Living

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Looking through my phone’s camera roll, it appears I have been eating, drinking, and being pretty merry (and eating and drinking some more). It’s time for a roundup of all of the greats of late that somehow haven’t made it into the blog!

lunch at Abe & Louie's

I learned all about the natural beauty of Germany and German tourism over an incredible steak salad lunch at Abe & Louie’s. This was the second Germany Tourism event I attended, and just like the first one on travel to Bavaria, it made me want to plan a trip to Germany soon!

 

Cidergeist

Cidergeist launched in Boston! I was in Puerto Rico for the launch, but they sent me samples, and I loved the Semi Dry Hard Cider.

Dorset Hall Dorchester

Dorset Hall

Dorset Hall shepherd's pie

We went to a new local Dorchester spot, Dorset Hall on their opening night and fell in love.  Their cocktails, raw bar, pork chop, and shepherd’s pie are all awesome, the space is huge and beautiful, and the staff is great. They nailed it so much on that first night we have been back three times since. It’s a nice addition to our Dorchester restaurant lineup!

New England Boat Show We went to the New England Boat Show and bought a boat. Oops.

It wasn’t spur of the moment though. We went two days in a row did hours of research before we decided on a brand new Stingray. I can.not.wait to get back on the water. The new boat is completely different than the old one. It’s a bowrider, which means the front is open and perfect for sunning and jumping into the sea. Not having a cabin means it is shallower in the water, easier to beach on islands out in Boston Harbor for lazy days, and yet it still has a bathroom (my requirement).

 

Two Shepherds wine club

Spring wine clubs starting arriving. We love Two Shepherds Wine, and now that Massachusetts laws have changed, getting our favorite wine is so much easier!

Hotel Northampton

I started working with two new clients, Hotel Northampton in Hampshire County Massachusetts and gardenUP, a turnkey solution for design, delivery, and installation of gardens.

gardenUP

gardenUP exhibited at the Boston Flower and Garden Show. Between the media preview of the show and visiting the gardenUP booth, I went to this beautiful event twice!

Boston Flower and Garden Show

gardening

It inspired me to get planning for my own garden, which is one of my favorite activities to do all year. I can’t wait to see things growing!

Tango Arlington I made a visit up to Arlington for a friend and business dinner at Tango, steak tips, seasoned veggies,  and Malbec, which was basically all I was craving. It was so simple and flavorful and perfect.

North Plank Tavern

We visited family in NJ for Easter and made another stop at the amazing gem of a restaurant, North Plank Tavern, which we found at Christmas. I had the Applejack Manhattan, made with Laird Applejack, which was once made in this historic building! Sitting at the bar is always my favorite, since we like to chat. At this place, every time we visit we learn a little more about the tavern, which has such an interesting history. And we confirmed it also has a few ghosts.

 

Michel Schlumberger wine prime rib dinner

My family put together some amazing meals including our Saturday dinner of a 13 pound prime rib and vegetable sides, paired with a bottle of incredible Le Sage Merlot from one of our visits to Michel Schlumberger in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County. I miss Sonoma something fierce these days.

sparkling wine by the ocean

And finally, we have enjoyed some outdoor bubbly (in glasses we picked up at Shanga in Tanzania). This was from a Sunday night at the yacht club where it was just the two of us around watching the sun sort of set on a cloudy evening. Perfection.

What bits of this and that have you been enjoying?

Tags: boating, Boston, business, clients, cocktails, flowers, Food, gardening, Travel, wine

Other than the occasional snowstorm and too-cold winter days, we love living in New England so much. I’m partial to warm weather day trips from Boston (Hello, coastal living at its best.), but wintry getaways like my visit to Amherst this year can also be beautiful. This past weekend for my birthday we took advantage of blue skies and sunshine despite the cold and visited some favorite coastal Massachusetts towns, Newburyport and Essex.

The Poynt Newburyport

After a traffic-free drive, we kicked our day off with brunch at The Poynt, which is  beautiful, must-visit Newburyport spot. Seriously, I love it. It’s spacious and bright and friendly, with excellent food.

The Poyntchilaquiles

We couldn’t decide what to order and ended up sharing two of the best looking dishes, the Roasted Chicken Chilaquiles, which was smothered in the most amazing smoky red sauce, and the Cajun Bennie, another smoky, slightly spicy dish topped with blackened shrimp.

All washed down with Piper Heidseck Champagne because it was my birthday weekend, after all.

 

eggs benedict

 

Heidseck Monopole Champagne

We left brunch absolutely stuffed, and I needed a long walk. We tried our best at a few seaside locations, but the whipping winds were freezing our faces off, so we turned into Newburyport and enjoyed sunny sidewalks sheltered from the coastal winds by stone buildings.

Newburyport

And then we went in search of beer. We discovered two great breweries with tasting rooms and delicious, free beer tastings. RiverWalk Brewing Co. was our first stop, a delightful little tasting room with some killer beer, including a sour I loved. The only downside was that our arrival coincided with a brewery bus tour full of REALLY loud drunk women. As in, my ears actually, physically hurt. We left with a half growler of Gnomad, an American farmhouse ale we both loved.

Riverwalk Brewing Co Newburyport Brew Co

At Newburyport Brewing Co. our favorites were the two stouts we tried, especially the Joppa Stout.

We couldn’t believe tasting flights were free, and we plan to return to hang out and order pints (and growlers!) again soon. We’re going away again soon and didn’t want to have the fresh beer go bad.

beer tasting in Newburyport

Post-beer-tasting led to more wandering, including checking out some of the great shops in Newburyport, waking ourselves up with a giant coffee, and then hitting the road for Essex for an early light dinner at CK Pearl.

CK Pearl scallop sabayon fish tacosOysters and rosé led into fish tacos and an almost bowl-lickingly amazing scallop sabayon, a slightly sweet, creamy soup. We couldn’t get enough of the views, and stayed until the sky turned as pink as the wine in my glass before heading home, not wanting the day to end.

Essex River

Tags: brewery, Essex, Massachusetts, Newburyport, oysters, Travel, wine

It’s been a while since I have shared a bunch of random favorite things, and I have been collecting photos for just that purpose. Look at these crazy leggings. . . they are actually one of my recent favorites, picked up on super sale at American Eagle on Martin Luther King Day weekend. They’re comfy and bright, and I love wearing them around the house with an oversized sweater and slipper booties while I work, because I can quickly go straight into workout mode if I get a break in my work day.

barre and yoga

I’ve been working with Barre & Soul yoga and barre studios, and as part of my work with them, I get to take classes. Their virtual classes are amazing; you get a Skype call right on your computer and take the class from home. The instructor can see you, and you can see her, so there’s plenty of motivation and form correcting. I love starting my day with one of their Vinyasa yoga classes, and their 11:00 am Cardio Barre on Sundays kicks my butt.

dorchester ymca

On the workout front, we’ve also joined the YMCA in Dorchester, which is a really impressive facility that is incredibly reasonable. It’s $53/month for both of us! It has a pool, classes, spinning, a great fitness facility, sauna, steam room, etc. I can’t believe I used to pay $95 a month for just myself at a downtown gym!  I want to get more into a schedule with classes at the Y, mixing in a few Barre & Soul classes in, along with a few runs per week.

hand and stone massageIn addition to the Y, we also became members at Hand and Stone Massage. A monthly payment of $49.95 includes a massage and some really great discounts. I find that massages really help me physically and mentally, and now it will be guaranteed that I go for one every month. I will definitely look forward to that day!

On the food front, we’ve been eating a lot of delicious things. Too many. I haven’t done very well on the healthy eating front. If abs are made in the kitchen, mine are made of brioche and Nutella these days.

nutella french toast

Nutella and Bacon French Toast at the Plate in Milton. . . do I need to say more?

polenta

We love The Townshend in Quincy, and on a very cold Friday night, we had a cozy date at the bar, complete with an incredible polenta and wild boar ragu. I think this would be on my top 10 comfort foods list.

fireplace dinners with wine

The Daily Table continues to be a favorite spot for finding great ingredients. The above tuna steak was perfection with veggies and a sesame/ginger marinade that I threw together. Dinners picnic-style by the fire are also my favorite; they’re cozy and romantic and turn every night into a date night.

chicken parmesan in a skillet

My chicken parm is another date night at home favorite. I love skillet meals that start out on the stovetop and then finish in the oven. This one isn’t breaded; my homemade tomato sauce smothers pan-fried chicken, and fresh mozzarella and basil top it off. Another top comfort food for the winter!

I recently also finally got to the brick-and-mortar location of Mei Mei Street Kitchen, and it was incredible. I loved the spiked Fire Cider cocktail and this charred cabbage salad, which was crunchy and cozy and tangy, delicious.

mei mei street kitchen

I can’t finish this post without a mention that this past week I lost one of my favorites of all time, our cat Smuckers. Since the day we adopted her over 11 years ago, she was a constant companion and source of laughs, a cat-dog in her behavior, loving, full of purrs, but only for me and Eric. Anyone else she would try to kill.

IMG_0027 She had a larger-than-life presence, and it was hard to watch that slip away Friday night, but we loved her so much we knew we had to let her go. Smuckers was adopted from the MSPCA, and I can’t stress enough how incredibly grateful rescue animals are to be yours. A little piece of my heart is missing these days, but I’m also just trying to be grateful that we had her in our lives.

xoxo

Tags: Boston, Brookline, exercise, Food, Restaurants, workouts, yoga

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