Thanksgiving Table

I am officially more stuffed than the turkey was. Needless to say, our Friday Thanksgiving was wonderful. An amazing meal with all the holiday fixins - made by my fabulous Mom and yours truly; great company; a roaring fire; delicious desserts; and of course the annual poker tournament (I won!) to finish off the night.

I was a bit too preoccupied playing host and enjoying the night's festivities to take photos, although I did manage to snap a few of the table pre-dinner.

 

Hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend!

xo Belle

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Fall weather, football, the Macy's parade, family, friends, good food, gingerbread house decorating, a long weekend... I can go on and on.
And I have so many things to be thankful for - especially my amazing family and friends. I honestly don't know who or where I would be without them.

For the past 15 years or so, my family has been celebrating the holiday on Friday, so that all of our family is able to come and stay the weekend. It's always fun to have the extended family visit - lots of laughs, good conversation, scrabble games, poker games, lazy mornings, busy nights....

Since Thanksgiving dinner  isn't until tomorrow, and our company doesn't arrive until tomorrow...it is more of a relaxing / preparing for tomorrow kinda day for me.

I hope you all are enjoying today with your loved ones!

xo Belle

This Monday's Musings

This Monday's musings...

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me than happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." - John Lennon

 "The things you are passionate about aren't random. They are your calling."

"What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it's supposed to be."

"Be who you are, not who the world wants you to be."   

"It's your life. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for living it your way."

"Too many people undervalue what they are and over value what they're not."

 

"Worry is a misuse of imagination." - Dan Zadra

"You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling" - Inception

xo Belle

16 Personalities

I'm a sucker for personality quizzes. There seem to be a ton of them out there - some better than others as I've come to learn. This one that I took though (16 Personalities)... I think is SPOT on. I'd say that 99.9% of what my results say are 100% true. I had a few friends and family members take it too. They too thought their results were right in line with their traits and tendencies.

Are you a sucker for these things too? Or are you rolling your eyes at the very mention of a "personality quiz?" Whether one or the other - you should give it a go. I bet you'll be laughing and nodding in agreement with your results as soon as you're finished! Take the "test" here:
http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Let me know what personality type you are - and whether or not you agree with the results!

I'm an INFJ. And I couldn't agree more!

xo Belle

The Terriffic Twos

"I'm 2 years old today!"

Wishing my youngest sister the happiest of birthdays!!

xo Belle

To My Sister On Her Birthday

This post is dedicated to my older sister, Cait, as today happens to be her birthday!
I couldn't have wished for a greater older sister who although at times drives me crazy, is there for me no matter what. From day one she's been a best friend and as we've gotten older, we've grown even closer and appreciate each other even more.

This past July she got married. As her maid of honor, I was able to share just how great of a person she really is by giving a speech. So as a nod to Cait, I'd like to share it here:

My Maid Of Honor Speech:

As the sister and maid of honor to the bride, or should I say Mrs.H,
I’d like to first congratulate the married couple and thank
you all for coming and celebrating with us tonight.

Now before I talk about the Mrs., I’d like to just say a few words
about Grant. Grant has been a lot of things to me throughout the
years—I’ve known him as a friend’s brother, a friend’s boyfriend, that
guy on Halloween in a batman suit, my sister’s crush, my sister’s
boyfriend, our family’s “manny,” my prom date, my boss’s son, and my
sister’s fiancé. Tonight, it is with great pleasure that I am able to
add two more titles to that list...as my sister’s husband and my
brother in law. Grant, although you’ve been a part of my family for
many years, I’m so happy that today it’s finally official.

And now for the bride...
I feel like it was just yesterday when Caitlin and I were in our
princess nightgowns, playing with our Barbies, imagining what life
would be like when we grew up. We’d play house—Caitlin was the Mom, I
was the baby. We’d play school—Caitlin the teacher, I the student.
We’d play hospital—she the doctor, me the patient. We’d play kingdom,
she the queen. And yes me, her servant. Always the boss—Caitlin liked
being in charge and knew what she wanted.

Many of you will probably agree that nothing has changed after all
these years. Although that spunky, outgoing, adorable little girl has
grown into a smart, successful and beautiful woman, she remains just
as confident and just as driven to make things happen and to ensure
that her life is lived on her terms.

From the moment she saw Grant on the football field 10 or so years ago
she knew she wanted him. And it appears tonight, that she definitely
got him.

So Cait, I hope that you keep making things happen and going after
what you want. It hasn’t failed you yet. In the years to come, I want
you to be able to look back at when we were four and five and smile
knowing that the life you dreamt about and imagined came true. I hope
you get to play house and be Mom to some beautiful children. You’ll be
their teacher and show them the world, and you’ll be their doctor when
they get hurt. And although I doubt Grant will want to be your
servant, I think he’ll make a pretty good King to your Queen.
I have no doubt that the two of you together will create your own
fairytale and live happily ever after. No, times will not always be
picture perfect—sorry Grant, I don’t think Cait’s singing in the car
will ever improve; and Cait I have a feeling that Grant’s socks may
always find their way onto the floor—but just know that you’ll have
each other, your family and your friends. And if you’re ever having a
bad day, think back to this moment. Think of all the happiness, love
and support around you and realize that it’s these things that matter.

Cause sooner or later we begin to understand that love is more than
verses on valentines, and romance in the movies. We begin to know that
love is here and now, real and true, the most important thing in our
lives. Love creates our favorite memories and is the foundation of our
fondest dreams. Love is a promise that is kept, a fortune that can’t
be spent, a radiance that never fades. It’s a mysterious and magical
joy that endures and strengthens overtime. It is what has brought you
both together and it is what will stay with you forever.

So without further adieu, let’s raise our glasses to the new Mr. and
Mrs. and drink to a lifetime of happiness and love. Congratulations
Cait and Grant.

Wishing you a Happy Birthday Cait! Can't wait to celebrate!

xo Belle
 

A Night's Trip to Barcelona

Last night, I traveled to Barcelona and my taste buds had quite a trip.
And although I wish I could say that trip was in fact to Spain's beautiful city, it was actually only a short drive from home...no passport required for this food and drink adventure!

Just outside of Boston, in the town of Brookline, sits the Barcelona Wine Bar. Simply put- it's a tapas restaurant and bar. But it's too wonderful of a spot to define it so boringly.

Situated right in the downtown area of Brookline, it's warmly-lit, wooden exterior draws you in...

and doesn't disappoint once you find yourself in the laid-back yet buzzing, rustic yet swanky interior.
We were warned that it gets super busy around the 7 o'clock time frame - which it certainly does! Seriously. Packed.

Luckily, we spotted two seats at the bar and claimed them before any one else could.

We spotted the sangria from across the way and decided to start with that.

Perfectly sweet. Definitely potent!

A couple of sangrias in, we decided that food would probably be a good idea. The only problem... we wanted to order the ENTIRE menu. Everything sounded so so good.

Restraining ourselves from having one hundred of everything, we chose a sampling of dishes. That's the best part about tapas - smaller dishes = more things to try!

After placing our order, our waiter brought over some nice crusty bread and olive oil for us to nosh on.

And our charcuterie board of meat and cheeses arrived shortly after.

We sampled the spicy chorizo, aged mahon cheese, as well as the dried manchego. All of which were very tasty and paired very well with the crusty bread. Then again, what doesn't pair well with good bread?

The rest of our plates came out as they were ready --and we happily ate and drank our way through all of them. Here's a peak at what we got:

Scallops - accompanied with a sweet potato mash, granny smith apples, brussel sprouts, and peppers. The perfect blend of sweet and spicy!

Spinach-Chickpea Cazuela: chickpeas, spinach, cumin, and roasted garlic. This was served warm and was delicious! I would never think to heat up the chickpea mash (hummus really) and sauteed spinach but it really worked. I will definitely be recreating this at home.

Grilled Hanger Steak with black truffle vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked, this melted in my mouth.

Patatas Bravas: Potatoes with salsa brava and garlic aioli. Most AMAZING thing ever. The potatoes were crispy, the salsa added a nice hot kick, and the aioli calmed the spice down perfectly. I could easily have made a meal off of these alone.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts. I love brussel sprouts and these did not disappoint!

Originally, when we ordered, we figured we could always order more off the menu if we still were hungry or wanted to try other things. And as much as I wanted to try some of the dishes I saw being brought to our neighbors' tables, my stomach was close to a tapas-stuffed overload.

However... we were tempted with the drool-worthy dessert menu and figured our stomachs could fit a tad bit more.

Feast your eyes on this baby.
Crepas Salguero: Crepes filled with dulce de leche, drizzled with chocolate sauce, and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Admit it... you would have made room in your stomach too.

Authentic, delicious food and drinks. A great space with a nice vibe. You really can't go wrong. Unless you don't make room for that dessert... then you're wrong. *wiggles eyebrows*

If you're ever in the Brookline-area, you should check it out. Your taste-buds and tummy will thank you. 

xo Belle 

November

I can not believe how quickly the time has been going by lately.
Here we go, November!