Tag Archives: hartford

Oddball at Real Art Ways – Giveaway!

Remember to check out Friday’s post for a link to a Physique 57 online workout code that will give you a free 48 hours of access – up until 10/31!

This Saturday 10/26 I will be attending the Halloween event of the season – the 2013 Oddball at Real Art Ways in Hartford! Ticket proceeds will benefit Real Art Ways, an art organization that shows independent films, commissions public projects, and puts on other live and visual arts based events. This is the fifth year of the masquerade ball featuring “tricked-out art galleries, eerie photo opps, and outrageous tunes”. Doors open at 8PM!

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The $65 ticket includes a specialty Absolut cocktail and food from some of the area’s best restaurants – Max’s Oyster Bar, ON20, Pond House Grille, Firebox, and Republic. Trust me, their food is good…I’ve been to all of them except ON20, but given all the awards they win and the fact that one of my favorite mixologists Brent Bushong is now in charge of their bar food and cocktail menu, I’m comfortable saying they’ll have some delicious offerings.

I actually had dinner at Pond House Grille on Saturday night. They’re doing all-hours happy hour food right now – buy 1, get 1 for a penny. These are the Gorgonzola sweet potatoes and crab cake croquettes. I enjoyed both, ESPECIALLY the sweet potatoes.

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WIAW: Agave Grill Girl’s Night

I don’t usually do a day-in-the-life WIAW. What I eat on weekdays doesn’t tend to change. So today’s What I Ate Wednesday post is about What I Ate at Agave Grill in Hartford, CT. As I mentioned on Monday, Kelly was in CT this past weekend so she and I planned a Saturday dinner date literally MONTHS ago. That girl knows how my schedule tends to go.

Be sure to join Jenn’s link-up!

And I know how Agave’s tends to go: the space is quite small, and they don’t even take call-ahead seating on weekends (something my mom and I found out during my first visit a couple of years ago). Thankfully I connected with Hartford Restaurant Group‘s Jonathan (fun fact: they also operate TD Homer’s in Southington and Wood-N-Tap in EVERYWHERE) awhile back through this blog, and he was kind enough to score Kelly and I a rare Saturday night reservation for two. Thanks Jon!

FYI, Agave does do call-ahead seating Sunday through Thursday! Source

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Hartford Magazine October Launch with Hoffman Auto

This past Wednesday I was invited by my good friend Kat (of the Hartford Advocate) to attend the October issue launch party of Hartford Magazine.

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The event began promptly at 5:30PM at Farmington Gardens, a lovely event venue located in (obviously) Farmington, CT. Thankfully it was a fairly warm day so the patio was decked out in charming lights for guests’ enjoyment.

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Helping a Marvelous Cause

It’s time for a special Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) in celebration of a marvelous cause! I blogged on Friday about my plan to participate in this past Saturday’s 2013 Hartford NEDA Walk (the second ever) as Team Caption of Team Amazing Me. I’m proud to share that we raised the fourth highest amount of any team – a grand total of $595.00 if you add in day-of donations that aren’t showing online. Currently the Walk website shows over $28,000 raised, which may not be the $35,000 goal, but I have not yet seen a grand total tally that includes day-of registration and donations!

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

I can’t express enough how thankful I am to my parents and friends for putting aside time to walk with me, and to anyone who donated. As my mom said, it’s a shame we even have to have a walk for this, but it’s eating disorders are an important and prevalent issue that cannot be ignored. Participating only made me more excited and anxious to take on more advocacy efforts. I even signed up to receive advocacy action alerts!

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Hartford NEDA Walk 2013

I was debating on what to blog about today because I have another post going, but then I realized I hadn’t yet shared my participation in tomorrow’s annual Hartford, CT NEDA Walk! NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) is an organization I am passionate about. The funds they raise support easier treatment access, prevention, early intervention, and increased awareness. NEDA’s goal is to provide support not just for the women and men suffering from eating disorders, but also for the family and friends of those suffering.

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Clearly this is not a photo from the Hartford walk (see palm trees). Source

The Hartford, CT NEDA Walk takes place tomorrow (Saturday 9/21) from 12-2PM at UConn’s Greater Hartford campus (85 Lawler Street, West Hartford, CT 06117). You can still register online, and day-of registration is accepted and costs $10 for children, $15 for students, and $25 for adults. Registration includes a t-shirt to wear during the walk (I’m super excited to rock mine at work next week).

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Dinner and a Movie on Front Street

I received my movie tickets and concession stand items free of charge through a complimentary Spotlight Theatres gift certificate. My dinner and cocktails were not comped and all opinions throughout this post are my own.

My good friend Kat works for the Hartford Advocate and is always hooking me up with opportunities to review CT businesses. I told her I had plans last Wednesday at Hartford’s new movie theater on Front Street – Spotlight Theatres – for dinner at Front Street Bistro (located inside the theater) followed by a movie (The Conjuring). Often my blog posts about restaurants and other establishments come from plans made to specifically go, have an experience, and do a write-up. I can’t recall a time I happened to have a blogging opportunity fall into my lap for plans I’d ALREADY made! I quickly accepted Kat’s offer and headed to downtown Hartford after work to meet my friend Jeff (a different one than the usual Jeff!)

Whenever I'm dining with just one other person I try to sit at the bar. It's where all the action is!

Whenever I’m dining with just one other person I try to sit at the bar. It’s where all the action is!

Movie theater food is usually something I avoid, and most movie theater restaurants don’t boast menus that make me giddy, so I tend to do the dinner portion of the dinner-and-a-movie combo at a restaurant outside of the theater. Spotlight’s on-premise restaurant, Front Street Bistro, stood out from the get-go because I could NOT get over the awesome cocktail list! I arrived thirsty for one and I knew immediately which I wanted – the Trainspotter, a peat scotch cocktail. Certainly not a disappointment.

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Marvelous In My 4th!

Entries for my LaMaLu Boutique giveaway close tonight – be sure to enter before the 11:59PM EST deadline!

Oof, rough to be back at work this morning, no? Especially if you had Friday off in addition to the 4th of July (alas I did not). But during your time off I hope you did all sorts of marvelous activities (and if you don’t celebrate the 4th of July, I hope your weekend contained mucho marvelous). I have to admit that my ego was getting in my way the day after the 4th, trying to make me feel guilty for the food and drink I consumed during my celebrations. I’m hoping putting this post together will squash said ego with a heavy dose of POSITIVE.

Props to Katie for making marvelous happen!

Marvelous is…a night out with friends the day before the holiday! No work on Thursday = treat Wednesday like it’s Friday night, right? I surprised myself by having enough energy and courage to stay out until 1:15am, during which I consumed several cocktails, bread, and a dessert.

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TON of Fun at Taste of the Nation Hartford – Part 2

In case you missed it, my Taste of the Nation (Hartford) overall intro and libation recap post went up yesterday! I’m now going to move on to my two favorite parts of the event (and they’ll probably be yours too) – the food and the PEOPLE!

The Food

Some restaurants go with simple white-tablecloth-covered booths, and others go all out. Mill Restaurant Group (responsible for one of my favorite cocktail spots, Market Grille in Manchester) was at the all-out end of the display spectrum!

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MRG’s food quality was all-out as well in both aesthetics and taste! Check out these awesome chilled soup shooters served on slate…

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TON of Fun at Taste of the Nation Hartford – Part 1

As we continue to mourn the tragedy at the Boston Marathon this past Monday, I know many hearts are still heavy. I’m continuing to blog about “typical” topics today, and hope that this post will provide some distraction for those whose minds remain troubled and disturbed by the attack.

I feel like comparing my (now) two Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation experiences – last year I went to New Haven and this past Thursday I went to Hartford – would be silly because the obvious answer is that I had the best time this year. So that’s why I will be splitting this into two posts, because as I’ve been working on writing this for the last several DAYS, I’ve realized that one post will be way too long and crash everyone’s Internets with all the photos.

When glasses attack!

When glasses attack!

But that’s because of how much I’ve grown as a blogger! Both events had crazy amazing food and drink and not enough time (or stomach room or blood alcohol tolerance) to try everything.

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Judging Crazy Concoctions at CHS Cookoff

I can’t wait to attend Taste of the Nation Hartford tonight with my blends Kaitlin & Kelly! You can still get tickets at the door – general admission is $75, but I’ve been to this event before and it is WORTH IT. Best food tasting event I’ve ever experienced!

I’m so excited to share my experience judging the Connecticut Historical Society‘s first Community Cookoff! Held last Friday from 5:30-7:30pm (nice and early!), the event attracted a good crowd and had the work day craaaaawling by as I anxiously waited for the clock to hit 5 so I could hit the road for Hartford.

I wore my latest splurge – a Lilly Pulitzer top that I got on sale in FL – for such an important event! Little did I know Lilly herself would pass away in a couple of days.

I walked into CHS and was greeted by the smiling, excited faces of Jenny Steadman and Ed Main. They are the ones who came up with this idea, included me, and even planned the event’s timing around my vacation schedule. I couldn’t have felt any more special thanks to them!

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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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