Market Delights

Ahhh, the farmer's market. Probably one of my favorite places to go on the weekends. Before fall begins to settle in and certain fruits begin to disappear from the stands, Joe and I decided to take advantage of the abundance of figs. We bought 2 baskets of the plump goodies along with a healthy heaping of different veggies from our favorite farmer.

With a fig newton fiend living amongst me, I decided what better than to make homemade newtons. I found a recipe, which I totally forgot to bookmark, that consisted of a pastry simply consisting of butter, cream cheese, flour, salt, and a little milk. And the fig concoction, just chopped figs, a little sugar and a the juice from half a lemon. That's it. A little work, and you get the best tasting fig newtons ever.

Totally worth the time.


For dinner a couple of days later, we fancied up a farmer's market salad creation, inspired by a salad we ate at the botanical gardens on my birthday. Gently cooked sirloin, slices of sweet plum, crushed walnuts, and blue cheese, on top of a bed of lively mixed greens. Drizzle a little orange ginger dressing, and you've gone to salad heaven.

Read more...

Gala

We had our first orchestra concert this past Wednesday. It. Was. Awesome. We played Rossini's Barber of Seville, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra in Severance Hall, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Completed in 1931, Severance Hall boasts flares of Art Deco, French Noveau, Egyptian Revival and Modernism. The ornate pattern found all across the ceiling of the concert hall is in honor of Mrs. Severance, who passed away just weeks after Mr. Severance's announcement of his $1 million pledge towards the building of the hall. The cream colored swirls and curves are fancied after the lace found on Mrs. Severence's wedding gown.

So here are some snaps I took while at Severence Hall for our Tuesday evening dress rehearsal. I even took a short video. Enjoy!

Read more...

24 Years Later

24...
When my mom turned 24, I was nearly a year old already and my younger brother Kris was in the making. Weird to think about. Here I am; 24, still in school, blissfully married, with lots of life ahead. I'm eager to win a job, settle down a bit and enjoy a life without tests, homework and dang piano exams. But, at the same time, I'm enjoying the process of continually learning and soaking up information I thought I had down...

I had quite an excellent Birthday. It was a day full of good food, (I....love....food....) and a lengthy and well spent day at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.

Woke up slow, to the smell of bacon and eggs. :-)
Then headed out for some fresh air.


Then, while I ran off to quintet rehearsal Joe worked his magic in the kitchen.
Dinner, was, BON!

Mashed fennel and red potatoes.

Salmon stuffed with lemon, topped with cool cucumber, and drizzled with a green sauce.

Best Birthday cake....ever. Chocolate brownie base, topped with a dark chocolate whipped mouse/tort, dusted with a healthy helping of cocoa powder. *I'm having more tonight...

And thus, on a full belly and a nature inspired day; I went to bed, another year older.

Read more...

Put me in Coach!

Being at CIM for 10 hours a day can make one become a little insane. So, in order to balance things out I made the plunge and joined Cleveland's women's ice hockey team. It's another commitment to the already heavy duty schedule I somehow get through, but I think it'll be worth it and will prove to make me happier and healthier.

We had our first practice last night, and after not having put on a pair of skates and a helmet in 5 years....I must say I picked it back up rather quickly. Although I will admit, I took a Richter scale worthy fall during one of the drills. My fanny's right hemisphere is a little on the sore side today.

Once games start up in October, perhaps I can get Joe to get behind the lens and capture some action shots. Should be fun.

Plethora of hockey gear in the left corner after last night's practice. If you don't let that stuff air out....it could prove to be deadly the next time you open up your bag in the locker room.

Read more...

Stompin' Grounds

First week down.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my time here at CIM. The atmosphere is very driven and very intense. The practice rooms are packed........all......day. Good luck finding one after 8:00am.

I'm taking theory, piano, orchestra, chamber music, and ear training. Oh, by the way, CIM uses fixed-'do'....try singing a major scale starting on 'fa' after years of only starting on 'do'. Eeeesh.

The people here are great. We're all nerds, and we all know it. We geek out over Shotakovich and practice our instruments until we hurt.

A part of my work study assignment is to play in Lab Orchestra, which is an orchestra put together for the benefit of the Masters and Doctoral Conducting majors. This past week we read through Beethoven's First Symphony without missing a beat. It, was, fantastic. And to think everyone was simply sight reading.

Our first orchestra concert is coming up in a short two weeks. We're hashing out a Rossini Overture, Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra in Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Should be thweet.

Here are a few pics from around the CIM campus. It's a small school, incubating roughly 370 students all eager to learn, practice, and win a job. The main building was built in 1961 and thanks to over $40 million in donations, has expanded with a new classroom, office and practice wing on the eastern side and a new recital hall on the western side that will open this November. So, the school is still in the midst of construction, and is no doubt a little annoying when sitting in class and the dictation exam is a combination of piano melodies and jack hammers...

Turquoise brick that envelops the outside of the of the concert hall. Remnants of the 60's...

You must kneel to get a sip of H2O at CIM.

Read more...