Friday 5: Family Vacation Favorites

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

I’m just getting back from a week of vacation spending time in New York and California with family. I’ve already written a few recap posts (NY, Sonoma), but before finishing up those posts, here’s a quick Friday Favorites dedicated to some of my favorite photos from our trip. Here you go – a few photos and one sentence as to why I like each photo.

1. Redwoods Selfie: Love that it shows all of us just hiking in the Redwoods, a place that is seriously so unbelievably beautiful, that it’s only better if you’re sharing it with family.

2. Family in Jersey: Again, love that it captures me and my extended family – we’re hardly ever all in one place!

3. Me and Greg @ Dinner: We actually look pretty related here, which doesn’t happen often.

4. Greg and me and the vines: A traditional brother-sister selfie.

4. Lavender fields at the vineyard: I can look at this picture and smell how beautiful it was!

5. Parents on our walk along the Mendocino Headlands: They make me happy ❤

AND a bonus: Mom feeding the chickens: Because when else are we ever feeding chickens, or even around wildlife (and she looks like she’s having a great time!)?

Happy Friday! I’m linking up today with Life in Leggings and Fitting it all In!

A Day in Sonoma

July 30, 2015July 29, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

After our weekend in NY, we were headed to California to visit my brother! We flew out early Sunday, and got to San Fran early enough so that we had nearly a whole day to spend. Our first day? A trip to Sonoma. We had a tour and tastings, visiting two wineries in the area.

winery #1

Family at winery #2

Followed by dinner in downtown Sonoma. We were staying right near downtown and were able to walk to dinner at LaSalette, a great Portuguese place with outdoor dining. If you’re ever in Sonoma, I highly recommend staying near their downtown. There was a cute little square with a lot of shops and restaurants, as well as a biking/walking/running path not to far away.

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Greg and me at dinner

Feijoada!

The next morning, thanks to the time difference, I was able to wake up early enough to enjoy a run around town, even among wineries. A 5 mile run through fields of lavender and vines of grapes? My idea of pretty pretty perfect!

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After the run and hotel breakfast, we headed to our last winery, Matanza, which is known for its field of lavender. Oh my goodness- as we pulled up, we couldn’t help but smell the gorgeous aroma of lavender and see the purples everywhere! We were lucky enough to have an informal impromptu tour (we had missed the one formal tour of the day) and share a wine tasting as well. It was pretty perfect – it was my mom’s birthday AND she loves lavender, so it was a great way to start the day.

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Then, we were off. Onto our next destination – Mendocino! (more to come)

Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to Sonoma before?
What’s your favorite kind of wine? Reds or whites?

WIAW #25: Vacation Eats in Mendocino

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

A very happy What I Ate Wednesday to you! I’m excited to share with you a great day of eats- different than my typical everyday eats – in fact, I’m vacationing with my family in California and we had a great day in Mendocino. A great day with a nice walk around the town, and wonderful eats.

Gorgeous Mendocino!

The Inn that we were staying at delivered a great breakfast to us in the morning in a cute basket. The Inn boasts 100+ chickens, so of course there were some fresh eggs included with breakfast:

breakfast menu

Greg carrying our breakfast basket

the amazing meal

We took a great walk after breakfast around downtown Mendocino, all around the Headlands along the ocean. We got hungry along the way and snacked on some Malley’s Dark Chocolate Almonds.

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After our walk, we stopped for lunch at a cafe downtown. My mom and I split a lunch – we got a salad trio, with quinoa, kale and brussels sprouts salad. It was really good and tasted so fresh.

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Dinner was so good. We ended up eating at MacCallum House, an inn in town, and had an amazing meal. We enjoyed a bottle of local Pinot Noir, some fresh baked sour dough, and shared a cheese platter.

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My mom and I split the arugula, proscuitto and chèvre salad and ratatouille. I love splitting meals, and it was the perfect way to try a bunch of food without getting too stuffed.

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Dessert was so so so good. We had a fresh blackberry soufflé and split it four ways. Since it had been my mom’s birthday, they put a candle in a side of cream for her to blow out.

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That concluded our day in Mendocino. It was such a good day of eats – I really can’t complain! As always, click on the badge below to see what WIAW is all about.

Some questions for you:

What’s the best thing you ate yesterday?
Have you ever been to Mendocino?
Splitting meals – yay or nay?

A Weekend In NY

July 27, 2015July 26, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

For those of you that know me, you probably know that I’m a native New Yorker. I was born around New York City and lived in Staten Island for the first several years of my life before moving upstate. The majority of my mom’s family still lives in and around Staten Island and New Jersey, but B and I haven’t made the trip back in more than a year.

It’s funny because it’s almost true …

So a few months ago, when we got the invite to my cousin’s surprise birthday for this, I knew we had to go – I’d get to see my family, introduce B to Staten Island AND get to see my mom for her birthday, too.

It was a great weekend – not only did we get to see family, but I got to show B some of our old favorite Staten Island spots.

The weekend actually started off early – Friday morning with a 10 mile run with B and Mary. Getting up at 5:30 to run on a vacation day isn’t what I usually like to do – I love my sleep! – but it had to be done.

This photo sums up how I felt.

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At least we ended with a treat from Restore!

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Then we got on the road to New York. We stopped first to visit my Aunt Glad. She just got moved into hospice, so I’m glad we got to see her in her new space.

Then, we headed to Staten Island to meet up with my parents. We enjoyed pizza at one of our old favorite spots, Deninos. The pizza was sooooo good.

veggie slice and salad.

Saturday morning, after an easy 5k shakeout run in the hotel, it was time for the party. It was so great seeing my family and celebrating.

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The party was at a restaurant on the shore, so we took a nice walk after the party along the beach. There were so many people out – it was the picture perfect day!

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We were too stuffed for a real dinner after the party, but of course there is always room for dessert. We enjoyed Ralph’s Italian Ice for dessert – another SI tradition. The cannoli ice was delicious!

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Sunday morning started early – I said good bye to B and then my parents and I were off to the airport. We had a trip planned to see my brother in California! Another early morning, but waking up early to travel is something I can do every so often.

And now we’re off to California! I’ll share another update after the trip. But until then – have a great week!

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Some questions for you:

Do you live near or far from your family?
Have you ever been to the Jersey Shore?

PS – Linking up with Running N Reading and Her Heartland Soul today again!

WIAW #24: TGIF!

July 22, 2015July 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 18 Comments

Today’s What I Ate Wednesday post is a FRIDAY. Alas, it wasn’t an overly exciting Friday- just your standard workday Friday.

Breakfast was egg whites and veggies. I know – shocker. I’m a creature of habit 🙂

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Lunch was mishmash – leftover spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce and basil (yummmm!) as well as a pre packed salad with a store-bought veggie burger.

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Snacks that day included some super salty almonds (Yum!) and more spaghetti squash. This time with honey and cinnamon. I forgot to take a picture (thus a photo of the empty container).

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B and I had a long run planned for Saturday, so we opted for a low key Friday night. I love vegan food before long runs, so we tried out a new restaurant. The food was pretty good – I had a sweet potato veggie burger wrapped in collard greens.

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And of course, I had to have dessert. I made myself a mini bowl with a bunch of random treats – white chocolate chips, banana bread, chex and chocolate.

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That concluded my Friday. As always, click on the badge below to see what WIAW is all about.

Some questions for you:

What do like to eat the night before a long run? Anything vegan, typically. Wraps, sandwiches, salads etc. YUM!
What’s your typical Friday night? This wasn’t typical but it was nice to stay in for a change!
Have you ever had spaghetti squash in a sweeter manner, like I did?

Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken For 2

July 21, 2015July 8, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

I’m not a seasonal eater. What do I mean by that? I love soups year round. Chili? In July? Why not?! Ice cream in the winter? Of course! B, on the other hand, is very seasonal. We can’t eat soup in the summer. Crockpot? Stash that away from May-Aug (and sometimes September). BUT sometimes I can sneak in a slow cooker recipe in the summer and convince B it’s still seasonal. I didn’t quite do that with this one (there was no sneaking) BUT he did enjoy it. And would eat it again:) At last! A crock pot meal that even B enjoys in the summer.

Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken

Mediterranean Crockpot Chicken For 2 (with leftover for lunch)

Makes 2 large dinner servings, with a leftover lunch portion

Slightly modified from Family Food on the Table

Ingredients

2 large, skinless chicken breasts (mine weighed a little more than 1/2 lb)
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, mostly drained and chopped a bit
1 14-oz. cans artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tsp red curry powder
1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 cup cooked quinoa

Instructions

Combine everything BUT the fresh basil and quinoa in your slow cooker (chicken breasts through dried Italian seasoning).
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Once finished, use two forks to shred the chicken into large chunks.
Serve warm, with fresh basil and over quinoa. NOTE: There will be a decent amount of liquid left – I liked mine almost soupy and used much of it. If you don’t, use a slotted spoon for removing the meal from the crockpot.

Sittin in the slow cooker …

Ready to eat!

Alright, your turn. A few questions for you:

Any favorite summery slow cooker recipes? Let me know!
What’s the best slow cooker meal or snack you’ve ever had?
Are you a seasonal eater?

Weekend In Photos

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

I’m going to attempt to not write a lengthy blog post, and instead share my weekend update with you in mostly photos. My challenge – two sentences per photo. Okay … go!

Friday night we tried out a new vegan restaurant in Cleveland. Vegan is maybe my favorite food to eat before a long run.

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Saturday morning=waking up at 5:35 a.m. to find that it’s already 76 degrees and 70% humidity.

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And you need to get in a 9 mile run.

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So you take a sweaty selfie when you’re done. 9 miles by 8 a.m.

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And because you’re already up early, you hit up the West Side Market for breakfast and shopping.

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AND Hingetown for coffee and scones.

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And kombucha.

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80 degrees means a perfect beach day. And yes, I actually went in the water.

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And evening walks.

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Which lead to patio drinks on the water.

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And dinner outdoors. You can see B and my shadow.

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And after dinner craft brews.

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And more photos of the city on the water. Because why not.

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Sunday morning Muppet movie marathon. I love the Muppets so so so much!

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Ladies Craft Beer Society. This month was beers in cans and bracelets.

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Another nice day means a walk around some lakes before dinner.

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Mexican with B’s family for dinner! Chips and some of my favorite salsa.

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And a gorgeous sunset. Which meant another walk to round about a perfect evening!

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That was it! Sums up my weekend. Hope yours was as fabulous!

Some questions for you:

Any new favorite summer beers I should try? Two days in a row i’ve had grapefruit beers and loved them!
Are you an early riser? Or do you prefer to sleep in on weekends? Definitely prefer to sleep in but waking up at 5:30 on Saturday ended up working out great!

PS – I’ll be linking up with Running N Reading and Her Heartland Soul today 🙂

WIAW #23: Jury Duty.

July 15, 2015July 14, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 11 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! It’s my 23rd WIAW post and for those of you that know me know that 23 is my lucky number. So of course this WIAW includes some of my favorite foods – cheese and froyo and candy 🙂

I had jury duty this week so my eats were a little more controlled. Meaning I had to pack my own snacks unless I wanted to see what they had at the courthouse (note: Apparently the food at the courthouse was actually good. Oh well!)

Breakfast, instead of my usual egg whites (I didn’t think bringing those would be a good idea) or smoothie (I usually make this with the office Vitamix), I grabbed a big bag of frozen grapes. Only some of the grapes are pictured, below. Because let’s face it, I already ate half the grapes before I took a photo.

frozen grapes are SO GOOD!

I had done some meal prep over the weekend and managed to make a few salads for B and me to take for lunches this week. You can’t see all the goodness in here, but it’s baby lettuce (my favorite!), arugula, tomato, roasted sweet potato and chicken.

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For snacks, I had made some peanut butter granola. Again, that’s about half of the granola I packed. I also packed some carrots.

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For dinner, I made some spicy Italian chicken burgers (these were bought at the West Side Market, I just cooked them) with some peppers and onions and a caprese quinoa salad (with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil). The meal tasted so summery to me – it was perfect!

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It was a beautiful evening, so B and I took a walk and got some froyo at a place not to far from our apartment. I LOVE frozen yogurt places – mainly for the toppings bar as you can see – and it is the first time we’ve gone all summer!

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That concluded my Monday. How did I do? Would you eat all of that too?

As always, click on the badge below to see what WIAW is all about.

Some questions for you:

What do you get on your frozen yogurt? Anything and everything. I like a basic flavor and then toppings galore! I mixed few pieces of cheesecake bites, cookie dough bites, butterfingers, snickers and even boba and mochi. Oh, and of course one sour worm. Just because.
What’s something great you ate this week?
Have you ever had jury duty?

Summer weekends

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

I seriously love weekends so much. I know – not surprising. Everyone does. But summer weekends where the weather’s perfect and you end up with equal parts fun, productivity, and relaxation? Those are THE best.

Friday night started with an Indians game with B and his company. His company outing included all you can eat and drink, plus grew seats at a fireworks game. AND we won!

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Such an amazing sunset … No filter needed 🙂

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Also, great fireworks!

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After the game, we went out and met up with B’s friend from high school and his girlfriend who were in town. We ended up bar hopping until the bars closed. Yup – I may be getting older and may have been tired, but I guess I still got it!

Saturday morning, I met up with Mary for an easy run. I had done 8 miles Friday morning and had gone to bed late, so I was hoping to just get in 3-4 miles. Barely made it 5 miles. It was finally seasonal temps (70 degrees in the morning) but felt SO hot to me. Gotta get used to hot summer runs again!

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Had to pause on the bridge to ~~breathe heavily~~ take a picture:

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After our run, I met back up with B and we hit up the West Side Market for our groceries. We typically go there weekly but it had been a while — so glad we got to go back!

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I was craving something refreshing after the run – a big thing fruit was just what I needed.

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After the Market it was time to hit up the Flea. I love the Cleveland Flea – during the summer about once a month there is a giant flea market with food, drinks and stands of people selling antiques, clothing, jewelry, soaps, etc. It was the most perfect sunny day and we visited with Dave and Anson and Dave’s mom who was in town.

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After the Flea, B and I checked out a few open houses with my friend Cuoghi. Yes, we’re sorta house hunting! And then it was time for ice cream. I love Mason’s Creamery- a cute ice cream shop in Ohio City and the owners are SO nice.

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I couldn’t stop by Ohio City without a stop for some kombucha from Cleveland Tea Revival.

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I was in the mood for pizza for dinner, so B and I hit up Gallucci’s for some supplies. I love Gallucci’s – look at all those great Italian canned/jarred goods!

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And our great supplies:

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So I made some sauce, and B made pizza.

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Sunday was actually pretty laid back. B had plans to play golf so I took it easy – got in an easy workout (Sundays are my “stretch and strengthen” day on my half training schedule), did some meal prep, made some granola and got a pedicure. After a long winter and season of running – my toes are finally flip flop ready!

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We had big plans to go to the beach, but it was not as nice as Saturday and looked like it may storm all day (it didn’t actually rain until late afternoon), so we pretty much hung out indoors. Ah well. My toes are happy!

We didn’t end up having family dinner, so B made me something I had been craving for a while – fish. Anytime I can relax, enjoy my pedicure and enjoy a homecooked dinner – pretty much a perfect Sunday 🙂

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How was your weekend?
What’s your favorite kind of fish?
When you get pedicures – what kind of color do you get? Pinks? reds? purples? Or something fun like green or blue?

PS – Happy birthday to one of my dearest friends from high school, Alisa 🙂 Can’t believe it’s been more than 4 years since we took the below picture!

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Linking up with Running N Reading and Her Heartland Soul today!

Meatless Monday: Lomein Zoodles

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

If you read my blog, you know I’m a lover of my zoodler (aka spiralizer). I love making zoodles and sharing the love with friends.

In my effort to try every single zoodle recipe there is – and share zoodles with friends – I had my friend Cuoghi over for Meatless Monday and we made a version of this recipe. It was her first time trying zoodles and I think she’s hooked!

Here’s our minor tweaks.

Vegetarian Lomein Zoodles

Serves 4

Here’s what you need:

For the noodles

3-4 zucchini (I used 3 regular zucchini and one large yellow squash)
2 Tbs canola oil
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tsp fresh ginger, diced
1 head of broccoli, chop the florets up
1 cup snap peas
1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2 inch long strips
1 cup edamame, cooked
1 head bok choy, white and greens chopped
2 large carrots, sliced into rounds
2 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
1 tsp red pepper flakes

For the sauce

1 1/2 Tbs sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs hoisin sauce
1-2 Tbs corn starch
1-2 tsp sriracha (to taste)

Here’s what you do:

Prepare the sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients, whisk together until cornstarch is evenly dissolved. Set aside.
Semi-blanch broccoli and carrots – boil for about 2-3 minutes until just softened, then remove and add to a colander to remove excess water.
In a very large skillet or wok over medium heat add in canola oil.
Add red bell pepper and white stems of bok choy into skillet once oil is heated up. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until just softened.
Add in garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, snap peas, carrots and broccoli.Cook all the vegetables for 3-5 minutes until they all start to soften.
Add in squash noodles, green leafy part of bok choy, edamame and the sauce prepared in step 1. Cook until squash noodles are covered with sauce and softened to your liking, about 3-5 minutes.
Garnish finished dish with sesame seeds. Add additional hot sauce or sriracha as needed. Enjoy!

3 bowls, plated, with chopsticks

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leftover zoodles for lunch the next day!

Some questions for you:

What’s your favorite Chinese food dish? I love all dumplings. B likes lomein so this dish was definitely a winner with him!
What’s your favorite spiralizer recipe?
Chopsticks or fork? Chopsticks all the way!

It’s been a while, but I’m joining the Meatless Monday linkup with Tina Muir and Confessions of a Mother Runner and The Fit Foodie Mama.