July 30th - Happy National Cheesecake day!

Tomorrow, anyone that goes into Cheesecake factory can get any slice for half off!



If you doubt me: check it out!

Pretty sweet huh?!

Weekend

Last weekend was the end to my cousin's visit in Boston, so we packed in a full schedule of tourist spots that we needed to hit up before she flew back to Cali!

On Friday we met up for pedicures and some shopping!

I couldn't resist, I just love the neon colors and had to get the bright orange on my toes!


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Then we went back to Liz's hotel Nine Zero where they had a free cocktail hour from 5-6 (uh, we are so there!). B met us and after a few drinks we left to go see Inception. The movie was definitely good, but you really need to pay attention! Perhaps watching it again once it is out on DVD will help make more sense of the movie.



Then Saturday we went to Mikes Pastries for a canoli and some espresso! After, we went walked around the North end and ended up at Pizzeria Reginas. Absolutely recommend everyone to visit the restaurant because their pizza is amazing and their drink prices are unreal!

My SC last week

Sorry guys! I have completely dropped the ball on blogging, but am back up and running!

Last week for my supper club I made bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese in the middle as an appetizer. These are super easy and are a great salty/sweet snack for everyone to enjoy before the main dish!



The main course was a Cajun seafood pasta that I found on allrecipes.com. The pasta had shrimp and scallops in it making it the perfect end to our seafood themed supper club for the month of July. It was the right amount of spicy that left a great taste without the feeling of your mouth being on fire.

As a way to cool your mouth down, I added a mixed green salad with avocados and toasted pine nuts. I'm totally going to make this meal again!

Hotel Veritas

Over the past weekend, I was able to stay at the Hotel Veritas in Cambridge with my cousin. This adorable, swanky hotel was absolutely amazing and would recommend anyone who visits to stay there! It just opened in May of this year, so every detail of the hotel has been thought out and executed beautifully.

A few shots from their site:







Its the perfect place to stay if you are looking for a 'home away from home' feel. With a friendly concierge, it made it close to impossible to leave!

Also, this hotel has an amazing wine and cheese menu, which my cousin and I fell in love with.







I think we might go back just to say hi to our lovely hostess and perhaps get another cheese plate...or two...

Tall Frye Boots

I have wanted to get Frye boots ever since my little sister got them last year, as well as seeing N wear them with tons of cute fall/winter outfits. So for this year, I wanted to ask for a pair for my birthday (August 5th :-))

I need your opinion- are these too much?

Brown:



I'm leaning towards the black:

My Week:

Drink with A and BL - absolutely amazing. They don't have a drink menu, instead you tell them what kind of things you like in your drink (i.e homemade ginger beer, or something sweet, salty, etc), and they just whip up something for you! Its all about the science behind it! Very cool!



Dinner at Estragon with B. We had Serrano ham on garlic toast, spicy green peppers (even though you didn't believe me after eating just one :-) ), with garlic chicken and fried artichoke hearts with alioli - thanks to N's suggestion!



With delicious Sangria!



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An Absolute Heartwrenching story:

This is the most tear-jerking blog post I have ever read, and you will appreciate life so much more after reading this post :-)

Nella Cordeila: A Birth Story

Thank you so much for sharing your story Kellie!

I'll take a wedge!

I absolutely love wearing wedges in the summer. Show off the legs, easier to walk in, and super cute with any summer dress!

Steve Madden:

M is the greatest!

She is making me a Blog header!!

What do you think? Pretty eh?!

SC on a Hot Summer Night

Last night M made a delish meal! She had smoked Smoked Salmon wrapped in dill cream cheese. This was my first time having smoked Salmon - and it was really good! Steph and I came to the conclusion that it has the same taste as ham. Yes, that is right, ham!



Then she made a cucumber salad:



Then she had these delicious shrimp:



Such a great meal for a hot summer night!



Tonight is book club but I sadly can't go :-( My cousin from Cali just flew in last night and is staying with me for the next 10 days. She is doing this Harvard grad program, so she will be bunking up in the tree house! For our nightly activity; we are going to go meet up with my friend Amy for a drink at Drink!

Weekend!

I had such a great weekend! It started out going to McGreevy's on Boylston street for a few drinks with work friends. After McGreevy's we went to the Pourhouse where they had a live band with all proceeds going to the Childrens hospital.

Then Saturday I met with Beth for brunch at the Friendly Toast in Kendall Square. Wow - this place was awesome! Great atmosphere, with eclectic items all over the place! After taking in all the unique little trinkets everywhere, we sat down and ordered some amazing food. I had an avocado burger with sweet potato fries. It was absolutely delish and I have to make plans to go back!



Then we decided to do a little retail therapy! Thank god we decided to head towards a cold air conditioned mall - Cambridge Side Galleria, because as we left to drive there, it started to monsoon like crazy. And if you know Beth or myself, we DO NOT do rain. Especially in a car. I'm so glad we got there in one piece! Once we got there safely, we headed to Jcrew and the Gap. Amazing sales, led to a buying a bright neon t-shirt, a sweater, headband, button down and stripped dress!

After doing some shopping, I headed back to my place and met up with M and S. We decided to stay in and watch movies/play card/make drinks.



I hope everyone had a great weekend!

When it’s A Diamond, But Near Worthless

In the art of buying diamonds, one has to really get educated to avoid some of the pitfalls of buying for disreputable vendors. Just because something is a diamond does not mean it automatically is worth a lot of money. You have to understand how diamonds are graded with the 4Cs to know when a diamond is valuable and when it is not. Different types of treatments can make a cheap diamond look like a valuable gem, but once any diamond is treated, it automatically loses value, as it is no longer natural. You have to beware of scams that deal with enhancing diamonds of lower quality just to sell them to unsuspecting people who think they are worth more.

Enhancements to Avoid
Heat treatments or laser drilling can improve the clarity of a lower grade diamond, making it appear to be higher quality. Radiation treatments can take a brownish colored diamond and turn it into a fancy-colored diamond, in pinks and blues. Fracture filling is also a way to increase the clarity of diamond, but with a subsequent loss of value. Many of these treatments are not illegal, but the vendor should note them it if a natural diamond has been enhanced, as the value will not be
the same as a natural diamond of similar higher quality.

Get A Third Party Appraisal
Some of the enhancements are easy to spot and others are not. The best way to avoid being taken is to make sure that you get a third party appraisal on the diamond to make sure it is not enhanced in any way. You should always purchase your diamonds from a reputable vendor who has nothing to gain by losing their name over selling shoddy goods. All in all, if the price of a diamond seems “too good to be true” it usually is. Natural diamonds of high quality are worth every penny you spend on them.

Disclosure: Abazias has asked me to do this.

Real Housewives

Oh my god, I love this post my friend DJ put up! He compared all the different housewives and their attempt at a singing career. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

Seafood SC

Last night, was a milestone for me! I have never had Salmon, but have always been convinced that it was not something that I would like. Leave it to SC to change my mind!

(Stephy and I switched weeks, because my cousin is coming in two weeks so we are going to cook together for everyone)

Stephy went with some sushi for an appetizer. Then Salmon with a corn and red pepper relish. With a side of grilled zucchini, and some pasta (we love our carbs!).





And for dessert, vanilla ice cream with a raspberry tart!



I absolutely cannot believe I like fish now! Wow, thanks Stephy, you're a life saver - now I can eat really healthy fish for dinner one night!

Heat Wave in Boston...

Brings out the best in animals...



Yup, on our way to SC - this nasty little bugger was so thirsty, he ventured out into broad daylight to get a drink of water...

Please Welcome 'N' to the Blogging world!

Nia has joined the blogging community with her sister Katie! Please check out her blog, it is amazing. Nia is a beautiful writer and I cant wait to see read what her and her sister have to say!

Happy 4th of July Weekend

So excited because my little sister is coming up to visit! On the horizon: good food, drinks, friends, fireworks!


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Hope everyone has a fantastic long weekend!

Week Update

Sorry Guys, this week has been a little crazy!

Tuesday we had Supper Club, which was absolutely amazing! Our chef for the evening:



She made delicious Thai style clams that she picked up fresh from the seaport district!



With an awesome spicy Thai salad topped with rib eye steak!





Way to go Nini!! That was fantastic!

Then Last night I met up with my Friend Beth (who is a fantastic cook, so please check out her blog!) for some sushi in Coolidge Corner. Fugakyu has an amazing selection of traditional rolls and crazy ones like spider Maki that we tried and loved!

So glad I got to meet up with her and catch up! Definitely recommend going to this restaurant if you love sushi!