Thanks for all of the well-wishes on the arrival of our sweet baby! It’s been a busy whirlwind of sleepless nights, zombie-like days, and tons of visitors so far! He’s a popular little guy!

I love reading and writing blogger “coffee date” (or wine date!) posts as a little break from the everyday food and travel stuff. Life has certainly changed quite a bit since I last wrote one!

If we were having coffee today, what life updates or random musings would you share?

Image result for traveleatlove coffee

{Coffee with brunch at Brennan’s in New Orleans – if we were having coffee today I might choose this very table.}

If we were having coffee today, I would tell you. . .  

– If you don’t feel like you can take a maternity leave, you can basically never take time off ever. I originally set out to take two months off, only to find myself in the recovery room, post-delivery, answering emails and posting on client social media accounts. With a four day old, I was about 60% back to work, and now a month in, I am back to my regular schedule, just with a one month old as my noisy little office mate. I was never good about disconnecting for vacations or weekends (Really, who is?), but I thought for sure after such a major life-changing and medical undertaking, I might be better about unplugging. Not so much.

– I miss running (and jumping and lifting and squatting and yoga) SO much! I was not able to exercise much while pregnant, so I haven’t broken a sweat in at least five months. I can’t wait to lace up my shoes, pound some pavement, and have that alone time back. I may wear running clothes to my six week doctor’s appointment and run straight out that door if she clears me to do so! Of course, there’s the chance that once I can run, I won’t want to!

– I am dying to travel. When I’m not working or taking care of the baby, I am looking up airfares and house rentals and trying to figure out where we can and should go on our first trip together. I haven’t been able to fly since January, so the last time I really went anywhere was to Austin.  My current wanderlust is pretty basic, with me going back and forth between a trip to the North Fork of Long Island or one to Northern California. There’s so much of the world I want to see, but right now I am craving these familiar, beautiful favorites.

– Nicer weather has me jumping for joy. I honestly don’t know how much longer I can make it through New England winters. Seeing things coming to life outside is just the most amazing thing, and knowing that boat season is a couple of weeks away makes me swoon. Summer forever.

– I am hoping to get back to more regular blogging soon, though I don’t entirely know what that content will look like. My nine year blogging anniversary is coming up, and I feel like shaking things up a bit! I am sure that family travel will factor in somehow, though I don’t want to go in the mom blogging direction too much.

Stay tuned!

What’s on your mind today?

It has been a long winter. I normally don’t love winter (understatement of the year), but being pregnant and having travel restrictions. . . completely unable to escape to somewhere warm. . . made it absolutely miserable. Let’s just say I ate my hatred of winter in my weight in chocolate chip cookies, replacing my usual winter wine habit!

But now that our baby has arrived and brought spring with him, things are looking up. We’ve got a boat to get ready and summer plans to make, including what to eat and drink while we navigate this exciting, exhausting new life together.

I love easy boat drinks that are also delicious and aesthetically pleasing, and when I received wine samples from Archer Roose last week, I was super excited to give them a try.

Archer Roose Fine Wines

The cans are slim and nicely designed; while it doesn’t *really* matter what our drinks look like, I would still love to have these hanging out in my beach bag or boat cooler, and they would be a pretty addition to a summery tablescape, especially the rosé. I can’t get enough pink this time of year, though, truth be told, we drink rosé year-round.

The cans made me think of an Easter egg hunt, and I think that searching through the flowers and grass for wine would be a lot more rewarding than looking for jelly beans, don’t you? That inspiration brought me outside for a photo in our yard, which is just on the brink of coming alive for the season. Never mind that it was absolutely freezing and windy the day I took this photo!

I like the “Splendory without Snobbery”messaging on the cans; especially in the summertime, when living should be light and easy; we love fuss-free, affordable wines that we can share widely with friends during this most wonderful time of the year.

wine in a can

Enough about the cans though. . . how was the wine?

I am always honest with my reviews (and if I don’t like something generally choose not to share on the blog), and I can honestly say that I would definitely buy all of these to enjoy again.

We started with the Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s Maule Valley, which ended up being my favorite of the bunch, while it was my husband’s least favorite!

It was very acidic with delightful notes of pineapple and grapefruit, the perfect glass for a steamy summer night. The Archer Roose website recommends pairing with oysters, and I agree that this would be a match made in heaven!

(On a side note, I am dying to go to Chile. . . how young is too young for a baby’s first wine trip?)

Next up, we enjoyed the Chardonnay, which offered up apple and lemon flavors, quite different than the more buttery California Chardonnays I tend to love, but perfect as a summer wine and one that those who claim to hate Chardonnay might actually like.

We split the wine tasting up into a few nights and decided to try the red on a cold and rainy evening. Archer Roose’s Redsurrection is Carmenere from a 19th century family-run vineyard in Colchagua Valley Chile. A beautiful red both in color and on the palate, this wine had a bit of cocoa and spice and cooked fruit, flavors I might compare to berries in a not-very-sweet pie. This red was warming and cozy enough for a chilly evening but also light enough to be a summer red.

Rosé all day

We saved the rosé for last, pouring in on a sunny Sunday evening on the porch. (Yes, I am obsessed with weather and the perfect wine pairing for it.)

Hailing from Provence, this rosé is the quintessential summer treat, and yes, as the website indicates, would be heaven with a (buttered) lobster roll. Bringing notes of berries and hints of pear and minerals, this wine had a slight effervescence, and lots of flavor, while being deliciously dry. The color is as beautiful as the flavor. My favorite rosés always remind me of my long-unworn but always beloved pointe ballet shoes.

About the founders of Archer Roose

When Marian, the co-founder and publisher of the literary magazine Explosion-Proof, met David, the co-founder of award-winning winery Pheasant’s Tears, they knew the combination of wine and storytelling was simply simpatico. Partners in life and in business, Archer Roose was built to reflect their shared passions and values: great conversation, craftsmanship and a belief that we must all do our part to build a better world.

Read more about Archer Roose, and find wine near you.

I received these wines free of charge as samples but was not required to review them. All opinions are my own.

Tags: wine

We’ve made it a full two weeks at home with a newborn! It’s been quite the adjustment, but for the most part, it’s also just been really fun. Myles is a very sweet baby who likes to eat as much as we do, and it turns out that this is the best time to get out and about with a child.

Brunch and breweries and even a dinner date have occurred, and he has slept through it all.

Our first brunch out was with friends to Ashmont Grill, where I made my triumphant return to brunching with a bucket of bubbles and delightfully runny eggs in a spicy, perfect shakshouka with homemade, warm and puffy bread.

mimosasmimosashakshoukashakshouka

Myles snoozed in the booth alongside us, wrapped in his BAA-themed blue and yellow blanket since it was Boston Marathon weekend.

I can’t even deal with how cute he is. . .

I promised not to be that mom who posts a million pictures a day, but he is pretty spectacular.

IMG_9688

Continuing with the “we barely ever leave Dorchester” theme, we had a dinner date for three at Tavolo, one of our favorites. I love the space at Tavolo, and Brian at the bar is the best.

Tavolo

Gnocchi with cream sauce, asparagus, and crispy prosciutto was heavenly.

Tavolo

On our second Sunday at home, we brunched again, this time thanks to a gift card to Steel & Rye, another absolute favorite. It was chock full of #babieswhobrunch; I think we are catching onto something here. Brunch is at a good time of day for babies and tired parents who have been up forever. It’s usually got the perfect level of noise in case of any fussing, and there are drinks!

We kicked brunch off with some delicious apple bread with honey butter, the bread having almost a custard-like consistency, something I could have easily eaten all day long.

apple breadsteel and rye

Since I had been missing smoked salmon, I went with the perfectly crispy potato pancake topped with salmon, avocado, creme fraiche, and greens. Holy amazing.

We know that the baby won’t be this portable forever, so we are enjoying dates out and about now and have so many places and people to show him. It’s fun that his birth coincided with the arrival of real spring weather. . . it is a beautiful season of year and of life indeed!

Tags: baby, brunch, cocktails, Food, new mom, wine

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