Fall Festivities

October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Bring on the fall festivities! This weekend was full of fall festivities, from Harvestfest at the kids’ school to our friends’ kids birthday parties, and we had a blast celebrating.

Friday started with Harvestfest at school. It meant bobbing for donuts (trying to eat a donut off a string without using your hands), getting sparkly tattoos, story time, a cookout and other kid-friendly activities.

FW and LM had a ball.

Saturday morning included some yard work.

And then, birthday party fun!

It was a costume party also, so FW wore his spiderman outfit and LM was a sheep.

It also included some pumpkin painting.

The evening included takeout from Aladdins. Because, who doesn’t love hummus? (Answer: FW. But he is still pretty picky)

Sunday, B and his dad spent the whole morning power washing. Meaning I hung out with FW and LM. We went for a walk/trike ride around the block.

We ran around the house and goofed off.

And we watched B do work.

The weekend also included a run, some dinner with family and a few other non-pictured activities. And as always, Sunday night came and went too fast. Now, onto a short (for me) week before I head out of town to see family!

Some questions for you:

Do you have any trips coming up?
What types of fall festivities do you have planned?

Grateful for Low-Key Weekends

October 21, 2018October 21, 2018 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Another weekend has come and gone and I’m feeling so grateful. Grateful for a few days off to recharge, grateful for a healthy family (after a week with the stomach bug in our house) and grateful for a low-key weekend with nothing planned.

How did we end up with nothing planned? Well, we were originally going to be spending the weekend in Detroit to visit B’s brother and his fiance, but after the plague hit our house for the week, decided to take it easy. And we did!

We started off the weekend with some sushi. Seaweed salad, a roll and some of my favorite sashimi for me.

Saturday started off with a run! It was my first run outside in more than a week. Despite feeling out of shape, it was near perfect running weather and it felt so good to be outside. My Garmin was low battery, so I had to break up the run into 2 Strava workouts.

Saturday was Celia’s birthday party, which was also a costume party. FW put on his Winnie the Pooh outfit and had a blast – eating pizza and ice cream and decorating pumpkins.

Saturday night, B and I put the kids to bed semi-early so that we could hang out and watch a movie. Have you seen Black Panther? I really enjoyed it. And my snack of choice – popcorn and candy corn!

Sunday was chilllllly, but we still managed to spend some time outdoors. We spent the afternoon watching FW’s cousin play soccer.

Then, we decided to stop by a nearby pumpkin patch. It was our first time there, and FW had a great time! We rode a hayride to get to the pumpkins, and then FW was able to run around and play with the toys on the farm.

It was a fun way to end the weekend! I love pumpkins, and I think FW enjoyed picking some out for him and LM.

Some questions for you:

Have you gone pumpkin or apple picking yet?
Do you like candy corn?

Holy moly it’s November

November 6, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 12 Comments

Holy moly…it’s November. I honestly don’t know where the time has gone. I feel like it should still be August. Honestly, I don’t really know where August went … I guess having a baby makes time fly even faster?

It was a really good weekend for us in Cleveland. We even started out Friday with semi-matching outfits for FW and me. Okay, I know we’re not matching, but we’re both wearing grey so I was pretty excited. So was he apparently!

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And then Friday at work we had a dog in the office! I love puppy therapy days … seriously, I needed it since work has been kinda stressful and busy lately. But puppies make it all better!

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Friday night B and I spent some time out by ourselves. We went out for drinks and dinner at the Plum Cafe & Kitchen.

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Check out all that deliciousness in a bowl! img_20161104_205907

Saturday morning started off with a walk outside. It was in the 40s so we bundled up!

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But it was GORGEOUS out.

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We then decided to go out for brunch. This fruit and granola bowl at Phuel is my favorite. 20161105_104301

And then it was time for a trip to the West Side Market. I love wearing FW and this was the first time I’ve worn him facing out! I think he liked it. 20161105_124316

That afternoon it was time for Ladies Craft Beer Society! This month we made decorative towels and had some tasty bubbly AND fall beers. I finally had my favorite – Warlock!

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FW was there too as was Reanna’s baby.

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And at night B and I decided to have a movie night. We finally popped the bag of popcorn we brought back from Mexico City. Que deliciosa!

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Sunday morning was another gorgeous morning so I opted to go out for a run while FW slept a little. I got in 5 miles at under 9 min/mile pace which is the fastest I’ve run since FW was born. Yay!

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And this little guy greeted me when I got home. I can’t get enough of his smiles. 20161106_102649

Sunday night, after spending some time doing meal prep, watching the NY Marathon and a little work, we had plans to get dinner with friends. Is there ever a better way to end the weekend?

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And that was it!

Per usual, I’m linking up with Erin, Katie and the weekly wraps.

Questions for you:

Have you gotten to enjoy some fall weather?
What’s a fun type of popcorn you’ve had?

Boxing, Baking and Relaxing – Another Weekend in CLE

November 16, 2015November 15, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Well, we finally had a weekend back in CLE. And it was great. Don’t get me wrong – I love traveling and loved spending time in Dallas and New Orleans, but but it was great to have some time to hang out and enjoy the gorgeous fall Cleveland weather, be somewhat productive and also chill with friends.

Friday night, B and I attended the Cleveland Boxing Invitational. B’s on the Associate Board of the Cleveland Sports Commission and this is one of their big fundraisers of the year. I’m not a huge boxing fan, but it’s a cool event and really fun to see Tower City all decked out with a boxing ring, tables, etc.

B and I at the event

Check it out – it’s usually a mall but they decked it out with a boxing ring

Saturday, Nicole and I had a lady date planned. We didn’t get nearly as much done as we had wanted to, but we did end up meeting for a run. I got in 6 slow miles – it was chilly out!

Running selfie

And then we spent the afternoon baking some pumpkin cookies and bars. Yup, still not over pumpkin baking!

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Then it was time for Ladies Craft Beer Society. This month was pumpkin beers and we made mugs and tea. Pretty much the perfect fall craft!

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Sunday morning I had plans to relax, but with the weather being 63 degrees, I knew I had to get out and at least go for a run / walk. It was too nice not to go out!

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I also got to wear my new running skirt, which I hadn’t gotten to do since it got cool.

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I didn’t do much during the day. I managed to do some meal prep, make some fudge and watch some girly stuff on TV.

a few days of lunches

fudge!

I watched some episodes of a pretty awesome show – Catastrophe. Have you seen it? I blew threw 5 episodes (they’re only 20ish min) in 2 days.

And that was about it! A pretty good weekend if you ask me.

Some questions for you:

I need some good chick flicks/TV shows to watch on Netflix/Amazon. Any recommendations? my bff Jane recommended Catastrophe and it was great. What else?
Are you still eating pumpkin flavored things? Or are you over pumpkin yet?
Do you like boxing?

Linking up with Her Heartland Soul for this weekend update post.

Still Feelin Like Fall!

November 3, 2015November 1, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’m not gonna lie, it was a pretty uneventful weekend. Yes, it was Halloween, but I was getting over a cold (thanks, air travel!), and feeling tired and not too in the mood to do anything exciting.

Friday night included Souper Market takeout and catching up on Netflix. No photos needed – I mean, don’t you know what soup and old How I Met Your Mother episodes look like?

Saturday morning, B had signed us up for a Halloween themed 5 mile race. B dressed up as Ron Burgundy and I dressed up as a dinosaur. I still can’t believe B ran 5 miles in a turtleneck, blazer and grey slacks. That’s commitment!

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After the race, we decided to do our typical Saturday routine. We hadn’t been in town in a while, so it was great to go to the Market and grab some tea. Warm ginger tea and honey with a cold = amazing.

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Saturday afternoon, I did some baking and B did some cooking. We had plans to go to Dave and Anson’s house for trick-or-treaters and scary movie night. B made amazing deep dish pizzas to bring – they were so good I forgot to take a photo until we had eaten half of them.

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For our annual scary movie night, we opted to watch Saw. It’s a movie I’ve seen a few times, but Dave and Anson hadn’t seen it and since it was going off Netflix Nov. 1, we decided to watch it.

Sunday morning, thanks to Daylight Saving, we got up pretty early and decided to get some brunch at Phuel. I’m a big fan of their yogurt and granola parfait.

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After brunch, since it was 60s and gorgeous, we decided to get in a long walk in the Metroparks. The fall colors were looking beautiful and I enjoyed a free Starbucks beverage on the walk. It was pretty much a the perfect fall scene – and the RED CUPS are out already! I’m not ready for red cup season yet.

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After the walk, B and I watched the Browns game and may have taken a nap. That’s two naps for me in one weekend – a new record! I’m taking advantage of getting sleep when I can, especially with this cold.

Family dinner on Sunday night ended with a great dessert – B’s mom made carrot cake and it was AMAZING. I’m not a huge cake person (I prefer cookies and ice cream) – but carrot cake. Oh my. And this one was delicious!

carrotcake

And that was it! See, a pretty uneventful weekend.

Some questions for you:

What’s your favorite type of cake?
Do you have a favorite scary movie?
Do you like naps?

An eventful uneventful weekend

October 19, 2015October 18, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Annnnd another weekend is done, folks. And as usual, it went by waaayyyy too fast.

It was an eventful uneventful weekend – does that make sense? B and I didn’t have much planned, because I leave for a week of work travel today and needed some time to pack and catch up on work. That being said, it was semi-eventful. We spent some time in urgent care (spoiler: I’m okay) and also finding ourselves locked up in a Mormon church (semi-long story). But fall is here! And it’s beautiful.

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The weekend started with a Friday evening trip to urgent care. Don’t worry – I’m okay. I had been running Friday morning with Mary and accidentally tripped over a sign post that was on the sidewalk. I flew in the air and ended up seriously bruising my thigh and since it was pretty painful, hot and swollen, I decided to get checked out before flying for work. Good news – it’s just a muscle contusion and I should be back running again after a few days of ice and rest. And I’m clear to fly 🙂

After finding that out, since B and I were already on the west side, we decided to try a new place for dinner that has sen on my list – Forage. It was really good! We started with drinks and oysters at the bar and then got seated for our food. I’d definitely go back – we both loved our food and it was a neat, large place with lots of seating.

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Saturday morning, B and I decided to go apple picking. It’s amazing how much time we have when I’m not running 🙂 I love apple picking and it was the first time we’d gotten to go this season. We came home with some apples, cider and an apple fritter.

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The apple fritter was seriously the size of my face.

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It was just about 11 a.m. when we were through apple picking, so we decided to explore the area. Turns out the first Mormon church happened to be just a few miles away. We stopped in and a tour was just starting. We were told the tour would be about 40 minutes, but we could leave early if we needed to. We had to be back in Cleveland by 12:30, so we decided to at least take part of the tour and see the church before heading out. Let’s just say the tour lasted about 1 hour and 15 minutes and we were not able to just leave the church at any time – we tried to leave the church but the door wouldn’t open so we had to wait until after the tour.

the first Mormon church

After we left the church, we booked it to the baby shower. It was a co-ed shower, so B was invited too! It involved bowling, food, some spiked apple cider AND homemade apple butter and jam for favors. Not a bad way to spend a fall Saturday 🙂

Mom- and dad-to-be giving a speech at the shower – bowling in the background!

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The weekend also included some other fall stapes – baking and the Browns.

apple bread

I baked some apple bread with the apples we bought AND since it made two loaves, we brought one over to Dave and Anson and saw baby Celia again. She (and B) were ready for the Browns game!

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The Browns ended up losing in overtime (ughhhh) but Sunday evening also included dinner with B’s family. It was the perfect fall meal – London Broil AND apple cake for dessert.

Linking up with Katie and Erin today!

Some questions for you:

Do you like apple picking? Have you gone this fall? um, of course!
What’s your favorite apple recipe?
Coed baby showers – yay or nay? I say yay! The one we went to was so much fine

Weekends Are Made for Fun

October 27, 2014October 26, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

This really was the perfect fall weekend in Cleveland. 1 part fun (wedding!) + 1 part productive (baking! and working) + 1 part running and walking (and ellipticalling) = pretty much an ideal weekend. Oh yeah, and gorgeous blue skies, 60 degree temps and beautiful fall foliage didn’t hurt!

Friday night I had to work somewhat later than usual so B and I decide to have an early night in and got takeout sushi and watched a movie. I can’t remember the last time we had sushi and staying in meant I ended up getting more sleep than I’ve gotten in weeks. Winning!

Saturday morning B and I met up with Mary for a run. We typically run throughout the different neighborhoods of downtown, Ohio City, Tremont and Uptown, but this weekend we opted for something new – the gorgeous Towpath! I’ll admit, nature runs typically bore me, but for some reason this Saturday I was feeling GREAT. B and I even sped up the last half mile of our 10 mile route and managed to make that mile our fastest (and only sub 9-minute mile)!

Our loop

post 10-mile run

Saturday afternoon, B and I picked up our CSA (only a few more weeks!) and then hit up Soupermarket for a lunch that hit the spot. Clambake soup (corn, clams, sweet potato, chicken, chicken broth), a hunk of bread an a salad. OMG i want more of that.

Perfect post-run lunch

Saturday night it was time to get dressed up and head to the east side for Cari and Bryan’s wedding! Cari is my froworker (just went to her bach party last weekend) and she looked GORGEOUS. B and I had a great time dancing, loving the fall decor, enjoying the food and of course the autumn-inspired drinks (including pumpkin beer!).

enjoying the wedding (and beautiful day!) with my other coworker Grace

Beautiful bride at her first dance

B and I

Sunday started off early with an easy workout (2 miles and 30 minutes on the elliptical) and a little baking. I will definitely be posting this recipe soon because these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are amazing.

PUMPKIN SNICKEDOODLES with PUMPKIN SPICE CHIPS

And then since the weather was just so gorgeous, B suggested we go for a walk. Yup – another day out in nature!

Those leaves …

Walking along the river

We finished off Sunday with an amazing fall meal at B’s parents house, complete with homemade pumpkin and apple cider ice creams. SO GOOD … but no photo. Sorry!

Some questions for you:

How was your weekend?
Do you like to dance at weddings? Yes! I’m an awful dancer but I do like to have a good time and have gotten over my moves (or lack thereof). B’s a great dancer though so I tend to believe people are watching him, not me 🙂
What’s your favorite fall drink (alcoholic or not)? i love a good pumpkin beer. Shipyard is currently my favorite. But I also like warm spiced wine.Or is that winter?
Favorite pumpkin recipe?

A Northeastern Fall Foliage Tour

October 14, 2014October 12, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

B and I recently were able to take some time off – a week! – and decided to go on a roadtrip to some eastern states in what we were dubbing our “fall foliage tour.” Yes, that’s how I know I’m getting older – we are planning fall foliage tours. What am I, almost 30? (rhetorical question – don’t answer that)

It was a great way to spend a week off- it was relaxing (even though we were active), we got a chance to do some of my favorite fall activities (hiking and apple picking) and even got to spend a day seeing my parents and a day seeing a friend from college. Just what I needed in some time off! Some highlights from the trip:

We started with a quick stop to see my parents and go apple picking (full blog post here).

apple picking at indian ladder

Then headed to the town of Schroon, New York to see our friend Mitch and run the beautiful, hilly Adirondack Half Marathon along Schroon Lake (full blog post here).

After the race

On our way to our next stop, we hit up Ticonderoga, New York. We visited the small downtown area and then visited Fort Ticonderoga.

walking around Ticonderoga

B and some old cannons

Great views from Fort Ticonderoga!

Then we headed to the beautiful state of Vermont! It was B’s first time there and we spent a few days in Northern Vermont, staying in Burlington, checking out their pretty waterfront, trying the local food, walking around their fun downtown area, taking quick trips to neighboring small towns and touring Ben & Jerry’s!

Hello from the town of Stowe, Vermont!

Being goofy at Ben & Jerry’s

The flavor graveyard. RIP cookie dough frozen yogurt 😦

sunset along the waterfront in Burlington

On our way to our next state, we made a pit stop in New Hampshire for a hike through the White Mountains. We spent a few hours hiking around Mt. Eisenhower. Unfortunately the weather was drizzly and foggy that day so we didn’t get in any amazing views that we’d heard about. But we did get in some activity – something I’d been craving, since it had been a few days since our half marathon.

pre-hike

Then we headed to Portland, Maine. Full blog post coming about this trip, but we had a great time walking everywhere, trying the local food and craft beer (Shipyard Pumpkin FTW!) and I even got in a few runs while I was there.

maine craft distilling

Our last quick stop was Boston. We walked around our alma mater, Boston College, stopped by the place we got engaged, and hit up the North End for dinner. A perfect end to a great vacation!

Back at BC!

Some questions for you:

Are the fall colors changing where you are? What’s your favorite way to see fall foliage? On a run? A hike through the mountains? A Sunday drive? Apple picking? Other?
Do you like pumpkin beer? What’s your favorite? I’ve heard of some beer snobs who can’t stand it! I liked trying the Shipyard, but Pumking may still be my favorite.
What’s your favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor? I loved Vanilla Heath Bar fudge (they don’t make it anymore now that they’re GMO free … RIP Heath bars!) but also love their new core flavors (any with vanilla as a base) and love anything with Caramel. Oh, and Cherry Garcia. Do I have to choose just one?

Back in the CLE

October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Just in time for fall, B and I are back in Cleveland for a weekend. We’d been gone the past few weeks traveling (don’t worry, more vacation recap posts are coming soon) but we were back this past weekend and had a great time. Here’s how the weekend went –

Friday night B managed to get suite seats to the Eric Church concert. I honestly hadn’t heard of many Eric Church songs before but made sure to listen all day Friday and then by the time of the show had a great time. A few Facebook friends even requested some songs that I listen to to get in the mood for the show – so if you’re not familiar with him, here are some recommendations: Springsteen, Drink in my Hand, Country Music Jesus, Give me Back my Hometown, The Outsiders, Over When it’s Over, Smoke a little Smoke, Love Your Love the Most.

Anyway, the show was GREAT. Eric Church put on a great show – he rocked the house. And the Q was the most crowded I have ever seen – it had people in every seat, from the floor to the highest levels – and the show was great.

Hanging out in the suite before Eric Church came on

FULL house!

We invited Dave and Anson to come with us – thanks to Anson for the photo!

Saturday morning B and I went for a great fall run. I honestly hadn’t expected us to have such a good run after staying out so late on Friday, but both B and I were feeling pretty good the entire time. And it was a beautiful fall day! We have less than one month now until the Savannah Half Marathon.

We ran all the way from downtown to Case.

Saturday night B and I got all dressed up for his job’s annual black tie event.

All dressed up! And my fro-worker Cari did my hair and makeup – wish I had a better shot you could see.

The place was all decked out in CLE-themed swag

The place was all decked out for the CLE-themed evening

A photo of a photo! They always take professional photos at the event for us to bring home.

Sunday was a laaaaazy day. An easy workout, a little work, watching some football, some weekly meal prep and catching up on a few episodes of Damages. B and I have now finished the third season – have you seen the show? Wow. That’s all I can say.

Some questions for you:

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?
Any long runs or races this weekend? Congrats to all my friends who completed the towpath marathon and half!
Are you an Eric Church fan? What’s your favorite song?
What was the last concert you went to?

Weekends with Family

October 9, 2014October 3, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

I have some pretty great parents. I know – you probably think your parents are the best, but I assure you, mine are amazing. They’re good people and have a great, loving relationship – I truly look up to them and their marriage. Anyway, on our way to our recent fall foliage vacation (recaps to come), B and I had the chance to stop off and see my parents for a day. Was the timing waay too short? Yes. But was it still great? Of course! And we packed in some fun times as well in the less than 24 hours we had.

❤

We started off Saturday morning with a short 2 1/2 mileish walk around the neighborhood my parents live in. I had plans to run a half marathon the next day so I didn’t want to go for a run, but since my office was doing a pedometer / steps challenge, I knew I had to get in some steps somehow.

indian ladder farms apple picking in upstate new york

how gorgeous is this backdrop for apple picking?

Then, we headed out to apple picking at the place we used to go when I was younger in Upstate New York – Indian Ladder Farms! It was fun to show B around and try out their apple donuts. They were just as good as I remembered!

Me and B. Yes, it was 80 degrees in fall so tank top and shorts was necessary.

indian ladder farms apple picking in upstate new yorkindian ladder farms apple picking in upstate new york

the best cider donuts!

After apple picking, we headed to downtown Saratoga Springs for dinner. I opted for a veggie panini (again, so good!) and then convinced everyone to go out for frozen yogurt. The best pre-race meal? I don’t think that much sugar is recommended, but it was delicious nonetheless.

I ate every darn bite of this amazing panini.

Pre-half marathon fuel?

Was it only a day? Yes. But it was still awesome – I wish we lived closer and could spend more days like this with my family!

apple picking at indian ladder

Some questions for you:

Do you like apple picking? What’s your favorite type of apple?
Cider donuts – yay or nay? Cinnamon or plain? I’m not a big donut fan, but I can’t resist a good warm freshly made cider donut- with cinnamon sugar of course!
When you get frozen yogurt, do you typically get more ice cream or candy? I’m all about the candy toppings!