Birthday Brunch at Bullfinchs

Having celebrated Grant's birthday last night for dinner, we decided to switch things up a bit for my birthday's festivities. Sunday brunch it was!

I really think brunch should be a requirement for every Sunday. It's just so... perfect.
Sweet, savory, Mimosas, Bloody Marys, relaxation, coffee, tea... I could list a hundred more reasons.

Anyways...back to today.

There's a quaint little place nearby called 'Bullfinchs' that does a fabulous brunch, complete with live jazz music. It fills up pretty quickly so reservations are a must. We headed over just before our 11AM booking and were led to our table right upon entering.

We got a nice corner table in the back with seats and cushions to make it even more cozy.
Along with our menus, our waitress brought out morning pastries and fixins to nibble on.

We ordered drinks and settled in, salivating over the menu's descriptions.

Cheers!

After placing our orders, we figured we'd better open gifts before the food arrived.
Cait and Grant got me the cutest blazer and scarf, and a J.Crew gift card. Mom got me a gorgeous new bag - which I desperately wanted and needed.

The waitress must have seen me opening presents and realized we were celebrating a birthday. So I was gifted with one more thing...

 A giant balloon!

Our food followed this cheery delivery.

Grant got the short rib hash topped with egg and hollandaise. This was one of the specials. 

Cait ordered the vegetable egg white omelette with a side of fresh berries.

 

I couldn't resist one of my brunch favorites - bagel & lox.

A Mom went for one of the other specials: a frittata topped with lobster and spinach in a lobster cream sauce. I may or may not have snuck a forkful or two from her plate.

For dessert, we tried to keep it light by ordering bowls of fresh berries.

But the restaurant had other plans.

And there was no way that I was going to say 'no' to a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream and fudge!

A birthday brunch at Bullfinchs was the perfect way to celebrate and indulge with the family.

xo Belle 

My Golden Year

Today is my birthday! My Golden Birthday to be exact... twenty three on the twenty third.
 With celebrations last weekend and celebrations coming this weekend, I feel so lucky and so loved by my friends and family.

Since I don't have any out of the ordinary plans to mark the start of my golden year, I decided to make a Golden Year Bucket List - highlighting all of the things I hope to do, accomplish, or experience over the next 12 months. The overall goal: to make things happen.

Though a bit personal, I figured I'd share some of the things on my list. My thought is that I'll be even more driven to have things checked off if I make them public.

So here are 23 of my goals and golden to-dos:

• Run a half marathon
• Travel abroad
• Read more
• Pay it forward
• Say "yes" more that "no"
• Write and send more handwritten notes/letters
• Host/plan a party 
• Try something new at least once a month
• Improve my savings
• Have a spa day - the whole day
• Befriend someone new
• Spend an afternoon at the museum
• Be more spontaneous
• Use my daily planner- daily!
• Try a barre class
• Perfect a vanilla cake and chocolate cake recipe
• Buy flowers - just because
• Learn something new 
• Worry less
• Criticize less
• Be postiive 
• Buy a new Mac
• Have more fun

No none of them are extremely grand, but they are definitely things I hope to see come true. 

The full list is quite a long one, but I think a year is a reasonable amount of time to get them all done. Or at least enough time to put them in motion. 

xo Belle

Early Celebrations at L'Espalier

My birthday is just 'round the corner which means that celebrations are allowed to properly begin.
Since my brother is headed back to school tomorrow, we figured we'd celebrate early with him today.
Wanting to try out L'Espalier's "Fantasy Afternoon Tea" for quite some time now, I figured this was the perfect occasion. So into Boston we went.

L'Espalier is conveniently located on Boylston Street, which allowed for us to browse the shops on Newbury before heading over. And boy were we looking forward to warmth and hot drinks once we got to the restaurant. It's chilly out there!

We stepped into L'Espalier's ground floor entrance, were ushered into the elevator, and welcomed into the lobby once we hit the 2nd floor. From there, we were led to our table.

The restaurant is simple and elegant, and definitely on the more formal side.

Not long after sitting, our very friendly and attentive waiter greeted us. He told us the specialty teas they were featuring today and asked if we were ready to order. Unsure of which tea to start off with (so many of them intrigued me), I asked if there was any way to smell or taste the various flavors. He smiled, nodded, and directed me across the room to this table:

I went for one of their specialty teas- a mix of a black and a green - which they named their "Anniversary Blend." It was very good.

Back at the table, we glanced at the menu and ordered.

3 Little Red Riding Hoods, please and thank you. When having afternoon tea, you must go for the full sha-bang. When in Rome, no?

As we sipped on our tea, our waiter brought over three large glasses. Inside the glasses, were hot water and a walnut-sized bud. "Just wait and watch" our waiter told us.

So we did just that.

And within minutes, the bud opened up like a flower.

And started to grow.

The tea sommelier stopped at our table to explain to us what we were seeing. And let us know that it was a green tea that is supposedly very good for one's health. Pretty cool.

Our first plate was brought out right as our tea stopped flowering. And man, did it set the bar high for what was to come.

This tiny little shot held the most scrumptious, golden, apple-cider based, liquid. I could have drank a vat of it. It was paired with a biscotti which was topped with a gelled fruit of sorts. I wasn't the biggest fan of the topping, but the biscuit was tasty.

Sandwiches followed.

Classic cucumber and cream cheese, ham and cheese on croissant, deviled egg topped with crab, cornish hen salad in a pastry puff, and smoked salmon and cream cheese.

The ham and cheese was hands down the best one. Chris agreed.

We took a small break between our savory and sweet courses and poured ourselves so more tea.

 

A little birdie must have mentioned we were celebrating my birthday because this little guy was delivered to the table, accompanied by the singing of "Happy Birthday."

And the desserts just flowed from there.

With honey, clotted cream, and orange jam to top off our scones, it was a sugary wonderland.

 

The espresso cream, puff pastry swan was exquisite. But the lemon cake was my fave- it was the perfect bite of sweetness and tartness. 

We washed down and diluted our sugar intake with a few more cups of tea, relaxed back into our seats, and wished afternoon tea was a daily activity.

Eventually we finished our leisurely meal and headed back out to the lobby. 

Upon leaving, we were handed one last treat - a s'mores flavored macaroon.

A nice little touch that definitely left us wanting to come back to L'Espalier for s'more.

A perfect birthday outing in my book.

xo Belle

A Case of Wanderlust

I've self diagnosed myself with a strong case of  wanderlust. Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to travel the world, see different sites, experience different cultures, and meet the locals of each place.

I've been lucky enough to travel here and there and study abroad in college, but my bout of wanderlust has never subsided. If anything, it's gotten stronger.

Today's daydreams included jet-setting to the U.K., Europe, and Asia.

Does anyone else suffer from this seemingly incurable disease?

xo Belle

A Late Lunch at Cafe Mangal

My brother is home on winter break for another week and a half. So I'm trying to squeeze in as many outings with him as possible. Since work takes over during the weekdays, the weekends are when most of our adventures take place.

As part of today's outing, we had lunch at one of my favorite spots in Wellesley - Cafe Mangal. Mom came too.

The cafe is a small restaurant right in the town's center. Causal by day and a little more formal by night, they serve fresh and delicious Mediterranean/American food with a Turkish twist.

I have yet to go for dinner (it's on my to-do!), but lunch never disappoints.
It's often pretty crowded for the mid-day meal but we arrived for a late (2pm) bite and had no problem finding a table. What we did have a problem with, was deciding what to order - everything sounded mouth-wateringly good.

 

 

After staring at the menu board for an obscene amount of time, debating what dish my taste buds would enjoy over the others, we all placed our orders.

Sitting in a cozy corner, we people-watched, chatted, and stared at all the delicious treats in the glass case behind us.  Baklava and lemon cake and hazelnut torte, oh my!

Luckily our food arrived before we had time to break through the glass and reach for a sweet.

Chris ordered the 'Prosciutto de Parma and Tomato Mozzarella Salad,' which consisted of a
mesclun mix, fresh mozzarella, tomato, thinly sliced Prosciutto, fresh basil, oregano, olive oil, house vinaigrette, and balsamic vinegar. He was in heaven.

 

Mom got the 'Chicken and Mozzarella Panini' with roasted red peppers and pesto. A little blurry in the photo, but Mom said it was very tasty.

I went for the 'Arugula Salad with Poached Figs and Prosciutto di Parma.'
Baby arugula, poached dry figs, Prosciutto di Parma, pine nuts, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette- it was even more delicious than it looks (if that's even possible.)

A perfect late lunch to kick off our Saturday shenanigans. 

xo Belle

Get A Life

Every once in a while, I come across quotes, stories, word of advice, etc. that strongly resonate with me and remind me of what's important. Because it's easy to get caught up in our own lives and the small things that either affect us positively or negatively. We get frustrated by bad hair days, traffic, work, relationships, what we have, what we don't have, etc. And more often than not, it's not until something sudden and life-altering happens that we realize how little those things matter.

A friend of mine sent me the following speech by the Pulitzer Prize winning author, Anna Quindlen. It was her commencement address to Villanova years ago, but its message is timeless. After reading it, I knew it was something I had to pass on. Hopefully it will have an effect on you too.

"Get a Life" by Anna Quindlen

It's a great honor for me to be the third member of my family to receive an honorary doctorate from this great university. It's an honor to follow my great-uncle Jim, who was a gifted physician, and my Uncle Jack, who is a remarkable businessman. Both of them could have told you something important about their professions, about medicine or commerce. I have no specialized field of interest or expertise, which puts me at a disadvantage, talking to you today. I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know.

Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. The second is only part of the first. Don't ever forget what a friend once wrote Senator Paul Tsongas when the senator decided not to run for reelection because he'd been diagnosed with cancer: "No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time in the office."

Don't ever forget the words my father sent me on a postcard last year: "If you win the rat race, you're still a rat." Or what John Lennon wrote before he was gunned down in the driveway of the Dakota: "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

You walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree; there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is a cold comfort on a winter night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've gotten back the test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume. I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh.

I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh.

I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh.

I would be rotten, or at best mediocre at my job, if those other things were not true. You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are.

So here's what I wanted to tell you today: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure; it is work. Each time you look at your diploma, remember that you are still a student, still learning how to best treasure your connection to others. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. Kiss your Mom. Hug your Dad.

Get a life in which you are generous. Look around at the azaleas in the suburban neighborhood where you grew up; look at a full moon hanging silver in a black, black sky on a cold night. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.

Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough.
It is so easy to waste our lives: our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of the azaleas, the sheen of the limestone on Fifth Avenue, the color of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of live.

I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my druthers, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.

I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get.

I learned to look at all the good in the world and to try to give some of it back because I believed in it completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field.Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy.

And think of life as a terminal illness because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.

Well, you can learn all those things, out there, if you get a real life, a full life, a professional life, yes, but another life, too, a life of love and laughs and a connection to other human beings. Just keep your eyes and ears open. Here you could learn in the classroom. There the classroom is everywhere. The exam comes at the very end.

No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time at the office.

I found one of my best teachers on the boardwalk at Coney Island maybe 15 years ago. It was December, and I was doing a story about how the homeless survive in the winter months. He and I sat on the edge of the wooden supports, dangling our feet over the side, and he told me about his schedule, panhandling the boulevard when the summer crowds were gone, sleeping in a church when the temperature went below freezing, hiding from the police amidst the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Cyclone and some of the other seasonal rides.

But he told me that most of the time he stayed on the boardwalk, facing the water, just the way we were sitting now, even when it got cold and he had to wear his newspapers after he read them.
And I asked him why. Why didn't he go to one of the shelters? Why didn't he check himself into the hospital for detox?

And he just stared out at the ocean and said, "Look at the view, young lady. Look at the view." And every day, in some little way, I try to do what he said. I try to look at the view.
And that's the last thing I have to tell you today, words of wisdom from a man with not a dime in his pocket, no place to go, nowhere to be.

Look at the view. You'll never be disappointed.


xo Belle

My Monogrammed Jewelry Box

After the whirlwind of the holidays, I've finally gotten around to fully unpacking all of my stuff from our Christmas travels. Among the things I finally took out and set-up is one of my favorite presents:

My monogrammed jewelry box.

It's the perfect size and layout for me. Great for keeping everything organized and untangled.

If you fancy one for yourself (or to gift to someone else), I'm told Santa got it at Pottery Barn.

xo Belle