# 20 Send Holiday Cards-Boo Yeah

I love getting real mail

When I lived out of state I made an effort to keep up with friends through sending cards or letters.  I think that this is an important lost form of communication. Really when is the last time other than a birthday card you got some fun mail?

cutest stamps ever these were just begging to be used!

Since moving back to Ohio and being closer to the ones I love I sort of slacked in my letter sending. I would send letters for every holiday big and small, and while I usually didn't receive any back it made me feel good to send some cheer and warm thoughts on to others.This list task #20 send Holiday cards was the rekindle that spirit and I forgot how much I missed it.

cards check now to find addresses

I picked Halloween because it is my favorite holiday. Not for the normal reasons people might say (I really could do without all the scary stuff), but because it is a kick off of the holiday season. I love the dressing up, the weather cooling down, and the gorgeous backdrop of the changing of the leaves. Halloween signals for me the beginning of celebrated times with family and loved ones in the upcoming months.

another list item completed!

I purchased a set of quirky Halloween cards from an acquaintance's business: Colette Paperie. She is just brilliant! Her cards make me laugh every time and even in those times you probably shouldn't be laughing. Glad to find someone with a similar sense of humor.

this just makes me giggle

Check out the website here to purchase or find what retail stores carry her cards.  The company is based in Cincinnati, but cards can be found all over the states! Colette Paperie was so easy to work with (sorry about the million questions I had about my order). The shipping was super fast and the quality of cards is fantastic. It was nice thick paper for the cards and envelopes. I love supporting local small businesses. Hmmm what can I send next!

These seriously crack me up!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Oven Roasted Fall Harvest Recipe

 I know my goal is to cook more vegetarian, but I found this recipe this season and I couldn't help but pass it along. If you could bottle up the essence of fall this is it on a plate. Warning it is highly addicting I think I've made it 3 times in the last month. You could use it as a side, main dish or it would even be great for brunch.

The key ingredient here is your sausage! This will really make or break the dish. I've only played around with different types of pork sausage the couple times I've made this. I think it would work just fine with chicken or turkey sausage (you do want some fat to help in the cooking).

Oven Roasted Fall Harvest

Total time 1 hour   Cook Time 45 min :: Prep time 15 min

Ingredients

·        ½-1 medium red onion

·        2 medium-large sweet potatoes

·        1 large or 2 medium potatoes

·        2 medium apples (Jonathan, McIntosh or Granny Smith)

·        2 Tbsp olive oil

·        1 tsp dried basil

·        1 tsp dried sage

·        1 tsp dried rosemary

·        ½ tsp salt

·        freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a mill)

·        2-3 links of sausage

Serves 4

Instructions

           1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the onion into one-inch chunks. Peel the potatoes and cut it into one-inch chunks as well.

          2)  Place the onions, potatoes, and sweet potatoes in a large 9×13 inch casserole dish. Add the olive oil, basil, sage, rosemary, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Toss until everything is well coated in oil and herbs.

         3) Nestle the sausage down into the casserole dish. Transfer the casserole dish to the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.

        4) Chop apples into 1 in chunks (do not peel). At the 20 minute mark stir once, add apple chunks, and flip the sausage. Bake for another 25 minutes

        5) After removing the dish from the oven, slice the sausage into thin medallions and add it back to the dish.

        adapted from: Budget Bytes

really simple ingredients

Chop up your potatoes and onions. I really don't like onion so I did just half an onion and in larger bits so I could pick it out before serving. The flavor of the onion really helps so I don't recommend omitting it.

the most unbelievable smells should come from your oven

Sprinkle herbs very generously over the veggies and mix in. Nestle whole sausage in dish. Depending on your sausage if its precooked you might want to wait to put it in later with the apples.

I upped the ingredients a bit to serve 6 

After 20 minutes add apples and turn sausage, bake for another 25 minutes. I made it by adding the apples in the beginning but they turned into indistinguishable mush. Tasty but not exactly how I like my apples.

I've never seen a grin so big on the guys while eating this

Chop up sausage into bit size pieces add back to veggies, stir, and serve! This doesn't look like much but is very filling and serves 4 adults no problem.

You really can't go wrong with this dish.  Each time I've made it I've tweaked the recipe a bit and no matter what it turns out fabulous and the left overs (if there are ever any) keep well too! Make it your own and enjoy. 

(metro)Parks & Recreation- Lorain County Style

I wanted to get out and enjoy the rare blue skied Cleveland day and thought it might be nice to explore some parks to the West. I visited Miller Nature Preserves & Sandy Ridge Reservation, both part of the Lorain County Metro Parks. 

This is a system of over 20 different parks to explore. There are rugged trails for the tried and true hikers or asphalt for the pleasure strollers. Through out the park system there different activity for all ages, interests, and level of expertise. There is something going on almost every day! Most activities are free or reasonably priced but they do ask you RSVP online. I was pleasantly surprised how well kept both parks were kept. The trails were well maintained, staff was knowledgeable and friendly, and bathrooms and public areas were very clean.

Check out Lorain County Metro Parks park index here

Check out upcoming programs here

* Top: Miller Nature Preserve, Avon*
Bottom: Sandy Ridge Reservation, North Ridgeville

Miller Nature Preserve
It is a newer park off route 83 in Avon, Ohio. There is are gardens, an outdoor patio, conservatory, butterfly and small cafe. The building can also be rented out for private functions or keep you eye out for cooking demonstrations! You can stroll though the 5,000 square foot conservatory (the only one in Lorain county)  for a small fee.  In the evenings there is often free live music on the patio(concert season runs June-September). The Butterfly house (reopens in June) was cute to walk through and all the butterflies are collected from other parks. New this fall there will be a walking path opening up, I can't wait to try it out. 

Sandy Ridge Reservation

This park is very hard to describe in words. One minute you are driving through farm land and a housing development then turn into reservation and pass through a beautiful grassland area to park. Next the crushed stone trail winds you through the forest and opens into a nature wetland/marsh habitat. It's hard to believe you are in Ohio that point. There are no human developments in sight, I almost felt out of place and like I was invading the bird's habitat.  This park is primarily a bird sanctuary and has a few nests of bald eagles. If you are a birder or nature photographer (amateur to veterans) this is the place for you. Near the grasslands there is a playground and a party room overlooking a pond you can rent. This is a great park for all ages. There is even a tram that will drive you around the two mile wetland loop. 

Both parks are open year round and provide ample opportunities to enjoy the beauty of nature just a bit outside Cleveland. Happy adventuring!

Bridesmaid Dresses Post Wedding-What To Do?

*the dress closet*

Weddings seem to be surrounding me constantly. Calm down none of them directly involve me. I seem to be a perpetual bridesmaid..hmm at least I'm not yet up to 27 dresses level. Though I do have all of the dresses hanging in a closet and I can't live with out my paper calendar/organizer, then again maybe I am yikes!

Phew so you survived this wedding season. If you are around my age I'm sure you have a couple BM or MOH titles under your belt and have more coming down the pike. So what do you do with that bridesmaid dress after you've had the ultimate honor to stand up next to your friend on that very special day?

 I know all the brides say "I picked this one so you can wear it again".  I appreciate the thought and it is my goal to do, but really how often can you wear a bridesmaids dress? I'm the type of person that always remembers what people wear so I know others do too. Or heaven forbid you attend a wedding wearing {gulp} the same cut or color as the bridesmaids! awkward

With a newly announce engagement in the family I know I will have to make room for another bridesmaid dress in the closet! I explored the closet of dresses and found one that I think its time to retire. This navy dress I've worn 3 times and it is now too big woot woot!

* Wedding, Derby, Christmas*

 Ok what to do with it....here are just a few ideas on how to recycle that dress:

1) Buy a cute little black dress and donate your old. 

Buy a new dress on newlymaid.com  and they will give you a prepaid envelope to send in your gently used bridesmaid dress and they either: a) donate it to the charity clothes4souls or b) recycle the material. Clean out your closet to support a good cause.

      *note I had to revise this post. I went back on site tonight to try it out and they no longer give you a credit towards a new one if you trade in a dress :( when I originally was looking into ideas that was the deal I guess it was too good to be true!

super cute dress!

2) consignment shop-you get money right then and there. 

I like clothes mentor (grown up Plato's closet) you don't get a ton but it's better than $0

3)  donate to a local school- see if students need dresses for formals or even theater department. At work there was a cotillion for the middle school girls and they were always looking for dresses  

4) Trade it or sell it on Bridesmaidtrade

You create listing for dress you want to sell or trade and if it sells you get paid.

I'm not quite ready to get rid of the 3 other dresses since I have yet to wear them again (oops) To be fair two are from this summer and I have a plan well sort of..maybe you can help.

*the others*

from left to right:

teal cotton sateen- no idea but I love the color and cut

light blue chiffon- to the opera???

watermelon satin- Christmas or Valentines Day?? 

Any other suggestions?? Quick someone host a fabulous party so I can wear one of these. 

#3.6 Vegetable Tian

What the heck is a tian you ask? Well let me tell you as I had no idea . The dictionary says a tian is a dish of finely chopped vegetables cooked in olive oil and then baked au gratin. It's also a large oval earthenware cooking pot traditionally used in Provence. It's pronounce tee-yan. Hmm learn something new every day. 

Now I'm not usually in the habit of looking up odd named dishes. I just happened to see a delicious looking picture as I was perusing some of my favorite blogs. 

yellow squash and zucchini! oh yes please             

This picture looked so yummy that I couldn't pass up trying to replicate it. I was a bit skeptical at how well it was going to taste since the ingredients seemed so simple... really no butter or major spices?? 

This was a delicious side dish or is really filling enough to be a main course. The smells were amazing! I even got some nay-sayers tempted to try a nibble and had positive results. With out a doubt this will reappear at Thanksgiving and I'm thinking it'll make a great potluck dish. 

cheese time

The things I would make note is that the timing was a bit off. It took about 15 minutes more to get the veggies really cooked through before doing the additional time with cheese. I'm not sure if I  packed it in too much or if slices were too thick since I don't have a mandolin. I also used shredded mexican cheese blend since it was on hand... I don't think what you use really matters. 

Even though it says summer vegetables these ingredients are readily found at all times of the year. For me it is a perfect fall dish! It really smells up the whole house and gives you that warm cozy feeling when you eat it without the guilt of other comfort foods. 

Summer Vegetable Tian

Time 1 1/2 hour  * *  prep about 1/2 hour   * * cook time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 1 tsp minced garlic 
• 1 medium zucchini 
• 1 medium yellow squash 
• 1 medium potato 
• 1 medium tomato 
• 1 tsp dried thyme 
• to taste salt & pepper 
• 1 cup shredded cheese 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).
2. While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
3. Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-  45 min (until veggies are tender). Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
5. Enjoy!

recipe adapted from BudgetBytes

The chopping and stacking is the most time consuming part, then you just forget it in the oven 

Stack them up over the onions...you get the idea

I just shoved all the extra in the pan maybe that's why it took longer

Ta-da! All ready to eat. 

The first serving wasn't as pretty but from there on it it was gorgeous

Right out of the oven!

Oktoberfest Date

W & I started as a long distance relationship. At first we were 14 hours then 9 hours apart. To make the most of our limited time together we would plan a whole date day and called it a super date! Now we are only an hour apart, but crazy busy schedules makes it really hard to fit in time to have a frequent date night. So we are back to trying to pack in as much fun in the few hours that we are together. 

Instead of wasting time with the back and forth of "what do you want to do?" "I don't know" "what's there to do" we thought we would ease the planning and try a theme: around the world. Each date focuses around a country/culture and has to have these elements: music, food, 2+activities (one a learning aspect). Cleveland has a wealth of ethnic areas and festivals so we wanted to explore these areas together.  This was also my sneaky way of getting W to plan more dates, since having a theme & layout is less overwhelming ssshhh. 

Days are getting shorter and the nights are cooling off that can only mean one thing it's time for fall beers! The 2013 Oktoberfest officially ends today so I thought it was only fitting to post about our Germany world date. Here are easy date ideas you can adapt to make it a great day/night with your significant other. Prost!

Cleveland Oktoberfest Labor Day weekend
the glockenspiel

1) Catch a local Oktoberfest. 
We were able to find a day we could go to the Cleveland Oktoberfest together. 

Wiener Dog races were a huge attraction...I could not stop laughing it was a great event

We had a great time at this Oktoberfest, despite a few storms rolling through. There was wiener dog races, funny entertainment, great food, bier garten and the excellent polka bands to keep us amused for hours. Not to mention you can carry your beer around with you anywhere in the fairgrounds. I will for sure be returning next year. 

*rain couldn't dampen our polka partying spirit*

Did you know that Cincinnati's Oktoberfest is 2nd largest celebration behind Munich? Go Ohio! If you can't catch an Oktoberfest celebration you can always make up your own at home pretty easily. You just need brats beer, and polkas!

*this was the autobahn buffet dinner we shared thank goodness*

2) Create a sausage sampler platter. 
Try out different types from local butcher or even grocer. Vote on the best and the wurst (sorry couldn't help myself). Be sure to have yummy sides like sauerkraut and warm german potato salad. You can always end the meal with some decadent apple strudel or german chocolate cake. 

*beer tasting- I guess I really like the first one*

3) Beer Tasting
There are so many great fall beers hitting the stores/bars now go out and try some. Many bars will let you sample drafts for a fraction of the price or if you want to make your own bier garten at home go to world market where you can buy single bottles (some grocery stores let you do this as well). I liked being able to taste all the different types of beers. Being more a bourbon girl I continue to try to find different beer styles I like so I don't seem totally out of place at microbreweries. 

there was over 4 different music tents

4) Polka
No good German celebration is complete without a bit of polka. You can create a pandora radio station and if you are brave look up on youtube how to polka. It's really a lot easier than it looks and is so much fun. They had great bands at the multiple tents so we couldn't resist dancing...I lured W in with the easy chicken dance {hee hee} before teaching him the basic dance steps. 

Now our date ended with a fabulous fireworks display, but there are many more things you can do to extend your Germany date.

- chocolate tasting

try all different kinds and find what you like best. World Market is a great place to find all different levels of cacoa and flavors

- watch a movie

There are many that are set in Germany or use the language. Check out netflix or here are a few:Inglorious Bastards, Beerfest, Bourne Supremacy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade..hmm not sure how romantic these are apparently all I can think about are action movies oh well you get the idea

-brew your own beer

There are kits or places you can take a class are becoming more and more popular.

-make beer cheese and soft pretzels

My favorite beer cheese recipe is found here, but I usually halve it since it makes A LOT!

Happy Adventuring. Be on the look out for future world dates ideas: Italian and Japanese. 

Hump Day Hoppy Hour

Looking for something to do on Wednesday nights? Visit Hoppy Hour at The Cleveland Botanical Gardens in University Circle every Wednesday night 530-9pm during the month of October. 

Drink Great Lakes Brewing Company beer {yum} and enjoy the gardens or fire pits.  Sounds like a great time to celebrate hump day. Too bad that is when I have class. I hope you get to attend!  But I'm sure tonight everyone is busy cheering on the Tribe...hmm maybe it would be a good night if you aren't into crowds!

Here is the schedule for the month. Each week will also feature a short presentation about the horticultural properties of beer by Great Lakes beer aficionados and Garden staff.

October 2 - Burning River Pale Ale, Sustainable Brewing, Gardening and Cleveland with Saul Kliorys, Great Lakes Brewing Company Environmental Programs Manager

October 9 - Commodore Perry IPA, History of Cleveland Brewing with Terry Ryan, Great Lakes Brewing Company Sales Associate

October 16 - Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, The Science of Brewing with Luke Purcell, Great Lakes Brewing Company Brewer

October 23 - Eliot Ness Lager, Cleveland Beer Week

October 30 - Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale, Bad Beer and Wicked Plants with Bridget Johnson, Great Lakes Brewing Company Field Quality Specialist

Admission is $9.50 for nonmembers (free for members) and beer is purchased separately. BONUS: Groupon has a deal running today buy one admission for price of two!