The Beal World: Cleveland

Arhaus Photo Contest

The Beals — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:59:06 +0000

I recently won a Facebook contest and was able to treat some friends to a Happy Hour at D’Vine Wine Bar in downtown Cleveland.

There are lots of contests out there and since I’m feeling lucky I decided to enter the “Show us YOUR Arhaus Contest” for a $100 gift card. �We love Arhaus Furniture and are very lucky to have the Clearance/Outlet Store in the area. �We have some Arhaus pieces in almost every room but I entered a picture of our dining room set and of course Brownie’s dog bed that matches ours.

If you have a Facebook account, please like (vote) the picture of our Dining Room and Bedroom. �Feel free to vote for both, you just need to “Like” the pictures. �Contest runs until April 30th. �(If you are looking at this at work, tell your friends!)

2 year blogging anniversary

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:38:11 +0000

We started The Beal World: Cleveland on April 11th, 2008 and this is the 303rd post. �It’s a lot of work but I love doing it. �I thought this was something that Kurt and I would both do but so far I’ve authored all 303 posts. �Sometimes I feel like no one looks at it and then I hear a compliment about the cute videos or fun things we do as a family. �I especially like when life-long Clevelanders tell me how we do things here that they didn’t even know about. �Cleveland is a great city that gets a bad rap and we are very happy here.

We added Baby Beal World this year and I think Beal’s Meals in year 3 will be just for recipes and things I cook for us versus restaurants in the area (there are already a lot better blogs just about the Cleveland food scene). �I know in year 2 I wasn’t very good about updating regularly but I promise I’ll try to do a better job. �Thanks for reading!

Finger foods

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:28:11 +0000

Henry is getting to be such a big boy and ready to eat more than the baby purees I make him. �I recently gave him part of a meatball (made with grass-fed beef of course) and he gobbled it right up so I knew we were ready for meats. �This week he started on chicken & thyme and he loves it, especially with apples mixed in. �He’s also started to eat more finger foods and some of the same stuff that we eat too.

I think his Uncle JonPaul really won him over when he gave him apple pie and ice cream last week!

The 2010 Lenten season

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:27:04 +0000

Giving up coffee and soda made the 6+ weeks of Lent really, really long this year!! �I made it though and was able to survive on tea. �This year the Friday night fish frys were even better than 2009. �We went back to Amber Oaks and it was so much better. �I like that you can order family-style for the table because the fish came out crispy and hot. �We tried Around the Corner again this year and it was awful. �Soggy and the Great Lakes Christmas Ale batter wasn’t nearly as good as I remembered. �The pierogies were delicious though. �We also tried a few new places like Sterle’s Slovenian Country House, Grovewood Tavern, and Prosperity Social Club. All 3 places were great. �Sterle’s was okay food but a fun atmosphere and was recently on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”. �Grovewood is one of my favorite restaurants in Cleveland but we don’t get there very often because its on the east side of town. �This was my first trip to Prosperity Social Club in Tremont and I can’t wait to go back. �The menu was unique and they had a great beer selection. �Plus you can play games there.

I love Cleveland for all the great fish frys and it makes Lent so much fun on Fridays!

Take me out to the ballgame!

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:13:36 +0000

The Indians opened the 2010 baseball season in Chicago against the White Sox. �Since we were already going to be in Chicago for Easter we decided to stay a couple extra days and go to the game. �Uncle Tom, Aunt Sue and Jennifer (just in from her trip to Greece) were nice enough to invite us to be their guests. �The seats were great and the weather couldn’t have been nicer. �Unfortunately the Indians lost 0-6 but I didn’t mind. �I love going to baseball games for the beer, hot dogs, peanuts and great company.

Easter 2010

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:01:27 +0000

This year the Beal family all headed to Chicago for an Easter weekend hosted by Katy & JP. �In standard Beal family-style we did a lot of sitting around, drinking eating, and talking about our next meal. �The weather was beautiful so we took lots of walks to the park and my favorite, Whole Foods. �Asher & Henry were so cute together, we are really looking forward to when they are both walking. �We also got a visit from Chris Flanagan and his son Lance. �Most of our other friends were out of town for the holiday.

Lots more pictures from the weekend on our Flickr! account including s couple of Henry in his dapper little Easter outfit.

Our grownup night away

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:41:18 +0000

There are lots of places that we can visit from Cleveland by car. �Last year we went to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake and this year we decided to go to Lake Chautauqua and Salamanca, NY. �I wanted to go for the gambling and spa and Kurt was sold on the trip when he found out Eddie Money was playing at the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel. �The casino is located right next the Allegany State Park and it was beautiful to be in the hills there this time of year. �Unfortunately this wasn’t one of luckier trips to the casino but we had a lot of fun and got our blackjack and roulette fix in for at least a few months. �Kurt and his buddies love Eddie Money and we’ve been to his shows before but it was a weird venue and the poor guy is getting so old. �On our way back to Cleveland we stopped and had breakfast at a cute diner, The Bemus Point Inn, in Lake Chautauqua and drove around to see the area.

Not sure where our next road trip will be but I think I want to get this book,�Ohio Road Trips: 52 Trips–more Than 500 Fun and Unusual Getaway Ideas in Ohio! to get some more ideas.

Playdates, Playdates, Playdates

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:01:03 +0000

Henry & I love our weekly mommy groups and playdates. �Now that the weather is warming up, we are looking forward to picnics outside and trips to the zoo too. �We have a playgroup through the Bay Village Early Childhood PTA that has been together since the kids were just a couple months old. �Since they are all the same age and will all go to school together we may even be using one of these pictures in their senior year yearbook!

Sammy, Lila, Landon & Henry - November 2009

Sammy, Landon, Lila & Henry - March 2010

Dinner & Concert date

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:46:48 +0000

Thanks to Grandma Beal for babysitting, Kurt & I were able to enjoy a night on the town. �We started by going to Luxe in the Gordon District. �We hadn’t been there since they first opened and the food and drinks were as delicious we remembered. �I couldn’t get Kurt to try the “chicken and waffles” pizza but we did have kobe beef corn dogs and ahi tuna pierogies. �Unfortunately we ran out of time and weren’t able to try the beignets either. �We’ll just have to go back!

After dinner we headed down to Cleveland State for the Michael Buble concert. �We’ve both liked him ever since we saw him on Letterman when we first started dating. �We even danced to “Everything” for our first dance at our wedding. �It was a fun show and are very happy that Henry has a Grandma that loves to take care of him when she is in town.

There are a lot more great shows coming to Cleveland this summer and we already made plans to take Henry to his first concert, the Dave Matthews Band at Blossum!

St. Patty’s Day 2010

The Beals — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:29:53 +0000

Last year I was pregnant on St. Patrick’s Day but still went downtown to see the parade. �I did it again this year and it was much more fun to be able to enjoy a Great Lakes Conway’s Irish Ale and have Henry with me. �I invited a couple of my mommy friends, Shannon and Sarah (with Drew and Cole), and we had lunch at The Club first. �I’m not a fan of corned beef but you have to eat some on St. Patrick’s Day along with Irish soda bread. �This year The Club had a photo booth so we got some fun souvenirs too.