I’m a self-taught home-cook sharing my passion for eating, cooking, and all things food.
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Friday evening in Upper Montclair brought us to Tortas Lokas — a Mexican restaurant serving delicious tacos, massive sandwiches, and other tasty treats. Click to read the full restaurant review of Tortas Lokas and my recommendations when visiting this Upper Montclair restaurant.
My December Recap features Christmas and celebrating the end of the year with friends and family. I wanted to take the end of year off to disconnect from work and enjoy the seasonal traditions (like decorations, holiday movies, and intricate recipes). This monthly recap features our Christmas Eve tradition of The Feast of the Seven Fishes.
With the end of year quickly approaching, I decided to look back on the top 5 blogs from 2023. From travel adventures to restaurant reviews, 2023 was a mix of familiar foodie categories, plus some new additions to the blog. Here are the top 5 favorites from this year. Click to read more!
My November Recap features my mellow month where I nerded out on the recent release of Rebecca Yarros’s book Iron Flame, and spent the end of the month setting up my foodie Christmas decorations. Read the full recap on the blog.
We spent a morning in Portsmouth, NH, were we had breakfast at Cup of Joe Cafe and Bar. Then, we explored downtown where we stopped into the Tugboat Alley gift shop, visited the Byrne & Carlson Chocolatier, and Deadwick's Ethereal Emporium before heading back home.
After our stay at North Haven Island, we began the three hour drive to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Along the way, we stopped in Boothbay, Maine to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens to see the wooden trolls! After a few hours of exploring the gardens, we made our way to Portsmouth, where we had dinner at The Puddle Dock Restaurant. Click to read the full travel adventures and restaurant review.
To enjoy the October holiday season, I booked tickets for the Armour-Stiner Octagon House Tour in Irvington, New York. This house tour featured a multi-floor tour of the house, where we learned about the owners, architecture, and history. Plus, our tickets came with access to a bonus exhibit for the holiday season. Then, we headed to Mumbai Dreams in Nyack, New York for lunch. Click to read the full October Recap.
We headed to North Haven Island, in Maine to explore the island, stay at Nebo Lodge, and get a 2-hour tour of a working Oyster Farm! I loved the farm tour and had a fantastic dinner at the Nebo Lodge Restaurant. Click to learn more about the things to do on North Haven Island and read the first impression restaurant review of our dinner.
After our afternoon adventures in Rockland, Maine, we decided to stay local to Camden for dinner. With our innkeeper’s recommendations and my own research for the trip, we decided to visit Peter Ott’s for dinner and River Duck Ice Cream for dessert. Check out my full first impression restaurant reviews for these two Camden, Maine businesses.
After enjoying breakfast at our B&B, we spent the morning of our second day in Camden, Maine by exploring the downtown shops, like Uncle Willie’s Candy Shoppe. Then, we drove 20 minutes to Rockland, Maine, to explore their Main Street of shops, galleries, and museums.
While August’s visit to the winery was for relaxing and socializing, September was a month of foodie adventures. I visited 4 new locations — from cafes and bakeries to restaurants and food courts. Check out my 4 favorite foodie spots from September!
A three-hour drive from Concord, New Hampshire brought us to Camden, Maine, one of my favorite accommodations and towns to visit during our vacation. We spent the evening of our first day exploring downtown shops before having dinner at The Waterfront Restaurant. Click to read the full travel recap and first impression restaurant review.
We stopped for a late lunch after leaving the Mark Twain House & Museum. We arrived three hours later at The Centennial Hotel in Concord, New Hampshire. We spent the next day with breakfast at Tucker’s before exploring downtown Concord. We visited bookstores, shops, and candy stores to name a few! Click to read the restaurant review and travel recommendations for Concord, New Hampshire.
With the ocean air still on my mind from July, August rolled in with a whisper of fall, bringing cool mornings and blistering afternoons. My focus for August was one of connection. I wanted to recover from my stressful work weeks and reconnect with friends and family. We had several events scheduled in August, including summer vacation. I was excited for the adventure surrounding these activities, and the chance to enjoy the last of the warm summer weather.
Kicking off the first leg of our summer vacation to Maine, we decided to take our first stop in Hartford, Connecticut to visit the Mark Twain House & Museum. If you know my love of Gilmore Girls (and literature), then you know I was excited to see what Hartford was like. To visit the house of a literary icon was a bonus to me. Click to read more about our visit to the Mark Twain House & Museum.
If June was all about the five senses — July was focused on taste. Like last month, I read many books — mostly fiction — with one exception; Stanley Tucci’s memoir Taste: My Life Through Food. If you’ve read it, you know it is chapter after chapter of recollections from restaurants, traveling, Italian-American traditions, and Stanley’s own family recipes. As I write my July recap and reflect on this past month, I do so through the lens of food – the amazing ingredients, delicious dishes, and summer memories.
My grandfather was a gardener who started his plants from seeds and had several backyard plots for corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and more. My dad learned from his father, and soon I started gardening, with a small tabletop potted garden of veggies and minimal herbs. Over the years, my garden evolved and moved to the ground — where it could be protected behind a wooden fence. This allowed me to cover my herbs for the winter and have the same plants grow year after year.
Trader Joe’s Gyros with Tzatziki dip is one of my favorite dishes to whip up for lunch or dinner. In this ingredient review, I’m sharing the three Trader Joe’s products that I use to make homemade gyros. They include the Trader Joe’s Original Pita, Vegan Tzatziki Dip, and Gyro slices.
In April of this year, Gretchen Rubin (one of my favorite authors) published her newest book, Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World. Each chapter focused on one of the fives senses and how slowing down or focusing on sense-specific activities allowed Gretchen to be more present (and happier) in her day to day life. As life speeds on to the end of the year, I wanted to reflect back on the month of June through my five senses. As a foodie, much of my life revolves around taste and smell — and the month of June was no exception on that front. Click to read my full recap of the my June highlights.
I don’t often visit Italian restaurants, so on a rainy Saturday evening I was excited to try a new location in Totowa, New Jersey called, Nicola’s Ristorante. With a large interior, great service, and delicious seafood dishes, I’m excited to share my first impression review this week.
