Well after realizing that the last time I posted was on Thanksgiving, I figured that I better get my butt in gear and get back to it with the blog! Work has been crazy busy, which is always a good thing, but unfortunately that doesn’t leave me much energy for jumping back on the computer after a 10+ hour day. Luckily I am on V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N this week, so it’s time to get a’ posting :)
I’ll be back tomorrow with some more healthy yummy holiday recipes for you, but in the meantime I’ll leave you with some snowy snapshots of wintry Boston.
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For a short amount of time this winter, Fenway Park has been converted into an ice rink for some special events, public skating, college and Bruins games! My dad’s company is one of the main sponsors of Frozen Fenway, so we got to go skating last weekend. It was so much fun!
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MMMM hot chocolate!
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I hope you all are able to relax and enjoy the holidays! If you’re in need of some last minute dessert ideas, I’ll have 2 delicious ones for you tomorrow! Good night for now :)
Tonight I attended my very first blogger event! I have been to some advertising and media events/launches in the past, but this was the first event I attended on behalf of Starving Artist :)
The event was put on by RedPlum, and cleverly dubbed “My Frugalicious Holiday“. The spin of the evening was festive and frugal ideas for affordable holiday entertaining. Held at the trendy Liberty Hotel, the space was unique and absolutely amazing. The area was beautifully decorated, and the RedPlum staff was oh-so friendly!
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And I even reconnected with a high school classmate (hi to Peter!).
Interior designers from Ikea were on hand to display some fabulous and affordable tablescapes and centerpieces that could be easily assembled with a few key Ikea items. I loved the rustic look and simple earth tones of this place setting (a little shout out to my sister, Gina!)
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There were numerous stations set up around the circular space, with each nook boasting a different treat or gift under $30. A wine tasting was one of the highlights, with local wine expert Sam Messina of Wine ConneXtion presenting delicious wines under $20. The Cabernet Sauvignon was so incredibly smooth and sippable (cab savs are a definite favorite, so I may have been partial ;-)Â )
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I think that I need to look into buying both of the books they had on display, dinner parties and champagne cocktails are right up my alley!
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Some tasty hors d’oeurves were passed by the sweetest waitress, such as veal meatball sliders, spicy prawns, lamb, crabcakes with spicy sriracha sauce, and brie with lavender. The cute little bite of brie was divine…
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They outfitted us bloggers with a little swag to bring home with us. A nice bottle of cab sav (yes!!), and many little gifts, some of which were displayed tonight.
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I love that RedPlum gave us some recipes to try out! The smores brownies sound unbelievable!
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The night was so much fun. A very big thank you goes out to RedPlum, Ikea, Wine ConneXtion, and the other sponsors. Make sure to check out RedPlum’s website. It’s so much more than just coupons – peruse to find restaurant deals, life & style articles, suggestions and savings!
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Thursday night than with other Boston bloggers and foodies! :)
Another Sunday night is already here, this weekend just flew by so fast! Thanks to my Twitter friends, I learned that John Krasinski was going to be in Cambridge Friday and Saturday night for the premiere of his new movie, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. I was lucky enough to snag some tickets to the 9:45 show on Saturday night before they quickly sold out. I don’t make it out to Cambridge nearly enough, so I was excited just for the chance to venture out a bit from my Back Bay bubble.
Accompanied by friends Julie & Meg, we met in Cambridge on the earlier side for some dinner and drinks before the show. I had received quite a few restaurant recommendations, but I may have committed a foodie sin in choosing a restaurant for the beer selection! The Cambridge Brewing Company had at least 4 delicious-sounding pumpkin ales on tap, and by no means could I turn that down… loooove pumpkin beers :)
I landed on the Great Pumpkin Ale, which was pretty good. Not enough spice for my liking, but it was still tasty!
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For dinner, I ordered the Vegetarian White Bean Burger with Cranberry Mayo, Dill Havarti Cheese, and a House Brewed MoonBrine Pickle. I opted for the side salad to go with it, and it was so good!
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After dinner, we walked over to the theater a bit early, and ended up sitting 3 rows back from the screen. A prime location for seeing John, but a neck breaking distance away for movie viewing. John introduced the movie and did a little Q & A session before it began…
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Um, let me just say that I love him in The Office and already think he’s such a cutie, but in person he is even that much more attractive. Yum. He was so funny, cracking jokes left and right. Here’s a short video… pretty dark, but you can hear how hysterical he was…
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It was such a fun night, I was so glad we went!
This morning began with a visit from my parents, and a trip to Pops in the South End for brunch. LOVE brunch, especially when it consists of mimosas! They had a blackberry mimosa on the menu, so I clearly went for that… so delish!
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I thought I’d venture away from my usual brunch go-tos, and ended up getting the Roasted Poblano Crab Cakes with Scrambled Eggs and a Tomato and Basil Salad.
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I was very happy with my selection, it was really good. It was my first visit to Pops, and I definitely would go back. The decor was whimsically old fashioned, adorned with creams and blacks, and digital picture frames hung on the walls, continuously rotating new photos. The staff was super nice, extremely friendly and attentive. I will be back for sure!
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Love visits from my parents xoxo
Well, it’s bedtime for this girl. I’m supposed to be starting the gym routine up again in the morning. How much do you want to bet that it doesn’t happen? I’d wager a pretty penny. I guess we shall see… goodnight all! :)
One of the few quintessential Boston events that occur during the Fall is the Head of the Charles. The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest rowing event that lasts for 2 days and takes place on the Charles River. The girls and I had been looking forward to attending the event, but were unsure if the weather was going to cooperate for us. Luckily, I woke up and although it was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g outside, it was sunny and beautiful!
We met at my apartment for some apple cider mimosas (champagne + apple cider… so good!!), bagels and muffins. I made a batch of Pecan Apple Spice Muffins for the girls to enjoy! :) They were really easy, and with some healthy substitutions and add-ins, they turned out to be super flavorful and moist!
They started with Trader Joe’s Spiced Apple Bread mix as the base…
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And voila!
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Here is the recipe for Pecan Apple Spice Muffins:
Makes 10 large muffins
Ingredients:
1 box of Trader Joe’s Spiced Apple Bread Mix
1/4 cup Apple Cider
3/4 cup Skim Milk
2 Eggs
4 tbsp of applesauce
1 apple (peeled & chopped)
5 tbsp chopped pecans
2 tbsp oats
1 tsp honey
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp water
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Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, apple cider, milk, and apple sauce
Fold in the muffin mix, careful not to overmix.
Stir in 2 tbsp of the pecans, and the chopped apple.
Lightly grease the muffin tins, and pour in the mixture (I fill the mixture almost all of the way up to the top, so that there will be a larger top to the muffin).
In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp of the pecans, the oats, honey, water, and brown sugar.
Top each of the muffins with the pecan/oat mixture.
Bake at 400 degrees for 22 minutes.
Let cool and enjoy! :)
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I served the muffins with some low sugar Apple Butter that I purchased at Honeypot Hill Orchards on our apple picking day.
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We enjoyed our breakfast and bubbly, then set off to walk to the H of the C. Apparantly the champagne had gone straight to our heads, because none of us realized that the finish line of the race is in Cambridge, and we were in the Back Bay. We were on about mile 2 of our walk, when we reached the beginning of the race.
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Then it dawned on us. We were still oh so very far away! We jumped into 2 separate cabs, and unfortunately encountered crazy cabbies who dropped us off in the middle of nowhere, so we were separated for the rest of the day. We finally figured out where we needed to go, and were able to enjoy some of the race.
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Of course the sample tents were quite the highlight of our afternoon ;-)
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Granola…
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… and more granola! And some Slice of Life gummy vitamins.
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For dinner we decided to check out the fairly recently opened Pazzo on Newbury Street.
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I ordered the Chicken Piccata (obviously), but substituted pasta for the potatoes. The pairing just seemed odd to me. You’re not able to sop up the delicious lemony sauce with potatoes, I feel like it needs a rice or pasta!
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My meal was delicious, but unfortunately my friends’ portions were much smaller than my own, and for the price it just didn’t really seem worth it. I would probably only go back for their $5 appetizers at the bar deal, and would prefer Piattini for dinner (Pazzo doesn’t quite compare).
Despite our directional confusion (story of my life), it was a lovely day with the girls :)
On days like today it is so hard to be stuck inside working! I usually never get outside during the work day, so I made sure that I stepped out to enjoy the warmth and sun, since we definitely won’t be having many more days like this.
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I work in the Financial District in Boston, but definitely don’t do anything remotely close to crunching numbers. I work in advertising, and take complete satisfaction in walking into an elevator wearing jeans and sneakers while surrounded by stuffy suits that I know are jealous of my laid-back attire. My brother works down the street at a law firm (he’s a suit-wearer), so we met in Post Office Square to eat our lunches.
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I brought some left-over goodness for lunch today. Healthified (I thoroughly enjoy making up words) buffalo chicken with angel hair pasta. For the chicken, I took some pre-sliced chicken tender meat and diced onions, and marinated them in about (I don’t usually measure, so this is me eyeballing amounts) 1/4 cup Tabasco sauce, 1/4 cup Heinz Chili sauce, about 20 squirts of Light butter spray, and S + P.
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