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!

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MIMM: Holiday Cheer!

The winner of my giveaway for a Blue Nile Sterling Silver Branch Necklace is actually the first person who submitted any entries – Shawna! I will be contacting you to get your shipping address. Congrats to all who entered and thank you for the enthusiastic participation!

I had plans this past weekend for not one but two holiday parties. Unfortunately Saturday’s snow resulted in one of them getting cancelled but I still managed to make my weekend full of plenty of marvelous holiday (and overall) cheer.

Be sure to link-up with Katie if you’re participating in Marvelous In My Monday today!

Marvelous is…visiting Kaitlin on Friday! She was kind enough to host me for the evening and showed me a wonderful time. We started with a gift exchange…she got me a set of champagne flutes and a bottle of Prosecco, not to be opened until I move out of my parents’ house and get my own place 😉 my kind of motivation! The booze theme proceeded to carry on throughout the evening.

We went to Total Wine in Norwalk (which only made me more pumped for FL this month because there’s one by our condo) and they were having not one but two wine tastings AND a vodka tasting. Thank you Friday night! I’m worse in liquor stores than most girls are in Target so I walked out with two bottles of late harvest dessert wines, a nip of coffee liqueur, and a really nice Cabernet to share with Kaitlin at the holiday party we planned to attend later. I also ran into a fantastic guy named Latif who overheard me asking an employee if Total Wine carried Cesca Vicent, my favorite red to order at Barcelona. We immediately bonded over our love for Cesca and Barcelona! It was classic.

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Five Things Friday: Half Day!

It’s the last day to enter my Blue Nile giveaway for a sterling silver necklace! Entries close tonight at 11:59PM EST.

It’s Friday and I’m taking a half day at work today (holla) and have a lot of random stuff to say. Perfect day to join Clare‘s Five Things Friday party so I can be ADD and talk about all the things!

If you participate, make sure you link-up!

1. Today I get to see two very special people!

The reason for my half-day at work today is because I’m the lucky duck who gets to pick up this lady from the airport.

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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.

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Blue Nile “Give One, Get One” Necklace Giveaway!

I received a complimentary necklace from Blue Nile for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

Seattle-based jewelry company Blue Nile has invited me to partake in a “Give One, Get One” holiday campaign. That’s great news for me AND you guys because not only did I receive the Sterling Silver Branch Necklace for review, but I am also going to give one away! The necklace is priced at $40 (unfortunately currently on back-order) and arrived promptly and beautifully packaged.

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One for me, one for one of you, and some Kisses too!

Blue Nile actually is the source of Kaitlin‘s beautiful engagement ring and her wedding band will come from them too! They currently offer free FedEx shipping on every order (shipping is ALWAYS my online shopping hangup) as well as an extended return policy for the holidays.

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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!

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Tote bags and name tags were provided.

Tote bags and name tags were provided.

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I Hate Pants

I woke up this morning with the urge to write this post so what I had planned for today will be up tomorrow. Now “hate” is a strong word. And I know that pants, especially given the fact that it’s sleeting outside in CT right now, are necessary at times. But I have to say, pants are my least favorite article of clothing. Pants have the power (or I give them the power) to completely change my mood. Pants give me a number that my mind can grasp upon and use to beat me up. Pants are a form of measurement, and when the measuring consists of noticing that you absolutely don’t need a belt with pants you used to need one with, it’s really enough to make you want to throw the pants in a heap and live in yoga pants.

Maxis are nice too.

Bikinis get a bad rap as being the dreaded article of clothing for those with body image issues. But I beg to differ. At least when I wear a bikini, I can put something on over it to cover it up and feel fine. Bikinis have stretchy waists that are sometimes even adjustable. Though I’ve been experiencing anxiety about wearing a bathing suit in Florida at the end of this month, it isn’t comparable to the anxiety I feel each morning I wake up and have to put on a pair of jeans that have just been washed.

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Fashion Black Friday 2013

Hey CT residents! Visit Cait Plus Ate on Facebook for your last chance to enter my giveaway for a pair of tickets to a weeknight showing of Hartford TheaterWorks “Christmas on the Rocks“. I’ll be attending tomorrow’s matinee and can’t wait to share my review next week!

Firstly, let me just say that I have been “going out” on Black Friday for as long as I can remember, and I was not a fan of how many places opened this year on Thanksgiving night. But not because of the whole don’t-make-people-work on Thanksgiving controversy that you may have heard about. I actually used to work on Thanksgiving (at a local bagel shop) and liked it because I was paid twice my normal hourly rate and I often find myself bored on holidays – I can only sit around the house and chat for so long. So I’m not surprised if some people welcomed the chance to work on Thanksgiving Day! In fact during college breaks I was employed part-time at my local Victoria’s Secret and working on Black Friday itself was the kicker because a) it sucked and b) you were paid your normal rate since it’s not a “real” holiday.

Fabulous idea.

No, my beef with stores opening on Thanksgiving night is because it takes away the “hardcore” from Black Friday! Any chump can stay up and hit the stores at 8PM. But setting the alarm on a day off from work takes a little bit more dedication. So call me a snob, but I do not consider those who went out Thursday night to be Black Friday shoppers.

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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.

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

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

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Thanksgiving 2013: Dining Out

In recent years my family has spent Thanksgiving at the home of our friends, the Gerbers. Unfortunately this year they moved to Texas and we decided instead of finding another group to join or having Thanksgiving at home, we would go out! Obviously this was my idea and of course we selected J. Gilbert’s, my favorite restaurant, as the spot. Thankfully (ha get it?!) we were smart enough to call a couple of months in advance and lock down a 6:30PM reservation for our party of six. We received a call the day before Thanksgiving letting us know that a 4PM slot had become available, and my parents jumped on it. This was not fun for me because the earlier the reservation the more time I was going to have between finishing dinner and going to bed to think about what I’d ate. But I was the only one in that camp, so I had to deal!

The Croswell Fam!

The Croswell Fam!

I felt ridiculously hungover on Thanksgiving morning thanks to the previous evening’s festivities (Jager, never again) but made it to the gym for 30 minutes of StepMill intervals and an upper body workout. I sure am glad I went because I felt a lot better afterward, but man it was torturous during! I rushed home to shower and get cozy with coffee and the Black Friday circulars…a tradition! I felt very tempted to restrict after the gym and just not eat until dinner so that I would ensure I’d have plenty of room for the amount of food I was “bound to consume”. I texted my girl Brittany for support and she gave me the reality check I needed to push forward and fuel my body post-workout.

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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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