Category: Scenes from the Day

Settling Into Eastie

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This past weekend, I felt like I really started to settle into living in Eastie. And, the more I see, do and learn about Eastie, the more I love it! There are so many great restaurants, bars, parks and nice people and I think it’s really turned around in recent years.

Not only am I loving living in Eastie, but I’m loving the fact that I have friends who live down the street from me! Pat, Colleen and I are starting to take advantage of living so close to each other, so Friday night, the 3 of us headed over to Ecco for afternoon cocktails. Ecco is owned by the same owners who own Santarpio’s. Since I’m still trying to hold on to one last bit of summer, I ordered their Sangria and it was amazinggggg.

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Pat insisted on us ordering the Seasonal Cheese Plate, so we did, and I was very happy about it. Cheese and crackers is one of my favorite “snacks”, especially when I’m enjoying cocktails!

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Thanks for a fun night, neighbors! Can’t wait to do it again 🙂

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I know this sounds so lame, but I was so happy about being home early on a Friday night and waking up on a Saturday feeling refreshed. I went to BodyPump, Christmas Tree Shop and then hung out with my sister and Amy at their apartment. They even made me pizza on the grill, which was unbelievable! Have you guys ever had that? If not, I highly suggest trying it 🙂

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From there, I went on another tour of Eastie; I swear, it’s bigger than I thought! We checked out Orient Heights and Constitution Beach and I learned all of the “hidden gem” restaurants and bakeries. We ended the afternoon at KO Pies which is a place I’ve wanted to cross of my “must try” list for a while. It’s this random, little hole in the wall restaurant in the shipyard area of East Boston and I would never have known about it had I not been introduced to it. There’s also a location in Southie- have you heard of it? We enjoyed Harpoon Pumpkin Beers while chatting outside- it was the perfect day for that! Not too hot, not too cold.

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And we couldn’t leave without trying their famous pies! I didn’t take a picture because it really wouldn’t do the pie any justice, but just trust me- it was amazing and well worth a trip!

I slept at my old apartment on Saturday night and as much as I love living alone, waking up and watching TV and blogging with “roommates” around was so nice, especially since it was such a rainy/gross day. We had ridiculous amounts of laughs, especially when we all practiced “twerking”. Yes, that happened.

We spent the rest of the day with Jessi, doing lunch and shopping. I was grumpy because of the weather and traffic and crazy busy city, but I did have fun with the girls! Prosecco in the afternoon on a Sunday is never a bad thing 😉

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Nor are nachos. I have a weak, weak spot for nachos.

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After lunch we shopped a little. I was good and only got a pair of skinny jeans that were super on sale at the Gap

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And, that about sums up my weekend! I didn’t have time to make a big “Sunday dinner”, but I did make some amazing Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins and those were way better than any dinner I could have made 🙂

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you go to Harpoon fest? What’s your favorite cocktail these days?

My Apartment is Officially Warm

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I had my housewarming party this past weekend and boy was it fun! There was a great crowd (I think about 20+ people throughout the afternoon), tasty food, lots of wine and festive decorations. Although it’s always a little stressful planning and hosting a party, I really do love it. I wish I could do it more often, but that would be a very costly habit.

After work on Friday I headed to Market Basket to get things for the party. While I was there, I did my weekly grocery shopping so I didn’t have to do it on Sunday. Since MB was not busy at all (shocker- it’s always busy), it was a great choice. I also went to Kappy’s to get some wine and beer. Even though people were bringing their own, I wanted to have some at the start of the party.

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I decided I wanted to make Turkey Chili, so I based my recipe loosely off of this recipe, but I added ground turkey into the mix, too. It came out delicious and was a big hit!

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I also made some Pumpkin Pecan bars on Friday night and a mini pizza for myself. It was a very busy night!

Saturday was a little crazy in that I had to head to Brighton to teach from 10-11. It was ok, though- I love starting my day with a good sweat and after that I was amped and ready to get my apartment into party mode.

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I also went with a country/cowgirl theme, per my friends’ request!

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So fun! Not long after everything was ready, people started to show up. Everyone was so sweet and brought me awesome gifts, which I wasn’t expecting at all!

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Beautiful candle and decorative napkins (that match my color theme!), awesome knives and the best cutting board everrrrr (seriously, how often do you drop half of the veggies you’ve cut up when you’re trying to transfer them from the board to the pan. this will eliminate that!), 50 Shades of Grey game (so fun!), lots of wine, a gift card, a beautiful Orchid and the fantastic veggies and bread from my dad. I felt so spoiled! Thank you to everyone for bringing me such nice things!

I’ll let my pictures do the rest of the talking, but I will say that it was a great party. I had home friends and family, school friends, gym friends, neighbors (other people living in my building)… a great mix of people! The weather was perfect and we were able to hang out on the patio for a good portion of the day.

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I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life! Thank you so much to everyone who came- wouldn’t have been the same without you!

Questions for you: Do you like to host parties? Do you like themed parties?

Family Road Trip: Recap {Day 2 & the Wedding}

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In case you missed the first recap of the road trip, check it out here.

Day 2 started out pretty early for me, considering I was on vacation! Since I had rested on Thursday, and knew I would be in the car for another long period of time on Friday, I wanted to get up and sweat a little (ok, a lot. The gym was horribly small and hot!). A 5K was just what the doctor ordered!

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We had a  quick breakfast then got on the road. We ended up driving through Canada for most of the trip on Friday, which was kind of nice because I was not able to go on my phone to text, Facebook, Instagram or Tweet. I’m guilty of being on my phone wayyyy too much (something I am trying to change), so being forced to not be on my phone for a number of hours was great!

We picked my sister up at the Detroit airport in the afternoon as she was flying in from a client site. The conversations during the car ride from the airport to the hotel were so funny. Sometimes it seems as though we are all 4 having completely different conversations, always talking louder and louder to try and be the loudest. It’s quite comical.

My aunt and uncle (mom and dad of the bride) had a wonderful cocktail hour set up in their hotel room for everyone. Between my dad’s snacks/food for me and this cocktail hour, I couldn’t have been more spoiled with “Monique-like” treats. Seriously… look at this spread!

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Since this part of my mom’s side of the family lives in Michigan, we don’t get to see them as often as we would like, so it’s always nice when we have an event or celebration that brings us all together!

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I was so happy that I could snuggle the newest baby, my cousin Emily’s 3 week old little girl, Grace. Gosh she was SO CUTE!!!

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We all hung out and chatted, laughed, drank wine and ate food and by 10pm, I was ready to hit the sack, so Danielle and I headed to our room.

We both woke up totally refreshed on Saturday morning. After breakfast and blogging, I hit the gym for a little cardio and strength training workout. Most of the family did their own variation of a workout (walking, swimming, etc.). Before we knew it, it was time to start getting ready!
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My face is smirking because Danielle was snipping at me to not take a picture! ha!

As this was Mary’s second wedding, it was very non-traditional in a lot of ways, which I thought was really nice. Everything about the wedding ceremony was absolutely touching and emotional. There was so much love between Mary and Dave and I doubt there was a dry eye in the church when they exchanged their vows. It’s hard to explain, but I haven’t seen that kind of love between two people in a long time- it’s very rare and they are so lucky they found each other. What made the ceremony even more special was how much they involved their children (who seem to get along great and are absolutely adorable!). Mary and Dave had little locket necklaces for all of the kids, which was a great way to make them all feel special on their parents big day. Here are some photos that I took during the ceremony. Pardon the lighting; iPhone’s don’t take the best pictures inside.

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After the ceremony, we had a few hours to kill before the reception, so naturally we had cocktail hour 😉 Mom got me this super cool “wine to go” thing. We thought you could refill and reseal the cup to use again, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Regardless, it was a fun idea!
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Not long after our cocktail hour started, it was time to grab the shuttle to the reception.

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I was absolutely in love with the décor and theme that Mary chose (and, put together in just 3 short months, mind you. Quite impressive if you ask me!). It was almost like a modern country look and feel… right down to the sparkly cowgirl boots she wore under here dress 😉 She explained that she gathered all of the wheat from a local field and had a friend cut down the wood for the centerpieces. Gosh, I wish I was creative enough for DIY projects!

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The food was delicious, but I have to say that the chocolate fondue station stole my heart. Holy.Yum. Amazing idea!

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Once dinner was over, the dancing began. My family loves to dance, so it makes for a fun reception!

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Few! How’s that for a long recap? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family and to have the opportunity to get to visit and spend time with those who don’t live so close. Thank you to my parents for letting me tag along on their road trip, thank you to Aunt Sue and Uncle Gerald for hosting us and making us feel at home and thank you to Mary and Dave for including us on your special day!

And, one last thing before I end this incredibly long post… Mary made her little veil/hat thingy (ok, I don’t know what it’s called) and after I raved about how much I loved it, she gave it to me! Heads up to my friends: I’m going to have a hat party soon 🙂

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Questions for you: How many weddings did you attend this year? Did you have to travel? If you had to pick a non-traditional thing to wear to your wedding, what would it be?

Family Road Trip: Recap {Day 1- Boston to Buffalo}

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Hi, friends! Phew, does anyone else feel like after a long, indulgent weekend, it’s harder to get up and get going on Tuesday than it is on Monday? My 1/2 mile walk to the T in crisp, morning air definitely helps to wake me up, though 🙂

As most of you know, last week/weekend I went on a mini road trip with my parents to Michigan for my cousin, Mary’s, wedding. I took Thursday and Friday off from work since we planned to do the trip in 2 days (so happy we did- 16 hours in the car in one day would have literally caused me to go even more crazy than I already am!).  Mom and dad picked me up around 8:30 on Thursday and we wasted no time hitting the road!

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I drove the first and last legs of the trip, dad drove in the middle and mom didn’t drive. No shocker there! The trip actually went incredibly smooth, except I quickly realized that I forgot my freshly charged iPad at my apartment. I was so mad because I had just downloaded Gone Girl the night before. Womp, womp.

Traveling with my parents is great because we take lots of bathroom stops and there is never a shortage of treats 😉

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Day 1 went incredibly well and fast! We stopped for a picnic lunch around 1 and made it to the hotel around 4:30. I had been waiting for lunch ever since my dad told me all the things he bought. I was absolutely blown away with how thoughtful his food shopping was! Seriously, when he saw the snacks that I packed for myself, he said I didn’t need any of them because he had already gotten them all… and more! Trail mix, granola bars (4 different boxes), crackers, deli meat, chopped veggies, dips, sandwich thins and every type of fruit you could imagine. What an amazing dad, right?!

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In typical Monique fashion, I think I had a bit of everything 😉 The weather was gorgeous, wine tasted delicious and it was a great little break from driving!

The second big leg of the trip wasn’t bad at all, and before we knew it, we were at the hotel! Since my sister travels so much, she has lots of points at various hotel chains. She set us up at an awesome Residence Inn in Buffalo, NY. I asked if there were any upgrades available and lucky for us, they did! This place was seriously like an apartment (what I would do to live in an apartment like this hotel suite!).

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Downstairs there was a mini kitchen, living room (with a real fire place), dining room area, bathroom and a Murphy Bed (which was surprisingly SO comfortable). Upstairs was a loft-ish bedroom and another bathroom, so this was a perfect suite to share with my parents since we had entirely separate sleeping areas.

Not long after we arrived, mom gave me my “special” bottle of wine (Estancia Chardonnay- right up there with J. Lohr for me!) and we headed out to the pool to relax and soak up the last of the sun for the day.

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As I mentioned yesterday, I instructed my mom through a water aerobics workout which was a blast!

Once the sun went down, it started to get a little chilly so we meandered over to the hotel’s complimentary cocktail hour.

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Boy do we have fun together! After the happy hour ended, we decided to order in since no one felt like getting back in the car. We went with Greek, but unfortunately, it took forever for the food to get there and by the time it eventually got to us, it wasn’t very warm or fresh. Womp, womp. Overall, though, it was a solid first day and we had lots of laughs and good conversations.

Since this post is already quite lengthy, I’ll share the rest of the trip in another post.

Questions for you: What’s the longest road trip you’ve ever been on? Nicest hotel you’ve ever stayed at? For us, it is Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City- Ahhhh mazing hotel!

Apple Picking and Enjoying the Weather

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Monday is over- woohoo! I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy the weather this past weekend because it was beautiful! Still a little warmer than I would like (I am ready for fall!), but I really shouldn’t complain since it’s nice to have great weather.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was so bored! I didn’t have any plans after work or teaching last week and worked from home on Friday, so by that point, I was really ready to get out of the house and hang out with people! My sister was flying out the next morning, so I headed to Somerville and we grabbed dinner and drinks at Orleans in Davis Square. We shared the Brie, Mushroom, Caramalized Onions and Spinach burger which, unfortunately, sounded better than it tasted. We had been going back and forth between nachos and that, and totally should’ve gotten the nachos!

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Saturday, I got up and taught kickboxing (seriously my favorite way to start a Saturday. Nothing like getting a crazy sweaty cardio class first thing!) and then went to Market Basket to do my small weekly grocery shopping. Boy was that a mistake! It was a million times busier on Saturday than it is on Sundays. Yuck.

My college girlfriends and I had tentatively planned to go apple picking on Saturday and when I sent a text to see if anyone was still interested in going, I had three takers! We were going to go to a place in Stow, MA, but Jessi needed to get something at her parent’s house in Hampton, NH, so Lauren, Jess, Jessi and I ended up going to Apple Crest in Hampton Falls.

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Thanks for the photo, Lauren!

I think it’s safe to say that you can’t go apple picking without getting a cider donut, right?! I don’t even like donuts (I know, crazy. I’m a sucker for muffins.), but this thing was absolutely delicious!! Paired with a hot apple cider? Perfect afternoon snack!

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After we finished our treats, we hopped on the hay ride that took us to the area of the farm where picking was happening.

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So fun! We spent a bit picking and chatting and laughing.

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Before picking, though, we got a whole speech about how to pick an apple, with the emphasis on “twisting and pulling” the apple from the tree, not just yanking it off. Thank goodness the apple police wasn’t around when this happened

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We all died laughing!

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What a fun afternoon! So glad we were able to coordinate schedules 🙂 After we finished picking, we headed to Jessi’s parent’s house and had a glass of wine with her dad before heading back to Boston. Lauren and I had planned to go bowling with Jessi and her boyfriend, but by the time we got back and ate, both Lauren and I lost steam and ended up not going out. Whoops. Sorry Jessi!

Waking up Sunday morning feeling great was well worth being lame and not going out on Saturday night! I made some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, cleaned, went to Wal Mart, went for a run, did laundry, cooked dinner. All around, a very productive day! I hope to have a few recipes for you later this week!

Questions for you: Where is your favorite apple orchard? What did you do to enjoy the weather this weekend?