Bloom Lagoon

Clevelanders are all too familiar with unpredictable weather, and this spring is no different! I have tried to take advantage though of the picturesque scenery and embrace this all too brief season while I can. I recently made a trip to one of my favorite places to decompress and enjoy my CLE surroundings, and that was to Wade Lagoon. The cherry blossoms lining the lagoon are truly stunning during this time of year and only compliment the classical beauty of the cultural institutions.

My personal favorite in the area is the Cleveland Museum of Art (says the artist's daughter!) but with the new MOCA building quickly going up in University Circle I will have one more reason to visit the beloved Circle more often!

I spent many sunny afternoons walking down Cedar Hill to sprawl out on a bench near the lagoon and indulge in a good read while escaping to this urban oasis. Or sometimes, I'd wander over to Cleveland Museum of Art just to stroll through the FREE galleries and take a look at the multi-phase renovation of the museum. Either way this is a great place to escape in the middle of the city and take in the spectacular scenery and perhaps explore the other entertainment and art in the area.

In case your not convinced, I encourage you to take a walk through here early Sunday morning, latte in hand, and tell me it's not gorgeous! Here is a glimpse of my stroll:

University Circle United Methodist Church

aka Oil Can Church

The patina on the lamp post is such an incredible color contrast to the cherry blossoms and spring green leafs!

Even the statues are enjoying the view

Cleveland Museum of Art in spring!

No matter what your age, you're sure to love this party of pink petals

Severance Hall - Cleveland Orchestra

University Circle IS growing in ALL directions!

Swimmin in Sunshine

Why hello my little bloggies! I have not abandoned you. Since my last post, JMK and I have moved into our new home, celebrated my Grandma's 85th birthday, gone to the CLE Aquarium, enjoyed the GORGEOUS weather, and I have fiercely battled  against an unending cold. So forgive me for not posting sooner--it's a crazy and exciting spring!

So speaking of spring, officially now, we have been spoiled with this unbelievable weather. 83 degrees for a high?!?! Say whaaaaaa? I think I will enjoy this evening by catching some rays on our new deck, finally taking a deep breath, and hoping the extra Vitamin D from the sunshine packs some punch against this cold.


Anyhow, as I mentioned, we had the pleasure of finally going to the newly opened CLE Aquarium for Gram's 85th birthday (hey, that's what she asked for!) I have heard nothing but good things since its opening in January. So if you're looking for something fun to do and a great way to cool off during this MARCH HEAT WAVE, I certainly suggest you check out this phenomenal venue which now occupies the Powerhouse. The tanks are engaging and allow you to look at the marine life through multiple perspectives, making it easy for everyone to see & gain access to the underwater life!

Fun fact

Here's a tour of our adventure:

Lion Fish

Mesmerized by those Lion Fish!

Havin' one eel of a time!

Check out those teeth!

The birthday girl wasn't wild about getting her pic taken...

No haters for these American baby gators

Gulp

SHARK ATTACK!

"I hear Jaws theme music playing...."

Who's thirsty?

"Dad, say Hi to Scuba Steve.."

"Dude, THAT. WAS. AWESOME!"

Fun family day at the CLE Aquarium.. Happy Birthday Gram!!

Campus Village Construction Underway at CSU

"Word(less) Wednesday" Post
Campus Village at CSU

Have you seen this?! Great addition to the neighborhood, and very exciting progress!

Construction on E. 21 and Chester Ave.

"The Campus Village is designed to attract residents to a mixed-use neighborhood in the CSU campus community. The development will feature nine buildings with restaurants, shops, green space for outdoor activities, a movie theater, media rooms and a cyber cafe." NewsNet5

These kind of orange barrels...I don't mind.

"There also will be more than 300 new apartments, designed to attract alumni, students and young professionals who may be interested in living downtown near the campus." Read more from the article on NewsNet5  or on CSU's official website here.

**All pictures taken by JAMinCLE**

Movin On Out

As I mentioned in my last post, the man and I are gearing up for our big move. Don't get me wrong, any way you put it--Moving is NOT fun. We've all been there, whether it's moving out from your college digs to a new pad, making the trek across the Cuyahoga River to become a new east or westsider, or upgrading to a larger home to allow a little more wiggle room for your growing brood, whether you're renting, purchasing, first-timer, or seasoned veteran....moving just plain sucks. And as spring begins to poke its head into Cleveland, it's time to start packing!

So as I became consumed with boxes, I started to feel overwhelmed with the task of packing all of our belongings. Usually, I try to remain optimistic, but with JMK away on business every other week, it leaves most of the packing project up to me. So what did I do to make myself feel better? Visited one of my favorite pick-me-ups. FAILBLOG! Whenever I begin to venture down the "oh-poor-me-route" this always gives me a bit of perspective that a whole lotta other people are failing way worse than I am. Although this may not be my most Positive Patty post, I can ensure you that the following horribly thought out moving pictures are positively hilarious and will make any mover-to-be feel infinitely better! So kick your feet up on those moving boxes, have a good laugh, and know you're not doing all that bad...ENJOY!



Now first things first, when you begin to pack, you gotta go hound grocery stores, CVS and any other establishment hoping they take pity on you and cough up some big ol' moving boxes...because let's face it, buying moving boxes sucks too. This lady must have a really good sad puppy dog face.....

Dude, I got all these moving boxes...for FREE!

Now that you've got all those boxes, time for packing up the car....

Who wants to play Jenga?....on the roof of the car...

Luckily, JMK and I do not have any children............

Hey kids, who wants to go for ride!

Now that we're all moved in, let's just move this couch a littttttle to the left.....

I said move it to the LEFT!

Once all your big items are carefully arranged, time to start putting away all the boxes and make the place yours....

 Ummmm....Wait, what? Which do I do first? FAIL

See Clevelanders, you're doing all right. And whenever you feel like you're doing a crappy job, I encourage you to visit FAILBLOG and get a good kick out of people being a little dim. Good luck with the packing...you're almost there!


**All pictures provided by FAILBLOG**

Pin Pal

Whew! What a crazy past few weeks.  We finally found a new place...eeek! So exciting. Our new home is adorable and has incredible architectural features (nerd out)--exposed brick, high ceilings, leaded glass windows, and a working fireplace...yaaaaaaaaaaay! So we are knee deep in boxes and up to our eyeballs in work, so forgive me, bloggity blog, that I have not given you much deserved attention.

Another distraction, my other new pal, PINTEREST! I may be slightly late to the game...but I must admit, once you start, you won't be able to stop! Utterly.addicting.can't.stop.pinning! So many cool crafts, fun fashion, and a hellavua lotta home ideas! So after days of perusing, here is my takeaway from the endless stream of ideas.

Yup, made it myself

I was inspired to share this after seeing everyone's clever ideas on Pinterest. I made this some time ago, but finally got around to sharing the project with others. It was super easy to make, and a great way to organize all those fab earrings!

All you need is an old frame and a screen. I simply spray painted the frame gold, then used a staple gun to attach the screen on the back..and voila! Easy peasy. I loved upcycling these old items to create an extremely useful display stand. Now I encourage you to get pinning! As we pack up and unpin our home now, I am sure Pinterest will serve as a great guide for other creative ideas for our new home too. Find me on Pinterest @jamincle. Enjoy!