TGIF — Back in Black

This TGIF moment is brought to by "skinny, black jeans."

Here at Ohio is 4 Lovers, we have been guiding you through some of the ins and outs of our business casual journey.

This week in my job as a sports reporter, I have traveled the state covering softball tournament games. Along with my scorebook, recorder and notebook my new spring staple are my black skinny jeans from Old Navy that I bought for football season.

With a work appropriated top —  not a BGSU soccer T-shirts and track jacket like usual — these babies can become the most simply chic thing in your closest.

Weekly tune-up

You know we love keeping it local and recently I was introduced to a band that hails from Ashland (close to central Ohio for our non-Ohio readers) – Jeff Ritz.

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book, or an album, by its cover and I should have kept that in mind with Jeff Ritz’s The Spree. Looking at the group’s photo I was not expecting the Jason Mraz-esque sound that came through throughout the album.

While I wasn’t disappointed in what I heard when I popped their album in, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it either at the start. The first few songs on the album sounded to me like they were missing something. There didn’t appear to be a lead instrument throughout the first half of the album and the music faded too much into the background behind the vocals.

As the album went on though, the music got stronger and they seemed to find their style. The lead guitar combined with the Mraz-style vocals works well for the band and Jeff’s vocals. I was a pretty big fan of the harmonica that made a surprise appearance on “Thunderstorms of Rain” and “One Thing I Know.”

Don’t judge this album by its cover, or its first few tracks. This is definitely an album that gets better with every track. I would be interested in seeing the band live - if they could bring the energy of their last few tracks to all of their songs during a live set, it would definitely be worth it.

Check out more from Jeff Ritz right here on their Facebook page.

Perfect iced coffee

I just became completely obsessed with blogger and cookbook writer Ree Drummond or "The Pioneer Woman."  She has this absolutely amazing recipe for iced coffee that is so amazing.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Coffee (good, Rich Roast)
• 8 quarts Cold Water
• Half-and-half (healthy Splash Per Serving)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk (2-3 Tablespoons Per Serving)
• Note: Can Use Skim Milk, 2% Milk, Whole Milk, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, Syrups...adapt To Your Liking!

Preparation Instructions

(Adapted from Imbibe Magazine)

In a large container, mix ground coffee with water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature eight hours or overnight.

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a pitcher or other container. Pour coffee/water mixture through the strainer, allowing all liquid to run through. Discard grounds.

Place coffee liquid in the fridge and allow to cool. Use as needed.

To make iced coffee, pack a glass full of ice cubes. Fill glass 2/3 full with coffee liquid. Add healthy splash of half-and-half. Add 2-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (can use plain sugar instead) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust half-and-half and/or sweetened condensed milk as needed.

Back to business casual

We've talked quite a bit about dressing in business casual on the blog because it's something we're both dealing with right now, and we know a lot of our friends are too. One thing I try to keep in mind while I'm shopping is finding pieces that can transition from work to evening/weekend. Surprise, surprise - one of my favorite places to find such pieces is Target. And one of my favorites from Target are their boyfriend tees from Mossimo.

What I love about them: they come in a wide variety of colors, they're longer in length, they're really soft and fit really well, and they're only $8! What's not to love?

I can dress them up for work with a pair of slacks or a skirt and a scarf or a statement necklace. Simply throw on jeans after work and you're good to go get coffee/see a movie/go out to dinner/etc. See how awesome that is? Now go stock up on a few . . . or 10.

Dear photographer,

I came across this interesting book today on NPR. It's called 'Dear Photographer' and it is filled with people going back to where there favorite picture was taken and the memories that they have there. The cool part is they commemorate it by taking a picture of the picture, like below on the cover. There are some pretty amazing and beautiful contributions. Check them out. 

TGIF

I'm going to the Avett Brothers concert in Cleveland tomorrow night . . . and I'm a teensy bit excited. Here are some Avett Brothers posters I'm swooning over while I'm waiting to see them live!


From deviantart, by goodmorningvoice



By Kat Lamp (she has a ton of awesome ones!)



From Gig Posters, submitted by Justin Helton



Weekly tune-up

I've been in a kind of music slump lately. I've spent a lot of time being very picky about what I take the time to and I have absolutely no idea why. My most recent inner deliberation is over Gotye. 

While the verdict is still out I am loving the album artwork.

Check out the album here.