Thursday Thrill – Cleveland Night Out

Earlier in the summer, the hubs and I were in Cleveland visiting my sister and brother-in-law. They are our foodie friends, so it is safe to say that every single time we visit each other, we will have a good time. That and I love them, so yeah. 

I'm actually quite jealous of them really. Cleveland is a foodie heaven! Really! I feel like we could go out every frickin' day and find another gloriously prepared and locally raised/produced meal. Raleigh is wonderful, has some fabulous restaurants and eateries, and I'm not complaining in the least. I'm just glad that my sis lives in such a wonderful place so that we get to indulge whenever we visit. They are our adventure eaters too. Do you know how amazing that really is? Having people that like to try different things and don't care if it isn't quick, cheap, or "normal"? It is SO refreshing and exciting! It sometimes ends up being our own little version of the Discovery Channel and we have definitely eaten some weird things. 

While we were in Cleveland last, we got to visit the West Side Market, which is a really large indoor vendor market full of fun food, desserts, everyday staples, and some exotics. Not for the faint of heart, as you can see below! Random pig's head aside, we got to taste some wonderful pastries and picked up delicious beef jerky (not something I say everyday)(okay, let's be honest, who would say anything like that on a daily basis...)

Later on, we shared a bottle (or two) of wine and an extraordinarily tasty dinner at Fire Food and Drink. We got to sit on the patio, which was beautiful and on a clear night like ours was, we had a wonderful summer night together with family/friends.

On one of the last nights we were there, we stopped in for drinks and munchies at a super fun bar/restaurant, Momocho which had a keen eye for decorating with Mexican wrestling masks! And holy moly, did their margaritas kick ass!

We had such a great time and did way to much to show you, but I thought a quick little view from that trip and a few photos might be fun! Hope you all enjoyed and if you get to go to Cleveland, let me know, cause I can give you soooooo many excellent recommendations!

Last Week's Thursday Thrill:

Peridot

Wordless Wednesday – Shaded in Beauty

Last Week's Wordless Wednesday:

Another New Moon?

Treasury Tuesday – The Lady of Shalott

Recently, a woman named Katherine made one of my favorite treasuries to date. Inspired by the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (whose works I very much adore), she created this ode to the Lady herself. For those who haven't read this lengthy, but beautiful melodic ballad, you can find it here. Like a mournful song, the life of this Arthurian like legend meets a hauntingly tragic end. The treasury below captures the poem beautifully and I was overwhelmingly delighted to have my antique castle button, "For Whom the Bell Tolls", included amongst such sadly romantic pieces. This poem was also the inspiration behind one of my favorite paintings by John William Waterhouse as well. His sumptuous style nearly breaks my heart and the light and texture he created in that painting is incredible in its despair. I love that paired together, you can see how the poem inspired two different people more than one hundred years apart to create very similar visual images.

To view individual items in this treasury, click here.

{photo source}

Last Week's Treasury Tuesday:

New Moon

The Sunday Snag – The Hat's Back!

Remember this beauty of a head topper? You may recall that I got a hat for my Bucket List Outfit, but the photos of it on me were quite hard to see because they were dark and the hat is black. So here is a better shot! I'm still very much in love with it.

You can catch up on the details of my beautimous hat on my initial post, "A Sparkling Night Atop the Stars". I've gotten to wear it three times so far. The first time was for a date during my anniversary Date Week. The second was for a 1940s fashion show that I got to be in while at All Balboa Weekend, a vintage dance event in Cleveland. The third was a night of dancing during that same weekend event. It has gotten to be the icing on three different vintage dresses too! My bucket list dress first, a gorgeous 40s black & white masterpiece belonging to the terrific gal who runs All Bal, and a dress from a while back seen here in these photos today. I desperately wish I had gotten photos of the b&w dress that I wore in the fashion show, but alas, no one seemed to flash any photos during that entire show! I got to wear a 40s band uniform during that show too! So fun!

The dress you see here is one that I reserve for dancing as it is perfect to dance in, but rather delicate and too old to wear on any sort of regular basis. So she gets to leave the closet for only the most fun events. The last time she left her little closet home was in November to dance at the Eastern Balboa Championships (you can see a photo of that here). 

The photo below shows why I don't typically post photos of myself dancing. Yes, I am one of those crazy faced chicks. Very nearly EVERY photo of me dancing has a ridiculous face! I'm just too goofy and not at all classy when dancing! Hahaha! I can't help it, I have too much fun. Some girls look very poised, graceful, and nonchalant when they dance. Oh to look elegant! I believe the expression below is my utter awe at this young man's footwork. He was a great dancer and my face apparently couldn't keep in the excitement. ;-)

Outfit Details

Hat: 1940s sequin tilt hat from Flatiron Vintage

Dress: 1940s floral crepe from Macaroni Vintage

Shoes: Emily from ReMix Vintage Shoes

{photo courtesy of McFreebird Photography}

Last Week's Sunday Snag:

Just Grand in Gingham