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 taste of spring!

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

Hooray- it warmed up this weekend and B and I got some time outside in the warm temps! Okay, I don’t really know if upper 30s and then 40s is springlike … or warm. But I’ll take it! After some rain (not snow or ice!) Friday night/Saturday morning, we had a pretty clear, beautiful weather weekend and I was so grateful.

Friday night, B and I headed to our favorite pre-race or long run restaurant, The Flaming Ice Cube. The carby goodness if this vegan restaurant is my perfect running fuel.

Appetizers – buffalo “chik’n” dip

My go-to – half kalebouli wrap and bean/corn salad

Saturday morning was rainy and cool – but it cleared up just in time for B and I to head to the start of the St. Malachi Church 5 mile run. The run is the unofficial kickoff of spring running season and the streets were filled with people decked out in the St. Patrick’s Day attire, ready to run.

Some BC Alumni before the 5 miler

After the race (spoiler: I got a PR and finished in 41:15:55), we headed to the Harp for brunch with some fellow Boston College alumni who had also run the event.

When at an Irish restaurant / bar …. I got a “black velvet” – half guinness, half cider

After brunch

Then, it was time for our normal Saturday morning activities. B and I got in some shopping at the West Side Market and some tea and coffee in Hingtetown before returning back to our apartment for a much needed catnap.

back at the market!

Saturday night, B and I had plans with his parents – we were going to grab dinner, drinks and a show at Great Lakes Theater. Confession – I have a theater that is directly in the building where I live and I haven’t seen a show there since moving here. Thankfully, that’s changed.

The show playbill – Dial M for Murder!

After the show, B and I decided to grab some after-dinner drinks and watch some basketball before calling it a night. I enjoyed a flight of beer, a side salad and popcorn – the perfect midnight (literally) snack!

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Sunday morning I had to wake up early and be productive – I had work to catch up on, blogging, meal prep, an easy workout, laundry and a few other things that needed to get done before dinner with B’s family.

Thankfully, I got most of it done and even had time to get in a short walk in the nice (chilly but sunny) weather before a St. Patrick’s themed dinner with B’s family (corned beef, shamrock shaped ravioli and ice cream with Irish Cream. yum!).

scenes from our walk

Spring has to be on its way, huh? Geese and melting ice!

How was your weekend?

Some questions for you:

How do you motivate yourself when you need to be productive on the weekends? I hate setting an alarm on my days off but sometimes it has to be done. I try to give myself an incentive – like I can work with the TV on if my laundry is on, or I’ll bring some work reading to the gym so I can at least use the elliptical at the same time. I also make a killer snack mix – peanuts, white chocolate chips, craisins and sometimes other goodies to keep me fueled if I’m working during the day.
Did you get outside to run this weekend? Hopefully you’re enjoying the weather too!
Have you seen Dial M for Murder? B and I had seen the movie and now we’ve seen

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?