Today is the last day to enter my giveaway for a copy of the Tone It Up Beach Babe DVD! Check out my thoughts on the post and enter if you are interested!
It’s time to do another not–daily–eats take on Jen‘s What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW). I’ve already done that, and if I shared typical workday eats each WIAW, this blog would be Snoozeville, Population: ALL OF YOU.
Did you catch the Tone It Up Beach Babe DVD giveaway I posted yesterday? You have until tomorrow (Wednesday 1/9) night to enter!
My younger sister Hannah is headed back to school at the University of Tennessee today, and I’m so glad we got to do something special together on Sunday night – hit up Mohegan Sun for Restaurant Week! You may recall that a reader Megan won a $50 gift card to Mohegan Sun in a recent giveaway I did, and the casino was kind enough to offer me the same to help fund a trip to one of their restaurants during the current Restaurant Week (Sunday 1/6-Friday 1/11). It’s easiest for me to make the 45 minute drive on a day I don’t have work, so Sunday was the obvious choice of time to visit.
Finally I have reached the point where I can start telling you about my trip to Florida – and I’ve already been in Florida for more than two full days! Funny how that happens when you’re busy having a good time!
While my dad and I were eating dinner in Boston, my sister texted me to tell me we’d be flying first class on the way to Florida. I hadn’t flown first class since I was an infant on my mom’s lap, so I was pretty pumped. Turns out they were trying to get us out of coach to make room for more people on the plane, and my dad has mucho reward points, so upgraded we were!
I don’t care if it’s obvious I haven’t flown first!
Thank you so very much for your kind words in response to yesterday’s post (no worries if you didn’t read, after all I’m the weirdo publishing on Christmas :-P) and my confessions about being NOT so kind to myself. I’m happy to report that so far since that night this past Saturday, I have been doing a much better job of enjoying this special time of year. After all, it’s not like I’m travelling and attending holiday events every day!
Each year, my family exercises a special holiday tradition (yup, another one!): my sister Hannah, my dad, and I travel to New York City from December 23rd to 24th for fabulous meals, shopping, and the Today Show (we get on TV every year!). But this year Hannah had to work, so my dad had the great idea to keep the tradition alive, just on a smaller scale. He and I set off for Boston this past Sunday morning to brunch, shop, cocktail-it, and stay in a fancy Marriott!
White wine and snacks for the Marriott rewards point holders! Unfortunately the apples were no bueno.
Thanks to all who entered my Mews Boutique giveaway for the same necklace and earring set I received to review!
The winner is Keri! Thank you for entering and I will be contacting you for shipping info!
Merry Christmas! I can’t believe the big day is here already, and I actually feel like it’s been over because not only did my family already open our presents on Saturday the 22nd (because of our travel plans – I’m writing this from FLORIDA) but I also have already spent most of the Christmas money I got (more on that later when I write about my Christmas Eve trip to Boston, hopefully tomorrow).
If you like what you see in this post, head over to SaveNowCT.com and purchase today’s daily deal – $15 for $30 to spend at Thirty5! Talk about timing!
I swear one of these days I will write about a topic for which it is impossible to use alliteration in the post title. Today is not that day…I’m sure it’s no coincidence that I chose to visit this restaurant on a Thursday. Last Thursday, to be exact.
My friend Olivia and I made a dinner date at one of West Hartford Center’s newer restaurants, Thirty5 Bar & Grille. Located on 35 LaSalle Road (next door to McLaddens, for those who are WeHa-layout-literate), this spot was formerly Reuben’s Delicatessen, a popular breakfast and lunch destination. As Thirty5, the restaurant still offers the beloved deli-style breakfasts and lunches of Reuben’s, with the addition of a full bar (happy hour!) and a dinner menu featuring apps, small plates, sandwiches, and entrees; some of the dinner menu is available on the late night “bucket list”.
My best friend Lidia and I had tickets to go see The Connecticut Forum‘s Vision and Brilliance panel at the Bushnell for a couple of months, and finally the big night arrived this past Saturday. Here’s the event description, from the Forum’s website:
“This live, unscripted panel conversation brings together a diverse group of popular experts, each with their own unique field of study and view of the world. The Forum will be fast paced and surprising, as [the panelists] discuss their own work, and so much more… technology, science, design, new ideas, our changing world and possibilities for our future. Bring your sense of wonder to this conversation with big thinkers and visionary minds.”
The moderator and panel, ready to discuss vision and brilliance.
Happy Monday! Yes, happy. Let’s try to make it that way. I had a great weekend and a lot of marvelous things to share with you over the next couple of days. Let’s get down to it.
It’s no secret to regular readers that I am a huge fan of the restaurants of Max Restaurant Group. Two locations, Max Fish and Max Amore, are even in my hometown. Talk about convenient! But can you believe it – I had only been to Max Amore one time, back in June 2007, for my high school graduation dinner. And to be honest I don’t even count that visit, because I wasn’t a foodie and was still an extremely picky eater. I’m pretty sure I ordered pasta with butter. Maybe there was plain grilled chicken involved.
My Sprigs Banjees running wallet giveaway ends tonight at 11:59PM EST! This non-runner loves hers…have you entered yet?
I’m a bit of a Backwards Beth today! I’m here to tell you all about my Thanksgiving Eve, the day after I told you about Thanksgiving. #sorrynotsorry #it’smyblogandiwon’tmakesenseifidon’twantto
Props to you if you deciphered that last hashtag. Speaking of which, apparently someone named their child Hashtag. Even this Twitter-addict has to shake her head at that one.
Cheers to old friends!
Thanksgiving Eve is notorious for being the biggest party night of the year, even bigger than New Year’s Eve. So naturally (or not so naturally) I was spotted at a bar on Wednesday, 11/21. Not just any bar, but Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford. You may recall my previous exploits there:
My long-time friend and neighbor, Molly, and I literally had a Thanksgiving Eve dinner outing at Barcelona planned several months in advance. She is not often home during her college breaks and I’m pretty hard to pin down myself, so we were sure to make time to hang out with each other and have a nice evening of girl talk over cocktails and tapas. So yes, I went out on Thanksgiving Eve. But I started my night around 6:30PM, and was literally asleep before 10PM. Just the way I like it!
A better look at the cocktail I’m holding in the above photo – a new one at Barcelona, the White Negroni. I’ve decided a Negroni is my second fave cocktail, after a Manhattan. As Molly put it, “It tastes like a candle, but in a good way.”
Molly selected the Aviation after I recommended it – Ransom Old Tom Gin, Liqueur de Violettes, Luxardo Maraschino, Lemon Juice. We were gin cocktail twins!
Dan and Anna – competing Barcelona bartenders!
Having friends who are bartenders has its perks, and no one knows this better than me 😀 the lovely Anna had a cocktail drink-off with another bartender, Dan, and Molly and I got to judge the competing beverages. My vote was for Anna’s White Negroni made with WHISKEY (above right). But I’m a Whiskey-loving Wendy, so I’m a bit biased. Molly couldn’t really decide!
Anna also hooked us up with some samples of sweet vermouth. How did I not know that sweet vermouth tastes GREAT alone? Each of the three we tried got better and better each time. Very similar to sherry!
I felt like it was a Friday so it took me a few seconds to realize that the reason Molly was excited over Barcelona’s weeknight 6-tapas-for-$49 deal was because…it was not Friday, but Wednesday, AKA a weeknight! Dur! We immediately decided to choose 6 tapas and share them. Along with bread. Because we love carbs.
Nom much?
Our tapas were coursed out at the perfect pace and everything was a-freaking-mazing. Like seriously, I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about any of these tapas.
Roasted sunchokes (cross between a potato and an artichoke, please try them if you ever see them anywhere) and clam ceviche.
My first experience with rutabaga!
This Cauliflower Au Gratin was provided by Anna for us to try – thank you, girl!
Monkfish cakes with a pesto aioli. I’ve had monkfish before at Bonefish Grill and was so psyched for the chance to eat it again. These were foodgasm-worthy.
Roasted mushrooms with a duck egg (OH YES) and pork tenderloin with bacon and butternut squash. My two favorite dishes – thankfully they came out best-for-last.
Do you hate me yet? I think you might. What I love about Barcelona is the fact that the menu changes SO often since everything is super-fresh and the chefs are always creating new ways to serve the food. I can keep coming back and try new dishes each time. In fact, most of these dishes are not on the menu anymore and it’s only been about a week since this visit! So bad news because you can’t go get these tapas now, but good news because whatever has replaced them is sure to be just as a-freaking-mazing and lacking of any negative components.
Anna was also kind enough to mix up a newer cocktail, the Bramble Snap, for Molly and I to split a sample of. We both loved it (though my Negroni was my fave) and that blackberry sure tasted good at the end.
I’m pretty sure you can now see why this was the perfect Thanksgiving Eve for me. Unique food, fancy cocktails, restaurant friends, a best friend, lots of pictures. #jadorelavie all around.
General Manager Jason Boske, me, and Exec Chef Adam Greenberg! They were having their dinner before the non-grandmas like me came to party.
Molly and I agreed after we’d finished our tapas that they were the perfect amount of food. I felt totally satisfied and, when I got home, totally ready for bed!
If you said the prettiest thing in this pic was the Cauliflower Au Gratin, I wouldn’t be offended.
Thanks to Anna, Jason, Adam, Dan, Derek, and everyone else who helped Molly and I have a wonderful Thanksgiving Eve. I’ve already got plans to head back to Barcelona Wine Bar for a Holiday Tapas cooking class/tasting on Monday, December 17 at 7PM! As you can tell from my previous event posts they are always having cool foodie/wino events going on so if you’re a CT local I totally recommend looking for one at a location near you! And make sure you make a reservation early because these things fill up fast.
Which of the tapas I tried sounds best to you?
What did you do on Thanksgiving Eve? Grandma status, party-hardy, or a nice happy medium like me?
Have you ever dined at a tapas-style restaurant?
Remember to enter my giveaway for a Sprigs Banjees AKA a running wallet! Entries close tomorrow night!
I have never partaken in a traditional What-I-Ate-In-A-Day WIAW. The only ones I’ve done are wordless and/or photo-dumps. Lazy Susan up in here. Well, no longer! I still need to recap Thanksgiving and Jenn made the nifty graphic below that fits my needs perfectly. How can I not partake in this week’s What I Ate on Thanksgiving Wednesday?!
For those who have struggled/are struggling with disordered eating, Thanksgiving can be a nightmare. And last year, while I had fun at the beginning of the day, it did not end too well and I spent the following days hating on and being really mean to myself. But I know with 100% certainty that I am in a better place this year, and so I went into Thanksgiving 2012 with a positive attitude. I completed part of a spin class and some strength training when I woke up, then proceeded to spend the morning doing what I traditionally do on Turkey Day – sitting on my butt, drinking coffee, watching the parade, and scouting out Black Friday deals.
Circulars and plain Chobani with strawberries…sunshine streamin’ in!
So G coffee in a snowman mug!
My delightfully lazy morning flew by and before I knew it, it was time to get ready and head over to the home of our family friends the Gerbers; that’s where we spent the holiday last year too!
My sister did my hair!
In exchange, I let her borrow one of my ideeli tops 😉
Parents and I before we left – you may recognize the dress from Fashion Friday!
I was totally ready to chow down when we arrived! And there were SO many different wines. I definitely switched it up throughout the afternoon/evening. I started with a Chilean Cabernet. Later, Chianti and Chardonnay were consumed (not together…)
Before and after dinner, I also sipped on some Disaronno, a new-to-me Italian liqueur It’s flavored with herbs and fruits, and soaked in apricot kernel oil. SO FREAKING GOOD. I give props to my ex, Joe, for contributing this stuff to the meal.
Proud new fan.
Yes, I invited my ex-boyfriend to Thanksgiving. Again. He typically pops up at these family gatherings (and hence on the blog). I’m gonna ask you not to ask. At least we’re friends!
Where were we? Oh yeah. Libations!
Someone take the Disaronno away from this girl!
Playing around with my friend’s hipster glasses! I like them actually…
And I DID mention apps, right?
Holy incredible! My dietitian-to-be friend Meg made this spinach & artichoke heaven.
CHEESE. And veggies of course! But I was more interested in mixing the cheese with those nuts.
We “kids” did the chatting while the parents did the work. I never really cook at all so what will happen on the day I have to do my entire Thanksgiving dinner?! I know what will happen, no one will show up.
Mom and Mrs. Gerber in the kitchen!
Mr. Gerber AKA Uncle Steve carving that bird!
Do not ask me how we cooked our turkey, because I have no clue! Last year we had one from the oven and one deep-fried, but this year it was just in the oven. That is all I know.
I did both white and dark meat – you know me, always variety!
Turkey is good and all but on Thanksgiving, I prefer sides. I know many of you are on the same team as me.
Meg prepared this INCREDIBLE kale salad with walnuts and Bosc pears. Trust the RD-to-be to get the kale in!
Salad after being dressed with maple vinaigrette, along with my mom’s amazing cranberry orange relish.
Mrs. Gerber’s legendary/epic/famous/etc sausage stuffing. It’s so good.
Store-bought rolls. Meh, I skipped ’em.
Meg’s cousin (also named Meg) was joining us from NYC since her family lives all the way in Michigan. She is vegan so we had an arrangement of butter-free sides for her. I enjoyed them too!
Butternut squash – that’s it! No butter, no nothin’, and I didn’t even want mashed potatoes after having this!
Butter-free green beans!
Butter-free mashed taters were also available, but we all know what those look like and I didn’t want any, so not photo.
You can’t even see them here…they’re covered by a green oven mitt!
My (first) plate!
We went around the table and said what we were thankful for, and this is the first year I can remember being actually moved by that “routine” and putting real thought into it when it was my turn. I blame Heather for turning me into a sap.
Oh, thanks Joe.
I chose to share that I am thankful to have parents and siblings I can truly call my best friends, and I am thankful to have the opportunity to live out my passions every day. Ain’t it the truth! Dinner was relaxing and everyone went back for seconds. I was quite full upon finishing my meal and wasn’t alone, so some of us settled in to watch “Magic Mike” (or half-watch, I was already getting exhausted and it was 6PM) while our stomachs made room for dessert (and Disaronno).
DESSERT.
Yup, fantastic dessert spread. My tooth leans more toward savory than sweet but I had seconds of dessert. Total food baby afterward but I was not having too hard of a time focusing on the family and friends surrounding me, the memories we were making with each passing second, and the growth and strength I was exhibiting by not being TOO food-focused on Thanksgiving. Yes I thought a lot about how much I ate and how full I felt, but I also was able to effectively talk back to myself and try to respond to each negative thought with a kind one.
Jessica‘s pumpkin chocolate chip cookies made an appearance as they did last year. so did some pumpkin dark chocolate chip oat cranberry cookies (mouthful of words and delicousness).
The cake/pie/piece of delight on the left was brought by cousin Meg from NYC, from a famous bakery that I unfortunately cannot recall the name of. My mom made the pumpkin muffins on the right, with cinnamon icing.
What’s Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie (right) and how about throwing in PB chocolate pie for good measure (left)?
I had at least one taste of each dessert! And have been enjoying the leftovers of both sweet and savory Thanksgiving food ever since. It makes the holiday feel like it isn’t going to end!
Zesty Carrots
I saved my favorite veggie side for last…my mom’s Zesty Carrots! I wanted to end this post with the recipe because this is such a unique, not necessarily Thanksgiving-like side that can be made any time of year!
Ingredients:
Directions:
Which part of my Thanksgiving would you have picked first for your plate?
Did you try any non-traditional Thanksgiving food this year?
What’d you do on Thursday, 11/22/12 if you do not celebrate Turkey Day?
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!
