RAVE: Chocolate Peanut Butter Chex Mix

It seems that food manufacturers have been listening to my cravings as of late: anything with the chocolate/peanut butter combination.

What's better than these two sweet treats together?

How about a little added salt?

As I was perusing the convenience shop for some something chocolate, these chocolate peanut butter Chex caught my eye. Naturally, I had to purchase them.

Let me just say, the bag didn't last long. And no, I didn't share.

Chex Mix has always been one of my favorite snacks. It's healthier than chips and has a great crunch - I'm all about texture. I've been known to stock up on all sorts of flavors of Chex Mix when it's on sale. Yummy!

This Chex variety had the consistency of puppy chow (you know, that chocolatey, powdered sugar mix you used to take in for 1st grade snack time), and the peanuts had a nice little glaze on them.

My only beef is that the pretzels were not chocolate coated. But if you ate them in a handful with the Chex pieces, it was the perfect combination of sweet and salty.

Next time you're looking for a treat, and your sweet tooth is battling your salt craving, check out this little treat.

You won't be disappointed.

Cheers!

-A

RAVE: Lure Bistro

To break up the monotony of the week, my boyfriend and I decided to head to the East side for some sushi.

Well, I was the one who "headed" to the East side, as he lives over there, but that's not the point.

He knew of a quaint little sushi bar in Willoughby that knocked my socks off.

Lure Bistro is one of those great date places. It's got an open, yet fairly private atmosphere with a modern decor. The bar area is separate from the dining area, which was a huge plus.

As we dined, I couldn't help but compare the restaurant with Sushi Rock - one of my favorite sushi places in Cleveland.

The atmosphere couldn't have been different, which is a positive in my book. I love sushi rock, but sometimes it's just too loud and crowded.

The service was quick and friendly. Our drinks were always filled - another huge plus. This girl doesn't like to go thirsty.

We were presented with amazing bread and butter that we were told was mixed with Geauga County maple syrup - yummy!

Of course, the sushi was fantastic! A specialty roll called the FireMouth was by far the best that we ordered - lots of flavors and textures, and just enough spice.

Even the bathrooms were fully stocked with any needs a woman might have while dining out. Of course, I can only speak for the women's restroom, sorry guys, but I'm sure there were toiletries available for y'all, too.

Price wasn't bad, either. For sushi, it was moderately priced. Can't complain about that.

Here's a snapshot of the overall Lure experience:

Price: $$-$$$ (moderate for sushi)

Menu Selection: **** (a great variety of unique sushi rolls)

Taste: **** (yummy!)

Service: ****

Atmosphere: **** (quaint and modern)

If you find yourself with a sushi craving over in Willoughby, OH. or are just looking for a great date venue, Lure is your place.

Cheers!

-A

On a personal note

I'd like to take a few minutes to step away from review blogging and talk about something important to me on a personal level. A recent realization of an accomplished goal that I set my mind to years ago.

Tomorrow, it'll be back to the normal reviews. Promise.

________________________________________

January 1, 2006 - the day I promised myself that I'd do whatever it takes to make myself happy. It was the ultimate New Year's resolution. I was graduating from college, knew I'd be moving far from home, and needed to make it a point to make myself happy.

So I started down the path I thought would bring me ultimate bliss - going balls to the wall in pursuing a successful career. Work became my life. At first, the accomplishments of this were enough to sustain a cheerful attitude, but within a year I wasn't seeing my life in quite that same light.

I was in a long-distance relationship that was barely hanging on, I'd fractured my feet on more than one occasion as I tried to keep up on my passion for competitive running (to which I've since given up to focus my attention on my health, and other sports), and my 12-15 hour-a -day career was sucking the life out of me, slowly.

Luckily, I moved across the country, again, found a great group of people to spend my time with, and rediscovered my passion for photography. Work had me traveling a lot, which kept my boredom at bay.

Around the time I was starting to feel the effects of a quarter-life crisis, I took a vacation with my boyfriend at the time. This is the Caribbean Cruise and Skydiving trip you may remember me talking about.

This is the trip where I truly found myself - in skydiving. By the time I got back to Cleveland, I had already booked my next skydive and was prepared to earn my A-level license by the end of the season - a goal that has been surpassed as I earned my B-level license a few weeks back!

The relationships with my family have been strengthened, and my brother married a girl who fits perfectly into our dynamic. A great sister-in-law for sure.

I'm also dating an amazing man who shares in my passion of throwing myself out of aircraft and is a fellow adrenaline junkie.

As for work, I've begun to take my career into my own hands. I have a 5-year plan that, if I put my head into it, will make my career seem less like 'work' and more like fun (after all, shouldn't you love what you do? I certainly wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't love the work I'm doing...).

A couple weeks ago I took stock of all these things and realized that, though it took me almost 4 years, I've accomplished my goal of making myself happy.

I am happy.

(See? A life-long friend and me at my brother's wedding)

I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face, knowing that I'll get to do at least one thing that I'm passionate about every day - usually more. I'm blessed with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. There are opportunities coming at me from all angles, and I'm continuing to soak us as much knowledge about photography, marketing, skydiving, and life in general with each passing day.

This is what happiness is all about.

I wish everyone could be quite so lucky.

What are some of the things that make you happiest in this world?

Cheers!

-A

RAVE: Parallax

Photos courtsey of Kyleroth's Flickr Photostream.

When I first moved to Cleveland from Dallas almost three years ago I was worried about finding a decent restaurant to quench my regular sushi cravings. This was, of course, before I realized just how many great restaurants this city has to offer!

So almost immediately I began my search for the best sushi in town. A former co-worker took me to Parallax in Tremont and I immediately knew that their sushi would be hard to beat. Between the creative combinations in the sushi appetizers, the fresh nigiri and amazing specialty rolls (I highly recommend the spicy scallop roll, you won't find anything like it elsewhere), I was in love.

(Mmm...spicy scallop roll.)

To this day, Parallax remains one of my favorite restaurants in Cleveland. Though I haven't tried anything aside from sushi and the occasional splurge on dessert, I can guarantee their other entrees are phenomenal!

The atmosphere is more laid back than you might expect at first glance. The dim lighting and clean, crisp appearance might seem stuffy, but you'll quickly see that everyone there is relaxed and enjoying the company and conversations around them.

It isn't often that I make it out there, unfortunately. It is a little on the pricey side, but totally worth the splurge. And you can't beat the service! Water is always filled, there's a never-ending supply of bread and oil, and the wait staff checks in just enough to keep you happy, but not so much that it becomes annoying.

Today a good friend and I headed out for a mid-week dinner to celebrate her new job. Unfotunately, she's moving to the East Coast, so we decided to hit up one of our favorites one last time. Dinner included a yellowtail sushi appetizer with jalepeno and mango - YUM - and a variety of nigiri sushi and a salmon specialty roll.

We left full but not over stuffed, and perfectly satisfied.

I suggest, the next time you're in the mood for good sushi, take a trip out to the quaint neighborhoods in Tremont and try out Parallax. You won't be disappointed.

Price: $$$-$$$$ (sushi prices aren't bad)

Menu Selection: **** (a little of everything and a continuously changing menu)

Taste: **** (yummy!)

Service: **** (perfection)

Atmosphere: **** (dressy yet laid-back)

Cheers!

-A

RAVE: Bolthouse Farms

Yeah, I know I had planned on taking a break, but did you really think I'd be able to stop talking for that long? C'mon now!

What I really want to do is RAVE today about a product that I have recently fallen in love with.

Now let me just say, as a girl who watches what she eats, my fruit juice of choice for the past months has been the Naked brand.

But in the past month I discovered a line of juices and smoothies that far surpass anything I've ever tasted: Bolthouse Farms.

My first experience was with the Green Goodness variety. I was given a taste by a friend who said "don't look at it, just drink it."

Being the adventurous type, I dove right in and LOVED what I tasted - kiwi, apple....pure yumminess. Of course, then I had to look at it. As you'd probably expect by the name, it was green. Almost looked like pureed broccoli. But trust me, it tastes way better.

Since, I've tried a number of their fruit juice varieties and loved them all.

Most recently I was introduced to the Vanilla Chai Tea flavor. It's a perfect treat in the morning, and so good for you.

What can I say, I'm hooked on this brand of juice.

I get mine at Giant Eagle in the refrigerated section near the produce. If you're looking for a healthy brand of fruit juice and smoothies, hands down Bolthouse Farms makes the best around.

Cheers!

-A

Time out

Today I made the executive decision to take a little break from blogging.

Or, at least on this blog. I'll still be over here if you care to join me.

There have been a lot of changes in the recent past that have made my life into a whirlwind of activity. Most of which has left me little time for sleep, let alone blogging.

Here's a quick snippet:

• My travel schedule has ramped up with NYC and Raleigh trips in the near future.
• I lost a close friend in an accident this weekend and have been dealing with the aftermath of emotions among me and my friends.
• I'm skydiving every weekend, at multiple drop zones, planning trips to wind tunnels and Bridge Day.
• I started dating a new boy who I'm kind of into. :-)
• My big brother is getting married and final preparations are in full swing.

Let's see, those are just of the few things that are happening in my life right now. Not to mention that I'm slammed at work! No complaints here, of course, but this all leaves no time for me to consume or review anything....

Give me a couple weeks, I'll be back in full swing and ready to review anything and everything pumpkin flavored just in time for Halloween.

Cheers!

-A

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

...or some crap like that.

Yes, I realize just how much I've been sucking as a blogger lately. My days have been consumed with an ever increasing workload and my weekends have been spent traveling to dropzones and skydiving as much as possible before the winter sets in. If you're interested in any of that, you can visit SkydiveChick.com and read my latest post here.

Anyhow, enough of this self-promotional BS....

My personal life has been nuts lately too. There's been some much going on, preparing for my big brother's wedding, trying to get organized, keeping up on bills and chores, trying to stay in touch with friends, and now with football season beginning, I'm being pulled in a ton of different directions.

Which makes the whole getting organized thing quite difficult. I told myself once that it could wait until the winter, when I wasn't skydiving and had plenty of time on my hands. But I'm starting to see this as a desperate need.

Unfortunately there's not a free weekend in sight to conquer this feat. 

But, I have accomplished a lot in the last month. Remember my post about summer goals where I mentioned the things I still wanted to cross off that list things that would make the end of the year a success? Well, let's revisit that, shall we?

1. Be a better vegetarian. CHECK. This has worked out better than I imagined. I splurged once since I made this vow, and had one boneless wing at Buffalo Wild Wings during a weekend away. Otherwise, I've been a highly committed vegi!

2. Get some tunnel time. 1/2 CHECK. It's on the list of upcoming weekend festivities. Just haven't cashed in on that one quite yet. 

3. Get back into yoga. FAIL. I had good intentions, really I did. Though in my defense, I have been doing some practice on my own, a few sun salutations every day to stretch out and relax. But haven't been back to a class in quite some time. This will be a winter commitment.

4. Attend two tailgates. 1/4 CHECK. Good intentions exist here too. Though I'm not sure it'll happen. I'm going to Bridge Day on MSU's homecoming this year, and my brother's wedding is on U of M weekend... maybe some of the later games? :-/

5. Visit the cider mill. 1/2 CHECK. I have plans with a friend to make the trip sometime this fall. But with the amount of time I'll be at my parent's place in the next couple weeks, there's no reason why this won't happen.

6. Take a trip to Wisconsin. Um, well. That could still happen, right?

Oh, and I did mention that I want to get my B license by the end of the season, and yes sir, I DID IT!

So see, I've gotten some of these things taken care of....

What do you want to accomplish before the end of fall?

Cheers!

-A