Aragosta Bar and Bistro // Boston Waterfront

Last week I dined at Aragosta Bar & Bistro for the first time with my good friend Melanie of Young Women in Digital. Having just recently heard of the restaurant myself, I wanted to share our experience so you could be sure to include Aragosta on your list of must-try restaurants in Boston!

Located on Boston’s waterfront at the Battery Wharf Hotel, Aragosta flaunts a beautiful view of the harbor from their gorgeous outdoor terrace. If the weather is right, like it was last week, a stroll through the North End is the perfect way to get there. Of course, my stroll was more of a speed walk, as in typical Amy-fashion I was running a bit late that evening!

The first thing we saw upon arrival at Aragosta was the outdoor terrace, which features urban fire pits and comfy seating. The fire pits add a fun flare to the restaurant as guests can enjoy make-your-own s’mores and cheese fondue from the menu! The terrace continues along to the back of the restaurant where you can enjoy your meal while looking out over the water. The outdoor seating is perfect for dining or drinks in the spring and summer!

Once inside the restaurant, we received exceptional service, and a menu that was to die for! We started with the Tomato & Buratta Flatbread and the Mushroom & Gorgonzola Flatbread which were available in half portions so that we got to enjoy both of them. And enjoy them we did! Upon our waiter’s suggestion, we ordered the lobster risotto to share next. As a lobster lover, I can’t even tell you how grateful I was for the suggestion. Every single bite was mouthwatering, and I wish that I had another bowl of it in front of me right now!

For our main meal, Melanie and I both decided on the Braised Short Ribs which were served with vanilla bean & lobster smashed potatoes, (seriously can’t get enough lobster!) steakhouse spinach, and fried leeks. The short ribs were cooked to perfection, and the vegetables were so full of flavor - I would order this meal again in a heartbeat!

While we barely left any room it, we knew that the only way to complete our experience at Aragosta was to try the dessert. Melanie chose the Chef’s Creme Brûlée with Almond Biscotti, and I had the Sorbetto with Mini North End Cookies. The sorbetto was served in 3 flavors - limoncello, raspberry, and blood orange. Even after enjoying our appetizers and main meal, it was easy to finish every last bite of these delectable desserts.

I highly recommend visiting Aragosta Bar & Bistro, especially now that the nice weather is here. I will most certainly be going back to enjoy my meal out on the terrace and to give those s’mores a try!

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BCAE Local Love 2015

Back in February, I attended the 2nd annual Local Love Market at the Boston Center for Adult Education. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the BCAE and all of the classes they offer, but there is something extra special about this event that they host. Vendors from in and around Boston come together to sell their local goods in one place, and shoppers get to spend an afternoon indulging in the beautiful items they have to offer. Many of the booths feature handmade goods, which as a DIYer is something I really appreciate. For the second year in a row I was happy to support the BCAE by photographing the event for them, and now I want to share some of those photos with you!

Last year at Local Love, I met the ever-talented calligrapher Julie of Posh & Prep, and have been enjoying her work via Instagram ever since. I was so happy to see her back at the market this year with a whole new array of fabulous prints and products. Julie not only sells these items in her Etsy shop, but also recently started selling at Neatly Nested Design & Decor, one of my favorite shops in South Boston. If you're looking for some serious home decor inspiration you should follow them on Instagram too - trust me, you're going to love every single photo they post!

Another favorite vendor of mine was Niche Urban Garden Supply. They had a beautiful display of plants, miniature gardens, and terrariums set up, and I really had to resist bringing all of them home! PS did you know that Niche offers gardening workshops? I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate spring…sign me up!

One of the booths that I spent the most time perusing was that of BCAE instructor, Loni Butera. I just could not get over how clever her sea glass art prints were! I spent far too long debating on which print to buy, but finally chose one that featured the most adorable pair of sea turtles I had ever seen. I’ll be keeping an eye out for Loni’s artwork in the future because just writing this post makes me want another print!

Of course I could not write a blog post about a BCAE event without mentioning my dear friend and expert flea market hunter, Becky of Pop & Circumstance. Becky’s business is all about making life beautiful with unique design and decor pieces that she handpicks or handmakes and sells in her blog shop. She truly has an eye for beauty, and you can see that in each charming piece that she had displayed at the Local Love market. Find her on Instagram for your daily dose of prettiness.

And, finally, a Local Love Market just wouldn’t be complete without macarons! Cameo Macaron returned again this year with their delicious sweets. If you’re in the city, keep an eye out for their food truck!

I love that through this event, the BCAE has introduced me to so many makers within the Boston community, and I'm already looking forward to Local Love 2016! 

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Del Frisco's Grille // Chestnut Hill

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went out for dinner at Del Frisco's Grille in Chestnut Hill for the first time, and I enjoyed it so much that I just had to tell you all about it. The location is brand new, having just opened in November, and I really had no idea what to expect. When we walked inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the restaurant's atmosphere, which gave off a modern upscale yet casual vibe. It turns out that this vibe makes sense, as Del Frisco's Grille is the more casual counterpart to the Del Frisco's in the Seaport, and features a different menu with lower price points.

The service we received during dinner was spectacular. Our waitress, Judy, was very personable and attentive to us the whole evening. We also had the pleasure of meeting the general manager, Sean Mullen, who was happy to tell us all about the restaurant and items on the menu. Here's an insider secret… May is National Burger month and Del Frisco's Grille will be serving up The New England Burger just for the occasion. The burger is topped off with 2oz of lobster meat, a fresh egg, tarragon aioli and manchego cheese, and is only going to be available at the Chestnut Hill location. You'll know where to find me come May!

While we sipped on yummy drinks, Sean sent over some of his favorite appetizers for us to snack on. We tried the Cheesesteak Eggrolls, Ahi Tacos, and Jumbo Lump Crabcake. While they were all delicious, Kevin and I both agreed that the Cheesesteak Eggrolls were our absolute favorite! For the main course, I had the Bay of Fundy Salmon with arugula-citrus salad, and I loved it! You really can't go wrong with salmon, but the pairing of the citrus salad made it that much better.

When I go out to dinner, hard as I try, I don't typically leave enough room for dessert. But, after one look at this dessert menu I knew that turning it down wasn't an option. Without any hesitation, we decided on the Coconut Cream Pie, which came with our waitresses highest recommendation. It was definitely a dessert meant for sharing and it was amazing! I was so happy with our entire experience at Del Frisco's Grille and I can't wait to stop in again soon!

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Visiting California: Big Sur Road Trip

I'm so excited to be sharing more about my California trip with you today, especially because it gave me a chance to look through all my photos again and remember how amazing it was! Since we went into the trip without a set itinerary, we were able to make plans on a whim while we were there. On the second day, the gorgeous weather convinced us that we needed to see the coast. And so began our drive to the Big Sur! 

Before getting too far, we made our first pit stop at the adorable Black Bear Diner in Gilroy, CA for breakfast and coffee. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was so fun. How cute is the little bear paw on the napkins?

After breakfast, our journey to the Big Sur really began. We weren't exactly sure where the Big Sur started, but we made our way to Carmel assuming that we'd know it when we saw it. And, when we arrived at Carmel River State Beach, we knew. We pulled right over to take our shoes off and take in the scenery. It was difficult to leave the beach, but we knew there was even more to see ahead of us.

While we didn't drive the entire 90 miles of the Big Sur, we did spend a good 4 hours driving / pulling over to make the most of each stop. It was so hard to not pull over every 5 minutes because the views were so breathtaking! I think my favorite view was of the Bixby Creek Bridge in Monterey. It was so beautiful, and I wasn't surprised to learn that it is one of the most photographed bridges on the Pacific Coast. If you look closely, you can see it in the photo below.

I seriously couldn't get over the scenery along the Big Sur, and could have driven along that road forever! But, as evening was quickly approaching we decided to make our last stop at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. It was here that I was able to lay my eyes on Redwood trees for the very first time, and they are incredible! This particular tree, The Colonial Tree, is 1,200 years old and is about 27 feet around! Although it wasn't the tallest tree in the park, because as the park ranger told us, it had been struck by lighting multiple times. Still an impressive sight!

The best part about our Big Sur drive was that when we reached our final destination and it was time to head home, we were able to turn the car around and see it all again from the other direction! I would absolutely love to go back to California and drive the full 90 miles of the Big Sur. It is 100% worthy of a bucket list, and if you're heading to the Pacific Coast, do yourself a favor and add it to your itinerary!

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Visiting California: A Trip to Swanson Vineyards

Last week I traveled to San Francisco for the very first time, and it was truly amazing! Before my trip I asked for recommendations on places to visit while in California, and nearly everyone I spoke with said that Napa Valley was an absolute must. I'm so glad that I took the advice, and now I'm going to tell you the same thing ... if you're in the area, I promise that you will fall in love with Napa!

Before traveling, I spent some time looking into which vineyards to visit while in Napa. When I came across the website for Swanson Vineyards, I knew I had found the perfect vineyard for my BFF and myself to visit. My instincts proved to be correct as soon as we arrived in Napa and pulled into the vineyard. The building was absolutely adorable, and we were already in heaven before we even stepped inside.

We were greeted in the yard by Lin, our fabulous salonniére for the day, and then the fun began. The family-owned Swanson Vineyards consists of two tasting rooms, The Salon and The Sip Shoppe. Our tasting was being held in the Sip Shoppe, but Lin gave us a quick tour of the gorgeous Salon before we got started. The tasting room was furnished with beautiful pieces from all over the world. My favorite being the unique chairs and the ornate chandelier. The amazing pink/coral walls were covered with paintings by California artist Ira Yeager and they really added to the Paris flair of The Salon. Can't you just imagine how fun it would be to have a wine tasting here with a group of your girlfriends??

When we finished up in The Salon, Lin brought us over to the Sip Shoppe, and I was charmed instantly. Described as "a candy store for adults", there was so much to love about this space. The family heritage radiates through The Sip Shoppe with it's New Orleans style, inspired by fifth generation New Orleanian Elizabeth Swanson (wife of founder Clarke Swanson). We were pleasantly surprised when Lin pointed out that the walls of the Sip Shoppe weren't walls at all, and that we were actually inside a faux circus tent! Continuing with the theme, the jazz music playing throughout the tent provided the perfect atmosphere for sipping wine.

During our tasting we sampled 5 different wines: Rosato 2012 (from the Sip Shoppes secret stash), Chardonnay 2012, Merlot 2010, Alexis Cabernet 2010 (served with delicious Alexis Bon Bons), and Tardif 2007. I can honestly say that I loved each one of them, and even though I typically prefer white wine, I thought the merlot was to die for! My absolute favorite though, was the Tardif 2007, a late harvest chardonnay. It has the distinct taste of sweet honey which I learned was caused by noble rot, a form of botrytis cinerea, a type of mold that affects white grapes. These grapes are then handpicked at a specific time and used to create this sweet wine! If you like sweet wines, the Tardif comes with my highest recommendation!

We had such an amazing time at Swanson Vineyards, and if I'm ever back in the Napa Valley area, I wouldn't hesitate to stop in again. If you find yourself in Napa Valley, and really why wouldn't you, be sure to visit and tell them Amy sent you!

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Kelly's Colorful Baby Shower

I'm so excited to finally be sharing some big, huge, exciting news here today! This April, my sister Kelly is having a baby! Kelly and her husband Joe are going to be a Mom and Dad for the first time which means I'm going to be an auntie for the very first time too! My siblings, parents, and I are all jumping out of our skin with excitement to meet this little one, and April can't come soon enough! What's making the anticipation even greater, is that we don't know whether we'll be meeting a little boy or a little girl. Whichever it is, I can't wait!
A few weeks ago we threw Kelly a colorful-themed baby shower. Since we don't know the gender of the baby, we didn't want to go too pink or too blue, so we decided multicolor decorations would be fun. Before the shower, we had a craft night with the future aunties and future grandmothers and made one of my favorite craft projects for the occasion. Using this tutorial from Shoes Off Please, we made an adorable fringe tassel garland out of tissue paper that served as a backdrop for the gift opening. 
One of my biggest contributions to the shower was the baking of the cakes and cupcakes. Serving 80 guests was a tall order, but 14 layers for 3 colorful cakes, and 30 cupcakes later, I was really happy with how they turned out! I chose to frost the cakes with homemade white buttercream frosting so that the colorful layers inside would be a surprise. Each cake was decorated with a garland of giant pom poms and the cupcakes with mini pom poms that resembled something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Cute, right?

I really loved the favors that we offered all the guests at the shower. My mother made batches upon batches of marshmallow popcorn balls that we added a pop stick to and packaged in cellophane bags wrapped with colorful craft tape. I designed circle tags that read "Ready to Pop!" that I cut out with the amazing 1.5" circle punch tool I got from Michael's, and we stuck a tag on each popcorn pop. They were cute and delicious! 
As an activity at the shower, each guest received a Baby Prediction card where they made guesses about the baby's gender, weight, birth date, etc... and also offered advice for the parents and well wishes for the baby. After the cards were filled out, guests hung them on a string with baby clothespins, using a blue pin if they had guessed "boy" and a pink pin if they had guessed "girl". At the end of the shower it seemed to be pretty 50/50 between boy and girl predictions! Kelly and Joe were blessed to have received so many amazing gifts for their new baby at the shower, and everyone had a really great time. 

And now for some more fun news! After a long break, I've decided to dust off the ole Etsy shop and I'm now offering these prints there. If you are planning a baby shower, these prints would make the perfect addition to the special occasion! I'm also offering an 8x10 art print of a baby and mommy giraffe that would totally look adorable in any nursery. So head on over to my shop and check them out! Hooray for babies!!

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Local Love Market at BCAE

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Local Love market at the BCAE, and I have to say that I was really impressed by the event! Local vendors had booths set up throughout the building displaying beautiful products that were available for sale to everyone who strolled through. Walking from table to table, I felt as though I was wandering through a virtual Pinterest board (aka a bloggers dream)! The vendors themselves were all so personable and happy to talk about their work, that I felt such a sense of community among the creative group. 

One of my favorite vendors was Pollen Floral Design, because what girl can resist such a beautiful display as this? Not only were the flower arrangements gorgeous, but Krissy (the gal behind Pollen) had also created an amazing photo booth for shoppers to set up Instagram shots. Of course, I had to take advantage of that, and took home a beautiful bouquet for myself as well!

Some of the other fabulous vendors that I really enjoyed seeing were Adjewelry (see amazing jewelry below), Vessel Candle Co (who had some of the best smelling soy candles I've ever come across), Olives & Grace (and their amazing custom gift boxes), Sarah Wormann Art (see gorgeous prints below), ELM Events (and their LOVE-ly photo booth), and Posh and Prep (see her adorable Valentine prints below).

And, of course, one of my all-time favorite vendors at the Local Love market was my girl, Becky of Pop & Circumstance! Her collection of handmade and vintage items always look so gorgeous and blend together seamlessly. I think I could have spent all afternoon in her corner of the market. Her contribution to the market was so impressive, and she's definitely someone to keep an eye on for future pop-up shops! 

I'm very much looking forward to attending more pop-up shops in the Boston area, especially if they're as well done as this one was. If you attended the Local Love market, I'd love to know what goods you went home with!

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A Weekend Visit to Burlington Vermont

Have you ever visited the city of Burlington, Vermont? There's so much to see and do there and it's a great place to go when you need a break from city life! I've been there more times than I can count because my best friend lived there for a little while after college, and I would visit her often. Now we go back every now and then to visit the friends she made there, and to go snowboarding of course! A couple of weekends ago we made the 4 hour trip north to see one of our favorite bands, The Dirty Heads, who were performing there alongside Shiny Toy Guns. The show wasn't until Monday night, so in the meantime we were able to make the most of what Vermont has to offer.

As a quick summary, our weekend consisted of snowboarding at Smuggler's Notch, ( 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 ) where the snow was amazing and the fog ( 3 ) was out of control! You can't go to Burlington without taking a stroll down Church Street downtown. We stopped in at Uncommon Grounds ( 5 ) for some delicious coffee and then were surprised with free coconut macaroons when the manager randomly asked a trivia question to everyone in the shop and we were the only ones to venture a guess. Even though we got the answer wrong, we got to enjoy the delicious treats just for trying! There are quite a few statues along Church street, including this one of blues & jazz icon, Big Joe Burrell ( 6 ). Before the show on Monday night, we stopped in at El Cortijo for burritos and margaritas ( 7 // 8 ). Everything was delicious! Finally, we made it to the show at Higher Ground, and The Dirty Heads rocked it ( 9 )! After the show we made the long trek home so that we could be at work the next morning (eek!). 

During our short weekend trip, we managed to do a lot of eating. Our first night there we went out for Vietnamese food at Pho Hong in Burlington. The next evening we enjoyed delicious pub fair and yummy beers at the Vermont Pub & Brewery. After having breakfast (if that's what you call coffee and macaroons) on Monday we made our way to The Skinny Pancake for crepes. If you are ever in Burlington, you have to try this place out! The menu alone is enough to make you drool! I enjoyed a bacon egg and cheese crepe, and my friend tried the cheesy pesto one, both with a tall glass of apple cider and both absolutely delicious!

Downtown Vermont is so colorful and full of life, and it was so well represented in this brand new mural painted on the side of a Church Street Building. The mural wasn't there the last time I visited Burlington, and it stopped me in my tracks when I spotted it. It pretty much sums up Vermont in a nutshell and I love it!

One of our last stops downtown before heading to the show was this INCREDIBLE store called Bennington Potters. It's so hard to walk in and browse without staying for at least an hour. The store is full of the most adorable products I have ever seen. Everything is so colorful and gorgeous, and I always leave wishing I could have bought the whole store. If you plan on doing some shopping while in Burlington, make sure to add this place to your list!

Needless to say, we had an amazing, jam-packed, fun filled weekend in Vermont and I'm looking forward to the next trip back. If you've been to Burlington, I'd love to hear your favorite places to visit so I can check them out next time I go!

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