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!

Pork, potato pancakes, asparagus and hollandaise, cabbage and bacon, salad

Dessert. Apple turnovers and ice cream!

A question for you: what one letter describes your weekend?

What’s the best thing you ate this weekend?

Weekends Are Made For Livin

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

I love weekends. I know- you do too. Weekends are great – no (or at least only a little) working, no waking up early (okay, maybe sometimes), just time with friends, family, and you can do whatever you want!

What do I like to do on weekends? Eat … drink/go out … eat good food …. work out … cook … see family and friends … repeat!

And this weekend was pretty much ALL OF THAT. So there. I won this weekend. And now onto a busy week and the beginning of May!

Friday night was super low key. We ordered some Flaming Ice Cube (RIP kalebouli :() and relaxed. We had to get up early on Saturday for our 10 mile race, so I was hoping to get to bed somewhat early.

Saturday morning started early – at least for a Saturday for me. We had the alarm set at 6 a.m. to get ready for and be at the race on time (side note – last year we got there late … which didn’t matter because it’s chip timed, but still not something we wanted to do every year). Started the day with my usual 1/4 bagel and PB2 and honey and off we went to the race!

It was a cold morning for this time of year – it was 40, cloudy and breezy and I had on a thick long sleeved shirt and vest and pants and gloves and was fine the whole time!

Feeling good post-race

The race wasn’t easy. B pushed me – I’m still sore today! – and made me run harder than I likely would’ve liked, but it worked out! I ended up with a PR from last year too – 1:28:39.16 was my final time!

It was nice to be done with our run and ready for the day by 10:30 a.m. We decided to do our usual Saturday morning activities – hit up the West Side Market and get some tea and coffee in Hingetown.

Tea for me and coffee for B!

In the afternoon, we hit up the driving range for the first time of the year. I don’t golf and I clearly wasn’t dressed properly, but it was fun to get in a few swings in the beautiful weather.

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Then – Gallucci’s! My favorite Italian grocer has limited hours and B and I made sure to get there early enough to pick up supplies for dinner. We had decided on homemade pizza – best decision ever.

This is Gallucci’s. Yes, we also bought wine.

It was so nice out that we decided to go out and grab a few drinks before making dinner. Our typical go-to spot – Parnell’s.

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And then dinner! B made the best pepperoni pizza ever and we even experimented with limoncello drinks. I made limoncello a few months ago and wanted to try it with prosecco and a little cranberry juice – so good!

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Sunday my legs were sore so I decided to listen to my body and NOT work out. I did make B go for a walk with me – because, why not? It was a gorgeous day.

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We decided to walk to brunch. And surprise – I ended up getting lunch food. I enjoyed a black bean chorizo chili. I love chorizo and beans – it was perfect! B’s biscuits looked pretty good too – but for some reason I really don’t like biscuits and gravy. But his hash brown was amazing!

B’s food … that hash brown was great!

My chili

After a leisurely walk back we ran a few errands and then it was time for the Cavs game. Spoiler – they beat the Celtics and are on to the next round of playoffs! Woohoo!

Sunday afternoon ended with some baking – butterscotch brown sugar cookies from one of my favorite bloggers, Two Peas and their Pod. They came out so good – soft, chewy and sweet.

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And then Sunday dinner at B’s parents house. Another perfect ending to my weekend!

Only one question for you:

What was the best thing you ate this weekend? Besides those cookies and the pizza, probably the strawberry rhubarb crumble B’s mom made. Such a great Sunday dessert!

March Comes Out Like a Lion?

March 30, 2015March 29, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

You know the saying “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb?” Well, not the case with this month … this March definitely is going out like a lion. This weekend was cold, cold, cold … but we still made the most of it!

Friday night started out pretty low key – B and I had plans to run 8 miles on Saturday morning, so we decided to get dinner at my favorite vegan place, the Flaming Ice Cube. They were out of kalebouli, so instead of my typical kalebouli wrap I got a pesto vegan burger.

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After dinner, B and I caught up on last season of The Walking Dead. We are finally finished with season 4 … now onto the current season!

Saturday morning B and I hit up the park for 8 miles. We haven’t run outside downtown in FOREVER so it was great to get out in nature.

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B took a picture of me while running - just finishing our 8 miler!

After our runs, we hit up the West Side Market for some of our weekly groceries. Even though we go to Heinen’s a lot now that they have a downtown location, we still hit up WSM when we can because it’s fun and cheap.

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And for lunch? It was a perfect day for soup and bread. The cauliflower chickpea curry soup at The Souper Market was delicious!

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After we got back to the apartment, I knew it was time for some baking … I decided to make some lemon bread. It came out delicious!

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Saturday night, B and I decided to head to Winking Lizard for a few drinks while watching hockey (and take in the NCAA crowds) and get some wine at Heinen’s before dinner.

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B made dinner – mushroom pizza with some leftover homemade sauce. And of course there was lemon cake for dessert!

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Sunday morning started out with a walk – it was sunny (but cold!) and Nicole and I had plans for some morning tea at Cleveland Tea Revival.

a whole pot of ginger turmeric for me!

Sunny day for a walk!

Sunday afternoon I ended up having to work so no fun photos of that. But Sunday night B and I grabbed dinner at Heinen’s before heading out to see another movie at the Cleveland Film Festival.

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We saw All Stars, which was a really fun movie. I don’t have any hand-eye coordination but still played softball somewhat when I was much younger (my dad was even a coach for a little while!) so it was fun to see a movie like this! Definitely brought back some memories.

Some questions for you:

Do you like tea? What’s your favorite type?
Favorite pizza toppings? I love lots of veggies and meat on my pizza. A pizza with just cheese is boring and uninviting to me. Since I gave up meat for Lent, pizza with mushrooms (And tons of cheese!) hit the spot.
Did you get any baking in this weekend?

A LOVEly Weekend

February 16, 2015February 16, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’ll admit it – I like Valentine’s Day. I like any holiday that celebrates love – how can you not? I consider it a day to celebrate ALL love – love of your family, friends, significant others, etc. That’s how I was brought up (yes, my parents still send me a Valentine’s Day card and I send my brother one!) and I LOVE it.

That being said, I’m not one of those people who expects to celebrate myself all weekend long – with Christmas in late December and my birthday being in late January, there’s hardly a reason for me to expect any gifts, a big celebration, etc. BUT I do enjoy celebrating in other ways … like good food, good company, good drinks and well – goodness all around! Luckily, that’s how the weekend turned out.

Friday night was cold and snowy, so B and I decided to stay in, watch the Interview, and get takeout Vietnamese to eat with our new chopsticks we’d bought in Vietnam.

Saturday morning I woke up somewhat early to get in a little treadmill and elliptical action at the gym. I had thought about doing the Chili Bowl 5k (last year, B and I ran it after doing a 9 mile training run) but the weather was cold, super windy (20+mph winds), and snowy so I was happy to stay inside and run while B slept. And of course the elliptical and treadmill helped me work up a hunger for brunch! That’s right, B and I went to Phuel for brunch – I got my favorite (granola, fruit, yogurt and honey) and B got his standard order – banana chocolate chip pancakes.

B and his pancakes. He’s probably thinking “Please take the picture so I can eat these soon”

Glorious homemade granola. Not quite as good as my mom’s recipe – but the closest thing here 🙂

After brunch it was time to get in some of our weekly shopping at the West Side Market. We picked up some treats too – a cannoli for the night’s dessert. We had plans to cook a homemade Italian dinner and I of course wanted my favorite Italian dessert.

So many types of cannoli!

After the Market, B stopped in Hingetown for a coffee/tea stop. I decided to try a new tea at Cleveland Tea Revival – not my standard Ginger or Ginger Turmeric – and I wasn’t disappointed. Their Shark Week Tea may be a new favorite of mine.

Shark Week tea. I just googled what that meant and whoops! I’ll still drink it.

We also were able to stop off at Gallucci’s to pick up some supplies for dinner. I wish I had taken a photo of my cart – Gallucci’s is like Target to me. I go there with the full intent to buy 3-4 things and come out with 10+ items.

I <3 Gallucci's - and not just for their wine.

For dinner, B and I prepared an Italian feast together. My favorite way to spend the night! We prepared homemade pasta, sauce and chicken cutlets. With some bubbly and cheese and meat as an appetizer and I was in heaven.

love me some cheese!!!

Pasta making experts.

Prosecco and crystal. Because why not?

I love going out to dinner – don’t get me wrong, but there’s just something about spending the time making a meal together – B and I made the pasta and chicken together, so instead of having a 1-2 hour meal at a restaurant, it turned into a whole evening activity. And it was delicious!

Dinner.

The pistachio cannoli from the West Side Market – and homemade limoncello

Sunday was another COLD day. And I’m talking super cold – I woke up to -1 degree temps with 15mph winds meaning it “felt like -25”. So of course B and I decided it would be a great day for a “Lazy Sunday.” Which for me meant doing as very little as possible – but enough so that I wouldn’t get bored. I decided to play it safe and run inside again, bringing this week’s mileage to 36!

After the workout, I wanted to do some meal prep for the week. I roasted a chicken (usually B’s job), sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and acorn squash.

A bit of meal prep

Then it was time for dinner with B’s family. We were celebrating my niece’s birthday (can’t believe she’s SIX!).

my contribution to the dinner – salad!

The gorgeous red velvet birthday cake B’s mom made

blowing out the candles!

We go over there almost every week, but this week was special not only for the birthday but it was also a goodbye dinner for B’s brother. He’s is traveling abroad to Germany so we had a big family meal before he leaves this week. I’m so jealous – I loved studying abroad and hope he has as much fun as I did!

A throwback to my days in Ecuador – at a futbol game!

Some questions for you:

Love or hate Valentine’s Day?
Did you study abroad? If not, where do you wish you would have visited?
What’s your favorite type of meal to prepare?

Welp, it’s February.

February 2, 2015February 1, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Phew. Ever end a weekend needing another one? That was my weekend. I don’t know why – it wasn’t terribly tiring, crazy, physically demanding, etc. But I definitely could use another 2 days off!

Friday night started out pretty lazy – B and I ordered takeout Vietnamese food, tested out our new chopsticks (from Vietnam!) and caught a few episodes of Walking Dead and Downton Abbey. Which got me thinking – what if there were a zombie show about zombies during Elizabethan era England? Huh? No, don’t quit my day job? Okay …

takeout with nice chopsticks!

Saturday, I got up semi early for another treadmill workout. I walked/ran (As most of my treadmill runs are these days) a 10K, did some kettle bells, arms and abs – and then met Ali to go to the West Side Market! We walked home and it felt so good to get in a longish walk – it’s been so chilly and snowy and I haven’t gotten a good walk in really since our trip. After our trip to the Market, we spent a few hours cooking! We both had Asian vacations recently (she to Thailand), and that definitely influenced our cooking. See for yourself – papaya cabbage salad and a red vegetarian curry:

Ali cooking

Using a mandolin for the papaya (last time Ali used one she almost lost her thumb …)

The finished product!

Then, I met up with B and his parents at Butcher and the Brewer for a drink. Their Midwest Mule is pretty amazing.

Sunday morning I woke up at 7 for no real good reason. I got in a 5.55 mile interval run – not as fast as I would’ve liked, but my first interval run in ages – and then it was time for brunch! Wet up with some friends at Market Garden Brewery for Sunday morning beverages and food. Food not photoed. But look at my amazing champagne flight – oh my goodness. We were stuffed and even though it was super snowy, I’m glad B and I had decided to walk the 40ish minutes to the restaurant and even looked forward to our 40ish minute walk back.

pretty drinks! my flight of mimosas

It was a little snowy

Sunday afternoon included some Super Bowl prep – check out some of the cookies I baked –

Butterfinger cheesecake cookie bars

and we made spring rolls for an appetizer!

B rolling some spring rolls

spring roll time! (totally normal super bowl appetizer right?)

and then of course, it was Super Bowl party time! The spread also included ribs, drumsticks, chips and dip. Oh boy. I of course pretty much watched for the ads and the tweets, but WHAT A GAME (and the last minute?!!) and loved the Katy Perry halftime show.

How was your weekend?

Some questions for you:

What’s your favorite type of ethnic food to make?
What’s your go-to Super Bowl appetizer?
What was your favorite Super Bowl ad?

Still Summertime To Me

September 2, 2014September 1, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Well, the unofficial end of summer has come and gone. Another glorious, perfect, just-what-I-needed three-day weekend is in the books. It was filled with fun, (lots of) food, drinks, friends and great weather. While I refuse to believe that summer is coming to an end, we sure celebrated as if it were.

Friday started out with a 10 mile run before work. I finally found someone as ~~crazy~~ motivated as me to go out for a double digit run during a weekday. Don’t get me wrong – Nicole and I won’t be doing 10 milers every Friday, but a few here and there? Why not.

10mi

Friday night was pretty relaxing. B and I didn’t have concrete plans, so we opted for patio beers and pizza.

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So much meat on the pizza. (and so blurry)

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Saturday morning B and I opted for a 4 mile run, before relaxing with some coffee and a croissant before picking up our CSA. Oh yeah, there was cheese inside that croissant.

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And no Saturday would be complete without a trip to the West Side Market.

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Saturday afternoon we got a chance to hang out with our friend Eric, who was in town with his wife for a wedding. We went to Eric and Julia’s wedding earlier this summer, and it was great to see the newlyweds in Cleveland!

winking lizard

Brian and Eric. They were roommates in Boston and Eric is seriously one of the nicest, most considerate guys I know.

Oh yeah and the last time Eric was in town? 2008 Labor Day Weekend when BC played Kent State at Browns Stadium. How’s this for a throwback photo?

laborday2007

Anyway, dinner was at one of our old favorites – Noodlecat! We hadn’t been here in a while and feasted on steam buns and of course, noodles. noodlecat steam buns noodlecat noodles

Sunday morning, we invited Eric and Julia over for a champagne brunch in our apartment. We rarely do brunch so B was pretty pumped. He made some eggs and bacon from our CSA (farm-fresh bacon and eggs are pretty amazing) and I prepared an overnight french toast bake. I’m going to be sharing the recipe because it was super tasty, but also delicious.

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The rest of the day was pretty relaxing and productive. I got in a run, a cross training workout, some meal prep, some work and more.

Monday we had off. It was so nice to sleep in and go for a relaxing run with B and his sisters. We ended up doing around 4 1/2 throughout the flats, Tremont and a few other fun neighborhoods.

After our run, B and I met up with his brother and sister-in-law and our niece and nephew to watch the air show. Every Labor Day in Cleveland, the air show comes to town and people flock downtown to watch the planes. We had a great viewing spot and enjoyed part of a picnic with the kids. Then, we met up with some friends who have a rooftop to watch the Blue Angels. They put on a pretty good show and it was a gorgeous day.

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Monday evening, I was pumped to have enough time to cook dinner and dessert for a great end-of-weekend meal. We had gotten some great hot peppers at the market on Saturday, so (inspired by B) I made some homemade spicy tomato sauce. Using that, we had a meatless Monday dinner – stacked baked eggplant with spaghetti squash. And mini blueberry cakes for dessert. A perfect end to a perfect weekend.

eggplant stacks

Some questions for you:

How was your long weekend?
Do you like spaghetti squash?
Do you enjoy meatless Mondays? What’s your go-to dish?
If you had to choose – French toast or pancakes?

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?

Sunshine, Beach and Ice Cream … Just Another CLE-weekend

June 2, 2014June 1, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

It was another gorgeous weekend in Cleveland. Seriously, these past two weekends have been incredible – sunny days, 70-80 degrees and nothing but blue skies. It almost makes me forget about the less-than-stellar winter we had.

This weekend B and I ended up with NO plans. That’s right – a weekend without really anything on the schedule. And since I’ve been working a lot and B has been picking up the slack in pretty much every area (making me dinner, lunch an breakfast … cleaning the apartment … and being super awesome) I suggested he pick an activity for Friday night and I’d comply, no questions asked. Luckily (for me) the result ended up being a fun Friday night – which led to a great Saturday and Sunday. Basically, an ideal weekend.

Friday night started with happy hour, and then an Indians’ game ($1 dogs!) with B’s brother, sister and a few friends.

Gorgeous sunny skies at the game

An equally amazing sunset – and a win!

Saturday started out with an easy, super slow 4-miler with B (I don’t know how he didn’t kill me – he can run much faster but I wasn’t feeling it) before lunch at Rothschild Farms and one of my favorite salads.

Rothschild Farms House Salad – goat cheese, candied nuts, pears, chicken and pickled onion!

Then a quick trip to the driving range where I hit a few balls for the first time this year, followed by our usual Saturday shopping at the West Side Market. Our CSA starts this week (yay! we’re resuming our Fresh Fork membership) which means we’ll likely have fewer Saturdays at the Market (boo).

B actually knows how to golf

Pretending to know how to golf

Saturday night, B cooked me an awesome dinner fresh from the Market – salmon, asparagus and roasted cauliflower. It really was the perfect summer meal.

B made me dinner … again!

Especially since the meal ended with another trip to Rothschild Farms – this time to their creamery – for dessert. What you see below is bananas foster ice cream with peanut butter topping (for me) and blueberry balsamic twist for B. Both were pretty incredible.

I enjoyed every bit of that peanut butter topping. Peanut butter + banana = perfection.

Sunday started off pretty lazy – I slept WAY in before getting in a short run and elliptical workout.

And then we spent the day at the beach! They’ve really cleaned up Edgewater Park and the beach and water seemed super clean. I enjoyed some reading and an iced coffee – and even ran into my friend/morning running buddy Nicole!

It was seriously super gorgeous out. Yes, this is Cleveland.

not a bad view!

Sunday night ended with dinner with B’s family – including MORE homemade ice cream. I ate my homemade strawberry ice cream (B’s mom and sister made it!) too fast to take a picture. But as you can see, my niece enjoyed her homemade chocolate ice cream a little too much

So much chocolate ice cream!

So after two ice creams, one beach day, and a few runs I’d say I had a pretty awesome weekend. How was yours? Some questions for you:

Favorite ice cream flavor? Anything with peanut butter, caramel, cookie dough or heath bar – and NOT chocolate. Yup, I don’t like chocolate ice cream.
How was your weekend? Did you get to enjoy some time outside?
Do you enjoy going to the beach? As long as I can just sit on a towel/blanket and have a good book – count me in!
Any summer reading recommendations?
Do you golf? Nope. Driving range is about as far as I go. B loves golfing so it’s a nice compromise.

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?

Hashtag Bashtag (A.K.A. an awesome weekend)

May 13, 2014May 12, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

WOW, what an amazing, fun, busy weekend! It was definitely one of those weekends where I kind of feel like I need a weekend just to relax from my weekend … if you know what I mean?

The past few years I’ve gone to NY for Mother’s Day to spend the weekend with my mom and grandma. My grandmother passed away earlier this year, and my parents visited last weekend, so I decided to spend Mother’s Day weekend in Cleveland with B’s family. While I missed seeing my family, it really was an amazing weekend to be in town. The weather was great for walking to the West Side Market, doing a long pre-work run with Nicole, dancing the night away at the St. Martin De Porres Birthday Bash, walking to Ohio City for brunch AND having an outdoor Mother’s Day Feast.

Okay, that’s already too many words and I have too many photos/things to share. So here’s a glance at our awesome weekend in photos … and a few more words.

“5:24 a.m.” Blech.

The weekend started early – well Friday started super early – with a 12ish mile run before work with Nicole. We had planned on doing about 10 to get ready for the Cleveland half marathon we’re doing THIS WEEKEND but somewhere along the route we made a wrong turn and thus the extra mileage. It was super humid out, nearly 70 degrees and both Nicole and I were getting over a cold. Anyway, that meant we could barely breathe, barely talk (okay, who am I kidding, of course we talked the whole time but it wasn’t as much as we used to) and felt awful. Nothing like a bad long run the week before your race!

Oliver and Sofia enjoying some sugar before bed

Friday night, our niece and nephew were having a sleepover at my brother-in-law’s house. Which meant of course we had to go over and hang out with them for a little bit. Before going back and sleeping in my own bed instead of sleeping on the floor (which was a good call).

My awesome breakfast at Phuel.

Saturday was pretty relaxing. B and I decided to get brunch at the new restaurant that opened across the street from us, Phuel Cafe. GREAT decision. I’m not a big “out-to-brunch” fan but I may have to change my mind so we can go back there often. B had some great pancakes and I had their homemade granola/fruit/yogurt parfait with some lemongrass tea. SO GOOD.

B about to enjoy his dark chocolate pancakes

After that we decided the weather was warm enough, but not too warm, to walk to the West Side Market and get some groceries. Since I hadn’t planned on going for a run, this was a great decision – days I don’t run I get restless for some reason if we don’t do any sort of activity.

Some guys were painting a sign along our walk so I snapped a photo.

Saturday night was the St. Martin De Porres Birthday Bash! It was a benefit for my sister-in-law’s school and a really fun event. We bid on some items at the silent auction, enjoyed the gorgeous scene at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Atrium and even got in some dancing. It was fun to get dressed up and go out with B’s family 🙂

B’s family – all dressed up!

We took the bus to the event … and of course I snapped a photo with the chandelier while we were waiting

Sunday morning we woke up to another gorgeous day – meaning it was another perfect excuse to walk to Ohio City and get brunch. After stopping at my favorite tea shop and B’s favorite coffee shop, we headed to Town Hall to enjoy their patio and some food. I ❤ patio weather!

Seen from our walk – a great view of downtown

That night we went over to B’s parents house for Sunday dinner- but this time all the kids had prepared some food in honor of Mother’s Day. The theme was “paleo small plates” so we brought over some pork with a cabbage slaw. The entire set up was so colorful and we ended up eating outside, which was perfect.

Paleo small plates and our outdoor Mother’s Day dinner

Bacon-wrapped squash = amazing.

Some questions for you:

What do you do the week before a race? Do you eat/drink/do anything differently? My goal this week is to actually get sleep. Meaning not work until midnight and not wake up at 5:30 to run 😉 We’ll see if it happens – but since I’m typing it I’M GOING TO DO IT. (wishful thinking)

Any paleo-friendly foods you recommend? It sounds like we may have a few more paleo-themed gatherings coming up and finding small plates that were still substantial was somewhat difficult!

Have you ever had bacon-wrapped squash? IT WAS AMAZING. What’s your favorite thing to wrap in bacon?

Are you a bruncher? What’s your favorite brunch order? I’m not a brunch-goer typically, mainly because I don’t really enjoy going out for breakfast. I tend to enjoy lunch/dinner foods more – savory over sweet.