A Day in Boston

We decided to take advantage of being in the Massachusetts area and spend the day following Anna & Dennis' wedding in Boston! We started our afternoon off at the Sam Adams brewery. Although we'd already been once before a few years ago we decided it warranted another trip back since we had enjoyed it so much the first time. We were that we only had to wait an hour for a tour, as it can get quite crowded especially on Red Sox home game days. To pass the time we hung around the lobby and checked things out a bit!

Our favorite part of the tour though is the tasting, of course!

You get to try 3 samples. Classic Sam Adams, we got some Sam Summer, which is the best and finally one that is not on the market. The samples are the best part, they were tasty! 

After that we headed over to Fenway Park to catch a Red Sox game. Even though it's against our religion to go to a Red Sox game, there is something to be said for checking out the historic stadium. It was a really great experience. Right outside the stadium they do a really good job of entertaining the fans and providing a whole fan experience. They have music, entertainers and tons of food stations. It was fun to take it all in. 

We didn't spend a ton on our seats, they were decent for about $45 a ticket. The park itself was beautifully preserved and was a great experience. It was the perfect day for a ballgame and it was nice that we were under the awning too! 

Mike and his Fenway frank! 

We had a great weekend trip up to MA, between Anna & Dennis' wedding and our awesome day in Boston it was perfect! 

Anna + Dennis Tie the Knot

This weekend was our good friend Anna & Dennis' wedding. We packed up the car and headed up to MA for the festivities. Anna and Dennis chose the most beautiful, rustic barn setting for their nuptials. It was such a beautiful venue and so perfect for them! They put such a personal touch on their entire wedding, from the brides choice of music and getting their string quartet to learn a Dave Matthews Band song, to their featured drink, and so much more. Even the menu was quintessential New England serving clam chowder as the first course. And I loved the cider donuts for dessert too. The whole evening, event, and of course the bride was so beautiful! We had such a great time celebrating, here's a couple pictures from the wedding!

Gotta photo stalk the bride for a few pictures of her beautiful gown, perfect for the setting

 I love that you can see how happy they look in this picture! 

Book Review - The Buggy List

Ok so know how I am always talking about you can't go wrong with the $2.99 or under Amazon books, well I found one that was not really hot on my list, perhaps some cheesy tv might have been better, although nothing could be as bad as some of the reality tv out there. I'm only putting it on here to save others the time of skipping over this one.

Book Title: The Buggy List by Courtney Rice Gager

Book Summary (From Amazon): Drew and Libby Sullivan have spent the past six years building the perfect life together. They have a beautiful home, flourishing careers, and they’re finally ready to take the plunge into parenthood. Well, almost. Despite the endless prodding from family, friends, and even strangers, there still seems to be something holding the couple back from starting a family. Perhaps that’s why they decide to take the advice of Libby’s older sister and make a list of everything they want to do before they have a baby. Making their baby bucket list, or as they call it, “The Buggy List”, buys them just a little more time to be Drew and Libby, who sleep in until noon on Saturdays and eat Chinese takeout for dinner on the couch. Besides, it gives Libby the opportunity to pull straight-laced Drew out of his comfort zone and do something fun for once; like go undercover as singles to a speed dating event with their friend, Tom; or finally take the honeymoon they never had. Drew and Libby each write down five items that they must complete before having a baby. But what starts out as a little harmless fun quickly becomes more than this couple bargained for. When secrets, little white lies, and competing desires threaten to pull them apart for good, Libby and Drew must rediscover why they fell in love in the first place.

Book Review:  I thought this would have been a cute little read, something perhaps I could even relate to since being in that same boat as the main character  But alas it was just cheesy the lists the main characters end up making is just plain stupid. The antics that she gets herself into for her job are also just dumb. I don't know how it got as many high reviews as it did on Amazon, but it was no five star prize to me. I'd probably give it a 2 out of 5, still better than the awful reality tv shows out there but less than average if you ask me.

How Far We've Come Book Club

I'll make this a quick one, no fun pictures or anything, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Exactly 18 months ago this month I met two strangers for the first time to discuss a book. None of us had ever met before or had any mutual connections, just shared a love of books. It's amazing to think that we have met once a month for the last year and a half. And sometimes we met twice a month, we've added monthly wine tastings to our events. At least two of us have met every single month with maybe one exception, I think Christmas of last year.

It's hard to believe that 3 girls who were complete strangers have turned into so much more. I look forward to our adventures every single month, always trying fantastic new restaurants that were hidden gems to us before, and when possible tying it into our book that month. From meeting for Indian food, a new excursion for me, to fantastic mojitos, French wine and more, each month has brought a new adventure and always great company!

This month instead of wine tasting they had a craft beer tasting so we invited the husbands along as well. This was the first time all of us were meeting together as a group of 6. We wanted the boys to know who were spending all our time with every month. I'm happy to say we of course had a great time and it was so much fun to get together with friends that have now become such a big part of my life. I just thought it was worth mentioning before our next book club adventure which I already can't wait for, French wine in the city again!

Go To Freezer Recipes

I love to cook, although during the week I def do not have time to prepare a whole meal. Between working 10 hours a day in the office, trying to squeeze the gym in twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as book club, wine tasting, and other obligations there's little time to be had to make a whole meal from scratch during the week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't even walk through the door until 8pm and then to start making a whole meal would be impossible, we wouldn't eat until after 9 and then there's still showering, clean up and any preparations for the next day. We're also not into take out every night either.

My solution - freezer meals! I'm always telling everyone all about my strategy, it works so well for us. I would rather spend a whole day in the kitchen, making one huge mess, and freezing everything, than trying to squeeze in cooking on weeknights. I do try and cook sometimes on a Monday though if I'm home. Wednesdays, Mike is at softball for the summer, so it's just me. And we save Fridays & Saturdays for take out or anything else we have going on. This is how we fill in the weeknight gaps for meals.

I got these awesome freezer to oven ready gladware containers that are awesome, they keep everything fresh and it's so easy. And you can use them over and over again too. We just defrost one of the meals the night before and Mike pops it in the oven while I'm at the gym and then we can have 'real' healthy dinner when I get home. The other great part is that I got the 8x8 size containers, which is usually 4 servings so just two nights of a meal. Before when I would make a recipe we would have to eat the same leftovers over and over again to use it up. This way I get two sets of meals to use from one recipe,  which makes my efforts go even further.

I thought I would try to compile a list of some of our favorite meals that have frozen well and still tasty yummy. Most of them, hmm probably all of them, are skinny Taste recipes, really can't beat them!

• Spinach Lasagna Rolls 
• Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana
• Sicilian Rice Ball Casserole
• Skinny Chicken Enchiladas
• Lighter Eggplant Parmesan
• Cheeseburger Casserole
• Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde
• Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

I'm sure I've got some of these and others in my freezer right now which make for the perfect weeknight meal! 

Book Review - Love Regifted

As with everything else I'm behind on my recent book updates as well. Although I certainly haven't been reading at the rate I was last year, but I've still been enjoying a book here or there. I recently finished, Love Re-gifted which was another one of those quick $2.99 reads. I'm telling good or bad you really can't go wrong with the $3 and under books. This one does fall into the win category though.

Book Title: Love Regifted by Stephanie Haddad

Book Summary (from Amazon): What if everything you knew about your life turned out to be a lie? Ava Sullivan thought her biggest problems were a cheating boyfriend, a devious step-sister, and a weakness for designer handbags. But when a mysterious caller leaves her a message for her birthday, Ava’s curiosity leads her to uncover her parents’ best kept secret. Feeling betrayed, Ava begins to question every relationship in her life, especially that of the hot new guy she can’t seem to stop thinking about. Jay Matthews, on the other hand, knows all about regrets, especially when it comes to families. He also knows what he wants, and Ava sits at the top of that list. Getting her attention is easy. Getting her to learn how to trust again? That will take a miracle.

Book Review: I really enjoyed this book, although it was nothing crazy or out of the ordinary, it ended up sucking me in. I've read two other books by this author and I remember both of them started off slow and then I ended up loving the main character, which happened in this case as well. I found the end to be really touching and also left me with a big smile. I know it's cliche but in this case I didn't want the book to end there, I wish it could have kept going!