Tag Archives: summer

How to Save a Weekend + CT GIVEAWAY!

If you have a moment, head on over to the fashion company Free Endearment’s blog, which today is listing out bikini-ready tips for summer. The last one is from yours truly! And while you’re at it, check out my darling friend Jenny’s new blog, Tofu Swag. The fabulous title clues you in to what you can expect – vegan food porn and sassy commentary. Need I say more?

My weekend started out kind of crappy. I was feeling really, really down ever since Wednesday, and despite the fact that I had plenty of fun planned for Friday through Sunday, I was not feeling good. Blame my usual issues. However, I managed to slowly salvage the weekend – and my mood – thanks to family, friends, and the power of positive thinking.

Jenny, me, and Heather – three blonde triplets!

So without further ado, I give you – how to save a weekend:

1. Wear a new shirt that makes you feel fabulous. Express surprise when your best blend wears a brightly colored shirt with an interesting back as well. Proceed to bring sexy back.

2. Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself. Otherwise photographic gems like these wouldn’t exist.

Oh HEY cardboard fox!

3. Go with your gut. If your first instinct drink order is a cucumber martini and the ginormous Greek dip platter is calling your name…do it. If you’re dreaming of a Wildflour vegan scone…order it.

Greek dips and Effen Good cucumber martini at Bar Louie in Foxborough, MA.

Still dreaming of this mushroom and spinach scone.

4. Drink wine. Preferably with family friends, your parents, and your best friend by your side. And preferably local wine.

Lidia and I at the gorgeous Chamard Vineyards in Clinton, CT.

BFF

5. Don’t be afraid to ask your mom for a hug if you’re feeling down. Cry on her shoulder. It doesn’t help anyone to feel guilty for putting your worries on her or to hold your sadness inside. Just let it out so you can get to the smiling.

Height diff much?

6. Wear a flowy dress. Spin around. Jump. Channel your inner flower child.

7. Have the best dad in the world. Need I say more?

8. Drink tequila out of a wine glass at the vineyard. It looks like white wine – they’ll never know!

That is NOT Pinot Grigio.

Classy pairing.

9. Go to the beach. Yeah, that’s it. Just go.

I’ve fallen…and I can’t get up!

10. When selecting a restaurant for a Sunday dinner, look no further than the local spot where your sister is a waitress. She’ll pour you LOTS of red wine, give you slow service because she knows she can, and make sure you leave smiling (and not just due to the wine).

Sis and I at Giovanni’s, her place of work, in Glastonbury, CT.

This is NOT one glass.

I ended my weekend feeling WAY better than I had going in. I think I can give credit to every part of the ten steps above for how much better I felt, and am continuing to feel. Oh, and I don’t have work tomorrow. YAY.

And now it’s time for a giveaway for my Connecticut readers. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is sponsoring an excellent outdoor summer concert series at the Performing Arts Center at Simsbury Meadows. This Friday, July 6, receive a free dance lesson at Dancing Under the Stars. Or next Friday, July 13, listen to Music of Elton John at Rocket Man. Finally, on Friday July 20, get your fill of Big Country. Lawn tickets are only $20 in advance, and table tickets are just $40 (both prices go up $5 if you purchase at the door). Child lawn tickets are always $5!

But you have the chance to go for free by entering a giveaway for two lawn tickets for one lucky winner! The tickets work for any of the 3 shows in July mentioned above. To enter, just comment telling me which show you’d most want to attend (mandatory). Entries close this Thursday 7/5 at 12PM EST!

For extra entries (leave a comment for each) you can:

  1. Follow me on Twitter
  2. Follow Hartford Symphony Orchestra on Twitter
  3. Follow me on Pinterest

Good luck to all who enter!

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Fun Edition

You’ve probably noticed my tendency to write very long, wordy blog posts. I can ramble on and on for hours about fun, food, fitness, and fashion. But today, let’s cut out the words, and let me just show you some photos of what my summer (yes I’m calling it summer right now) has looked like so far. And captions don’t count as words.

Beaching it at Hammonassett with my friends! I win the color prize.

Greg and I hanging out at a baby picnic table at The Burger Co in Glastonbury. I clearly had come from the gym (see my ZigTechs?)

Ladies loving the BYOB with no corkage fee!

Family seeing my little brother off to junior prom! Where’d my face go?

Hey it looks like he kinda likes me!

Siblings <3

Trying to be cool with my sis and her friends.

Isn’t his date so beautiful?

My wonderful dad and I at dinner after we saw my brother off.

Before dinner at Puerto Vallarta, with my sister!

Mom came too 🙂

Skinny margarita!

Kicking of the CT Wine Trail 2012 passport at Chamard Vineyards in Clinton, CT.

Gorgeous day for the vineyard, I love Chamard’s scenery. And it’s conveniently on the way home from Hammonassett!

My first trip to the WeHa Reservoir, thanks for showing me around, Jenny!

At Tullycross Tavern to use a SaveNowCT deal!

My amazing meal from that night, a butternut squash flatbread with arugula, grilled chicken, and goat cheese. Paired with Jacob’s Creek Shiraz.

Just read that and you’ll understand why I’m making that face.

View from my table at Besito’s, after work on a Wednesday.

Margarita angel?

Fellow drinker and judger, Rachel, AKA namer of this blog.

The flower vases were actually empty Patron bottles! 😉

My roasted salmon with fried bananas, black beans, sauteed greens, plantain chips, pineapple salsa, and mole sauce was FANTASTIC.

Rachel’s steak tacos – I liked the steak a lot! She didn’t haha

Ben’s chicken enchiladas. Chicken was average, sauce was amazing.

FREE CHURRO.

Triple fisting Onyx Moonshine at Art After Hours!

Best picture ever, taken by tipsy Hartford corporate men.

Balloons make us happy!

They make wine glasses for camping? Maybe I could handle roughing it…

Art After Hours Block Party at Wadsworth in Hartford.

Blood Orange Marg at Barcelona in WeHa!

And of course I ordered a wine flight.

Tapas!!! Olives, bok choy, swiss chard.

The outdoor-but-not-outdoor seating area is beautiful!

AHHH! It was really hard not to write words here. I wanted to go on and on about all the fun I had during each photo. But I also don’t have enough TIME to share all these photos with you guys if I want to write about them too…so I’m choosing the visuals 😀

If you’re a CT local, have you ever been to any of these spots?

Do any of my summertime festivities look similar to yours? Tell me more!

Start Summer at Mohegan Sun BBQ Fest!

My US-based readers know that Memorial Day Weekend has (unfortunately) come and gone…I’m sure that reality was made very clear when rolling out of bed this morning. I don’t know about you all, but putting on my big-girl pants and going to work after a three-day weekend is always hard, ESPECIALLY when I wake up to a hot summer day like I did today.

The appetizer fixings for a great BBQ!

With Memorial Day Weekend came many barbecues I’m sure, along with the fun family and friends that typically accompany them. You’ve got the summer party momentum going…do NOT let it stop this weekend! If you’re looking for another BBQ with family and friends, but don’t exactly feel up to putting on your grilling/cooking/cleaning/etc cap again so quickly, let Mohegan Sun do the work for you. This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (June 1-3), the casino will be holding its first-ever Sun BBQ Fest!

Mohegan Sun is a city in its own right, and it’s a city that knows how to throw a party. Take it from me – I attended the Sun WineFest several months back and had an amazing time wining, dining, and watching master chef demos. However, the price tag on that main event and its surrounding “supplementary” events was, I have to admit, a bit steep for the everyday 20-30 year olds. That’s certainly not the case with the Sun BBQ Fest. Tickets are only $30 per day, and that INCLUDES eight food tickets! Oh, and did I mention this event is taking place outdoors in the casino’s Winter Parking Lot? Because a BBQ isn’t a BBQ if it’s held in a convention center (where the WineFest was held)…that’s for certain.

Obviously I’m going to start by talking about the food you can purchase with those eight food tickets. Both rib vendors and Mohegan Sun restaurant vendors will be dishing out tasty eats. I’m really excited to try a dish from Big Bubba’s BBQ, the casino’s barbecue-restaurant-in-residence, which I’ve yet to cross off my list of Mohegan Sun restaurants to dine at. New England readers may have dined there before, or at some of the other participating restaurants, like Michael Jordan’s 23 SportCafe, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, and Ben & Jerry’s (OK, I know for sure that even my non-New-England readers have eaten there before!

Half Baked froyo is def an essential part of any visit to Mohegan!

The BBQ Fest is also going to feature plenty of musical performances, chef demos, a mechanical bull, a rib-eating contest, and a FARMER’S MARKET! I’m going on Saturday with a fellow local food fanatic friend, Jeff, and I know we’re going to have an excellent time checking out what the market has to offer in terms of local products. I also know we’re NOT going to be riding the mechanical bull. To each his/her own…we prefer to sit back, watch, and eat! 😀

I’m really excited to see DJ Chef, a performer who combines two of my true loves, music and food. He spins records and cooks gourmet dishes at the same time! That is talent, my friends.

DJ Chef and one of Jeff’s least favorite people, Guy Fieri.

There’s even a fireworks display at 9:30PM on Saturday, but Jeff and I will be gone by then (I’ll be at home hanging with my just-arrived-to-CT best blend Heather…yay!) Still, our afternoon at Mohegan is sure to be fun and delicious, and I can’t wait to share it with you all via Twitter during the event, as well as here on the blog afterward.

Have you ever been to a Mohegan Sun Casino event, or any kind of BBQ-themed festival?

What is your favorite food to eat BBQ-style? That question goes for vegetarians/vegans as well! Tofu anyone?!

Take a look at the schedule of events for each day of the Sun BBQ Fest and tell me what part of the event calendar you’d want to check out the most! I’m honestly almost as excited for the farmer’s market as I am for the restaurant food!