Some things I've been meaning to tell you about...

There have been a few outings here and there that I've been meaning to blog about so here goes...

• Hartford Baking Company. A new bakery opened up in nearby West Hartford and it is not in the center. It is on park ave which is awesome; not only because that means it is closer to me but also because it means that um... well... it is closer to me. I read about it and instantly was making plans to get there. Hubby and I stopped by on our way back from a walk at the res. And yes as soon as you walk in you are greeted by the delicious aroma of bread and coffee and sweets. YUM. We wanted to try the sticky buns but they had run out by the time we got there. Darn... But alas everything else we tried was DELISH. The coffee was yummy and the orange cranberry scone I tried was perfect. I will return.
  
• Sakura Garden opened in Bishops Corner near my office. I was treated to lunch and was not entirely disappointed. The person that I was with does not like sushi that has raw fish in it so we only tried the shrimp tempura sushi and the California roll so I can't tell you for sure how the sushi was. The buffet was exactly what you want and expect from a buffet. It was nice that you could try everything that you might not want to order from a traditional menu... it's always what I love about a buffet.
  
• Ginza opened in Wethersfield. YAY! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. There was a restaurant in the same place that offered sushi and we went there once but it wasn't the same. Ginza has a great menu and really delicious sushi and it is pretty close to home. Yay...
• Charming Charlie a new accessories store that opened in Blue back square is my new favorite place... I mentioned it in my last post but it deserves a second mention. This place is amazing... kind of like a Piercing pagoda meets Claire's for adults. When you walk in the store is arranged by color. And the store goes on forever. It is great. They have all kinds of accessories, some shoes, purses, scarfs, tops... you name it. Love it!
• Tried a new alcoholic offering. If you have headed into a package store lately you might have noticed a few offering out there... alcoholic whipped cream. We had a small get together a few weeks ago and it was the star guest. Caramel flavored alcoholic whip cream. It's called CREAM... pretty creative, no? Anyway... we weren't huge fans. This product is not supposed to be refrigerated ... ever. The flavor was okay, but there was a HUGE alcoholic aftertaste. Kinda like binaca... it stings. So... don't run out and try this... really. At $11.99 a can it is not that great. They do have a lot of flavors but I can only imagine that the medicine taste doesn't go away just because of the raspberry flavor.
  

That's all I can remember right now. As my mom always says... if I remember something else I'll call you right back...
Ciao
S

No excuses

I don't have really good excuses for why I have abandoned you. I started a couple of posts and never finished nor posted them. Tomorrow is the colossal day of thanks and I'm sure that I've probably lost all my readers so I don't have anyone to thank... but I'll go ahead anyway...

Thank you to all the bloggers out there that keep on blogging and keep me updated on your lives. I look forward to reading and really want to comment... I swear.

Thank you to facebook for giving me hours and hours of mindless stalking and renewing my fervor for checking in on people. I love to know what everyone is up to. I "like" every status... and when I finally think I might have an answer to "What's on your mind?" I suddenly have nothing to say.

Thank you to my DVR for saving and recording all my favorite shows and for always having something ready for me to watch.

Thank you to my library card for giving me an ENDLESS supply of reading materials and music to listen to (read burn).

Thank you to coffee for always being delicious and what I want.

Thank you to the new accessories store that opened between my home and my work; for giving my lots to put on my X-mas list and offering me some really great window shopping.

Thank you to the interwebs... you are truly special to me. Without you there would be no blog or bloggie friends or facebook... you are the answer to almost every and any question that comes up... you are the best.

Thank you to the colossal feast that we are going to enjoy tomorrow... my mouth is already watering.

And lastly... and most seriously... Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I hope that you enjoy some time with family and friends and remember what it is all about... I am lucky and am truly thankful for all I have.

Ciao
S

Weekend catch up

Another busy one folks.
Friday: Started the work day with a super duper long meeting in Cromwell... got back to work just in time for lunch. Awesome. Went home and chilled with hubby, made a yummy dinner of sausage and sauteed arugula and quinoa. Love it. Headed out to Windsor Locks to a bar.. yup they got em out there. Went to celebrate a colleague's engagement... hubby's teacher friend.
Saturday: Of course started the day at the gym with some water aerobics. Headed to the mall to get nylons and look for anything else worth adding to my wardrobe. Came home and did all the prerequisite wedding preparation stuff, painted my toenails, did a mini t-zone facial shaved my legs... if that is TMI... sorry. Went to a super fun wedding. Kyle and Kenny finally tied the knot! We sat at the rowdy table and had tons of fun.
Today was the end of daylight savings. Although it was awesome to have an extra hour of sleep it was super sad to look out the window at 5pm and see the darkness had set in. Ugh, wasn't quite ready to give up summer much less daylight.
Had a yummy breakfast at Agave and enjoyed the Veterans Parade downtown. Miss my downtown days.... but then I think of the traffic and the hefty parking bills... over it.
Spend the rest of the afternoon studying for marketing exam tomorrow night. Think I'll do ok.
Now headed down to enjoy some yummy homemade soup that hubby has had simmering in the crock pot all afternoon. Yummy.
Night
Ciao
S

Anniversary days

Monday hubby and I celebrated 8 years of married bliss. We've been together a lot longer than that but I think the work started after 'I do', so I don't really count the dating years. He might think differently. We both had work and I had class after work on Monday so we we celebrated on Sunday instead. We planned to go out to breakfast, only my favoritest thing to do. Not sure why, something about the selection and the coffee and the toast... So we started in Manchester but the wait was abominable. 45 minute wait for eggs! I think not. So we ventured into Glastonbury and ended at Ken's Corner Breakfast and Lunch. It was delicious. I had eggs florentine; yummy!
After breakfast we headed to Belltown Orchard to pick some apples. It is a fall tradition that we have adopted for a few years now. Belltown is great because you get to ride a tractor all around the property and stop only at the apples you want to pick. AWESOME. The apple fritters are good too. We came home and I made my famous apple crumble. Best recipe ever.
Yesterday I took that day off that I've been needing. Work is kinda hectic and I won't have the opportunity to take a day off for a while. It was a perfect battery recharging kinda day... Finished my book, ran errands, visited a friend , went to Moms house to help them mount their new TV and had dinner with them. No complaints here. Now if the rest of the week can be smooth and wonderful like yesterday, we are in business.
Ciao
S

Need another day...

I'm still feeling like the weekend got the best of me. I feel gypped. I need another day...
What would I do with another day...
* Visit some lovely friends that I miss terribly
* Clean my room... all under the bed and behind the pictures and stuff
* Hang with my mom. She has been asking for a computer purchasing date for weeks now.
* Catch up on homework (yup my inner nerd has been calling me out)
* Go to the movies
* Visit my sister and more importantly her children... oh how I miss them
* Take my camera out and shoot the world
* Clean up the computer (download all those pictures to free up some space for the new ones)
* Go to the museum to see MCEscher
* Go to the library and spend the day reading
* Two words... mani-pedi
* Shop for some new fall gear
*Make a phone date with some friends that live far and talk until the phone is too hot to hold (yes this has happened to me in the past)
* Clean out my closet (to make room for the new fall gear)
* Order a dumpster and go to town (should probable make sure hubby is not around for this one)
* Detail my car, inside and out
* Go through all the million magazines I have and get rid of the ones that I'm not gonna read.
* Get my hair did.

Ah... how I love to daydream.
Ciao
S

Quiet morning

I had a super busy weekend so I made plans to go in late today... hence I'm still at home.
There is NOTHING like a quiet morning to yourself. I slept late and then went right back to sleep. Enjoyed a yummy cup of coffee cozied up on the couch with a blankie. Spent the morning picking up around the house and goofing around on the interwebs. Basically none of the things that I meant to do. And that is just fine.
Fall is in full effect; the leaves are brilliant, there is a distinct chill in the air and the days keep on getting shorter. Instead of dreading winter I am looking forward to the cold days when we are forced to stay home watching the swirling snow storms. I am avoiding thinking about sleet, frozen rain and below zero temps and instead forcing myself to think about tea, and hot cocoa... soup and stew. Reading books like crazy and watching all the movies we never got to during the summer.
Next weekend hubby and I are celebrating our aniversary... yippee. Really looking forward to spending some quality time with the hubster.
I'm gonna go enjoy the rest of my morning.... later peeps.
Ciao
S

It's not my birthday...

I've been in a really quiet place lately. Today I'm sitting in my "office" and doing homework and other general internet/ quiet time stuff. I have my ipod on shuffle and this song comes on... (I've cut out some of the repetitive stuff)...

I’m having a private party
Ain’t no body here but me, my angels, and my guitar singin’ baby look how far we’ve come here
I’m havin’ a private party
Learning how to love me
Celebrating the woman I’ve become, yeah

I tried to call my mother, but
She didn’t get where I was going
I called my boyfriend and he said
Call me back a little later baby
I hung up the phone, I felt so alone
Started to feel a little pity
That’s when I realized that I
Gotta find the joy inside of me

I’m gonna take off all my clothes
Look at myself in the mirror
We’re gonna have a conversation
We’re gonna heal the disconnection
I don’t remember when it started
But this is where it’s gonna end
My body is beautiful and sacred
And I’m gonna celebrate it

All my life (all my life)
I’ve been looking for (I’ve been looking for)
Somebody else (else)
To make me whole (ooo)
But I had to learn the hard way (ooo)
True love began with me (ooo)
This is not ego or vanity (ooo)
I’m just celebrating me

Sometimes I’m alone but never lonely
That’s what I’ve come to realize
I’ve learned to love the quiet moments
The Sunday mornings of life
Where I can reach deep down inside
Or out into the universe
I can laugh until I cry
Or I can cry away the hurt

I’m having a private party
Ain’t no body here but me, my angels, and my guitar singin’ baby look how far we’ve come here
I’m havin’ a private party
Learning how to love me
Celebrating the woman I’ve become, yeah

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday

Everyone needs a little quiet time.

Ciao
S
(the song is by Indie Arie, Private Party)