Below is my new recipe for Vegan Potato Chorizo Pizza. & if you just said that picture looks to good to be vegan, then shame on you!

Vegan Potato Chorizo Pizza

4 small or medium red potatoes
1 package of soy chorizo, Trader Joe’s brand
2 tsp of grapeseed oil
1 sweet onion
2 TBS. of Earth Balance non dairy butter
1 package of pizza dough
1/4 cup of Red Mill ground polenta (optional)
3 chopped cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
dash of sugar
salt & pepper
graded parmesan soy topping (optional)

Slice the potatoes thin using a mandolin. Place them in a small pot, cover with water & boil until fork tender. While the potatoes cook, slice the onion paper thin slices. Place in a medium sized pan with enough water to cover the onions. Once they have cooked down, add 2 TBS. of Earth Balance, a pinch of salt & a dash of sugar to the pan to caramelize. In a large pan saute the soy chorizo in 2 tsp of grapeseed oil. Stir often. Once the chorizo is warm & browned remove from heat. Be sure to cook this last as it warms up very quickly.

Now that you have every burner on your stove going, prepare the pizza dough. Follow the directions on the package to cook. I spilt the package of dough into 2 round cake pans to make uniform pizzas. I also dusted the crust with some dry ground polenta. Remove the pizza crusts from the oven 1 or 2 minutes shy of the cooking time.

Drain potatoes & assemble pizzas. First, add the soy chorizo, then the potatoes, & then the caramelized onions. Top with chopped fresh parsley, garlic, sea salt & fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle with soy parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler until toppings are crispy & browned. Enjoy!

As a member of the bridal party I was unable to get all the photos that I wanted for my blog. These are from the photographer Jesse Boone from Finest Moments Photography. The Above photo was taken on the East 9th Pier looking over Lake Erie. Below, the cameo on the bride’s bouquet was from her grandmother, a fantastic was to incorporate something old or borrowed. Enjoy these photos of the most beautiful fall wedding.

View additional photos HERE at Finest Moments’ blog.

Riki & Brien were married November 1st on a beautiful fall day in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The outdoor ceremony was framed by an industrial landscape and the colorful fall leaves. Guests were warmed by bon fires & vowes written by the bride & groom.

The reception took place in the adjacent warehouse converted loft where the bridal party spent the weekend. The fall theme carried through the entire event; centerpieces made of cheery tree twigs, chocolate brown table cloths, and bouquets made of cabbage, mint, vibrant lillies & wrapped in feathers. Instead of a cake, the couple constructed a multi tiered tower of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts & the food was made from local ingredients purchased at the West Side Market.

The entire bridal party wore black converse, which was great for dancing into the wee hours of the night! Stay tuned for part two of Riki & Brien’s wedding!

As promised here is a preview of just a few of the goods for sale at the MADE in the 216 HOLIDAY SHOPPE. Above are some vintage inspired necklaces from Océanne, below one of the many T-shirts from C.L.E. Clothing Co.

Remember the shoppe kicks off tonight, but it will be open all month long! Come by after you’ve been to the Happy Dog for Polka Happy Hour & don’t forget to visit ROOM SERVICE’s permeant location across the street. Click the link below to see more preview photos.

A Cleveland postcard from Oddball Press, perfect for sending to your out of town friends to remind them what they’re missing. Below are prints from local artist Nicole Haney, monster hats from CaseyBot & a faux-taxidermy friend who needs a good home! Also, check out the photos from *see below’s resident photographer Jeff Sierputowski for sale at the event.

So blog posts have been few & far between lately … the reason? I am helping with the MADE in the 216 HOLIDAY SHOPPE, including designing the postcards for the event. (making Pierre & Fifi stand still to pose for their portrait wasn’t easy!) Made in the 216 has been a weekend long even in the past. However, this year ROOM SERVICE is taking over the empty storefront directly next to the brand new Capitol Theater in order to bring a month long shopping experience. Do not miss the kick off party November 6th! Partake in the cocktails, enjoy music from DJ Doc & buy lots of awesome presents for your friends & family! There is an after party at the newly revamped Happy Dog (who’s new hot dog/veggie dog menu is almost too good to be bar food) with live music from The Buried Wires & Filmstrip. Don’t fret if you cannot make it to the kick off party, there will be BYOB parties with live music from local bands each Friday in November at the Holiday Shoppe. And of course, you can buy your awesome hand screened Tshirts, one of a kind jewelry & things you didn’t even know you needed all month long!

MADE in the 216
HOLIDAY SHOPPE
store hours

Monday-Thursday 5-9pm
Fridays 5-11pm (bands playing in the basement & BYOB)
Saturdays 11-9
Sundays 12-7

stay tuned for more info on the event!

p.s. Please vote for ROOM SERICE on the FOX 8 HOT LIST. Much obliged!

Here is a company that just might make your Etsy dreams come true! Spoon Flower is a very useful website where you can take your own designs and have it printed onto fabric. Not only can you print your  own creations, but you can look through thousands of other fabrics they have turned out. The site has a useful feature that allows you to visualize the repeats in your pattern. You can choose from five different fabrics including organic cotton sateen, upholstery weight cotton, & knit. The prices range from $18 to $32 per yard & you can even purchase swatch samples before you buy yardage. Custom printed fabric is only a few brain storming sessions away. Click HERE to check it out!

China celebrated its 60th anniversary a few weekends ago.  So I took a long weekend and celebrated by journeying into mainland China…to CHENGDU, in the heart of Sichuan Province (about 3 hours from HK by plane).

Sichuan/Szechuan is famous for its SPICY FOOD. The kind of intense in your nostrils, teary eyed HOT that numbs your whole mouth. They also still practice some of the most elaborate rituals surrounding tea drinking customs in all of China … and are you ready?? Most importantly, Sichuan is home to China’s PANDAS.

Eight year old Stephanie has been waiting for this moment all her life.  They are so CUDDLY and HUGGABLE and LOVEABLE! I laughed, I cried, I took over 400 pictures, I could have stayed for days, I fell in love. I had to be torn away. I bought a panda costume from the gift shop, and now am going to be cuddly and huggable and loveable for Halloween. hahaha. Its True.

It rained a lot but it was still a great time, Went to the Opera, Le Shan Big Buddah, monasteries, mueums, Da Fu’s Cottage (top chinese poet) and did NOT eat rat. I stayed at a hostel and met the most interesting people from all over the world. Travelers out on hols for 6 months to a year. Can you imagine? We’d all stay up late drinking Chinese beer every night, setting firecrackers off in the street, and planning adventures. Thankfully I met a ton of people to hang out with who spoke manadarin MUCH better than I do and had no problems getting around. To my credit though, I had no problem asking questions and being understood … it was just the understanding the answers part that gave me trouble. haha.

Sadly there are no pictures of me hugging a panda. It cost 1000RMB & I decided to save $ for my next adventure in a few weeks to SINGAPORE! I Hope you all are happy, healthy, and passionately living each day to its utmost potential!!! (If you were a panda that means you’d be eating bamboo for 10-16 hours a day!)

—Stephanie Hauk

Ms. Hauk is a native Clevelander, but is guest bloging from Hong Honk. She is obsessed with all things beautiful. See her blog here http://vicioushawk.blogspot.com/

The premiere issue of Lonny magazine is now available. If you are like me the closing of domino magazine was devastating —especially since when I purchased their latest book it was supposed to come with a free subscription! So far I can say I like Lonny equally as much as its predecessor. It has the same aesthetic, design sensibility & now it even includes more fashion along with longer articles. My ONLY complaint is that it is an online publication (at least it doesn’t make those fake page turing sound like NYLON did, yuk). There is something to be said for the tangible periodical. It is too hard to look up close at the pictures and you can’t exactly pick it up and read it any time. I’m crossing my fingers for a future print edition.


You can check out Lonny magazine for yourself  HERE. Don’t miss the article about Grace, the genius behind design*sponge.

*Follow this link to my new home: http://www.see-below.net/

Ice Melts. Whiskey Rocks.
A good scotch needs no diluting. These Whiskey Stones require just a few hours in the freezer and they are ready for chilling your favorite beverage. For centuries granite has been used in Scandinavia for such purposes. However, these are made with natural Vermont soapstone, a very soft material so as not to scratch the glass. Best of all they are completely reusable. Just rinse and return back to the freezer before your next soiree. A set of nine retails for around $20. Read more about the designer & the manufacturing process here.