A Weekend In Chicago with the Girls

August 20, 2019August 18, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

I’m just getting back from a girls weekend. I was able to spend several days with some of my best friends. We have been friends for 20+ years and we try to go on trips together about once every year or other year. This year, we planned a trip to Chicago – just us. No kids, husbands, pets, etc.

What does a girls weekend entail when you’re 30-something and have 2 kids? Well, it was pretty perfect. It included:

Some drinks.

Some delicious dining. Including deep dish pizza (of course!), breakfast sandwiches, homemade bagels and lox and birthday treats.

Some relaxing by the hotel rooftop pool.

Some exercise. We did one run along the lake, and one gym day with circuit training. We also took a rainy walk along the 606.

Some site seeing.

I even was able to sneak in a short visit with my friend Cuoghi who moved from CLE to Chicago last year. I was so happy to get in a quick visit with her! We enjoyed some cupcakes in the park.

I’m feeling so lucky and grateful to have such amazing friends. Despite many miles keeping us apart and many life changes over the past 20+ years of our friendship, we are still able to pick up right where we left off every time.

Some questions for you:

Do you have friends that you’ve kept in touch with for many years?
Where should we go on our next trip?

Girls’ Weekend – LCBS Retreat

March 10, 2019March 10, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

This weekend, I spent a few nights away from the family. My Ladies Craft Beer Society got together for a mini-getaway to celebrate our fifth anniversary.

Friday night we all got in at different times and proceeded to eat, drink (beer and bubbly!) and catch up. It’d been while since any of us had been together without kids and it was nice to have two hands (for two drinks, obvs) but also to be able to sit back and just talk as our own selves. I personally stayed up too late – past midnight! – and then was up before 7 a.m. to pump the next morning.

The next morning started off with an amazing breakfast – our friend Marissa was in charge of food and made us an amazing French toast casserole.

After breakfast, I decided to head out for a run. It was chily but a beautiful day and I got to pass this gorgeous view – look at the lake!

And of course, because it was my ladies CRAFT beer society, we also did some crafting!

That night, we went out to dinner at a local winery, and then grabbed drinks at a local brewery.

Because of the time change, we didn’t end up staying out as late, but instead spent the night catching up.

Sunday, we got up early and hit the road. For a weekend away from the kids, I ended up pretty tired! I can’t hang like I used to.

It was a great weekend, though, and I am so glad I got to catch up with my ladies!

Some questions for you:

When was the last time you had a getaway?
What kind of wine do you like?

A Semi Girls Weekend

March 25, 2018March 25, 2018 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

Hooray for the weekend! After a semi-stressful week, we were all excited when Friday came around.

Friday night started off with some time outside– I am loving how late it is staying light now! Then, pizza for B. FW even had a few bites of a mushroom garlic slice!

No pizza for me, though, because I had other dinner plans. My bff for nearly 20 years, Jane was coming into town! After I picked her up from the airport, we headed out to dinner.

We ended up at Felice, a really cute restaurant nearby. It’s in an old house, so each room is unique and cozy. The food was really good – we split the Brussels s sprouts appetizer and then got the polenta and jackfruit tostones entrees.

Saturday also included some great food. We started the day with breakfast at Luna.

And then some shopping and pedis! We even ended up picking matching colors.

The day included some more girlyness – sheet masks in the evening. We look frightening.

While Jane and I hung out, B took FW to hang out his friend Celia and they went to an Easter egg hunt! I’m bummed I didn’t get to join him on his first hunt, but it looked like they had a good time.

Jane and I decided to stay in for dinner Saturday, and enjoyed it courtesy of B. We started with some Old Brooklyn Cheese Company deliciousness.

And B made us some homemade pasta with homemade pesto, potatoes and green beans. It was really good.

We hung in Saturday night and watched some Netflix before passing out. Yes, we’re pretty exciting like that 🙂

Sunday started with some DELICIOUS brunch. I’ve never been to Fire before, and it had been recommended by tons of people, so we decided to try it out. It did NOT disappoint! I got the vanilla French toast and it was so so so good.

After brunch and a short walk, we were all pretty pooped. Including FW, who fell asleep on me while Jane took a nap on the couch. I can’t remember the last time he fell asleep on me, so even though I was trapped for a good hour without my book, I was relatively content.

After nap time, it was pretty much time to take Jane to the airport. FW came along for the ride and enjoyed watching the planes fly before we headed over to B’s family’s house for dinner. No pictures from there, but we had some delicious lasagna and a Girl Scout cookies for dessert.

Some questions for you:

Do you typically go sweet or savory for brunch?
What’s your favorite Girl Scout cookie?

I’m linking up with the weekly wraps!

A Weekend Getaway with My Favorite Ladies

August 7, 2017August 7, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

I’m writing this after finishing up from an amazing girls weekend with my best friends from high school. Me, Jane, Alisa and Melgar have been friends for 20 years and each year we try to do a girls weekend / getaway somewhere.

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SO looking forward to seeing these ladies this weekend!!! #tbt

A post shared by mom, runner, blogger | Melissa (@koskim) on Aug 3, 2017 at 11:13am PDT

This year, we spent the weekend in California, visiting Melgar who lives in San Jose. We did some day trips and spent time catching up at her new house.

The weekend included:

Some hiking in Big Basin. Alisa was our fearless leader (we called her the trail maven).

An overnight in Monterey, which included some day trips and scenic driving around Bixby Bridge, 17 Mile Drive and visiting Carmel.

Relaxing by Melgar’s pool. Her new house is gorgeous AND she has a great walking/running path right next to it, along with a pool!

Going for a little run. Melgar is pregnant and still running!

Some amazing food. Including my first cragel – croissant + bagel – which is waaay better than a cronut in my opinion. And Melgar’s husband Jon cooked us an amazing meal of crispy prosciutto and risotto.

And some baking in Melgar’s gorgeous kitchen!

It wouldn’t be a trip with my favorite ladies without some sort of adventure. We ended up semi-getting lost along our drive (that’s what you get when I’m the co-pilot … thank goodness Jane woke up from her nap and showed us the map!).

But it didn’t matter, because we were all together. Singing the Spice Girls and acting like we were in junior high all over again.

These are the friends that I can just truly be myself with. Share my darkest secrets with. Say what’s on my mind. We can laugh together. Cry together. And we did both this weekend. While we only get together like this once a year, we always pick up right where we left off. I know I am so lucky to have friends like these!

Some questions for you:

Have you ever been hiking in the Redwoods?
What songs bring you back to high school/middle school?

I’m linking up with the weekly wraps!

WIAW #36 – A Few Days (and Meals) in New Orleans

October 28, 2015October 25, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

Warning: This will be a slightly different-than-typical WIAW. How so? My typical WIAW posts involve me showing you a snapshot of a day in my life. It’s typically a work day and I share with you my breakfast (usually egg whites and some veggies), lunch and dinner. Today, instead, I bring you a few random meals from my past few days in New Orleans! I neglected to take photos of every single meal, but you can see here the photos of a few meals I enjoyed on my girls weekend and trip to the Big Easy (full post here)!

This was one of my dinners – blackened fish on top of a potato cake. It came served with a “corn salad” – I guess the few kernels on top count, right?

fish on potato cake

While in New Orleans, I of course had to have a cup of seafood gumbo and a po boy. So here you go – one day’s lunch:

crawfish po boy and gumbo

I didn’t get a picture of my meal at Shaya, but the food was amazing. So you can instead see Melgar and Alisa and their food – a chicken schnitzel sandwich and a falafel sandwich:

shaya food

Drinks at Shaya. Cheers to 17 years of friendship!

Dessert one night – pecan pie, topped with ice cream AND a praline. Oh my goodness. So so sweet! pecan pie and wine

The combination platter at the Gumbo Shop. It was red beans and rice and jambalaya.

creole platter

Beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde. I went there three times on my visit! cafe dumond2

AND – not quite as pretty, but here was one of my airport meals. I settled with Au Bon Pain and got their southwest chicken salad and fruit cup. Ahh, airport food.

aubonpain airport

And that’s a wrap! Some things enjoyed in New Orleans that didn’t get photographed include a Hurricane a Hand Grenade and other super wayyy-too-sweet drinks that you can walk outside with, pralines, pecan brittle, a fattoush salad and more.

Some questions for you:

Have you been to New Orleans? What type of food did you enjoy?
When you travel by air, do you have a go-to restaurant/meal that you always have?
Do you have a favorite creole or cajun dish?

Girls Weekend in New Orleans

October 26, 2015October 25, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend some time with some of my best friends in the entire world – Jane, Melgar and Alisa. The four of us became friends in junior high, which means we’ve been friends now for 17+ years. It boggles my mind that I’ve known them for so long.

Friends for 17 years! This was approximately 12 years ago …

The four of us haven’t been together since Melgar’s wedding 2 years ago, and it was SO GREAT to be together in such a fun city. We stayed together in a cute hotel in the French Quarter and had no set itinerary for our time there – just to have fun, eat good food, and celebrate our friendship.

Some highlights from our weekend included:

Eating tons of beignets at Café Du Monde. I may have gone there three times during our trip.

cafe dumond2

cafe dumond

Checking out the Garden District and stalking doing an informal walking tour of the beautiful homes.

this house had a corn fence!

Going out on Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street (yay for no open container laws!)

Out on Frenchmen Street

Bourbon Street before it gets crazy later

Hearing the famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Preservation Hall

I didn’t take this video, but it gives you a good sense of what we saw and how amazing they are:

Going for a run with Alisa and catching part of the humongous Halloween parade

sweatie selfie!

Going out to eat and getting some Creole food at the Gumbo Shop… and non-Creole food at Shaya

gumbo shop jane alisa shaya with jane

Just walking around and exploring the old streets and interesting scenery. Honestly, we could’ve done NOTHING and I would’ve been happy – I love these girls so much.

fountain

cute hotel

What a great trip! It was so wonderful to see my friends and as always, we were able to pick up and start again without missing a beat. I’m so lucky to have these ladies in my life!

Some questions for you:

Do you still stay in touch with any of your high school or junior high friends?
Have you ever been to New Orleans? What did you think?
Where should the four of us go on our next trip?

Linking up today for a weekend update/marvelous monday recap with with Katie and Erin!

A Weekend With Friends in the CLE

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Do you have a group of friends or a friend that you don’t see too often (perhaps because you live far apart) but each time you meet up it’s like things have never changed and you can pick up right where you left off? That’s my Jane and Melgar. We’ve been friends since 7th grade and even though we went to different colleges and now live in different cities, we stay in touch and see each other once a year.

Look what I found in my old yearbook! Five high school best friends before junior year prom. LOOK AT THOSE DRESSES.

This year, even with Melgar’s wedding, we managed to get together in my current home – Cleveland! It had been 5 or 6 years since they had been in town and it’s crazy to think about how much life has changed since then – not only how much Cleveland has changed but how much we have changed. New jobs, marriage, new significant others, new cities, grad school – seriously, so much has changed.

Obligatory picture of Jane and Melgar and I the last time they were in CLE – posing at Edgewater. We don’t look that different do we?

Anyway, we had a GREAT weekend, if I do say so myself. We enjoyed time at some downtown bars (from Moriarty’s to Lincoln Tap House to Society Lounge) and restaurants (Greenhouse Tavern, Phuel and Taza), in Ohio City (West Side Market and Town Hall), and even Tremont (Press Wine Bar and Treehouse). Oh yeah, we also went for a run, got to watch some World Cup AND went to the beach. I’d say it was a successful weekend!

Some fabulous photos from the weekend (in no order):

Watching the soccer game at Moriarty’s

Then fancy cocktails at Society

Easy run in the morning around downtown

Catching some rays (and ice cream) on the beach

Walking to the West Side Market and brunch (side note – a runner stopped mid-run and asked if we wanted our photo taken! How nice is that?)

Hanging out at the mini flea market in Ohio City

brunch at Phuel (pancake not pictured). Also realized I didn’t get a photo of our amazing meals at Greenhouse, Taza OR Town Hall!

patio drinks in Tremont

Feeling American watching the World Cup drinking a Bud Light and eating a buffalo chicken salad

AND after they left, I drowned my sorrows in soccer. I felt pretty American watching the World Cup drinking a Bud Light and eating a buffalo chicken salad.

It was a great weekend and I can’t wait until I see these girls again soon. We always have such a great time catching up, relaxing and exploring whatever city we’re in. Where should we meet up next?

Some questions for you (answer in the comments if you can):

How was your weekend?

Did you watch the World Cup?

What’s your idea of “American” food? Beer, soda, wings, buffalo chicken and burgers!

Do you like fancy drinks? What’s your favorite cocktail?

Where is your favorite city to have a girl’s weekend? We need suggestions!

What’s your favorite brunch order? I’m typically a savory bruncher – eggs, sausage, bacon … etc. I got chili for brunch on Saturday and granola on Sunday.

Wordless Wednesday: Girls’ Weekend Edition

August 29, 2012 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’m back from an amazing girls weekend in DC! I had such a good time laughing, drinking wine, eating, gossiping, and exploring the area with Jane and Melgar. Instead of a wrap up post — where I’d share with you details of our Friday night wine and Mediterranean dinner, Saturday run and excursion to old Alexandria, pedicure and dinner with Steve & Emily at an awesome Vietnamese place — here’s a photo collage.

TGIW!

It’s time for a girls’ weekend!

August 24, 2012 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

TGIF! I am so excited and ready for this weekend. Not because of the busy past few weeks and upcoming weeks I have in store – but because this weekend I’m having a mini-reunion with two of my best friends from middle school – Jane and Melgar!

wow, were we really that young? (Melgar is far left, I’m in white, jane is in back right)

It’s kinda crazy that we’ve known each other since 1997- through strange crushes, our first drinks, braces (well, not me), weird intramural sports, obsessions with Leonard DiCaprio (well, that may have only been me), high school, drivers’ tests … okay, I’m getting all sappy just thinking about how much our live have changed and how much we’ve been through and how awesome it is that even though we all went to different colleges, and live in different cities AND states, we’re still bffs.