My Future Hometown

Where is that, you might ask? After five years of touring, something like 300 cities, 49 States, eight Provinces, and numerous foreign countries visited in my life, I think it's simply Asheville, NC.

I had a few vacation days to use before the end of the year and had miles on U.S. Air, which I never fly. But, U.S. Air flies to Charlotte. I happen to have friends in Charlotte, and friends in Asheville. So I just kind of winged it. I had planned on Charlotte for two nights and Asheville for one, but oh my gosh Asheville... I swear to god if I didn't have a job I really liked in Cleveland, I would have just rented an apartment and carried on with life there. And one day, I will. Not now, but one day. I have never, ever said that about city.

I arrived early on Friday morning, and all of my friends in both cities were working. I had reserved a "Prius or similar" from Dollar, so I headed over to pick up my fuel efficient car. And got a Mercury Grand Marquis. Do you know what that looks like? A boat. I could barely park it. Jerks.

I had read about The Grove Park Inn, and wanted to check it out. It is a beautiful granite hotel built into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Oddly, it also has the worlds largest collection of arts and crafts furniture. It was spectacular. I planned on eating lunch there, but a burger was $22. So, I headed into downtown Asheville and ate lunch at a restaurant at the Grove Arcade. I met some really great people, and a little Welsh Corgi.

My plan was to visit The Biltmore in the afternoon. I allowed myself about four hours. BAD CALL. The Vanderbilt's "vacation property" was massive. It's not just the 31 bedroom, 43 bathroom (they didn't even have full indoor plumbing then), 65 fireplace home... it's 8,000 acres of fabulousness. Walking trails, vineyards, biking paths, shops.... it's a full two day experience that I pretty much rushed through. When I live there one day, I will buy a membership and enjoy the property. I drove past people who had set up a little table on the river with cheese and wine, and were watching the sunset. It was so perfect.

Friday night (yes, it's still the same day), Alison, Gene and I met up with their friends Kellen and Pladdy for drinks overlooking the city, and then had a fabulous dinner downtown, with more drinks after dinner. Everything downtown is independent. There are no chains- none. Except an Urban Outfitters, which I hear there was an uproar about.

In the middle of downtown on Friday nights, there is a massive drum circle. It's like a hippie's dream. It's just a public space where people go to play music, and people stop and enjoy it. Everyone is seriously so happy in Asheville.

Randomly thanks to Facebook, I found out that one of my old touring friend Rasmiyyah, was about 40 minutes away in a show in Flat Rock, NC. She was in Buddy, the Buddy Holly story. The girl I met on Friday, Kellen, had actually heard about this show and really wanted to go, so the two of us went off on an adventure on Saturday afternoon. We took a scenic road up to Flat Rock, and it was beyond words beautiful. Apple orchards, pumpkin farms, Fall leaves... I loved it. I hadn't seen Ras since 2009, and she now lives in NYC, so it was such a random place to reconnect. Buddy was a great show, and the whole day was perfect.

Saturday night, Alison and Gene were invited to a party that we went to out on a farm. Literally, a farm with cows. Everyone there was just in such a great mood, and enjoying life. People brought their kids, there was a fire, hay rides, great food, and band, and a really positive attitude. And, and LOT of wind! (It was very windy the entire time I was there). After the party we went to their friends house and had fun drinking wine, eating smoked food that had been cooking for hours, and hanging out. Of course, their house wasn't just a normal place- I can't even explain it, but if I write that, I'll remember. It came with a Boom Boom Room.

Lastly, and definitely not least importantly, I headed back to Charlotte to stay with my friend Lindsay for the day and night. We spent the day at her house enjoying wine and music, and her cute little twins Brooke and Bryce. We had such a good friend day. I miss her so much now that I'm back in Cleveland and she's not here.

My trip was more than I could have expected or anticipated. I discovered a new city that I want to one day hopefully call my home, and I spent time with really good, good friends.

What a lucky girl I am!

The Red Cross Fire Safety Walk

Click on the picture to see us up close and personal!

On Tuesday after work, sixteen Majestic employees met up with the Red Cross and the Cleveland Fire Department. We went to a very low income area of town, door to door, to offer the installation of free smoke detectors.

The neighborhood we were in was a little unsettling. We paired up to go to each house and cover as much ground as we could. Most of the time the fire chief or firemen were close by, but they were often in houses behind us doing installations which made me nervous at the beginning. It was pretty eye-opening- lots of kids home with no adults, a few homeless people, terrible animal smells, etc. I was so surprised to find that on just two city blocks, over 80 smoke detectors were needed.

For the first time in my life, I got to ride on a fire truck, and wore a real fire hat! Which was much heavier and longer in the back than I anticipated. I kept smacking the back of my head into walls, but very cool none the less.

A few of us went to dinner after and all of us felt the same way about the experience. I know that we did a good deed on Tuesday, and it is something I will always remember.

Oktoberfest

Last weekend Heidi and I decided (last minute) to have a little Oktoberfest party in her back yard. She feels like she didn't use it as much this summer as she would have liked, and it's too beautiful to let go to waste. So in typical Heidi fashion- voila! A beer tent, beer, wine, food, German music (thanks to the local library), and the Browns game. The weather was absolutely horrible which I think discouraged some people from coming. But the food and company was wonderful, as always!

33

I have been looking forward to my 33rd birthday for a while. Everyone has a bad year in their life. Mind you, I am only 33, so I have many more years to go. But, 32 was my worst year so far. I lost the most important, most loved person in my life, a relationship I cared about deeply ended, and for over half of the year, I was very unhappy with my lifestyle due to my job. Some things have definitely started to turn around (especially on the job front), but in general I was WAY over 32.

My day was just wonderful. I never thought that Facebook could make me feel so happy, but the messages on there totally uplifted me starting last night. My friends near and far texted me all day. Bethanne and T Bone called from France. Then, my amazing company gave me a birthday gift and people I work with did little things all day. I left work early and treated myself to some pampering, and then it was time for my favorite part of the day- dinner with the girls!

My mom is always so great at planning birthday parties for us at her house, as you have seen on blogs of the past. However, I really wanted a "girls night" for my birthday this year. People who have been supportive, trustworthy and just good friends and family. We went to Grovewood Tavern in Cleveland, and I loved every minute of it. Even though I didn't want gifts, you can bet that every person showed up with something in tow that put a smile on my face. My mom went out of her way to make sure I still had the "Carol Ann Birthday Touch" with napkins, a gift table, cupcakes, and so much more. She is really the best!

I cannot express in words how appreciative I am to have these girls in my life. They, along with everyone else who contacted me today, really made me have a positive perspective headed into my 33rd year!

The Fisco Family Clam Bake

This Fall was the 3rd Annual Fisco Family Clam Bake. I have no idea why, but Cleveland is all about clam bakes. Everyone is usually invited to at least two or three, the local restaurants do them... and we live on Lake Erie. ?? I don't really care that it doesn't make any sense, because they are ALWAYS fun!

Almost all of the Fisco's (my step-dad's family) came to town for it with the exception of some spouses. Everyone just got together for Alisa's wedding, so coming again from CA, TX, NC and other places was a lot. Those Fisco boys know how to throw a party! Juke box in the garage, bar set up, big tents, and they actually own all of the steamers, grills and serving trays. I guess it makes sense, if you're going to do this every year. Clams, chicken, corn, sweet potatoes, and of course pasta, because that goes well with a clam bake. If you're Italian.

The weather was not exactly great, but it didn't stop about 80 people from coming. Can't wait to stuff myself again next year!

Chefs Dennis and Dan

Soooo much food, like usual with the Fisco's!
Ernie, Dennis and Dan finishing up cooking

Literally the minute they said everything was ready, it started pouring!

Ernie giving one of his fabulous toasts. To his Dad, and the Browns!

Sarah and I used plastic bags to save our shoes!

HAHAHAHA! Love it.

The Milan Melon Festival

**I am super annoyed right now because for some reason I cannot type above the first photo, which is the Milan High School band playing at the fair.

Anyway.... there is always so much going on Labor Day weekend- where do you start?! Fairs, festivals, the air show, parties. So much to choose from.

Weeks beforehand, my brother, sister and I made plans to go to Milan, OH with Heidi (my grandfather's long-time "squeeze"). It is a small town close to Sandusky where she grew up, and they have a fair every year. However, this year was an even BIGGER deal, because her niece Lauren was in the running to be Miss Melon. The competition was fierce, but as you will see below, she was crowned the Queen of Milan! We of course celebrated into the night at the beer tent, and then later at Jimmy and Lisa's house (her parents) playing Spoons and laughing until 2am.
The next morning it was time to celebrate Rachel's birthday (another one of many family members there that weekend). Leave it to Heidi- we were all up by 7am, Pledging Allegiance To The Flag (we don't ask), creating a spanking machine, having a melon eating contest, competing in a watermelon seed spitting contest, popping balloons under our shirts, eating breakfast, singing Happy Birthday, and eating cake. And I was back in Cleveland by 10:30am. That's a morning.


The weekend was sooooo much fun, as it always is with Heidi's family. Bethanne left to go back to France when we got back to Cleveland, so it was a great way to hang out with her before she left. Now we have next year to look forward to, as Lauren passes her crown onto the next Miss Melon!

The Roaring 20's

My cousin Paul got married on August 20th, and they decided to have a 20's themed wedding. It was such a fun idea! Oddly, it was really easy to find 20's style accessories- it must be coming back in style in a small way. Some people really got decked out and looked like they had stepped off of a movie set. My family added a few little touches to our outfits like pearls and feathers to have a little fun with it.

I feel like this has been a wedding-filled summer (I didn't even blog about my cousin Mike's wedding in June), but they have all been beautiful, unique and fun!