FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

#HLS12 – Strolling Through Boston

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After three days of Summit happenings on the Cambridge side of town, I was antsy to cross the river and see what Boston was all about.  I convinced four other exhausted bloggers (Mary, Danielle, Emily & Kelly) to join me for a dinner adventure.  We hopped on the T and made our way to Scollay Square.

Scollay Square was decent, but it wasn’t nearly as special as anything I’d eaten on the Cambridge side.  We finished our meals at record pace and decided to walk around the city and take advantage of unseasonably cool weather.

We made our way through the bustling North End on Mission: Dessert and found ourselves in line at Emily’s favorite, Mike’s Pastry.  The line was so out of control that you just knew anything would be amazing.  And knowing this, made it impossible to settle on just one sweet.

I ordered an eclair, a cannoli, and a neopolitan, perfectly aware at how ridiculous the order must have seemed.  And honestly, the over-ordering me had little intention of sharing.  But the post-few-bites me recognized that I was seconds away from a total food coma and would need to give away the extras.  I curled up in the covers and sent Emily and Danielle downstairs with my Mike’s Pastry box so they could spread the food coma love.

#HLS12 – @Wild_Harvest Breakfast

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As exciting as trying local restaurant hot spots has been since arriving in Cambridge/Boston on Thursday, for bloggers, the first meal of the Healthy Living Summit is just as exciting!  Yummy food that doesn’t make you feel rotten is always a win.

There was a super huge spread of fruit, yogurt parfaits, muffins, and a few savory hot meals.  But my favorite part of breakfast was Kelly’s Greek inspired egg scramble , which had spinach and feta.  Now that two hours have passed and I’m already thinking of lunch, I’m wishing I had gone back for seconds!

After breakfast, we separated into small groups for icebreakers.  Heather asked me if I was willing to be the head of the purple sticker herd and naturally I said yes.  Not only do I enjoy this sort of thing but Heather is the kind of person you want to be around, always, and it’s darn near impossible to say no to the Heathers of the world.

We went around the circle, answering randomly ridiculous questions about each other.  It’s always so interesting to see how people respond to the unexpected.  It was giggle-inducing for sure.  And at 9 AM in a room full of tons of people you’ve probably only met in the virtual world, giggles are good.

While the bulk of the Summit dabbled in some Crossfit action, my roommates (Emily & Rachel) and I went on a stroll to Boston.  It was a little dreary out, but it was a welcomed change from the typical August heat.

Time to go back into HLS sessions!

Oregon Shenanigans

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Surprise, I’m in Oregon!  I drove back from Dallas (in my pajamas) bright and early Sunday morning, replaced the contents of my suitcase with business attire, fixed myself up a bit, flew from Austin to Oakland to Portland, and then drove two hours to Eugene.  I was holy moly exhausted when I arrived at my hotel in the wee hours of the night.

Thankfully this was the good type of time change where I felt fully rested when my alarm buzzed at 7 AM.  I snacked on an Odwalla bar and slurped on some hotel coffee while I was getting ready and then headed downstairs to a conference room full of strange men strangers.

It was really weird sitting in a room with another construction company helping them with their strategy for an upcoming presentation.  I felt like I was eavesdropping behind enemy lines and I suspect they felt the same, at first.

But after two meals, one beer, and 14 hours together staring at two projection screens, two iPads, and six laptops, well… we were far from strangers.

Let’s hope tomorrow isn’t nearly as intense so I can meet up with Lauren for dinner or coffee.  I will be so so so bummed if I’m in my HLS roomie’s town and we don’t get to see each other!