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Rooftop120 With Cupcake Kelly’s!

Remember to enter my SOYJOY giveaway – two winners will be chosen after tomorrow night’s entry deadline!

There must be something about me and bringing blends to Rooftop 120, huh? Or maybe there’s just something about me going to Rooftop 120. Yeah, I think that’s more like it. Well whatever the “something” is, I decided to show the magic of one of my favorite CT restaurants to my blend Kelly and her hubby, a fellow Manhattan-lover. They’ve been staying nearby while waiting for their new house to be ready, and Kelly and I wanted to take advantage and have plenty of hang-out time during her “homeless month”.

Nick, Kelly, and I!

When Kelly and Nick arrived I was already at Rooftop 120 with my parents (obviously, when am I not hanging out with them?) enjoying a cocktail that my favorite bartender ever, Andres, had crafted for me. The ‘rents had decided to go out for a drink before a church fundraiser.

The family that drinks together – stays together?!

As soon as I arrived, Andres shared with me a cocktail he had been dreaming up that had my name on it – Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, muddled orange, and a splash of ginger beer, served up. Yum! I was on board immediately and even my whiskey-averse mom thought it was nice and smooth.

Once Kelly and Nick arrived, they selected their adult beverages – very wisely, I might add. Nick took my suggestion and ordered one of Andres’s wonderful Maker’s Mark Manhattans (on the rocks), while Kelly opted for one of the fall cocktail specials, the Smashed Pumpkin: Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Liqueur, Captain Morgan, and cinnamon.

It tasted even better than it looks!

Kelly and Nick had a Groupon to use (alas, I had used mined already the week prior) so of course we ordered dinner too! Both of the evening’s specials sounded absolutely AMAZING to Kelly and I, so we ordered both and split them so we wouldn’t have to make any heart-wrenching decisions. One of the many reasons why blend dining works well!

Seasoned cod special atop warm chickpea puree and sauteed spinach.

Surf & Turf: jumbo shrimp and filet! Source

Kelly and I were beyond wow-ed by the above two dishes as well as beyond bummed when they were gone! Nick ordered the Kobe burger and fries which I didn’t get a photo of, but trust me, it looked fantastic.

Cheers!

Nick decided on Junior’s cheesecake for dessert, and was kind enough to let me steal several bites. Though I don’t eat it often, cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts EVER. After each freshman year calculus exam, I used to get a huge slice with Oreo crumbs on top from the cafe I worked at in college. Because the studying I did for those things was hell and I certainly deserved it.

Had to go Greek!

But I was craving more savory, not sweet, so Kelly and I split the above appetizer – baked lamb meatballs with onion jam and yogurt sauce. Plus BREAD! Kelly and I love all things Greek and so a Greek-inspired dish seemed perfect for us. But next time we are going to go all out because I have officially invited myself over to her in-laws’ house for an authentic Greek meal…hope you don’t mind, Kelly and Nick!

Skinnygirl Cucumber and St. Germaine.

I ordered (and was unable to finish) the above second cocktail – still craving savory, so I went with a cucumber martini with a salted rim. Kelly tried it and was a fan too of how refreshing it was! Great job again Andres!

It’s good to know a guy who can make a good drink!

Kelly got a second drink too, which she had seen previously on Andres’s Instagram (where he uploads photos of his lovely concoctions) and was intrigued by – a Sparkler! Many flavors are available and whichever one you want comes in a puree and is mixed with Prosecco. Love the presentation!

Sparkler with Prosecco!

Kelly and Nick headed home and I stuck around a bit longer to chat with Andres as well as some friends I ran into from the gym. Always a bit strange to see each other outside of workout clothes for the first time! And of course before we parted ways Kelly and I made another dinner date…for this Friday!

Thankful for my blend!

Which of the drinks and/or food we tried looks best to you?

Have you ever had a blend meetup? How about a blend-and-her-hubby meetup?

Do you have any special connections with any employee at a restaurant where you are a regular?

Millwright’s Tavern: Cozy, Cocktails, Comfort Food

Thanks so much to all who entered my Clever Girls Collective giveaway for a Country Crock Thanksgiving Kit! I received 225 entries – WOW – and loved hearing what your fave dishes are to eat at Thanksgiving. The lucky winner is…

…Laura! Thank you for entering and I will be contacting you for shipping info so that you can get your prize!

You may recall my restaurant review post on Millwright’s, Simsbury’s (and one of Connecticut’s) newest restaurant. During my first visit, the establishment’s lower-key portion, the Tavern, had not yet opened and was actually still under construction. When it opened earlier this fall, I kept trying to make time to visit, but never had time in my busy schedule to stop in and have the Millwright’s Tavern dining experience. Finally the time came this past Friday night, with my foodie friend Kat (she is the one I, and my readers, can thank for fun blog posts like local giveaways and my review of Blo) of the Hartford Advocate.

How cute is she in her hat?!

I fell in love the moment I descended the stairs into the Millwright’s Tavern, which consists of wooden tables, stone walls, a fireplace with adjacent seating, and a bar with a speakeasy-feel. I adore dining at restaurant bars so that I can watch cocktails being made and observe the staff at work; thankfully Kat had the same line of thinking and already had a seat staked out for us!

The Aviation and Carrot Terrine.

I went with the head bartender Chris’s favorite drink on the creative cocktail menu, the Aviation (gin, creme de violette, citrus, and a beloved brandied cherry). The head chef and restaurant founder, Tyler Anderson (he won Chopped!), also was kind enough to send out the above Carrot Terrine! It was incredibly interesting and delicious.

View while sitting at the bar – isn’t the stone so perfect for a cozy fall or winter night?

The Aviation was incredible, as I knew it would be. Chris really knows his drinks (I met him and tried his take on the Hemingway during my first visit) and I love the unique floral test of creme de violette. I also am such a sucker for a brandied cherry. Or two. Or fifty.

Sweetbreads

Millwright’s continued to spoil us and sent out a couple more complimentary tastes. I got my first taste of sweetbreads during my last visit and was more than happy to try the above lightly fried version – flash-fried in fact! What are sweetbreads you ask? That’s the culinary name for thymus or pancreas of, in this case, veal. The aroma of this dish practically had me salivating before my first bite – is there anything more drool-inducing than the smell of fried food?

Tuna!!!

If it weren’t for the Carrot Terrine, I’d definitely be calling the above Tuna Belly with Shisho and Asian Pear the most unique dish of the evening. I think pear goes so well with Asian seafood and wish that more restaurants served that pairing! The only bad thing about this dish was that it was so small and therefore gone in the blink of an eye, or the chew of a mouth.

Spinach/Kale/Chard Gruyere Dip topped with Garlic Crumbs, served with Country Bread.

Oh, obviously Kat and I ordered a bunch of small plates to make up our own mini Tavern menu tour. Would you expect anything else? It’s all about trying as many tastes as possible. Always. You folks were certainly freaking out when I Instagrammed the above above-average play on your average spinach & artichoke dip, but I cannot blame you. The country bread was so toasty it was like thick crackers and the garlic crumbs on top of that decadent cheese? HEAVEN. They didn’t skimp on the greens either!

Poutine a la Grecque

Many of Chef Tyler Anderson’s dishes have a Mediterannean influence, like the above Greek take on poutine with feta, olive crumbs, local tomatoes, and yogurt sauce! I’m a potato and Greek food freak so each bite of this dish had me moaning in a foodgasm. You know the feeling. I can’t recommend this dish enough to anyone who visits the Millwright’s Tavern.

Lamb Meatballs

We continued the Greek-style dining with the above lamb meatballs with polenta, tomato sauce, and fennel slaw. So amazing! I adore lamb more and more each time I eat it, which has been more and more often (makes sense). The red sauce was so very rich and flavorful. I wasn’t surprised that Millwright’s did a great job on this dish since the lamb I had last time I was there is still a dish I consider to be one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

Duck Potato Skins. You heard me.

I was (obviously) menu stalking earlier in the day before I arrived at Millwright’s, and the moment I saw the above dish on the menu, I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT. Duck confit potato skins with sriracha creme and pickles…my only wish is that there had been less cheese so I could’ve tasted more of that fabulous fatty duck. Still, the potato addict in me was smiling.

FOOD PARTY!

We feasted, we Instagrammed, we laughed, and we most certainly did NOT cry. We also got to hang out with the wonderful maitre d’ and sommelier, Brent Bushong II, and the Director of Operations, AJ Aurrichio. Brent is incredible at what he does – he makes every Millwright’s patron feel special.

Millwright’s Old Fashioned – I knew I had to try this one.

I was unfortunately unable to finish my second cocktail, Millwright’s take on the Old Fashioned (bourbon, demerera, flamed orange peel). But the portion I did finish was so wonderful and smooth! In fact, next time I visit the Tavern (and there WILL be a next time), I plan to order it again so that I can enjoy a full glass. However, I think next time I may order it up – what do you guys think? I’m not an ice fan!

CHEESE PLATE. NOM.

Kat and I saw the above cheese plate from the regular menu (also available in the Tavern) get served to a fellow bar-diner and we both stopped our conversation and literally watched it go by. Probably was a hilarious image. We vowed to order it as our dessert, and even though we were both very full after our small plates, we threw caution to the wind and ordered the glorious plate of local cheeses, apple compote, HOMEMADE rye crackers, bread, and candied almonds. I am a cheese plate fiend. This guy was fabulous! The apples were so very fresh – I don’t really like apples that much but when so high quality like this compote, I am all over it. The crackers? I cannot believe they make their own! I would buy boxes of them! Kat and I could not finish all of our food so she took the rest home to her lucky husband.

I’m already dying to bring my parents to the Tavern so that we can feast on both the Tavern and Dinner Menus. Oh, and cocktails for my dad and I! Thank you to Tyler, AJ, Brent, Chris, and everyone else who made our evening at Millwright’s Tavern the perfect Friday night kickoff to our weekend!

Which of the menu items that I sampled would you most like to have tried?

Have you ever been to a restaurant with a speakeasy-feel to it?

Wordless Wednesday: Taste of New Haven’s Theater District Tour

In September I visited New Haven for my third Taste of New Haven tour, in the city’s Theater District. I owe you guys a recap but am low on time, hence a lovely Wordless Wednesday. Thank goodness for days of the week that start with “w”, right Meg? Sorry for no mention of Halloween, but I’m saving that til Friday (mua ha ha suspense).

Started out with a cocktail sampling at The Wine Thief with my pals Ripe!

Taste of New Haven owner/tour guide Colin Caplan, Jeff from Ripe, and moi!

Our first restaurant stop, Temple Grille, had something MADE for me…a build your own salad card!

Honestly one of the worst cocktails I’ve EVER tasted. I think it was a Cranberry Vodka but I tasted Cranberry Blah.

However the food was fantastic! Waffle & sweet potato fries, plus an ahi tuna sandwich on some delish wheat bread.

My favorite spot on the tour – Kitchen Zinc! No surprise since my fave food is pizza. The white bean salad on the left (with roasted tomatoes, basil pesto, roasted radicchio, pearl mozz) blew my mind.

The classic Margherita pizza! Adored this place’s thin crust.

My favorite pie – the Broccoli Rabe with roasted garlic, ricotta salata, mozzarella, and local Salemme hot pepper flakes. It had quite a kick!

My (first) plate.

Of course Jeff was my tour companion!

I actually enjoyed this fall beer enough to go back for a second glass!

The tour included a visit to Elm City Kettle Corn on the streets of Yale campus!

I don’t even really like kettle corn, but this was pretty yummy! We all got samples!

Stops at historical sites are scattered throughout the tour. Colin has written books on New Haven and knows so much!

We each got to try a gourmet Chocopologie chocolate. I chose the one with the dried rose petal!

Our last stop was Kelly’s, a gastropub that had pretty good food AND accommodated me with wine instead of beer! I had a mini salad, pulled pork sandwich, and fried brie.

Our last bite was mochi from The Mochi Store! I thought it was okay but this was Jeff’s fave part of the tour.

If you’re free tonight, head to the Taste of New Haven website to register for the Trick-Or-Eat Spooky Tour! It starts at 7PM and runs to the spooky hour of 11PM. Nosh on scary good eats and learn about the city’s haunted history!

Have you ever been on a food tour?

Which of these bites would you have wanted to try most?

Tuesday Tidbits

How are you all doing?! Thank you for the compliments on yesterday’s Blo West Hartford review! I wish I could tell you my hair looked like that every day, but alas, right now it is in a messy bun. And here’s some proof for you:

Blend run-in!

I am blogging from Daybreak right now because due to Sandy, my workplace has no power (thankfully I do have power at home and we only ended up losing it for an hour last night). As I was settling in here, someone approached me and introduced herself…the lovely lady pictured above, Rachel of Healthy Chicks! I met her dad (a local) here awhile ago, and we got to talking and somehow my blog came up. He told me he had a daughter who blogged and lived in Boston, and put me in contact with her via Twitter. She came to stay with him during Sandy and recognized me blogging away – she was even expecting to possibly see me here since, as regular readers know, I am ALWAYS at Daybreak! I loved chatting with her and still can’t get over the coincidence. Never thought when I left this morning that I’d be meeting a blend today!

Tuesday Tidbits

Alliteration, come at me! I have a few pieces of cool information that I want to share with you all today:

The beautiful blogger (and fellow Vol, yes I consider myself one even though I didn’t go to UT) Sloane of Strength in Freedom is starting a campaign that is going to be an amazing support system for many girls – I just know it. The campaign is called Freedom From Perfection and is all about being able to share (anonymously if you wish) the thoughts you may have that put pressure on you to be perfect. Whether you suffer from disordered eating or are just sick of those occasional “should” statements that pop up in your mind, you can participate. Sloane is providing an outlet to be honest about those thoughts, get them out in the open, and push them away! She launched the campaign today, so make sure you check out her vlog that explains the campaigns message – and how to participate!

Source

Next, I wanted to spread the word about something CT locals may be interested in. Yummy Hummy, a New London-based hummus, pesto, and salsa maker, has been mentioned on my blog a few times. I adore their products – so many unique flavors like Carrot & Dandelion Green Pesto, Curry Hummus, and Strawberry Salsa (all of which I’ve tried and love). This November and December, Yummy Hummy is offering a convenient way for local people to regularly receive tubs of their local products – a winter share with pickup at the Wethersfield Winter Farmers’ Market. For just $32, you can get access to four pickups (two in November, two in December). At each pickup, you will receive two containers of your choice. That’s a savings of $1 per container, and pickups are 11/1, 11/15, 12/6, and 12/20. So hurry and sign up! To do so, email Lexy at Lexy@yummyhummydips.com or call her at 860-334-2045.

Source

Finally, I received a FB message from a high school friend letting me know about a product with a mission that I may be interested in. She was right about that, and I want to share it with you guys too. Her friends Alex and Mark previously worked for MANA Nutrition, a non-profit that (along with Unicef) provides ready-to-use-therapeutic food (RUTF) to children around the world with severe acute malnutrition. It’s basically a powerful dose of nutrients that these little bodies so desperately need to get them back to a level at which complete development can occur. Now Alex and Mark are starting “the TOMS for peanut butter” – Good Spread. They’ve developed a natural peanut butter (just peanuts, organic honey, organic sea salt) and will be donating to MANA funds for one RUTF packet for every one packet of Good Spread PB sold. In order to fund an initial production run that will result in enough PB to last six months, Alex and Mark need to raise $65,000 to fund ingredients, mixing, packaging, design, shipping, and stocking. That’s where WE come in! There are 7 days left in their Good Spread Fixed Funding Campaign. Even if you are only able to give a little, every donation counts, so click on that link if you are interested in reading more about and/or supporting the cause!

And that’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Or not “all”, because that was a lot! I hope that those affected by Sandy are safe and if you are without power, I hope it is not for long. I’m off to do some homework…maybe.

Have you ever run into a blend somewhere unexpectedly?

How are you faring after Sandy? Were you affected in any way?

Have you ever signed up for a local food share of any kind?

What do you think about Sloane’s campaign and/or Good Spread?

Whole Foods 1-Day Shrimp Sale Means…Recipe!

I’m glad you guys enjoyed my posts from earlier this week on Manchester’s Market Grille and my town’s Apple Fest. I also can’t thank you enough for your support and feedback as I update you all on my stomach stuff. Latest news – I went yesterday for blood tests for parasites, bacterial intestinal infections, and a whole slew of other stuff. I’m currently awaiting the results. And if the results are “nothing is wrong”, I’ll be pretty upset. But I’m trying not to think that way because stress only exacerbates the discomfort. I WILL find an answer!

Now, let’s get to the meat of today’s post. Or shall I say the seafood, if we are bring protein-type-specific.

I love me some Whole Foods – I have loved these grocery stores even before they put me in their North Atlantic region’s holiday magazine 😉 #brag #sorrynotsorry And my local Whole Foods are especially kind to me. Case in point: Whole Foods West Hartford (in Blueback Square) gave me the gift of four pounds of shrimp to sample in a dinner recipe in honor of tomorrow’s one-day sale!

Guess what’s inside?!

The above bag contained four pounds of farm-cooked white shrimp, raised in Thailand under responsible farming techniques and strict environmental condition standards. They contained no preservatives and were noticeably fresh. And they came already peeled and de-veined, so the only prep needed was to de-tail.

An inside-bag view.

Usually these little guys are $14.99/pound, but for tomorrow’s one-day sale (Friday 10/19 only!) you can get them for $6.99/pound! If I were you I’d make it a point to get over to Whole Foods West Hartford (Blueback or Bishop’s Corner) or Glastonbury tomorrow so you can start your weekend on a seafood frenzy.

Probably what Meg‘s fridge looks like.

My mom and I decided to use the shrimp in a Shrimp Creole recipe my mom got from one of her oldest friends. It was even written on a slip of paper from a Palm City Elementary notepad. As in, my elementary school. Holy 12-year-old notepad!

This recipe is satisfying, healthy, and packs quite the protein-punch!

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of turkey bacon (chopped)
  • 1 cup of celery (chopped)
  • 1 cup of onion (chopped)
  • 1 cup of garlic (I used a jar of minced garlic)
  • 1 cup of bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 1 jar of tomatoes
  • 1 can of mushroom soup
  • 2 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 4 pounds of shrimp

Directions:

  1. Saute bacon, celery, onion, and bell pepper until tender.
  2. Add tomato paste and tomatoes. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Add chili powder and garlic.
  4. Add shrimp and cream of mushroom soup. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Serve alone or over rice!

Before addition of shrimp and mushroom soup.

Beautiful shrimpies ready to go.

Final combo simmering away.

Ridiculously easy, right? Just get past that that ingredient prep (chopping) and it’s a matter of mixing ingredients together and hands-free simmering. Something that did require work, however, was our choice of side. My mom attempted to fix us some spaghetti squash. The problem is, she did so while drinking wine. When you mix this with cooking…

Waltzing with wine.

…sometimes you get burnt spaghetti squash.

Uhhh…

Hey, you guys know I love carcinogen-filled food. It tasted pretty good…well, what was salvageable (aka the bowl above).

Wasting time showering between workouts and meals? Child’s play.

I can’t lie, my mom did most of the cooking. But I stirred! And I provided the wine. I got it from the Trader Joe’s at Patriot Place in Foxboro, MA when I went to visit Heather this past weekend. This Cabernet Sauvignon was $2.99. And you know what? It was quite good!

This does NOT taste like it cost $2.99!

My mom totally agreed. I was thankful to be having a good stomach day and enjoyed my wine, Shrimp Creole, and burnt spaghetti squash alongside half a baked potato with more Creole sauce. Oh, and the fireplace and REVENGE!

Cozy fireplace meal 🙂 And I spy my Big Bird plate…

The recipe was a total success and my lucky father got to enjoy the leftovers last night. They tasted just as good as night one!

So remember, if this recipe tempted you and you are a Hartford, CT area local, I highly recommend hightailing it to Whole Foods West Hartford (Blueback or Bishop’s Corner) or Glastonbury to take advantage of the one-day sale (Friday 10/19 only) and pay only $6.99/pound for this delish shrimp, instead of $14.99/pound!

And if you aren’t a local, you can pick up some shrimp and make this yourself. Be sure to share with me on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook if you do!

Thanks to Whole Foods West Hartford for providing me with the shrimp for this recipe! I received this shrimp free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever gotten to take advantage of a crazy-good Whole Foods (or any other grocery store) sale? What’d you buy?

Do you enjoy cooking with and/or eating shrimp? What’s your favorite recipe? (Meg, no need to answer the first question).

Glastonbury Apple Harvest Festival 2012

I really could use a heavy dose of positive thoughts today, and hope writing this post will be just the ticket. For those just tuning in I have been having on-and-off GI stuff going on for a couple of weeks. Yesterday I was feeling 99.99% back to the old me. I even went to Group Power and was able to lift weights almost as heavily as I usually do (I scaled them back slightly just in case). I came home and chowed down on a tasty dinner and a couple small glasses of Cab. About fifteen minutes later, I was hit with the worst wave of nausea I’ve experienced yet during these last two weeks. I didn’t sleep much and still feel just as shitty today. I went to work because a) there was stuff I needed to get done and b) I just hate missing work. I’m always paranoid that people will think I’m faking sick or “not sick enough” to stay home. It’s smartest to rest though, so that’s what I’m doing. Currently I am at home, blogging in my PJs, drinking Evening Comfort Tea from Daybreak.

Apparently several of you agree with my tweet.

I actually looked up Giardisis (parasitic infection) on WebMD per my co-worker’s suggestion and am definitely going to ask my doc about it tomorrow. The last two visits were each with a different doc, both of which are not my normal one, so I am hoping that my usual doctor tomorrow will be more open to a suggestion that THIS ISN’T A VIRUS. I really don’t think viruses last two weeks and leave you feeling fine one day and like shit the next. I am also hoping hoping HOPING that the test results I’m waiting on will contain an answer. Giardisis is characterized by symptoms that come and go and that’s DEFINITELY what I’ve been experiencing.

What better way to cheer myself up than reliving the amazing fall event I attended this past Saturday – the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce‘s 38th annual Apple Harvest Festival!

Fall is my favorite time of year in my hometown!

I have attended the Apple Fest almost every year since I’ve lived in CT, and recapped it during the blog’s earlier days. The Chamber of Commerce enjoyed that post so much that they asked me to cover the event again this year. Don’t mind if I do – I never miss an Apple Fest!

Way to be social media savvy, Chamber of Commerce!

I attended with Jeff and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful fall day! Perfect light jacket weather, a crisp breeze, and bright, strong sun. We got cups of Pumpkin Spice coffee to go from Daybreak (of course) and set off to Glastonbury’s Riverfront Park.

I see rides!

I was happy to see that the great weather had already brought out a good crowd even just an hour after the Apple Fest’s 10am start time. Jeff and I started by perusing the field’s exterior to take a peek at the food vendors, as well as the Beer Garden. This was the first year ever that the Apple Fest had a Beer Garden and I snuck in before they opened to snap some photos.

The Beer Garden featured local beers AND wine! The price of $5 per glass of anything impressed me as well. I’d expected baseball-stadium $12 beers.

Four wines were featured from Colchester’s Priam Vineyards.

Shoutout to City Steam, Hooker, and Olde Burnside…and there was hard cider too!

I wasn’t feeling interested in imbibing at 11AM though. Though perhaps if I had I could have become a party animal like my friends…

BABY PYGMY GOAT. This guy was so small he kept escaping through the metal bars!

…it’s time for PHOTOS OF CAITLIN WITH FARM ANIMALS! Yes, this was not only the first year that the Apple Fest had the Beer Garden, but also a petting zoo!

Clearly wishing this child would back off my goat.

Llama rejection.

Eeeehhhh.

Llama mama.

Bye bye llama.

Lovin’ the lambs!

The only animal pic Jeff would be in, boo.

I probably spent the most time having fun in the petting zoo out of any adult at the event. I even came back for a second visit in hopes of getting a pic with the most exotic member of the zoo, Polly-Anna the camel.

During our first visit, she was chillin in this position and refused to move.

Later she was ready for pics!

Her head was surprisingly soft! The fur looked so matted.

End scene.

I came to the Apple Fest armed with cash to peruse and purchase goods from the local craft and food vendors. It’s the perfect place to find adorable, unique, delicious, insert-positive-adjective-here products!

Totally intrigued by my local TCBY‘s Coffee Liqueur froyo flavor!

Handmade finger puppets, some of which I have to say barely resembled their intended characters.

Sponge-bob-hat-pants!

C is for CAITLIN!

That’s what he said? No wait, he never would.

Wicked Wicks combined two of my obsessions…mason jars and candles…to make non-GMO soy candles!

How cute are these wine bottle carrying cases by Sinful Spirit?!

I adore fall crafts! I know Lisa would love these 🙂 except that cat is kinda creepy.

Christmas meets Halloween.

Eons of cat salt and pepper shakers for all my #catsofinstagram peeps.

My family’s church’s baked potato booth is always a HUGE hit!

This Curry Nut Crunch Granola by Platte Clove Naturals of NY was one of the tastiest granolas I’ve ever had!

I brought home a bag of these delectable gems – Garlic Nut Crunch granola chunks!

I wish I knew of the vendor who made this beautiful bag – it was only $15.

Perfect for my school books!

After spending more money than I should have (and somehow Jeff walked away without spending a dime) we decided to do something I haven’t had a chance to do since the last Applefest – ride the rides!

“Family” ticket deal – 24 for $20.

A less-seen perspective of a ferris wheel!

I was a bit scared of the first ride we went on but I’d been on once before and (obviously) lived, so I agreed to ride whatever this thing below is called.

The random top 40 music coming from this ride was at least quite calming.

Of course I had an amazing time on the ride and wished it lasted longer. It was my favorite of the day for sure and I wish I’d taken my camera on there to get some cool aerial shots. I was sure to take my camera on another ride, the Scrambler, but instead of aerial shots we ended up with mucho selfies.

Jeff and I happened upon a fun Werther’s Original candies booth after we departed the rides area. Yes, that is a glass container where leaves blow around and you grab as many as you can to try to win free candy.

Obviously I volunteered.

Frantically stuffing leaves into the box to try to get 20 gold leaves.

I emerged triumphant and windswept.

I won the candy!!! Gifted it to Heather‘s dad 🙂

Then we enjoyed a 3-course snack with the Vitamix man!

We started with a green juice…

…proceeded to a hot tortilla soup…

…and finished with (unpictured) frozen cashew butter!

CELEB STATUS.

On our way out of the Apple Fest, we spotted CT Senate candidate Linda McMahon schmoozing with some teens. I myself am not a Linda fan (or really a fan of either candidate we have running for Senate) so I didn’t say hello, just snapped my creepy paparazzo pic.

A guy and his pie.

The cherry on top of Jeff’s day, or the apple, was likely the above apple crumb pie, a gift to us from the Chamber of Commerce! Many thanks 🙂 I left the Apple Fest with a bunch of stuff I’d bought, and Jeff left with a free homemade pie. I’ll try not to think about that one.

Writing this post has definitely helped put me in a bit of a cheerier mood – it was such a fun day! I don’t plan to live in CT for the rest of my life (or a lot longer for that matter) but whenever I leave, I will certainly miss the Apple Fest. It’s such a fun fall tradition that brings me back to old memories…

Apple Fest 2007 – been taking ride selfies for the last five years!

…and creates new ones!

Thank you the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce for having Jeff, me, and a few of my other friends at the Apple Harvest Festival! I received the tickets and pie for free, but all opinions are my own.

Do you have any experience or know someone with experience with a stomach parasite?

Which of the Apple Fest activities I partook in looks the most fun to you?

What’s your favorite fall event or activity?

Market Grille – Worth the Wait!

Thank you to all who entered the Wild Harvest Organics giveaway – I’m so appreciative of the interest in the box of fabulous products! We had 215 entries (holy moly) and congrats to the lucky winner…

…Shea! Thanks for entering and I will be contacting you for shipping info!

I was not feeling well this past Friday morning as some of you know, but as the day went on I made a real effort to focus on the positive and smile. After all, I had the fortunate ability to make a doctor’s appointment for that very afternoon. Plenty of people would never be able to wake up in the morning feeling blah and be in a doctor’s office that very same day! I didn’t get any answers there, but felt well on Saturday, then back to a little bit off yesterday. And now I feel OK today. Hmmm. Gonna keep trying to get to the bottom of this while being grateful that it’s not a huge deal! I hope I get my test results back soon!

Full house in the Market Grille bar!

And I felt like myself Friday night, which was fabulous because I had plans to visit and review Manchester, CT’s newest restaurant Market Grille, located by the Buckland Hills Mall in the old Hops building (a restaurant property that had been vacant for YEARS until now). Market Grille is owned by Mill Restaurant Group, a Connecticut mainstay in our restaurant scene. I’ve dined at another MRG location, Abigail’s, for work several times and was very impressed.

Outdoor seating complete with fireplace and heaters!

Even though I spent the first five minutes of my time on the Market Grille property embarrassing myself in front of the folks pictured above as I tried to parallel park, I still had a chance to stop and admire the setup of the outdoor seating area. Look at that fireplace! Heaters were distributed throughout the patio too. I cannot think of anything more cozy than sitting by that fireplace on a crisp fall evening, bundled up (complete with scarf of course), and sipping a warming whiskey cocktail.

Double fistin’, Cait Plus Ate style.

And a whiskey cocktail I had…Maker’s Mark, to be specific. Obviously the most man-looking drink in the photo above (on the right) is mine – the All American (bacon-infused Maker’s Mark, Maple Syrup Bitters, and a squeeze of a fresh orange wedge). Before you start freaking out over the bacon-infused aspect of the Maker’s, don’t get too psyched. I honestly barely tasted any bacon at all. A bit disappointing, however the cocktail was RIGHT up my alley AKA too strong for the rest of my friends but delicious to me.

Joe the photobomber with my friend from Long Island, Ravi, and I.

Good thing Market Grille has such an impressive drink menu! Its contents, along with my camera, kept my college friends and I PLENTY entertained. The place was PACKED when we arrived around 7:30PM…the wait was an hour! The bar didn’t have too much room available to wait either, but I don’t mind standing, especially since that makes it easier to take silly photos 😛 We should have made a reservation but there were none available on Open Table around the time we were coming in. If any CT locals are planning a visit to Market Grille, I HIGHLY suggest using Open Table.

College chums prom style!

For my friend Joe (above left) I ordered one of the bar’s signature infusions – blackberry-infused Onyx moonshine! Just my style. So smooth, so strong, so natural.

Beauuuuty.

Unfortunately Joe is a drink wimp and he could not handle the straight Onyx. And fortunately the Market Grille bartenders are extremely accomodating and turned it into a Blackberry Moonshine Cosmo (by adding triple sec, lime juice, and white cran). No longer tasted like my kinda drink, but Joe was happy as a clam.

Joe’s Onyx cocktail goes well with that Onyx bottle!

I also sampled and loved (though it was quite sweet…I’ll forgive it for the fall vibe) Joe’s first cocktail, the Fall Spice (cinnamon/apple/peach-infused bourbon, apple cider, native honey, cinnamon).

Oh thanks Julia! This was an evening of photobombs.

We ended up having a sixth join us so that extended our table wait time. My avocado-lovin’ friend Colin swung by for dinner, and I was finally able to give him a gift I’d been toting around in my car since August’s BlogHer trip…a Wholly Guacamole avocado stress ball!

Joe’s jealous.

We were seated at almost 9PM and in a state of small starvation. Our cool waiter Matt, who I’d been talking with a week before via FB and email about visiting the restaurant and reviewing it for the blog, delivered bread to us right away. And I was damn smug because he managed to find one asiago cheese roll and bring it for me 🙂 other rolls offered included white, wheat, and multi-grain.

That’s my smug face.

The roll was wonderful, though I wish the butter was served warmer! We happened to hit up Market Grille during CT Restaurant Week, so many members of our party opted for the app, entree, and dessert for just $20.12 option. Don’t blame them! I didn’t know if my stomach would be up for that much food so I stuck with ordering off the normal menu.

App attack!

I started with a dish (above) from the “Small Plates” section of the menu – the Trio of Native Tomato Crostinis (sweet basil & tomato, roasted pepper & tomato “pepperonata”, carrot & eggplant caponata with roasted tomato). The bread’s crust was nice and crispy, and I really like how Market Grille created a dish tied together by the fact that each bruschetta contains a tomato component but also a little touch that makes it different from the rest. However, I had hoped those little touches would taste a bit more distinct. To me the bruschetta trio was DELISH but all three tasted quite similar to each other.

Seafood and greens, two faves!

I also started with two Maryland crab cakes with fresh herb salad (and a nice, light drizzle of lemon dill vinaigrette) and a red pepper coulis. LOTS of crab in these crab cakes and I have been feeling veggie-deprived since my stomach started acting up so I was thankful to eat the greens and feel A-OK!

Kim the hand model.

I traded Kim some bruschetta for a slice of her $20.12 Restaurant Week menu app of choice – pumpkin feta quesadillas. I have been curious about them ever since I read the Market Grille menu for the first time. They were tasty but a little disappointing because I wish they’d had more filling! I do appreciate, though, that the chef did not SMOTHER the quesadillas in cheese like so many restaurants do. The feta was the perfect touch.

Good thing I ordered a salad as my entree because I was already feeling full when it arrived! I am not usually a fan of iceberg lettuce but this night light crunch and the many ingredients in the “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” Chopped Salad (apples, cukes, blueberries, onions, carrots, bell peppers, avocado, chickpeas, tomatoes, feta, mozz, green beans, lemon juice, EVOO) were perfect for me. Try reading all those ingredients without taking a breath! The avocado was my favorite part.

Kim picked a winner!

Next time I visit Market Grille I for SURE will be ordering a seafood entree like Kim’s Grilled Atlantic Salmon with dijon mustard crust, BLACK LENTILS, roasted grape tomatoes, escarole, and honey balsamic reduction. The salmon seriously melted in my mouth and the lentils? INCREDIBLE! It’s rare to find a restaurant that serves them as a side and I adore the extra protein punch.

Aren’t we an adorably color-coordinated trio?

Other notable entrees included Joe’s Pan-Seared Jumbo Day Boat Scallops (more melt-in-your-mouth seafood bliss) and Colin’s Bacon Brioche Burger (cooked perfectly at medium and the bacon was crispy perfection as well).

Definitely feeling silly.

Anyone who ordered off the Restaurant Week menu got a dessert, and Kim and Colin were both kind enough to share with me. By this point I was definitely full, but that secret-compartment that seems to emerge at restaurants when dessert is served suddenly opened up in my stomach, and I helped myself to some of Colin’s Fresh-Baked Cookie Plate (chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, white chocolate macademia) and Kim’s PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE.

Holy PUMPKIN!

Oh boyyyy! That’s not ice cream pictured above, it’s a homemade whipped cream. The sprig of mint at the top and the pumpkin seeds both provided a bit of a savory punch that matched so well with the sweet cream and cheesecake. This dessert was pretty damn incredible.

Matt, our waiter, and I!

Matt did a great job waiting on us and was kind enough to introduce me to the owner, Amanda Rivers, on our way out. I love being able to compliment a restaurant owner on her/his establishment, because nothing is better than getting great feedback on your passion! Also, check out Matt’s tie clip…recognize it from anywhere? I think it was fate that he reached out to me and asked to be our server!

It’s my blog’s logo!

Matt also took this photo with his phone and remembered to send it to me! Thanks Matt!

Good friends, good food, good drinks, GOOD TIMES.

I’d be lying if I told you this evening went out without a guilty hitch. It didn’t. When I got home I was REALLY full. Definitely more full than I’m used to/comfortable with feeling. I talked to my mom for a bit and went to sleep OK, but kept waking up in the middle of the night with lots of anxiety. However I practiced what has worked for me in the past – laying in bed in corpse pose, doing deep breathing and positive self talk. It got me through the night but I still felt guilty the next morning over eating a lot. I again reached out to my mom and also another one of my rocks, Heather. Through talking to them I was able to work out my thoughts in a rational manner and see the TRUTH and focus on the POSITIVES of my evening. By late morning I felt like ME again, and that’s an amazing feeling. I’m pretty proud of how quickly I bounced back!

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Yes, my evening at Market Grille was filled with laughter and lots of other warm fuzzies. We may have had to wait for awhile, but had a good time doing so and an even better time once we were seated. I highly recommend Market Grille if you’re ever in Manchester – I’ll be back for sure!

Thank you Matt, Amanda, and the rest of Market Grille for a great night!

Which of the drinks and/or dishes mentioned in this post would you want to try most?

What’s the last “new” restaurant you visited? Were you impressed?

Mohegan Sun BrewFest

Mohegan Sun is at it again! On Saturday night I attended their first annual Mohegan Sun BrewFest. I was excited to attend not only because I love foodie/tasting events, but also because I love the Mohegan Sun casino! I’ve visited Foxwoods and MGM Grand in CT (the latter is pretty good, the former not so much), but I always seem to come back to Mohegan. I’ve written about them a lot on the blog:

I was nervous because I’d been having off-and-on stomach issues since Wednesday, and they’d returned the morning of the event. However I took it easy all day long (it was kind of nice to sit around in my PJs watching TV…something I hadn’t done in awhile) and as a result felt well enough to get ready and head out in the early evening! Of course I attended the event with my foodie friend Jeff! Are you really that surprised? Funny enough, a couple of folks we ran into at BrewFest said they recognized him from my blog! What a celeb.

Ready to go with our media passes and tasting glasses!

The crowds at this event amazed me. The line for tickets at the box office completely blocked walking traffic, and so many patrons had already entered the tasting area in the Uncas Ballroom at the time of our arrival that a huge line had formed for those that already had tickets and were waiting to get in. Only a few people could be let in at a time – I’m guessing the Ballroom was already at capacity.

We decided to concentrate on beers we hadn’t tried before, especially since lines had already formed at each tasting booth and were only getting longer! Our tasting session started at 6PM and by 7PM, almost every booth (except Twisted Tea…ha) had a huge line and many tables were so close together that it was more like a cluster of people standing around, not sure what table they were waiting to taste from. I’m not surprised that the event was so packed since the event was extremely affordable ($20/session), but in the future I would recommend that Mohegan Sun either sell less tickets (by limiting them or raising prices…not an advocate of the latter) or change the layout of the tasting room. Altogether the tables probably took up a little less than half of the room and were arranged so closely! It was easy for lines to merge and become clusters.

Posin’ with my brew glass!

That’s where my recommendations for improvement end. It was still a great event, perfect for a beer newbie like myself! I can’t say that I can now see myself going to a restaurant and ordering a glass of beer, but that’s because I just love wine and cocktails so much more. But a beer tasting is perfect for an adventurarian like myself who just wants to sample as many different unique tastes as possible.

A toast with Sammy Adams!

Some hop-lights (haaaa)…

My two favorites of BrewFest!

Props to Hooker Brewery of Bloomfield, CT for bringing two beers on tap that ended up being my favorites of the night. Their Chocolate Truffle Stout is made with Munson’s cocoa powder/nibs and was truly incredible. It rivals the Southern Tier Choklat that I’ve always said was my favorite chocolate beer (always as in, since this past Easter). The Saison is a Belgian-style farmhouse ale and reminded me of a barleywine. Excellent subtle caramel flavor that impressed me with its complexity!

Henry Weinhard’s, a brand I’d never heard of.

Jeff and I sampled Henry Weinhard’s Redwood Flats Amber Ale and Private Reserve American Pale Lager. The brewery is located in the Pacific Northwest, which may explain why I had zero awareness, but Henry is on my radar now! I really enjoyed the Amber Ale.

City Steam Brewery’s Naughty Nurse, Innocence IPA, and Blonde on Blonde on tap.

I adore City Steam’s vintage label and poster designs!

City Steam Brewery is a Hartford mainstay. The establishment is not only a brewery, but a successful restaurant and comedy club as well. I’ve only visited the restaurant once, but enjoyed my experience. Sampling the beer has certainly made me want to get back there for dinner – maybe even a comedy show! My favorite of the three still remains Naughty Nurse (sampled at Taste of Wethersfield), but the Innocence IPA was so light and refreshing; I know my mom would adore it.

Fun name!

Jeff made a beeline for the Olde Burnside Brewing table when we saw it! I’m surprised I liked the above Hop’t Scot Ale as much as I did, because I generally avoid hoppier beers and it’s an English IPA…gone Scottish! However it totally impressed me with its light, smooth, unique flavor. Definitely never tasted a beer like this before and that’s what made me gravitate toward it. The sign stated this beer was “balanced” and it didn’t lie!

Fitfluential media guests!

I spotted Jennifer of Savoring the Thyme right before I left the event – good timing! Must be that Fitfluential ESP! I feel like Jennifer and I came full-circle since the first time we did a meet-up, which was also at Mohegan.  But it won’t be the last meet-up! It was fun catching up with her and finally meeting her man. They’d just come from an anniversary dinner at Bar Americain that sounded like a dream! I also ran into a co-worker, Greg and Wendy of Connecticut Bloggers, Sarah of Adventures With My Boys, and the parents of one of my sister’s best friends.

Siena Sling (Grey Goose, lemon, basil) for me and Sicilian Julep for Jeff!

BrewFest was fun, but you know me. I’m a cocktail snob. And a cocktail snob needs a cocktail when she’s at the casino! Jeff and I decided to have dinner and a drink at Mohegan’s newest restaurant, Ballo. We love dining at the bar (as opposed to a table) and there were exactly two seats open – perfect. Our bartender, Stephanie, was great! She made us excellent drinks (see caption above); mine was strong yet smooth, thanks to the Goose 😛 so simple, so me. Jeff enjoyed his beverage as well – he’d had it once before (he’s been to Ballo for just drinks) so it was good enough to order a second time!

Boooo, even Instagram couldn’t make this pic work without a flash.

I was torn between salmon and swordfish (seafood, obviously!), but Stephanie helped me make the right call and recommended the Swordfish Livornaise with escarole and black olives. Umm, and the menu didn’t even mention that the dish also included CHICKPEAS. Heaven! I finished every last bite and had to scoop up the final drops of sauce with bread. Duh.

Flash was required in this place! Check out the hearty size of that swordfish!

Jeff was going to go the practical money-saving route and get a flatbread (a more affordable menu option for those who wish to try this place but are worried it’ll be too expensive), but then Stephanie told us about the evening’s special. She uttered the words “braised short rib with pumpkin polenta” and Jeff’s mouth dropped open. He was speechless. I stepped in and said, “He’ll take it.”

Check out that crusty bread! Not very crispy, but certainly delightful. The butter particularly impressed – it was sitting in a pool of herbs and olive oil!

I tried a bite and man oh man, that special was worth its $29 price tag. Though the speed at which it came out made Jeff wonder how long ago it had been cooked!

We ended our evening at the casino with a trip to the craps table. I love playing craps, but the way I play pisses off my friends. I will only bet the minimum bet on the pass line (the most basic way to play), and walk away as soon as I lose one round. I play $20 and if I lose it all, I just stop there. Yes, it’s a practical way to gamble. And no, it doesn’t bore me! I’m still playing and watching the action at the table, and thanks to my conservative strategy, I almost always walk away a winner. For example, last night I won $40. And Jeff joined in on my strategy for once, and he walked away with winnings too! He was certainly glad that he won back dinner.

What a fun evening. So glad I’ve crossed another restaurant off my (mental)  list of Mohegan restaurants to try, experienced some cool brews, and got to hang out with so many friends. I felt so in my element and at peace throughout the evening and whenever I started feeling any anxiety about the food and drinks, I focused on the company I was keeping and the fact that my hard work on my blog had led to Mohegan Sun inviting me to come to BrewFest. Then I felt proud and grateful! Too blessed to be stressed indeed.

Thank you Mohegan Sun for having me at the BrewFest! I received complimentary passes to attend, but all opinions are my own.

Have you ever heard of any of the beers I sampled? Which do you think you’d enjoy?

Is there a casino near you? Have you ever been to one?

Here Comes a Fighter

Have you entered my Mohegan Sun BrewFest giveaway yet? Don’t forget – you could win two passes to this weekend’s beer bonanza! Giveaway closes tomorrow (Wednesday 10/3) at 12PM EST.

Geez, so far fall has been extremely busy in terms of my full-time job!By the time I got home last night from my post-work gym session all I wanted to do was sit on the couch with my mom and watch the season premiere of Grey’s on the DVR with dinner. And wine. So that’s what I did – no blog post.

My setup at Art With a Twist in New Haven, CT!

But now I’m ready to blog about this past Saturday. As I mentioned in Sunday’s brief giveaway post, I have a lot to say! The day started out in typical Caitlin fashion – spin class and #plankaday, a few hours of much-needed study time at Daybreak. Then I hit the road for New Haven to have a date with Maria of Pappa Don’t Preach! We’ve never been able to do a good one-on-one hangout before, but we are two peas in a pod and I’m so grateful to have met her through blogging. She drove all the way from Stamford to meet me at Art With a Twist for a BYOB painting class! We used a Groupon🙂 of course.

Maria listening to our instructor, the fabulous Bella Zadore.

Maria did a great job sharing more photos of Art With a Twist’s lovely location, and info about the business itself, in her recap! We decided to go sweet on the booze and shared Riesling and champagne. Thanks Maria for introducing me to Asti! It was delicious.

Everyone painted the same illustration, but then everyone’s came out looking different. My water turned out a bit sickly looking, and Maria pointed out that I was just trying to paint the Long Island Sound. Truth.

Pondering the sounds of the Sound…champagne in hand.

I also must’ve still had BlogHer on the brain because my palm trees looked like Lorax mustaches.

Lorax #1

Lorax #2. He’s unimpressed. Source

I was doing a little too much hating on my painting, so Bella sprinkled me with confetti as “punishment”. Okay okay, I complained on purpose so that I could get showered in confetti. Who doesn’t love that?!

There’s a 30% chance it’s already raining.

I had a great time chatting with Maria about our gym sessions that morning (of course) and also taught her how to take silly photos. She deemed me a silly photo queen. I am honored!

Help me take silly photos, Caitlin!

Don’t mind if I do!

How amazing are the “men/women” signs for the bathrooms?! Bella is so creative! She decorated everything in Art With a Twist herself.

Blogger in action.

Despite the fact that my painting did not look like Bella’s, I’m gonna refrain from saying that it wasn’t as good as Bella’s. After all, she wasn’t painting the Long Island Sound!

It’s beauuuuutiful!

Stealing this from Maria’s post…BYO-Blend!

You are what you…paint?

After class we hit up 116 Crown for a pre-dinner cocktail. Because when you’ve been drinking since 2:30PM, why stop?

I ordered the Negroni!

Unfortunately before I could even get to the point of ordering, I had to wait outside with Maria for 15 minutes because we arrived at 4:45PM and they weren’t open yet. It’s fine, another opportunity to practice her silly photo taking!

Let me at the cocktails!

Why am I not drinking a cocktail right now?!

Once we were seated and with drinks in hand, our kind bartender (and very patient I might add, we had SO many drink ingredient questions) took some awesome above-view photos of us 😀

I love the modern “pod” seating!

It was my second time at 116 Crown in September (and ever). I’ll definitely be back! It’d take me eons to work through that drink menu.

Falafel, hummus, cucumber yogurt sauce, pita.

By the time we got to the ultimate dinner destination, Red Lentil, I was staaarving! I’ve been pumped to try the place because it offers unique vegan/vegetarian dishes and had gotten a rave review from Heather. Maria and I started with the appetizer special, the above falafel platter. Be still my heart! It was excellent. I also had the beet-sweet potato-apple latkes. The picture looks totally ugly but they tasted the opposite of ugly.

They may or may not have been equated to “bad weed” in an Instagram comment.

After dinner, I hit the road…but I didn’t head back home like I thought I’d be doing when I woke up that morning. Instead, I responded to a spontaneous text I received during the paint class, inviting me to the Full Moon Onyx Moonshine Party at Taqueria Tavern in West Hartford.

Onyx is an awesome local CT company. I love local, I love booze, and I love unique marketing. Onyx Moonshine has all three of those on its side! You may remember that I worked with them at the Farm to Shaker Bartender Challenge as a cocktail competition judge!

The party included many delicious Onyx drink specials (I had a cinnamon infused Onyx on the rocks that was to die for) and a super-spicy wing eating contest. The photo above includes the two Onyx founders Pete and Adam, and between them is the winner of the wing-eating contest, Judson!

Judson and his winnings!

Judson is a champ. He decided to enter the contest THAT day! He also happens to be the boyfriend of my friend Jennifer! They’re an adorable couple.

Jennifer and I!

I took a bite of one of the wings (DUMB) and my mouth was on fire for almost an hour afterward! I don’t know how these champs did it! JD of Ripe Bar Juice (also from the Cocktail Competition at the Coventry Farmer’s Market) ordered me up a Kahlua drink made with Onyx, and it certainly coated my mouth with some cooling dairy and helped stop the burn.

JD is fearing the wing!

I’m realizing right now that this post is really long and I am only just now getting to the part of it that I have been wanting to write for the last couple of days. This was a long day. I was drinking from 2:30PM to about 10:30PM. I definitely did some chip nomming at the Mexican restaurant. That Kahlua drink most definitely had whole milk in it. I didn’t get home until 11:30PM. The day may have started out Caitlin-style, but it didn’t end that way.

And as fate would have it, the beautiful Becki has started an October challenge that I decided today to join, because it fits with what I want to say today and what I want to DO for myself for the rest of the month and beyond. You can read the details here, but it entails 10 minutes a day of meditating on why you are AMAZING.

I woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday after having gone to that party in a panic. I was about to go get my mother out of bed and pour out my heart. I felt worthless. I felt guilty. I felt like I didn’t deserve to have the fun Saturday I’d just had.

But instead of going to get my mom, I took a deep breath. I lay in my bed in corpse pose and tried a calming tactic that has worked for me before. I breathed in and out, and after each breath I said out loud something from my #AmazingMe list. In, out. “I worked out yesterday.” In, out. “I had a wonderful time.” In, out. “I did something I knew would put me out of my comfort zone.” In, out, until I fell back asleep.

After all, only #AmazingMe could have made this painting!

I woke up on Sunday morning still feeling, to put it bluntly, like a piece of shit. I was proud of myself for having worked through my mid-night anxiety on my own, but was still being bombarded by the most hateful, mean thoughts. I went to the gym – yes, partially because I felt like I wanted to get in a workout to “make up” for the previous night. But also because I wanted to be powerful, feel strong, and do something that I enjoyed. I even putzed around the house for a bit before hitting the gym instead of dashing there like I usually do on weekend mornings, because I just wanted to wait it out and go to the Sunday morning spin class, which always leaves me feeling refreshed and has the BEST music. I did a lot of singing-and-spinning that morning.

I took a little social media vacation. I went on Instagram for a second, and realized the last thing I wanted to see was peoples’ food and workouts. Sometimes I’m okay with that stuff, but sometimes it triggers me like crazy. I tweeted that I was going to spend the day doing nothing except what makes me feel good. Then I stayed away from Twitter for most of the day.

After the gym, I took a long, slow, hot shower. I had a date to study with Jenny at J. Rene Coffee Roasters in West Hartford, and was still going because seeing Jenny and drinking coffee in a unique cafe does NOTHING but make me feel good, but I decided to take it slow. I decided not to be go-go-go to the next appointment on my “agenda”. I closed my eyes and sang in the shower, because that felt great. And while I was getting ready to go, Avril Lavigne “With You” came on my playlist and I suddenly got the urge to just dance around my room like a half ballerina, half hip-hop queen. I felt like it’d make me feel good. So, that’s what I did.

Even right now as I write this I am overwhelmed with pride over how much self love I practiced this past Sunday. Almost every activity I did, every action I took, I stopped and asked myself, “Is this what I want to do?” If it wasn’t, I didn’t do it. I still felt the hateful thoughts coming at me from every direction. But I was on a mission to medicate and heal their damage with something other than restricting, than over-exercising. I didn’t want to lose another battle.

At the end of Sunday evening as I lay in bed listening to an inspiring NPR interview recommended to me by Jenny, coloring with my Sharpies, inhaling my Pumpkin Buttercream Yankee Candle, I felt at peace. Again, I still had mean thoughts popping up in my head. I still felt a bit miserable. But getting past this is going to come in increments, and any little peace I can give myself means the world to me and makes me feel proud.

An evening of serenity.

What this all comes down to (I felt a bit word vomit-y as I wrote this but I just kinda let it flow), is the following: Yes, I was beating myself up all Sunday for having a spontaneous Saturday night. BUT I did not curl up in a ball and hide. I did not obsess over how I’d “make up” for what I had “done wrong”. I did not try to punish myself by letting my mind just sit back and take the negative thoughts. Instead I tried to HEAL myself from their damage by practicing self love and doing things that soothed me and taking it easy. I took it easy on myself, and as a result, felt like a fighter. I still feel like one! I didn’t feel that way a couple weekends ago in Tennessee, but this time I feel like I have come out successful in this battle. You lose some, you win some. And hopefully this is the start of continuing to win some!

Have you ever been to a unique BYOB activity or partaken in a crazy food contest?

What do you think about Becki’s Leaf Your Negativity Behind challenge? Who’s with me?!

Tell me a way you recently practiced self love!

Oh Hoppy Day – Mohegan Sun BrewFest Giveaway!

Happy Sunday night! I know, I know. Sunday nights are often not happy for us M-F 9-5ers. This particular Sunday has been a bit hard for me – more to come tomorrow, I’m doing some reflecting still but am anxious to share my thoughts on the weekend with you guys.

Now for a hoppy announcement!

But I’m here to cheer up your Sunday with a giveaway for my readers close to Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT! I love Mohegan’s food and drink events. The Sun WineFest blew my mind earlier this year, and I even got to attend the first ever Mohegan Sun BBQ Fest back in June. Now the casino is launching an annual BrewFest!

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The event is this coming weekend, Saturday 10/6 and Sunday 10/7. Three sessions are available to attend – Saturday noon to 4pm and 6-10pm (I’m going to that one), and Sunday noon to 4pm. And get this – tickets to a session are just $20 each! So affordable. This isn’t a dinky event either. Check out Mohegan’s BrewFest webpage for a long list of both drink and food vendors that will be there. The casino is also featuring a hotel package to go with the event.

One of my favorite spots in Mohegan is the beautiful Leffingwell’s Martini Lounge!

Portions of ticket proceeds benefit a great cause too, a cause that I never before considered a need for, but as soon as I heard about it I was on board. Snowball Express helps the children of fallen members of our military. It’s so important to take care of the families of America’s heroes, both living and those who have lost their lives.

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Mohegan Sun is offering a giveaway for two passes to a BrewFest session of your choice! One Cait Plus Ate reader will win the passes, so make sure you are free this weekend in case you win! And even if you don’t, it’s only $20 per ticket, so you should totally hit up BrewFest…heck, I’ll be there Saturday night, so come then!

Giveaway ends this Wednesday 10/3 at 12PM EST! To enter, you can do the following – and leave a comment for each:

  1. Check out the list of vendors attending and leave a comment telling me which excites you most! (mandatory)
  2. Follow @MoheganSun on Twitter and comment saying you did.
  3. Follow @CaitPlusAte on Twitter and comment saying you did.
  4. Tweet “I entered the @MoheganSun BrewFest #giveaway from @CaitPlusAte! http://wp.me/p1SfTW-1wT” and comment here with the link to the tweet.
  5. Follow Mohegan Sun on Pinterest and comment saying you did.
  6. Follow Cait Plus Ate on Pinterest and comment saying you did.

So many ways to enter 🙂 good luck!

Rules: No Purchase Necessary. This giveaway is only open to residents of the United States who are 21 years of age or older. The email addresses that are collected for this giveaway will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winner and will never be given out to anyone nor sold. The winners will be randomly chosen and contacted via email. The winner will have 24 hours to respond. Please make sure you check your junk mail folder.

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.

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.