Tuesday, September 18, 2012

All About CLE Coffee

Ohio City has a new coffee shop. There are only a few things you really need to know about Rising Star Coffee- they are Cleveland's first single cup brew bar, they are local roasters who supply coffee to some of the finest restaurants and cafes in the city, and they carry Jack Frost donuts.


Walk into Rising Star on the corner of 29th and Church at The Ohio City Firehouse and you'll be greeted by a friendly and educated staff. These people really know coffee (they're the ones who introduced me to the Aeropress!)  Local art is displayed on the walls and available for sale. Pick up a coffee, local sweet treats, or beans to go.

My favorite bean for at home brew is the Costa Rican. Looking for a decadent pick me up? Try the Vietnamese Coffee.

Major bonus:: My boyfriend did the build out for the space, stop in to have a coffee; and of course to check out his work.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Million Dollar Listing- The CLE Edition

Our Realtor Team decided to have a little fun showcasing our first $1,000,000 listing by parodying the hit Bravo TV show, Million Dollar Listing. LOVE that awesome properties like this exist in Downntown CLE. Enjoy!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Didn't You Know?

Cleveland Rocks.





Congrats to Uppercut and everyone who worked hard on this beautiful piece! Especially Chris and Alexa- lookin' good! 

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Hip 2B Square Ticket Giveaway!

Hey Clevelanders! Cleveland City Living has TWO EXTRA VIP TICKETS to tonight's Hip 2B Square Party at 78th Street Studios. The event begins at 5:30 and benefits Gordon Square's Near West Theatre.

Enjoy a lavish spread of food, open bar (beer & wine), artist tours, and get down in costume to a great 70's theme (disco music included). We'll be there, so it can't be a bad time!

The ticket giveaway is courtesy of our client Waverly Station Townhomes, a sponsor of the event. (they're giving away a motorcycle tonight, huzzah!)

In order to enter:

- 'Like' Waverly Station on Facebook
- Leave them a comment saying what you LOVE about The Gordon Square neighborhood- and if you've never been... tell them what you'd like to check out!
- Tweet Cleveland City Living (@CLECityLiving) to tell us you've entered! 

It's that simple! We'll announce the winner by 3pm so you have time to get home and pick out your disco duds and give you the tickets at the event (I'll provide my cell phone number to the winner)

If you win I (Nadine Nocero) will message you on Facebook or Twitter. We will pick the winner via Random.org

Friday, June 22, 2012

Satruday Shopping: Open Air in Market Square

Open Air in Market Square is BACK! This Saturday the wonderful outdoor market on Market Avenue in Ohio City comes back to life and lets you know that summer is here (in case the 90 degree heat didn't give you a clue) Pick up some local goods on your way around town. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Happy Birthday West Side Market!

100 years is a long time for anyone or anything so I'd like to take a moment and tip my hat to the ever wonderful West Side Market. Congratulations on the journey that has lasted 100 years, I look forward to it outlasting me and continuing for another 100.

So here's to you- your crepes, your produce, your vendors, your coffee, your cafe, and all you've given this beautiful city.

Check out the Centennial events occurring all summer long by visiting The West Side Market online.

Did you stop by the kick off event this past Saturday? I did- I enjoyed some polka music, caught up with neighbors and friends, indulged in some Mitchell's Sorbet, and of course was in awe over the amazing firework display. BRAVO!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

For the Love of Latte Art

Looking to add a jolt to your weekend? Check out the For the Love of Latte Art event this Saturday, May 12th at the Tri-C Hospitality Management Center in Public Square!




CLE Brews, a local coffee collective comprised of Phoenix Coffee, Erie Island Coffee, Caruso’s Coffee and Red Cedar Coffee is hosting the event. The action of the day begins with a latte art tutorial for baristas and amateurs alike and ends with a Latte Art Throwdown with prizes for the winners. Enjoy coffee samples as well!

Registrations may be purchased online at clebrews.orgLatte art workshops are $20, competitor entry fee is $10 and spectator tickets are $5. Spectator and competitor tickets include a beer ticket.

Proceeds from the event benefit a nonprofit in Guatamala, a country that includes one of the world's biggest coffee bean farmers.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Turnstyle: The Honor System

I love public transportation. I hate driving cars and am admittedly the worst driver EVER. Therefore, I can attest to the awesome public transit systems I've rocked in every city I've lived in (Chicago, Rome, and Seoul) I never had a car in any of these cities so I HAD to rely on public transportation. I love taking the subway whenever I'm in NYC and actually prefer it to cabs. So the question I raise here is this- how can public transportation be successful in Cleveland if we work on the honor system when it comes to buying ride fares?

This isn't meant to be rhetorical- I'm really wondering why there is a lack of turn styles operating at the Ohio City and Airport stops (I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I often use) I can't imagine everyone is being honest when riding the rapid. I always am, but have to admit *sometimes* I want to just jump on and save the $2.25, because really- whats the point if no one else is paying?

I do pay because I know what a huge expense public transit is and I know I don't deserve a 'free ride' but why aren't the fares enforced? Isn't the GCRTA losing tons of money by not installing turn styles for fare cards? Do you ride public transit? What are your thoughts on the issue?

*To be clear, I'm not knocking GCRTA, I just want them to be the best they can be- that way we all win!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

It Must Be Love... You Moved To Cleveland!

A lot of what I post about on Cleveland City Living has much to do with MY personal Cleveland experience and MY personal choices on what makes living in CLE great. However, Cleveland City Living is not MY personal blog! Which is why CCL has been featuring some guest posts as of late. Below we have a lovely guest post from Tammy Colson, who I happened to meet at the last OBA Blogger event. I have invited her to share her story on her road to Cleveland. Thanks Tammy!
As a recent transplant from the deep south, my Mama had one thing to say when I told her I was coming north, “Honey, it must be love... you moved to Cleveland!”
I first came here for a beautiful May weekend. We did the tourist thing – the Rock Hall, the beach... I had no idea Cleveland had beaches... There was great food from the talented chefs and mom and pop restaurants throughout the city. And then there was a beautiful vista from the deck of a house in Tremont. In only a brief time, I fell in love with Tremont as much as I fell in love with the man who grew up in Lakewood and had returned to make Cleveland his home.
When I moved to Cleveland lock, stock and barrel in the Fall of 2010 – there were Indians games, concerts at Blossom, and a very cool, eclectic neighborhood to walk in on cool evenings. And wow, the West Side Market. A foodie mecca. Not to mention so much pride and history, I couldn't believe I'd never been here before.
Leaving the south, where I'd lived most of my life, for what is really the largest city I've ever lived in, was a tough decision made easier by the fact that the people who make the City of Cleveland home have so much passion and promise. I've met enthusiastic entrepreneurs, hopeful students, hard working blue collar folks and starched business executives in my neighborhood, and each of them sees what Tremont and downtown can be. They protect that dream, and in so many ways they live it.
Work in my field was scarce, so I decided to take my small part time wine business and devote the effort to growing a Cleveland based clientele for tastings, pairing events and eventually, the first public Wine and Cupcakes event in October, 2011. The restaurants, wine bars and bakers and caterers here in the city have been mostly welcoming and helpful as business has grown to include private, corporate and monthly public tastings. When I rebranded the business in the summer of 2011, I chose a name that reflected my adopted state of Ohio, rather than the southern roots that are so obvious in my speech. MissWineOH has been welcomed with open arms.
Folks back home ask me all the time why I'd move to a city that tends to freeze over in the winter – a city with political corruption, crime, and well, issues. I say they don't know Cleveland.
Problems exist in every city – but not every city is investing heart and soul, and dollars, into the future. Cleveland is revitalizing, and taking steps to do it well. Friends who visit here like it and want to return. Boomerangs are returning in large numbers and companies are drawing new talent to the area.
Entrepreneurs across many industries are flourishing here. There are all sorts of business owners just like me, making it happen with the help of an incredibly vibrant, diverse and supportive population. There is room for more – and with hard work and the gritty determination Cleveland is known for – much like southern women – city living is everything it should be. It is love. For a Cleveland man, and this city on the lake. There's no mistake here.
Tammy Colson is a transplant from south of the Mason-Dixon who loves Cleveland just as much as she loves her Kentucky Wildcats and North Carolina mountains. She can be found at @tlcolson on twitter, or at MissWineOH – where unique wine events are her specialty.

Monday, March 19, 2012

The Lion in March

Happy Post St. Patrick's Day Clevelanders! Were you one of the 500,000 people who ventured Downtown to celebrate? I was, and I can assure you it was a blast! The beautiful weather coupled with the waves of green made for a great afternoon. Below I have a guest post from reader and fellow Clevelander John O'Brien Jr, co-founder of The Ohio Irish American News, sharing some history on St. Patrick's Day in America as well as in Cleveland. Enjoy!


This time of year, we Irish tend to wax poetic.  The nostalgia of our past, the heartbeat of our songs and our stories, has fertile ground all year long for a country so shaped by emigration and strife, but it has new energy and searching around the gatherings and significance of the St. Patrick’s season.

I could be talking about America, I could be talking about Ireland; they are indelibly linked. We can’t go back, so all year long, but especially around St. Patrick’s Day, we bring a little bit of Ireland here to Cleveland.

The longing for love that echoes thru February gives way to trademark Irish longing for connection, roots past and present, that steals our hearts and shapes our journey.  We recognize the nostalgia, give nod to the tuggings, but it has never stopped people from going forward, to new lands, higher ground, and an ever growing legacy of refusing to accept today as enough.  We are a people who firmly and actively believe in paying it forward.

Call it Catholic guilt, the Immigrant’s Inspiration (to do better) or the simple crafting of our lives shaped by past struggle; we do not stop going forward.  Cleveland, and the world, have been so shaped by the Irish Diaspora that it has become seamless into each’s own history. All across America, it is no different.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is great and the music brilliant, but it is the family that unites us all.  God, relations, and friends - these are what has carried us through starvation and immigration, achievement and paying it back, and forward.  Now we say thanks, and celebrate the gifts we have received.

Cleveland has welcomed so many nationalities through offering an opportunity to stand on your own two feet and build a life by your character and your efforts.  It still does.  We read earlier this year about the opening of the Welcome Center, and Positively Cleveland is doing remarkable work from their new location on Euclid.

So please let me take this opportunity to wish all Clevelanders a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and the start of March’s Irish Heritage Month. Thank you for making our community, part of your community. The green season is at the forefront this month, but don’t forget the man himself; Ireland’s patron saint.  St. Patrick.  Yes, St. Patrick was a man; so if you must shorten it, please replace your Patty with Paddy.

Does it matter?  Sure it does, for two reasons; you don’t misspell someone’s name deliberately, or call a man a woman; it’s rude.  Secondly, most importantly, and maybe without your knowledge, calling an Irishman a Paddy has strong historical connotations, almost all of them negative.  For a long time, Paddy, like “Mick” was a pejorative term aimed at Irish immigrants, mostly by American’s who may have only a generation or three in America, but considered themselves natives.  The “Irish Need Not Apply” signs are a dark mark part of American history, indelibly tainting both the sign maker and the sign holder.

The events throughout Cleveland on and around St. Patrick’s Day are overwhelming positive, diverse and capture the essence of the Irish in music, dance, history and hope. The shear volume of special events coming up this month highlight the rich and varied culture that hasn’t just survived, but has thrived.  This is the 145th St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the nation’s 5th oldest.  Ireland is a country of four million that has a Diaspora of over 400 million – over 400 million satisfied customers cannot be wrong!

In America, we are in recovery and inch by inch, row by row, we make this garden grow. Enjoy Irish History Month, and learn a bit of Irish history while you’re at it – it is indelibly linked with our American heritage. God willing, spring is just around the corner           

Hope to see you Out & About,

John

John can be reached via email at john@songsandstories.net or follow along with his story on Facebook here. You can follow him on Twitter @jobjr.



Friday, March 16, 2012

Cleveland Magazine's Best Docs Party

What better way to celebrate Match Day for the 4th year medical students then to recap the fabulous shindig that was Cleveland Magazine's Best Docs Party.  Last night the who's who of Cleveland's best and brightest in the medical profession gathered to celebrate themselves, their colleagues, and mentors.



The stunning event took place at The Intercontinental Hotel, located within Cleveland Clinic's Main Campus. A mini Tour De Bruell took place in the ballroom with an elaborate and creative food station for each of Chef Bruell's Cleveland Restaurants. Sushi from Parallax, charcuterie from L'Albatros... the list goes on! Bruell himself was in attendance manning each station with grace and ease; of course at the end of the evening I had to introduce myself as his biggest fan! I'm proud to share he was quite a gentleman and we enjoyed a nice little chat as I professed my love for him ;)

While I am not a Doctor (no explanation there is needed...) my wonderful client- The Bluestone Community sponsored the event so I was lucky enough to be in attendance. You see, Bluestone is a Cleveland Heights community located very close to Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals and has great ties to the doctor community.

As usual, it was a great event in the Cleveland Social Scene and we met some wonderful people!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Playhouse Square's Jump Back Ball- A Swinging Success!


Playhouse Square's 21st annual Jump Back Ball took place this past Saturday and was truly a gem of an event. One thing can be certain, the folks who put on amazing performances throughout the year can be counted on to put on an even better party. The event raised a whooping $125,000 and will go to keep our theaters thriving. If you haven't yet attended a Jump Back Ball mark your calendar for February 23rd, 2013 and be on the look out for pre party happy hours, shop nights, and ticket deals!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Blogger Meetup: CLE Style

Tuesday CCL took part it in a 'first for us' blogger meetup with The OBA. The Ohio Blogger Association meets monthly to talk all things blog and all things CLE!


This month's event was hosted at the ever lovely Wine & Design. If you haven't been to Wine and Design and you have a passion for wine and home furnishings- RUN don't walk your way over to this cozy Tremont boutique.

A wine tasting with 6 delightfully different wines was put on by Miss Wine OH and I was lucky enough to try a few new wines that I would have never otherwise purchased.



While the event was fab, the company was even better! Below is a blogroll of all the attendees in case you need more CLE loving bloggers to follow, if you don't already that is ;)

Alicia from Poise in Parma

Crystal from Eat Drink Cleveland
Danyell from @chariturbanista
Holly from Rust Belt Runner
Jen from Why CLE?
Jill from Thrifty Volunteer and Rick
Jody from The Days Go On
Julie from Wearing Mascara
Kasey from @KaseyCrabtree
Kimberly from SMITTEN…in cleveland
Lindsay from @LMeggas
Nidhi from NIDHIZZLE
Raizel from OmStone Aromas
Reanna from Big Shot Dot The I
Sara from Finding The Time
Stuart from @sos_jr
 
Meeting these bloggers in person after reading all they write about for months was an amazing experience. Just like their blogs- they are warm, welcoming, and eager to share. As a blogger and a CLEVELANDER I couldn't have been more proud to be associated with the company!
 
 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Valentine's Day In The CLE


i heart cleveland was kind enough to feature us on her blog. Check out the post on The Perfect Cleveland Valentine’s Day and let us know what you think.

*Thanks a million to Charity for the opportunity. i heart cleveland is a wonderful blog and it is a pleasure to be featured!*

Monday, January 30, 2012

Corks & Cupcakes With Emerging Chefs!


Join the always talented and ever chic Emerging Chef's for their latest private event- Corks & Cupcakes Thursday, March 8th at The Shaheen Gallery. This event will pair Italian whites, reds, and proseccos with a decadent amount of cupcakes. Enjoy the wine tasting and dessert pairing while mingling and taking in the beautiful contemporary artwork at this 4,000 square foot gallery. This is sure to be a delicious night out in Downtown Cleveland, don't miss out. Buy your tickets to Corks & Cupcakes here!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Amercia's 100 Best Beer Bars: 2012

Cleveland has four absolutely awesome mentions on the list of America's 100 Best Beer Bars: 2012 from Draft Magazine. Cleveland's mentions include Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood, La Cave Du Vin in Cleveland Heights, McNulty's Beer Market in Ohio City, and a nice acknowledgement of all 14 Winking Lizard establishments. I'm proud to say I love both McNulty's and La Cave; and am glad they made the list! Now its clear a visit to Buckeye Beer Engine is in order! Which of these is your favorite brew bar? Visit the full list here.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Cleveland's Aquarium Opens SATURDAY!

The time has come for Cleveland's West Bank of The Flats to come back to life. This Saturday, January 21st the Cleveland Aquarium in the Old Powerhouse Building will be open to the public. Swim with sharks, visit exotic aquatic life, and acquaint yourself with local Lake Erie creatures. Our new aquarium will be the only free standing aquarium in the state and the architects made sure to preserve the historic nature of the structure. The building and experience will truly be one of a kind! The aquarium hopes to attract 500,000 people in 2012 alone, this will hopefully encourage other businesses to bring their establishments Downtown and specifically to The Flats.  Adult tickets will be available for $21.95 and $15.95 for Children 12 and under. The aquarium will be open daily from 10am to 6pm, visit their website at GreaterClevelandAquarium.com


Tell us readers- will you be visiting the aquarium this year? Do you already have your tickets?

Photo courtesy of Cleveland.com