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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?

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?

Road Trippin’… With my parents…

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Yes, you read that correctly. Next week, I’ll be embarking on a very long car ride with Sue and Al. My cousin Mary is getting married and she lives in Michigan (as does her whole family. Her dad is my mom’s brother… in case you wanted the whole story!) and when my sister and I decided that we wanted to go, too, I started looking into flights. Mom and dad were planning on driving all long because they love adventures like that, but since I’m not retired and don’t have as much time as they do to have extended vacations, I figured I’d just fly and meet them on Friday.

Well, roundtrip flights were outrageous, so when I started to hint to my dad about potentially hitching a ride with them to Michigan and taking a one-way flight home, he couldn’t have been more excited. To quote him, the convo went like this “Nickie, you have NO IDEA how much I would love for you to do the trip to Michigan with us. Really, it would mean the world to me. We’ll have a nice picnic lunch and if you just chip in for gas we’ll be in good shape.” So, I mean, how could I not agree to that?!

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So, mom and dad are picking me up next Thursday morning at 8am sharp and we’ll drive until our picnic lunch (which, when you’re with the Gagnon’s, is always an event with lots of snacks and fun things to eat… and plenty of wine!) and then keep driving until we get to the Buffalo, NY area (I think). We are spending the night there and then getting back on the road early Friday morning to make the final trek to Sterling Heights, MI, making a pit-stop first at the Detroit airport to pick up my sister (she’s flying from a client site).

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In all honesty, I’m really excited about the trip- even the ridiculously long drive! I always have such a great time with my family and I love weddings because there is so much love and so much dancing!! 🙂

But, here’s where I need your help… I’m bringing my iPad and am in need of a good book or two to download. In addition, I’d love to download a movie to watch. So…

  1. What’s the best book you’ve read lately? I need help picking one!
  2. Can you rent movies from iTunes? Or do I have to buy them? What movie should I buy/rent?

I could really use your help, so please leave your suggestions in the comments 🙂

also, don’t worry- I’ve already decided that if I get bored, I can raid the cooler and snag some vino to keep things interesting… or put me to sleep 😉 jk… kind of…

“Shepherds Pie” {with a healthy twist}

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I say “Shepherds Pie” in quotations because even though this recipe follows the general idea of Shepherds Pie, I made some healthier substitutions where I could. The traditional recipe calls for regular white potatoes and ground beef and while there is nothing wrong with either of those items, I prefer to use sweet potatoes (or a combination of sweet and regular) for their nutritional value (and, ok, taste- I think they taste so much better than regular potatoes) and ground turkey as I am not a huge beef person. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good, juicy burger or piece of steak every now and then, but most of the time I use ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef since it’s a little more in line with the way I like to eat.

What made this meal even more delicious was the fact that I used carrots, onions and potatoes from my dad’s garden! There’s something about eating things fresh from the garden that makes them taste so much better. I swear, his carrots are a million times better than those “mini” carrots that are loaded with preservatives and whatnot to keep their shelf life longer.

With all that said, let’s get to the recipe!

Healthified Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

  • 1lb. ground turkey- tip- I got the “Italian Style” version and oh my goodness was that a good choice! it was so full of flavor I didn’t have to add any extra seasonings to it!
  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • 3 small yellow potatoes
  • 1- 1.5 cup(s) canned corn (if you want a lot of veggies in the pie, use 1.5 cups!)
  • 1- 1.5 cup(s) chopped carrots
  • 1- 1.5 cup(s) chopped onions
  • 2tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup milk

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Directions

1. Peel and chop your potatoes. Place into a big pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let it boil until the potatoes are soft.

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2. While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 350* and chop your carrots and onions. Heat a medium skillet with a tbsp. of olive oil and add the onions and carrots. Add in herbs/seasonings of your choice and cook until onions are translucent and carrots are soft.

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3. Once the onions and carrots are cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Heat the pan again and add the ground turkey. Cook until no longer pink.

4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water from the pan, add in the butter and milk and mash the potatoes. I didn’t have a masher so I used my hand mixer and it worked great! I also added a dash of salt & pepper for flavor, but that’s optional.

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5. At this point, everything should be ready to assemble. Place the meat at the bottom of a casserole dish, then layer the carrots, onions and corn. Finally, top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes or until the top has browned up.

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Serve yourself a big heaping of this deliciousness and enjoy!

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This was the perfect meal to kickoff the cooler, fall weather that’s starting to stick around (well, except for yesterday. Where did that 90 degree weather come from?! I want sweater and boots weather!). I’ve already started to collect more fall recipes that I can’t wait to make!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite fall weather meal? What’s your favorite healthy substitution?

Want to learn more about becoming a fitness instructor?

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If so, head on over to On and Inhale blog for my guest post today! I talk about why I started, what certification I chose, what I did leading up to test day, what test day was like, and what I did once I was certified. I am honored to have had a chance to guest post for Kendall while she is on her honeymoon!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a fall weather recipe 🙂 Enjoy your day, friends!