Tag Archives: family

Marvelous Already Had and Yet to Come

Entries for a free Lendperk dress rental close tonight at 11:59PM EST so make sure to enter the giveaway!

Before I get to work recapping what is marvelous on this Monday, can I just express my hopelessly addicted woe over the fact that Instagram has been down (for me) for almost…wait, it’s been less than 24 hours? I need to get a grip. Okay, moving on.

Thank you Katie for helping us see the marvelous in Monday!

Thanks so much for your support in response to Thursday’s reflections on the difficulty I had over my FL vacation letting go and living life. Since being home for over a week now my ego has quieted its mean voice, but I’m wary of its ability to spring back up as soon as I step a toe out of my comfort zone, so I’ve been practicing my positive mindset-mode nonstop. This MIMM post is just one of many ways I can do that.

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Belated Birthday and Vacation Reflections

I don’t have much time at all to expand beyond yesterday’s simple WIAW recap of my Florida vacation eats/drinks. Work’s so busy that I shouldn’t even be taking a lunch break to write this! But I am because I also finally managed to get more FL pics uploaded to share and use in this post about what you CAN’T tell from simply looking at my photos.

My co-workers know me well and got me a rhinestone birthday card and wine!

Right around my birthday (perhaps even on that day, 3/22) I felt much more pressure than usual from my ego. It’s almost like warning bells started going off in my head as soon as occasions – my birthday, a wedding, a vacation – came around that my mind saw as excuses I could use to “slack off” on eating healthily and exercising regularly.

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WIAW: Additional Florida Edition

Oo bet that title confused you just a little bit, huh? Stay quick on your feet folks, because this post will be speedy. I miss blogging so much and have not felt at all satisfied with what I have had time to post which is not much. I had a nice chat with my girl Meg about this yesterday – I also miss reading and commenting on all of YOUR wonderful blogs. But it also doesn’t do me any good to place stress on myself and try to make time for everything, because then what I do end up doing will suffer. I would rather do a few things to my best ability, and right now my top priorities are school and (alas, as much as I hate to say it) work. Hey, I gotta pay the restaurant bills. I have so much more than just FL vacation food recaps to share – there’s a lot of feelings associated with that food and the vacation and my birthday. I hope I will get to go deeper into that soon.

For now though I’m going to quickly use What I Ate Wednesday to recap my eats during my latest vacation to Florida. Alas I haven’t even had time to upload my camera photos so I only have Instagram photos to share for now but will try to share camera pics later when I discuss my feelings on the vacation food/drinks. I’ve recapped FL eats before in this photo-dump manner and it seemed to work well! So let’s get this Jenn-hosted party underway. I landed in Florida on Sunday afternoon 3/24 after some bothersome flight delays, and wasted no time stocking our condo with…provisions.

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Birthday Dinner at Max Downtown

Thanks for putting up with my spotty blogging the last couple of weeks! I hope now that the pre-vacation work rush and during-vacation relaxation has passed, I will get back into my routine, including regular blogging!

I still have some Max Restaurant Group establishments to cross off my list, but I selected their ritziest, Max Downtown, for my 24th birthday celebration dinner. My birthday was on 3/22 and this dinner occurred the weekend before that, but vacation and a last MBA semester typically result in late recaps such as this post, so forgive me!

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I (obviously) invited my parents to this special dinner, as well as my best friend Lidia! My dad was kind enough to me and my mom off while he ventured out to find downtown Hartford parking (hey, we were cold!) so I had some time to take some shots of the restaurant’s lovely interior while we waited.

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From Left to Write March Book Club: Raising Cubby

Thanks to fellow CT blogger and bookworm Carrie of Poet in the Pantry, I recently joined the From Left to Write online book club and got accepted just in time to sign up to partake in reading March’s book, Raising Cubby: A Father & Son’s Adventures with Asperger’s, Trains, Tractors, & High-Explosives by John Elder Robison.

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Special Fashion Friday Guest Appearance!

Thanks for your words of encouragement and advice on yesterday’s revised gastro-goals post! I think Michelle of Purely Twins put it best when she said it’s all trial and error, but your advice is ammo I can use for that experimenting so keep it coming!

I’m not going to say the s word. I’m not. All I’m going to say is I’m currently trapped in my house because it’s just Mom and me at home (not counting the sleeping brother) so we have a guy coming to plow our driveway and we have no clue when he’ll arrive. Hopefully soon so I can get to work because I have a crapload to do there. OK no more winter talk.

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Top Nosh in West Hartford!

Thank you for your comments on yesterday’s story about my encounter with my new friend Ed! I saw him again this morning at Peaberry’s and we chatted for a bit. Funny enough, after I told him that I’d gone to UConn, am almost done with my MBA, and have a full-time job, he just looked at me and said, “You’re the oldest kid aren’t you?” Yes we oldest, always the overachievers. Crazy how it’s always so easy to tell. I also learned that Ed was an NBA referee for three years! I’m excited to keep learning more about him – he’s already taught me so much, just by buying my coffee yesterday!

I was still in a funk for a lot of yesterday but at the end of the day as I sat on the couch watching TV with my dad and brother, sipping a little Cameron Hughes Pinot Grigio, and eating a dinner pretty easy on my stomach (very light on veggies, more heavy on frozen Ore-Ida fries…man I love those things), I felt quite at peace and thankful to be feeling a lot better physically and mentally than I had at the beginning of the day. My time to wind down and relax with the DVR and my books is so key to keeping me centered and calming me after anxiety-filled days – or even after the most normal of days. I’m grateful that I am able to easily access the things that calm me.

Vera Bradley slippers FTW!

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WIAW: A Super Super Bowl!

Never before have I watched so LITTLE of the Super Bowl. I usually pop into the TV room at our traditional gathering spot, the Gerber family’s house, to try and catch some ads. This year that didn’t even happen.

No Caitlin here!

No Caitlin here!

Aside from the halftime show (I think Beyone was hella fierce) I did not see a single second of the 2013 Super Bowl broadcast. I was too busy hanging out with family and friends, and tasting some fabulous food and drink. Seeing as it’s What I Ate Wednesday (thanks Jenn of Peas & Crayons for hosting!), today’s post is going to be heavy on both of those things!

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Friday Flights at Esca!

Two of my foodie friends have started their own food blogs about their cooking creations! Devan has guest blogged for me before and she just started Devours by Devan Victoria. And Molly, my long-time best friend and neighbor, just started The Bite is Write. Make sure you read their blogs for drool-worthy foodgasmic photos and recipe ideas!

This past Friday night my mom and I hit up the Hartford Advocate Best of Hartford Readers’ Poll voting party at Esca Restaurant & Wine Bar in Middletown, CT. As part of the shindig, happy hour was extended until 8pm in the bar area. Interestingly enough, the bartender had no idea! However she was really nice about giving us the happy hour pricing on my mom’s $5 glass of Quattro Mani Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (2008). What a sizable glass!

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Company, Not Cravings

I figured now that I have a grand total of six recipes (thanks Mom) that I’ve posted on this blog, it was better earlier than never to create a Recipage! I hope to continue to add to it (albeit slowly).

During a Gabby Bernstein Spirit Junkie meditation on Saturday night, the idea for this post (complete with title) came to me. I was reflecting on my evening out at Rooftop 120 with a new friend, old friends, my parents, and my favorite bartender. Memories of the evening associated with them came to mind first.

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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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