Category Archives: Travel

The Caitlins/Kaitlins Meet Again

CT residents, remember to enter my giveaway for two lawn tickets to the Talcott Mountain Music Festival!

As you may have seen in Kaitlin‘s MIMM post, I paid her a visit over the holiday weekend and stayed over Saturday to Sunday. I enjoyed the leisurely car ride down to the 203 and arrived around 4pm – just enough time for us to pay a visit to the pool of Kaitlin’s best friend (and maid of honor). I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Kaitlin’s friends from home, and sipped on Cisco Brewers Summer of Lager, a new-to-me light lager. It definitely hit the spot on such a humid day, but made me a bit sleepy. I rallied though, because then it was off to a summer cookout at the home of Kaitlin’s mom’s best friend, Linda!

Kaitlin's fiance Jeff was with us during my visit too!

Kaitlin’s fiance Jeff was with us during my visit too!

We instantly dove into an amazing spread of apps, along with glasses of chilled summery rose. Along with the below-pictured bruschetta (on farmers market bread!), we snacked on cheese & crackers, TJ’s spinach & artichoke dip, and homemade onion dip. I could’ve made a meal out of all of it!

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Taste of New Haven: On 9 Tour

I just adore the Taste of New Haven food tours! So much so in fact, that I have now been on three of their currently offered tours, as well as one that is no longer offered. You can read my past recaps below:

Keep your eyes peeled on daily deal sites like Groupon or ChariDeal, because Taste of New Haven deals often pop up there – in fact, I have funded all four of the tours I’ve been on with a daily deal! Tickets are normally $55/person (plus tax) or one can become a member and get, among other perks, 20% off of an unlimited amount of tours. I may have used a daily deal for each tour I’ve been on, but I wholeheartedly believe and tell people often that the $55 price is MORE than worth it for the amount of food and drinks each person receives on a tour! The owner, head tour guide, and author Colin Caplan will even try to get substitutions for folks with dietary modifications (within reason).

Colin doin’ his tour guide thang.

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Chobani and Physique 57 in NYC – Again!

During my August NYC trip for BlogHer ’12, I had two very important “firsts” – my first Physique 57 class (followed by a second a day later, holy addiction) and my first trip to then-new Chobani SoHo. I knew I wanted to experience both again during my NYC day-trip last week to tour the Elvis Duran Show, but would I be able to fit both in one afternoon? OBVIOUSLY.

Chobani SoHo

Kaitlin was super-excited for her first Chobani SoHo trip since she is a fellow Chobani fanatic! We arrived at the store after doing some fabulous shopping near the Elvis Duran studios (everything was grouped nice and close together) and found a sweet employee posted-up outside handing out samples of the PB&J creation (creamy PB, Concord grape jelly, sliced red grapes, peanuts, plain Cho).

Clearly everyone loved the samples - just one left!

Clearly everyone loved the samples – just one left!

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No we did not plan our matching jackets and bags.

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MIMM: Elvis Duran Show in NYC!

Man oh man! I am very thankful to It’s Only Natural for helping me spread the word about my gift card & cookbook giveaway – after they posted it on their Facebook page, I got tons of last minute entries! Oddly enough though, the winner was an early entrant – lucky #4!

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Congrats to my vegan friend Sasha. She has never been to ION before and I know she’s going to LOVE it! She also will be graduating from college this month so the cookbook is perfect for her as she embarks on post-college working life!

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Thanks to everyone who entered and I’ll see you at ION this summer at their weekend patio parties, yes?

Last Tuesday 4/30 I had the most marvelous opportunity ever – the chance to bring my blend Kaitlin with me to NYC so we could visit our favorite morning radio show, The Elvis Duran Show, at the Z100 Studios! I still remember the first time Web Girl Kathleen, the show’s web girl, tweeted me saying she liked my blog. Who knew that eventually she’d be sweet enough to extend an invite to me to come and tour the studio!

Thank you Katie for inspiring me to share what’s marvelous every Monday!

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Being OK With Marvelous

My giveaway for a $25 credit to healthy-living discount shopping site HealthyChic ends tomorrow night at 11:59 PM EST. Make sure to enter and if you don’t win, you can still sign up and use a discount code on your first order!

This weekend was really out of my box – like last weekend in Boston. I pshawed sleep, homework, and my usual kill-me Sunday morning spin class in favor of all sorts of marvelous. And I enjoyed myself while doing so. And that SCARES me.

Let’s get the marvelous moving, thanks to Katie!

Some people who read this post may understand exactly where I’m coming from. On the other end of the spectrum, some may think I’m a spoiled brat who will always find something to complain about no matter how good my life gets. I can see both perspectives but what it all comes down to is what feels safe to me and realizing that the safe option is not always the option I WANT. And that does not make me an irresponsible, reckless person. It makes me a normal 24 year old!

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MIMM: Boston Strong

Last Monday was certainly not marvelous for Boston. And just a few days prior to the marathon bombings, my friend Colin and I made travel plans to go to Boston this past Saturday 4/20 to visit our best friend Greg to celebrate Colin’s 24th birthday. On Friday, the manhunt for the bomber had us wondering whether or not our trip was still on. Of course I am glad he was apprehended first and foremost because we can finally get some answers which will hopefully give this tragedy some closure. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also happy he’d been caught because the travel ban was lifted and our Boston visit was back on. The visit ended up being pretty marvelous!

Thanks for keeping Monday positive, Katie!

Marvelous is…learning a new and hilarious game – Cards Against Humanity. Think of a crass Apples to Apples (the tagline is “a free party game for horrible people”). Examples of black “category cards” include “Lifetime movie _______, the story of _________” and “Instead of coal, Santa now leaves naughty children _____.”  The cards used to answer are called white cards and include phrases like “black people”, “Nickelback”, “the miracle of childbirth”, and…well, you get the picture. Hilarity ensued.

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Post for Boston

Source

I’m shocked and scared by what happened at the Boston Marathon finish line. A horrific act like this is terrible no matter the circumstances, but the fact that the celebratory day of such innocent bystanders and athletes was marred by tragedy is particularly jarring to me. My thoughts are with all those affected in any way and I hope we all remember to replace the hateful thoughts we may be having toward the perpetrators with love for the victims. That hate will not accomplish anything, but the love will do wonders.

Wordless Wednesday: Las Vetas Lounge

First thing’s first…thanks to all who entered the giveaway for a free Lendperk dress rental! The winning comment was from Stephanie!

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Congrats and I will contact you about getting your dress rental. For those who did not win, remember you can sign up for Lendperk for just $20/month and get a 9 day trial period during which you can cancel your subscription – no penalty!

Okay, I just started a Wordless Wednesday post with a whole bunch of words. But now I’ll stay true to my title’s words, because recent developments at work have led to me being busier than ever, and online classes mean my free time is more studious than blog-ious. I’ve been dying to share the pics I took of the charming interior (sadly, the employees were less charming) of Las Vetas Lounge in Fairfield, CT. Kaitlin brought me there when I went to visit her, and she hit the nose on the head – I fell in love with the decor. This place seemed like a cafe out of Gilmore Girls! Enjoy the photos!

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Fashion Friday: Lendperk Giveaway!

I may attend a lot of events, but most do not require a nice dress. That does not stop me from buying dresses…even though I live in New England, where spring still has yet to…spring. Anyway, I always have a “stockpile” of dresses I’ve worn a few times that I can bust out for an upcoming fancier event, and that’s just what I planned to do for the wedding I attended on March 23rd…until Star Li, CEO and Founder of Lendperk, came along.

The dress I selected - by BCBG!

The dress I selected for the wedding – by BCBG MAXAZRIA!

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Belated Birthday and Vacation Reflections

I don’t have much time at all to expand beyond yesterday’s simple WIAW recap of my Florida vacation eats/drinks. Work’s so busy that I shouldn’t even be taking a lunch break to write this! But I am because I also finally managed to get more FL pics uploaded to share and use in this post about what you CAN’T tell from simply looking at my photos.

My co-workers know me well and got me a rhinestone birthday card and wine!

Right around my birthday (perhaps even on that day, 3/22) I felt much more pressure than usual from my ego. It’s almost like warning bells started going off in my head as soon as occasions – my birthday, a wedding, a vacation – came around that my mind saw as excuses I could use to “slack off” on eating healthily and exercising regularly.

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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!

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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.

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