business trip + snow {cleveland}

Last week I tagged along with Lee on a business trip. I haven't done that in quite awhile but thought this one would be fun. It was to a city I'd never been {Cleveland} and figured fall splendor would be in full swing. Given we were still experiencing temps in the high 80's I was all over a little fall foliage. It's also where one of Lee's cousins lives and I was excited about having dinner with her and her "newly wed" husband. Figured it would be a definite "win-win."

I began to rethink that when we got to our rental car and found this...

It was actually sitting like this when we got to the car. I knew there were snow flurries in the forecast {we learned that shortly before we left} but wasn't not prepared for how cold it got...quickly. I thought I came prepared by bringing my wool coat & scarf but given the newest weather forecast {super cold weather} we made a quick trip to Target so I could buy a hat & gloves.

Lee had a dinner meeting to attend that night so I spent my evening working on a Christmas photo project and enjoying this adorable mini bottle of Chandon. It was the first time I'd seen a plastic champagne cork!

The following morning Lee had to head out early for some more meetings and this is what greeted us when we looked out the window...

After living in Lake Tahoe for several years I learned that most weather forecasts {that deal with snow} aren't correct so I really hadn't counted on actually getting snow that stuck. Ugh. So much for pretty fall foliage!

As I continued to work on my Christmas project, it continued to snow. I was seriously shocked. My visions of strolling around some fun shops after Lee's meetings began to fade. I continued to hold out hope that it would stop but it wasn't looking good.

Once Lee got back I bundled up and got ready to head out into the winter wonderland {please excuse the poor quality photos but I only had my iphone}...


This look with a hat is fairly new to me {I didn't even wear one when I lived in Lake Tahoe}. What do you think, can I pull it off? Guess it doesn't really matter given we get snow in Shreveport on average once every 5 years.

This is how it looked when we checked out of the hotel {we moved to downtown for our second night}. Snow all around and continuing to come down.

Not happy after our short walk to the car. Cold, wet, and covered in snow. Not sure how those of you with super cold winters do it!

Lunch at Michael Symon's B Spot definitely hit the spot. We started with the most amazing milkshake {chocolate banana marshmallow} and added to it a very yummy burger and fries...

I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried the burger that was recently voted the #1 burger in America at the 2010 South Beach Food & Wine Festival, the "Fat Doug." Lee indulged his love of spicy food by getting the "Red Hot" and we both enjoyed the "Lola Fries" -- super yum!

From there we did a little shopping and I had the chance to smell those gorgeous candles I talked about here. As a matter of fact, I loved them all but couldn't resist buying this one as my souvenir. Given the white stuff outside I think it was pretty fitting, don't you? [Mom: the other two, Toasted Marshmallow & Winter Moss are still on my wish list.]

Isn't this walkway a fun mix of fall leaves & snow?

Not sure I've ever seen quite this mix before. I was pretty smitten and had to whip out my phone to capture the memory. Not sure why but I kinda love it.

We stumbled upon this cute restaurant for dinner that night and loved everything about it...the atmosphere, food, and drinks! The perfect end to a cold & snowy day.

The next morning was clear as could be. Hard to believe we had so much snow the day before.

We did more shopping that day and then had a fun dinner at Lolita with Lee's cousin. It was super fun to get to know her and her husband better and the food was amazing!

Even though I didn't get to enjoy the fall splendor like I'd hoped, it was a fun trip and I'm happy to say I can cross the state of Ohio off the list of places I've yet to visit.