Tag Archives: hartford

Bubbles & Bites at The Capital Grille

I received the food and drink of this post free of charge. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been wanting to visit The Capital Grille ever since my dear friend Kat started mentioning the Hartford, CT location on her blog and social media. Since I came home this past Friday night for a family weekend trip, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit for a sampling of bar bites and holiday champagne.

Bubbles and bites interspersed with selfies.

A table was ready for us upon our arrival, but we opted to sit in the bar (as I so often do). The restaurant was quite busy with couples on dates, friends out on the town together, and large parties celebrating the holiday season. We were waited on by a bartender Carrie – she did a wonderful job.

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2014 Best of Hartford Magazine Winners Party!

Oh how I have missed my Connecticut events! Boston events are great, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t have nearly as much of a network here as I do back in the Hartford area. That’s one reason why I was so excited to be able to attend the 2014 Best of Hartford Magazine Winners Party this past Friday! As first runner-up for both Best Twitter and Best Blogger in the 2014 Readers’ Poll, I received one ticket for me and one for a plus one – so I brought Rachel, the girl who named this blog. Of course that’s really a reason way down low on a very long list of reasons why I brought her with me. She’s a great friend and I was so happy to be able to share the special night with her!

Our red carpet glam entrance - thanks Sean!

Our red carpet glam entrance – thanks Sean!

And of course I got to reunite with all of my CT event buddies! That included Carolyn Paine (founder of CONNetic Dance, which I have blogged about before) and Emily Cahill, Community Manager for Yelp Hartford. Oh, and you know Kat was there. That’s a given.

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Five Things Friday: On the Road Again

It’s Friday which must mean I’m hitting the road again! My summer is going to be defined by weekends away from my Boston home, but that’s all good because all my weekends away will be pretty fabulous. I’m lucky to have so much fun stuff going on! Last weekend DC, and this weekend it’s back home to Connecticut to see my family and many old friends. I’ve got updates about those plans plus this past week, so I thought a Five Things Friday link-up with Clare was appropriate.

1. Tonight is the Best of Hartford Magazine party at the Hartford Public Library, and I get to attend as the first runner-up for Best Blog! I can’t remember if I ever mentioned on this blog the fact that I received this honor…I know I mentioned it on social media. But I’m really really pumped to reunite with my CT event friends, FINALLY. And I’m bringing one my token foodie plus ones, Rachel, along for the ride. Expect lots of photos like this to come:

YAAAAAS

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WIAW: Sorella in Downtown Hartford

I received this meal free of charge. The opinions in this post are my own.

I briefly mentioned dining at a new restaurant this past Sunday night, and if you like Cait Plus Ate on Facebook you saw a carby preview. Now it’s time to share the full scoop on my dinner – with Kat – at Sorella in downtown Hartford.

This What I Ate Wednesday could otherwise be called What I Ate At Sorella!

Sorella is under Dish Restaurant Group, which also owns the downtown Hartford spot just across the street, Dish Bar & Grill. The owner Gary was nice enough to ask Kat and I to come in…though I probably would have made it to Sorella eventually anyway, because Kat has been giving it rave reviews.

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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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Let’s Think-Out Loud (Let’s Think-Out Loud)

I hope at least one person gets that the title of this post is meant to be sung to the tune of “Let’s Get Loud” by J. Lo. If you don’t get it after this explanation and the below video, I have failed as a blogger.

 

I hope you guys are ready for some thoughts. Because I’ve got a few of them, and it’s Thursday, which means it’s time to link up with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursdays!

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1. I totally spaced and didn’t announce the winner of my Nancy Rose Performance workout outfit giveaway in Tuesday’s post. Oops! Thank you to all who entered and our winner is Hillary…I will be contacting you to arrange for receipt of your prize!

2. Best of Hartford 2014 awards nominations are out for both Hartford Magazine and Hartford Advocate. I’m honored to be nominated again in categories for both! You can vote for me for Best Blogger and Best Twitterer in Hartford Mag’s awards, and Best Local Blogger, Best Local Twitter, and Best Local Instagrammer in Hartford Advocate‘s awards.

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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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Hartford TheaterWorks “Christmas on the Rocks”

I received press tickets to a performance of this play for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

I worked with Hartford TheaterWorks to do a ticket giveaway promotion for their current production, Christmas on the Rocks. Thankfully I too received a pair of tickets so that I could check out the show myself and share my thoughts! This past Saturday I attended the 4PM matinee (I love the 4PM time…so easy to go out to dinner downtown after!) with my friend Howard.

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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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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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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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