Category Archives: Events

Best of Each Month in 2013

Thanks for your feedback on yesterday’s post about my 2014 New Year’s resolution! I was hesitant to hit publish because I felt there were a few misconceptions you guys could get from the post. I do not think I’m ugly without makeup or my hair “done up”, and I also didn’t want anyone to think my resolution was vain. But this is my blog and it’s my resolution so I shared, and I’m glad I did. It seems that those who commented get that it’s about how I feel about myself, not how I look to others.

I have been debating for a few weeks now how I would recap 2013 on the blog. Last year I did a top 12 of 2012 but I really think it would be too hard to rank all the great stuff I got to do and the fabulous people I got to see this year. There is so much to look at in the year! So I decided to refine a bit and instead look at each month. I’m going to try my hardest to declare a favorite day/event/occurrence/etc for each and I’ll end up with a list of twelve things, but to be honest I still won’t do an accurate enough job of getting across how grateful I am for each and every person, place, or thing (noun?!) that made 2013 a year to remember.

January

The Mohegan Sun WineFest was a very special event for me! It was my second time there to help Mohegan promote the festival but this year I got to bring my foodie partner in crime Rachel. She got hooked and is taking her boyfriend back to this year’s event! I also met Kaitlin in person for the first time, and we shared a hug that made her boyfriend (now fiance!) think that we had known each other for year’s. It sure feels like it!

Me, Rachel, and our media passes!

Continue reading →

CONNetic Dance Nutcracker Ticket Giveaway!

Last holiday season I had the opportunity to see the Sunday matinee of CONNetic Dance‘s The Nutcracker: Suite & Spicy at Downtown Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum. You can see my review here. Director/founder Carolyn Paine is a friend of mine as well as a huge part of Hartford’s cultural scene. She is one of those awesome people like Chion Wolf who I see at almost every area event; she’s on a mission to show the state that Hartford Has It. Well it’s that time of year again…CONNetic Dance will be performing The Nutcracker: Suite & Spicy at the same venue this coming Friday 12/20 and Saturday 12/21 at 8PM, and Sunday 12/22 at 2PM. Tickets are $30 each and can be purchased here.

My favorite dance of the show.

This year CONNetic is literally mixing things up by adding an official cocktail sponsor – Tanduay Asian Rum! You may recall that I am a fan (may or may not have had some last night, ice cold with a splash of sweet vermouth, not bad for a Monday). Tanduay will be pouring in the lobby and the program will have special recipes developed just for the show. Here’s a preview!

Continue reading →

Hartford TheaterWorks “Christmas on the Rocks”

I received press tickets to a performance of this play for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

I worked with Hartford TheaterWorks to do a ticket giveaway promotion for their current production, Christmas on the Rocks. Thankfully I too received a pair of tickets so that I could check out the show myself and share my thoughts! This past Saturday I attended the 4PM matinee (I love the 4PM time…so easy to go out to dinner downtown after!) with my friend Howard.

Continue reading →

Yelp Hartford Holiday Bazaar

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my first holiday-themed event of the season – Yelp’s Holiday Bazaar at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Emily Cahill, Senior Community Manager for Yelp Hartford, did an amazing job coordinating so many vendors and even entertainment. What an awesome turnout!

12-7-13-yelp14

Tote bags and name tags were provided.

Tote bags and name tags were provided.

Continue reading →

Not-So-Typical Black Friday: A Wedding!

As per tradition, I woke up early (well not super early this year, but any alarm set on a day off from work is worth noting) for Black Friday shopping with my sister and Nana Connie. But after our (all too successful) trips to Kohl’s, Old Navy, and the Westfarms Mall (don’t worry I will be recapping tomorrow for Fashion Friday!) I had some not-so-typical Black Friday plans…a wedding! My good friend from high school Andrea was married to her longtime boyfriend Zack in a quick but intimate ceremony at his beautiful home.

11-29-13-wedding7

The sun poked out just in time for the ceremony – a good omen!

11-29-13-wedding8

The gazebo in the Bohling family’s backyard was decorated for the holidays and the perfect spot for a late November wedding.

Continue reading →

Pond House Grille Side Dish Cooking Class

I received complimentary admission to this event in exchange for a blog post about my experience. All opinions are my own.

This past Friday night I had the opportunity to attend my second cooking class (read about my first one here) at Pond House Grille in Glastonbury, CT. The restaurant has been doing one class per month, and with Thanksgiving coming up this one was appropriately themed “Spice Up Your Side Dishes”.

11-15-13-pondhouse5

This month’s class had enough participants to be held in a bigger room in the restaurant’s adjacent banquet facility.

All classes are taught by Executive Chef Jordan Stein but I wouldn’t exactly call it teaching…hosting is a more accurate word. Jordan is so great with his guests! I felt like I was in his home and he was letting us all help him make Thanksgiving dinner. He made sure every “student” got some hands-on cooking time in. He would demo each step and afterwards pass it off to a volunteer – or someone he chose. Some guests were hesitant to volunteer and Jordan did a wonderful job of encouraging them to do so.

Continue reading →

Warring Whiskies Wednesday: Scotch vs Bourbon

I received complimentary admission to this event from NBMAA. All opinions are my own. 

In conjunction with the opening of the traveling Maurice Sendak exhibit at Connecticut’s New Britain Museum of American Art, a grand event took place this past Friday 11/8. Or as the museum called it (to create a Where the Wild Things Are vibe) – a wild rumpus! Scotch vs Bourbon was the chance to sample high-end scotches and bourbons (for a look at the difference between bourbon and whiskey, check out this cool infographic – thanks Brittany!) along with food from two awesome area restaurants, Plan B Burger Bar and Tisane.

11-8-13-nbmaa1

Of the two, Plan B was my fave!

11-8-13-nbmaa21

Love the floral pants!

Continue reading →

Real Art Ways Oddball Halloween 2013

I received complimentary admission to this event. All opinions of my experience are my own and this is not a sponsored post.

Okay I know it’s November and we’ve all forgotten already that Halloween was less than a week ago. But hopefully this post, recapping an absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring Halloween event, will have you craving the holiday all over again (don’t get mad at me when you realize it’s still almost a year away).

Crazy concoctions brewing!

Crazy concoctions brewing!

You may recall my post (in which I gave away a pair of tickets) about the Real Art Ways Oddball Halloween event. Well now it’s time to share tell you all about my wonderful experience! This event was like the Onyx Gatsby Ball in that the entire time I was completely lost in the moments of the evening. I could not believe that such a cool party was happening right in my backyard! Hartford certainly has it.

Continue reading →

MIMM: One Early Night, One Late Night

Be sure to check out Friday’s blog post about New Britain Museum of American Art events, and head to their Facebook page to like them and enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to this Friday’s Scotch vs Bourbon tasting! I’ll be there!

I feel like it’s been awhile since I did a Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) post! Not that my weekends haven’t been marvelous, but I’ve just been busy with real-life work and blog posts I’d previously committed to publishing. I promised myself I’d start this week off with a post about one of my marvelous weekends.

Be sure to join Katie’s weekly linkup!

Marvelous is…kicking off the weekend with a podcast feature! Awhile back I recorded a podcast with the Bate brothers of The Lifestyle Accountability Show. It went live this past Friday! Click here to listen and if you have a chance after doing so, please head to iTunes and submit a review. I had a nice time connecting and chatting with these gents!

Continue reading →

Scotch, Bourbon, and American Art

The winner of the Albion Fit Petal Pant leggings giveaway is Lisa! Thank you so much to all who entered – so much enthusiasm for this product! 

albionwinner

Remember that from now until 11/3 you can get $20 off your Albion purchase of $100 or more by entering code “caitdiscount20” at checkout.

When one hears “Connecticut”, I’m sure the subject of history comes to mind. But what about art? It just so happens that in New Britain, CT, the art-curious can find the New Britain Museum of American Art. The best art museums aren’t just in the big cities! I’ve visited this museum three times and each visit has me circling back to old favorite exhibits and oohing and ahhing over new pieces that arrived since my last time there. Some exhibitions are permanent, while some come in and stick around for only a little while. NBMAA makes a real effort to promote its art not just to your stereotypical museum goers, but to the youth of the area as well. That’s where their fantastic events come in!

Art is fun - clearly.

Art is fun – clearly.

Continue reading →

Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

Social

Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

Privacy Policy

I allow third party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit this blog. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g. click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice visit the NAI at http://www.networkadvertising.org. To opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices.