30 by 30.

6 months. There is a 6 month countdown until I turn 30. 30! August 26th is the big day.

Last week during a work event, a coworker suggested I do 30 things before I turn 30. I laughed it off. Then today in the shower it came back to me but this time I decided it was an awesome idea.

And so this list was born!

I just started a new job a month ago, so anything that is time consuming or requires traveling more than a few hours away is out. But, Cleveland is a great city and I still came up with plenty of options!

Here it goes, here’s what you’ll be reading about for the next 6 months:

1. Hot air balloon ride

2. Move to a new place closer to work

3. Get a passport

4. Ohio winery tour 

5. Take my dad on a weekend trip to Chicago

6. Run 6 5k races, one a month

7. Ride in a helicopter

8. Try glassblowing

9. Major hair cut, above the shoulders

10. Segway tour

11. Race in my kayak

12. Rent a cabin for the weekend with friends

13. Check out the observation deck at Terminal Tower 

14. Try stand up paddleboarding 

15. Volunteer, somewhere, anywhere

16. Beach picnic and games with friends

17. Hike Old Man’s Cave

18. Go to a state fair

19. Take a trip on the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad

20. Attempt a Zumba class

21. Visit Newport Aquarium near Cincinnati

22. Build or refinish a piece of furniture

23. Spend a “special” day with my niece and nephew separately

24. Have a night on the Goodtime III

25. Learn to ice skate

26. Skydive

27. Finish 6 books

28. Do a handstand

29. White water rafting

30. Throw myself my very first birthday party
Nothing crazy unobtainable, but need to keep up on planning and documenting! 

Here’s to the next 6 months!!

slyman’s.

This corned beef sandwich is bigger than your face.  No joke.

I took a half day from work the other day for no better reason than I wanted this corned beef sandwich.  I left work, picked up my cousin and headed downtown to Slyman’s.  Located on the corner of St. Clair and E 31st, with plenty of street parking and a large free lot to park in, it’s a super easy find.

We both ordered a reuben and shared a plate of gravy fries.  The sandwich is amazing.  The corned beef is juicy, tender and full of flavor.  The fact that it was a reuben goes almost unnoticed since the ratio of cheese and sauerkraut to meat is way off, but I am ok with this.  I mostly order the reuben instead of the plain corned beef sandwich because I like the grilled bread.  I guess that I could ask for it that way, but I don’t like asking for special orders at busy places.

You get to add your own thousand island dressing to your sandwich from a squirt bottle that every table comes equipped with.  I love this part.  I like a lot of sauce on everything and hate sounding like a heffer when I ask for extra x 4.

I can’t even come close to eating the whole thing so I pull off about 60% of the meat and save it for home.  Corned beef hash for breakfast??!  OKAY, if I must!  So dramatic.

The gravy fries were out of this world.  Could I pack anymore salt into one meal?  Probably not!  Don’t judge.  You should do the same.  The gravy was beefy and perfect.  I don’t eat gravy fries often, but these were probably the best I’ve had in a long time.

With only breakfast and lunch hours, I foresee myself taking another half day in the future!  You should too.

buffalo chicken ranch potato skins.

Potato skins.  A bar food favorite!  Buffalo chicken.  Best flavor of chicken.  Let’s mix them, ok?!

I live alone and didn’t want to eat these for 18 days. Therefor, I only made 4 skins, you can easily double, triple, quadruple (etc.) this recipe for your serving needs.

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Potato Skins

2 Baked Potatoes

1 Cup Cooked Shredded Chicken

1/2 Cup Frank’s Hot Sauce

2 Tablespoons Ranch* (additional for garnish)

1.  Cut your potatoes in half and scoop out the middles.  (I saved it for mashed potatoes later in the week)

2. Put empty skins back in oven on 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes to crisp up a little.

3. Mix together warm chicken, hot sauce, and ranch.

4. Stuff inside your skins with 1/4 of the mixture each. Garnish with whatever you’d like… chives, ranch, cheese, bacon, e.) all of the above.

*To make some dairy free ranch, I mixed 1 Cup of Tofutti Sour Cream with 2 Tablespoons of a homemade ranch seasoning.

Homemade Ranch Seasoning

1 Tablespoon Parsley

1 Tablespoon Dill Weed

2 Teaspoons Dried Onions

1 Teaspoon Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Dried Chives

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

I mix these spices together and keep in a glass jar then add it to EVERYTHING.  Because, ranch makes life better!