I attended the Ehlers Estate Tasting at the Mandarin Oriental. Check out my recap on the Boston Day Book!

I spent ALL day on Tuesday doing laundry.  Then I spent Wednesday and Thursday trying to put all of the clean clothes away. When you boycott laundry for nearly 3 weeks, the results won’t be pretty.

I also got sick AGAIN. Now I’m suffering from a head cold.  I don’t get it: I’m in the midst of job searching.  I rarely leave the house. I get tons of sleep and do my best to be healthy. Why am I sick again? Oh well, I’ve stocked up on Sudafed and throat lozenges so I’ll be good as new in no time.

Miles had fun visiting my parents while I spent Tuesday hard at work, doing laundry and running on my parents’ treadmill.

On Wednesday morning, I had a cup of coffee but was rushed out the door before I could eat breakfast!  I filled my coat pocket with baby carrots and nibbled while I ran errands.  I was starving when I got home around 2:15 pm so I needed a huge and healthy lunch.

I got creative and made a Meatball Salad with turkey meatballs, spinach, peppers, cucumbers, shredded cheese, and Balsamic Vinaigrette.  It was really tasty and was exactly what I needed to refuel after a less than stellar breakfast.

This salad gave me enough energy to get my stuff together and head to the gym for a monster run on the treadmill.  I felt strong and speedy.  Great runs really boost my spirits!

There was a lot of leftover beef from Sunday’s chili making so I decided to make homemade burgers for dinner on Wednesday night.

Jared helped out by packing the burgers and grilling them.

I’m so grateful for our indoor grill.  We can have burgers and chicken with backyard BBQ flavor at any time of the year!

I also made homemade mashed potatoes.  Some of you may have noticed my tweet complaining about having to use an ice cream scooper to mash the potatoes.  Someday I’ll break down and buy an actual potato masher.

Same exact dinner Wednesday and Thursday night, fresh on Wednesday and leftovers on Thursday.

I started feeling under the weather on Thursday so I opted for an indulgent lunch.  Buttery, syrupy Pumpkin Waffles!  It was delicious!  Even though the waffle didn’t banish my germs, it lifted my spirits.

Ok blog readers, now you know what kind of week I had.  Same old, same old with a little bit of sickness and some good eats thrown in the mix.

Super Bowl Sunday: the holiest of holy days for a football fan.  Jared was psyched to host a party at our apartment so he could cook a ton of chili, buy a case of beer, and watch the big game surrounded by friends.

Earlier on Sunday afternoon, I received a Direct Message on Twitter from Pretzel Crisps.  They offered to provide snacks by game time if I responded with my address.  Not taking it too seriously, I sent my address and expected to receive a box of goodies in a few days.

Wow, was I surprised when I received a hand delivered goodie bag filled with Pretzel Crisps products!  Pretzel Crisps reps were cruising around Boston and got my snacks to my door by 5 pm, plenty of time before Super Bowl kickoff.

Since my male friends are obsessed with buffalo wings, I opened a bag of Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps for everyone to handle.  I loved the buffalo flavor and was happy that the crisps weren’t too spicy for my wimpy taste buds.

Thank you so much Pretzel Crisps! The surprise delivery was the topic of Super Bowl party conversation.

Two different chilies were prepped and then sat simmering in the apartment all day.

The aroma was mouth watering!

Party guests slowly trickled in.

I made sure to serve Super Bowl party staples like chips and salsa and mixed nuts.

There were a lot of people and 2 wild and crazy dogs.  It was a crowded apartment!

The fridge was filled with tons of cold beer and there was a magnum of Proscecco chilling in the snow on the back deck.  I alternated between Prosecco and white wine throughout the night.  Because I was eating spicy chili, I wanted a cold, crisp white wine rather than my usual winter red.

No one was focused on the game.  But we all paid attention when the commercials were on.  I loved the truck that rescued Timmy from the well and of course Mini-Darth Vader.

In keeping with tradition, Miles donned his Pats jersey for the 2nd Superbowl in a row.  He lost some weight since last year and the jersey was a more comfortable fit for my fat little dog.

I hope my friends and the dogs all had a great time!

Time out…  water break!

It was the perfect party: easy cleanup, just the right amount of food, some leftover chili to enjoy later in the week…

And one very tired corgi!

Even if your team didn’t win, I hope you had a fun time celebrating Jared’s favorite holiday, Super Bowl Sunday.

Yesterday I felt like I was kicking ass and taking names.  I crossed a bunch of things off of my To Do list.  I ran errands.  I took a spin class and went out to dinner with friends.

Today was a completely different story…

After running yesterday’s errands that forced me to crisscross my Boston neighborhood and a strenuous spin class, I ordered a chicken sandwich from b.good.

I had leftover frozen yogurt for dessert.  Miles waited patiently so he could lick the bowl when I finished.

I went out to dinner at Pops Restaurant.

I enjoyed a glass of Gruener Veltiner while sitting at the bar, waiting for my dinner to arrive.

I ordered Butternut Squash ravioli with goat cheese beignets.  I had ordered this before and loved it so I knew it was a wise dinner decision.

My great day ended when I watched the latest episode of the Bachelor and then read blogs while relaxing in bed.

I woke up early this morning and knew something was a little off.

Despite the lack of food in my stomach, I was sick for hours.  Once I was able to leave the bathroom, I spent my day sleeping on the couch, sipping on lemonade, and trying to take a few bites of a bowl of oatmeal.  Miserable!

I was barely able to put a dent in this huge bowl of oatmeal.

The snow continued to fall so it was nice to stay warm inside.

Jared bought some tomato vegetable soup for me to eat for dinner.  I appreciate his care and concern during my crazy sickness, including putting blankets on my so I could sleep on the couch and placing a large bowl beside me just in case.

Oh what a difference a day makes!  I can’t wait until tomorrow when I’m feeling back to normal.  Fingers crossed.

Since mid-week, the arch of my left foot was really sore.  I decided to take it easy and not do any major exercising all weekend.  I did some at-home workouts: push ups, crunches,  balance board, etc.

I ate tons of leftover Maggiano’s after Thursday night’s dinner with my mom’s coworkers.  Can you believe I lugged 12 takeout boxes home?!?! Jared and I tried really hard, but we weren’t able to finish everything.  Don’t ask me to eat Italian food again for a long time.

I had fun yet casual nights out on both Friday and Saturday and enjoyed drinks with friends.  I rarely order martinis, but I decided to try one of Pops’ specialty drinks, the Trixitini.  Not too strong or too sweet.  It was a refreshingly fruity drink.

Jared and I built a snowman in our backyard.  But we lost interest and never bothered to decorate our frosty guy.

Miles and I rough housed and wrestled.  That crazy corgi is happiest when he’s snapping his teeth and biting.

It was a  VERY low key weekend and it was really enjoyable.

*Hope you had a great weekend! Did you relax or did you enjoy any adventures?*

What I Wore… Because I was Tired of Wearing Snow Boots

• When: Thursday, January 27th
• Where: Dinner at Maggiano’s with my mom’s coworkers
• What:Striped flowy shirt (Anthropologie), denim leggings (Madewell 1937), gray boots (Frye), multi-strand pearl necklace (J. Crew Outlet), cream colored scarf (GAP)

What I Wore… Because I Can’t Wear Sweats Out for Drinks

• When: Friday, January 28th
• Where: Drinks at Pops restaurant
• What: Green long sleeve t-shirt (Threads for Change), gray cardigan (Banana Republic), skinny jeans (Madewell 1937), boots (Madewell 1937), cream colored scarf (GAP)

Being a model is hard work, especially when you want to check your e-mail in the middle of the photo shoot. 

My mom needed to be in Boston for a dental conference on Thursday and Friday.  Between the impending snow storm forecast for Wednesday night and her early class on Thursday morning, she asked if she could spend Wednesday night at my apartment to make her AM commute much easier.

It’s my mom…  How could I say no?!?!

My mom took a train to Boston and arrived in town around 5 pm.  We walked from Back Bay Station to my apartment so we could drop off her luggage and go grocery shopping.

Unfortunately my key broke in the lock of my front door and we were stuck outside in snow!  We decided to haul her bags to the grocery store while we waited for Jared to get home and unlock the door with his key.

I bought the groceries and my mom cooked dinner.  It seemed like a fair trade.  She cooked tacos using ground turkey.

In an effort to get Jared to eat more vegetables, my mom chopped tomatoes for taco toppings.  Normally I just stick with cheese, lettuce, and cucumbers.

Being the Super Mom that she is, my mom cleaned my kitchen while she was cooking dinner.  I could get used to having her around my apartment…

I had hoped to have dinner at the table, but my papers and laptop were all over the place.  So my mom, Jared, and I sat together on the couch and ate our tacos while watching TV.

I used plain Chobani in place of sour cream.  It’s a healthy alternative and I love Chobani’s flavor.

I had 3 soft shell tacos and a small plate of just taco fillings.  Mmm, tacos are one of my very favorite meals!

My mom likes to dog through the Prize Box at the dentist office where she works.  She’ll often grab trinkets and treasures for me.  She’s always on the lookout for rubber ducks and I have amassed quite a collection.  Her latest find: a mini-puzzle for Valentine’s Day!

Mom had her work glasses in her bag because she would need them for the dental conference.  I tried them on and used the magnifying lenses to get an up close look at the little hamster pictured on my puzzle.

I can’t imagine being so zoomed in on people’s teeth all day, every day.  My mom loves her job as a dental hygienist.  She’ll talk teeth for hours on end and if you ever have an issue with your mouth, she’s one of the best people to ask for advice.  On Christmas, I caught her examining 2 different relative’s teeth over the course of our family party.

I could never be a hygienist.  I give my mom a lot of credit.  I only wish I can find a job that I love as much as she loves hers.  That’s what I admire most about her: My mom genuinely loves the career that she has chosen and she gives 110% every day that she’s in the dentist office.

Huge thank you to Jared for sleeping on the couch.  I hope my mom got a good night’s sleep sharing the big king-sized bed with Miles and me.

My mom was up and at ‘em a lot earlier than I was.  She had places to go and new dental tricks to learn.  When I finally dragged myself out of bed, Miles and I headed to the back yard to check out the latest snowfall.

My poor little corgi!  The snow is getting too deep for his short corgi legs.  He had some success walking carefully on top of the snow.  But eventually he fell up to his chest and had to hop and carve out a path so that he could get back in the apartment.  I don’t even want to bother trying to dig out my car.  Maybe I’ll wait a few days and see how much snow will melt on it’s own.

I can’t wait to meet my mom for dinner tonight.  I hope she will be able to grab a lot of tooth brush and tooth paste samples from the dental conference expo.

I didn’t leave the apartment at all today.  It’s FRIGID outside and it’s only going to get colder.  What?!?!

Jared said it was too cold for me to walk to the gym.  I wasn’t going to argue with him.  I stayed in our cozy apartment, watched TV, used my Balance Board during TV commercials, and continued watching my friend’s crazy dog.

My day in a nutshell…

Breakfast: Special K cereal

Lunch: Leftover Pad Thai

Dinner: Chicken, linguine, and spinach salad

Exercise: Balance Board for approximately 10 total minutes

Fun: Watched Valentine’s Day, so cheesy and a sort of crappy movie but it made me smile

Frustration: Still angry that the Patriots weren’t playing football today!

There’s an extreme cold weather advisory in Boston right now.  So if you’re in New England, stay inside and stay warm.  If you have to go out, wear lots of layers.  Don’t forget your hat and gloves!

Lunch: Cucumber wontons and a few chocolates

Dinner: Pad Thai with chicken and a bottle of 2009 Domaine du Chateau d’Eau Pinot Noir

Exercise: 20 minutes on the Stepmill and a quick 1 mile run (treadmill set at 7.5 mph aka an 8:00 pace) followed by 10 minutes in the sauna

Fun: Watching the dogs frolic in the yard

Frustration: Trying to control 2 wild and crazy animals while trying to clean my apartment

My yard was taken over by 2 wild and crazy animals.

Eww, yellow snow! It’s everywhere I look.  I can’t wait until some fresh accumulations arrive to cover it all up.

Best friends or worst enemies?  You decide…

These two dogs played outside ALL day.

Many sticks were chewed.

Weber and Miles ran laps and wrestled.

I hope these 2 got their energy out because I’m looking forward to a quiet night.

Jared and I went to our respective gyms for quick workouts right before they closed.  Then we ordered Pad Thai for dinner.

I love that one order of Pad Thai always leads to leftovers.

I piled one serving onto my plate and put my leftovers in the fridge.  I always have to do that right away or else I run the risk of overeating.

Mmmm, that was a good dinner.  And a good Saturday!

*Hope you’re having a great weekend!*

I went to the Gallows last night for the Boston Food Bloggers Launch Party with Urbanspoon.

There are so many food bloggers in Boston!  I met quite a few new people, and saw a few familiar faces.  Including my college adviser who is now a low-carb food blogger.  What a small world!

SoCo Creamery was scooping 4 different flavors of their ice cream, fresh from their micro-creamery in the Berkshires.

I tried a cone of Espresso Cookie, a strong coffee flavored ice cream with oreo style cookies folded in.  It was delicious!  I was surprised that it paired so well with the glass of Barbera wine that I was drinking.

The Gallows was closed to the public so that all of the food bloggers could take over.  Wait staff was passing appetizers and I sampled a cheeseburger, fries drizzled with gravy, and buffalo chicken livers.  Everything was really good and now I can’t wait to go back to the Gallows so I can sit down for dinner.

Natalie and I were not quite ready to promote the Boston Day Book, but we had so much fun meeting people at the Boston Food Bloggers launch party and promoting our individual blogs.

The party ended all too quickly and Natalie, our dates, and I weren’t ready to call it a night just yet.  We decided to go to Union Bar and Grille to enjoy a sit down meal.

There were so many tasty appetizers, entrees, and drinks.  I had a tough time deciding what to order.

Why hello there.  My name is Melissa and I blog at Crunches for Cupcakes.

I was leaning toward ordering the gnocchi but when I told the waiter that I didn’t like mushrooms, he advised against it.  I changed the game plan and ordered the Beef Tenderloin with garlic creamed spinach and Yukon mashed potatoes.  I ordered the Beef cooked medium-well and it arrived exactly as specified.  It melted in my mouth for each and every bite that I took, and I cleaned my plate!  After an ice cream cone and sampling food, I thought I wasn’t hungry.  But my stomach had just enough room for this delicious dinner.  Thank God!

I was happy to get out of the cold night air and back to the warm apartment.  Worried that my corgi had missed me while I was gone, I decided to have some puppy play time.

We played dress up!   Doesn’t Miles look so handsome in his winter hat?

Miles is the cutest little Bruins fan I’ve ever seen.

Miles was less than thrilled that I was giving him so much attention.

He really wanted to make a quick getaway, but with the promise of a treat, I convinced him to sit still and wear the hat for a little bit longer.

Awww!   I really love this little dog…and he loves tolerates me.

Yesterday it snowed.  A lot.

I ate pizza.  A lot.  I had pizza for lunch and then leftovers for dinner!

It was a good day!

When I woke up yesterday morning, I wasn’t surprised to see snow on the ground.  The news had been forecasting the storm for days.  I spent my morning holed up at home.  Cleaning, blogging, letting Miles in and out so he could play in the winter wonderland outside.  By lunchtime, I was going stir crazy.  I ventured out for pizza at Picco.

I got home from lunch and didn’t even bother to take my boots off.  I got the dog harnessed and leashed.  The two of us ventured on a walk through the Gardens and the Common to my brother’s apartment in Beacon Hill.

Boston’s streets were a mess and most of the sidewalks weren’t shoveled.

The 1.6 mile walk to my brother’s apartment was going to be a challenge.  I was beginning to second guess my decision to brave the storm.

Miles’ enthusiasm kept me going.  That dog was thrilled to be out and about.  He hopped, sniffed, frolicked, ate snow, and found places to roll around.

Copley Square was deserted, except for a news crew reporting from the middle of the storm.  I loved the calm and quiet.  Trinity Church looked beautiful.

Over in the Gardens, things were not as serene.  People were frolicking in the storm, making snow angels on the empty Swan Pond, taking photos, and building snowmen.

I was carrying my point and shoot camera in my pocket.  So as Miles and I stomped through the snow, I was capturing scenic shots.

With so many people off from work and school, the Common was crowded with sledders and snowball fights.

As Miles and I made our way up Beacon Hill, our time in the snow was becoming a little less fun.  We were cold and tired and just wanted to reach our destination.

“Are we there yet?  I don’t wanna walk anymore!” Miles’ poor corgi legs needed a break.

I was so happy to warm up and dry off in my brother’s apartment.  Miles and I stayed for an hour and then it was time to go back out in the snow.  I wanted to get home to my apartment before it was too cold and dark outside.

I took an easier route home: Charles Street, the Gardens, and then back into my South End neighborhood.

It was COLD, windy, and the snow was still falling.  Poor Miles was limping because the harsh salt on the sidewalk was hurting his paws.  I carried him for a few blocks until he got too heavy.

I was thrilled when I made it back to my apartment and shut the front door, leaving the storm outside and returning to my nest of blankets on the couch.

Walking through the snow will work up an appetite.  I had 3 small slices of leftover pizza that I reheated for dinner.

Plus a small spinach salad with fresh mozzarella.

See, when I told you that my day was filled with a lot of snow and a lot of pizza, I wasn’t lying.  And when I told you that it was a good day, I was also telling the truth!

*Did you have a good day yesterday?  What about today???*