Trade Em Up Tuesday: Because It’s Not Monday
I tend to recap my weekends in the form of Marvelous In My Monday, but I didn’t feel like blogging Sunday night and yesterday was too busy. So since it’s Tuesday, this weekend recap is coming to you in the form of Trade ‘Em Up Tuesday, which I haven’t done in awhile (holy – since before I had my new job!) anyway.
I would not trade…the Friday night that I really needed. As I mentioned in Friday’s post, I felt like a big whale all day thanks to a looooong wine tasting and dinner for work the previous night. What kept me going all day was the knowledge that I’d be able to spend my evening with great people! First I met Jen at Eastern Standard for her first visit there (!!!) and we enjoyed some relaxing girl time over drinks and yummy food. Thankfully Jen agreed that the restaurant lived up to my hype and it was another nice visit of great service and spot-on cocktail recs!
My first drink – the Red Hook – a Manhattan-like cocktail. I took a sip and said “ahhh”.
At the end of the meal, our server brought us samples of a gin cocktail called the Milk Punch!
My peach salad with shrimp and prosciutto – delish, but WAY smaller than I expected.
So I decided to order a side of ratatouille after the fact, and am so glad I did, because it (with some bread) hit the spot. Oh and that’s my second cocktail, the Brown Derby (whiskey/bourbon, grapefruit, honey).
Jen headed out to go hang with her hubby, and I met up with Greg to visit some of his coworkers at Liberty Hotel‘s lounge, Alibi. I’d never been there and really liked the space! A little dark and “scene-y” for my taste but I still loved the decor (bars on the walls – it used to be a jail!) and my Bulleit Manhattan hit the spot. Yes that was my third whiskey cocktail of the evening and yes they were all worth it. Especially since I got to enjoy time with Greg! We chatted, had a nice snack at nearby too-expensive Scampo after we were done in the lounge, and motivated each other to save some money by taking the T home (sorry Uber).
I would trade…a meh Saturday morning run. Not because I was under-fueled, but because my left shin was really bugging me. And I thought the route I mapped out was 4 miles, but it ended up being 3.5-ish. I decided to just throw up my hands and move on from that one.
I would not trade…showing a good friend my “home turf”. Back in October I won a silent auction package at the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Gala (there’s another this year by the way!) which included a Friday or Saturday night stay in the Farmington Courtyard Marriott. That’s just an exit or two away from one of my fave CT spots to go out, West Hartford Center, so I decided a trip home to utilize the hotel room before it expired 9/1 was in order!
Room keys matching our nails, what a service.
I brought Jeannie with me because I wanted to show her some of my favorite West Hartford spots, and Glastonbury too. I just love showing friends special restaurants and where I’m from.
We had a snack and drinks, obviously in matching hats, at Pond House Grille with my sister Hannah and her best friend Abbey.
Alas the most time we spent in the hotel was when we were sleeping because we were too busy being out and about and having fun! But it was worth it to use the night to stay there so our drive home would be short.
Mom and Dad met us for cocktails at Rizzuto’s, home of an incredible beverage menu.
Jeannie and I continued our trend of taking sappy pics together.
You know I made it to Barcelona (both before AND after dinner – ha) to visit my bartender friends!!!
Fashion-forward Anna and I – she gets married in a couple weeks!!! And today is her birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!
I paced myself with bubbles while Jeannie opted for a new addition to the cocktail menu, the Whiskey Root. After one sip of her drink I regretted not ordering one, but thankfully Emily hooked me up with a little sample. They spoil me 🙂
Whiskey Root: Bulleit Bourbon, Byrrh Quinquina, Basil, Ginger, Lemon Juice.
One of Jeannie’s very good friends Abbey (yes another one) actually lives right by the center, so we met her and her boyfriend Richard for dinner at Max’s Oyster Bar. The food was delicious and my Brooklyn-style Manhattan tasted out of this world. After dinner we went back to Barcelona and I saw one of my favorite fabulous people – Chris!
I enjoyed some lovely Rose with him and his friends to end the night. OK well actually, the end of the night involved me stopping at 7-11 to buy (and later kill) my first bag of Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle. HOLY CRAP WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE.
I would trade…feeling like blah about myself all day Sunday. So you can imagine after all I did the night before in terms of food and drink, I felt pretty crappy about myself on Sunday when I woke up. That continued throughout the day – I felt fine physically (though ready for a break from sugar and alcohol!) but mentally I just was in a bad place. Luckily Jeannie was up for a quick and dirty hotel gym workout with me – emphasis on the quick, because that gym was freaking tiny and we were over working out after we busted out some burpees.
I would not trade…a chill Sunday pool day. At least I got to go get iced coffee and Whole Foods salad and take that and Jeannie with me to Pinebrook! It’s been awhile since I went to the pool and actually went IN the pool. But Jeannie is all about fun so we went off the diving board, did some goggle-wearing, and played catch. It was really nice! And we left Glastonbury early enough for me to be back in my apartment in Boston, readying for the week, by 5PM.
I roasted up zucchini on Sunday night and enjoyed it in this recipe last night – Zucchini Nachos! So good!
I would not trade…the book I’m reading right now. After enjoying Herman Koch’s The Dinner I am happy to say that his next book Summer House With Swimming Pool is even better! I cannot put it down and have been staying up past my bedtime to read it.
I would not trade…swindling my mom and dad’s HBO GO. I adored Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers when I read it almost two years ago (wow can’t believe it’s been that long) and have been dying to watch the new HBO series based on the same book! I realized the other day thanks to something I remembered Brittany saying awhile back (sorry to throw you under the bus, girl!) that I could probably use my parents’ HBO GO account since we have HBO back home. Sure enough I can, and I watched the series premiere last night. Verdit: really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to watch more. I love seeing how books I’ve read have been interpreted into TV and film, which is why I have made myself read The Hunger Games books (only just finished) so that I can watch the movies (and oggle my girl-crush Jennifer Lawrence).
The police chief isn’t too hard to look at either. Source
OK, so speaking of swindling HBO GO, check out this article – it’s pretty funny and the last part of it is ENTIRELY too relate-able for me.
I would not trade…a killer spin class from Danielle last night. Though it was shorter than the usual hour (not by much – 50 minutes or so) I still felt just as wiped after, in the best way. I love knowing that after a weekend that may make me feel gross and bad about myself, I can always look forward to that spin class on Monday night to really brighten my mood.
As you can see, I ended this post with more “I would not trade”s, and that’s because I am definitely feeling a lot better than I did Friday and Sunday during the day. I plan to continue to stay low-key this week because I really want to enjoy myself during this upcoming 4th of July long-weekend in Newport with my family. Yes that’s right, NEWPORT is comin’ back to the blog people! Get ready!
What are your would and would not trades today?
What kind of evening makes you feel better after a day of feeling crummy?
Have you watched and/or read “The Leftovers”, or read any Herman Koch books?
Brownie brittle – best idea of all time, or BEST IDEA of all time?
