This month I’ve had the chance to visit both Barcelona Wine Bar locations in Boston! First I went to Brookline to attend a Tour of Galicia dinner (and take over the Barcelona Brookline Facebook to share my experience).
My favorite bread of all time!
As usual there was no shortage of wine at this event…each course was paired with two different varietals!
I haven’t had much time lately to write and during my free time, I haven’t wanted to write. So I’m here today on a four W-word alliteration bender to share some photos, mostly from the Memorial Day weekend, which involved me going back to Connecticut to see my good friend Kristen marry the love of her life!
Kristen and her husband Greg met when he fell into her at a bar, spilled her drink, and offered to buy her a new one. How’s that for a rom-com romance?
OK so this is not the last “Boston-based” Trade Em Up Tuesday EVER, but these posts always end up being weekend recaps and I won’t be spending a weekend here again until mid-June. So get ready to hear a lot about Connecticut, Tennessee, Nantucket, Newport, and Mexico. Yup, I’ll be hitting up all those spots between now and mid-June. Now you can see why I’m looking at this as a last Boston-focused weekend recap.
I would not trade…a weekend of fairly solid workouts. Any morning that I can wake up and find the willpower to do 30 minutes on the Stair Master before work, especially if it’s a Friday, is a morning I feel proud of. You already know about my SoulCycle class on Saturday, and Sunday I managed to get in more stairs and weights at the gym. I didn’t feel too hot during Sunday’s gym trip (going to brunch beforehand probably had something to do with it) but I got it done, and patted myself on the back for that.
I would not trade…finally getting to Liquid Art House. Before Friday night’s Boston Wine Riot I met up there with my friend Jay (he was also going to be working the event) of Gerard Bertrand, for snacks and a drink somewhere near the venue. I suggested Liquid Art House because I’ve heard great things about the food, drinks, and ambiance. I selected The Ponte – rye cognac, vermouth, benedictine, and bitters. It was fantastic and just what I was craving before having to go into that crazy event.
The idea for this post came to me last night as I was reflecting over parts of my week that probably would not have been “possible” given the fact that Boston had snow over the last few days, and was also STILL in the 30’s and 40’s. Winter’s ugly face has been sticking around for longer than anyone would like, but in an effort to stay positive, I started brainstorming the benefits of winter’s extended stay. I thought five benefits would be perfect for Five Things Friday.
1. Hot yoga feels way more satisfying. Days have been extra-dreary and that fact has made me look forward to CorePower Yoga Sculpt classes a few times a week all the more. I’ve even tried getting there a few minutes early so I can just lay on the mat and sweat in serenity. (Sweating while laying on your back is much more pleasant than sweating while doing a bunch of jump squats.) And when I exit class, the wintery temperatures actually feel…refreshing! For a few minutes at least.
I’m back, and I don’t just mean back to this blog (sorry about that inadvertent hiatus, guys!), but also back from an amazing vacation with my family. I’m lucky to have parents that love going on fun trips; we went to Mexico last year during my brother’s and sister’s spring breaks (which thankfully fall on the same week). This year we went to Mexico again, but also to Belize, and also to sea…we took our first family cruise!
How did it go? Well, spoiler alert…
I received admission to this event free of charge, in exchange for promotion via my blog and its social media channels. All opinions are my own and this is not a sponsored post.
I’ve talked about Gerard Bertrand wines on this blog – both before AND after I moved to Boston to work for 90+ Cellars! And through various 90+ Cellars-related events like Nantucket Wine Fest and Wine Riot I’ve connected with Jay, who handles all things Gerard Bertrand here in Boston. After I expressed interest in his Wines on the Wharf event, which took place this past Friday, he was more than willing to offer my friend Leigh and I tickets to come check out the scene at the beautiful Fairmont Battery Wharf!
Fairmont Battery Wharf happens to be home to one of the coolest bathrooms in Boston.
Man am I glad that I wrote Monday’s post in advance because the week has been so busy at/after work that there was no way I was going to have time to blog again until I wrote this post (which was actually last night). I had work-related events Monday and Wednesday night…and Tuesday’s planned night in turned into one drink which turned into trivia/dinner/multiple drinks. But hey I had a blast, and also did well at work this week, so I’m feeling OK about it all!
The Tuesday night one-drink Manhattan…and some after-work work. Cocktails make that more fun!
But I haven’t felt that OK lately about my workout routine. Ever since completing my first half marathon, I’ve felt a bit direction-less and unmotivated without a long-term goal. It’s almost like I am now goal-addicted! But I stand behind what I’ve said in the past…I am not about to go out and sign up for another half. Especially since I tried out my first run since the race this past Sunday – just a 3 miler – and it really messed up my IT band again. I couldn’t walk down stairs easily for a couple of days afterward. I think I need to take longer than a week off running – and focus more on IT band stretching and foam rolling – before I consider signing up for another half marathon. And if that ever happens, it certainly won’t be until after the winter is over, because I refuse to train in the cold!
I received the food and drink in this post free of charge. All opinions of the experience are my own; this is not a sponsored post.
The title of this post is a bit misleading because there are already plenty of Sam’s at Louis fans out there. The patio is hoppin’ in the summertime and the restaurant is located on the water right along Boston’s Harborwalk. But unless you’re looking for it, you’re not likely to drive by. And if you call an Uber from there, you’re likely going to have to go meet your driver out on Seaport Boulevard if you want a chance of him or her finding you. So I’m going to go out on a limb and call Sam’s a bit of a secret – location-wise at least.
But now that I know where it is, and how WONDERFUL the food and drink are, I’ll absolutely be back. Jeannie and I had dinner there on Tuesday night, and she’s had nothing but great things to say about Sam’s at Louis for awhile now. The food and drink of the Sam’s Instagram feed have been torturing me and I’m so happy I finally was able to go and experience it for myself.
Another longer-than-a-week gap between posts – ugh! I honestly had time this past Sunday night to blog, but opted to sit in bed and color (something I haven’t done in awhile) while listening to NPR instead. I’m getting ahead of myself though. Let’s get rolling with a Trade Em Up Tuesday that’ll tell you what’s been up with me in the last week-ish.
Oreos and beer were involved.
I would trade…FOMO. I’ve had a serious case of it lately and it’s resulted in me wearing myself out. I need to take a step back and slow down. Is there an event coming up? I feel like I have to go to make sure I don’t miss anything. Someone’s having a party? Well I can’t possibly miss it, it’ll be so much fun! The thing is, a lot of the time it’s not even worth it, so I need to take a step back and put on the brakes. I was sick this past weekend and spent all day Saturday contemplating whether or not I should still go to my co-worker’s party. In reality it should have been a no-brainer – NO. Stay home and REST.
NO. That’s not resting.
This post will not be all about Zooma Cape Cod half marathon training, despite the title. But it will first and foremost make mention of a marvelous half marathon related accomplishment, because I’m just so psyched about it. Plenty of non-running-related marvelous to share too though!
Marvelous is…an 8 mile run on Saturday morning! So the run itself wasn’t exactly marvelous because well, I’m not one of those people who will pretend she enjoys running that long. (Not that those who do actually enjoy it are pretending they do.) I woke up really excited to just get my 8 mile long run done so I could feel awesome about it afterward, but during the run I had to battle with myself mentally. Once I got to my halfway mark (yay out and back runs!) I knew I’d make it back, so the mental battle became less – but the physical became more. I ran the whole thing pretty slow (over a 10 minute pace) and am glad I did.
It was hot out (I didn’t get started til 10AM – so worth it to sleep in though) and I also got a bit lost at one point. After calculating exactly how far I’d run, I realized I’d run 8.2 miles thanks to that fact. I did stop every now and then to wait at a crosswalk or drink water (thank you Charles River Esplanade for your water fountains) but the whole time I was actually running, I did run – I really didn’t want to walk! Big thanks to the BU campus grounds worker who sprayed me with his hose (I asked him to, don’t worry) right around mile 6. That got me through to the end! This is officially the furthest I’ve ever run because I ran 8 miles once back in 2010, and this was 8.2 miles. So seriously, go me. (Way better than the other GOMI.)
Yaaaaaas.
OKAY, back tracking to the start of my weekend…
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!
