Tag Archives: events

Big Brew and 42

Full Disclosure: I am being provided complimentary admission to this event.

I mentioned previously that Molly and I will be traveling to White Plains, NY on Saturday 2/8 to attend the Big Brew NY Beer Festival. I was offered the chance to interview Chef Anthony Goncalves, chef/owner of 42 the Restaurant and the designer of the beer-infused buffet that will be available to attendees of the fest’s VIP portion.

  • Beer battered fish and ranch chips
  • Beer braised lamb arancini (Parmesan and preserved lemon)
  • IPA pickled carrot salad over roasted and dehydrated carrot
  • Oatmeal Stout glazed apple fritter

Needless to say (and especially since the general admission tasting takes place AFTER the VIP tasting), Molly and I are certainly going to have to pace ourselves! I could be a “healthy living blogger” and say I’m most looking forward to the pickled carrot salad…but that’d be a lie. I’m looking forward most to the lamb – I love lamb! (Not to be confused with lamp.)

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Holy off topic. Anyway, I emailed to Chef Anthony some questions that came to mind after browsing both the festival’s and the restaurant’s websites. After getting his answers, I had the chance to give him a call and follow up to gather some more insight into his involvement with and feelings about Big Brew Fest, and beer in general.

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Psyched to Think Out Loud!

Confession: I get so psyched about Amanda‘s Thinking Out Loud Thursdays, AKA the perfect excuse for me to ramble about tons of different topics in a totally ADD-like fashion, that I start these posts a couple of days in advance. Like this one, which I am starting on a Tuesday. The draft of each post becomes a bucket for the thoughts that pop into my head between starting the post and hitting “Publish”.

Join her link-up if you are thinking out loud today too!

1. I watched the first episode of #RichKids of Beverly Hills and sorry folks, but I’m obsessed. The stars of the show kept saying all these really stupid, vain things that I so often want to say but cannot (without being judged)…or I’ll say them, but only around my closest friends. Seriously, these #RichKids are MY PEOPLE. I kinda want to hang out with them. Here are some of my favorite gems (plenty more here):

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Let’s See How Far We’ve Come

Happy Friday readers! I came into work late today due to a family obligation so I’m all confused about what time and day it is. Thankfully the time is afternoon and the day is Friday, so I’d say I’m in business. I wasn’t sure what to blog about today or even if I was going to blog, but I can’t stay away for long so here I am. I noticed a few things last night during the plans I had mentioned in yesterday’s post, so I’d like to share them with you all.

I first headed to J’s Crab Shack in Hartford after the bartender Kim invited me to come have a Manhattan in their new lounge (formerly was a banquet room). While there I found out that not only was Kat running late to the event, but the food there would be “snacks” from Pond House Cafe (who by the way is offering some fun reasonably priced cooking classes this year). I love Pond House food but snacks seemed ominous to me. I knew I needed to eat dinner but making a dinner out of event snacks often means making dinner out of dips, cheeses, and other not-so-light food. Instead of planning to restrict at the event (AKA drinking on an empty stomach), I made the decision to go next door to O’Porto and grab dinner – a healthy dinner I was comfortable with – at the bar.

Greens, shrimp, smoked-salmon-wrapped asparagus, and balsamic vinaigrette.

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Best of Each Month in 2013

Thanks for your feedback on yesterday’s post about my 2014 New Year’s resolution! I was hesitant to hit publish because I felt there were a few misconceptions you guys could get from the post. I do not think I’m ugly without makeup or my hair “done up”, and I also didn’t want anyone to think my resolution was vain. But this is my blog and it’s my resolution so I shared, and I’m glad I did. It seems that those who commented get that it’s about how I feel about myself, not how I look to others.

I have been debating for a few weeks now how I would recap 2013 on the blog. Last year I did a top 12 of 2012 but I really think it would be too hard to rank all the great stuff I got to do and the fabulous people I got to see this year. There is so much to look at in the year! So I decided to refine a bit and instead look at each month. I’m going to try my hardest to declare a favorite day/event/occurrence/etc for each and I’ll end up with a list of twelve things, but to be honest I still won’t do an accurate enough job of getting across how grateful I am for each and every person, place, or thing (noun?!) that made 2013 a year to remember.

January

The Mohegan Sun WineFest was a very special event for me! It was my second time there to help Mohegan promote the festival but this year I got to bring my foodie partner in crime Rachel. She got hooked and is taking her boyfriend back to this year’s event! I also met Kaitlin in person for the first time, and we shared a hug that made her boyfriend (now fiance!) think that we had known each other for year’s. It sure feels like it!

Me, Rachel, and our media passes!

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CONNetic Dance Nutcracker Ticket Giveaway!

Last holiday season I had the opportunity to see the Sunday matinee of CONNetic Dance‘s The Nutcracker: Suite & Spicy at Downtown Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum. You can see my review here. Director/founder Carolyn Paine is a friend of mine as well as a huge part of Hartford’s cultural scene. She is one of those awesome people like Chion Wolf who I see at almost every area event; she’s on a mission to show the state that Hartford Has It. Well it’s that time of year again…CONNetic Dance will be performing The Nutcracker: Suite & Spicy at the same venue this coming Friday 12/20 and Saturday 12/21 at 8PM, and Sunday 12/22 at 2PM. Tickets are $30 each and can be purchased here.

My favorite dance of the show.

This year CONNetic is literally mixing things up by adding an official cocktail sponsor – Tanduay Asian Rum! You may recall that I am a fan (may or may not have had some last night, ice cold with a splash of sweet vermouth, not bad for a Monday). Tanduay will be pouring in the lobby and the program will have special recipes developed just for the show. Here’s a preview!

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Yelp Hartford Holiday Bazaar

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my first holiday-themed event of the season – Yelp’s Holiday Bazaar at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Emily Cahill, Senior Community Manager for Yelp Hartford, did an amazing job coordinating so many vendors and even entertainment. What an awesome turnout!

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Tote bags and name tags were provided.

Tote bags and name tags were provided.

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Pond House Grille Side Dish Cooking Class

I received complimentary admission to this event in exchange for a blog post about my experience. All opinions are my own.

This past Friday night I had the opportunity to attend my second cooking class (read about my first one here) at Pond House Grille in Glastonbury, CT. The restaurant has been doing one class per month, and with Thanksgiving coming up this one was appropriately themed “Spice Up Your Side Dishes”.

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This month’s class had enough participants to be held in a bigger room in the restaurant’s adjacent banquet facility.

All classes are taught by Executive Chef Jordan Stein but I wouldn’t exactly call it teaching…hosting is a more accurate word. Jordan is so great with his guests! I felt like I was in his home and he was letting us all help him make Thanksgiving dinner. He made sure every “student” got some hands-on cooking time in. He would demo each step and afterwards pass it off to a volunteer – or someone he chose. Some guests were hesitant to volunteer and Jordan did a wonderful job of encouraging them to do so.

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Warring Whiskies Wednesday: Scotch vs Bourbon

I received complimentary admission to this event from NBMAA. All opinions are my own. 

In conjunction with the opening of the traveling Maurice Sendak exhibit at Connecticut’s New Britain Museum of American Art, a grand event took place this past Friday 11/8. Or as the museum called it (to create a Where the Wild Things Are vibe) – a wild rumpus! Scotch vs Bourbon was the chance to sample high-end scotches and bourbons (for a look at the difference between bourbon and whiskey, check out this cool infographic – thanks Brittany!) along with food from two awesome area restaurants, Plan B Burger Bar and Tisane.

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Of the two, Plan B was my fave!

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Love the floral pants!

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Real Art Ways Oddball Halloween 2013

I received complimentary admission to this event. All opinions of my experience are my own and this is not a sponsored post.

Okay I know it’s November and we’ve all forgotten already that Halloween was less than a week ago. But hopefully this post, recapping an absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring Halloween event, will have you craving the holiday all over again (don’t get mad at me when you realize it’s still almost a year away).

Crazy concoctions brewing!

Crazy concoctions brewing!

You may recall my post (in which I gave away a pair of tickets) about the Real Art Ways Oddball Halloween event. Well now it’s time to share tell you all about my wonderful experience! This event was like the Onyx Gatsby Ball in that the entire time I was completely lost in the moments of the evening. I could not believe that such a cool party was happening right in my backyard! Hartford certainly has it.

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Scotch, Bourbon, and American Art

The winner of the Albion Fit Petal Pant leggings giveaway is Lisa! Thank you so much to all who entered – so much enthusiasm for this product! 

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Remember that from now until 11/3 you can get $20 off your Albion purchase of $100 or more by entering code “caitdiscount20” at checkout.

When one hears “Connecticut”, I’m sure the subject of history comes to mind. But what about art? It just so happens that in New Britain, CT, the art-curious can find the New Britain Museum of American Art. The best art museums aren’t just in the big cities! I’ve visited this museum three times and each visit has me circling back to old favorite exhibits and oohing and ahhing over new pieces that arrived since my last time there. Some exhibitions are permanent, while some come in and stick around for only a little while. NBMAA makes a real effort to promote its art not just to your stereotypical museum goers, but to the youth of the area as well. That’s where their fantastic events come in!

Art is fun - clearly.

Art is fun – clearly.

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Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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