Tag Archives: friday

Two Marvelous Homes

This past weekend was spent in both of my marvelous homes – Boston and Connecticut. Even before I made my move I knew I’d be coming home for Penelope‘s first birthday party, which was on Saturday (the same day as her actual birthday). So I spent Friday night in Boston and Saturday night in Glastonbury. I told friends in Beantown that I would be “going home” Saturday, but then I told friends in CT that I was going “back home” on Sunday. I haven’t stopped calling Connecticut home, but I’m already calling Boston home too. Who says I can’t have two?

This link up of marvelous is brought to you by Katie!

Marvelous was…a date with a blend. Annie and I have hung out several times in a group setting but we’ve been wanting to get together for a heart to heart for awhile now. Finally, Friday night, we made it happen. She suggested what ended up being a great spot, City Landing. The restaurant was so extremely accommodating for both vegan and gluten-free diets, but also offered plenty for those following no specific diet. Our bartender was so awesome – when we asked her to take a picture of us she took several, did the “above angle”, and positioned our drinks (which were amazing) so that they showed in the photo. I will definitely be making a return visit to City Landing; Annie and I especially want to bring Greg!

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Just Marvelous

I finished up my first full Boston weekend since my recent vacation and man it was just marvelous. I’m going home again this Saturday (for Penelope‘s first birthday party!) so to have a weekend with no events to work and just time to do what I enjoy, in the place I love, felt really great.

Be sure to link up with Katie!

Marvelous is…this video. I don’t usually watch YouTube videos but this one is too spot-on not to share. Plus it features two of my favorite things, saying “yaaaaas” and #Hathahate.

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MIMM: Holiday Cheer!

The winner of my giveaway for a Blue Nile Sterling Silver Branch Necklace is actually the first person who submitted any entries – Shawna! I will be contacting you to get your shipping address. Congrats to all who entered and thank you for the enthusiastic participation!

I had plans this past weekend for not one but two holiday parties. Unfortunately Saturday’s snow resulted in one of them getting cancelled but I still managed to make my weekend full of plenty of marvelous holiday (and overall) cheer.

Be sure to link-up with Katie if you’re participating in Marvelous In My Monday today!

Marvelous is…visiting Kaitlin on Friday! She was kind enough to host me for the evening and showed me a wonderful time. We started with a gift exchange…she got me a set of champagne flutes and a bottle of Prosecco, not to be opened until I move out of my parents’ house and get my own place 😉 my kind of motivation! The booze theme proceeded to carry on throughout the evening.

We went to Total Wine in Norwalk (which only made me more pumped for FL this month because there’s one by our condo) and they were having not one but two wine tastings AND a vodka tasting. Thank you Friday night! I’m worse in liquor stores than most girls are in Target so I walked out with two bottles of late harvest dessert wines, a nip of coffee liqueur, and a really nice Cabernet to share with Kaitlin at the holiday party we planned to attend later. I also ran into a fantastic guy named Latif who overheard me asking an employee if Total Wine carried Cesca Vicent, my favorite red to order at Barcelona. We immediately bonded over our love for Cesca and Barcelona! It was classic.

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MIMM: Home and Away

The winner of the Ellovi Body Butter giveaway is Mahdi! Congratulations and look for an email from me about getting you your free jar of raw six-ingredient body butter. Remember if you didn’t win you can get 15% off (click here to purchase a jar) by entering offer code “caitplusate”.

I went into the weekend wary of how I would handle my plans to visit my good friend/former neighbor Molly in Boston on Saturday night. I still wasn’t feeling good about myself after Wednesday night’s dinner out and was doing a lot of future-tripping over the guilt I would surely feel after a day and night of restaurant hopping in Beantown. For that reason I made sure to keep Friday night low-key and stayed in my hometown. Of course everything turned out marvelous in the end, as it often does. I’ve got another weekend of excellent memories and moments I’d re-live again in an instant, even if they also came with some not-so-kind thoughts toward myself.

Share your marvelous via Katie’s link-up!

Marvelous are…my tolerant, flexible parents. I was a bit of a mess when I got home Friday night. I’d been sitting in traffic, stewing with too much time to think about our evening dinner plans. We would have to fight that same traffic again to get over to our planned destination (Rizzuto’s in West Hartford) and it didn’t seem worth it. But if we didn’t go there, where would we go? I’d already mentally prepared myself for one restaurant and I know it sounds silly, but I do not handle plan changes well when it comes to food. Hello, control freak. My parents calmed me down when I got home and let me choose a new restaurant destination that I was comfortable with and that also wouldn’t take us on a highway. Speaking of which…

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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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MIMM: Well That Worked Out!

The winners of the Bristol Bliss giveaway are Steph, Heather, and SmileyJoyLove! Congratulations and I will be contacting you for your shipping info so that you can receive your scrub. Remember to check out the Bristol Bliss Etsy shop for natural beauty goodies for yourself…or a custom gift basket for a holiday gift!

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This weekend taught me a few lessons and gave me some great ammo for the next time I’m feeling down. I always need these kinds of weekends to prove to myself that the fun in my life is not a “bad habit”…it’s marvelous!

Join Katie‘s marvelous weekly link-up!

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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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No Alarm, No Problem? Not Quite.

Thank you to all who entered my giveaway for a personal wine cellar from Staples! Congrats to the winner…Heather! And remember to not forget Staples for your appliance needs…they don’t just sell paper clips!

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Ever since I started going out more frequently on weekends, and staying out later when I do so, I’ve been fighting that little voice in my head telling me I “shouldn’t” be doing it. I figured/told myself that once temperatures started descending the summer nights would disappear and so would my desire to go out. However, this hasn’t been the case. I’ve got the energy to fight the cold, get dolled up, and hit the dance floor after dinner.

Rooftop 120 chocolate martini shots!

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MIMM: One Early Night, One Late Night

Be sure to check out Friday’s blog post about New Britain Museum of American Art events, and head to their Facebook page to like them and enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to this Friday’s Scotch vs Bourbon tasting! I’ll be there!

I feel like it’s been awhile since I did a Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) post! Not that my weekends haven’t been marvelous, but I’ve just been busy with real-life work and blog posts I’d previously committed to publishing. I promised myself I’d start this week off with a post about one of my marvelous weekends.

Be sure to join Katie’s weekly linkup!

Marvelous is…kicking off the weekend with a podcast feature! Awhile back I recorded a podcast with the Bate brothers of The Lifestyle Accountability Show. It went live this past Friday! Click here to listen and if you have a chance after doing so, please head to iTunes and submit a review. I had a nice time connecting and chatting with these gents!

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Marvelous Work Day (Yeah Right)

The Biena Foods roasted chickpea snacks giveaway closes tonight at 11:59PM EST, so make sure to enter! I will announce the winner tomorrow.

Who has the day off for Columbus Day? Oh, you do? Well I don’t like you. Sorry, I am a bitter Betty today. My alarm went off for work and I felt as if I could’ve slept another few hours (realistically I probably would have slept about one hour more, but I’m just sayin’).

At least Columbus Day meant my commute was not long or crowded.

Let’s focus on the marvelous though, because it’s marvelous that I even have a job, after all. And my weekend was full of marvelous too.

Be sure to join Katie’s link-up and share your marvelous!

Marvelous is…Friday night pizza and salad at Kat‘s house with her, hubby Mike, and baby Penelope. I provided the wine, Kat provided the delicious food, and Penelope provided the laughs (and alas tears – she is teething). Kat prepared a fresh spinach salad with radishes, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic, and EVOO. She also made four naan flatbreads – one with roasted shredded baby cabbages and goat cheese (we obviously had some on the side too), one with fig and prosciutto, and two with buffalo chicken and fresh basil (bro-friendly for Mike). My favorite was definitely the fig and prosciutto but the Brussels pizza was obviously a close second.

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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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