Year: 2015

Holiday Lighted Boat Parade - Mystic Connecticut

Christmas Date Ideas: Holiday Lighted Boat Parade in Mystic, CT

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We are really excited that we’re just three weeks away from my favorite holiday: Christmas. Ok, I should rephrase that. I am really, really excited. I tend to go a little overboard and my poor husband is caught in the wake. We made a deal that there would be no mention of Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. So naturally, the day after Thanksgiving, my husband woke up to a fully decorated house and two days after the turkey day, we were headed to a double date with some friends in Mystic, Connecticut to kick of Christmas festivities watching boats covered in bright little lights float down Mystic River. This is our second time heading to Mystic and as usual, we were enchanted by its charm and beautiful water fronts. Don’t be fooled by its small town feel though. When it comes time to celebrate fall and winter, they know how to do it right. From Clyde’s Cider Mill and corn mazes in the fall to their Holiday Boat Parade and Christmas tree lighting, there’s …

The Butcher Shop Restaurant Review, Boston MA

Date Night at the Butcher Shop?

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We did it again. We’ve headed back into Boston for another date night. This time was a little more low key than the last but after a long week, those are always welcome. For this date night, we headed to The Butcher Shop. No, we didn’t go to an actual butcher shop to purchase meat for a date night. 1) I definitely did not feel like cooking (did you not catch my mention of a long week?) and 2) staring at dead animals is not my idea of romantic. The Butcher Shop is actually a highly rated restaurant in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The food is a combo of French (my favorite) and Italian (my husbands favorite) so it was a perfect match for us. With the name The Butcher Shop, you can expect a lot of well cured, perfectly cut and cooked meat. It is not only a wine bar but also a fully functioning butcher shop. Have no fear though, the restaurant is artfully decorated with a slate wine bar and …

La Voile French Restaurant - Newbury Street, Boston

Date Night on Newbury Street, Boston

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We finally spread our wings and made our way to the beautiful city of Boston for a date night. Although we love our little city of Providence, we wanted to do something with a different scene. We headed to Newbury Street for a night of exploring, roaming, sight seeing and ending the night with dinner and dessert at La Voile. One of the things that we don’t like about Boston is that parking is always a hassle: it costs too much, there’s never any street parking, or if there is street parking, there is a chance of getting a ticket. We know from experience unfortunately, as we’ve gotten many tickets in Boston. With this date we decided to try to centralize it into one area so we wouldn’t have to deal with the insanity of parking in Boston. Also, because we made such a long trek, we wanted to do something that was not just going to a restaurant but also seeing the sights and taking our time. Enter Newbury Street. Part of the Back Bay neighborhood, this …

Perfect Date Night Dinner: Filet Mignon with Bearnaise Sauce, Portabella Mushrooms and Vegetable Gratin

Special Date Night Recipe: Filet Mignon with Bearnaise Sauce, Portobella Mushrooms and Vegetable Gratin

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Some nights call for dressing up, making reservations and going out for a movie. Others call for a quiet night together with no distractions, candlelight dinner and fun talking in the kitchen. Food always has a special way of bringing people together and creating conversation. As usual, we made our usual Saturday morning trek to the Lippett Park farmers market in Providence. First stop coffee to function like a normal human being, second stop Humble Pie for their mini pies to get rid of the hangry then off to mix and mingle, hem and ha over veggies and finally leave with a heavy bag of fresh produce loot. We grabbed the last of the summer squash as fall is finally here and we knew it wouldn’t be long until the root veggies make their 6 month appearance. I’m usually a fan of steak and potatoes, but this time we did something a little lighter and cough, cough healthier.  And like I said, who can turn down the last of the local summer vegetables? Easy Vegetable …

Fall Date Ideas: Apple Picking

Fall Date Ideas: Apple Picking

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It’s that time of the year again! After a sweltering summer, it’s finally here. Sweater weather, apple cider and colorful foliage – hello fall! Apple picking is a must when it comes to fall activities and is also a great idea for a day date. It’s a little different than your typical go-out-for-dinner-date as it’s a fun outdoor activity together before the winter months settle in. You can also continue the date fun by making apple pies together after the picking has been done. Although we experienced our first fall in New England last year, we never actually made time to go apple picking. Boy, was that a mistake. Now that we know what to expect this year, we put apple picking on the top of our list. After much research and a valued recommendation from a local Rhody friend, we ended up driving out to Aquidneck Island to pick apples at Rocky Brook Orchard in Middleton, RI. Rocky Brook Orchard is a family run farm and specializes in the largest collection of apples types …

Best Places for Coffee in Providence RI

Best Coffee Shops in Providence RI

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Coffee is an integral part of American life these days. Most of the time it provides the kick we all need in the morning to get our day started. While this may be the typical association with coffee, it can also be a great catalyst for a first date or a laid back date. We have scowered Providence to highlight some exceptional coffee shops that each bring their own flair to the joy that is coffee (for those that do not drink coffee, what is wrong with you? Just kidding, or am I???) New Harvest Coffee and Spirits (@nharvestcoffee) Located in the oldest indoor mall in America, this establishment has a very relaxed atmosphere with ample seating, wonderful coffee and pastries. They roast all of their own coffee and distribute it around Providence to various establishments so you can expect some killer quality. One of the stand out features about this coffee shop is that they offer a large selection of whiskey for those later hours when coffee might not be the drink of choice. …

Farewell Summer: Beavertail State Park Trail

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We’ve gotten a boatload of recommendations from both our readers and Instagram followers to go hike the Beavertail Trail at the Beavertail Lighthouse in Jamestown, RI. And we are so thankful for those recommendations because well, we’re now writing about our trip. It was that amazing! We are officially convinced that the Beavertail Trail is one of Rhode Island’s best kept secrets. Sorry Rhode Island if we’re outing you, but it’s too good not to share. We’ve had bad experiences with beaches out here. From the amount you have to pay to congested roads with license plates from all over New England all the way down to New Jersey to the non-existence of available parking. Yes I know, spoiled rotten Californian you say. But seriously, beach going is supposed to be fun and relaxing and my anxiety hits the roof anytime anyone mentions East Coast beaches in general. Beavertail, though not a long stretch of sandy beach, has large rocks to set up chairs on, grass areas for family picnics and yes, even small coves …

Personal Chef for the Night

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Usually we write about some amazing restaurant that we’ve discovered in New England, an incredible recipe idea or helpful relationship advice. But not tonight! We’ve gone a little out of the box. Nay, we’ve left the box. There were flames (literally), entertainment and amazing food all from the comfort of our home. How is this possible from home you ask? Easy, a personal chef for the night. Enter Mr. Joe Choi, a professional chef with a flare for complex flavors in what seems like simple recipes. On tonight’s menu he prepared an eggplant caponata appetizer, pan seared scallops with oyster mushroom risotto and s’mores torched right in front of us on our very own dinning room table. He took over our quaint, little kitchen and worked culinary magic on our tiny stove. A personal chef seems like something only for the rich and famous. This couldn’t be further form the truth! Most personal chef’s curve their meal plan based off of your personal preference, dietary need and budget. Doing a quick search on yelp for …

How to Survive the In-Laws

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For all the married couples out there that do not necessarily see eye to eye with their respective father or mother-in-law, this is a post that we have learned from our past and present experiences with our in-laws. To give a little background on a sometimes touchy subject for most couple, my wife’s parents came out to visit us for about two weeks. As previously stated, we don’t necessarily see eye to eye on everything so my wife and I started writing down a list of the things we learned to help keep our sanity while maintaining a strong marriage the next time we are graced with presence. 1.  Remember you are a team This is a preparation step for when you are planning the sequence of events upon your in-laws arrival and it might be the most important. The first thing to remember is that you are a team by having a conversation before they arrive and agreeing that you and your spouse are united and support each other no matter what. This is …

The Farmers Market Treasure Hunt: Fish Tacos, Pico de Gallo & Sriracha Aioli

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Sometimes date nights don’t need to be dinner and a movie. Sometimes they can be something you least expect, like perusing the farmers market. This Saturday, thunder clouds loomed in the distance but the sun shined over Providence. We decided to take advantage of the cooler day and the sunshine by checking out the local farmers market. When we arrived, our first stop was Harvest Coffee for some strong cold brew (the way we like it!). With coffee in hand, the next stop was Humble Pie Co for something sweet for me and something savory for my husband. We took our peach pie and quiche lorraine, grabbed a bench, enjoyed the sunshine and people watched. Once the pies were consumed and the coffee was no more, we took in each booth one at a time, admiring the heirloom tomatoes the size of small cantaloupes, purple peppers and giant sunflowers. In California, farmers markets for the most part carry the same veggies and fruits year in and year out. However, living in the land of seasons …

Los Andes: Peruvian Delight

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Every so often we like to talk about a place to go spend your hard earned money on that special someone. The proverbial dinner and a movie date idea seems so cliché at times, however we do want to go out and enjoy some delicious food without having to put the effort in to create it. I’m sure a lot of people can relate. This gem of a restaurant, nestled in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Providence, is a wonderful place to come enjoy some Latin cuisine with a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant we are writing about is Los Andes. To start, this place is usually packed as it is no secret to the Providence local so make sure to try and call ahead a week in advance (maybe two sometimes) in order to ensure a reservation. One of the cool things about this place is even though the building is rather unassuming on the outside, the inside is very nicely executed. There is also free valet when you pull up, which makes it …

7 Valuable Lessons I Learned in the First Year of Marriage (from the Woman’s Perspective)

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This is a round up of the top 7 things I’ve learned from marriage that weren’t always in the marriage books or past blogs I’ve read but are easy to implement into your daily life. This is not a general list but is written from the woman’s perspective. These are lessons I’ve learned as a woman, but there may be some sweet morsels in here too for the men out there. 1. The honeymoon stage doesn’t have to end. Towards the end of year one of marriage, I actually got this question more than I can count from my new newly wed friends: “When did the honeymoon stage end for you?” My reply? It doesn’t have to end. I’m not saying that your marriage will be bliss for the rest of your life but what I am saying is the honeymoon stage doesn’t have to have a shelf life of 6 months or a year. My husband and I approach the honeymoon stage as a mindset, not a state of mind. The definition of a …

Free Things to do in Providence: Movies on the Block

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With Eric back in school full time pursuing his MBA, we’ve had to get clever when it comes to budgeting for dates. So when we found out we could watch classic movie favorites in the beautiful and historic Downcity Providence under the stars, we immediately jumped at the idea. Especially when we could get out of our stifling apartment on a nice summer night. Who knew New England could be so hot?! But first a little background on what we found out about Movies on the Block: Apparently they’ve been putting on movies for the community for the last nine years. They’re located on Grant’s Block, right off of Westminster Street and they start in the beginning of June and run all the way through the last of September. They play an array of classic movies from old black and whites to newer films like Gangs of New York. This year’s line up includes Jaws, Groundhog Day, The Shinning, Dracula and Who Framed Rodger Rabbit. These are just a few that caught our eye, but …

Date Adventure: Ben Utter Trail to Stepstone Falls

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The Ben Utter Trail to Step Stone Fall’s has to be one of our top ten favorite hikes and we’ve done a lot of hiking from Washington down to California. This isn’t on our list of challenging hikes as it’s mostly flat terrain, well marked trails and a short distance of three miles. But what it lacks in challenge, it makes up for in scenery with its luscious greenery, pretty foot bridges and lots of water. It’s the perfect summer leisure hike for a fun day date, and from what we’ve heard, is worth the visit during spring and fall as well. One disclaimer we will say is that it is very hard to find. Yelp is our usual source of information and recommendations, however Yelp’s address was completely off this time. It led us to an empty field featuring no waterfalls nor trails. We found another website that led us to Purgatory Road half a mile down Ten Rod Road to a golf resort. We should have known anything with purgatory in the name …

The Dorrance

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Downtown Providence is a hot bed for great places to eat. On this particular evening, we decided to go to The Dorrance on the corner of Westminster and Dorrance St. Once you step through the revolving doors of The Dorrance, it looks as if you have taken a step back in time. You are immediately confronted by a rather long bar, but before you think this is just a bar, take a look around and immediately the level of class sky rockets. The high vaulted ceilings are splashed with maroon and cream with gold ascents that look like they are from the Gilded Age. This may all seem very picturesque, and believe me it is, but once we made our way to our seats, the night just kept getting better. Given this was more of a special occasion for us, we decided to have a drink to get the night started. The cocktail list is worth the read as the house specials are cleverly crafted and if you aren’t interested in those, you can always …