Final 30 By 30 Update

How quickly a year flies by.  I can't believe that I turn the big 3-0 tomorrow!  This year has been one filled with lots of changes and I'm ready to embrace everything that this coming year will bring.


This will be my final 30 by 30 update...I got almost halfway through the list.  While I didn't get through all the items, I'm hoping to keep working on the list in the coming year. 


1. Run a 5K.

• B.A.A. 5K (April 2011)
• Lawyers Have Heart 5K (June 2011)
• Feaster Five 5K (November 2011)

2. Go camping, like real camping...overnight...in a tent.

3. Pay off all of my credit card debt.

4. Attend a live WWE event (don't judge).

5. Make Gordon Hamersley's roast chicken.

6. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge.

7. Go out to dinner and a movie by myself.

8. Watch all three of the original Star Wars movies. (Thanks, Karen!)

9. Boil a lobster by myself for the first time.

10. Write my will.

11. Write a letter of apology to someone that I have wronged and send it.

12. Experiment with molecular gastronomy.

13. Learn to drive stick shift.

14. Learn to make my own kimchi.

15. Learn how to change a car tire.

16. Go to a shooting range.

17. Redesign "Fun and Fearless in Beantown"

18. Launch a wedding website.

19. Cook a three-course vegan dinner for my vegan friends.

20. Make turducken for the first time.

21. Climb a mountain.

22. Complete thirty (30) hours of community service or volunteering.

• Completed four hours at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

23. Finish an entire plate of Hell Pasta from East Coast Grill.
24. Floss every day. (I only missed four days!)
25. Take a self-defense course.

26. Make homemade ice cream for the first time.

27. Make gnocchi for the first time.
28. Fly a kite.
29. Milk a cow.
30. Participate in a city dinner crawl, which means having cocktails, appetizer, dinner, dessert and post-dinner cocktails each at a different place in one city in one night.


Thanks to everyone for supporting me on my 30 by 30 list.  It has been a lot of fun working on this list...and trying new things and gaining new experiences.


Tell me, what are you hoping to accomplish in 2012?

Off to NYC!

Bret and I are off to New York City this morning for a fun-filled weekend.  My best friend (and Maid of Honor), Samantha, turned the big 3-0 this past Tuesday and there is a huge party tonight to celebrate her birthday in style. 

Samantha and I at Grafton Street Grill in 2009

I'm looking forward to a fun weekend filled with good eats, happy celebrations, plenty of sunshine and lots of fun!

Tell me, what are you looking forward to the most this weekend?

Fun and Fearless Celebrations

January is always one of my favorite months.  Between ringing in the new year with great friends to a birthday weekend in Portland, there are so many reasons to celebrate during the month of January.  Last night was no exception and I danced my butt off to some fabulous 80's music at 6B Lounge to celebrate my friend Karen's birthday! 

Here are a few photos from last night:

And the celebrations continue as Bret and I celebrate our three year anniversary today.  After all these years, I still feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world.  And sometimes a photo like this one from last night says it all...

What have you been celebrating lately?

30 By 30: Happy Birthday to Me!

I can't help it.  Even though I'm not a kid, I can't help but be excited for my birthday every year!  Since I am 29 today, I'm excited for my last year of my twenties before I hit the big 3-0!

Me at my 28th birthday party...well, the party before the party

Inspired by my friend Jen at Beantown Baker, I decided to create a list of thirty things that I would like accomplish during my last year of my twenties.  So, in no particular order, here goes:

1.  Run a 5K.
2.  Go camping, like real camping...overnight...in a tent.
3.  Pay off all of my credit card debt.
4.  Attend a live WWE event (don't judge).
5.  Make Gordon Hamersley's roast chicken.
6.  Walk the Brooklyn Bridge.
7.  Go out to dinner and a movie by myself.
8.  Watch all three of the original Star Wars movies.
9.  Boil a lobster by myself for the first time.
10.  Write my will.
11.  Write a letter of apology to someone that I have wronged and send it.
12.  Experiment with molecular gastronomy.
13.  Learn to drive stick shift.
14.  Learn to make my own kimchi.
15.  Learn how to change a car tire.
16.  Go to a shooting range.
17.  Redesign "Fun and Fearless in Beantown".
18.  Launch a wedding website.
19.  Cook a three-course vegan dinner for my vegan friends.
20.  Make turducken for the first time.
21.  Climb a mountain.
22.  Complete thirty (30) hours of community service or volunteering.
23.  Finish an entire plate of Hell Pasta from East Coast Grill.
24.  Floss every day.
25.  Take a self-defense course.
26.  Make homemade ice cream for the first time.
27.  Make gnocchi for the first time.
28.  Fly a kite.
29.  Milk a cow.
30.  Participate in a city dinner crawl, which means having cocktails, appetizer, dinner, dessert and post-dinner cocktails each at a different place in one city in one night.

My goal is to complete each of these thirty items before I turn 30 on January 14, 2012!  I will definitely try to document these activities via photos and my blog where possible (although I'm sure most of you don't want to see photos of me flossing).  And I am hoping to get other people involved with me in these activities so if you're interested in any of them, let me know!

Weekend Re-Cap: Spring is in the Air

This past week, the temperatures finally started to rise just in time for the first day of spring.  Due to a combination of the cold and wet weather, along with some major personal stresses going on, I've been keeping a low profile on the social scene but this weekend couldn't have been any more different.  Here are highlights of this past fabulous weekend:

• On Friday night, B and I both went to our respective gyms and then decided to stay in for a quiet date night - pizza and a movie.  We ordered a yummy salad and a ginormous pizza from Hot Tomatoes, a place we've never tried before.  Um, delicious.  The roasted garlic on their pizza was out of this world and they offer free delivery.  I'm definitely putting Hot Tomatoes on our list of go-to delivery places.  We also snuggled up to the movie Sunshine Cleaning.  Normally Amy Adams bugs me beyond belief but she was really great in this.

• On Saturday, I spent most of the day with my friend E who has been a real rock for me lately.  We started the morning off with pedicures (hello OPI Strawberry Margarita) and then shopping in the Back Bay.  

• When I got home, I decided to try a new recipe out for KK's birthday pre-party - mini bacon and cheese toasts!  I threw a half pound of cheddar cheese (cubed), one small white onion (roughly chopped) and two slices of smoky bacon (also roughly chopped) in the food processor and pulse until it makes a thick paste.  You put a generous spread on a toast point, broil it for six minutes and done!  

• After a few generous toasts of champagne at the pre-party, we were off to the Grand Canal for an often wobbly (I was rocking new heels) but always fun evening.  Happy birthday (again) to my fabulous friend and partner-in-crime, Kim!

• On Sunday, I spent most of the day recovering from the previous evening.  I had long standing plans to attend the Kimchi Festival in West Roxbury.  To be nice, I'll say it was interesting.  That's it.  We also ran into my pregnant and ever-fabulous friend J, grabbed a slice at Upper Crust for lunch, and ordered from Comella's takeout for dinner that night.  

All in all, a perfect weekend.  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend as I did!

xoxo