since Friday afternoon, I have driven all over northeast ohio and have the mileage to prove it. 584 miles from Friday morning through Sunday night.

584 miles at $4.08 a gallon.

If you follow me on FourSquare or Twitter, you probably wondered where the hell I was going because I was bouncing from Milan, Ohio, for a work event to Youngstown for the BF's brother's wedding, back to Cleveland to sleep Saturday night then headed allllll the way to Ada for my brother's law school graduation and even made to a Legacy Village shopping event with some blogger friends. (More on that later.)

I can't wait to crawl into my bed tonight and watch Desperate Housewives. (Yes, I'm still one of the few that watches and laughs out loud and Gaby and her crazy antics.)

The bride and groom

Ohio Northern Commencement

My brother not taking his hard-earned hood off

While tons of people took pictures at the wedding and at the graduation, I unfortunately did not but I assure you I was there at both.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lay in bed and prepare for what will probably be a busy work day tomorrow.

ga-ga ooh la la

While I'm sure you've read all about the concert last week or were at the Q yourself, I haven't had time to sit down and blog about it until now. This would be my third concert in two years and it was an exact repeat of the Monster Ball last year, but that didn't stop my friends and I from going again last week.

serious glasses made my friend's mom

Had to take a pic of these girls - so cute

These guys were die hards.

the glasses were a hit.

All in all it was  a fun night even though Gaga was about an hour late but the girl danced her ass off for two hours. My friends and I never made it to our actual seats, instead, we went out on the floor were incredibly close to the stage. In person, that Lady Gaga is one tiny chick, running up and down the stage in latex and high heels.

Were you there - did you like it, love it or hate? And, will you be at the Born This Way tour because you know I will be!

countdown to gaga

If you've been reading this blog for the last year, you know two things:

1) I'm a huge Lady Gaga fan.

2) I've attended not one but two concerts and even dressed up as her for Halloween.

I like to think I was hip on Gaga before way before she was hanging from the rafters of the MTV Music Awards a few years ago.

The concert is next Wednesday and I have made some progress with my costume.

However a few Facebook friends said I should recreate this look below

I've thought of a few versions of her meat dress to pull off and of course I pair of cut-out leggings I can wear. I'm thinking of this look below and I have most of the stuff but need to pick up the blonde wig.

Are you going to the concert? Are you dressing up? If so, what the hell are you wearing?!

And, dear Gaga, please please sing Judas.

Thanks, a serious fan of yours.

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.

rent the runway - Jump Back Ball style

In just a few weeks, I'll be attending my first Jump Back Ball with the BF and a group of friends. I've heard about the event from friends who have previously attended and they said it rocked. It was amazing. It was the party in Cleveland not to miss.

Back in November, I wrote about the kick off ticket party and how I was selected along with Seanski to receive a pair of tickets.
For everyone who purchased tickets (Sorry, tix are sold out now), here is a preview of Passport to Party:
Fun activities which will be even more hilarious after a few glasses of wine:
Caricature artist (I'll flash my calves)
Fortune tellers (this could be hilarious)
Gambling (The BF is pretty good)
Jugglers (Can I join in?)
Labatt photo booth (this can be trouble)

And the bands.....
Polka band (I'm 25% polish!)
The Menus
RadioActive


And the food.....
VIP party catered by AMP 150
Absolut martini bar (dirty one please!)
Around the world buffet from Sammy's
Drumrolllll..... a sno cone machine.

While all that's great, let's not forget about one of the most important parts of the event - the fashion.

Seeing as I've never been to many "balls" in my life, I feel like now is an excellent time to try Rent the Runway. A few of my friends have rented from here and it's been featured on all sorts of shows, including when Gossip Girl named dropped it on more than one occasion.

Over the past month, I've been perusing the site to look for a possible dress to rent. The hardest part is choosing one because there are so many amazing designers I can't afford but I can rennnnnnnnttttt one.

So, here are the dresses I like and are under $100 (that's key my friends).When choosing, please keep in mind these models are sticks. I'm 5'7" and probably 150 pounds with some sturdy legs, so I'd like your opinion on which dress I should rent - maybe you all can sway my decision one way or the other.

Dress #1
Badgley Mischka
Short and sassy with a nice color

Dress #2
Mark & James By Badgley Mischka
short and sassy with a bit of fringe

Dress #3
Mark & James By Badgley Mischka
long and elegant with delicate details 

Dress #4
Nicole Miller
long and sultry and so not something I'd pick

Personally, I'm leaning toward #2 or #3 but I'm not sure I can pull off a maxi dress. Plus, it all depends if these will be available when I go to rent it too.

So, dear blog readers, which dress should I choose?

mistaken identity (all at a dinner)

While at a delicious 5-course preview diner at the Washington Place Bistro & Inn, a new friend, who I called channel 19 (bet he never hears that), otherwise known as  Jason pointed out something about the BF.

(He doesn't know my family so he couldn't possibly know about the brother/dad comparisons.) Could he?

Oh no. He couldn't.

Jason says to the BF, "Could you saw a few sentences? I want to test something."
So, the BF starts to act as if he's giving the weather to the weatherman and Janet and Jason bust up laughing and say, "You look and sound like Nicholas Cage. Almost right from National Treasure."

Sean and Alexa agree and the BF has another feather in his cap for being told he reminds them of  Nicholas Cage.

But, back to the dinner. I apologize in advance to anyone following me on Twitter Monday night because I tweeted throughout the whole dinner, including pictures of each and everyone one of my dishes.

Menu:

• roasted beet and goat cheese salad (chef's garden beets and greens, almonds, mackenzie creamery ranch)
• oxtail pierogies (oxtail ragout, ohio city pasta truffles potato pierogie, caramelized onion, horseradish creme fraiche)
• dayboat scallops (butternut squash risotto, pearl onions, apple cider, beurre blanc, micro greens)
• braised pot roast (c.a.b., chef's garden carrots, roasted garlic mashers, big red reduction)
• pan seared wild pacific salmon (cauliflower gratin, fine herbes)
• housemade chocolate brownie (chocolate jeni's ice cream, bittersweet chocolate drizzle)

Chef Jonathan Guest (right) and owner Scott Kuhn

My taste buds rated my favorite dish as the scallop then beet salad then the cauliflower gratin and chocolate brownie. I'm a sucker for dessert and anything with chocolate automatically gets my vote. Before we cleaned our plates, Scott took a few minutes to talk about dish from where the cheese is from to his love of beets to where the pea tendril came from on top of the scallop. It's all in the details!

But, let's not forget that Scott and his magical team didn't only redo the restaurant but renovated all inn rooms, too.

Scott Kuhn with the BF

Alexa bet me to take a few sensual pictures on the bed and I was totally going to take her up on it, but good thing Scott knew we had dirty minds and made sure to tell us that the bed was boxes. It wasn't an actual mattress to jump on. Anyway, we were adults, didn't jump on any beds and took a peek at the rest of the unfinished rooms with fireplaces! Sign me up for $159 on a Saturday night that includes brunch the next day.

Not bad for a Monday night after a holiday weekend, eh?!

beer weekend

I do believe my weekends keep flying by even more and more quickly as each one passes. And, it's almost Halloween! How the hell did that happen!

On Friday, a group of my friends and I celebrated our last bar party in our friends' basement. They are moving a short distance away to a new house, so we had one last throwdown in the bar.

Cleveland Beer Week officially came to a close and the BF and I headed to Brewzilla to close out the week with a bunch of other beer lovers. Last year, the BF and I went to a few events but this year we only attended Brewzilla.

Crowd below

with my friend Katie drinking Bumbleberry from FatHead's

view from below

Something to know about me is that I always carry a few digital products on me at all times. I have my iPhone, a digital camera and Flip camera or sometimes two. However, the only thing I seem to use at all times is my phone. Are you surprised? So. I've been on the quest to start taking more pictures, especially with the BF because we really don't take that many pictures together. I always rely on other friends to send me pictures. So, after being at the event for a few hours, I decided it was time to get a couple shot.

Well, below is what was captured.

Take 1 with the BF

Take 2

One of these days, we will get a frame-worthy photo!

Friday fodder

Helloooooooo to the weekend!

It's been a long week filled with a lot of work, not a lot of working out or TV watching. Although I was able to squeeze in Gossip Girl with some great Chuck Bass oneliners and let's not forget about Modern Family and Cam's shiny blue bike shorts.



Anyway, this weekend I'll be celebrating with Always a Bridesmaid and Alexa at Best of Cleveland party by Cleveland Magazine for Alexa's win of best blog for the second year in a row. So, if you are going tonight, look for a group of girls who are talking loud (because that's the only way we know how to), laughing and possibly dancing  and join in the on the fun.

Cleveland Beer Week - Brewzilla giveaway

Cleveland - it's giveaway time!

Who doesn't love a giveaway to a sought after event? Especially when it's to Brewzilla. If you follow some of the bloggers in my blogroll, you know you have had a few chances to win already.

Well, here's another chance for you because I have two tickets to giveaway for the October 23rd event. It's the official closing of the Beer Week where you can drank your heart away from over 80 breweries. Because you will need something absorb all the craft beer, Heinen's and Winking Lizard are providing different pairings for the beers to support the Malone Scholarship Fund (managed by Cleveland Scholarship Programs ).Tickets are either $75 or $50 and if you are a designated driver, tickets are $40 or $20.

Sandwiches and more:

• Gourmet Angus hot dogs and "build your own" dog bar with tasty toppings including Heinen's own chili.
• Slow roasted beef brisket with peppers and onions, stuffed in warm garlic hoagie roll with melted questo cheese sauce.
• Slow roasted vegetables, hummus, black bean corn salsa and queso sauce on a warm hoagie bun.

Cheeses galore:

• Goat cheese samples courtesy of Mackenzie Creamery and available in the Ohio Brewery area.
• Cheese station 1 (great with dark Belgian-styles and stouts): Roth Kase Surchoix Gruyere, Moody Blue, Crave les Frere.
• Cheese station 2 (great with pilsners and wheats): Widmer Colby, Carr Valley Smoked Garlic Chedder, Carr Valley Menage.
• Cheese station 3 (great with IPAs, brown ales and porters): Widmer 4-year Cheddar, Sartori Bellavitano, Sartori Raspberry Bellavitano.

Sweets you adore:

• A special chocolate creation (while supplies last!) made just for CBW to pair with a local brewery's beer, by Lilly's Handmade Chocolates.  Oh, how I love her truffles! 

 With all that said, all you have to do is share one of your favorite or worst beer you've ever tasted. It's that simple! Can you guess what kinds of beers I like? My favorites are fruity or Belgian ales and my least favorite are hoppy beers. Blah! Order me a Magic Hat #9, Blue Moon, Thirsty Dog Raspberry Ale and only one Lambic at a time. It's so sweet, I can't handle more than that.


You have two ways to enter and can enter as many times as you want:
Share your favorite beer in a comment on this post.
Tweet: I entered to win 2 tix to Brewzilla on @allisonpeltz blog (insert link to contest) @clevelandbeerwk #clebeerweek #happyincle

I will randomly draw my winner on Tuesday, October 12. Note to contestants: if your email isn't linked to your comment name, leave it in the comment section so I contact you.

If you purchase on your own tickets, make sure to enter "Confessions of a Cohabitant sent me" on the thank you page in the name area. I'm eligible to win a happy hour for my friends and I at the Barley House in Cleveland.

UPDATE: Winner chosen was @kimhenderson! Thanks all who entered!

the last wedding

It's been a busy wedding season for me this year. It started in March with my cousin Lauren's wedding, my high school friends' party, my cousin Mike's wedding,  my friend Erin's Cleveland party  and don't forget about my quick trip out to Vegas in August. So, this is it. We ended with Jerrod and Meaghan. The last one in 2010.

Instead of posting all the pretty posy pictures, I thought I'd share the action shots from the wedding, mostly taken from the dance floor. You know, the ones where we are dancing, drinking and having a ton of fun.

three amigos

max and amanda

 

 

 

The bf and me

surprise Francesca!

Piggybacks are cool

Leg air guitar

Just dance.

Dancing with stationary props

And with that, wedding season has come to close.