Weekly tune-up: Hunger Games mania

If you're tired of hearing about the Hunger Games, you should stop reading this post right now and accept my apologies, although I'm not so sorry. I love the Hunger Games. I devoured the books in a week and I've been contemplating buying tickets for the midnight premiere even though work the next day will be difficult.

So you can imagine I was excited when it was released that two of my favorite artists - Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars - were teaming up for a song on the Hunger Games soundtrack. In case you haven't heard their song ("Safe and Sound") yet, here's the video . . .



In addition to releasing this song, the complete track listing for the Hunger Games soundtrack was released on iTunes so here it is . . . and as always, may the odds be ever in your favor . . .

1. Arcade Fire - “Abraham’s Daughter”
2. The Secret Sisters - “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder”
3. Neko Case - “Nothing To Remember”
4. Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars - “Safe & Sound”
5. Kid Cudi - “The Ruler and The Killer”
6. Punch Brothers - “Dark Days”
7. The Decemberists - “One Engine”
8. The Carolina Chocolate Drops - “Daughter’s Lament”
9. The Civil Wars - “Kingdom Come”
10. Glen Hansard “Take The Heartland”
11. Maroon 5 feat. Rozzi Crane - “Come Away To The Water”
12. Miranda Lambert feat. Pistol Annies - “Run Daddy Run”
13. Jayme Dee - “Rules”
14. Taylor Swift - “Eyes Open”
15. The Low Anthem - “Lover Is Childlike”
16. Birdy - “Just A Game”

What should I wear today?

Here we go! Today marks the first post of my exploration of the world of business casual. I seem to have some issues following the rules of semi-professinal wear. Sometimes I end up wearing plaids and and TOMS.

So these are the choices ...

Some things to keep in mind. Today is suppose to be 42 degrees here in the OH.

Also the teams I'm covering tonight wear red and gray and black and gold so, those combinations should be avoided. The following are some options I chose on a whim

Option #1: my peach eyelet dress with turquoise sweater.

Option #2: my blue textured dress with gold sweater.

Option #3: Shirt dress with my favorite scarf.

I think my main issue may be that I dress like a 14 year-old girl but who really knows.

Here's what I went with, I put my gray slouch books with it.

(Sorry, I cut off my head, I'm still getting use to the iphone camera)

It's almost baseball season . . .

I can't wait for baseball season - I think there are 40 days left as of today. So between plans for a fantasy league, reading up on spring training sessions and picking which Cleveland Indians games I want to go to this summer, I've also been getting in baseball mode with these amazing baseball cards from Left Field Cards.



Photos from Left Field Cards

I bought my boyfriend the top pictured pack for Christmas - the first pack in a series of players who suffered bizarre injuries off the field. Since then, Left Field Cards has added another series (bottom picture) of "Edible All-Stars" (can you figure out the players' last names?). All of these cards are hand printed by artist Amelie Mancini onto letterpress paper and beautifully packaged in vellum wrappers. Each series consists of two different packs with five cards in each pack.

The cards are all beautiful - it was hard to choose which ones to order, and I can't wait to order more. I'm thinking I'll have to frame these soon and hang them up before opening day . . .

TGIF — Taking care of business

Here of late in my job as a sports reporter I have really been pushing the limits of business casual. Wednesday, I definitely wore black jeans and a plaid shirt with converse. Not my most shinning moment.

If I could be honest, my fear is that I'm on the fast track to looking like Clarissa here.

(believe me, I own all of those pieces of clothing and I'm a huge fan of the side pony.)

So stay tuned to Ohio is 4 Lovers for some biz casual dilemmas.

Weekly tune-up

Music I'm loving right now . . . Into the Woods by Of Monsters and Men

Listen to while . . . relaxing after (or during) a long day at work.

(There's a little more after the jump)

Current obsession

I am totally digging the jumbo beads look this winter.

Above, is one of my favorite handmade looks from Etsy

Don't knock it until you try it

A few months ago, fried pickles were the last thing I would ever consider ordering off a menu. Now they're a weekly staple when I have dinner with Becky and Kate, and I find myself wanting them on the off weeks when we don't have dinner. So to satisfy my fried pickle cravings, I've been looking for a recipe to make them on my own. I recently came across this one from The Vanilla Tulip that I think I'm going to try out - the cilantro garlic ranch recipe that accompanies it sounds delicious too.


Photo from Paula Deen's fried pickle recipe

This recipe is actually for baked pickles - I've been looking for that because I have a bad track record trying to fry things. I also love that it uses basically everything I already have in my kitchen. I may be stopping at the store to pick up some pickles on the way home from work . . . Check out the recipe for these "fried" pickles after the jump, and check out the link to The Vanilla Tulip post to get the recipe for the cilantro garlic ranch dip too. I'll be sure to update this when I try it out!

Applause, please!

This little find on the Pottery Barn website is the perfect gift for my applause-driven younger sister. This could be the ideal retro gift for any living space.

It certainly makes me want to clap.

TGIF

As soon as I spotted these state mirrors on Design*Sponge a couple days ago, I headed to the fluxglass Etsy shop to see if there was an Ohio one. Guess what . . .

. . . there is one. This is definitely at the top of my wish list for when I have a house, even though it's a little pricey ($135). I think the price tag is worth it because the shop owner, Dennis Smith, hand draws each piece and hand crafts it from lead and upcycled mirror. And for all of our non-Ohio readers, if you don't see your state you can send him a message to request it.

Can't wait for fun.

At the end of this month Fun. is releasing a new album.

They are one of my favorite bands so check out their new song We Are Young.

Revival love

Revival is a small a shop in Highland Square that specializes in new and vintage clothing for guys and girls, and it's definitely one of my favorite Akron destinations. Recently they've added a few photos of new stock items on their Facebook page that have made me stop and take a look . . .



Parton top from Jack by BB Dakota ($40)



Tracy dress from Jack by BB Dakota ($60)

El Paso II from Minnetonka ($40)

Akron Loves Tressel from Columbus Urban Threads ($24)

They have a ton of great stuff in their store, so if you find yourself in Highland Square be sure to stop  by and take a look around.

Check them out
Location: 822 W. Market St., Akron, OH 44303
Hours: Sunday, Noon-6 p.m.
           Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
           Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

It's not to cold

You know what two things I love? Nutella and popsicles! I just found a recipe that brought them both together from the Daily Waffle.

1 1/2 c. Pacific hazelnut chocolate milk
1/2 c. Nutella

Whisk together the hazelnut milk and Nutella until mixed uniformly. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Pour into popsicle molds.

Thanks a bunch

Ever since I was little my mom taught me the importance of sending thank you cards. I absolutely love sending people any kind of card or letter, and I'm finding more and more needs for thank you cards lately. So if you need to send your thanks to someone, here are a few of my favorites from Etsy.


Tractor thank you's from Wild Ink Press ($10 for eight)



Customize the colors with these thank you's from Dear Lola Letterpress ($12 for five)



I'm in love with these. Also comes in French, Japenese and Norwegian, from Seaborn Press ($12 for four)



These are fantastic, from chewing the cud ($13.50 for eight)



Adorable thank you's from Printerette Press ($5 for one)



TGIF — Indiana here I come

This Ohio girl is headed to Indiana this weekend to meet the boyfriend's parents (eek!).

So here are some Indiana-themed Esty finds.

It's for the kids

How awesome are these T-shirts?

 

I know I'm not the only fan of a well-played pop culture pun, which means I'm not the only one who has to have one of these. So let me tell you how to get one.

I have a friend named Paul. We've been really good friends since our freshmen year of college at Bowling Green State University and since then, Paul has been involved in a really huge fundraiser at BGSU called Dance Marathon. This will be the fourth year that Paul will participate in the "Bike for Tikes" portion of Dance Marathon - that means he bikes all the way from Cincinnati to Bowling Green (it takes three days!) to raise money for the kids at Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo. I honestly could not be more proud of him.

Each year Paul outdoes himself raising money and this year, I'm asking for your guys' help to make his final ride a memorable one. The Bike for Tikes crew is selling the awesome T-shirts pictured above.

For $15 you can join me in supporting Paul, Bikes for Tikes and Dance Marathon, but more importantly you can help make a big difference in the lives of some very deserving children. What could be better than that?

If you would like to order a T-shirt, I have a couple options for you:

1.You can leave your name and T-shirt size (they're adult sizes) in the comments section, along with your email address. I can email you then about payment details.
2. You can leave your name, T-shirt size and email address and then you can head on over to Paul's fundraising site to make a $15 donation and you don't have to worry about paying one of us.
3. If you don't want to leave your T-shirt size in the comments box, you can leave me your name and email in instead - we can talk details over email.

I'll be taking orders until Feb. 26, so if you want one - don't hesitate, let me know! Paul and I will work out the shipping and delivering - we promise to keep you in the loop via email. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

And please don't forget - it's for the kids!

I like your face

Just a little something from the Etsy — pen drawn cards.

Weekly tune-up

Music I'm loving right now . . . The Natural Road by The Floorwalkers

Listen to while . . . getting yourself in a great mood. Or wishing for summer.

(As always, there's more after the jump)

Cannot wait!

So yesterday was a huge day in my life ... designer Jason Wu 's clothes came to target.

I would have gone Sunday to buy some awesome new apparel but sadly I had to work Super Bowl Sunday, as the newbie at my job. (Oh, the world of sports reporting.)

Here are some looks I have my eye on and check back later for a play-by-play of what I actually got.

TGIF

It's February, so heart-shaped and heart-patterned things are everywhere, along with a nauseating amount of pink and red. But, in addition to Valentine's Day, February is also heart health month so even though the pink and red can get overwhelming, the plethora of hearts serves as a good reminder. Here are a few of my favorite heart-themed items for your February, without the overload of pink and red.

Heart print skirt from Asos

I had to throw at least a little pink in there. Here and here.

Loving this heart locket from Etsy.

Your home should sport some hearts, too . . . Like this one!

Personalize it and take your heart with you.

Ground Hog Day 2012

In honor of this special day in American culture here is an OHis4Lovers playlist, noting that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so we have six more weeks of winter.

1. In Like A Lion (Always Winter) — Relient K

2. A Hazy Shade of Winter — Simon and Garfinkel

3. Winter Song — Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

4. The Ice Is Getting Thinner — Death Cab for Cutie

5. Winter Winds — Mumford And Sons

6. White Sky — Vampire Weekend

7. Hot N Cold — Katy Perry

8. 20 years of Snow — Regina Spektor

9. White Shadows — Coldplay

10. Coldest Winter — Kanye West

11. White Wedding — Billy Idol

Mad about these . . .

Mad Men Season Five posters.

By Radio. March 25 - I can't wait.