Tuesday, September 16, 2014

OOTDs/Family Fun Time: Cleveland!

Every year, Mr. Dina wants to go somewhere out there in the big ole U. S. of A. to go see his beloved Saints play ball.  Last year he made it to both NYC and to Philadelphia to see them play, this year, Cleveland.  I personally think our annual trek to New Orleans to see family for the holidays should be enough for him, but, eh, I am not a football fan, so I clearly have no right to speak my mind.  ;-)

That said, it was a very lovely time this weekend in Cleveland, and even though I had a ginormous sewing project on my plate (just done today--more on that later--and YES, I did bring the sewing machine with me on our trip), I knew that I would have a good time.  'Cause really any excuse to go somewhere is fine by me.  Even if it is for football.  LOL.


Day: Saturday, September 13, 2014.

Where: The drive to Cleveland.  And any stops along the way, of course.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Very easy outfit to wear on a long drive.  The leggings I made to precisely fit my body, so of course they felt great.  The winner, though, is the Zara sweatshirt, so comfy and cozy.  It was actually kind of cold in parts of the mountains (we drove over them to get to Ohio from VA), so the sweatshirt was welcome warmth.

Cool Factor: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Zara is cool.  I think this looks really cool, but not especially over-accessorized. 


Day: Saturday, September 13, 2014.

Where: Corky and Lenny's, an apparent Cleveland institution.  I can see why.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This outfit would have scored a 4.5 except I was feeling really drained (it has been a pretty crazy couple of weeks 'round here), so everything felt off.  But at least the fun yellow flowers (photo floral sweatshirt by J. Crew) and silver Nikes perked me up a bit.  Well, that and the yummy deli food, of course.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  It's a cute outfit, bit plain barring the bright flowers, though.

Mr. Dina loved his gigantic corned beef sandwich, and so did Angus and his sneaky little fingers.

Day: Sunday, September 14, 2014.

Where: Sewing in the hotel room, a walk to the local Whole Foods, followed by an evening visit to B Spot.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  CW insisted I bring my giraffe shirt so we could match on our girls day (well plus Angus) while Rex and Mr. Dina were at the game (the Saints lost--I still am hearing about that, btw).  We wore this momma/daughter combo years ago.  LOL.

Anyhow, for as old as the tee is, and the pants (from Pure Collection--my very favorite traveling pants, btw), and the cardigan (Boden, here is a similar version this year), the outfit is SO COMFORTABLE.  Needed it, so yeah, very glad I brought these pieces.

CW did not wear her Elsa shoes out, though (the tooth fairy "visited" us at the hotel room and brought her those).

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Not especially cool, but CW loved it, so it counts as cool in her world.

That there is a very strong drink from B Spot.  It is made with an amazing bourbon.  Yum.

This was Mr. Dina's burger.  I am hungry right now, probably not the best time to be writing this blog post.

The next day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  We have done this before, but in Paris.  ;-)  Wasn't wearing a RUSH shirt then, though.

RUSH!  Very deserving of their 2013 induction...

They had the ENTIRE catalog of RUSH music outside the wall of signatures hallway.  Amazing.  If Mr. Dina would have been more patient, I could have listened to more (and so could the kids).  Sigh.  Impatient men.

Rush is not my only "dinagideon is a teenage boy" infatuation.  I also have every Pink Floyd album, and like a ridiculous pimpled 14-year old, I know the lyrics to every Wall song.  *Yeah*. 

I think Rex may be the next candidate to listen to every Pink Floyd album based on this pose.

Mr. Dina loves Johnny Cash.

And as if eating amazing deli food, great tasting burgers and rum weren't enough, we also stopped at Melt on the way out of town.  Why they don't have Melt here is beyond comprehension and needs to be rectified immediately. 

And here it is, finally done...my entry for the Fashion Challenge #2 for Fabric MartI have made this pattern before, but never in a non-printed, non-stretch material.  This took me forever.  I am such a slow sewer.  But it is a dark green wool gabardine that is fully lined, so it will be just perfect for this winter...

I will write up a blog post on this one tomorrow afternoon at some point, hand on heart.

Okay, that's all for today.  Have a lovely Tuesday night!