Harpoon Brewery

Our overnight trip in Boston over Labor Day weekend continues..we did a lot in less than 48 hours!

The day after the Northwestern game, we decided to check out Harpoon Brewery before we left Boston.  It was pretty cool--I don't think I've ever toured a brewery before.  You have to get tickets to tour the brewery, so we had some time to kill before our scheduled tour.  We decided to have lunch up the road at a place called the Yankee Lobster Company.  It was a pretty simple place, but the lobster rolls were delicious.

My Lobster Roll

Me and Michele Outside the Yankee Lobster Company

TJ and Mark outside the Yankee Lobster Company

The brewery tour lasted about an hour--30 minutes for touring and 30 minutes for tasting.  I highly recommend this tour...it was fun and educational and only 5 bucks! 

North End--Boston

After the Northwestern game, we rested for a while at our hotel and then went to the North End of Boston for some dinner.  We took a taxi boat from our hotel to the North End, which was a beautiful way to view the city.

On the Taxi Boat

 We had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant, Lucia Ristorante.

There's a famous pastry shop in that area called Mike's Pastry.  I've actually been there once before and the line is insane!  Both times I've been there the line has been out the door and down the block...all evening long!  It seems like their business is nonstop.  I guess they are famous for their cannolis, and they were delicious!

After dinner we walked around the area and had a drink at the "Cheers" bar before calling it a night.

I was so tired but it was a super fun day!

We Were Ready For Some Football....And Then We Couldn't Find It

While TJ and Michele were visiting, we went to Boston for one night to see Boston College play Northwestern in the first football game of the season.  The game started at noon on Saturday and we left NJ at about 6:30 that morning, figuring we would have plenty of time to get there and park.  The traffic was fantastic, we made it there in about 4 hours.  Mark put in the GPS the address of the stadium, figuring once we got there there would be signs for parking.  This is called foreshadowing. 

We got to the stadium and there were lots of police directing traffic and lots of signs for permit parking lots.  We asked several policemen where the lot was for non-permit parking and everyone said "go straight."  We drove "straight" for a few miles, but it appeared that we were no longer on the college campus, far from the stadium, and in a residential area.  We figured we must have past the lot or a sign for parking.  We turned around, asked other policemen, and everyone just kept saying "go straight". 

Long story short, an hour and a half later, making countless turns, and having to call TJ's sister in WI to find out information on parking, we finally found the parking lot.  It was about 20 minutes (driving!) from the football stadium and there were virtually NO signs telling you where the lot was.  It was in an entirely different town!  Thankfully, they had shuttle buses to take us to the stadium.  When the game was over, the bus driver didn't even know how to get back to the parking lots (I don't blame him)!  He contacted dispatch several times to find the lot, and then he stopped at Lot A, B, and C.  We were parked in Lot D, and when there were very few people left on the bus, we asked him if he was going to Lot D, and he said, "Where is that? I've never heard of Lot D." Seriously!  We all agreed this was the most poorly coordinated event that we have ever been to in our lives.  I've run garage sales that were better run than this shindig. 

We still managed to have a good time at the game and helped Northwestern celebrate their first game and first win of the season. 

Willie the Wildcat

Celebrating the First Win

Pat Fitzgerald, NU coach, showing some Longhorn love--random

The Best Pizza You Will Ever Eat

Note: My blogs this week will be recapping our eventful and fun Labor Day weekend...

Mark and I met in Chicago (Evanston technically) at Northwestern University.  I lived there for 2 years after graduating and Mark lived there for 1 extra year, so we both spent a good amount of time there.  One of the best things about Chicago is Chicago style pizza.  Our favorite place for Chicago style pizza is Giordano's.  Now let me warn you, this is the best pizza you'll ever eat because it's so darn good and you can't compare it to any pizza you've ever eaten before.  So, because it's delicious and it's in a league of it's own, I guarantee you it will be the best pizza you ever eat.

There are several reasons why this pizza is different.  First, the pizza crust is just not any type of pizza dough.  It's actually like a buttery flaky pie crust.  Layered on the crust is about an inch of mozzarella cheese.  As you can see in the pictures, the pizza sauce actually goes on top of the pizza.

A cool thing about Giordano's is that they actually deliver anywhere in the country.  They actually charge the same price as if you picked up the pizza in Chicago, but you have to pay for overnight FedEx delivery.  Shipping prices vary by distance, of course, but to ship from Chicago to NJ, it ends up being about $50 for 1 pizza.  It is cheaper, however, to order more than one pizza at a time (you'll save some on shipping), so I think it's about $70 for 2 pizzas.  I've ordered it twice since we've lived in NJ, both as a surprise for Mark's birthday.  $50 sure is a lot for one pizza, but it's not that much if you compare it to the cost of going out to dinner.

Most recently, we had it delivered over the Labor Day weekend and enjoyed it with our friends TJ and Michele, who were visiting from Wisconsin.  Two pizzas lasted the 4 of us about 2-3 meals.  It is filling (you won't be able to eat more than 2 slices at a time) and oh so delicious! My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures!

"Windy City Special" with sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and pepperoni

Cheese Pizza

P.S. We were hungry and so I didn't get to take a picture of a whole pizza.  That's why all the pictures are only of partial pizzas.

Couch to 5k--Still Trying

I'm still trying to complete the Couch to 5k program, but I'm using it slightly more as a "suggestion" now as opposed to a strict program.  I'm not giving up though and I'm not making excuses!  I'm just trying to balance accomplishing a goal with having self-compassion, as in not pushing myself into feeling uncomfortable.

The reason I'm using it as a "suggestion" is that some days I'm just more tired and can't complete the whole program and other days I'm more energized and want to do something more rigorous than what the program plans.  This past week I only went to the gym on Wednesday and Thursday.  (We did a LOT of walking over the weekend though).  On Wednesday, I intended to do the program, but I couldn't complete the last 5 minute run.  On Thursday, I was feeling more energized and also wanted to see how long I could run, so I warmed up by walking for 5 minutes and then jogged for 14 minutes!  My previous record time was 10 minutes, so I was quite proud of myself!  I was aiming for 15 minutes, but I just couldn't do that last minute.

I think if anything, doing this program has without a doubt increased my endurance.  I remember that early on in the program it was really difficult for me to jog for 3 minutes and now I can do 14!

Ground Beef and Bean Tacos

I haven't been to the grocery store or cooked anything in a while now since there was Hurricane Irene and then a busy Labor Day weekend.  I wanted to make something that would be delicious and relatively quick.  I got the idea to make tacos, which I haven't made in years.  I went to my favorite cooking blog to look for a recipe and found one that I adapted slightly.  I used my own spices as opposed to buying a "taco seasoning" packet so I know exactly what is in there.  We also had my in-laws over for dinner and they enjoyed this dish too! 

Ground Beef and Black Bean Tacos

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb of lean ground beef (I used 90/10)
1 medium white onion, diced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili pwder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 4oz can of diced green chiles
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
12 flour tortillas
Lettuce, chopped
Mexican Blend shredded cheese
Salsa
Guacamole

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the ground beef and break up the meat.  Add the onion and all the seasonings.  Stir until all the ingredients are mixed together.  Let it cook 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through.  Add the black beans and green chiles to the beef mixture and stir until well combined.  Set aside. 

Stack the flour tortillas on a plate.  Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds, until the tortillas are soft. 

Fill each tortilla with the beef and bean mixture, shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, and guacamole. 

We are going to LUUUUN-DOOOOON!

If I was talking to you in person, I would say this title in my best "Oprah announcement/giveaway voice."  Then I would join my hands with yours in a prolonged "double high-five" motion and shake them violently, also as Oprah does.  We bought our plane tickets onWednesday to go to London for a week in the Fall.  I'm so excited!  (Did you just think of Jessie Spano? I did). 

I've been browsing tickets for a while now, since mid-June-ish.  I'm still bummed because I could have bought them for $200/ticket cheaper, but I didn't.  So now we are spending more money.  Boo.  One website that I used to search for tickets was www.bing.com.  Click on Travel.  You can search for airline tickets there and for some destinations (mostly domestic, but some international), they have a price predictor.  They happened to have a price predictor for traveling from Newark to London.  So when you search, it tells you the current fare, then it advises you to either wait or buy.  It tells you how confident they are, based on historical data, that the price will remain the same, increase, or decrease over the next 7 days.  I had been checking everyday for a few weeks and the price was staying the same and Bing's advice was to wait.  On Wednesday, the fare decreased by about $20 per person and it was the first time Bing said to buy.  So I went ahead and took their advice.  That was a long winded way of saying We are going to LUUUUUN-DOOOON!

A while ago I got tickets to tour Buckingham Palace, including going to see Kate Middleton's wedding dress on display.  Now I just have to remember to bring the tickets with me!  I just ordered two travel books on Amazon.  I wish I had the books already so I can read them in the midst of Irene's visit.  I really don't know all that much about London or England, so the books will be really useful.  Off the top of my head though, I want to go to Westminster Abbey, Harrod's, Stonehenge, and have afternoon tea.