Friday, October 31, 2008

Still River Cafe - Eastford, Connecticut

The other day I was chatting with a couple other foodies at work and I was trying to tell them about this amazing restaurant near my parents house. I was explaining that it would be the perfect fall Sunday get-a-way and trying to do the food justice in my explanation. My glowing recommendation missed a little, when they asked, "What's it called?" and I blanked on the name.

Boston Magazine (and my father for sending the article to me) came to the rescue this week, clearly thinking along the same lines. Their article about various Foodie Road Trips in New England has the Still River Cafe in Eastford CT as the #1 recommendation!


I agree 100%. If you are looking for something to do on a beautiful fall weekend before the cold sets in, I highly recommend heading down to Eastford. The only thing they forgot to mention is that you MUST have reservations to get into one of their 3 seatings a week, but trust me the drive is worth it.

Now I am going to try and convince JR to start taking me to the other places on the list!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Coffee - Nectar of the Gods

Have you ever stopped to think about how wonderful coffee is?

I recently had a "come-to-Jesus" moment with regards to coffee and I don't think my life will ever be the same. You see, I never liked coffee. I didn't like it's bitter taste, I didn't like the smell and I HATED coffee breath. Then everything changed.


It started with Tiramisu when I was young. Since I discovered it, at about the age of 12, I have loved Tiramisu. I made it last year, and as with most things, it's even better homemade. It took about 10 years for me to graduate from Tiramisu to Coffee ice cream, but I suppose it was eventual. I have to credit the White Mountain Creamery in Wellesley MA for their coffee flavored hard yogurt and my father-in-law for introducing it to me. Add some heath bar crunch topping and you have heaven on a cone.

I supposed my passion for coffee then followed a normal course. From super foofoo drinks like Peppermint White Mocha Frappuccinos to lattes and then on to cappuccinos. Finally one day, I was at work and exhausted and really not in the mood for a Diet Coke, and a light bulb went off, "What if coffee with cream and sugar tastes just like coffee ice cream?" And you know what? When I tried it, it did!


From there it has been a slippery slope to coffee addiction, but I think I have been smart about it. I only drink decaf (unless the caffeine is necessary) and I always keep gum on hand because coffee breath is still a major turn off. In case you haven't realized yet that coffee is officially the nectar of the Gods, here are 5 reasons why you should love it too.

1. There is a coffee to suit every tongue and personality! Bitter, sweet, creamy, foamy, part skim, full fat, hazelnut, Colombian, Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks - anyone who likes coffee has a way they like it best. All you have to do to like coffee is find out how you like it and where they serve it that way.

2. It kills hunger. I never knew this, and I am amazed that the coffee industry hasn't used it as a marketing campaign, but drinking coffee makes you less hungry. It only took a couple of weeks of drinking it regularly for me to realize that if I had coffee in the morning, I didn't eat as much. It is your instant, cheap and easy-at-the-office, diet drink!

3. It comes hi-test or low-test. At first I wondered about drinking all the caffeine in coffee, just because it tastes like a warm cup of ice cream. It didn't seem like fair trade off. Then I realized decaf coffee comes in all the great flavors of regular coffee without the extra JUICE! Amazing!

4. Coffee is a natural conversation starter. The coffee machine (you know the new Keurig Machines that make individual cups of coffee - brilliant!) is the new water cooler and a place to chit chat at work. Coffee is also the end to a good meal and a reason to linger at the dinner table and keep the conversation going.

5. Coffee is also a good choice when you need to stay awake. Let me tell you, as someone who didn't drink coffee until she was 26, when you are driving at 2AM a Diet Coke just isn't what you are craving. The warmth of a cup of joe is just so much more satisfying.


Blog Post Credits
- The inspiration for the post is entirely due to my good friend JS who realized the beauty of coffee when we worked together in NY. I thought he was crazy at the time, but now I know he was just a couple years ahead of me.
- Photos can be credited to Google Images. It's impressive enough that I felt inspired to write a freaking post, taking photos was more that I could manage.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Exciting News!

I was going to go into work early today. Then I decided to change ALL the music on my iPhone, and you know what? It takes long time for that little sucker to sync up when you change everything. So instead, I am sitting at the computer watching it tick up (316 of 669 songs) and I decided it was time to write another post apologizing for not posting more, and give my official excuse.

I have basically taken on a second job in the last 3 weeks. It was unexpected, but we went out one Sunday to look at a few condos and suddenly decided to put an offer in on one! The owners accepted and so we have been navigating the house buying waters for a couple of weeks now. Let me tell you, this is no small feat for someone as anal as I am. I mean, it took me a week and a half alone just to get my binder in order and color coded (what, you don't have one of those?)

In any case, we are super excited and hoping to close sometime in November and move in before Thanksgiving. While we aren't going to host Thanksgiving this year, in the future it won't be out of the question with my new kitchen!


If you remember my kitchen in NY you know that this is a dream come true for me. There are enough cabinets for all my stuff!

The place also has amazing outdoor space, which has become something I refuse to live without. Assume everything goes as planned, we will have a deck AND a patio!


Everyday I love living in Boston more! I can't wait to move in and have everyone over for football!

(iTunes Update - 554 of 669 - guess it's time to get ready for work.)

Sunday, October 5, 2008

So Busy!

I can't complain, we are so busy living life, that I haven't had time to write in my blog! Yes, I am cooking. Yes, I am taking photos. But I just haven't had time to sit down and put the two together.

Take this post for what it is, a cop out. I was going through some photos and I realized there were some great ones I hadn't shared yet! So here is to the end of summer and to being blissfully busy.