Wednesday's Musings

It is finally starting to feel like winter and I was perfectly giddy when big fat snowflakes dropped from the sky last night!  I have a lot of happy thoughts this morning that I wanted to share with my readers:

1.  First, congratulations are in order for my friends Karen and Gene.

They have been dating for three years now and they got engaged last night!  I was there the night that they met at a bar when we were all out for a girls night out to help a friend who had just broken up with her boyfriend.  (As a sidenote, that same friend got back together with the boyfriend, are engaged to be married this February and I'm in her wedding!).  I remember I yelled at Karen the next day for letting him drive her home that night because he was a complete stranger and could have been a serial killer.  I know, I'm a bit paranoid.  Thankfully Gene turned out to be a great guy and I'm sending them all my love and best wishes!

2.  While I've gotten used to be recognized at blogger events, I am always a mix of proud and embarrassed when I'm recognized from my blog or Twitter in "real life."  Last night, I met my friends Liz and Emily for drinks at the Bristol Lounge.  After a first glass of wine, the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage came over to our table, introduced himself and asked me "Are you @FunFearlessBean?"  It turns out the Assistant Director is Simon of @SimonCanCook, who I've been following on Twitter for quite some time.  He graciously sent us a complimentary round of wine.  Thank you Simon for your kind words, generosity and hospitality!

3.  This also leads me to mention how unbelievable the trio of French fries at the Bristol Lounge?  The three of us split the sweet potato, truffle and barbecue fries (with four accompanying dipping sauces) for dinner and it was AWESOME!  We couldn't stop nibbling on them, even after they were no longer hot.  The sweet potato and truffle fries were my favorites for sure and I'm definitely excited about checking out their famous burger the next time I'm there.

4.  Last night, I checked my walking pedometer and clocked in 11,072 steps.  I've been conscious of walking more where I can and am grateful for all of your helpful comments and tips!  I won't be accurately clocking myself today as I have a dress on and nowhere to clip it.  There is a necklace to wear but um, no thanks,  Still, I'm hoping that I can continue taking over 10,000 steps a day on a regular basis.

5.  Finally, the polls close for Boston's A-List's Best Local Blogger on December 22nd.  Could you please send a vote my way here?

Happy Wednesday!  What has you smiling today?

Fun and Fearless Friday Five

This week seemed to absolutely fly by for me and I can't believe that it is already the month of December.  Per usual, I intend to close the year out with a bang and I'm already over-booking myself with parties, celebrations and festivities all month.  Before the craziness starts, I want to take a moment to share five things that have me smiling this Friday:

1.  Last night, after plans for a blogger dinner fell through, I found myself happily at home ordering takeout, doing laundry and packing for the upcoming weekend.  We ordered from Jae's Cafe and I of course had to order the bibimbap, which I absolutely love.

Sometimes the unexpected nights in can be just what you need.

2.  As I mentioned above, I did some packing last night because Bret and I are heading down to Washington D.C. to visit my friend Alex this weekend.  She came to visit in October and as soon as she left, we were planning our next reunion.  The older I get, the more I realize how important some of my best friends are to me.  There is the family that you are born into and there is the family that you create and choose.  I realize that since college, it is the latter that has really shaped me into who I am.  Although I go down to D.C. at least once a year, Bret hasn't been down there in over ten years!  I think the three of us will have a blast this weekend and I'm especially excited to introduce Bret to my godson, Griffin!

Yes, Griffin is Alex's dog and my godson.  I adore this dog more than anything and I've packed lots of treats for him in my luggage!

3.  This past week, I had a nice chat with Shakti at Smorgie.com.  Shakti has created a site where you can find, organize and review your restaurant experiences in one place.  You can share these experiences in "bite books" with others or just use it for your own personal organization.  Shakti and I have been meaning to chat for quite some time and she published a really wonderful interview of me on the Smorgie blog.  I would love it if you would check it out and show her some love!

4.  As we enter into the final weeks of voting, I wanted to remind you all to check out the poll for Boston A-List's Best Local Blogger.  I'm currently in third place!  If you've already voted, thank you so much...and if you haven't, please click here to vote for me.  Every vote counts until the voting closes on December 22nd and I'd really appreciate your support!

5.  Finally, I wanted to announce the winner of my Lea & Perrins giveaway.  Chosen by Random.org, the winner is Shannon of Tri to Cook, who likes to use Worcestershire sauce in her go-to burger recipe!  Thanks to everyone for entering and thanks to Foodbuzz and Lea & Perrins for sponsoring this great giveaway!

 
Tell me, what has you smiling today?

Fun and Fearless Friday Five

After battling a nasty cold all week, I am so ready for a weekend filled with sunshine!  As I go into the weekend, I wanted to share five things that I'm really excited about:

1.  Drinking for Charity: The Boston Lupus Charity Pub Crawl is happening this Saturday and I've been getting my liver ready for it all year long.  My friend Kim (one of the committee members) introduced me to this fun day-long event that combines drinking with raising awareness and funds for a great cause.  I've been participating in this pub crawl for three or four years now and I've been battling my cold all week for it!  To learn more about the pub crawl, please head to Kim's blog here.

One of MANY photos from last year's pub crawl.

2.  Vote for me!  The poll is still open for the Boston A-List's Best Local Blogger and I'm currently in fourth place.  If you've already voted, thank you so much...and if you haven't, please click here to vote for me.  Every vote counts until voting closes on December 22nd and I'd really appreciate your support!

3.  Boston Food Bloggers:  Speaking of blogging, are you a Boston-area food blogger?  My friend Rachel (creator of Fork it over, Boston!) has launched a new website - Boston Food Bloggers.  Her goal is to put together a resource for food and beverage bloggers in the area - to share ideas, contact information, and events.  It is pretty interesting and Rachel's put a lot of work into it...so if you get a chance, stop by and check it out!

4.  Dr. Oetker's Quattro Formaggi Pizza:  On Wednesday night, I came home to a shipment of sample of Dr. Oetker's Quattro Formaggi frozen pizza.  I'm not a big fan of frozen pizzas but I thought I'd give it a try.  While you can definitely tell that pizza wasn't homemade, the quality of the cheeses used in this pizza was pretty impressive. The combination of mozzarella, edam, emmental and blue cheese worked, even though I was first skeptical about the use of blue cheese when I read the box.  Dr. Oetker's frozen pizzas can currently be purchased in New England Shaws, Demoulas and Big Y store.

5.  Sunday Brunch:  In September, Renee of Eat.Live.Blog, organized a fabulous bloggers' brunch at Lord Hobo.  Thanks to Renee's organization, a group of us are heading to East Coast Grill for brunch this weekend.  Although I've previously had brunch there, I'm still really excited about this brunch because East Coast Grill puts on a FANTASTIC brunch.  Of course, I'll be re-capping it all here next week!

What's on plan for the weekend? Any good cooking/eating/drinking planned?