Best Restaurant You've Never Heard Of

There is a little secret in Twinsburg. Some big name restaurants in Cleveland get all of the press. I have eaten at them and you know, I think a lot of it is just talk. People like to like to drop names and eat where everyone else is eating. I like to eat where the food is good.

Most people that live in Twinsburg and around it have probably driven past Bongiorno's. It is on Ravenna Road where it intersects Route 82. You've seen the brick building and probably wondered about it. You might have read something about it but have you been in? If not, you are missing one of the best kept secrets in the Cleveland area.

Bongiorno's is a locally owned Italian restaurant. It is super small. If it was downtown, we'd call it quaint to make it seem more chic. You can see the whole place from the front door and there is small bar. What it lacks in ambiance, it makes up for one of my favorite meals. My husband and I order the same thing each time we go. I order the chicken Milanese and he orders the veal Milanese. I have tried to order something else but I just can't make myself do it.

With the meal, you get a salad and bread. The butter is herb flavored and super yummy. They also give you a plate of pasta with the meal. The marinara is not my favorite. I usually take it home and enjoy every last bit of the Milanese. And if you order wine, you get a generous glass that is more than the standard downtown glass of wine.

So go get yourself a babysitter. Make a reservation*. It fills up quickly on the weekends. And surprise your loved one with a trip to Bongiorno's. Save yourself the trip downtown to Cleveland. And with the extra time, you can squeeze in a movie in Macedonia.

*330-487-1545

What Do You Do All Day?

I have had some friends ask me what I do all day with just Elle at home.

Well after the maid comes, I sit back and just have a cup of tea.

Really? Are you kidding me? I bust my butt. OK. I do for about 15 minutes and then I check Facebook. I then go to my list of things to do and do at least one thing. Then I take a little break and keep going until the baby wakes up. I am constantly moving and trying to keep up with everything.

I have a friend who reads tons of books and she works too. I don't know how she keeps up with everything. We spent the weekend at her house and everything was in its place. Everything. I have asked how she does it but I don't think she understands why I wonder. I still don't know how she does it. Another friend volunteers a lot. She asked me if I was volunteering this year. I smiled and blamed the baby but inside I am thinking that I don't want to add anything else to my list of things to do.

The kids started school yesterday. And it is all coming back into line. The litter box is changed. The RSVP's have been contacted. My email is somewhat checked. And I am writing. I am getting back into synch. And back I go to my list of things to do for the day. In case you are wondering, it reads:

Send thank you to aunt for baby gift.
RSVP for Labor Day picnic.
Figure out dinner for sister-in-law that just had a baby
Clean bathroom in bedroom
Change the litterbox
Find old soccer water bottles in garage (don't ask)
Buy a yellow folder for Kyle

I have about 1/2 done and about two hours before Kyle comes home. Not bad. I am off to cross off two or three before Elle wakes up from her nap. So that's what I do with myself all day.

I Promised

A couple of days ago, I sat down and wrote the most boring post ever about everything I learned at my reunion. Lucky for you, I did not hit "publish." Most of you don't care to hear how content I feel in my life and how I am relieved I am no longer 18. You don't care where everyone stood or who I talked to for most of the night. And you don't care how many margaritas I had that night. Although some late night photos would have been fun.


What you probably care about is what I wore since I was a mess trying to figure it out. Jeans were on the bottom with some cool heals. Here it is. I had a friend take the photo (thank you Dave Z.)

So, I survived. I even enjoyed myself. And I walked away with a huge feeling of being content. Life is good.

Don't my teeth look great? Ha!

White Teeth Will Solve Everything

I am sitting here with Crest White Strips on my teeth. Why? I am not one of those people that obsess about having the whitest smile. I drink TONS of tea and drink red wine so I don't really worry about it too much. But, I broke out the strips this week because I am freaking out. Freaking out. Ask my husband. My sisters. My Dad. My friends. Ask strangers at my Weight Watchers meeting. I have my 20 year high school reunion on Saturday.

So, I have an outfit picked out. I was talking with some friends and they asked what I was wearing. I casually mentioned that I picked out a blouse and I am wearing it with jeans and heels. "You can't wear that." "You must wear a dress." "Go to Marshall's." As I sat there with a million thoughts in my head, I simply blurted out "I don't have time to find THE dress." With three kiddos at home, I am simply out of time. I can't run all over Cleveland to find something. Let alone the shoes and the jewelry. There is no time to start over. And deep down in my heart, I just know that I don't want be so overdressed that will look at say "Boy, she is trying really hard to look good."

The reunion is at a Mexican restaurant called "Pancho's." It is casual. It is in Alliance. It is not a place where jeans will look funny. And I will feel good in the smallest size of jeans I have owned since at least college, maybe even high school. And I will walk into that reunion with my head held high. And walk straight to the bar and make it a double of something. And I will survive my high school reunion. Everyone does. And I promise I will post a picture of it next week.

And until then, I have to keep my hands off of my face so no new eruptions (I had bad acne in high school) take place and keep up the white strips. And I need to remember what my Dad has told me for twenty years. He said I will be shocked at how everyone looks. Men will be bald and some of the skinny girls will be fat. I won't recognize some of the people and some of the popular people will sit with the unpopular. At least that is what I am counting on. Nothing like a high school reunion to bring back all of the anxieties of my youth. So much has changed and so much hasn't. My white strips have more to do about my confidence level and less to do about my teeth. And with a big deep breath and large exhale, I will get through it.

Not Very Simple

I love the magazine Real Simple. I just sat down for lunch and read an article where readers chime in on various topics. This month's topic was "What is your FAVORITE pantry staple." You wouldn't believe the answers. Here are some that made me think "Really?"

Saffron strands
Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta
Pine nuts
Hoisin sauce
Blue-cheese stuffed olives
Casina Rossa truffle and salt

Where are the real people? What about paprika? That is an answer I would expect. Sugar. Salt. Oregano. Thyme. Ketchup if you have kids.

As I continued to eat my egg, I wondered how do people get to this level of sophistication? I am lucky to get my egg made and eat it before the baby wakes up. Who are these people? Where do they live? Do they have jobs? And do they have chefs, nannies and a life?

I have staples. They are tea, milk, English muffins, ketchup, Kraft mac and cheese for the kids, fresh basil, salt, pepper, eggs and wine. I get fancy now and then but mostly, I am lucky to serve my family a hot meal on most nights.

So real people of the world, what are your pantry staples? Make me feel better. And don't you dare say Carina Rossa truffle and salt.

Making Us All Silly

Do you remember friendship beads? They were popular when I was in the fifth grade. I remember a boy Derek made me one and it had a red bead in the middle of some white ones. I took that as a sign of love. He would have used a more neutral color if he wasn't sending me a message of love. I was convinced. But, I was mistaken. Derek had his eyes on Nicola and I was just a good friend in the neighborhood.

The other day, Ryan got off of the bus and said he had to have Silly Bandz. What? What are they? He showed me his arm. On it was a rubbery bracelet that stretches into a shape. He was wearing an animal. A friend from the bus gave him one. He had to have them. Kids were trading them on the bus. He listed off the stores that had them and they were cheap. Surely, we could afford Silly Bandz.

So, like any sucker mother, I stopped into CVS, Walgreens and Borders. I had no luck. What would the package ever look like for a rubbery little bracelet? I tried to look cool and collected as I raced around every store breaking a sweat. No luck.

All of the moms on Facebook were helping each other find these all over town. One mom even had three extra packs and offered to share. That is mommy love. What a friend!

I eventually found ours online. With the baby, I was done visiting every store in town looking like a fool. I let the boys pick out some packages from the Sillybandz.com website. They were so excited. I remember sticker books, the jelly bracelets from the eighties and of course the friendship pins. I had to help them find the bracelets so they could remember trading them with their friends and creating memories.

So if your child has not mentioned Silly Bandz, get ready. They are coming to your school. I have included two pictures so you know what you are looking for. I know it is silly. But the kids were so excited. It was probably the best $5 I have spent in a long time.

Wake Up in the Morning Feeling Like P Diddy

Up all night.

Getting by on caffeine

Alcohol to soften the ages.

More sleepless nights.

Girls trip?

No. Another boring week in the life of a mommy with a baby.

But this schedule prepared me for my Vegas trip for 2010. I was really ready to get out. I needed to dance. I needed to let loose and I needed to have a great time. And we did.

In Vegas, I realized that I was in training for Vegas all year. I can get by with no sleep. I can stay up all night. No sleep in Vegas, no problem.

(In this photo: Sister, Sister, neighbor and me. This is before the orange dragons and martinis at Tao. It was a very calm dinner. Until the orange dragons kicked in.)

And here is a photo of me getting crazy at Lavo. We had the best time dancing the night away. Wouldn't change a bit of this trip.

We are going to party like ROCK STARS!

That was our anthem in Vegas. We were dead serious. It had been three years since our last girls trip to Vegas. My sisters and I meet our childhood neighbors there every year. We've added extra girls and some years we have a bunch of people. This year, we had four. We missed one of our neighbors but hope she can join us again next year when life works out a little better.

Rock stars have nothing on Moms. We are a strong group that can party with the best of them. We have been beaten up by the flu, mean mommies, tight jeans, mean teachers, sleepless days/nights and celebrities that are in shape one month after the birth of their baby. We can handle it all in Vegas. Dinner with celebrities (Chey from Chelsea Lately), too tight high heals, topless pool at the Wynn and even going to Hooters to see our favorite Vegas band Purple Reign. We can hang with the best of them. And the only question we had the day after we got home was "How many days until we can go back?" Nabe, we are down to 348. Forget Rock Stars. They got nothing on us.