our first visitor

Last weekend was a great weekend. Kim, (my best friend since age 12) came for a visit, arriving late Saturday night. Both of us were wide awake and so spent an hour chatting and laughing over high school, middle school and elementary school yearbooks which I'd unearthed when moving. Yikes. It's funny how some memories are so clear and others so muddled. We got a kick out of reading some of the messages in the yearbooks which ranged from the cliche, "have a great summer!" to the more specific, inside joke ones which always included cryptic messages, nicknames and such. Apparently I was always boy crazy...? "Good luck with the boys this summer!" appeared in both my 3rd and 4th grade yearbooks, as well as high school ones. Hmmm...

Sunday was a lovely day: breakfast with the bestie, then meeting up with A3 and Dayna for an adventurous day which included:

• Driving through (and getting turned around several times!) Cleveland; especially gorgeous is a city called Bratenhal, which is next to Cleveland, known for its HUGE mansions all along Lake Erie. Since moving I've enjoyed long drives along Lakeshore Blvd. (283) which runs from Bratenhal way out past Mentor on the Lake, though at times it dips away from Lake Erie. 
• Presti's Bakery, Little Italy, Cleveland 
• MOCA saw the very cool Ursula Von Rydingsvard wood and graphite sculptures
• Tried to go to Great Lakes Brewery, but apparently they're closed on Sundays, so we had cocktails/beer across the street at some swanky swank place. The drinks were good, but the atmosphere was a little too upitty, bordering on a chilly reception.
• Then Kim and I went to A3 and Dayna's new digs, ate dinner and taught them how to play Settlers of Catan. 

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day observed at the Library so we were off (YAY for 3 day weekends), so Dayna met up with Kim and I and the three of us headed back down to Cleveland and into OhioCity to check out the West Side Market. Celebrating it's 100th Anniversary/Birthday this year, the West Side Market is an indoor bazaar of sorts full of vendors selling everything from meats, cheeses, dairy products to pre-made pizzas, Cleveland roast coffee and even has a crepes stand--Crepes De Luxe. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast we headed directly for the corner where Crepes De Luxe and City Roast Coffee and Tea are located and got something to drink and crepes and headed up to the balcony benches to people watch and stuff our faces. So good. I recommend the "Complete," which has ham, egg, and Gruyere cheese.

During my first trip I scored three pounds of thick cut bacon for $9; three pounds of ground sirloin for $12 and Hazelnut coffee from City Roast. Already enjoying the bacon, can't wait to dig into the coffee and sample the ground sirloin--can you say meatloaf!

We said goodbye to Kim, then Dayna and I headed to the dollar show and saw The Help. Love that movie, and love weekends like last weekend. There is nothing better than discovering new things in my new, adopted city. Cleveland--HUZZAH!