Getaway to Portland, ME

Last weekend Tom whisked me away on a short two hour ride to Portland, Maine. The short trip was a surprise Christmas present, and felt more like a week-long vacation than just a quick overnight nearby! It was fantastic :)

Saturday:
We hit the road around 10 am with hopes to make it to Portland just in time for our 12 pm check-in. We stayed at the Downtown Waterfront Residence Inn. The hotel was great! The staff was friendly, the room was beautiful, the waterfront view was very nice (I imagine its gorgeous during the summer, it was pretty foggy while we were there), and it had a great location. Highly recommended.

Once we checked in we headed out for some food. We had dinner reservations later so we didn't want to fill up too much, so we went in search for oysters! We ended up at Js Oyster, a seafood hot-spot in the Old Port area.

The restaurant is basically a huge wraparound bar, and it was filled with locals when we walked in. Always a good sign! We managed to grab two seats together and ordered our first round of oysters.

Dark photo of round 1

We ended up ordering 3 baker's dozens (39 in total!) and could have easily went for more. We are oyster monsters! The quality of the oysters was different on each batch -- the second batch was delicious while the first was lacking.

Round 2!

Round 3, plus a bloody Mary

The oysters are really cheap, and you definitely get what you pay for. The staff cracks open the oysters for you, but it's your job to do the rest -- cutting through the muscle, removing any grit or shell, and getting rid of any little "extras" you might find.

Like a little crab!

After lunch we walked around Old Port, stopping in a variety of different specialty shops. Downtown Portland is so cute and the whole weekend was really reminiscent of Iceland for me. The combination of brick buildings, cobblestone, a blanket of snow covering everything and a foggy sky really brought me back to our time walking around Reykjavik.

At 4:00 it was time for our massage appointments!!! I was SO excited about this and really needed a massage. This was only the 2nd I've ever gotten and was a reminder that I should make somewhat regular massages a priority. The massage was perfect. That's all I'll say about that :)

After the massages we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We had a 7:30 reservation at Street & Company and to say I was excited is an understatement! The restaurant is located on one of the small cobblestone side streets downtown. I loved that it felt equally modern and rustic at the same time and was thrilled that we were seated above the wide open kitchen.

We started the meal with some bread, butter, salt and in-house ground pepper! Yum. For just $4 Street & Co. offers a series of unique "tastes" -- we went with two: the Maine shrimp stuffed egg and the salt cod with peppers. Both were just delicious.

For our entree we of course went with the "Lobster Diavolo" for two. I knew what to expect from the dozens of photos of the dish on yelp but was still totally overwhelmed when it got to the table. A huge steaming pan was overflowing with linguine, clams, mussels, calamari and topped with a huge lobster split down the middle. A shellfish lover's dream! The spicy red sauce was delicious and all of the fish was cooked to perfection. Definitely one of the best shellfish meals I've ever had.

I thought I was too full for dessert (we decided to skip it at Street & Co.) but some unknown forced sucked me into the highly rated gelato shop down the street. We got a small specialty gelato to share -- it was a wonderful end to a wonderful day.

Sunday:
On Sunday we slept in, but still made it downstairs in time for the continental breakfast! Always a big feat for me and Tom.

After breakfast we went back upstairs to relax and get ready until check out. The Shipyard Brewery was right next to our hotel so we decided to stop in for a tour. It wasn't much of a tour, but it was still a very cool experience!

There was a short film (which we missed most of) and then we were taken to the bottling line. This was actually the first time I saw the bottling line in action and it was pretty cool to see.

Afterward we got to taste a bunch of their draft beers, many of which I hadn't tried before. I ended up buying a 4-pack of 22 oz bottles to take home with me!

From the brewery we walked over to Eventide Oyster Company for lunch. Yep, more oysters! We loved the restaurant as soon as we walked in. It was very small, with a main bar, a window bar and just 1 or 2 small tables. We grabbed two seats at the main bar overlooking the big oyster ice bed. So cool!

We started with 2 each of the Maine oysters. They were so delicious. You could definitely tell the difference between these oysters and the ones at Js!

We also ordered two lobster rolls (a hot and cold version) and a side of fried squashed fingerling potatoes. The portions were on the smaller side, but the quality of food was really wonderful.

We finished up with a homemade ice cream sandwich. Yummmmmm!!!

That finished up our little Portland getaway and it was back to Boston in time for the Golden Globes! I have two questions: why didn't someone tell Lena Dunham to get rid of her shoes? and where the F was Julia Roberts hiding??

2013: Make an Investment

2012 was my year of getting used to things. Getting used to a full time job. Getting used to no longer being a college student. Getting used to a new neighborhood. Getting used to a new relationship. I spent a lot of time struggling to find the balance between these things. As the year came to a close, I felt like I was finally in a good place. I had prioritized the different aspects of my life in such a way that I was comfortable and happy. Great. So what's next?

This year I want to elevate that comfort and happiness by making real investments in those things most important to me. I want to invest in my career, in my relationships, and in my self. I've set some guidelines and specific goals for the year, knowing that making progress and change does not start and stop on a certain day. I am very aware that I likely will not achieve everything I put on this list, but it's equally as important for me to just recognize that these things are a priority. Even a small step is a step in the right direction.

in·vest  

/inˈvest/

Verb Devote (one's time, effort, or energy) to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

Professional Investments

- Develop my professional network

- Attend more networking events: once every other month

- Look into nonprofit board membership

- Find an organization outside of work to get involved in

- Volunteer: once every other month, reissue Boston Cares membership

- Be more vocal and confident at work, in general

Social Investments

- Make time for old friends and family: schedule monthly/every other month phone calls and visits to NY

- Continue trying to make new [REAL] friendships

- See college friends in Boston at least every other week

- Allow endings

- Continue focusing on open communication in all relationships

- Show gratitude for the people I love

Personal Investments

- Focus on diminishing one bad habit: pen chewing, gross I know

- Get serious about my skin: consider topical/oral medication, stop getting frustrated, see a dermatologist

- Make travel plans (near and far)

- Read 30 books
- Write 100 yelp reviews

- Run the Tufts 10K in around the same time at 2010 (66 minutes)

- Run at least 5 races

- Develop a food shopping plan and stick to it

- Make monthly person goals

- Lose weight (still considering my plan for this, but this is a major 2013 goal for me)

- Unplug more often: keep my work e-mail off my phone unless necessary, read before bed instead of watching TV

- Discover or rediscover a fitness activity I enjoy (zumba?!)

- Continue to write in this blog!

I'm excited about this year. Yay!

Refreshed

I had such an amazing past few weeks. I feel totally refreshed and happy. Yay!

My last day of work was December 21st and I took a nice, long, unplugged break. I went home to NY and spent lots of time with my family and friends. The holidays were filled with wonderful food as usual and I got myself some awesome gifts. Some foodie highlights were: a silpat mat, a salad chopper, TWO water infusers (pitcher and bottle), an avocado slicer, and an immersion blender! I can't wait to use all my new things :) Here's some photos from the Christmas Eve and Christmas:

Cookies & milk for Santa, tomatoes for the reindeer...ha!

While in NY I met up with two of my good friends from my semester abroad. My friends live in Chicago and LA so I haven't seen them since South Africa -- so crazy! We met up in NYC to go to EATALY!!! I've been wanting to go to Eataly since the second I read about it's opening and finally got my chance. Eataly, created by Mario Batali (WHO TWEETED AT ME!!), is a gigantic indoor Italian market on Fifth Avenue. Within the market are a few restaurants, all of which use the ingredients sold in house for their dishes.

Everything is super high quality and just plain a-maaazing. We had lunch at the pizza & pasta restaurant. I ordered an incredible housemade tagliatelle and short rib dish.

We also spent some time at the rooftop bar drinking house-brewed ales. Yum.

 

We couldn't resist grabbing some gelato on the way out, even though it was like 20 degrees outside!

After Eataly we walked over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and visit the NBC store. I'm happy I got to see the tree even though it was after Christmas. Still fun!

I came back to Boston on the 29th for my roommate's birthday and New Years Eve. A bunch of my friends from college came to visit and the whole weekend was just really amazing. I was so happy to see everyone.

Side note: I am very pleased with my hair in this photo!

We had a party at my apartment for NYE and it was such a success! I was in charge of food (with TONS of help from a few friends) and I think it all came out great!! On the menu was: Greek salad cucumber bites, bacon wrapped dates stuffed with bleu cheese, pigs in a blanket, tabouli, hummus and guacamole, shrimp cocktail, buffalo chicken dip, cheese and peperoni flatbread pizza squares, and cookies and mini cupcakes for dessert. The party itself was so fun -- it was easily the best NYE I've had. Tom and I were beer pong champions and I was soo happy my sister and her boyfriend decided to come to Boston for the party! The only thing I would have changed is to have taken some pictures!! Here are the few I have:

Greek salad bites

up close

My sister stayed in Boston the next day and we all went out to Island Creek Oyster Bar for dinner. Too good.

Now that the extra indulgent holidays are over I'm trying to incorporate the health back into my life. Starting with today:

Big salad for lunch

Salmon over TJ's 4-grain blend with spinach and tomatoes for dinner

That's it for now. I'll be back soon with some goals for the year!!