Couples who (fill in the blank) together, stay together.

Well, folks. It’s officially summer in Cleveland. Ok, I don’t think it is actually officially summer yet – but with weather as beautiful as we’ve had here, I’m just refusing to even acknowledge that there are other seasons available to choose from.

Mr. Grumpy and I had a pretty fantastic week livin’ life in the CLE, and it made me feel even more thankful than I normally do to have my best friend/boyfriend/fiancé/boytoy and an all around good guy here to keep me company while we explored and remembered why on earth we live in this city by the lake. Here’s a fun recap of everything we accomplished this week:

This is the view from our rooftop deck!

1. Couples who eat ribs ‘n’ corn together, stay together.

If you have not been to the Cleveland Rib-Off festival, boy do you have a long time to wait until next year’s comes back around. It was literally the most fun I’d had in a long time – we tried to eat as much food as we possibly could, while enjoying a nice view of the Cuyahoga River and all the fun boats that come in and out of the harbor (I’m not sure they actually call it a harbor. Is it called a port even? I just don’t know, but I think you get my point…). I even convinced my dear friend Kelsey to try frozen cheesecake (it was amazing, and covered in rainbow sprinkles), and my other dear friend Maddy convinced ME to split a funnel cake with her (it did not take much convincing). The sun was out all day long – it was the perfect way to spend Memorial Day. Now, I just have to diet until next Memorial Day.

Man, that’s some good lookin’ corn!

The frozen cheesecake was not a myth. Here is proof.

We really enjoyed the corn probably a little too much.

2. Couples who sweat together, stay together.

Now, we couldn’t get through the week without a few runs, of course. Unfortunately, Mr. Grumpy had a long week at work with a few late nights. It wasn’t until Tuesday when I was running by myself (and ran – literally – into Kelsey and her fiancé, B-rad) that I realized just how much I miss Mr. Grumpy when I go out for a run. Why? Well – he is super speedy, so I don’t miss being the slow poke of the couple. But, other than that – he is a great running companion. He makes fun zig-zags, he farts, he gets distracted and runs you off the sidewalk without even noticing it. It makes for a pretty entertaining run, and for that I really missed him. In all seriousness, Mr. Grumpy actually is the best running coach ever because he can always tell during a run when I’m discouraged and he’ll say sweet things like, “You’re doing a really good job!” So – if you can run with your manfriend, do it. It is a great bonding activity. Thus, tonight when Mr. Grumpy and I ran together, I wanted to run faster than I ever did just for him. And guess what – I got all the way down to 8:49 seconds a mile! It felt really good and I think I finally achieved that runners’ high everyone’s been talking about.

It was at the end that I got really fast, just FYI.

3. Couples who gawk at elephants together, stay together.

It’s true – Mr. Grumpy finally bit the bullet and took me to the zoo. Now, I have been BEGGING shamelessly for years to Mr. Grumpy to please have him take me to the zoo. We tried to go once a few months ago (yes, during the polar vortex), and my iPhone 4 (RIP) took us way out in the middle of nowhere. So far out that we finally just gave up and had it take us right back home. Well this weekend, we did it. We went to the zoo, and of course – I had an allergy attack. Thanks, Ohio trees. But, my swollen face aside, man, that place is really cool. If you haven’t gotten the chance to go, definitely go on a day that they’re doing the Elephant Crossing. We will have to go back to experience that one because it was not open today, but it was a pretty amazing zoo with a lot of interesting, sleepy animals.

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4. Couples who eat healthy together, stay attracted to one another.

Ok – let’s get down to my recipe for the day because I am telling you, I made the most perfect hummus today anyone has ever made. I know I’m really being a bragster about this, but seriously. Mr. Grumpy and I were just eating it with a spoon like it was yogurt. We are trying our hardest to eat healthier so we can both lose some weight before the wedding. So, I decided for lunch this week, I’m going to eat hummus and veggies. No carby pita chips, people. Just veggies. Hummus is great because it’s not like you eat it and think, “Yep, this is healthy for you.” It has a lot of great flavor and fills you up so you don’t overeat. And it’s made of all good-for-you things like chick peas and lemon and garlic (heart health, I think?). Anyway – I’d never made hummus for one very distinct reason: I refuse to pay a million dollars for tahini. Sorry. It’s always so expensive. And I just … refuse. So I decided, well, why not try it without. And man – this was amazing.

This is a terrible picture… but I promise it was good.

Here’s how you make it:

What You’ll Need:

• 2 cans chick peas (you’ll have to peel the skins off manually just by squeezing them ever so gently)
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• Dash of paprika and salt (do not go overboard, friends)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or if you don’t want it too spicy, go down to 1/4 tsp)

Combine the chick peas, lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic, ground coriander, paprika and salt, and red pepper in a food processor until smooth. Stir once while still in the food processor (not while it’s running…) and then add the water and remaining olive oil until the mixture is soft and creamy. And voila! We cut up red and green peppers to dip in. It’s especially yummy when you let it sit in the fridge for just a bit.

5. Couples who drink together, stay together.

Well, sorry. But this one is just obvious I think…

After going to Kelsey’s wonderful bridal shower in Cuyahoga Falls Saturday, I came home to Mr. Grumpy – and we immediately hit up the Clevelander to catch the rest of the Indians vs. Rockies game. I – as the native Coloradan that I am – was very torn, per usual as to who I cheered on. So I wore my Indians tank top, and ordered this beer. I think that covered it, right?

What fun things did you get into this weekend? Are you able to work out with your significant other? Share your other “Couples who (fill in the blank) together, stay together” mantras in the comments below! And make it a great week, guys!

A Quick 5-Month Recap! (And the start of training season!)

Well gosh. It sure has been a while since we last caught up. It’s been kind of crazy up here.

WHY, you ask? Well most of you already know, but … Mr. Grumpy popped the question and… I SAID YES! Actually – let’s be honest. I think the exact words out of my mouth were, “Are you really asking me?!?! Is this real life?!?! OMG YES, YES, YES!!!” Long story short – we’re engaged and knee-deep in wedding planning. Here’s some pics of our engagement session by Mindy Sue Photography (who is seriously the BEST – if you’re looking for a wedding or life-event photog. look no further. Mindy is basically my new BFF and her pictures make me not look like a deranged squirrel, so I’m especially in friend love with her).

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Of course, you’re probably wondering how Mr. Grumpy asked. It was pretty perfect – we were getting ready to head out to his parent’s house for our holiday (yes, I’m talking Christmas it was THAT long ago) celebration. In true Cari fashion, I had NO idea that he was trying to ask me to be his wife. So here I am running around the apartment, turning off all the lights. Then, after turning off the hallway light (the last one that was on), I hear Mr. Grumpy in his I-cannot-believe-you voice say, “Cari!!!!” – so I turn the light back on and there he is, in the hallway, getting on his knee. Then I realized what he was doing and immediately started crying, shaking my head up and down and hugging/smooching him. Then, we tried to call all our friends and family and NOT ONE OF THEM answered the phone… Which would only happen to me! But, eventually they did and we’ve been celebrating ever since!

Now, this winter was especially rough. Hello – did you guys hear about the Polar Vortex? I mean that was no joke. I literally did not leave our apartment until last week – and the 10 days I spent in Colorado with my fantastic fam celebrating the wedding (pictured below!In most of these, I was laughing pretty hard. Not sorry.)

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So after the long, long winter, man – am I ready to thaw out! So ready, in fact, that I already have my first real bad sunburn, compliments of The Ohio State University (we went for Mr. Grumpy’s little brother David’s college graduation last weekend and apparently I thought I was exempt from sun lotion). But, it was worth it David!! (I was basically the only person tweeting live from the graduation ceremony…)

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Because the weather is beautiful and I need to be in shape come October 25 when we say, “I do!,” Mr. Grumpy and I signed up for yet ANOTHER half marathon. Yes, the answer is YES – I am crazy. This means that we start training THIS WEEK. Part of me is excited and the other part is just asking myself, “Why. Why do you do this to yourself, Cari?” Well – sitting in the apartment for five months straight taught me something – I become a true blue Mrs. Grumpy when I can’t go outside. I also do not have the same metabolism as I did at age 23. I also developed a pretty bad addiction to Candy Crush, which ended in me having to completely delete the app from my tired, old iPhone 4. Therefore, it’s time to get my butt in motion. So, starting this week – I’ll be sharing updates on my training, wedding planning and healthy eating as we get closer and closer to the Big Day. Bare with me, folks.

Mr. Grumpy stumbled upon this handy tool on the ASICS website – you just put in what day your half marathon (or whatever your goal is) is, add your previous time (if applicable) and set a goal for this race. Then, it creates a complete training schedule for you at the click of a button. What’s great is that you can adjust your running days (for example, I refuse to run on Fridays, so I just switched my rest days) and you can change your pace at any time between easy, average and hard. What’s even better about it is that you can log all your runs and sync your schedule not only to your Google calendar (or Outlook) but also to your Runkeeper app. And if you miss a run (which happens), then you can easily reschedule.

So – if you’re looking for a handy training tool for whatever your next running adventure may be – you should definitely check this out – myasics.us. You won’t regret it! Or you might depending on how much you want to run…

What was for dinner tonight you ask? Homemade Chipotle bowls!

Here’s a quick recipe:

• 1 cup brown rice, cooked in chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 lb ground turkey (we use Jenni-O brand!), cooked and seasoned with paprika, smoked chipotle pepper and season salt
• 1 cup of frozen red peppers, onions and green peppers, sautéed and thawed
• 1 can of black beans and 1 can of pinto beans, drained and heated over medium heat on the stove
• 1/4 cup of low-fat cheddar cheese (optional)
• 1 can of no-sodium corn with green and red peppers, drained (we kept ours cold like salsa!)
• 1/2 red tomato, diced
• 1 cup of chopped romaine lettuce

Combine as you like it! I usually put the rice first, then beans, then turkey and cheese, the corn, lettuce, tomato and top it with the hot peppers and corn. But – it’s your bowl, so go through the line just like you would at Chipotle! Boy, this is a LOT cheaper and you’ll be a lot less tempted to put the “bad” ingredients Chipotle offers like the barbacoa or the sour cream. Enjoy!

 

Weeknight Dinner: Seared Tuna Avocado Salsa Salad

Mr. Grumpy was lucky enough to go to the Indians game Monday night, and watch from his company's super swanky suite which comes with free food… while I sat at home nursing my sore throat and trying to eat the first solid food of the day. But, I couldn't help but take advantage of the fact that he was gone, so I got to eat seafood. I checked in on the one seafood I knew of that would slide easily down my sore throat – seared tuna. YUM. 

I adapted this recipe again…from Cooking Light's May issue. Lord. I know. I am literally making every recipe in this issue. They probably don't like me sharing all these recipes, but alas – I just can't not share them. They're so good.

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1/2 cup of red onions, sliced not chopped (I cut it into quarters, and cut really thin slices)
• 1 1/2 tbsp cilantro
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 avocado, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, take out all the seeds, and cut into small pieces 
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tuna steaks (I bought mine frozen from the seafood counter –  they were Yellowfish Tuna steaks … I think, and just soaked them in plastic in a pot full of hot water until they were thawed. This keeps them super fresh until you're ready to eat)

First, combine all the ingredients together in a small bowl, except for the soy sauce, brown sugar and the tuna steaks. Next, in a small mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce and the brown sugar. Stir that until the sugar is dissolved.

Next, take a grill pan (I finally figured out what that was called!!) and heat it over the stove on high heat. Spray it with cooking spray while it's heating. Next, drizzle half of the soy sauce mixture on your tuna steaks, on both sides. Reserve the rest of the soy sauce for when everything is done. 

Now, place your tuna steaks on your grill pan and cook on each side about 1 minute and 45 seconds. Be careful because you really don't want to overcook the tuna – it will get hard and gross, and the Chopped judges will get mad at you and make you feel like a super idiot. I had never made seared tuna before, so I erred on the side of caution and did 1 minute and 30 seconds on each side, checked the tuna, and then cooked and additional 15 seconds more on each side. You definitely don't want to turn down your pan because you really want the edge of your tuna to be crusty and yummy. 

Cut up the tuna, with the grain. Place about 1/2 of the salad you made on your plate, and put the tuna slices on top of it. Drizzle the remaining soy sauce evenly over both steaks on each plate (I made one plate and saved one in a tupperware for lunch later this week), and toss so everything is coated. And enjoy!! 

Mr. G and I moved… and didn’t kill each other (yet)

Well… that was fun. The rumors flying around the CLE are true – Mr. G and I relocated from quiet little Lakewood to the bustle of the city – DOWNTOWN. And let's just say it took us three days, two sets of parents, a surprisingly cheery Mr. Salty, a Robin, four cars (two trucks, my SUV and a moving van), and a LOT of beer. And what did I learn from our big move? A very valuable lesson – hire movers. Do it. Don't follow in my footsteps – movers are the way to go (no offense, Moving Squad. You guys were awesome. My nerves are still shot though…). 

But let's start earlier in the week – on Wednesday, when I went to make a crock pot dinner for Mr. G  to find that my crock pot was missing. And where was it? Well, Mr. G had PACKED it at the BOTTOM of our kitchen box. So, we ate pizza all week and stayed up until 1 a.m. on Friday packing the rest of Mr. G's junk treasures. Now, I am required by Mr. Grumpy Law to disclose that I had four tupperwares full of my shoes. Mr. G suggested I bring only one, and get rid of the rest. I reminded him that I could still claim his closet in our new apartment as my shoe closet, and that he was LUCKY that I was letting him have a closet to his self… but he was still pretty grumpy about the amount of shoes that had to make the GIANT 4-mile move downtown. I also discovered that Mr. G has not only a Playstation, but also has an Xbox AND a Super Nintendo… so I think we're pretty even on things we don't need… 

Despite the fact that it took us 4.5 hours to load our moving truck (plus two more days of moving sh*t over to our new apartment), we survived. And we already love it here. Suzie Q and DS helped us with some home decor renovations – including painting our old kitchen table, and refinishing the top to look brand-spanking new (isn't it beautiful???).

We also power decorated (I was being slightly spazzy about getting everything put together. Basically after making Mr. G hang artwork for three hours after work on Tuesday, we got in a slight grumptastic argument about how I didn't need to make everyone suffer when I was having a … moment… I may have also thrown a fit about the location of a piece of tupperware… This is life, people.). 

These are pictures hanging from antique door knobs! 

This is where the magic happens (note all the beer we had to drink to stay sane while moving). And yes, those are chalkboard jars! I'm obsessed – we got 4 from Target, and one cookie chalkboard jar from Anthropologie to finish the set.

I got my cake stand from TJ Maxx, and made the picture using an old birthday card Ashley got me a few years ago. 

Mr. G would argue that THIS is actually where the magic happens… disgusting.

This is where the snuggling happens.

Welcome home, Mr. G! (That's the Bike Art I made – plus we reno'd the dresser by buying new knobs from Anthropologie, and we dusted it for the first time in like… 12 months). 

One of the reasons we had to get everything decorated so fast was because we were having an unofficial Welcome to Downtown get together with our friends – Kels, B-Rad, Samantha and D-Train (he's really proud of his nickname). We were so pleased that we could literally WALK to Bar Louie, drink $1 beers all night, and then stumble walk home. It was a pretty amazing time – had by all attendees (despite the fact that we were supposed to go to the Indians' game, but never moved from Bar L). 

So, since it only took me a few days to completely unpack everything, I went ahead and stocked up on food – and got to cooking right away. I couldn't wait to use my new kitchen that had more than 2 feet of counterspace. Plus, I got to talk THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS COOKING because our kitchen opens up to the living room. Mr. G was really pleased. 

So, for the first time in our lovely, swanky downtown apartment – let's get cooking, people!

It's Springtime, Baby Pasta!

I made my grocery list today whilst sitting in the parking lot of my eye doctor, and managed to only forget one item ($325 later…). Don't worry – Mr. G got an entire bushel of bananas (bushel? bunch? What is a group of bananas called???). 

(I had a moment at Anthropologie, obviously. I got new bowls – this is one of them. I love this. I'd love it even more if it were full of ice cream – the one thing I forgot at the grocery store). 

I adapted this recipe from the lastest issue of Cooking Light – mostly because it said to use fava beans, and I have NO idea what those are. They sounded really involved – and needed to be deshelled… And I wasn't really feeling that. So I used lima beans. YES. LIMA BEANS. And they were delicious, so bear with me here, people. 

What You'll Need: 

• 1 8.5 oz. can lima beans
• 1 1/4 cup uncooked campanelle pasta (that's the kind that is squirly-queued on the edges). 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 center-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup white mushrooms (broken into chunky pieces)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp grated parmesean cheese 
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn into pieces 

First, boil your water for the pasta. Boil your pasta for about 11 minutes, depending on how you like your pasta. Basically, it needs to be cooked. While you're waiting for the water to boil, you can cut up all the ingredients. And if you have a mile of counterspace like I do now, you can take up the entire kitchen and use 3 plates, 2 cutting boards and 3 knives. Just because you can, goshdarnit. 

Anyway, while your pasta is cookin', heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once that's hot, cook your bacon in it until it starts to crisp up slightly and get brownish. This will take about 3 minutes. Then, turn your heat down to medium. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are transluscent. This will take about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the lima beans (DRAIN THEM BEFORE YOU ADD THEM. Sorry, I don't know why I started screaming at you. You didn't know…). And add the peas. Cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and cooked pasta, and stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and add 3 tbsp of cheese. Stir. Put it into a bowl, and garnish with 1 tbsp per bowl of cheese and 2 tbsp basil per bowl. 

I was surprised at how much flavor this dish had. I knew of a similar recipe that a roommate from college used to make, and it didn't have this much flavor. This is really great. And took about 20 minutes total to make. Ah-mah-zing. Thank you, Cooking Light. (And did I mention that each bowl only packs 371 calories? YEAHHHHH!).