Uncategorized

You are currently browsing the archive for the Uncategorized category.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I can’t even believe it’s the second week of July. The best season of the year flies by quickly, there’s no doubt about that! Since May, I interviewed, was offered, and started a new job that I absolutely love. I also visited the Cape, had my family in town, had my husband’s parents in town, and started training for the NYC Marathon. Phew.

Luckily, I also had a couple of days to relax, unwind, and enjoy coastal living in Massachusetts. On one of those days, my husband was able to join me, and we put together quite the little staycation. It started with 90 minute massages at Elements in Hingham. We love Elements; the prices are great, it’s clean and relaxing, and the massage therapists are fantastic.

Once we were all loose and relaxed, we headed down to Cohasset for a seaside lunch at Atlantica’s Olde Salt House.

Olde Salt House Perched right on the harbor, the deck at the Olde Salt House is the perfect place for a meal or cocktails. Though it was a warm day, we had a nice sea breeze and shade from nearby umbrellas.

Cohasset

Since we were celebrating my new job, cocktails were in order, and I had a refreshing Dark n Stormy to start. I’m loving these right now.

dark n stormy We decided to split a box of fried clams and a lobster BLT with fries. I can’t imagine anything better than fried seafood next to the sea, and these were perfect. They were nice and light, hot, and briny.

fried clams

lobster blt  The Lobster BLT was out of control. It must have had an entire lobster in it, on buttered toast with bacon, lettuce, and a tomato, as a BLT tends to have. Every part of the sandwich was fresh and flavorful and just so good and summery.

summer flowers We spent the rest of the day wandering around the South Shore, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate, stopping to refresh with an iced Americano at Redeye Roasters.

Redeye Roasters moorings Scituate Massachusetts beaches There are so many great coastal towns within a short drive from Boston, all with their own charm, harbors, restaurants, etc. I love nothing more than a free day to explore and be near the water.

Hingham Hingham

We ended the day with a sunset sail on a friend’s boat, taking in the city from the back of Thompson Island. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

Boston skyline sunset

 

Are you taking any time off this summer for travel or a staycation?

This giveaway has ended. Thank you to Bestowed for offering me and one lucky reader a Bestowed box. The winner is Danielle T. Danielle, please email me at traveleatlove (@) gmail.com with your contact information. Thanks to all who entered!

Discover healthy foods you love, with a monthly delivery of samples from Bestowed. This month, I received a Bestowed review box, and since my focus on my health has really tanked with my busy work schedule, the timing was perfect.

Bestowed Box

The smart little orange box arrived in the mail, and I couldn’t wait to open it and see what was inside. I think that’s one of the most fun parts of Bestowed; it’s a nice little surprise.

My box contained a Zico coconut water, packets of Roots superfood powder, a Bakery on Main coconut cashew Truebar, GimMe seaweed cheddar cheese roasted seaweed crumbles, an Herban Essentials mini pack of aromatherapy towelettes, a packet of Artisana Organic Superfoods acai berry nut butter,  and a coupon for Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers

Bestowed Box Bestowed Box Bestowed Box In addition to being a fun surprise, the Bestowed box is a great way to kickstart healthy eating and reintroduce nutrition and natural products back into ones life. I am a huge fan of Zico coconut water, Dr. Praeger’s products, and Artisana (huge fan) already, but I was thrilled to revisit them. I had never tried the acai berry nut butter, and it was amazing. Amazing. I want to fill my desk drawer with little packets of these nut butters for healthy and filling snacks.

I also really loved the Truebar; it was coconutty and delicious, a little dessert a little nutrition bar, all good. The Roots powder was pleasantly surprising. The blueberry really did taste like blueberry, and I felt a little boost in my energy when drinking it in the afternoon. I used to be a devotee to superfood drinks, and I definitely think I need to get back into that. My body deserves it, and my mind needs it.

I tried the seaweed snack, and while I liked it better than most dried seaweed, I will be honest and admit I wasn’t crazy about it. Nothing wrong with the product; I just don’t love seaweed unless it is in sushi! These crumbles might be good mixed up in a salad, especially with cucumber and shrimp, to emulate sushi. In fact, I might try making that this weekend!

Overall, I really loved the selection in the Bestowed box, and I am definitely thinking about joining so that I can try a selection of products every month.

Bestowed is offering me a one month membership for a lucky Travel, Wine, and Dine reader AND offering all of you a discount on a subscription. Just use the code 5OFFBSTOWED01 at checkout.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment letting me know why you would like to win, and be sure to follow Bestowed on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

I will choose a winner on Wednesday. Good luck!

Tags: Food, giveaway, health, healthy

There’s nothing better than a long weekend and a little getaway, is there? Sometimes you just need to change up your surroundings, even if you don’t get far from home. While we would love to have made another jaunt to Sonoma this weekend, our schedules don’t look like they will allow for a real vacation anytime soon.

After working past 10:30 on Friday night, most of the day Saturday, and Sunday morning, I was spent (still am!), and we headed about an hour north of Boston to The Stonehedge Inn and Spa in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. Surrounded by rolling green fields and lush greenery, Stonehedge really feels like the country. It has that wonderful, woodsy smell, and it’s very quiet, exactly what we needed.

Stonehedge Inn and Spa

Our room was cozy and featured a huge soaking tub, giant, fluffy bed, and a sitting area with a fireplace.

Stonehedge Inn and Spa

After we settled in, we decided to go for a wander over to the pool and spa area. The grounds at Stonehedge are absolutely beautiful.

Stonehedge Inn and Spa

The pool and spa area are also lovely, but we were a little disappointed that the sauna and steam room didn’t seem to be working, and we couldn’t get massage appointments. I was told it was because the spa gets packed on the weekends, but there was no one there; all of the treatment room doors were open, the lights were out. I guess they were just closed for the weekend?

Stonehedge Inn and Spa

Since we couldn’t use the sauna and steam room, I took a long bath in the big tub and then we headed down to the lounge at Left Bank restaurant for a glass of wine. One of the reasons I had been dying to visit Stonehedge was that it has the largest wine cellar in New England. Unfortunately, when we booked, I wasn’t told that the wine cave was under construction.

The restaurant itself is well-stocked with wine, and the lounge was a great, relaxed space. The wine list was a literal book which I had a great time thumbing through. Left Bank also features 60 bottles of wine that are under $60, some well under that, so it’s easy to find a bargain bottle. Stonehedge Inn and Spa

By the time we were seated for dinner, the rain had stopped, and we enjoyed a bright meal in the sunroom area of Left Bank. Our room included a three course meal, and we were able to choose anything off of the menu.

Left Bank RestaurantWe started with a tasty tuna tartare amuse .

tuna tartare

We chose a bottle of Domaine Carneros sparkling wine to go with dinner. Bubbly goes with everything!

Domaine Carnernos

For my starter, I went with a beautiful stuffed Portobello mushroom in a balsamic reduction.

stuffed mushroomFor dinner, I had slow roasted lobster in a lemon thyme beurre blanc.  It was heavenly.

slow roasted lobster

For him, the entrée choice was the grilled tenderloin with a port reduction.

tenderloin strawberry crepes

I was almost too full for dessert, but I managed to eat a few bites of this strawberry crepe roulade with an Irish coffee that was one of the best I have ever had.  We ended the evening in the library at the inn, with my husband playing the resident piano while I listened. He is so talented; we need a piano at home!Stonehedge Inn Library

Overall, our experience at Stonehedge Inn was a good one. We did choose it partially because of the spa amenities and wine cave, so we left feeling a little disappointed but generally happy and definitely more relaxed. We would drive up to go to Left Bank again, especially for one of their wine dinners.

How did you spend the long weekend?

Tags: Food, Massachusetts travel, Travel, weekend trips, wine

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera