Getting Back in the Swing of Things

January 4, 2016January 3, 2016 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 9 Comments

Happy Monday! If you’re like me, you’re back at work after a nice vacation thanks to the Christmas and New Years holidays. Hopefully you’re feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the year – or at least the year!

I had such a great New Years and weekend – the perfect relaxing and productive way to get me ready for the week ahead.

New Years Eve, B and I hung out with his family, family friends and Dave and Anson for an amazing meal, bubbly, drinks and of course, watching the ball drop. I unfortunately didn’t get to snap any pics of the food – but trust me. The seafood paella was the perfect last meal of 2015!

B and I kicking off NYE

New Years morning, I slept in, and then B and I went for a short run around downtown. I’m going to try to be diligent and keep track of my miles in 2016 (unlike 2015…whoops) and since I’m back as a Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, will be sharing my training with you as the training season begins.

first run of 2016 and loving my new running jacket

The rest of the day was really low key. B and I went to his parents’ house and watched a looooot of college football and I caught up on some work and emails. We spent the evening watching movies – I have never seen the full Star Wars movies so we borrowed the tapes (yup, we still have a VCR!) from B’s parents and watched the first (or fourth?) one that evening.

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Saturday morning included some shopping at the West Side Market, going for a long walk, stopping for a latte and a scone in Tremont, and cooking some eggplant parmesan to share with friends.

Not a bad day for a walk

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baking eggplant parm!

Saturday night, we brought over some eggplant park to friends that had just had a baby. Their newborn is adorable and has a full head of hair – my favorite for babies!

We then enjoyed dinner at Dave and Anson’s with friends. And surprise- they made me hold Celia (I’m getting a little less scared of holding her) AND I even got to feed her!

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Sunday was another SUPER relaxing and low key day. After another short run with B, I spent the afternoon catching up on the Browns, watching the next Star Wars movie, reading, and meal prepping.

Some fun details of my run

roasting some veggies for lunches this week

We ended the day with dinner at the best Vietnamese place in town, Superior Pho. Snow had just started to fall lightly, and it was the perfect evening for some rolls and pho.

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And that was it! A very relaxing Sunday.

Some questions for you:

Do you like Pho?
Have you seen any of the Star Wars movies? What about the new one?

Linking up with Erin for my weekend snapshot post, Katie for MIMM and of course, the weekly wraps.

B is for B’s Birthday!

September 15, 2014September 14, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

This weekend was a fun-filled, pre-planned celebratory weekend for B! Why? Because B had a milestone birthday. I’m not going to say how old … but I’m sure you can figure it out 🙂

Anyway, we started off the celebrations somewhat early – Thursday night, I planned a night to Hilarities to see one of B and my’s favorite podcast stars – Pete Correale. I also invited some of B’s friends AND family to join us in the celebration! We had people over before the show for drinks, sliders and pulled pork (thanks to B’s mom!), and some snacks I prepared like buffalo chicken dip, hummus, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and buckeye brownies (recipe is coming soon!).

After the show, we got a chance to say hi to Pete and even get a picture – he was such a nice guy and none of B’s friends were familiar with him but I’m sure they’re fans now; he put on a great show!

Friday night I let B decide how he wanted to spend the evening and what he wanted for dinner – so of course, we ended up at Parnells for drinks and then Superior Pho! After dinner we walked around and caught some of the outdoor movie playing downtown – a Cleveland classic, Draft Day. And of course we enjoyed some leftover cupcakes for dessert.

superior pho

outdoor movie night!

Saturday was another awesome day where I basically told B that we could do whatever he wanted. Because he’s the best, the day started with him making me breakfast and cleaning the apartment while I worked out (I know – he cleaned our apartment while I got to work out … he knows the way to make me happy). After that, we picked up our CSA and then headed to the Cleveland Flea! I love the Flea and it was a cool fall-like day – perfect for walking around and grabbing a few drinks.

B @ the Flea

Then, B chose to hit the driving range. We each hit a bucket of balls – and I didn’t do that bad.

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After the driving range, we went out to the lake. It had started to get cloudy – and windy – and it was fun to see the water so rough. Hard to believe last year on this same day we were on the beach in LA!

For dinner, B decided he was craving buffalo chicken wings. Wings and beer – not too bad for a birthday I suppose. And then after dinner, it was time for the next part of our plans – another comedy show! Jim Jefferies, another comedian I was introduced to from a podcast, was in town after canceling his show in June and playing in one of the local theaters. He was awesome – he put on a nearly TWO HOUR performance and it was so much fun to see him in real life after listening to his cast and watching him on TV (he used to have a show, Legit).

Buff chick salad AND a PUMPKING (aka my favorite fall brew)

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Sunday was another great day – it included watching the Browns WIN their home opener (probably because B was wearing his birthday gift – the Brian Hoyer jersey), some meal prep for the week and a 5 miler with B. Not a bad way to end a birthday weekend – hopefully B agreed!

Some questions for you:

Do you watch Sunday football? Who do you root for? Sometimes – I didn’t grow up watching football but if it’s on and I can multi-task (a.k.a. I don’t have to ONLY watch it) I’ll root for the Browns.
Meal prepping – do you do it? Yes, if I get a chance to, I love working with my Fresh Fork finds and preparing lunches in advance. It makes my week so much better and there’s something so relaxing about preparing food. I find it therapeutic!
Any favorite comics? Do you like podcasts? Which do you listen to? I like to listen while working out, especially if I’m indoors – I go for the Pete & Sebastian show or Stuff You Should Know.
What would your birthday meal of choice be?

Loving The Weekends: Comedy, Running, Burgers, Pho and the Beatles

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

What a GREAT weekend! I would have to say that this may have been one of my most favorite weekends of the summer. The weather was perfect, the food was good, B and I had a nice long run AND my parents were in town. Can’t really think of a better way to spend the weekend, can you?

The weekend, in photos:

My parents came in Friday late afternoon and we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy dinner outside. The weather was great, so we picked up beer and burgers at Dynomite before heading to a comedy show.

Check out my dad’s shirt 🙂

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My veggie burger. SO good. SO big. And yes, I ate it all (fries not pictured).

dynomite veggie burger

After the meal, we headed to Hilarities for a free comedy show. I had won tickets earlier in the week and we were able to see Alonzo Bodden. B and I had seen him at the Laugh Factory in LA and were looking forward to seeing him in Cleveland. Here’ s a clip from one of his shoes from this winter (not this weekend). He was great! My parents loved him!

Saturday morning started early with a 9 mile run with B. Honestly, I was NOT feeling it for the first 5 miles. Yes, 5 miles. But after a short water break at mile 5 I felt so much better and the last 4 were great! Who knows why – sometimes it takes me 2 … or 5 I suppose … miles for my legs to warm up.

9 miles

I bought new shoes! I was super pumped to model them (pardon the cheesy pic).

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Post-run, we met up with my parents and headed to Tremont to enjoy some lunch and then the West Side Market for some fresh produce. Of course we had to stop off for tea in the afternoon at our favorite place, Cleveland Tea Revival.

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My mom and I both got some iced tea – ginger and peach. Yum!

my favorite tea

Saturday night, we took my parents to Superior Pho. Since there were four of us, we got a feast! Not everything is pictured. We got a chicken cabbage salad, Bahn Mi, the spicy pho, egg rolls AND spring rolls.

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I think my dad enjoyed his pho!

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But of course we saved room for dessert. We took a post-dinner walk and got frozen yogurt at Lemonberry. Confession – you may not be able to see the froyo because I may have taken a little of every candy they had.

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Saturday night after my parents left/went to bed, I decided to use up some of the blueberries we had and made these buttermilk blueberry scones again. Because Sunday mornings with blueberry scones for breakfast = amazing. You should probably make the recipe sometime – it’s very easy and really yummy!

scones

Sunday after my parents got back on the road to NY (sadness!) B and I took a walk around downtown. It was a GORGEOUS morning! We stopped at my favorite fountain. I don’t know why but I LOVE this fountain – it’s a war memorial as well.

walking

And then we walked to the harbor. It was SO pretty out! I’m glad we went for a walk – I get sad to see my parents go, and B knows this – I think that’s why he decided to take my mind off them leaving and instead get me a ginormous coffee (I will be drinking it for 3 days) and take me for a walk.

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Sunday afternoon I got in an easy workout (I’m trying to be REALLY good and not run too many miles and days in a row and stay injury free this year!) while B golfed with his family.

After a little work, B and I spent the evening at Blossom! This is my second time this summer going and we this time we sat on the lawn, enjoyed some wine and cheese AND Beatles music. I LOVE the Beatles – they remind me of car trips with my family growing up (The Long And Winding Road has multiple meanings for me – I swear it always came on as we were driving through the long and winding roads of upstate NY) and hearing the Cleveland Orchestra play the songs was awesome. And it was another beautiful night, so we packed a picnic dinner of a great salad, wine and cheese. I had an AMAZING time and seriously almost cried of happiness. Yes, it was that good.

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I can’t get enough of the amazing weather we’ve been having. Can’t summer just stay forever?

So this weekend was just what I needed after last week. And now I’m off to start a crazy week – this week entails some travel for work, some super early morning meetings and even an event for a board I’m on. Yes, I’ll be counting down until Labor Day!

Some questions for you:

Do you have a favorite comic? Do you go to comedy shows?
Did you get in a run this weekend?
Just got new running shoes! What shoes are you running in these days? Loving my new sneakers!
What’s your go-to Vietnamese food item? I can never decide between pho or bun!
Did you do any baking this weekend?
Favorite Beatles song?

Lazy Weekends

August 4, 2014August 3, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

After having several weekends in a row with plans and stuff to do, it was nice to have a weekend home with NOTHING on the schedule. Which meant, of course, making big to-do lists (cleaning! filing! working!) but getting none of them done. Which was completely, absolutely fine because what I did get done was probably much more fun. Like doing these 7 things:

7 Ways to Spend a Lazy Weekend

1. Reading.

Finished two of the books I was in the middle of! On to Orphan Train next. Any other good summer reads to recommend?

just finished this!

2. Running. a 7.6 miler on Saturday and a 6.6 miler on Sunday. One of these days I’ll get a Garmin so I actually run even numbers.

Mileage for the week. The 8s are mostly 7.6 - dailymile rounds them up

30+ mi even with two days off from running this week! Full disclosure: I never ran 8 full miles or 7 full: the 8s are mostly 7.6 and the 7 is 6.6- dailymile rounds them up

3. Baking. Once again we had a surplus of blueberries from our CSA, so I whipped up a batch of Blueberry Buttermilk Scones.

as B says, Game of Scones!

4. Pho-ing. Yeah, I know that’s not a word. But Friday night B and I hit up our favorite Pho place for some salads, spring rolls and bun. Sorry, bun not pictured (but enjoyed very much!)

superior pho

5. Suiteing! Yup, again, stretching it with the word, but B and I enjoyed a fun Indians game on Sunday in after a friend asked us to join him in their company suite.

B found a twin @ the game in our suite!

WINNING after extra innings!

Enjoying the Suite and great weather!

6. Cooking at home. Which meant pasta from Ohio City Pasta (via Fresh Fork) and Limoncello from Italy!

fresh product pickup!

limoncello

7. Enjoying new flavors of ice cream. Because what summer weekend would be complete without it? Pictured below (sorry it’s somewhat blurry) is orange ginger from Rothschild Creamery!

Orange Ginger Soft Serve!

Despite not cleaning, or doing the work I wanted to, as you can tell, it was a pretty good weekend after all.

Some questions for you:

Do you enjoy after dinner drinks like Limoncello? What’s your favorite?
Any fun flavors of ice cream you’ve tried lately?
What’s a new book I should add to my list?

Weekend Update – Cleveland Marathon Weekend

May 19, 2014May 19, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I’m still feeling the endorphins from a great half marathon weekend and my second sub-2 hour half marathon for this year. That’s right – even though I didn’t plan on running too fast and just wanted to take it easy, Sunday morning ended with me running another 1:58 half marathon race during the Cleveland marathon. (Mostly because of B’s sister, Mary, but I’ll get to that later)

I knew I wanted to take it easy this weekend – I was just getting over a cold and a few late nights, and I realllly wanted to feel good and rested for my Sunday morning race. That’s code for “I was really boring this weekend.”

Friday night B and I went to the movies for the first time in forever. After an amazing (as usual) dinner at Superior Pho, we hit up the movie theater with all the teeny boppers in Cleveland to see Neighbors. Don’t worry, the teeny boppers were seeing Godzilla or something else. The movie was actually pretty good – I didn’t have high expectations but I had a few pretty good laughs out of it. The previews don’t do it justice – it was more than just a stupid movie I promise!

Summer rolls = happiness

my favorite salad at Superior Pho

Saturday was another lazy day. We walked to brunch at pHuel cafe (yes, again…I know this is two weeks in a row) where I had their granola (yes, again) and B had their pancakes (again … but with banana this time).

Another Saturday, another pHuel Cafe breakfast

Ginger Tea from Cleveland Tea Revival

After brunch we headed to the West Side Market to pick up some snacks (Apple Fritters FTW!), but not too many groceries for the week since I’ll be traveling. After the Market it was time for my favorite ginger tea and then laziness time. That’s right, aka Melissa watches several episodes of Damages while waiting for her dinner. We had dinner plans with Mary and a few of her friends at my favorite pre-race dinner place, The Flaming Ice Cube. I swear – they have the perfect pre-long-run dinner and I live by their kalebouli wraps before a race.

Flaming Ice Cube Kalebouli Hummus Wrap

We came home after dinner to a surprise – my Go Vox Box from Influenster arrived! It was such a perfect pre-race surprise – I can’t wait to try out the orthotics (for walking, I’m not messing with my existing running orthotics) and the protein powder and shaker. B and I have protein we use already, but I’m always up for trying out new ones! And BLUEBERRY almonds? Anyway, I digress.

Check out all these goodies from Influenster!

Sunday morning was race day! I was not looking forward to my 5 a.m. alarm – but Mary and I met up before the race so we could start together. Mary was running the full and I was just planning on running the first 10 easy with her before the half marathoners split up from the full marathoners. Mary had other plans – to aim for a sub-4 hour marathon, a PR of about 20 minutes from her last marathon time (Mary is a beast and this is her third race). And she asked if I’d run the first 10 with her – how could I say no?

Mary and I at the starting corral

So out the door went my “easy, enjoying the sights” half marathon plans .. and instead, I ran with Mary for the first 10, trying to keep up with the 3:55 pacers. We did it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I breathed (or huffed at this point) a sigh of relief when the marathoners broke up for their final 16 as I finished my final 3ish. Mile 11-12 was all up hill and in the sun, and I was dying. I felt like I was going at a snail’s pace and don’t know how but I managed to somewhat spring the final mile to the finish. The end result:

A surprise – under 2 hrs!

post race photo op with the medal

Post race, we met up with some of the members of the “Ladies who run in the morning” club (yes, I just came up with that name) for brunch. I know – two weekends in a row, four brunches. Who am I?

Ladies who Run in the Morning together

Some questions for you:

Drinks at brunch – yes or no? If yes, what’s your drink of choice? Mimosas? Bellinis? Beer?
Morning runner or evening workerouter (that’s a word)?
What was the last movie you saw?
Clevelanders – how did you do this weekend? Did you like the new course? Congrats to all you who participated and thank you to ALL who came out to cheer. It really does make quite a difference in how we feel.
Runners – what’s your evening-before-a-race meal of choice?