Tommy's Week in Maine

Tommy, Greg and Erin returned last night from their week in Maine. It appears that they left just in time as a Category 1 hurricane, Kyle, is now headed for Maine. That's right, a hurricane, in Maine. Greg's parent's, sister and most of the rest of the construction crew are still there. We'll be thinking about all of them and hoping that everyone stays safe and that the cabin makes it out in one piece!

It sounds like everyone had a great week. It was hard work - Tommy and Greg are both still very sore, but Maine looks beautiful and it sounds like everyone had a great time, and lots of lobster (I'm SO jealous!). I'll post some photos here, but be sure to click here if you'd like to see some more photos.

The Visitors Keep Coming!

Tommy headed off to Maine early this morning to help the Clarks construct their cabin. I'm sad I can't join them - I think it is going to be lots of hard work, but also a lot of fun - it always is when you're with the Clark family! Unfortunately, with Tommy's Mom and Robert coming in next week, and my parents the following, I really couldn't afford to take a full week away from work. If you're interested, you can follow Tommy's adventures on the blog Greg's parents are keeping, "Extreme Cabin Makeover."

Greg and Erin flew in on Friday evening. I was so glad they were able to stay a few days with us in Connecticut before heading off to Maine. We ate at the Thai restaurant we like in Darien, Little Thai Kitchen, came home and played video games on the projector for a few minutes and then were off to bed - I guess we are getting old!

After a trip to the bagel shop and Target, we headed into NYC for the day. It was an absolutely gorgeous day - about 70 and not a cloud in the sky! We took a stroll down 5th Avenue and through Central Park to the Met. Greg and Erin wanted to see a Jeff Koons sculpture exhibit on the roof. Not too many pieces, but they were really fun:

We grabbed a snack and wandered through Central Park and window-shopped some more before our dinner reservation at 8. We ate at Basso 56, a tiny Italian restaurant near Broadway and 56th. The food and wine were delicious - another great recommendation from Turner!

So I'm by myself until next Sunday. No big plans other than Girls' night on Friday with Mindy, so give me a call or drop me a line. I'll be looking forward to seeing how the cabin construction goes this week in Maine. Wish them all luck!

Newport, Rhode Island

When we first moved to Connecticut, we would ask everyone what the "must see" sights were in the area. So many of them mentioned Newport right away that we decided that we needed to check it out. Around the turn of the twentieth century, the wealthly New York families of the times (Vanderbilts, Astors etc.) began building vacation homes (MANSIONS) on the coast in Newport. Today, Newport has become a cute little town filled with bed and breakfasts, little shops and great seafood. I left work a little early and we got on the road before 5pm. Unfortunately, due to lots of rain and Friday fraffic, what was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour drive turned into 4. We did manage to make it to Newport in time for a late dinner at the Brick Alley - a popular restaurant/bar in the middle of downtown Newport. We arrived at our bed and breakfast around 10:30 - the Victorian Ladies Inn. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Newport - reasonably priced, close to everything, friendly people and yummy breakfast. We stayed in the "Edward" room:

Since we really only had Saturday to spend in Newport, we had to make the most of the day. After breakfast, we walked along the "Cliff Walk" a walk/hike that goes from really close to our hotel to the mansions along the coast. Once again, we ended up walking a little further than we'd planned (about 4 miles instead of 2), but it was definitely worth it. The views were gorgeous - I'd like to post all of our photos so you can really get a feel for the scenery, but here are a few:

The most famous of the Newport mansions is The Breakers, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt (grandson of the original shipping magnate) in the late 1800's. We took a tour of the inside - no photos were allowed, but it was amazing - made me feel like I was back in Europe at Versailles! Here are a couple of pictures of the outside:

Tommy just added the photos to a web album, so click here if you'd like to see the rest of them:

Newport Photos

After our tour, we got a late lunch at a restuarant on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. We went back to our B&B for a nap and got a very late dinner at Fluke restaurant, right on the wharf in downtown Newport.

We headed home after breakfast this morning to be sure we made it in time to pick up Max and Albert. My legs are sore today from all the walking, but we had a great weekend!

(don't miss the 2 posts below that I also added today about my week at training in NYC and a delicious recipe!)

More time in the City

It seems like most of our posts lately have been about our trips into New York City. Unfortuately, this one won't be much different (stay tuned - we just got back from a weekend trip to Newport, Rhode Island). This past week, I had training in New York from Monday through Wednesday. There wasn't anything particularly special about this training, other than the fact that it is normally reserved for Senior Managers and Partners, but as a National Office Manager, I get to go too, but the location made it fun! We stayed at the Millenium Broadway and I had a view of Times Square from my hotel room window!

After training on Monday, I went shopping with a couple of other girls from the Wilton office, Mindy and Shannon. We didn't go anywhere exciting, but I did get a cute sweater and pair of flats at Ann Taylor Loft. While we were out, we walked past the tents set up in Bryant Park for Fashion Week. One of the shows was letting out and there were a bunch of people with cameras, but we didn't have any star sightings :( For dinner, we ate sushi at Haru Sushi, right off of Broadway near Times Square - good sushi and a great atmosphere:

There were a few other people at this training from my SEC Services group in Wilton, so we made reservations at Buddakan, a trendy restaurant in the Meatpacking District of NYC. I must admit, I don't think our group of accountants contributed to the "trendiness" of the restaurant, but the food was delicious - fancy chinese fusion food served family style, so we all got to try lots of different things!

Last weekend, the last box of our Bowflex FINALLY arrived, so Tommy put that together and has been getting in some exercise (in between computer games :) ) while I have been gone. The Bowflex required quite a bit of assembly and it didn't seem to take Tommy long at all. Here's the finished product:

Just Like Lupe's

Anyone who knows me will be surprised to find a recipe posted on my blog. I found this one online somewhere and Tommy and I decided to make it last Sunday. We have been missing our Mexican food and this one sounded so close to Lupe Tortilla's #29 (soft chicken tacos) that we had to try it. The result - almost EXACTLY like the #29. Tommy and I were so excited to find this - it's really easy to make, too! I think this will become a staple in our dinner rotation - at least as long as we're in Connecticut.

Chicken Enchiladas

1 pound of chicken (We used 2 medium to large chicken breasts)
1 can of diced tomatoes and chilies (Rotel)
1 can of enchilada sauce (~10 oz)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small/medium onion, chopped
1 3 oz package of cream cheese
1 package flour tortillas (large, burrito size)
1 package of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

In a slow cooker, combine first 6 ingredients. Cook all day. The longer you cook, the more tender the chicken and easier to pull. Remove chicken from cooker (we cooked ours for 4-6 hours). Pull chicken. Mix pulled chicken with cream cheese. Place chicken in tortillas. Add a spoon of soup & onion mix to each enchilada. Sprinkle enchiladas with about half of the package of cheese. Roll enchiladas and place in a baking dish (we made 4 rolls with this recipe). Pour remaining soup/onion mixture over top of enchiladas - we had some extra sauce, so you could probably add more chicken and make a few more rolls. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Take out and add remaining shredded cheese. Cook 5 more minutes.

It isn't healthy, but it's REALLY good!

Another New York Visitor

This Wednesday, Tommy's step sister, Tiffany was in New York for work - all the way from LA! We're so glad she let us know and that we were able to meet up with her for dinner. We asked the concierge at Tiffany's hotel for a restaurant location - bad idea, I guess. He sent us to a very mediocre Italian restaurant about a block from Times Square. Given the number of great restaurants in NYC, I'm always disappointed when I eat at one that's not that great. Oh well.

Tiffany was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel, so after dinner and a walk through Times Square, we grabbed a drink at the rooftop bar at the Roosevelt before heading back to Stamford.



It was great to see Tiffany again. Since we live on opposite sides of the country, we never get to see her often enough. Tiffany - we hope you enjoyed the rest of your first visit to the Big Apple. Keep in touch!

The Broomes visit New York!

Tommy and I spent a fun day on Sunday in New York City visiting with the Broome family. They made the trip from Houston to NYC for the long Labor Day weekend, so we joined them in the city for the day on Sunday. While they were on a Harbor Cruise in the morning, Tommy and I took the time to do some sightseeing of our own.

The Brooklyn Bridge:

Battery Park:

We met the Broomes at Ground Zero, then went and grabbed a snack/drink with Jeff while the rest of his family shopped 5th Ave. We all met up again for dinner later in the evening. My friend, Turner who lives in NYC recommended a place called Cafeteria - trendy comfort food in Chelsea made famous by the gals of Sex and the City. My mac 'n cheese and pear martini were delicious (thanks for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Broome!). Here's the whole bunch at dinner:

Adam Rio was even able to join us for a bite:

We finished off the night with some yummy cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery - a wonderful day! We miss you guys already!