Mini Vacation with the Baby

September 19, 2016September 18, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 8 Comments

We’re back from a weekend away and the baby’s first hotel stay! B and I got in a quick weekend away with FW in Columbus and enjoyed some good food, drinks and even family time.

The weekend started off with pizza (yup, every Friday) from Pies and Pints. We didn’t get in until late, so we ended up not going out. Instead, I picked up the pizza and grabbed a drink at the bar while B put FW to bed. #winningmom

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Saturday we had a while day of exploring to do! We started with breakfast and a walk in the Short North.

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And then we spent the day on our feet walking – we walked to the Columbus Topiary Garden, downtown and German Village.

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In front of the statehouse where his great grandfather worked

We also had to stop by North Market.

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And then we were back again to grab drinks at the Short North.

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Saturday night, we enjoyed dinner at a cute (and baby friendly!) restaurant- Hubbard.

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I had amazing food. We started off with fried Brussels sprouts and then I enjoyed a cauliflower sandwich with arugula quinoa salad. Jeni’s ice cream not pictured.

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Sunday morning, we got up early and went for a stroller run around the city. We made it to a trail with a nice view of downtown.

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Then, it was time for brunch! We ended our trip with brunch at B’s cousins’ house and FW got to meet his great aunt and cousins.

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B, FW and cousin Pete – the Wolfpack! (I swear FW is howling at the moon, not crying)

And of course, we ended Sunday with dinner with B’s parents. We celebrated B and two of his brothers’ birthdays with B’s favorite – steak, mashed potatoes and chocolate chocolate cake!

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Questions:

What is your favorite birthday cake? Ice cream cake!! Love me some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cake- Heath bar (I know it’s not called that anymore) or Peanut Butter fudge.
Have you ever been to Columbus, Ohio?

And because it’s Monday, I’m linking up with Erin, Katie and the weekly wraps.

The Family Visits CLE

September 10, 2015September 8, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

What a wonderful weekend.

My family was in town. That’s right, my parents AND Greg were all in Cleveland for the long weekend, and it was glorious. The weather was gorgeous, we had some good eats and we got in some quality time.

Some highlights from the weekend …

Greg got into town Thursday, so we had dinner and ice cream together.

ice cream

Friday, my parents came in. We had dinner in Uptown – starting with an amazing meal at L’Albatros and then dessert at Coquette Patisserie.

pre-dinner with the parents in Uptown

dessert at Coquette!

Saturday morning, we walked to Hingetown for tea and coffee. Then it was off to the West Side Market to pick up groceries.

kombucha on tap=happiness.

Saturday also included a walk down to the lake and dinner along the river.

fam photo by the water

pre-dinner drinks along the river

My parents left Sunday after brunch, but Sunday afternoon, I went with Greg, his friend Zac and his friend Christie to a winery.

brunch. because this post doesn’t have enough food photos.

Winery!

After the winery it was time for the closing night at Blossom! Another great performance by the Cleveland Orchestra AND fireworks.

The group @ Blossom

Fireworks!

For Labor Day, we did as any good American and did NO Labor. We hit the beach!

beach day

And for dinner, we celebrated B and his brother’s birthday. With cupcakes, of course. (These were made by my niece and nephew – how cute!)

cupcakes

Tuesday was our last day off before Greg and Zac left. Naturally, we started the day with a run. It was 81 degrees, something the San Fran boys were not used to, so I could actually keep up with them! We finished 5.6 miles at under a 9 min/mile pace, so I was pretty pleased.

bridges

We had a low-key last day. We enjoyed some Restore for breakfast (my fave acai bowls/smoothies/toast) and then spent the rest of the day chilling at a coffee shop in Tremont.

smoked salmon toast. BEST. (and I love acai bowls with almond butter!)

All in all, it was a great weekend in Cleveland. The weather was great (I don’t mind 80s :)), and it was fun to show my brother and Zac around and see my parents. Why can’t summer never end?

Some questions for you:

Almond OR peanut butter? If you had to choose one …
Do you like kombucha? Ever had it on tap?
What’s something great you ate over the holiday weekend?

Pretty Good Weekends Are Made of Patios, Pancakes, PR, Parties

June 1, 2015May 31, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

This blog post is brought to you by the letter P. P. I’m not making this up. My weekend was made of alliteration – pretty much everything that began with the letter P. See for yourself – patios, pancakes, Pitch Perfect, PR, parties, pretzels, pizza, pork, potato pancakes and more.

Friday night started with a patio dinner and a movie with B – Pitch Perfect 2.

B and I split two entrees – their chopped salad and a club sandwich. I think outside of getting Chinese food, this may be the first time B has agreed to split food with me! It made my night. It’s the little things, right?

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Saturday morning started with an easy 2 mile run and then the 5k fundraiser for an organization that B and I volunteer with on occasion – the West Side Catholic Center. It’s a fun 5k around Ohio City with a pancake breakfast after the race. The official times aren’t up yet, but I’m pretty sure I got a PR, too! We walked home and enjoyed a pretty picturesque view along the bridge.

Post race with my friend Cuoghi – we are suuuuper sweaty. It was 75+ and super humid

B, his brother and I all ran – Jenni and the kids did the 1 mile walk

pancakes!

view from the bridge on the walk home

During the afternoon we headed to the West Side Market to pick up some produce for the week. And then for lunch, we decided to try out a new cold pressed juice and food place – I got an acai bowl with coconut, almond butter and granola and B got the watermelon mint juice. SO good.

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acai bowl

Saturday night, B and I met our friends Dave and Anson for some patio drinks at the Hofbrauhaus, and of course a giant pretzel. We ended the night with a party for one of our friends who was turning 30.

pretzel and party not pictured

Sunday was a nice day of prep and catch up – I had pizza for breakfast, got in a lazy workout, tried to catch up on work I had neglected this week, painted my nails, did some meal prep and watched a few episodes of Girls.

pizza for breakfast!

Peach tea and Girls

We ended the day with dinner at my in-laws. They had just returned from Germany, so our meal centered on German specialties, including pork and potato pancakes!