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!

Biking Around Roosevelt Island

Last month we made the trek down to Astoria, Queens to go visit Matt & Nohra and stay over Matt's apartment for the night. Aside from the traffic to get down there it was an absolutely fantastic time. We had a great time checking out the local beer garden and playing some uno, talk about flashback!

On Saturday Norha took me for a bike ride around Roosevelt Island. Unfortunately the weather was terrible and it rained on our parade, literally, but I'm still glad we got to go and check it out. I'd love to go back again on a more beautiful day, it really was a great ride. Here's a couple quick pictures that we managed to sneak in on our ride before it rained on us. Oh and the best part, we got pickles, Nohra's favorite!!

All American Cooking

Our last Dinner Diva's group was actually back in May, but I'm just catching up finally (shocker, I know) . Last month it was Gina's turn to host and she chose to do "All American BBQ" in honor of the summer quickly approaching (at that time anyway). Michele started us off with some great vegetable fritters that I loved using some of the delicious typical summer produce in them. Then as usual Gina had a fantastic menu from pulled pork, to coleslaw, corn on the cob, baked beans and more! The pulled pork was awesome, I absolutely loved it. I think she said it was a Pioneer Woman recipe. If I ever decide to make pulled pork I plan to get the recipe, and I am not a pulled pork person.

I was in charge of dessert this month. When Janet pinned a recipe for apple pie cookies I saw them and knew that would be perfect, what's more American than apple pie, and better yet a mini version, because who is going to eat the rest of the pie once we had our slices that night, I knew I wasn't. These cookies were a little tricky to make and def very messy. I rushed a little bit and it was my first time making a lattice top, so I had no expertise there, but taste wise they turned out great! (Not the most appetizing pictures, but as usual I was in a rush). It was a fun little twist on apple pie and everyone enjoyed them!

Apple Pie Cookies
Source: Oh Bite It
Serving Size: 6-8 good sized Pie Cookies:

1 Box of frozen Pillsbury Pie Crust (2 sheets per box)
Approx. 1 Can of Apple Pie Filling (just enough for a thin layer)
Approx. 1 Cup of Caramel Sauce (just enough for a light coating)
1 Egg (for egg-wash)
2 tbsp. Cinnamon/Sugar
1 tbsp. Nutmeg
Flour just for sprinkling
A round cookie cutter (any size you like - I used the bottom of a glass)

Lay out a sheet of Pie Crust, sprinkle it with some flour and slightly roll it out, just to increase its surface area. Pour some of the Caramel Sauce (Just enough to coat the crust) onto the crust and evenly spread it around, creating a thin layer of caramel. Coarsely chop the Apple Pie Filling into small pieces. Top the caramel layer  with a layer of the chopped up Apple Pie Filling, making sure not to add too much pie filling. Roll out the second sheet of Pie Crust the same size as the first sheet, and slice it into strips. Create a lattice crust (just like on a pie) for the top of the pie filling (create your lattice on top of the actual filling, as if it were a pie!). Dip your cookie cutter into some egg wash and cut out your Pie Cookies. Brush the tops of them with some egg wash and sprinkle them with the Cinnamon Sugar and Nutmeg. Place them onto a baking sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for approx. 20-25 minutes, until they’re golden and firm. Let them cool just a little.

Some More of the Cutest Pup

No descriptions needed, just some new pics of the cutest pup in the world. At least to us anyway, he really is the best and we love this little guy to deal. Here's some pics of his latest antics! 

2nd Annual Mother's Day Brunch

Well once again I've fallen behind on my blog. I just can't believe how quickly time flies by. I feel like since "going back to work" the past 7 1/2 months have been a blur and forget about the hours of 9-5 (ok more like 8-6), but in any case I never even look at the clock during the work day. But I couldn't let time totally pass me by without coming back to my blog and writing about one of the best Holiday's of the year, Mother's Day. I'm so grateful to have the most amazing Mother, and Mother-in-Law as well!

Last year I hosted my first Mother's Day brunch and it was a huge success so much so that I plan to make this our annual tradition! I love hosting, and I have to say brunch is probably the easiest meal to host, much easier than hosting my first Christmas dinner. A lot of the food can be prepped or prepared the day before which is great. I actually found myself with free time on Sunday morning, I didn't know what to do with myself while I waited for everyone to come over.

One thing is for sure, we have no shortage of food for this brunch, I think I made even more than last year, which I didn't think was possible. First though we started our brunch off right with a homemade bellini bar, which was awesome and such a huge hit. I think we went through 4 bottles of champagne (I have to remember that for next year to make sure we're fully stocked up). With help in part from a Giada recipe I made strawberry, raspberry and pineapple bellini's. Just add a tablespoon to the bottle of your class, pour some champagne, and voila! Everyone loved these!

Once we had our cocktails it was on to the main event, a full spread. Thankfully most of it was done in advance and I have to say Mike helped tremendously as well. He manned the griddle, cooking all the bacon, sausage, pancakes and hash browns, which was a huge help. For this year's meal we had a lot of the same foods as last year but added on slightly. Our meal consisted of: 

• Broccoli and Cheese Mini Egg Omelets
• Make-Over Breakfast Sausage and Mushroom Strata
• Bananas Fosters Topped Overnight French Toast
• Ricotta Cheese Chocolate Chip Muffins
• WW Blueberry Streusel Muffins
• WW Mini Zucchini Quiche
• Vanilla Blueberry Pound Cake (although it wasn't as good this year) 
• Carrot Cake Pancakes (a new addition) 
• Hashbrowns 
• Turkey Sausage Links & Center Cut Bacon 
• My mom brought the fruit salad and Long Island bagels again, along with a homemade quiche!
• And Mike's brought everyone's favorite trifle again for dessert. 

I think that's everything, although I almost feel like I'm forgetting something there was so much food. I don't even know what my favorite part was, we loved all of it. I just realized though I don't have any pictures of us, the only pictures I have are of the food. I'm sure Mom has some pictures though, although I don't think she's figured out how to upload pictures from her new camera yet. In any case here's a few pictures I snapped quick before we ate of our delicious meal. 

After that we spent the afternoon grazing and picking on all the delicious foods with plenty of leftovers to go around for everyone. I already can't wait for next year's brunch, I know it will be equally delicious and terrific company!