A is for Anniversary and Alana's

D & J looking all cute-like: Photo by Digital Imprints

That's me and D, three years ago! I'd forgotten how much I loved our wedding photos until I dug this one up just now. I was able to identify bokeh in their shots, a word I learned today from Ms. Z's awesome series on the basics of photography. It's really well-written, funny, and she has tons of photos to help you understand the world of f-stops, aperture and depth of field. And she knits real well too! I still don't own a DSLR, but it makes me want one badly. Oops, I'm way off track...

Our anniversary was yesterday, but I wanted to write a quick little something about how fabulous our dinner was at Alana's: IT WAS FABULOUS! It made me wish we'd gone as soon as we moved to Columbus so that we'd have had more opportunities to enjoy her food. It's a warm, inviting, completely unpretentious place where the menu changes daily depending on what's fresh that day. Alana was there, passing around tiny little strawberries filled with goat cheese, drizzled with real balsamic vinegar. D & I waffled over what to order and eventually conceded that we would just have to keep coming back until we tried everything (but later realized this would be impossible, since the menu keeps changing). We ordered the asparagus with over-easy duck egg sprinkled with parmesan, a tomatillo gazpacho with fried soft shell crab, orrecchiete pasta with fresh peas, mint and prosciutto, and spaghetti puttanesca with shrimp and lump crab. Everything was fantastic, and served simply. That duck egg was seriously the most delicious egg I've ever eaten. And the fresh peas! I don't think I've had fresh peas in a restaurant before. The dessert menu was equally hard to choose from, featuring lots of Jeni's ice cream and local Ohio strawberries: we chose the goat's cheese cheesecake with peppered Ohio strawberries, and plum hazelnut crisp with salty caramel ice cream. Mmmm. So, so good. I think it was my most favourite meal in Columbus to date.

Somehow this blog has turned into something of a 'look what I ate today!' venue as well. If you came looking for a knitting post, don't worry, I'll have something to show soon. I started another pair of Pomatomus socks using some lovely Fleece Artist yarn. Seriously the best pattern ever written.

Weekend in Cleveland, the Under-rated City

Two weeks of part-time employment has been just so overwhelmingly exhausting that I was forced to take a vacation out of sheer restorative necessity...

Just kidding. We're back from a little weekend visit to Cleveland, Ohio. It all started with a Canadian band called Bedouin Soundclash, that has been a bit of a recent obsession for D. When I found out they were coming to Cleveland, I got tickets for D's birthday and had some fun planning a weekend around it. It seemed like a good time to fit in some tourism (particularly given how often we say, 'we should really check out Cleveland sometime'). And, given my recent obsession with Anthony Bourdain, who visited Cleveland on an episode of No Reservations, it was not surprising that our trip largely consisted of the places he visited on the show. What a nerd, I know.

Built in 1890, the Arcade was one of America's first indoor shopping malls

As far as smaller cities go, Cleveland was awesome. We really liked it, and both think that Cleveland is way, way under-rated (or perhaps it's just the people we've talked to). I had been given the impression that it was a really lame town where uncool tourists went to see dorky attractions and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe in a bland version of a city-chic vacation. Was I wrong! Yes, there's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and yes, there are probably lots of other theme museums, but... RnR was actually really cool and interesting. We only saw a tiny fraction of the attractions. And architecturally, Cleveland was kind of pretty with all the bridges criss-crossing over one another and beautiful historic buildings in the downtown district.

Cleveland Public Square

Friday we went to the Westside Market for breakfast and explored the aisles and aisles of fresh goodies. There was so much good-looking food it took me forever to choose something to eat. Finally, after I settled on a cheese pastry (D bought a massive apple turnover), as soon as I turned the corner, there was (of course) something even tastier looking. So, I went for a ham and cheese crepe...mmm... and saved the pastry for later.

Sharing my crepe Le Complet with D

From the market balcony

We looked around Tower City Center and the Erieview Galleria (which, shopping-wise, can't compete with those big lifestyle malls that are popping up in suburbs - but the architecture was beautiful) and in the evening went to nearby Coventry Village for the show (at the Grogg Shop). Coventry Village was basically one strip of shops and restaurants which reminded me much of the Annex in Toronto: cozy coffee shops, secondhand bookstores, pubs, family-style diners, trinket shops, etc. This probably contributed to my positive experience in Cleveland.

Tower City Center

Inside the Galleria at Erieview

Saturday, aside from the valet parking people losing our car keys (luckily we had an extra set), it was a pretty perfect day. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Marengo Spa Institute (if you go now they have some good promotions on),

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

and then dinner at Lola Bistro, which has received a lot of hype since Chef Michael Symon won The Next Iron Chef (and no, we didn't see him that night). Lola definitely lives up to the hype. The restaurant was packed. It was incredibly stylish and swanky - lit marble surfaces, paneled glass, high ceilings, a huge open kitchen. I felt like I had left Ohio for the next 3 hours and was somewhere in NYC. A man at the bar claimed that he had eaten the best shrimp appetizer of his life that night. Our dinner was delicious - between us, we ordered oysters on the half shell, beef-cheek pierogies, brook trout with butternut squash, smoked pork chop with cheesy polenta and barbequed onions, and ended the meal with 'beer and pretzels', a Guinness ice cream with chocolate-covered pretzel chunks and preserved cherries. I could have eaten anything on the menu, it all sounded so good. And the bill was incredibly reasonable - not a cheap meal, but far less than some of the swanky places we have been to in Toronto. It's definitely worth visiting.

And there you have it, my Cleveland review. What? Where are the crafts, you ask? I did start knitting the Shetland Triangle with the grey laceweight while in Cleveland...

My apologies for the lack of crafting news, but as far as new routines go, it takes me a little while to get back into the swing of things. So I blame the new job. That, and eating copious amounts of delicious food and watching too many episodes of Lost and Project Runway.

Happy Valentine's Weekend!

If you haven't yet done a little V-day celebrating, the weekend is packed with lots of fun things to do with your significant other/partner/spouse/friend. I pretty much find all my Columbus activities through these Restaurant Widow's Things To Do reports. It's fantastic.

Valentine cookies from marthastewart.com

I would have made these had I been more crafty...

D has unfortunately been a little sick the last couple days but still had an appetite to dine out (I never lose my appetite when I am sick. In fact, I think I eat even more). On Thursday night we trekked up the icy sidewalks, past all the crazy valet parking (I swear, I have never seen a city more obsessed with valet parking), and had a cozy, boozy dinner at the Burgundy Room in the Short North. We like the little tapas style dishes and wine flights. Mmm. I guess you want to know what we ate: braised short ribs with shoestring carrots, morrocan meatballs with minted couscous, mixed greens with bacon and goat cheese, and deviled crabcake with collard greens. We capped off the meal with a flight of dessert wines. Double mmm.

As some of you know, I started my part time job last week, which has proved to be a major taker-upper of craft time (my boss is a sweet, comical, elderly man who displays one of the worst control streaks I have ever encountered. Thankfully the job is part time, because there are only so many puns and mnemonics for remembering mundane facts that one can tolerate in a single sitting). Anyhow, the bottom line is that this means less craft time. Fortunately, I did have time to make sure that D and I were signed up for the next ceramics class offered at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. I did a bunch of research into ceramics classes around town and this seemed like the way to go. They certainly weren't kidding when they told me the classes were popular and urged me to phone in at 8am on Monday to register! I spent a good hour on redial trying to get through. It's probably the best deal for pottery classes that I have ever seen - about $50 for an 8-10 week course.

The grey tweed vest is coming along, but it's not very interesting to look at yet, so I'll wait until there's a bit more progress before I post a photo of it. Hopefully you are all having a better time with crafting than I am.

Back from Bethlehem

It had been a busy week. This post is really more of an update for our friends and family, but there are a few crafty bits at the end of the post if you bear with me.

After a long weekend of stewing in indecisiveness, I turned down the job offer, justifying my decision in an exceedingly lengthy babble, and felt an enormous relief as soon as I put the phone down. I think it was the first time I ever turned down a job. What was odd was how quickly I developed a feeling of loyalty to the interviewer, and even though I really didn't want this job, I felt like I should maybe just take it anyway. Just because he was so nice. Good thing I snapped out of it. Instead, I am going to focus on finding a volunteer position that will better utilize the skills I already have. And, a part time office job may have fallen into my lap so I'll have something else to keep me busy. A good ending, I think.

This Tuesday, D and I traveled to our potential new home of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where D was offered a job at Lehigh University. The trip started out with a few bumps (missing our connecting flight and me twisting my ankle) but we did make it there eventually. Bethlehem was a lovely little town, very quaint and picturesque, and surprisingly fashion-forward. It was once the centre of a booming steel industry (which they're turning into a casino - very sad) and there are some very beautiful historic buildings in the downtown. The university is built on a mountain, which reminded us of McGill - only with many, many more spectacular old and beautiful buildings and no ugly sixties cement block-style facilities.

The Library

We stayed at the Hotel Bethlehem, and had some really great meals and drinks at Bethlehem Brew Works, Tap Room, Olive Branch Cafe and Restaurant, White Orchids Thai Cuisine, and Star Fish Brasserie (where we also heard some fantastic live jazz on martini night!) Considering its size, there are a surprising variety of shopping options in Lehigh Valley, ranging from local vendors and farmers markets to the usual mall-type places, which made me quite happy (Allentown Farmer's Market, Moravian Book Shop, Saucon Valley Promenade, Lehigh Valley Mall, and the essentials: Target & Ikea). My most significant shopping discovery occurred immediately after our arrival, when I spotted Tangled Yarns right on Main Street. Yay!

Sweets at the Farmer's market

Farmer's market produce - a more modest St. Lawrence Market

We enjoyed our visit quite a lot, and spent much time talking about how weird it will be to settle down. The small-town feel is appealing, and we got excited about the possibility of a cute little house with a garden and barbeque. And being able to paint the walls and drill holes in them. It was very weird, however, to think that we will no longer be urban city folk with access to great public transportation. It will no doubt be a pretty big adjustment, but there is much to look forward to. New York City and Philadelphia are close by, so when we have we-miss-the-big-city moments we can take a day trip to either place. And oddly enough, ever since we moved away, we have actually been seeing friends and family more than we did back in Toronto.

I have not done much actual crafting at all, but I have been doing a lot of cleaning and reorganizing - my craft room is a bit more functional, I swatched the orange and tweed I bought last week, and frogged Skully:

The demise of D's first sweater

And it's time to do something with these lovely laceweights too, perhaps the Swallowtail Shawl or Shetland Triangle.

Ornaghi Filati Laceweight

Things have been slow on the cake decorating front, but yesterday I did make a yummy lemon cake - tart, moist, sticky and mostly eaten, but still worth showing. Here's the recipe - since I didn't have yogurt, I subbed sour cream for it instead, which worked nicely.

Gatsby, eager to help me blog as usual.

Weekend Recap

I know the weekend's not over yet, but I'm probably not doing much today so I feel safe going ahead with this post. I've already listed all the great things that have happened this week, but I left out a few others and also want to show off some of the neato gifts I received from some generous folks (dear friends and family, that's YOU!) I'll just show you one, from D, which is from a local store:

Cute Shinzi Katoh tote bag from Tigertree

And here is my something crafty to share before I ramble on about non-knitty things - the finished Peter Rabbit scarf using the Misty Garden pattern from Scarf Style:

It's exactly one skein of Fleece Artist Peter Rabbit using US 7 needles

The latest news: remember how I was talking about being 30 and unemployed, yada yada, and then I had my first interview on Friday? Under some very surprising circumstances (me thinking I had bombed the interview), I received a phone call at 5:00pm on Friday and was offered the job. How crazy is that? I can't believe I actually found a job before I turned 30 - with 7 hours to spare. It was certainly a wonderful surprise, and very validating. That said, there are significant pros and cons to this job, and I will have to weigh them out carefully. Compared to Toronto (and perhaps Canada), social service work is an extremely undervalued profession, and unbelievably poorly paid. To have a graduate degree and specialized training, and then be paid such a low wage is really depressing, and insulting (I could probably make more at Starbucks). Focusing on the advantages of the job (such as training I'll receive) barely combats the unjustness of the situation. I could rant for hours and hours about this, but I'll stop now since that's not what this blog is about.

We did have a lovely dinner on Friday night at Rosendales to celebrate birthdays and job offers (D was offered a great job in Pennsylvania - we will be traveling there to check things out. More on that if we decide to go). Rosendales was by far the best meal we have had in Columbus, and having read Restaurant Widow's review, I was even more excited to go (and predictably, "I don't feel like I'm in Columbus!" did come up several times). The food was absolutely delicious and the service was great too - our waiter helpfully offered us several wine choices after consulting with other staff (the chef or sommelier, maybe?). I had the Ahi tuna starter and 48-hour short ribs, and D had the seafood bisque and pork loin. Dessert was the prettiest part of the whole meal - lemon curd with ginger ice cream in a miniature parfait glass, piped with some sort of marshmallowy meringue that had been toasted somehow as not to melt the ice cream.

We had dinner at Akai Hana which was very good - I think the nicest sushi place I have visited in Columbus. Check out the sushi:


Then we went to Momo2 KTV for karaoke and sang (and shouted) our hearts out the rest of the night. I think a great time was had by all - even those who were initially a little shy were belting it out in no time. The group sang a lovely rendition of Sweet Caroline:

And being the birthday girl, I happily sang my share of cheesy classics: I proudly, and loudly, butchered my favourite, Total Eclipse of the Heart, with J and D.

Other side of my canvas tote!

We're back from Toronto!

It's been a little while, hasn't it? Hope you all had a good week! D and I sure did - a week in Toronto flew by unbelievably fast. We drove home last week (with cat in tow) which wasn't too bad at all, about 6.5 hours. We stayed with my mom, where we, including Gatsby, were spoiled and pampered to death with delicious food every waking hour (thanks mom!).

On the Friday, we attended D's big graduation ceremony where he wore a rather stunning red gown and marched across the stage to be awarded his degree. And along with the hundreds of other family members and friends, I probably embarassed him by taking a gazillion photos of this entire process - but how often do you get to finish your PhD?

Just call me Doctor...

Afterward, we had a proper celebration with champagne, courtesy of Mr. C...

Delicious, delicious, delicious...

...followed by dinner out at Southern Accent, a cozy, yummy Cajun/Creole restaurant in Markham Village, where we gorged on blackened chicken livers, cornbread, piquant shrimp, crab cakes, jambalaya, pecan pie and creme brulee. If you are ever looking for a restaurant in Toronto, I highly highly recommend this place. I have sampled most of the menu and have so far never been disappointed by any dish. The only thing that can go horribly wrong is that one's judgment of realistic portion size goes completely out the window and you are experience 'eyes bigger than stomach' syndrome. Which is OK once in a while though, so no big deal.

We ate sooo much this past week - garlic-fried lobster, Japanese buffet, real Szechuan cuisine, steamed crab with ginger, dim sum, brunch... and being American Thanksgiving the day after we got back, we gorged on turkey, dressing, potatoes and pie. Burp. D and I could probably go without eating for 2 or 3 days and not lose an ounce.

All this eating has distracted me somewhat from crafting, but there are lots of things happening on the craft front. I'm a bit disorganized right now so I haven't got pics ready or done some final touches on things. I did go out and get some buttons for various projects, and I finished the baby cardigan as well. And I also acquired more quilting fabric for some Pointy Kitty toys I am planning to make. Today, I am going to plan out what I should work on over the next few weeks.

Before we left for Toronto, I made some muslin gift bags to put the bear toys in, and put some little iron-on tags on them.

More updates to come, soon!