Tag Archives: daybreak

Marvelous Thanksgiving at Home!

I have to start this post with a quick Cyber Monday plug for 90+ Cellars! We are doing FREE SHIPPING on everything in our online store, so head on over and check out our wine selection! We ship to over 35 states, so click here to find out if yours is one of them!

It’s been quite awhile since I did a Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) post! It’s been quite a weekend away from Boston, back in Connecticut to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I certainly ate and drank plenty, but I also didn’t let any bad feelings get me down and keep me from continuing to enjoy myself. Though I weigh more right now than I ever have in the last few years, I also felt happier and more fulfilled over the course of this long holiday weekend than any Thanksgiving I can remember in “recent” history. And that’s certainly marvelous!

Link up with Katie today if you too are sharing the marvelous!

Marvelous is…being able to drive home Tuesday night. Especially given the snow we got on Wednesday! I worked from home that day so was able to beat (a little) traffic by heading out of Boston around 8PM on Tuesday. Plus I had a car buddy – I gave my neighbor Molly a ride too. The 1.5 hour ride took 3 hours, but according to her that wasn’t nearly as much of a delay as she experienced last year. And I was home in time to accompany my dad and Nana Connie (yes she was back!) to get my sister from t he airport at midnight.

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Caitlin and Kaitlin Take Gbury

I’m glad you all are just as excited about BAMR Bands as I am (in fact mine makes another appearance in this post – can you spot it?) and I’m happy to announce the winners of my giveaway!

bamr1 bamr2 bamr3

Congrats Amanda, Allison, and Celeste! I will be contacting you about your prizes!

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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 ChicksI 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!

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.

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?

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?

Weekend With My BB – Part Two

I’d like to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives and all those affected by 9/11. I cannot believe it’s been 11 years since that day in 7th grade when I came home from school to see the TV in my house displaying the day’s horrifying images. May we never forget!

Note: If you missed part one of my weekend with Heather visiting, you can check it out here!

I just love taking people places that are special to me. There’s nothing better. I’ve been wanting to bring Heather to Rooftop 120 for awhile now. It’s an all-seasons rooftop bar in my town (the all-seasons part is made possible by sliding glass doors that turn the rooftop from an outdoor bar to indoor in moments). They serve up unique food and drinks in a classy atmosphere. When I’m there, I don’t feel like I’m in Connecticut. I feel as if I’m in NYC or Vegas! I also have a favorite bartender there, Andres, who always treats me, any friends I bring in, and also my parents when they visit the bar (whether I’m there or not) SO well. I could go on forever – and hope to do a Rooftop 120 post one day that shares ALL the food and drink I’ve tried there. I did a post previously, but there’s so much MORE I’ve experienced since then that needs to be seen! For now I’ll just have to stick with sharing my night there with Heather. We had an incredible time!

Before we left.

My outfit was not very classy rooftop bar, but I was also super comfortable and it felt gross outside (humid, rain, etc). So I rocked the hippie shorts/tee, messy boho braid, and Birkenstocks on the rooftop. #sorrynotsorry

After being attacked with bobby pins by Heather 😛

I was thrilled to see Andres and we parked ourselves in seats at his side of the bar! I asked him if he had any interesting hard liquor to throw my way and boy did he ever.

Stoli Hot – ole!

I was a bit wary at first of the above Stoli Hot Jalapeno Vodka, especially since I am still getting accustomed to spicy food. Heather couldn’t even believe that I’d try it. But Andres fixed me a nice sample in a shot glass lined with sugar! The beverage itself had the vodka mixed with lime and white cran. I actually enjoyed it, and ordered up a full size – but asked for less white cran, more vodka, and extra salt!

Fill ‘er up!

And Andres already has dreamed up another concoction for me to try next time…jalapeno vodka mixed with CUCUMBER vodka, with an extra salty rim, and some other stuff I unfortunately can’t remember right now. Whatever, it’ll happen.

Heather ordered up her fave, Pinot Grigio, which was served in Rooftop’s standard wine glass size – As Big As Your Head.

You can see another example of this here.

One drink each is all it takes for these girls. We sipped and savored slowly. By the end of the evening, lots of giggles were coming from our general area.

And lots of mooooaaaans over our amazing food! I wouldn’t have brought Heather to a restaurant that had no vegan options, and we feasted on roasted Brussels sprouts prepared with miso olive oil (instead of butter – Rooftop was very accommodating)  as well as a veggie platter with hummus and baba ganoush. 

Being the seafood lover that I am, I had to also order some tilapia ceviche. Complete with extra plantain chips on the side for us to share!

Incredible!

Our plan to get a good photo by Rooftop 120’s gorgeous multi-colored glass bottle wall didn’t quite pan out, but the effects were still pretty cool!

We headed home to do the obvious – watch more of “The Hills!” Then we both hit the hay at our nice bedtimes of 11PM-ish.

Love you!

I awoke on Sunday itching for a cardio and weight lifting lovefest! Heather was doing good to her bod pod (her trademark saying) and completed some stretching while I went to the gym and knocked out 35 minutes of spin and 25 minutes of abs and ARM DAY. I love lifting arms!

Wearing a matchy-matchy Reebok outfit. Obviously.

I got cleaned up after my sweaty workout and Heather and I went to – where else? – Daybreak to blog and try out more French pressed coffee flavors!

Mocha Butter Crunch for her.

Toasted Butternut for me!

Once we were caffeinated, blogged out, and fed our lunches, it was time to hit the road for the destination we experienced together on one of her last visits…the Coventry Farmers’ Market! I was ready to judge their Farm to Shaker Cocktail Competition after the market’s closing, but we were sure to get there before that so that we could spend lots of money. DUH.

Just a scarecrow in shades and a pumpkin bumpkin. That bushel of apples has a KNEE in it!

Heather and I made a beeline for one of our favorite CT vendors, Yummy Hummy! These folks were kind enough to not only set aside our desired unique hummus flavors for us to ensure that we would be able to purchase them before they sold out, but they also were offering $1 off Heather’s choice, Curry hummus, for their Facebook fans. It was our lucky day too since my frequency card with them filled up, so we got one hummus free!

LOVE the label 😀

I opted for Pretty Beet and Honey Garlic hummus varieties. I can’t wait to sample them! I also decided to get a tub of Peach Basil Salsa, made with all CT ingredients. At $7 for the tub it was pretty pricey, but I’ve purchased other fruit salsas from Yummy Hummy before (strawberry and blueberry) and have NEVER been disappointed. Pleased to report that the case still holds! I had some of this with my dinner last night and it rocked my world!

After hearing Heather hadn’t tried their plain Pico de Gallo yet, she was gifted with a free sample to bring home. So very kind of Lexy and Ian, Yummy Hummy’s founders, to take good care of their return customers!

And I even started a new frequency card when I bought my salsa, so obviously I’ll be back soon.

Thank you Yummy Hummy!

We also visited Shayna B’s and The Pickle, a local bakery of wheat/gluten-free vegan goodies! Last time Heather and I were both overwhelmed by the owner’s kindness when we met her at her booth. Heather was missing just a bit of cash to pay for a container of delectable Wendy Bites, and she was allowed to purchase them for what money she had on her!

Well, Shayna B’s astounded us again. First, they sold Heather the above coconut apple tart. The ingredient list was incredible, and just check out her reaction upon first bite.

Tartgasm.

That’s genuine, folks.

Just too good…

After seeing us admire the two pear ginger scones remaining, the staff of Shayna B’s offered to let us take them home for FREE! I just know it was because they could feel our enthusiasm and appreciation for the simple, pure baked goods they put out every single day. It’s great to share a passion with someone you’ve only just met, and know that they clearly acknowledge and are grateful for it! Can’t wait to tell you all how the scone is. I’m saving it for a special evening snack…or maybe two evening snacks to make it last longer. I have a feeling plain Chobani may be involved.

Dammit goat, stop eating.

And what’s a Coventry Farmers’ Market visit without photos of me being awkward with animals…and children?!

Thumbs up, it’s a goat!

Staring down this child. Back off my goat.

I also purchased three jarred items from Christine’s Country Kitchen, another favorite local vendor of mine, as they were finishing packing up. HUGE thanks to them for putting up with my annoying lateness and still selling me some full sour pickles, jalapeno mustard, and sugar-free (sweetened with STEVIA!) beets! Unfortunately half of the beets and their jar did not survive the car ride home, and I drove to work yesterday morning sniffing beet smell the whole time, but that’s the life of a local foodie!

The day was FAR from over, but my judging of the Farm to Shaker cocktail competition deserves a post all its own, and that’s what it’ll get. So I’ll leave you guys in suspense for now.

Do you have a special local restaurant where you are known and treated well by the staff as a “regular”?

What are your favorite items to pick up at the farmers’ market?

What’s the coolest hummus flavor you’ve ever encountered?

Weekend With My BB – Part One

Thanks to all who entered my giveaway for two Anchor Bay fitness DVDs – I received 193 entries! The two winners are…

Laurel and Angela!

Congrats, ladies! I will be contacting you for your shipping information. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the DVDs! And now, onto today’s weekend recap (part one!)…

During Friday’s drive from work to the gym, I was itching with excitement. Yes, I felt pumped to get to the gym after taking a semi-active rest day the day before. But I felt MORE pumped for what would be arriving in Glastonbury after my gym trip – Heather, my best blend!

Cheers!

My BB drove from MA to CT to stay for the weekend. We both absolutely craved the same things Friday night – wine, salad, and pajamas. Consider it done!

My mom captured the bloggers at work!

I purchased a bottle of Pinot Grigio for the perfect price of $7! I’d sampled this Pinot, from Lulu B Wines, at the Yelp Helps! event in Hartford recently. It was definitely Instagram-worthy, as you can see above, and also tastebud worthy! I find that white wines are way easier to “do cheap” than reds!

Using glasses from Chamard Vineyards!

Heather and I like to buy each other little gifts when we see things that remind us of each other (you can vomit now), and we weren’t even surprised when we pulled out bags from the same store (our little piece of heaven, Urban Outfitters) when it came time to exchange presents.

Who’da thunk it?!

I love giving people presents. I’ve been known to find someone the PERFECT birthday gift, and buy it, regardless of whether the birthday is a week or almost a year away! Hanging onto the gift becomes difficult. I only got Heather’s gift last weekend, but have been so anxious to give it to her since!

And for good reason! I knew this would be Heather’s face when she opened her present – a large photo book containing a history of the Beatles through FASHION! I don’t know much about the Beatles (don’t judge me) but I do know she loves them, and loves the fashion of the 60s (and beyond). Also, the book was $2 .Yup. Purchasing it for her was kinda a no-brainer.

Wet hair, don’t care.

The notebook on the right literally lists the benefits of drinking coffee – as if I needed any convincing to consume it daily – and is so perfect for grad school. Especially since I just started back this past Thursday! I love the contrasting stripe and polka dot patterns of the notebook on the left. They’re sure to get my creative juices flowing, which is appropriate since Heather purchased the notebook for the specific purpose of my continued journey with #AmazingMe. Um, #AmazingHeather! I’m so touched by her constant support.

The pan in the center has curried sweet potatoes from Whole Foods (plus ketchup) that we made extra crispy in the oven. Le duh.

We’d planned to add re-runs of “The Hills” to our salad-and-wine soiree, but they were not available on MTV.com. Never fear! We were better off moving ourselves and all our “gear” down to my basement to use Netflix. Five or six episodes later, we were in major #jadorelavie mode.

I also need to give Lauren Conrad props for having the BEST bitch faces ever.

I awoke with an annoying stab-my-eyes out headache, but I wasn’t too concerned. Heather and I had plans to visit the local Bikram Yoga studio. I had 9 classes from a Groupon to use and she’s a big fan, so we thought it was an appropriate Saturday morning BB workout. And a workout it was! Not only did I feel physically challenged, but also mentally. I noticed that whenever my mind started to wander, my balance did too! My desire to hold poses longer and more correctly drove me to bring my mind back to the present. The practice felt hardest to me during all the transitions to and from savasana, as strange as that sounds. The switching between lying on my back and whatever mat pose was next really got the blood flowing to and from my head, which made me feel light-headed and set my heart to a racing pace at times. That might sound scary, but I still felt in control of my body – just challenged as well. I felt like my heart and lungs were fighting to get stronger! I always discover something physically and mentally new about myself when I practice yoga, particularly a style as extreme as Bikram.

The post-Bikram glow – and HLS headband!

After showering and packing a snack bag (priorities, people), we went to our special Glastonbury spot – Daybreak Coffee Roasters. Every time Heather visits Glastonbury, our time together is not complete without a blogging session at Daybreak, just as my visits to her are not complete without a Wildflour trip (which must include a scone).

Of course my standard cottage cheese and fruit snack was on stand-by!

We ordered Pumpkin Spice (Heather) and Southern Pecan (me) French press coffees. In mugs, for ultimate coziness.

All set up with her protein oats!

We both were super productive thanks to our fresh fuel and cups of joe! And super zen thanks to the morning’s yoga and the peaceful atmosphere of Daybreak.

Thanks for the labels, Daybreak!

Afterwards, we went to Sonoma Wines & Spirits, my favorite package store ever, to help my mom pick out some craft beers. Sonoma has a great selection of singles of unique beers from smaller brands, and customers can build their own six pack AND get 10% off! Later in the day, I joined my mom in sampling some of the Dogfish Head Burton Baton and Sierra Nevada Hoptimum. We both agreed the Hoptimum was the winner!

Beer in a Coca-Cola glass, classic.

Perfect for Tennessee football viewing!

We obviously had to do a photoshoot outside of Sonoma. Because that’s what bloggers do.

Sonoma – and Heather’s fishtail braid skills – rock!

We had another Whole Foods experience for our late lunch, but managed to spend a bit less money this time.

Heather’s awe of how “cute” my town is totally made me realize that I sometimes take it for granted. I DEFINITELY used to in high school. I’m glad that since moving back home, I’ve learned about the treasures my town has to offer. One of the cute gift shops we visited, Emmy Lou’s, also happened to be home to Heather’s favorite type of dog, a corgi.

Awkward…

This particular corgi was named Tasha, and she was literally camera shy – as in, afraid of cameras! Opposite of a blogger. A hilarious attempt to get a photo of Heather and Tasha together ensued.

Corgi fail!

Corgi isn’t having this shit.

Seeing Heather laugh that hard was pretty awesome.

Tasha is over it.

Thanks to the shop/corgi owner, we got a good photo!

After our Glastonbury adventures were done, we went back to my house and I watched the football game with my mom (and my beer) while Heather read her book. Seeing my friends read makes me so happy, since I’m such a bookworm! We took some time to read each other favorite passages, both of her book and my latest (which I plan to do a post on soon). After more episodes of “The Hills” (can’t stop, won’t stop), we set off for dinner. To be continued…

You can read Heather’s take on our first adventures here 🙂 and more to come from me!

Cheap wines, red and/or white…do you buy/drink them?

Which old show could you watch endless re-runs of?

Have you ever tried Bikram yoga?

Blending at the Coventry Farmer’s Market

Check out fellow FitFluential Ambassador Tara‘s recent link-up of body weight workouts! It includes my hotel room workout 🙂 perfect for your summer vacations!

Color Me Rad Giveaway WINNERS!

Thank you those who participated in the giveaway for two free race entries to a Color Me Rad 5K! I received 38 total comment “entries”, and used a random number generator to pick the two winners:

Congratulations to Valerie and Angela! Please email me at caitplusate@gmail.com so that I can send you your promo codes to use at checkout when you are registering for your race!

Now on to today’s post…

So you may read this post’s title and say…blending? Blending what?! Blending with my best blend, Heather! She came to visit me last weekend, and we had an amazing, fun-filled Sunday. It really turned out to be a fantastic time, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that it started pouring the rain when it was time for Heather to drive back to MA. The weather knew how I was feeling!

Matching shorts/dress colors were a total coincidence!

I took my flower child (she pulls off that look!) to her favorite Glastonbury spot, and one of mine, Daybreak Coffee Roasters! Last time Heather visited she fell in love with the local cafe, so a trip to get their coffee and blog AKA what I do many weekends was at the top of her list.

She selected Southern Pecan, made in the French press!

My usual coffee with a splash of steamed skim and sprinkle of cinnamon in a big old mug! I had the Creme Brulee, mm.

After a few hours of tech time and caffeinating (that should be a real verb) ourselves, we set off to a destination I’ve been dying to show Heather, the Coventry Farmers’ Market. This is by far the best farmers’ market I’ve EVER attended – and it must have been everyone else’s best as well, because we ended up waiting in traffic for about 30 minutes on the windy one-lane road leading to the parking area! Finally we found a spot on the side of the road and walked the remaining 1/2 mile…fine with us, it was a gorgeous day. A tip to any CT residents who want to attend – it starts at 11AM, but aim to arrive by 10:45AM at the LATEST!

Matching Oakley bags from the TIU Meet-Up to carry our stuff – pure coincidence!

One of my very first blog entries was actually about the products I found during my first trip to the Coventry Farmer’s Market! How funny – last time I went I was a new blogger, and now I have all these amazing experiences and new friends under my belt as a result of starting Cait Plus Ate. Who knows where I’ll be next time I go?!

BB takes pics and the crowd lines up at the Agave cart.

We were in heaven! The market was hoppin’ – it was opening day of the season after all.

Loved the wooden signs decorating the RIPE natural drink mixers booth. Unfortunately those were the names of mixers, not actual drinks.

There were many food carts! This cart even served up a tofu roll.

Heather enjoyed a fresh fruit smoothie from Raw YouNiverse, and I enjoyed a sample of their kale chips ($10 a bag though…)

The Fish Market is there each year with the freshest of seafood.

These stuffed breads sounded to die for!

Freshly baked pastries and loafs.

Gourmet truffles and coffee.

These nice folks from Norm’s Best let me sample marinated mushrooms, jalapeno jams, and award-winning BBQ sauces.

Loved the way these jams and jellies were packaged.

Sampled some amazing maple garlic salt (yup) and maple peanut brittle here.

Beautiful bottles of oils and vinegars!

Adorable tea packaging.

I’m such a salt fan that I had to pick up a tiny jar of smoked sea salts. Any new kind of salt is a must-try in my book! Can’t wait to try this on a meat or seafood from the grill.

Beeswax candles – they smelled amazing!

I purchased one the above votive beeswax candles from Swift Farm. The man working there gave Heather and I some very interesting info on candles. I burn them every morning and evening, and usually buy them from Bath & Body Works. Those are parafin candles. Apparently they are not only the most common, but also the most HARMFUL to the air. According to the Swift Farm rep, the second-best form of candle to burn is soy, but most are NOT non-GMO. That leaves us with the best kind to burn – 100% beeswax, completely natural. And they really do smell fantastic! I’m going to “burn through” the rest of my B&BW candles, but what he had to say was interesting and I’ll have to reconsider whether or not I want to purchase any more from there in the future.

I also bought a natural lip balm from Swift Farm. The ingredient list is amazing: almond oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, comfrey oil, vitamin E oil, and rosemary & peppermint essential oils. It feels so soft on my lips, smells great, and gives a slight, satisfying peppermint tingle. Crazy though how those with nut allergies would need to avoid this lip balm. I could easily forget about the almond oil and am worried I’m going to give some to a nut-allergic friend who asks to borrow some!

Pita pizza and the fated last tabbouleh!

Last year I visited Iffat, a hilarious, friendly man who runs the Lazizah Bakery in Yantic, CT. They are famous in the state for their falafel, but don’t sell it at the farmers’ market because Iffat would have to make it in Yantic and bring it to Coventry since the fryer isn’t portable. He’d rather NOT sell a lower quality version of his most famous product than make the money he could probably make if he sold pre-made falafel. I admire that!

Iffat was just as fun as he was last year, calling Heather and I “beautiful girls”, and answering my questions about the above herbed pita, which I purchased and made into a FAB shrimp pizza for dinner a few nights later with my mom.

 There was just one case of tabbouleh left, one of Heather and I’s favorite Mediterannean foods, so we decided it was fate that we split it!

It was impossible not to take the Strawberry Salsa and Dandelion Green & Carrot Top Pesto home with me!

I had told her all about Yummy Hummy, another booth that impressed me last year. We sadly arrived too late to get the carrot & ginger hummus we’d heard would be offered (of course, it was sold out!) but there were still some unique products left that I snatched immediately – strawberry salsa and dandelion green & carrot top pesto!

Heather called this the best hummus she’s ever had – says a lot coming from someone who considers it a food group.

Heather purchased some hummus and swooned over it. Yummy Hummy is a great, humble company and they make so many unique hummus flavors! Others that I hope to find at a farmers’ market to purchase someday: spicy sesame, lemon cilantro, summer squash & curry, beets & scallions, pumpkin spice, acorn squash & black pepper, and MOJITO!

PICKLE PARTY.

Last season I purchased dill pickle chips from Christine’s Country Kitchen, so I knew I wanted to try to get different selections this time around. Plus I’ve only grown MORE adventurous with food in the last year, so it makes sense that I ended up expanding outside of my pickled horizons. Of course I selected a jar of garlic pickles first, but I followed it up with sugar-free pickled beets and sweet & spicy mustard! I’ve been rocking the pickles and beets in my salads…I still don’t think I enjoy eating beets alone, but am now at the point that I’m loving them in my salads. I’m a mustard fanatic and sampled many at this booth, but ended up choosing the sweet & spicy.

The most touching moment of the day came courtesy of Shayna B’s Gluten-Free Bakery. All their treats are also VEGAN, which was great news for Heather, who had not had the best of luck at the farmers’ market finding baked goods or any breads that fit the vegan bill.

Quinoa, bunt cakes, and strawberry tarts.

We started chatting with the owner and she was so kind and appreciative of our passion and desire for healthy, natural, wholesome food. We each received a sample of the Wendy Bites, in the bottom row of the picture below, made with fantastic vegan and gluten-free-friendly ingredients like garbanzo bean flour. A nut-free version without the almonds was even available, though I have to admit the bites I had with the almonds were the best ones 🙂 Heather decided to buy a package of Wendy Bites, and when we came up 50 cents short, they let us purchase the Wendies anyway! We couldn’t believe how kind the folks of Shayna B’s were and could tell that they really, really just wanted their treats to reach as many happy people as possible.

Fresh vegan and gluten-free granola and Wendy’s Bites.

After visiting Shayna’s we decided we’d spent enough of our life savings for one day. My bag sure was heavy!

SOOO much loot. Shoulder raisin’ it!

On our way back to the car we remembered that there were BABY ANIMALS at the market that day! We passed them at the entrance and stopped for some playtime.

Making the same face as this llama, inadvertently.

The kind of picture that could get me on a most wanted list.

Self-taken Caitlin and a llama photo fail.

I wanted to take him home with me!

Just a goat on a leash!

He kept trying to eat my shorts!

He really wanted to eat my Forever21 rose ring!

A little more success taking self-taken photos with the goat.

See, I’ve been known to rock the poses with farm animals before. Behold, my last trip to the Central Park Petting Zoo…

Come on alpaca, didn’t you get the kissy face memo?

Photo-bombing this sheep pic.

After I was done making a fool of myself, we walked back to the car and went to West Hartford’s quaint Blueback Square, another CT gem I wanted Heather to visit, to meet up with our girl Jenny. I met her through Heather and am so grateful – she rocks and we’ve already become fast friends.

We snagged iced tea from the Green Tea House and took it outside to enjoy the last rays of sunshine before the impending downpour.

The blend I selected – not as good as the Banana Split/Monkey’s Chocolate combo from last time!

So fabulous to chat and sip with these girls. Great end to the day – actually, the day ended with Heather and I literally jumping into my car and closing the sunroof right as the downpour began, but you know. Good friends, good timing.

Babes in Blueback.

After Heather (sadly) departed, I laid out my farmers’ market finds and immediately started planning how I’d incorporate some into that evening’s dinner.

I topped a leftover salmon burger with the strawberry salsa, and my mom roasted up the zucchini and squash (I got a ton for just $3.50). OMG! An amazing, amazing meal. I was in heaven the whole time.

Capped off with a glass of rioja. Also had a turkey burger and beans.

What’s the best find you’ve gotten at a farmers’ market?

Farm animals…love ’em or hate ’em?

Daybreak Coffee Roasters

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday! It was a busy day – I had work (punctuated by a gorgeous lunch break outside, oh this weather makes me so happy), a trip to the gym (Group Power and the elliptical), and q-time with my parents to watch the most recent ep of “Mad Men” and eat a taaasty meal. Thanks Mom!

Rocking my new Vera placemat – specifically for blog photos 😉

I felt a bit sore when I woke up this morning, and the stretching during P90X Yoga (my usual Tuesday morning thang) felt good, but all the leg-burning action also probably didn’t help my soreness. I kinda sorta definitely LOVE being sore though, so bring it on!

Half moon gives me the HARDEST time in this workout – anyone else? Source.

Let’s get to the goods. I am always tweeting about Daybreak Coffee Roasters and mentioning them on my blog, because they are a part of my weekend routine. In fact, I was recommending them to the Gossip Girls of West Hartford this morning!

But I thought you all may want to learn more about my favorite local coffee shop (which Heather has already fallen in love with).

Each Saturday and Sunday morning I work out, and then head to Daybreak with my laptop and homework in tow to get MBA/blog-related work done and sip on delicious coffee in the form of a nonfat blanc made with whatever flavored coffee they have “on tap”. I don’t usually like flavored coffees, but Daybreak roasts their own and the flavors taste so fresh, natural, and perfect. If I don’t like what’s already brewed, they will event let me choose any flavor bean I want to be French pressed! It doesn’t get much fresher than that, friends.

Nonfat amaretti blanc, with a side of homework, at Daybreak Coffee.

My favorite flavors, to name a few, are amaretti di sicilia, chocolate banana, toasted butternut, and pecan pie. The vibe of the cafe is fantastic, with cute local foodie gifts lining the walls.

The staff is so kind and helpful! They know me at this point, and my order. They put up with me when I stay there for hours at my favorite sunny table and only order one drink. It’s so comforting to listen to their friendly rapport with the shop regulars – it really creates a sense of community. I have friends I’ve met at Daybreak, and friends I’ve grown closer with because we kept seeing each other there. The owner, Carmelo, even offers patrons with dogs sitting at outside tables a bowl of water for their pups. Amazing!

Carmelo by the coffee roaster. How cute is that sign above?!

Though I’ve never had any, Daybreak also specializes in freshly-baked pastries. Judging by the number of people who order them I can only begin to guess how good they are.

They are most famous for their scones (pictured below at right).

In case you weren’t already impressed, Daybreak also houses an extensive collection of loose-leaf teas.

And those items in the glass case next to the teas are gourmet chocolates! Is there anything you can’t find here? They even sell Chobani, Odwalla bars, and Sports Beans to cater to the many athletes who stop in before, during, and after their outdoor workouts in the center of town. And if you’re gluten-free, that’s no problem – a few packaged gluten-free treats are available!

Daybreak Coffee is such a great part of my weekend routine that I wouldn’t give up in a second – any morning that I can’t make it is so disappointing. If only they were on my way to work so I could go on weekdays too!

What’s your favorite local cafe to get coffee and/or tea?

New Friends – One of Blogging’s Infinity Benefits

Please take a moment to vote for me (up to 10 times…a day…) in round one of the Hartford Courant 2012 Websters for CT’s Best Blogs! I’m nominated for Best Overall Blog, Best Health Blog, Best Food Blog, and Best Social Media Account! Thank you to those who nominated me, and voting for round one closes this Friday 3/30 at 11:59PM EST.

I have been feeling so grateful lately for the friends that this blog has brought me. I tried out Tisane on Monday night with a found-through-Twitter friend Olivia, and am going to Cuvee this Thursday for drinks with Amanda, who I met through Twitter after I started mentioning La Petite France on the blog (she does PR for them). I’ve hung out with Bethany several times, both at her adorable apartment and at some amazing Corey Wry restaurants in Manchester. This sounds cheesy, but it’s SO hard to meet new people after graduating college and starting work. My co-workers are great, but I work at a small company. I’ve met everyone – in fact, I met them all within my first week! And I am always up for meeting NEW people. The problem is that I can only meet so many at work, and even at class.

Salted edamame, edamame hummus, veggies, and wonton chips that Oliva and I enjoyed at Tisane!

I’ve met Jasper White, the founder and owner of a restaurant that I love, the Summer Shack. I’ve been shown the hottest spots in Boston by Ken of Pete & Gerry’s after finding out about their heirloom eggs and sampling custard that used them at the Mohegan Sun WineFest.

And of course on that Boston trip I also met Heather for the first time! She has proven to be a true friend (who shares my brain) and even came to stay with me a couple of weeks ago for an evening. I can’t wait to visit her next!

FitFluential Ambassadors ready for dinner – in lace tops, totally unplanned.

Lovely lady after our walk/run through my town. She adored my favorite cafe, Daybreak!

You can read Heather’s two recaps of our time together here and here!

Heather elected to sip on black Snickerdoodle coffee with her Wildflour vegan spinach and mushroom scone.

I went for coffee with a splash of steamed skim and a rosemary and caramelized onion scone that Heather’s manfriend, Matty, was nice enough to pick out for me!

Yup, definitely two peas in a pod. We couldn’t let our time together go by without getting our sweat on either! I reintroduced Heather to a machine she hadn’t done in awhile, my go-to StepMill.

Because taking phone pics in the gym is completely normal.

Another blogger I’ve found a lot in common with is Kelly B. of Cupcake Kelly’s! She and her family play music in and volunteer at the same Greek Festival that my best friend Lidia and I attend every single summer. She married into a Greek family and, just like me, adores their food (well, except the moussaka – Kelly, let’s work on that! ;-)) and especially their desserts (she is Cupcake Kelly after all).

Where am I going with this? Well, a Greek baptism took place in Kelly’s family, and she generously offered to send me some of the leftover Greek desserts from the baptismal celebrations! I was blown away by her generosity. It means so much to me when someone offers to do something for me that I know they understand I will appreciate. People being thoughtful just makes me happy 🙂

These photos don’t do the treats justice because they’re still in their labeled bags, but I wanted you all to see the names written out! Most of the desserts were new to me, which made me very psyched. The melomakarona (above left) tasted similar to gingerbread. I used good old Wikipedia to discover that it’s usually made with cinnamon, which explained the gingerbread-like taste! The kourabiethes (above right) were covered in powdered sugar! They’re made with almonds and even sometimes brandy 😉

I bet a lot of you are familiar with baklava, a very rich but very amazing dessert that is made with layers of filo pastry and chopped nuts. It’s often sweetened with honey, and even my ridiculously pickly little brother, who usually won’t even touch anything that looks the least bit interesting (that’s my wording, not his), really liked it. I shared some with my dad too, the newfound Greek food fan.

The cookie above tasted similar to shortbread cookies to me. More specifically, Girl Scout shortbread!

Yup, as you can see, I ‘m pretty damn lucky to have not only started this blog, but met so many amazing people as a result. I’m feeling particularly grateful for that today, so I wanted to share those feelings with all of you, and ask this:

What is an unexpected benefit that blogging or reading blogs has brought you?

Sakimura Sushi on a Saturday Morning

Yay, it’s the weekend! Last night I got out of work early and hit up Group Power. While it was great to finally get some strength training in (I’ve been slacking on it recently), I didn’t have the best class because I skipped my pre-workout snack. I was working out an hour earlier than usual so thought I wouldn’t need it – wrong! The class would have been so much better if I’d been well-fueled. Lesson learned, folks.

So this morning I was sure to have a banana with PB&Co Mighty Maple before my 7:15am trip to the gym. Last night my mom and I went to Bertucci’s (and ordered a meal that was an exact replay of last time) to use another $5 off $25 coupon, and when I got home I read my book and passed out before 10. PARTY.

So I woke up quite naturally this morning at 6:30am, before the gym even opened. There aren’t any group fitness classes that start that early on Saturdays so I did my own thing once I arrived. I hadn’t done any cardio since Wednesday so I went with 30 minutes of HIIT on the Stair Master, 20 minutes on the elliptical, and some quick abs and stretching. Great sweat session! The Stair Master kills me every single time. SO nice to be done so early too! I’m at Daybreak now, blogging while I take a break between chapters of reading I’m doing for school. Today’s coffee of choice is Amaretti di Sicilia – YUM.

I’ve also got a restaurant report to share with you all!

I love using daily deals from sites like SaveNowCT to visit new restaurants and broaden my foodie-horizons. Case in point: I recently forgo-ed my daily packed salad beast for a lunch out with my co-worker at Sakimura, a sushi and hibachi place right near our office that I had a soon-to-expire deal to. Unfortunately I goofed and bought the dinner deal, but the restaurant still let us use it as long as we ordered off the dinner menu. So no awesome lunchbox special deals – but we still had a tasty meal! Daily deal crisis, averted.

Steamed edamame with sea salt.

Believe it or not, I’d never had edamame out of its pod before! I’ve been spoiled by the Whole Foods and Ruby Tuesday’s salad bars. This made for a very embarrassing situation. First, I ate two pods themselves before realizing that you’re not supposed to eat those – no wonder they were so hard to chew. Side note, I also made this mistake with shrimp tails the first time I ate shrimp. I was wondering why they were so crunchy!

When I finally caught on to the fact that you dispose of the pods, I kept popping the edamame out instead of sucking it right out of the pod. This resulted in edamame pieces flying all over the table.  Steve had plenty of laughs over that one – glad I could provide some klutzy lunchtime entertainment.

Nice hand pose, Steve!

We decided to split the Sushi Dinner, so we also received a salad and miso soup to share. Not the biggest fan of miso so I gave that one to Steve, but I did have some of the salad. The salads and soup at Japanese restaurants have always been so meh to me, but I know that a lot of people really like miso. Maybe I just haven’t had a really flavorful variety?

Tuna, striped bass, salmon, shrimp, and a couple of others I don't remember.

This was my first round of what I’d call your “fishy”, typical sushi. I usually go safer routes like California, veggie, or cooked seafood rolls. I’m pleased to report that I LOVED every single component of this plate! Except the wasabi…I don’t touch that stuff. I am officially an all-things-sushi lover!

Not sure if I’ll be back to Sakimura simply because I tend to only eat dinner out, not lunch, and it’s a bit far from my house since I’m only in that area during my workday, but if it were closer to me I’d definitely be coming back. For now, there are lots of Japanese places in Glastonbury that can fulfill any sushi cravings I may get. Still, the service was polite and the food was tasty!

I’m off to do more reading…after I check out Facebook and Twitter of course. And I’m off to the CT Food and Wine Fest tonight thanks to another SaveNowCT deal – can’t wait to take tons of photos so I can share the experience with you all!

Are you a sushi person? If you like “fishy” sushi, have you always liked it or did you have to slowly acclimate like me?