Cleveland tidbits

Two events happening in the near and nearer future in Cleveland, the city where it all began. This blog, anyway. 

Firstly, on February 27 Please  is hosting a pop-up dinner at SOHO Kitchen & Bar in Ohio City. This dinner is almost sold out, but it's going to be a monthly event so keep an eye out for the next one. 

Ryan Santos, who runs Please was one-half the host for the Dinner With Strangers series in Cleveland. I was dying to attend one of these dinners when I lived in Cleveland. Lo and behold when Sabine and I became friends, I found that her brother-in-law works for Please. What a small world! This dinner is almost sold out but it's going to be a monthly event so keep an eye out for the next one. 

Nextly, on April 7- Girl Talk at the Cleveland Public Hall! The Cleveland Public Hall is a wonderful and grossly underused venue in Cleveland. It will be an absolutely wonderful place to see the pure unfettered joy that is Girl Talk live. As far as I know, this was just announced so there should be tickets available. 

Girl Talk, last time he was in Cleveland- this was a really great show:

Hearting

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Valentines Day can be an awful drag, akin to New Years Eve. So many expectations! Valentines Day can also be a wonderful day to appreciate all the love in your life. I went with the latter this year, beginning a week early to send Valentines to close friends and family.

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What to do on Valentines Day in Kansas City? Dinner out can be awfully crowded. We opted for burgers and tater tots at Town Topic, then a stroll to Screenland Crossroads where Amelie was showing. $60 gets you two tickets, a bottle of wine, popcorn, and a box of Christopher Elbow chocolates. We ran into friends at the movie and went for a nightcap afterward. I can't think of a better Valentines Day. 

Valentines Day would not be complete without some little trinkets. From Matt:

A merit badge from  Hammerpress, my favorite shop in Kansas City.

A bear, conveying the depths of his affections.  

February Lady dinner

Even more Ladies this time and we ate at one of my favorite places in the city, Westport Cafe. For whatever reason moules frites looked good to all of us, and so we had those along with cocktails and wine and delicious berries in mascarpone for dessert. 

moules all around

While we were there, we couldn't help but notice the high number of great-looking people in the bar. We asked the waiter what the occasion was and it turns out, the owner of Westport Cafe has opened an Italian restaurant right next door- The Boot.  Sabine and I made a reservation right then and there so we'll be double-dating there this Saturday night. I'll take that opportunity (or any, really) to wear my brand-new Lanvin shift that I picked up for a SONG at the Halls end of season sale earlier that day. It was a very good Wednesday.

*I'll mention here that I'm extremely happy to say that beginning the week after next Westport Cafe will be our new local spot because we are MOVING to the lovely Westport neighborhood. Our new place is a darling and newly renovated mid-century building- I can't wait to document it with another house tour once we are all moved in. 

Leisurely Stroll 2/7/2012

What a nice surprise at the corner of 20th and Baltimore. Guerilla bird homes!

Five pretty love songs and one ugly one

My good friend Casey is the director of the Underline Gallery, a really great art gallery in New York. The next show at the gallery is entitled "Bright Lights, Big Love" and it's opening this Thursday, February 9. Just in time for Valentines Day! 

To help celebrate the opening, Underline is inviting one and all to submit their favorite songs about love to be included on the opening night playlist! How fun! You can submit your songs via Facebook, twitter (@underlinegaller), or info@underlinegallery.com. 

I had a very hard time narrowing my choices down, so I chose five very pretty love songs and one great song for a breakup:

Magnetic Fields, The Book of Love- One of the sweetest songs I've ever heard. If this song doesn't describe love to a tee, I'm not sure what does. 

Jay-Z, 99 Problems- There are so many problems in the world, and you should be able to count on the one you love. Shouldn't your sweetheart have your back?

Elvis Presley, Can't Help Falling Love- Because this song (alright the UB40 version) was on both our minds when Matt and I first got together. 

Neutral Milk Hotel, In an Aeroplane over the Sea- Because it's absolutely heart breaking. 

Bjork, Big Time Sensuality- Describes falling in love, or lust perfectly. My college roommates could always tell when I had a crush because I'd play this song over and over again.....

And one perfect break-up song:

Chairs and such

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A Thursday treat- Matt and I went to the Nelson Atkins Museum to see a documentary: Charles and Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter. The Eames, of course, are known for their furniture (like the coveted molded plastic chair). But the documentary was as much about furniture as their other work- with corporations such as IBM, at the 1964 World's Fair, and on museum exhibitions. 

We arrived early enough for G&T's at the museum

A unique form of transport

Leisurely Stroll 1/31/12

I love walking across the Broadway bridge to work because it goes right over Union Station. Trains are ever present in Kansas City- I can hear the horns from my house. Train travel can be so lovely- especially on the eastern seaboard and in Europe. I have a friend in Kansas City who takes the train once a year to Chicago to shop- she sits up in the second floor scenic car, drinks wine, eats panini, and reads magazines during the six hour journey. Blissfully old fashioned.

a moody train yard on an unseasonably warm (60!) Kansas City morning