Guest Post over at Henning Love

Just popping in to say Meg has a great new series on Henning Love:

Swing by as I share favorites of my childhood hometown...Cleveland!

And come back again this afternoon for an update on the house.

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Travelling Lightly

Hi, friends. Thank you sooo much for the thoughtful comments, messages, and emails during this past week. As losing a grandparent is never easy, your outpouring of love and prayers are greatly appreciated. The love shown for my Grandma and family in Cleveland was also a blessing. There were sad moments, but the overall tone of the week was a celebration of her life.


Me, Grandma, and my sister at Niagara Falls

One thing I forgot to mention last week was that my Grandma loved to travel. Around the world, around the country, and around Ohio. As my aunt said during the eulogy, when Grandma could no longer travel for a week, she would go somewhere for a few days. These became overnight trips, to day trips, to a quick getaway around Cleveland. As her body began to age, she had to use a wheelchair, and this limited the places she could visit. She became worried that she wouldn't be able to visit everywhere on her wish list. 

The priest beautifully tied this love of travel into the funeral homily. As exciting as a trip may be, a traveler always looks forward to returning home. To friends, family, and familiar surroundings and routines. I know that I enjoyed my trip home to Cleveland and my subsequent return to home in Chicago. On a greater scale, my Grandma's life was an incredible journey on this Earth. Now she is returning home to Heaven where she is reunited with Christ, her husband, brother, and others that passed before her.

And now my Grandma can continue exploring the planet and the universe.

Bon voyage.
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O Christmas Ale!

Hi there! Ready for Christmas yet? This past week has been pretty eventful and I'm still working on last minute details. I haven't baked any cookies because we busted the outer glass panel of our oven door on Sunday while bottling beer. Ugh!! I might still give it a try.

Speaking of beer (and as I hinted previously), one of my favorite things about Christmastime is the arrival of Great Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale. This festive ale is brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. And is seriously addictive. People start hoarding cases once it's available for sale. Just ask Piper. Last year, The Plain Dealer ran an article about Christmas Ale and disclosed that "Dortmunder accounts for 35 percent of sales. Christmas Ale is 20 percent, but is only on sale for 8 weeks." From GLBC's blog:

This season, GLBC will produce around 255 batches of Christmas Ale (approximately 19,125 barrels). We will use approximately 165,000 lbs of honey (which costs GLBC more than $250,000!) and 5,500 lbs each of ginger and cinnamon. Production is up 21% over last year, and it’s still not enough to keep up with demand.

Not only does GLBC make awesome products, but they're an "environmentally and socially conscious brewer." Here are a few of their sustainability projects:

• GLBC's Burning River Foundation is a non-profit organization whose purpose through grants, donations and community involvement is to provide extensive education and resources for the ecological conservation, environmental protection, scientific exploration, historic preservation, and sustainable future of our waterways.
• GLBC sends spent grains from the brewing process to its Pint Size Farm and the Ohio City Farm as fertilizer to organically grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers for use in their brewpub.  
• Their beer delivery truck and “Fatty Wagon” shuttle bus run on straight vegetable oil - a renewable fuel made from their reclaimed and filtered restaurant oil.

• The Beer Garden includes a radiant heat fireplace and floor, a straw bale wall and ten foot high sliding glass doors.
• In the winter, the Brewery cooler brings in chilly outdoor air to cool the beer (thanks, Cleveland), while skylights and light sensors maximize natural light to minimize electricity use. The Brewpub features 12 solar thermal panels and an energy efficient boiler that heat water for brewing and restaurant use.
• Their low-fill beers (unsellable bottles because they’re not filled to the maximum level) are used in a number of items including soups, marinades, sauces, chocolate truffles, sausages and soaps. In fact, thier low-fill porters are sent to Mitchell’s Ice Cream to make their exclusive Edmund Fitzgerald Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream.
• GLBC recycles everything they can (even their recycling bins, if possible): cardboard, glass, plastic, steel/aluminum, paper, hops and brewer’s barley. They print all newsletters, menus, beverage napkins and promotional items on recycled paper. And all packaging includes recycled content. Their intention is to become a true zero waste Brewery.

Finally, Great Lakes Brewing Company is making an impact on Cleveland's economy. Over the past summer they made $7M of major capital improvements to their brewery. Plus, they added 15 newly created jobs during the year and hope to add at least 9 more jobs over the next couple of years.

Have I convinced you yet? And did I mention that they're Ohio's most celebrated and award-winning brewer? One of the perks of living in Chicago is that GLBC beer is available here. Their market includes the Great Lakes states and they're slowing expanding. Check out GLBC's Beer Finder to see if it's for sale at your local bar or store.
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A Slow Return

Hi friends. I'm back, but not totally back into the swing of things. The extra long holiday weekend was extremely relaxing and I'm finding it a little difficult to get back into my routine. Be it work, running, blogging, cleaning, what have you. Waking up to an alarm clock was a bit brutal. I take that back. Monday mornings aren't my favorite in general.

So what did I do over the weekend? John and I ran a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. 5 chilly, drizzly miles. The time wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a big improvement from two years ago. After that race I felt nauseous and of course my extended family thought I was pregnant. We had only been married for two months, so of course they wanted to jump to conclusions. But nope, I was only a little out of shape and had overexerted myself.

We obviously enjoyed copious amounts of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pies, and family time. And no, John didn't make stuffing from scratch. Stove Top stuffing prevailed! Though we did make garlic mashed potatoes from scratch.

My uncles hard at work carving the turkeys

And we did go shopping on Black Friday. The deals were just too good to pass up! And it was probably a good idea to try to walk off dinner from the night before. I didn't find anything for myself, but there were things for John and other family members.

Then there was the Christmas Ale! I'll tell you more about the allure of this festive brew later, but let's just say that it's worth the trip to 7 different stores in search of it. (Yes, my parents thought I was crazy.) We even took a tour of Great Lakes Brewing Company while they were brewing my favorite ale.

The weekend ended with a little homebrewing in our kitchen and getting into the Christmas spirit. We bought a little tree and I decorated it (and the windows) with 450 lights. What? I'm a girl that likes sparkly things. Our Nativity scene is also out on the top of the entertainment unit.

What about you? How long does it take you to get back into the groove after a long weekend or vacation?
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Happy (early) Thanksgiving

Since I couldn't find any Thanksgiving family pictures to share, I thought I would do the next best thing. Post an embarrassing picture of my sister and I from Halloween. I was Indian Corn so it's still Thanksgiving appropriate. And you can't have Thanksgiving without wine. And you can't have wine without grapes. It makes perfect sense.

We're heading home to Cleveland to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Dinner is always at my parents' house and I can't wait to help cook and bake. The last time I saw them was in October for the marathon and my cousin's wedding.

Hope you all have a restful holiday. Anyone crazy enough to venture out for Black Friday sales?

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Grand Opening: One Sydney Road!

Hi friends! How's Wednesday treating you? Have you recovered from your Halloween candy hangovers? Well, I have quite the treat for you today! If you follow The Dream Reporter series on Makeunder My Life, you'll know that Piper opened her store One Sydney Road on Monday. You haven't heard of One Sydney Road yet? Let me introduce you:

One Sydney Road

Per Piper, One Sydney Road is "fresh, inspired finds for you + your home." This online boutique is the culmination of 23 weeks of being a Dream Reporter, as well as years of dreaming and scheming. The variety and quality of products is that of a seasoned veteran and the website is pretty darn cool too.

And guess what? She's from Cleveland! So maybe I'm a little biased :) Also, she has a witty sense of humor. Just check out the product descriptions.

Below are some of the products that put a smile on my face:

Take a look around at One Sydney Road. Do you have any favorites?

And congratulations again, Piper! You're an inspiration to all of us. Thanks for showing that we can achieve our dreams. (It just takes a little blood, sweat, and toil.)

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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Ale)!

leHi, everyone! Sorry for the radio silence. Things have been super busy this week. To hold you over, I thought I would share some exciting news. At least to anyone that lives in the greater Cleveland area.

Today is officially "12 Days" until Christmas Ale is released on tap in the Great Lakes Brewing Company Brewpub! If you live in the area, Christmas Ale will start pouring on October 25 at 4 PM!

Christmas Ale

For those of us not lucky enough to be there in person, Christmas Ale will begin appearing in the market in early November.

If you do go, have one for me :)

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