Trot Trot to Boston: Part 2

Sunday morning was an absolutely beautiful morning in Boston!

Liz and I woke up early and headed downtown. My friend Courtney, who lived in Boston last summer, recommended Stephanie’s on Newbury for brunch (over and over and over again J) Sooo Stephanie’s it was! And let me tell you….it was A-MAZING.

I got the Vegetable Omelet- tomato, spinach, and feta cheese with egg whites, and it was so delish. The feta was so salty and creamy which really pulled the whole omelet together. Even the side of home fries was delicious.

Liz got the Breakfast Quesadilla- griddled flour tortilla folded with scrambled eggs, monterey jack cheese, salsa, jalapeño, fresh cilantro, black beans, and caramelized onions served with guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo. She said that hers was amazing as well! It certainly looked like a fresh and hearty breakfast.

The real star of the meal, however was the Cinnamon Oatmeal Brûlée with sautéed apples and pears. We had both eyed it on the menu and decided that for $5 we needed to try this Oatmeal Brule.

Oh. My. Goodness. The oatmeal was so creamy and sweet and cinnamony (not a word…but it WAS so cinnamony). Complete with a Brule sugary top that we had to crack with the back of our spoon to access the soupy goodness. The apples and pears must have really been rendered down, because it didn’t seem like there were big chunks of fruit. It was mostly all one consistency. I am so glad that we decided to split this side dish. GO to Stephanie’s and ORDER the Cinnamon Oatmeal Brûlée.

After Brunch, Liz and I did some window shopping.

….Creepy right? Interesting visual merchandising…can’t say I’m a fan, but it certainly caught my eye.

Liz was very patient with me as I took artsy pics pointed my camera at buildings.

After walking around a bit, I jumped in the car with my friend Courtney’s parents who were visiting Boston as well, and made the 6 hr journey back to PA.

It was so wonderful to get to experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of Boston and the Cape with my friends, and I hope I have the opportunity to go back soon!!

Trot Trot to Boston: Part 1

Two weeks ago I headed up to Boston via Bolt Bus to visit my dear friend Liz from college. I have only been to Boston once for a school trip, so I was really excited to see all of Liz's favorite places! And of course I was so excited to see Liz!! 6 weeks is way too long to go without seeing one of your best friends. Needless to say, it was a highly anticipated trip with us sending each other updates each day with a countdown to my arrival at South Station in Boston.

Friday morning, I packed up some snacks for the 6.5 hr bus ride.

Organic raisins, Truvia, Annie's Chocolate Chip Bunnies, Organic Popcorn, and 2 Apples. I also bought a Cliff Bar at work because I realized I would be missing dinner seeing as the bus left at 4pm. I arrived around 11:30pm. Liz and I chatted until like 1:30am, then it was bedtime because we were getting up bright and early to head out to the Cape!

Our day started off with a quick stop at Whole Foods/Starbucks for some Cliff Bars, Coffee, and Water to last us through the morning.

Then we headed to the Cape where we stopped at the Knob in Sippewissett. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, but a really gross day. We were super bummed about the weather actually because most of our day was going to be spent outside.

We braved the hot, sticky, gloomy day and hiked up to the knob.

Beautiful views along the way...

Liz and I on the knob! (Please excuse my crazy wind blown hair)

Liz thinking deep thoughts.

Of course we took pictures of ourselves looking out at the water.

Me thinking deep thoughts...

Back down the trail we go!

Once we were back in the car, I basically spent the entire car ride with my face pressed against my camera viewing the scenery through the view finder.

Got to snap a few nice pics of the beaches.

Oh hayyyyy. (I'm sure anyone we passed thought I was this lunatic tourist....and yea... they would have been 100% accurate.)

We stopped in Woods Hole so that I could take some more pictures and see Liz's favorite seafood spot.

Finally it was lunch time! We stopped at Falmouth Center and ate at Stone L'Oven.

I ordered the Portobello & Mozzarella Panini: "Fire Roasted Portobello Mushrooms in Balsamic Vinaigrette, Fresh Mozzarella, Fresh Basil, Caramelized Onions, Salt & Pepper on Focaccia" (except I ordered it in a whole wheat wrap instead).

 It was really yummy!! Cape Cod Potato Chips in Cape Cod seemed too appropriate not to have a few...

After lunch we walked around the little boutiques and stores in Falmouth.

I bought two Cape Cod shirts which I absolutely love. One was a frat tank that I wear every night to bed!

We headed out after I made my purchases and headed back towards Boston. We stopped at Liz's house to say hi to her family and doggies on the way. The rain kind of put a damper on our outdoor plans, so we shopped our hearts out at a local mall (I posted most of what I bought in this post).

Showers and some relaxation time were necessary before we headed to dinner in the North End of Boston. We met up with my roommate Sinead for dinner at La Famiglia Giorgio. It was soooo amazing. Literally one of the best pasta dishes I have EVER had. The restaurant has an option where you can choose a sauce and a pasta which immediately drew my interest. I ordered the Vegetarian Sauce "Sautéed olive oil, mushrooms, onions, peppers and chopped breaded Eggplant in a Marinara sauce" with the homemade whole wheat fusili. Unfortunately no pictures because I knew we were going out to the bars, so I didn't want to bring my camera.

After our delicious dinner, we went out to two different bars and stared at boys chatted with each other and just enjoyed each other's company :)

So that was Day 1 of my Boston Adventure! Stayed tuned for Day 2, tomorrow!

What I Ate Wednesday (..and Sunday and Monday and Tuesday...)

Hellooooo and welcome to another installment of What I Ate Wednesday!! You know what that means... food, fun, anddd halfway through the work week! Thank goodness :)

 

A big thank you to Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting the WIAW party every week.

Here is a glimpse of the meals and snacks I have eaten over the past week.

My mornings always start with a big bowl of overnight oats now. Typically with strawberries AND blueberries :)

 

Iced coffee on the way to work (and another once I get to work) is still an absolute must. Nobody wants a sleepy driver on the highway!

These healthy oatmeal dark chocolate chip pancakes were absolutely AMAZING. Let me tell you, I am not a pancake girl. I honestly cannot remember the last time I went to a restaurant and ordered pancakes, let alone attempted to make them in my own home, but for some reason this past weekend ALL I could think about was how much I wanted needed some hearty choc chip pancakes. Look out for this recipe later this week!!

After filling my belly with those pancakes Saturday for lunch, I wasn't that hungry for dinner. My brother and I munched on some carrots and hummus, made a fire in our fire pit, and lounged with some Magners, the most delicious hard cider ever created. It's best served in an ice cold pint glass at a pub where the cider is on tap (preferably Ireland...except it's called Bulmers there, and yeppp that's the name of my puppy!!! We named him after the cider because he was born on St. Patrick's Day).

Magners glistening in the light of the flames.

Last Thursday at work, we celebrated Bastille Day. Nope, none of us are French nor do we typically celebrate the holiday, but girls on the other side of the office made all these super cute goodies for the 4th of July, and well...we got a little jealous and wanted to have our own party. Bastille Day just happened to be the next significant holiday on the calendar, so celebrate we did!

Everyone was supposed to bring in something French, so I made organic crescent rolls with Welch's Natural Strawberry Jam and my infamous healthy dark chocolate chip oatmeal bars that I've posted about like a thousand times already.

Click here for the recipe!

buttt here's a picture just in case you fancy another look at these bad boys.

Breakfast and Snacks for work. Overnight Oatmeal in the Oikos container (all my tupperware was dirty). Hummus. Carrots. Apple. Cliff bar.

Oh, and string cheese :)

Roasted Zucchini for my salads throughout the week.

More sauteed veggies for salads and sandwiches!

Vegan Gingersnap Cookie with Cream Filling from Whole Foods. Very yummy, but I prefer the Vegan Spice Cookies with Raspberry Preserves.

My newest and my current favorite sandwich creation. Roasted veggies with goat cheese. Recipe to come soon as well!

Loadsss of Alexia's Sweet Potato Tater Tots. I am in love with these little tots of deliciousness.

The makings of a quesadilla with egg whites, peppers, mexican cheese, and tomatoes. 

 

Almost finished quesadilla with cheese crusted to the outside (done intentionally. brings your average quesadilla to a wholeeeee new level. do it now. you'll thank me later!)

Finished quesadilla with fresh guac and pico de gallo. (ugly picture sorry...)

Eaten alongside organic blue chips dipped in the same guacamole and pico de gallo!

Welpp that's about it for me. Hope you enjoyed and have a great wednesday!! :)

Tell Me:

What's the most random holiday that you've ever celebrated?

Do you ever have a random food craving?

Anybody else absolutely addicted to caffeine like I am?