Tag Archives: cocktails

Marvelously Wiped From The Weekend

In case you missed it, I published my latest Taste of New Haven food tour recap on Friday!

Holyyyy moly. What a weekend. It absolutely wiped me out. To be honest, it was mostly Sunday that wiped me out, because the rest was not that out of the ordinary. Morning workouts and coffee…restaurant dinners…a salad beast…yup, sounds pretty typical. But throw in an all-day pool party at a casino and you have one exhausted me – for all the right, marvelous reasons!

Marvelous is…Katie, this movement’s creator, giving birth to a healthy baby boy! I couldn’t do a MIMM post without mentioning little Rocco…cute name, for a cute baby!

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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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Marvelous Meal at Barcelona!

Breaking news (or not) to Fashion Friday readers – my missing gold fake-Tom has been found. Yesterday’s tweet says it all, so I’ll leave it with that..

missingshoe

I had one of my most marvelous dining experiences ever on Friday night at one of my favorite area restaurants, Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford. My dad is out of town and my sister was working (not even going to mention my brother, who certainly has no interest in hanging out with the fam), so my mom and I wanted to go out for a special dinner – just us two.

Katie has marvelous covered for us!

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The Alcohol Calorie Struggle

I mentioned briefly in Monday’s MIMM weekend recap that some portions of the weekend brought on anxiety and emotional struggles for me. Not surprisingly, these were ED-related…specifically to my feelings before and after drinking alcohol.

One of this past weekend's day drinks - Yellow Tail Sparkling Rose in Lilly Pulitzer glasses (of course).

One of this past weekend’s day drinks – Yellow Tail Sparkling Rose in Lilly Pulitzer acrylic wine glasses (of course).

Since I entered recovery, my relationship with alcohol and its “empty calories” has improved. To this day the number “seven” still sticks out in my head – as in the number of calories per gram of alcohol. I see this number in my mind each time I have a drink. The difference between me now and me two years ago is now I can actually take a sip of a drink, as in I can actually perform the action. I used to be crippled by such fear of empty alcohol calories, and my belief that they’d just pile up on my stomach in the form of fat, that I rarely ever drank. If I did, I had to be STARVING first to do so. My senior year of college, I’d barely eat all day long so that I could go out to the bars at night and drink rum and Diet Coke (gross).

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Marvelous in My Memorial Day Weekend

It may not be Monday because I didn’t think it was worth it to publish a full MIMM post on a holiday, but Memorial Day starts with M and so does Marvelous, so there’s no reason I can’t keep the alliteration train chuggin’ at full speed. My work day went south the second I picked up my cubicle phone this morning to listen to a voicemail, so I really need to focus on marvelous and not mad. Which is how I’m feeling.

Thanks Katie for hosting this party! Pretend the Monday says Memorial Day.

Marvelous is…making it to my gym’s Friday evening step class. I haven’t been able to leave work on time for that class in awhile but I decided it was the Friday before a holiday weekend so if any day I was going to leave early, it’d be that day. The step class was so fun – a routine with both familiar and new moves, a high-energy instructor who demanded cheers from us as we worked out, and fantastic remixes of old favorites like “The Call”. Great way to kick off the holiday weekend.

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MIMM: School’s Out, Let’s Celebrate!

The winner of the Brilliant Options Wellness massage giveaway is Anna! You will be contacted about scheduling with Kellie your free 30 minute massage – congrats!

I have a lot of marvelous to share! I did a great job this weekend of balancing me-time with friend-time. I gave myself permission to celebrate my accomplishments and felt lots of love and gratitude for the people in my life who made them all possible. I’m continuing to de-grandma on weekends and stay out having a good time, and I’m determined to keep up that trend as long as the (slowly getting there) warm weather keeps giving me energy to stay up later and go go go! But I also spent plenty of time staying put put put, at the house on Saturday during the day and Sunday in the evening.

Thanks for hosting the marvelous party, Katie!

Marvelous is…FINISHING GRAD SCHOOL! Yes, I got A’s in both of my last semester courses and completed my MBA at University of Hartford with a 3.94 cumulative GPA. It feels so good to be done but it won’t really hit me until a few more weekends/lunch breaks without homework I think…or until I get my diploma in the mail. No I am not walking in the ceremony because really, ain’t nobody got time for that.

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La Boca Middletown’s New Menu

My giveaway for a free 30-minute massage by Kellie of Brilliant Options Wellness (Plantsville, CT) ends tonight at 11:59PM EST! Get those entries in!

Patrick of La Boca Mexican Restaurant & Cantina – located on Main Street in Downtown Middletown, CT – contacted me recently to find out if I’d be interested in coming in for dinner so that I could check out the new dinner menu, which was recently updated to include more unique dishes with a “Mexican fusion” vibe. I’ve actually been wanting to try La Boca for awhile – my interest in Middletown’s restaurant scene never dies – so I accepted Patrick’s invite and brought the perfect company…my parents and sister!

So happy my sister is home from college!

So happy my sister is home from college!

I’ve been to both “fancy” and “chill” Mexican restaurants, and I honestly prefer the latter because I feel like a laid-back vibe just fits best with the cuisine. Thankfully La Boca is a really chill place – anyone would feel welcome!

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Barcelona Goes Galician

Thank you to all who entered the HealthyChic $25 credit giveaway! The winner is my girl Linz of Itz Linz!. Congrats lady and I’ll contact you about redeeming your prize. If you’re bummed you didn’t win, remember you can still create an account through my invite and use discount code FRIENDS15 for 15% off your first order.

Last March I was transported to Mendoza during a wine dinner at Barcelona in West Hartford. In April, Exec Chef Alexander Feldman was at it again on Wednesday 4/17 with a Foods of Galicia dinner menu.

4-15-13-barcelona2

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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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Taste of Wethersfield 2013

When spring hits (I’m not saying when the weather gets warmer because it barely has been, OK I already got in my weather complaint for the day) my event schedule REALLY starts filling up! Last week I recapped the 4/11 Taste of the Nation Hartford, and a few days later on Saturday night 4/13 I was at the Keeney Memorial Center in Wethersfield, CT for the 8th Annual Taste of Wethersfield!

HIGH FIVE! Great event!

HIGH FIVE! Great event!

I had a great time at this event last year and am thankful that this year, I was asked back by the Wethersfield Historical Society itself! I took my usual foodie partner-in-crime Rachel – who happens to be the namer of my blog. I am forever in her debt!

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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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