And we're back!

I have been the most slacking blogger of all time. Life got rolling around me and I didn't take the time to stop and write it down. So this post will be a mini-photo collage/update of the last 2 weeks.

February 2 - celebrated my friend Megan's birthday. We had dinner at Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square.  They have delicious food and fun, old-school 20's style drinks (read lots of gin and bitters - yum!). We then headed out to miniBar and CityBar for more drinks and fun. A great night overall!

February 3 -  Superbowl! What a crazy game, right? Glad the Ravens one, but truthfully, I wasn't that invested in the game. The hubster made his amazing gumbo - chicken, andouille sausage, dirty rice, peppers, beans, tomatoes...delicious! And he made so much we ate for days.

February 5 - Mumford and Sons concert!  Seriously, one of the best concerts I have been to. These guys are amazing musicians and singers. Even though I didn't know every single song (I do now!), I still found myself singing along. They came out at the end and sang a cappella in front of us...blew my mind!  Go see them if you get the chance!

February 6 - the packing party that didn't happen. Our friends Lindsay and Rob just bought a house. We planned on going over to help pack, with a little dinner and wine. The dinner and wine happened, but no packing...oops!  But we had Rob's famous guacamole and it lived up to its billing. However, the recipe's a secret, so I can only give out the picture:

February 8-10 - NEMO!  We were supposed to go skiing in Maine that weekend, but Winter Storm Nemo had other plans. 24 inches fell in Boston in 24 hours. Shut down the T, parking ban and travel bans were in effect. It was wild!

Since we were literally snowed in on Friday night, I thought it was fitting to make a nice winter veggie chili for dinner.  I found it in one of the Food&Wine Daily emails.  It was a filling, hearty chili with a nice little kick of spice. We topped it with a dollop of Greek yogurt and cilantro. You can serve with rice, but we omitted that; it was filling enough without the extra carbs! Gary actually liked it better than regular stew. A healthy, do-again recipe!

Winter Vegetable Chili

February 13 - welcome to the world Shelby Marie!  One of my best friends in the entire world, Sarah, had her beautiful baby girl at 9:37pm on this night. Could not be more excited or happy!  Can't wait to see them in 2 weeks!

 

 February 14 - Happy Valentine's Day! Gary and I went to Island Creek Oyster Bar for a very late dinner. ICOB is one of the sister restaurants of Eastern Standard and is also in Kenmore Square. The vibe there was very chill, a little less formal than ES, which was great, especially since I had come straight from work and looked kind of a hot mess. We had a dozen local oysters:  Island Creek oysters from Duxbury, MA, Icabod Flat oysters from Plymouth, MA, and Big Rock oysters from E. Dennis, MA.  So fresh! The oysters and the oyster sliders were our favorite parts of the meal. I'm still trying to figure out how to recreate the sliders. They were served on a brioche roll with lime chili aioli. The best sliders of any kind I've ever had.  Gary got the Rhode Island Fluke, white fish on a bed of risotto. I had the scallops with broccoli rabe and red-eye gravy. We felt like the entrees were ok, but nothing overly spectacular. I ordered the lemon tart for dessert. Nice and light, tart, and light crisp crust. Overall, we will definitely be back, particularly for the fresh oysters and sliders!

February 15 - Baby Shower for Baby D! My friend Lindsey is due in May, so our coworkers decided to throw her a baby shower. There were about a dozen of us and a night full of good food, drinks (except the expectant mother of course!) and lots of laughs.  Our guest of honor made cute little glass jars of homemade granola as thank you gifts. Delicious! Cranberries, nuts, and orange zest. She was kind enough to share the recipe with me, which I'll hopefully get to play with soon and have a post later :)

Unfortunately, there were lot of things going on, but not a lot of gym time. It's been a frustrating 2 weeks in that respect. But I realize I have to keep pressing forward and start each day with a  positive attitude. There's 10 weeks till Nashville and I can do this!  Also, sign up for the Chicago Marathon is Tuesday!!!  That will make it even more real and make me know it's time to get to work. I'm not sure if other people have so much difficulty with getting into habits, but if you do, please tell me how you've beaten it!

Happy Sunday! Will try to get another post up later tonight :)