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When I started planning Florence, I wasn't 100% sold. I was a little worried that we'd be bored and there wouldn't be enough to see. WRONG. We ended up with four days in Florence instead of three (story to come on that) and I cannot wait to go back. (Just want to know my thoughts on certain …
Continue reading "4.5 days in Florence: Pasta, piazzas, & (food) poisoning"
Restaurateurs Jackie McCusker and Phil Gelso announced today plans to open their award-winning Tex-Mex restaurant, Nacho Mama’s, in downtown Towson. This is Nacho’s second site and will be located on the corner of York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. The 6,700-sq.-ft. restaurant will feature casual seating, outdoor tables, a welcoming bar, and private dining space. “Opening …
Continue reading "Nacho Mama’s opening in Towson"
After three awesome days in London, we were off to Barcelona! I've wanted to go to Spain FOREVER, so I was so excited to soak up the culture. I speak enough Spanish to get by and I love putting it to use. (Note: They actually speak Catalan, a variation of Spanish.) We took a quick, …
Continue reading "3 days in Barcelona: Gaudi, tapas, and more Gaudi"
I was planning to write a post about what I've learned in five years of marriage and I asked Steve to share his thoughts. Instead, he wrote about the five best pranks he played on me in the past five years ... and it was better than my post.
I wasn't excited about London. I'm not sure why, but there was nothing that was hugely appealing to me. Spoiler alert: I loved it and cannot wait to go back. I can absolutely see why so many people make London their home, especially considering how easy it is to travel from there all over Europe …
Continue reading "3 days in London: Beheadings, afternoon tea, and saying hi to Kate"
In less than two weeks, I'll be touching down at Heathrow, ready for 13 days of European adventures. Whoa. In an effort to not completely exhaust myself (and Steve), I've pulled some must-see places and recommended restaurants, but I'm not doing a full-out itinerary. (I'm using Stay.com to keep track of everything, which allows you …
Continue reading "13 days in Europe: London, Barcelona, Florence, and Paris"
It's hard, this running thing. (No one said it would be easy, they just said it would be worth it, amirite??) I've given you my top running songs and five tips to get back into running, but I think we need to add a few more (and a few somewhat shallow) ways to make running …
Continue reading "5 tips to make running a little easier"
The Women’s Housing Coalition (WHC) is hosting an Oktoberfest-style event called Hops for Housing on Thursday, September 17, 2015 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Union Craft Brewing in Hampden. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hopsforhousing.com before the event for $25, or at the door for $30. The event ticket includes a brewery tour, …
Continue reading "9/17: “Hops for Housing” fundraiser at Union Craft Brewing"
You've been to Azumi in Harbor East, right? You'll want to after reading this, I promise. My friend, Tiffany, is the beverage director/sake sommelier and invited* me and Steve to dinner. We sat by the window to soak in the water views and allowed her to guide us through the menu. As we usually do, …
Continue reading "(Very belated!) Review: Azumi in Harbor East"
Things are happening in the Baltimore restaurant scene. Here's a little recap: New dinner/cocktail menu at B&O American Brasserie B&O Is one of my favorites for delicious food from the acclaimed Mike Ransom and amazing drinks from the mind of bartender extraordinaire, Brendan Dorr, so I was excited to check out the new menus at …
Continue reading "News & reviews of the Baltimore restaurants scene"
You know Eventbrite, right? It's basically where you buy tickets for pretty much anything. (You can create your own site to sell tickets to your own event, as well!) They're hosting a Hometown Hunt where bloggers get to share their favorite places in their hometowns. My favorite place isn't one place, but a whole street. When …
Continue reading "Eventbrite Hometown Hunt: Thames Street in Fells Point, Baltimore"
Tomorrow is National Donut Day and Dunkin’ Donuts will commemorate the holiday by offering guests a free donut* of their choice (while supplies last) with the purchase of any beverage. The offer is good all day on June 5 at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide. Additionally, Dunkin’ Donuts is helping guests all around the world celebrate the joy of donuts, making …
Continue reading "Celebrate National Donut Day with a free donut from Dunkin’ Donuts"
Alright, so it's been like a month, but I still want to recap the hiking in Denver and Boulder because IT. WAS. AMAZING. I'm a beach person. I like my toes in the sand, cooling off in the water, etc., so this wasn't my dream trip, but it ended up being so fantastic. I loved …
Continue reading "Denver and Boulder: Hiking and Running"
I'll say this about Stitch Fix (<-- referral link to fun!): They know how to keep a customer. I was getting a little frustrated after my last fix, but this one -- she's a beaut. I opened the box and ohhhh'd and ahhhh'd. (Read about my previous 13 SFs here.) How'd I get so many pretty, …
Continue reading "Review: Stitch Fix #14 (The one after the really bad one)"
My co-worker and friend, Dana, ordered Warby Parker glasses and needs help deciding which ones to keep. Just like when I receive Stitch Fixes, I want to harness the power of the Internet to help her. Without farther ado ... which pair should she keep? Any feedback is appreciated!
I'm excited to announce that Waterfront Partnership is partnering with my former employer, Medifast, Inc., to bring the Waterfront Wellness series to Baltimore starting May 23. This was one of the last initiatives that I worked on with my team there, so it's awesome to see it come to fruition. With the support of Medifast, Waterfront Partnership will add …
Continue reading "Waterfront Wellness (sponsored by Medifast!) returns May 23"
Dunkin’ Donuts announced the return of the Black-Eyed Susan donut, which will be available through May 17, at participating Baltimore-area Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants. The limited-time Black-Eyed Susan donut recognizes Maryland’s official flower. The donut is a yeast shell, frosted with yellow icing and topped with chocolate sprinkles and a dollop of chocolate buttercreme. Dunkin’ Donuts will …
Continue reading "Dunkin’ Donuts brings back Black-Eyed Susan donuts for Preakness"
I recently helped with the re-launch of OrderUp Denver (from MileHighMenus) and was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Colorado. I was in Denver for work and then Steve flew out to meet me. We spent another day in Denver and then two more in Boulder, where Steve has always wanted to go. I …
Continue reading "Denver and Boulder: Eating & sleeping"
I'm no longer writing the Baltimore Food Examiner because it's just too much to keep up and I prefer to share things over here, but I still want to bring you Baltimore food news because it's awesome. Here's what's happening: There are tons of Mother's Day specials via Dine Downtown Baltimore. France native Frank Ziegler …
Continue reading "So much Baltimore food news!"
Each time I get a Stitch Fix, my husband shares his witty opinions. He was on fire this time, so I decided to let him take over the review. Without farther ado ... Jazz Embroidery Detail Blouse ($58) "This looks like a top to go to Mad River. It's basically just asking people to look at your …
Continue reading "Review: Stitch Fix #13 (or the one where my husband writes the review)"
Airbnb (<-- $25 off your first stay!) is, in my humble opinion, by far the greatest travel invention aside from maybe the airplane. Rather than stay in a stuffy hotel, you can stay in unique spaces and connect with people who actually live where you're traveling. You get the inside scoop, a less expensive abode, and …
Continue reading "Airbnb review (aka Why aren’t you Airbnb’ing yet?)"
I've been getting monthly massages and I get to choose an add-on, like aromatherapy. My masseuse mentioned cupping and I thought, "What the hell?" I love acupuncture, so I figured this would be worth trying. Here's some info: My masseuse uses vacuum cups, which attached to the skin and the air is vacuumed out to …
Continue reading "Cupping: Yep, I tried it"
You've probably seen Mason jar salads floating around Pinterest for, you know, years, but I finally got around to making one. And my life hasn't been the same. These are amazing! Everything stays so fresh, including avocados. I left one in the fridge for two days and the avocados? STILL GREEN. No air gets in there. …
Continue reading "I finally got on the Mason jar salad bandwagon"
If you know me, you know that I don't enjoy cooking, but I really love food. Steve is a great cook, but we're both busy and don't have much time to make good, creative meals. My friend, Hallie, tried Hello Fresh and sent me an invite to try a box for free. In! Once we …
Continue reading "Review: Hello Fresh vs Plated vs Blue Apron"
Remember how I had the amazing opportunity to try Classpass for free for one month and I wrote about the classes that I did in the first week? After that, you'd assume that I tried a bunch more and fell deeply in love with some new form of exercise, right? Don't be so silly. I realized …
Continue reading "How I totally failed ClassPass BUT you should try it for $10 for a week!"
I love Stitch Fix. You know it, I know it. It's an awesome service at a reasonable price. But WTF happened this time?!? I've done ELEVEN Stitch Fixes and have always kept at least one thing. I don't even need your opinions this time; I'm sending them all back. It's like it was my first …
Continue reading "Review: Stitch Fix #12 (or the WORST ONE EVER)"
I love it when I get six things in my Birchbox (<-- referral link)! 'Twas a good month in Birchbox world: Gilchrist & Soames London Collection shower gel: Ohh, I like this. I don't think that I could pay $16 for shower gel, but I really, really like this. It's definitely the kind of shower gel …
Continue reading "Review: February Birchbox"
I wrote about how I'm turning 31 and urged you to follow along and keep me accountable in my quest to get back in shape. You're all great cheerleaders, but I needed someone to really kick my ass when I got off track. Enter Kerry. Kerry is my MyFitnessPal coach. I decided to fork over …
Continue reading "30 days to 31: Betting on accountability"
So on Monday I mentioned that this needs to happen. And then I left you hangin'. Am I doing it? Did I just write about it and take a nap? Oh, I should take a nap. Anyway, no. I went to the gym. I have a free one-month MAC membership, so I hopped on the …
Continue reading "Getting back on the [healthy] bandwagon"
Dear friends, welcome to keeping me accountable. I've slipped. I've stopped paying attention to what I'm eating, I've stopped working out, I work long hours at a new job. I grab the amazing Kinderhook cookies as soon as they enter the office on Friday afternoons. Yeah, I've been doing ClassPass, but I'll be honest -- …
Continue reading "30 days to 31: WTF happened to my metabolism?!?"
RLB Ink. 