Category Archives: Travel

Let’s Think-Out Loud (Let’s Think-Out Loud)

I hope at least one person gets that the title of this post is meant to be sung to the tune of “Let’s Get Loud” by J. Lo. If you don’t get it after this explanation and the below video, I have failed as a blogger.

 

I hope you guys are ready for some thoughts. Because I’ve got a few of them, and it’s Thursday, which means it’s time to link up with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursdays!

Thinking-Out-Loud
1. I totally spaced and didn’t announce the winner of my Nancy Rose Performance workout outfit giveaway in Tuesday’s post. Oops! Thank you to all who entered and our winner is Hillary…I will be contacting you to arrange for receipt of your prize!

2. Best of Hartford 2014 awards nominations are out for both Hartford Magazine and Hartford Advocate. I’m honored to be nominated again in categories for both! You can vote for me for Best Blogger and Best Twitterer in Hartford Mag’s awards, and Best Local Blogger, Best Local Twitter, and Best Local Instagrammer in Hartford Advocate‘s awards.

Continue reading →

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 →

Back In Town

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, and I wish I could say I’m going into it ready to enjoy myself, but I’m experiencing lots of hesitation about my plans for the evening. I don’t have super-high expectations of a special New Year’s Eve; I learned long ago not to hope for “that magical night”. But my plans involve dinner at Bricco Trattoria then celebrating at Rooftop120. I’m going to be with my siblings and some of my oldest friends. I need to be excited! But New Year’s Eve out after trips to NYC and Florida, which happened to fall around the food-and-drink-heavy Christmas season, just has me thinking about calories. And the poor workout I will have the next day if I feel even the slightest bit hungover.

I got in almost all of the restaurant trips I wanted to this vacation. I already mentioned Chick-fil-A and Duffy’s. I also got to have a healthy plant-based lunch at Christopher’s Kitchen, got my Quizno’s fix in the airport during the trip home, had a special dinner at Seasons 52 with my family, Kat, and her sister, and got to take my sister and good friend Greg to the Rum Bar for some tropical beverages. And though TooJay’s was out of black and white cookies on Christmas Day, I got one later!

Continue reading →

On A Boat At Christmas

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I’m going to pick up from where I left off on my FL vacation recapping…Christmas Eve Eve aka my mom’s birthday aka December 23rd. My family headed south to Miami to see a Heat game (my grandma and mom are OBSESSED with the Heat…OK, and Lebron) but I had the most amazing evening with Kat, her husband Mike, and her sister Helen.

Come on, the title of this post was too easy. No I was not on THAT boat, but the photo above was taken from a boat I WAS on. One of Mike’s friends rented a boat for the evening so that we could cruise around, check out the Christmas lights on the boats and houses on the Intercoastal Waterway, and have a Cookie & Cocktail party. Oh. Yes. And I was invited!

12-23-13-boat4

And I wore a Santa hat, because I’m a cheeseball!

Continue reading →

On The Up and Up in Florida!

I hope you guys enjoyed my recap of my father/daughter traditional trip to NYC! It was a great time but the food and drinks definitely got to me and my travel day to Florida this past Sunday was a bit rough in a mental sense. I just felt gross the entire day after getting up really early for my flight (I got around 6 or 7 hours of sleep but Sarah understands…I swear any less than 8 and I’m a mess). I was wearing a slobby travel outfit, had on my glasses, and my hair was in a not-so-chic rat’s nest bun. I felt ridiculously dehydrated, so much so that I couldn’t even finish a little bit of coffee. My pants felt tight (even pants of the yoga variety!) and all I felt like doing once we got to yoga was 40 minutes of P90X Yoga…not nearly “enough”, in my head. To be honest with you, I found myself restricting my intake all that day. I just wanted to feel better about myself. It didn’t really work…it often doesn’t. That’s the lesson I seem to still be learning.

A very Florida Christmas.

A very Florida Christmas.

What DID make me feel better was having a snack after yoga, taking a shower, and deciding to make myself look presentable for our dinner at Duffy’s. I always visit this local chain when I visit; my family consistently looks forward to our Duffy’s dinner. So that was a perfect destination for our first night in town. Putting in some extra effort to blow-dry and straighten my hair, and also putting on a cute breezy outfit, definitely had me feeling better upon our arrival at the restaurant.

Continue reading →

Father-Daughter NYC Christmas 2013

Cheers from Florida! As per usual I will be behind on my recapping but I first must share with you some pre-Florida festivities…I’ve been all over the place (again, as per usual).

After some effort my dad, sister, and I figured out that this was our seventh father/daughter NYC Christmas trip.

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Continue reading →

My First Thinking Out Loud Thursday!

I definitely am feeling some of that pre-holiday and pre-vacation stress, and also trying to figure out where 2014 will take me. I need to make some big decisions about my career, my location, and just how much uncertainty I can handle. I have SO much on my mind that I figure it will help get it all off my chest to think out loud a bit.

Amanda's new link-up has already seen great success!

Amanda‘s new link-up has already seen great success!

1. I cannot stand the aforementioned uncertainty. I have no idea what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be this time next year. Okay, maybe I have some small idea of where I’ll be. But what I’m doing? I don’t even know. I keep wishing for something to come along that will be a huge “sign” and tell me exactly what to do with my life and what direction to go in and what decision to make and when to make it. I know, be careful what I wish for, because that something could end up being awful!

Continue reading →

MIMM: Home and Away

The winner of the Ellovi Body Butter giveaway is Mahdi! Congratulations and look for an email from me about getting you your free jar of raw six-ingredient body butter. Remember if you didn’t win you can get 15% off (click here to purchase a jar) by entering offer code “caitplusate”.

I went into the weekend wary of how I would handle my plans to visit my good friend/former neighbor Molly in Boston on Saturday night. I still wasn’t feeling good about myself after Wednesday night’s dinner out and was doing a lot of future-tripping over the guilt I would surely feel after a day and night of restaurant hopping in Beantown. For that reason I made sure to keep Friday night low-key and stayed in my hometown. Of course everything turned out marvelous in the end, as it often does. I’ve got another weekend of excellent memories and moments I’d re-live again in an instant, even if they also came with some not-so-kind thoughts toward myself.

Share your marvelous via Katie’s link-up!

Marvelous are…my tolerant, flexible parents. I was a bit of a mess when I got home Friday night. I’d been sitting in traffic, stewing with too much time to think about our evening dinner plans. We would have to fight that same traffic again to get over to our planned destination (Rizzuto’s in West Hartford) and it didn’t seem worth it. But if we didn’t go there, where would we go? I’d already mentally prepared myself for one restaurant and I know it sounds silly, but I do not handle plan changes well when it comes to food. Hello, control freak. My parents calmed me down when I got home and let me choose a new restaurant destination that I was comfortable with and that also wouldn’t take us on a highway. Speaking of which…

Continue reading →

Semi-Wordless: Tennessee Trip

I don’t really feel like writing about my long weekend in Tennessee. I wish I could write a blog post that reports great success, or at least success compared to last year’s trip, but I don’t feel like I can.

Scenes from the plane – got through the first season of Breaking Bad! And sipped on Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey.

I made it to the game this year, but not past the first quarter. I made an attempt to rally later in the game after Tennessee tied it up, and enjoyed watching the last quarter in the hotel bar with my Nana Connie.

Continue reading →

Three Things Thursday: Travel Day!

Thanks so much for your comments on yesterday’s special WIAW post about my college food journey! I’ve come a long way and seen both ends of the spectrum, and it’s nice to have your encouragement and support as I continue to work on settling somewhere at a balanced middle.

The weekend will soon be upon us! But for me it begins at 1PM today, which is when I will leave work to get ready to head to the airport and catch a plane to Tennessee. I’m super-excited to reunite with my sister, my Nana Connie, and our close family friends. I’m also thankful that the University of Tennessee vs. Georgia football game we are attending on Saturday starts at 3:30PM. Last year the game started at 8PM and alas, tailgating got the best of me mentally and I did not end up attending the game. This time I am determined to enjoy myself and keep guilty thoughts at bay. I’m hoping for a nice tailgate that doesn’t start too soon before the game (and how could it with the game starting at 3:30PM), a fun game in which the Vols hopefully win, and some chill post-game relaxation at the hotel.

Can't wait to reunite with Nana Connie & my sister!

Can’t wait to reunite with Nana Connie & my sister!

I woke up yesterday with a cold, but am trying not to focus on it. I’m trying to use mind over matter and stay positive and enjoy my trip. Let’s get this Three Things Thursday goin’, as I enjoyed my recent Friday Five and am feeling random today.

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.