Number 74. Eat 5 things I’ve never tried before

Last night at Lucca, figs came with my entree which I have never tried before. I know they're a fairly common food but they've always scared me for some reason. I just always assumed I wouldn't like them. Well they weren't all that bad actually. They did come wrapped in prosciutto which can pretty much make anything taste good so who knows. I would definitely be willing to try them again, on their own, so I can get a better taste. Maybe I should be trying all those other foods I always assumed I didn't like, say dates or maybe plums.

Number 82. Eat at 10 new restaurants

As I said yesterday, I was continuing on my journey of being a fat kid and went to Lucca for dinner. It was amazing, one of the best North End dinners I've had in a long time. There was 12 of us so I'm not going to list everything that we ordered. I started with the Carpaccio and Brian had the duck confit baked in a tart with caramelized onions and goat cheese. I had a few bites of the duck and it was the delicious, the carpaccio was good too but the duck was off the charts. I had the pork chop with prosciutto wrapped figs and a balsamic glaze which was fabulous. Brian had the bolognese which he said was good too. I obviously had to have desert too so I got the banana-pecan bread pudding, it was a massive block of bread pudding. Giant actually. It of course was amazing. Overall, everyone loved the restaurant and I would definitely recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

I'm somewhat behind on my posts so I have 5 new books to add to my list. At this point it's been so long since I've read some of them that I can't really write in depth reviews on all of them and let's be honest I think that would be pretty boring for all of my wonderful readers. So here's what I read: Easter Rising by Michael Patrick MacDonald, Trouble of Fools by Linda Barnes, The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah, The River King by Alice Hoffman and Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow. They were all pretty good, easy reads, nothing heavy or intense. Basically good summer reading.

Number 82. Eat at 10 new restaurants

In the past 2 weeks I've eaten at 3 new places. I've been quite the hungry little girl and I do love food! Last Friday, Brian and I went to Rocca in the South End for restaurant week. Tiffani Faison from Season one of Top Chef is the executive chef so I had high hopes going in. It didn't disappoint. The restaurant week menu was actually 4 courses instead of the normal 3. I had squid with pancetta, crostini with reggiano and olives, pork tenderloin and espresso & olive oil affogato. I felt like I was on an episode of Top Chef. Brian loved his meal too, fries with eyes, crostini with ricotta, striper and an ice cream sandwich. Everything was great and I highly recommend it.

Saturday I met up with the always fabulous E1 at Legacy Place in Dedham for a little shopping and lunch. We decided to eat at Aquitaine, they have a restaurant in the South End as well. The service was really slow but we weren't in a hurry so it wasn't a big deal. We both had the same exact meal, Chilled Tomato “Gazpacho”, Hand Cut Tagliatelle with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and peaches with whipped cream and pudding. It was excellent and I would definitely go back.

Last night I went to Gaslight in the South End with my mom for restaurant week. Once again, we were not disappointed. We both started with the Chilled White Gazpacho, then the Gnocchi with tomatoes, basil, olives and white sauce and I finished with the Summer Berry Brioche Pudding and my mom had the Maple Caramel Crepes. We both loved our meals and had a very nice dinner.

And tonight on my continuation of being a Fatty McFatty pants, I'm going to Lucca in the North End with Brian and his co workers to celebrate an upcoming wedding. I will have an update tomorrow on it!

Number 56. Grill Something w/o the aid of Brian

I spent the last week of July down the Cape with my mom and aunt and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to put on my big girl pants and grill something all by myself. The 3 of us decided we wanted steak one night so I got the grill fired up. I was actually surprised at how easy grilling is and how well I did on my first try. I only made one minor mistake, I didn't leave the grill cover open so the steaks cooked faster than expected. Not a big deal, they were just a little more done than I would have liked and didn't get the good grill marks on them. So one more thing crossed off and now I can actually grill without Brian!!

Number 19. Take my nephews to the aquarium.

On Saturday of the holiday weekend, Brian and I took Denis (4) and Billy (almost 3) to the aquarium. It was quite the adventure. We took the bus over and got there around 11:30 along with hundreds of other people. All Billy wanted to see were sharks and penguins. We walked all around and got to see sharks, jelly fish, lots of penguins, some seahorses and played around in the "petting zoo" part. The boys loved it.

Denis was highly distracted by the giant sea turtle

Checking out the harbor seals

Posing for the camera

We ended the day with a little lunch and some Golden Tee

Number 5. Read 25 new books

Over the weekend I finished another book, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells. Its the same author who wrote Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood which I've never read. The book was on a summer reading list from Real Simple magazine. It was pretty good, its about a girl from Louisiana growing up in the '60s and '70s who has to deal with with death, heart break, love, growing up and figuring out her life. I thought it was great, a nice summer read and would definitely recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

I finished another book last weekend, Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz. It's about a woman who finds out after her husband suddenly dies that he had been having affairs for most of their marriage. I know it sounds depressing but it was really good. It's a quick read and you tend to forget that it's a true story when you're reading. I definitely recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

As I mentioned in my last post, Amy lent me 4 books and I've read one so far. Right before she lent me the books I went on a requesting spree at the library and of course 3 books came in all at once. All of a sudden I had 7 books to read. So I put the ones Amy gave me to the side and dove into the library books so that I could have them back on time. I finished the Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe and absolutely loved it. I read it in 3 days and I lent it to my mom to read too. It's set in the early '90s and flashes back to the late 1600s and early 1700s during the Salem Witch Trials. A woman going to graduate school at Harvard spends the summer cleaning out her grandmothers house in Salem after she passes away. She finds a key with the name Deliverance Dane on it and then discovers there's a book written by her and she has to find it. If I go into too much detail it would give the story away but if you like historical fiction, a little drama and books about New England I highly recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

I'm rather behind on updating this. I've read 2 more books. Amy lent me 4 books back at the beginning of the month and I read one the very next day. Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay, now I hate to critique a book that someone lent me since they obviously liked it enough to recommend it to someone but I just didn't really like it. It's set in the '70s about a women who lives with her husband, kids and in laws. Her family life is pretty crappy and it's overall a rather depressing book. That's not why I didn't like it, I can take depressing. I just thought the way it was written was a little confusing and I really didn't like the ending, it didn't come to a resolution really which bothers me. Oh well, I guess you can't like them all right?

Number 90. Buy bike and snowboard helmets. In progress.

Saturday Brian and I went to Landmark Center over by Fenway and REI was having a sale. I picked up a bike helmet and a bike lock for pretty cheap. This is the helmet except mine doesn't have the pink flames. It was only sale for around $40 which apparently is pretty cheap. Now I can ride to the gym and go on longer rides with Brian.

Number 78. Buy a cute & functional work bag.

I took Friday off and went down to Hingham to meet Brian and do a little shopping. I started at Old Navy which was rather disappointing then moved on to Marshalls which was way more successful. I bought some cute work clothes and on my way to the dressing I found this:


Isn't it fabulous and so professional looking?!? I absolutely adore it and it was only $25! Score!

Number 5. Read 25 Books

On Amy's advise I read "This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper. It's about a guy who walks in on his wife cheating on him, his father dies and he has to sit Shiva with his somewhat crazy family for 7 days. I know it doesn't sound funny but it actually is. I liked it a lot, it's a quick read too so it's nice for a beach day.

Number 74. Eat 5 things I've never tried before

I actually forgot about this one, I was at a cookout a few weeks ago with some friends and the host's parents were there. His Dad came around with a plate asking people to try the "steak" of course I did and it was great. After I ate I found out it was venison. I guess the dad always tells people it's steak so that they'll try it without prejudice. Well it worked. I got to try a new food without even knowing it. I really recommend people try it.

Numer 5. Read 25 books

I read the last Dennis Lehane book, "Prayers for Rain" and at this point there's much more to say about his books. It was very good, similar theme and style as his other ones. On Amy's suggestion, I got "This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper. If anyone has any more suggestions let me know!