Why? Cleveland Furniture Bank!

I always love the chance to spotlight local organizations that are doing work to better the lives of those in Northeast Ohio. So, when I was invited to tour the Cleveland Furniture Bank, I jumped at the chance to learn more about this nonprofit.

Ironically, before I even was contacted about the tour, Matthew and I decided to donate a box spring and mattress to the Cleveland Furniture Bank. As an aside, the donation process was easy and the team from the Cleveland Furniture Bank made pick-up of the items quick and convenient.

The Cleveland Furniture Bank uses mattress donations for the Beds for Kids Campaign.

The beds are provided to children between the ages of 2 and 17.  This year, the program began adding cribs for donation for children under the age of two. Each year over 1,200 beds have been given to those in need.

The Cleveland Furniture Bank also partners with over 200 local agencies through their voucher program, which allows people in need (usually those transitioning out of homelessness or shelters) to select basic furniture to start their home.

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Why? Twilight at the Zoo!

One of the biggest parties of the summer is coming to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Friday, August 4. Of course I’m talking about Twilight at the Zoo!

Twilight at the Zoo brings together a wide array of local bands scattered throughout the Zoo for a wild good time! From Disco Inferno to Abby Normal and the Detroit Lean to Funkology to CRAIC, the bands cover lots of different genres of music and will all get you dancing through the night.

Also, new this year is Club Twilight, featuring a DJ and dance floor!

All of the fun is for a good cause, too! Proceeds from Twilight at the Zoo benefit the Cleveland Zoological Society and their work caring for not only the animals in the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, but also their educational and conservation programs.

Tickets for Twilight at the Zoo are now on sale online. General admission tickets are $75 in May, $80 in June, and $85 in July and August. Zoo members can save an additional $5 off tickets in May only! General admission runs from 7pm-12am and includes all bands, small bites, and complimentary Samuel Adams beer, wine, and soda.

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Why? Dreaming of a Day at Legacy Village Giveaway!

There are a lot of places I want to go once we’re able to be out and about in the world again. But one of my favorite one-stop locales for everything from great food to great shopping to great times is now just down the road from me. And I find myself dreaming of a day at Legacy Village.

I want to take a class at barre3

I want to sweat with Liz and Nina and Kristen and curse the resistance bands. I even want to do diamonds, that’s how much I miss barre3!

I want to get a gorgeous blowout at Drybar because I have somewhere fabulous to go.

I want to get some adorable clothes at LOFT and Lily Pulitzer and White House Black Market.

And I want to wear those clothes to a decadent dinner at The Capital Grille.

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Why? Well, Part 3…

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I posted here, which tells you what’s happened to time lately. It both seems like forever that we’ve been doing this and just yesterday that we were living normal lives.

It’s been a weirdly busy time in my own life and that combined with the lack of “traditional” Why CLE? content has kept these pages quiet. My therapist and I talked about how life keeps moving forward, even now. Even when it might not feel like it. And that’s been true for me.

As you might have seen on social media, Jeffrey and I moved last weekend to University Heights. Having gone to John Carroll and with Jeffrey at Gesu, this feels so much like coming home. I love the new house and Jeffrey has declared it to be “phenomenal,” so I’ll take that endorsement.

So, now that I’m settled and some of the packing, moving, personal life dust is starting to settle, I wanted to check back in here. I also wanted to share some things that I’ve been loving in this time…

All the online yoga! Yoga Roots offers both live and recorded class options and I’ve loved being able to practice with familiar faces like my teachers Heather, Aimee, Justine, Katie, and Lainie. Plus, my girl Alicia has been offering weekly online Platform Beer pub yoga on Facebook Live, as well as her Grooveryde classes. It’s been so nice to not only stay active, but to do it with teachers I love and trust!

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Why? Authentically CLE!

Remember in my last post when I said that life keeps moving forward, even in this time? One of the things to come out of this time was a chance for me to step back from the day-to-day of this blog and think about what I wanted it to be.

I am incredibly proud of this space and what it’s been for almost nine and a half years. What started as a very depersonalized, almost guidebook look at Cleveland turned into a space to share my adventures around town; the places and people and things that I love; and the way my life has changed in that time.

But I found myself wanting to do…maybe not more, but different. A new way to share my stories and others’. So, as most amazing things in the quarantine, the idea for Authentically CLE came out of a somewhat boozy Zoom call.

And through the amazing talents of Ashley from Little Leaf Design, my vision came to life.

Why CLE? will continue to exist in this space, but all new content will be posted on Authentically CLE. You’ll notice my social handles have switched over as well. Head on over to the new site now to read a bit about how this all started for me and my first post on one of my good friends who is about as authentic as they get.

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