FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

#HLS12 – The Last Day

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After another yum-tastic Summit breakfast, my roommate from this year and last year (Emily), my roommate from last year (Krista), Mindy, and I, all decided to head back to Boston and spend the day in the city before heading to the airport.  Somehow amazing weather swept through the city last night and was still in full effect today.  I’m telling you, it was the best walking weather we could have ever hoped for.

Emily went to college in Boston and still lives in Massachusetts, so we left it up to her to lead the way.  She suggested lunch at Quincy Market since we were all hungry for a solid lunch before our upcoming travel agendas.  The walk to lunch lended itself to quite the picturesque path.

I trailed behind the group, taking in the oldness of Boston.

Growing up and Florida, and Texas being the only other place I have ever lived, historic downtown architecture is something that signifies vacation for me.  I totally look forward to it!

The picture of the older gentleman playing an unidentifiable instrument with his pup was my favorite of the day.

When we arrived at Quincy Market, we quickly realized it was the perfect lunch spot as we were all craving something completely different.  We parted ways to browse and made a plan to meet up on the steps so we could eat together in the sunshine.

Emily had Greek, Krista had Italian, Mindy had Thai, and I…

I had Boston!  There were three places in the market that served lobster rolls, so I checked each of them out and settled on the place whose roll looked the most lobster-rich.  If only this hot dog bun was a warm crusty sourdough roll, I would have been in heaven.  I ate half the sandwich as-is and picked the lobster out of the second half in order to save room for pastry.

Mindy hadn’t been to the North End yet and wanted to sample Mike’s Pastry before leaving town.  After posting about Mike’s Pastry, my mom let me know that Maria’s was her favorite and suggested getting the sfogliatelli.  We went to Mike’s first so Mindy could see what all the rage was about and then headed to Maria’s to order my mom’s fav.  Mike’s definitely had a better selection, but the quaintness of Maria’s was undeniable.  We munched on our sweetness as we headed back to the hotel, gave hugs, and parted ways.
I’m so happy to report that my second Healthy Living Summit was even better than the first!  I’m going to miss everyone SOOO much but know that it will be time for HLS13 in the blink of an eye!

#HLS12 – @WholeFoodsRVR Mini Mingle

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When Heather asked me if I’d be willing to host an unofficial Summit “mini-mingle” a few weeks ago, I responded to her immediately that I would absolutely love to!  I remember what it was like going to the cocktail party as a Summit newbie last year and having mini-mingles this year was a genius plan to connect newbies and non-newbies alike.

Then Healthy Living Blogs posted the invite to the lunch mini-mingle that I was hosting and nervous stomach hit.  What if nobody signed up and the only person heading to the Whole Foods mini-mingle was me!  Talk about scariness.  Thankfully a few girls signed up that day and the bulk of my anxiety vanished as the blank page filled up.  Phew!

Then things took a turn towards even more awesome!  The Whole Foods mini-mingle group was EXCITED and began tweeting back and forth with the Riverside store.  David, the store’s marketing team leader, and I got in touch and started a little planning beyond salad/hot bar lunch.  He suggested having Emma, their Whole Body specialist, talk to our group about the importance of using skin care and make-up that was free of the dirty thirty.  The mini-mingle group shared my interest in this topic, so we officially put it on the unofficial schedule.

Not only did Emma’s informational sesh get off to a strong start, she managed to keep all of us, a group of tech addicts, completely engaged.  She stressed the importance of reducing the amount of toxins you put on your largest organ, your skin.  And she gave us practical suggestions such as replacing a product that you normally use with a non-toxic version as it runs out.  Or if you feel the need to make a change right away, replace a product that you use daily (like deodorant, foundation, body wash) with a non-toxic version.  It was a no-pressure, un-sales-y, informative, motivational discussion.  I’m so thankful that the Whole Foods Riverside team came up with this idea!

AND!  In addition to lots and lots of good info, David and Emma put together a goody bag filled with lots and lots of good product!  I’m really pumped about this because 1.  who doesn’t love free stuff?? and 2. this is the perfect motivation to test out the new stuff and replace the toxic stuff stat!

Thanks again Emma, David, and Whole Foods Riverside for making lunch even more special!!

#HLS12 – Russell House Tavern

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After an afternoon of swag bag stuffing, a few of the Healthy Living Summit early arrivers headed to Harvard Square for dinner.  We ended up at Russell House Tavern which had a variety-filled menu with lots and lots of drink options.

They sat us at a huge round table with a decent amount of light for a place with a tavern-esque ambiance, perfect for a table full of SLR carrying bloggers.

Meghann and I split an entire side of the menu, which wasn’t apparent until the waitstaff delivered the abundance of plates.  Oops!!

Everything we ordered was pretty delish.  Meghann favored the brussels sprouts and I was pretty obsessed with the lobster slider.  I have a feeling this won’t be my only interaction with lobster during this trip!

Overall, we couldn’t have asked for a better setting for a hip, get-to-know-you dinner.  The restaurant accepts open table reservations for parties of up to seven, so this would be an excellent place for small groups to eat and be merry on Saturday night after the conference!

#HLS12 – In Boston!

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Do you remember when you were a little kid and you got presents for say… your birthday.  And it was total sensory overload because you wanted to play with every single gift at the same time.  And play with all your friends.  And eat cake.

Well, not much changes when you’re big kid at the Healthy Living Summit.  And you want to try on every free piece of clothing (note headbands and shirts above and sneakers (yeah SNEAKERS!!) below).  And you want to get silly with all your blogging friends.  And you want to eat swag bag snacks.

I guess where I’m getting at is that I’ve been in Boston for 5-ish hours and it feels like my birthday (without the turning 30 part).

Off to dinner with Meghann, Katie, Mindy, Amanda, and Danielle!