Hey hey! How is your week going?

I’m stoked to share about my 30th birthday girls’ weekend in Cleveland today! DJ soaked up some quality time with Quinnie while I met up with my some of my closest friends downtown. Before I left, DJ gifted me these super fun 90s games to take with me! Also, Quinn and I have been having fun with the Lisa Frank stickers…. and where did he find a Tamagotchi?! 🤩

We started the evening of January 13th by meeting at Heck’s in Ohio City. A couple reasons I chose this spot- first, I have been craving burgers like nobody’s business, and they are known to have good ones. Second, the Browns were playing, and they have TVs.

Excuse the cheese for a moment, but it was so special being surrounded by my friends that have been by my side for decades. Halston was even able to fly in for the weekend which meant the world!! Unfortunately, Clair was sick, but we planned a makeup party a couple weekends later since her birthday was late January 🥳.

Ok back to Heck’s! We started with the truffle pierogies, and they did not disappoint!

We also had rosemary-garlic fries with garlic aioli. Yum!

And heck, while we were at it- we tried lobster croquettes! So. Good.

I was Hungry, with a capital H, so I also ordered the orange and beet salad- wow, that citrusy combo with the goat cheese was *chef’s kiss*.

And the main event- I ordered their BrieBerry burger with Brie cheese, bacon and a blueberry-ancho sauce. It was easily one of the best burgers I’ve ever had and definitely satisfied my craving.

Here’s a peak at the inside of the restaurant. When we left it had totally filled up.

We stayed at the Hilton on Lakeside Avenue East. We knew this was a great spot to stay since Melissa had her wedding accommodations here!

They ribbed me a bit about the size of my luggage for one night. I always say you have to have ✨options✨.

After we got unloaded for the night, we headed up to the hotel’s rooftop bar, Bar 32, to sip drinks, chat and view the gorgeous skyline.

There was live music playing, and it was such a fun vibe.

After about an hour, we headed back to the room and got ready for the evening. Also this is another reason why I had so luggage- have to have snacks!!

We then hit the night life! First stop- Lost Social in Cleveland. Melissa had an in for us here, so we were able to get a table and bottle of champagne on the house. (Thank you, thank you again, Melissa!).

This place was incredible. We had so much fun. My biggest concern going out on the town was feeling, well… thirty, lol. But the crowd here felt our age and the music was geared toward us millennials.

We sipped, we danced, we laughed. It was a blast.

We then went upstairs to check out the Barley House. It was definitely a more casual feel but also soo much fun.

Lastly, we walked across town (in what felt like sub zero temps-brrrr) to Good Night John Boy– ok now that’s when I felt too old. It was definitely overflowing with young 20-somethings. We took that as our cue to go back to the hotel. We ordered some delicious pizza, dug into the snacks and played the 90s themed Cards Against Humanity DJ gifted me along with Telestrations After Dark. Not sure I’ve ever laughed so hard. I could barely breathe.

The next day (aka a few hours later), we took in the beautiful view from the hotel before heading to brunch.

We had brunch at Jaja on January 14th. No, actually… We did not just have brunch at Jaja- we relished, enjoyed and savored brunch at Jaja.

This place was spectacular. A MUST try. Cleveland has come such a long way in its food scene from when we lived here over a decade ago. I’ve been so impressed! When you arrive, you check in on the first floor and then hostess calls up to the second floor to alert the staff you’ve arrived. Then you take an elevator up- it all feels like you are getting into some secret club.

There was no detail unattended to. The velvet chair, the foliage and the extremely kind and attentive staff… it was a brunch I won’t forget!

Oh and I can’t forget to share how they serve the cappuccinos! How cute are the little sugar cubes.

The brunch a buffet style, but there are still a few items you can order from the menu too.

This brunch had pretty much everything you could want.

I mean where else have you seen a brunch buffet with chicken wings on a waffle?! There was even a meat carving station.

The pork belly Benedict may have been my favorite. Although the first time I was at the buffet the egg slipped off my plate into the large serving dish of cocktail sauce 🫠. I let the staff know right away and they were so sweet about it. Another year older but still clumsy as ever!

Here’s the fun bar area too. They serve dinner as well!

I am so so grateful for that weekend and my amazing friends!!! My heart was beyond full.

I couldn’t wait to get back to DJ, Quinn and Moose to finish celebrating my bday weekend with them. That was the longest I’d been away from Quinn, so I was dying to have her back in my arms 💕💕.

Thanks for reading!

<3,

Mackenzie