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My Sunday was just what I needed, time with my family. My brother in law is taking a professional development course at MIT this week, so my sister, 3 year old niece, and niece or nephew to be šŸ™‚ came along to hang out with me.

After a loooong morning of cleaning, trying to fix my Windows Live Writer, and blogging, I met them at their hotel, and we went for a walk down by the waterfront.

Beach Grass

It actually felt lovely and cool and even rained a bit. My family is from NJ where it has been in the high 90’s and 100’s for all of July, and they loved the break.

Carson Beach

Mid-summer flowers were all along the path, and my niece kept stopping to smell them. I would love to post photos of my nieces and nephews, but I feel like the blog is just too public for the little ones. Trust me when I say they are all cute šŸ™‚

lavender

Dinner was laid back, New England-style food at The Ledge in Dorchester. I had heard great things about their patio, and it did not disappoint. It is beautifully done with great stone benches, lots of flowers, and tons of space. It is the best outdoor dining space I have seen in Boston because it is private and completely removed from the street. They also have an outside bar šŸ˜‰

The Ledge, Dorchester Sea Dog Blueberry

I started with a Sea Dog Blueberry with a few juicy blueberries floating at the top.

For dinner, I started with the wedge salad, crisp iceberg lettuce, blue cheese, pickled onions, bacon, eggs, and grape tomatoes. I shared it with the table. It was enormous!

wedge salad

I shared some Island Creek and Point Judith oysters with the hubs.

oysters

And then had some mussels in a flavorful broth chock full of fennel, carrots, grape tomatoes, and garlic with a little grilled bread.

mussels

We also shared The Ledge’s ooey-gooey blue cheese tater tots, literally giant potato nuggets filled with melted blue cheese. Amazing.

The adults were full after dinner, but a certain 3 year old asked for strawberry ice cream with sprinkles, and we obliged. We stopped at the nearby Ice Creamsmith, a Dorchester favorite and some of the best homemade ice cream in the area. I stole a bite of the delicious, berry filled creaminess, and it definitely made me wish I had saved some room!

The Ice Creamsmith

Being with my family is definitely nice, especially in my hometown. Today I am off work to spend the day with my sister and niece at a farm in Central MA. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a day right now.

Do you live close to your family? If not, how often do you get to see them?

I certainly cherish the time I have with mine!

Tags: beer, Boston, family, Food, mussels, oysters, The Ledge

Monday, already? First I have to ask you, did you enter The Olive Press giveaway yet? Because it’s a good one and because a great response to this giveaway means I will schedule lots more giveaways in the future. I am hard at work trying to find great prizes from great companies for you all, so make sure to enter! šŸ˜‰

How was the weekend? Mine was excellent. It started with a half day Friday and a more than annoying train ride to NJ.Ā  The Amtrak conductor on train 137 DEMANDED that I move seats at Providence to accommodate 3 people traveling together. Me, with my laptop and paperwork and books and all out, me working away on the left side of the train so I could see the ocean in Old Saybrook and Mystic, my plan since I bought the tickets. Now, I am a nice person and would have willingly gotten up, had there been no other seats together for these people, but well, there were seats a few rows down, andĀ how rude to justĀ tell me to MOVE like that? Manners, Amtrak employees, manners.Ā On the way back I saw the same conductor yelling at a family for taking too long to get off the train. Cranky pants.

After that snafoo, the weekend got better. I had very limited internet access other than my Blackberry so I went with the flow and enjoyed something that I am never am, UNPLUGGED. My back thanks me for not being hunched over a computer for a few days, my mind thanks me for not obsessing over work and blogging, and my heart thanks me for filling it with the warmth and love that only going home can do.

I got to see my almost 96 year old nana who is mentally sharp as a whip and in pretty excellent physical shape too. I spent lots of time hanging with mom, playing with my niece, and catching up with my sister and brother in law. It was perfectly restful and restorative. I have a CRAZY busy week ahead, with 2 dinners out, a wine tasting Tuesday, and Vino Voyage on Thursday (and possibly Taste of the North End Friday!), not to mention the launch of a bunch of work projects, so it was nice to just be.

There was some great food, including a visit to Vincenzo’s, a homey Italian ristorante with delicious food.

Complimentary bruschetta got us started.Ā 

Bruschetta

And we shared a Shrimp Milano with shitake mushrooms for the table.

Shrimp Milano

Along with an antipasto, soft mozzarella drizzled with fine olive oil

Cold Antipasto

And a house salad, dressed with olive oil and vinegar

House Salad

My entree was a big splurge, spinach ravioli with creamy spinach sauce. It was rich and buttery with wilted spinach. The sauce tasted like it had a bit of liqueur in it,and it reminded me I need to make one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes, a delicious creamy shrimp dish with Ouzo and dill. Amazingness.Ā 

Ravioli with Spinach Cream

After dinner my niece, Isabella, hosted an ice cream party for the family. She is almost 3, so she made her own sundae for the first time. Sprinkles were the main concern, although there were strawberries, bananas, caramel, chocolate, and whipped cream as well.

Sprinkles

Isabella agreed to have a sleepover with my mom and me, so she packed her overnight bag, and we spent the rest of the evening ā€œcookingā€ with dried beans and pasta, playing veterinarian with band-aids and stuffed animals, and finally reading stories in bed with teeny tiny armed hugs. Is there anything better?

I don’t think so.

Tags: Dining out, family, Food, Italian food, New Jersey, wine

When I planned to go home to New Jersey over President’s Day weekend, it was because I hadn’t been home since Christmas and really wanted to be home for the long weekend. Due to my trips to Arizona, Ireland, and the Czech Republic, January was completely taken up, and when I got back I took a couple of weekends as breathers to catch up with things here in Boston.

When I realized it was Valentine’s Day weekend, I still really wanted to go, and not worrying about when we celebrated, the hubs urged me to stick with my plans.

I have to tell you that I LOVE Valentine’s Day. I love pink and red and chocolate and even though I love my family and husband every day, it is fun to have a day to pause and celebrate. I don’t understand why people hate Valentine’s Day so much. The same argument could be made for Thanksgiving, why do we need a day to be thankful, blah blah blah. I loved Valentine’s Day when I was single, when all of the other girls in the high school hallway nearly floated away on heart-shaped Mylar balloons, and I love it now.

Anyway, the weekend kicked off with a nice, quick drive to New Jersey and a pedicure with my sister. Loved the time with her, did NOT love the dirtiness of the Lookin Good Spa or the surliness of the front desk staff. Don’t go here.

After our pedicure, my mom, sister, brother in law, niece, and I went to Buzzy’s my favorite hometown restaurant. Its a very simple, down to earth place that serves great food and has friendly staff.

Sunday, I got to spend the entire day with the above mentioned family members. Trust me, I stopped often to reflect on how lucky I am to have people I love so much.

There was cupcake decorating.

image

And a delicious meal.

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Salads with optional toppings, roasted red peppers, candied walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and beets. I love loading salads up with toppings of many colors and textures.

image

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Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs

We also had lobster with butter, roasted potato wedges, and rolls. It was yummy, and best of all we were all at home. I prefer not to go to restaurants on holidays, so the hubs and I will celebrate the holiday belatedly sometime soon.

Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day or do you avoid it? <3

Ā 

I am excited to announce that I am over 1/3 of the way to my fundraising goal for my ALLY Foundation raffle! Many thanks to so many people from the blog world who have donated. Just a reminder of the prizes:

$100 gift card to Williams Sonoma

A mixed case of wine from Wine Cellar of Stoneham

A custom granola blend from me & goji

One month membership to all Healthworks Fitness Centers

A private tour and tasting for 10 at Westport Rivers winery

How to enter:

Visit http://firstgiving.com/meghanmalloyteamally

Each $10 donation counts as one entry for the above raffle.

Thanks a million to Wine Cellar of Stoneham, me & goji, Healthworks Fitness Centers, and Westport Rivers Winery for their generous prize donations!

Tags: champagne, family, Food, holidays, lobster, New Jersey, Spas, wine

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