Trying To Heal In Boston

Posted by on April 18, 2013 Leave a Comment

boston

I have not been able to get myself to post this week after Monday’s terrible bombings at the Boston Marathon.  I hope to return to regular posting next week, but I’m still in process of shaking off the dark cloud over me as I have tried to process how something so tragic could happen on one of Boston’s finest days.

Each year as a college student in Boston, one of my favorite memories was watching the marathon race by my school on Patriot’s Day.  It was such a happy day for everyone involved and I have felt a twinge of sadness each year that I have not been able to leisurely watch the race from the sidelines.  Even when I worked in the Back Bay a block away from the finish line, but had to be in my office for most of the day, I still enjoyed soaking in the city’s atmosphere of a marathon day.  I muttered under my breath about the tourists impeding my commute on days leading up to the marathon, but I secretly loved crossing the empty finish line when I got out of work for the day.

I had been texting and laughing with my husband earlier on Monday about some funny memories of Marathon Monday during our senior year.  Suddenly, he sent me a text to turn on the news because there were reports of a bombing at the marathon.  Seconds after I turned on the tv, the news showed footage of massive explosions hitting Boylston Street and I burst into tears.  It was shocking to see these images of the street I knew so well.

I had walked this same patch of Boylston Street hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the years and I feel like I know it like the back of my hand.  I walked this street to catch my bus home every evening.  I walked this street to run errands on my lunch break and grab a bite to eat.  I walked this street to meet up with my husband or friends after work to grab drinks or dinner.  I walked this street to buy my wedding dress.  I walked this street to ring in New Year’s Eve. I walked this street to go catch a game at Fenway.   I walked this street with my newborn baby after taking him to his nearby pediatrician or baby class at the Prudential Center.

I’ve spent most of the week pouring over articles on the Internet and watching more the news on practically a non-stop basis.  My heart goes out to all the victims of these tragic bombings.  I’m filled with such sadness knowing that three of the victims will never be returning to their families.  I know it will be a long road to heal, but I hope we will be able to one day go on and enjoy our beautiful city and a joyous Marathon Monday once again.  In the meanwhile, I encourage you to contribute to The One Fund set up by the city of Boston to help the victims rebuild their lives.

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Oh baby…

Posted by on January 17, 2013 251 Comments

oh baby giveaway

So, I have a little announcement to make on 2 Sisters 2 Cities today…I’m having another baby!  And to celebrate, we are hosting a $25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway over the course of the next week!  Just enter through the Wafflecopter widget below and leave a comment with your guess as to whether I’m having a boy or girl.  There is also a chance to earn bonus entries by following 2S2C on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, RSS, and/or e-mail.  A winner will be picked at random so you don’t have to guess correctly, but it will be fun to see which way the votes sway!  We’ll be finding out the baby’s gender next Thursday and I’ll  be doing a special baking-related gender reveal at that point.

Some data points to assist with your baby gender guess:

  • My two-year old son, Baby T, is a boy.
  • I’m one of four girls.  My husband is an only child.
  • The Chinese gender calendar predicts girl.
  • My main pregnancy craving has been ice cream (thank goodness for the new ice cream maker K got my for Christmas!)  My last pregnancy, I craved salty snacks.
  • My intuition says it’s going to be a boy.

My due date is in late June which puts me in pretty much the same pregnancy timeline as Kate Middleton, Jessica Simpson, and now Kim Kardashian.  I think it would be really fun for my baby to share the same birthdate as the royal baby (and not so much with the latter two!)

I can’t wait to see what everyone guesses!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules:   No entries will be accepted after January 24th, 2013 at 12:00 am, EST.  Entries that do not follow the entry requirements will not be considered.  One winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on January 24th, 2013.  (The winner does not have to guess the gender correctly to win.)  The chosen winner will then have 30 days to respond by e-mail to claim their prize.  Please note that this giveaway is fully sponsored by 2 Sisters 2 Cites.  Void where prohibited.

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M’s Goals for 2013

Posted by on January 3, 2013 2 Comments

goals for 2013

It’s now an annual tradition to share my goals for the year on this blog (Here were my goals for 2010 and 2012…apparently having a newborn baby made me less goal-oriented in 2011.)  Instead of drafting lofty resolutions, I always like to break it down into smaller goals that I’m more likely to accomplish throughout the year.  I don’t always follow up on all of them, but it’s nice to sit down and prioritize how I want to focus my life.  Here are some of my goals for 2013:

  • Read 26 books in 2013.  Last year, I set 26 books as my Goodreads 2012 reading challenge number, but I fell short by 14 books…oops.  I’m hoping to try to reach this challenge this year by skipping the tv more often each evening and reading instead.
  • Try yoga again.  Since moving to the ‘burbs, I haven’t belonged to a gym or any kind of fitness studio.  I recently bought a 10-pack of yoga classes through one of those group coupon deals and I’m hoping to incorporate more fitness into my weekly schedule.
  • Focus on eating more “real” breakfasts and lunches.  I’m pretty good at making a “real” dinner each night for our family, but often I find myself just grabbing whatever throughout the day whenever I’m hungry.  I made this Greek Veggie Wrap yesterday for lunch and it was so good (and healthy!)  I’m hoping to try a lot more smoothie recipes for breakfast as well.
  • Keep organizing!  Even though we have lived in our home for over a year now, I still find there are spots that I haven’t touched since I initially unpacked them.  I’m planning on doing some major basement reorganizing this winter and some garage projects this spring when it starts to warm up a bit.
  • Grow 2 Sisters 2 Cities.  While K and I are very proud how much our little blog has grown in the past few years, we want to keep growing and improving it every day.  I want to try many new recipes this year and also continue to work on my food photography and editing skills.

What are you hoping to accomplish in this upcoming year?

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M’s Favorite Posts of the Year

Posted by on December 31, 2012 4 Comments

I can’t believe the sun is setting on what is the final day of 2012…what a blur of a year!  We are also celebrating the third anniversary of 2 Sisters 2 Cities this month.  To wrap up the year, K and I have decided to each highlight our top five favorite posts from this past year.  (She will be listing hers in a separate post.)

2012 was a great year for 2 Sisters 2 Cities with over 200 posts!  This past year, we’ve really focused on growing 2S2C with more frequent posts and better quality content and photos.  In addition, we rolled out our new logo and theme this past year.  We are happy to report that we are already seeing results- our visitor traffic is now ten times higher than it was last December!  A huge thanks to all our loyal readers who read our blog so faithfully for the past three years.  Now, moving on to my top five posts of 2012…

 1.  We were very excited to kick-off 2012 with a New England vs New York Super Bowl.  K and I decided to have a little competition of our own and had a Super Bowl recipe throwdown.  I came up with a recipe for Lobster Nachos, while K whipped up some Buffalo Chicken Bites with Zesty Blue Cheese. Unfortunately New York won both events, but we had a great time coming up with regionally-themed appetizers.

  Super Bowl recipe throwdown

2.  While this was actually a series of 15 posts, I tried a lot of new fruits and vegetable recipes over the course of spring and summer with my Fresh Produce Tuesday series.  It gave me some great ideas for recipes to make with fresh, local produce.  I’m already counting down the days until the opening day for farmers markets!

fresh produce tueday

3.  In September, I wrote this post for an Apple, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad with Dried Cherries while I was visiting my parents.  It was so hard to narrow down a particular favorite recipe from the year, but I adore how the photos of this salad turned out.  It also helped that I made this recipe countless times afterwards.

apple, walnut, and blue cheese salad
4.  This fall, I did a post with a tutorial on how to make your own Rolling Storage Crate.  I’m happy to report that we love using it for T’s ever growing book collection in his room.  This ended up being our most popular post of the year and was even featured on Knock Off Decor.

rolling storage cart 1

5.  In November, I threw a Mickey Mouse-themed party for T’s 2nd birthday.  I had a great time pulling this together for my little guy’s special day.  I think I may have overdid it on the Mickey Mouse birthday and Halloween costume though as T suddenly went cold turkey with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and will only watch Curious George now (monkey party next year anyone?)

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party collage

Again, thanks so much to all our wonderful readers who helped us grow so much this past year.  Cheers to a memorable 2012 and another cheers to a fresh start for 2013!

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Holiday Wines that You Will “Likelii” Enjoy!

Posted by on December 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

likelii

With Hanukkah already here and Christmas and New Year’s Eve quickly approaching, you may be stocking up on wine for the holidays.  Do you find yourself always buying the same types of wine time and again?  If you are looking to mix it up this holiday season and want to try a new type of wine-buying experience, I recommend checking out Likelii.

The founders of Likelii wanted to create a wine recommendation engine that works like Pandora does for music and Netflix does for movies.  You start off by entering a specific wine that you usually buy and the site creates a list of recommendations of other types of wine you might like.  You can further refine the recommendations by adding other types of wine that you like and rating wines that you have already tried.  And best yet, you can buy the recommended wines directly from Likelii.com and knock one less thing off your to-do list (if shipping wine to your state is allowed.)

I tried out Likelii by entering my two “house” wines that I always buy- J Lohr Cabernet and Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  Likelii recommended that I try out Gordon Brother Cabernet, Brancott Sauvignon Blanc, and Kilikanoon Covenant Shiraz (among others.)  I’m looking forward to trying out these new bottles of wine!

Whether you are looking for a wine recommendation for yourself or a gift idea for someone else this holiday season, be sure to check out Likelii for a customized list of wine picks.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Likelii.com.  However, all opinions are my own.

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DIY Holiday Wreath Guest Post

Posted by on December 6, 2012 1 Comment

DIY Holiday Wreath

Today I’m guest blogging over at Juggling Act Mama about my DIY Holiday Wreath that cost less than $20 to make!  I really wanted to incorporate more blue and silver into my holiday decorating scheme.  Since I had so much fun making this hydrangea wreath in the spring, I decided to make my own holiday wreath.  All the supplies to make this wreath can be found at a craft store, such as Michael’s or A.C. Moore.

DIY holiday wreath

What do you think of the results?  I’m really pleased with how cute it turned out!  For the full tutorial, head over to to Juggling Act Mama!

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A Turkey Alternative- The Original Turducken!

Posted by on November 15, 2012 1 Comment

original turducken logo

Every year for Thanksgiving, I have lofty dreams of extensive menus planned in advance and all recipes prepped and ready to go on for the big day.  This does not usually match up with reality however.  Thanksgiving is officially one week away and I have no menu plans and no grocery list and I certainly have not started prepping anything.  I’ve now reached the phase where I start to think of ways to cut down on work the day of Thanksgiving.

Cooked Turducken

I came across an easier alternative to the traditional roasted turkey- the Original Turkducken!  Echelon Foods’ Original Turducken consists of a turkey stuffed with layers of duck and chicken and a choice of either Spicy Italian or Chicken Apple stuffing.  It will be sure to please all the meat lovers in your family :) The Turducken is completely boneless and when sliced correctly, everyone at your Thanksgiving table will receive some duck, chicken, turkey, and stuffing in their slice.

the original turducken packaging

The Turducken is actually easier to cook than a regular turkey.  It takes five days to defrost since it is solid meat (vs. a frozen turkey which has a hollow cavity) and then you just need to pop it in the oven on Thanksgiving day.  There is no need to worry about brining, prepping, stuffing, and basting your turkey!  The Original Turducken is available in many stores across the US and Canada.  (Fellow Massachusetts residents: Roche Bros. carries the Turducken.)

Turducken slices

Have you ever tried the Original Turducken?  Are you a stickler for tradition or do you have plans to mix it up a bit at your Thanksgiving table?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Echelon Foods and The Original Turducken.  All opinions are my own.

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Blog Better Boston Food Summit at Stonewall Kitchen

Posted by on October 22, 2012 5 Comments

Stonewall Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry Jam

My husband, baby T, and I traveled up to Maine this weekend to visit some family and friends and so that I could attend the Blog Better Boston Food Summit at Stonewall Kitchen.  Stonewall Kitchen’s headquarters in York, ME include a food production plant, their corporate offices, a cooking school, and a huge store with SK products.  I’ve always driven by their headquarters on many other trips to Maine and have always wanted to check it out.  When I found out that the lovely ladies behind Blog Better Boston were organizing a food summit at Stonewall Kitchen, I knew I had to attend!

We started off with a delicious breakfast provided by Au Bon Pain.  Next, we toured the Stonewall Kitchen facilities.  It was very cool to check out the production line.

Stonewall Kitchen Production Facility

I also loved the office spaces and conference  rooms-  what a beautiful space to work in!

Stonewall Kitchen Offices

We had four sessions throughout the day: Restaurant Reviews, Food Photography, Recipe Development, and Photo Editing.  They were all great sessions and I learned so much information.  I was really inspired by the Food Photography session hosted by Stonewall Kitchen’s product photographer, Michael Cabelin.  He provided so many great photography tips that I am hoping to implement soon!  I was blown away by their props collection- check out all the plates and bowls!  They also had an entire tool cabinet of different size spoons and forks.  How funny would it be if I took out all my husband’s tools out of his tool chest and put in blogging props instead?

Stonewall Kitchen Props

For our lunch break, we got to attend Stonewall Kitchen’s Cooking School.  Culinary instructor Patty Roche walked us through the delicious lunch menu.  We started off with a butternut squash soup with ginger.  The entrée consisted of prosciutto-wrapped chicken with ricotta and sage topped with a lemon roasted garlic beurre blanc and side of roasted pumpkin & vegetable medley with creamy polenta.  We topped off the meal with a pear and fig cobbler dessert.  (Check out the 2S2C facebook page for photos of all 3 dishes!)  It was a wonderful fall meal and the class itself was very entertaining.  It was like being on the set of a cooking show!  Patty also shared many great cooking tips throughout the class.

Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School

Before we left, we were treated with a pretty awesome swag bag.  Some of my favorite items included the Stonewall Kitchen Holiday Jam, coasters from Chilewich, and the Lake Champlain organic cherry peruvian dark chocolate bar. My favorite item overall has to be the Kitchen Aid 3-Speed Immersion Blender from Wayfair…I can’t wait to try it out on some recipes later this week.  Be sure to check in to 2S2C later this week- I am planning a giveaway with some of the swag I received! (And speaking of giveaways, have you entered our Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway yet?!?)

blog better boston food summit swag

This was actually the third conference of the year that I have attended (see here and here for recaps from the first two.)  I really enjoyed this conference since it solely focused on food blogging.  I definitely hope to attend more food blogging conferences in the future!

So tell me, do you have a particular favorite Stonewall Kitchen product?  Share in the comments…

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O&CO. Specialty Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar

Posted by on October 14, 2012 Leave a Comment

With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s a great time to start thinking about stocking up on hostess gifts and presents to give to your family and friends.  One of my favorite gifts that I like to bring as a hostess gift is specialty olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  A great place to buy specialty olive oil and vinegar is at O&CO.  O&CO. has provided a special promotion code for 2S2C readers to save 16% off your order between now and October 16th: FOODIE16.

Here’s a little information about O&CO.s history and product offerings:

For over 15 years, O&CO. has been cultivating tradition, expertise, and high standards in order to offer their customers the best selections of olive oils and delicacies from across the Mediterranean.  While olive oils serve as the foundation, O&CO. also offers an exclusive collection of vinegars, tapenades, spreads, crackers, and sweets as well as an organic skincare range that showcase the flavors and the spirit of the Mediterranean.  Founded in 1996, O&CO.s mission is to provide customer with the finest olive oils and Mediterranean food products in stores and online.

Here are a few O&CO. products that would make great gifts (including to yourself!)  This aged balsamic vinegar would be perfect for the caprese salad:


Black truffle oil is amazing drizzled over pasta, roasted vegetables, or eggs:

This truffle salt would be the perfect touch to go on top of popcorn:

Don’t forget to use the special coupon code FOODIE16 to get a 16% discount from today to October 16, 2012. To take advantage of this offer, visit O&CO.

Please note: This sponsorship is brought to you by O&CO. who we have partnered with for this promotion.

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Costco Pantry Essentials: 10 Items to Stock Your Pantry

Posted by on September 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

I’m always amazed at how quickly my cart fills up whenever I make a trip to Costco so it pays to have a bit of a strategy when you shop there.  There are plenty of items at Costco for foodies and people who do a lot of cooking, however it’s sometimes hard to find items that can be used up before they go bad or don’t pose a storage challenge (50 pound bag of flour- I’m looking at you.)

While shopping at Costco,  I tend to focus on stocking up on pantry essentials and paper products (namely paper towels, toilet paper, baby wipes, etc.) In this post, I wanted to highlight some very high-quality Costco pantry essentials that every cook and baker requires.  Here is my top 10 list of essential list of pantry items to stock up on at Costco:

Top 10 Costco Pantry Essentials

1.  Extra-virgin olive oil- I really like the Kirkland brand and I think it’s very good quality for the price.

2.  Balsamic Vinegar- I’ve mentioned the Kirkland brand for the balsamic vinegar before in my Caprese Salad post.

3.  Organic Chicken Stock- I love the convenience of having the cardboard quart boxes in my freezer so it’s one less thing to buy in the regular grocery run.

4.  Cooking Spray- Pam or the Kirkland Brand.  I use cooking spray almost every day and it’s nice to have a back-up can in the pantry when you run out.

5.  Tomato Products in normal-sized cans- I would avoid the super large cans of tomato products as I can’t really picture myself using it all before it went bad.  Costco does sell diced tomatoes and tomato paste in large quantities of regular-sized cans though.

6.  Pine Nuts and Nuts (Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, etc.)- While $18.99 for a bag of pine nuts may seem extravagant, it’s such a great value considering a teeny tiny bag at the grocery store can cost up to $7.  I store pine nuts in the fridge for long-term storage so they don’t go rancid.  I love to throw them in salad or use them in pestos.  We also go through a lot of almonds and walnuts in our house- I usually store them in ziploc bags or large sealable glass containers.

7.  Dried Fruits (cranberries, blueberries, cherries, etc.)- Great to throw in salads or baked goods

8.  Jarred Vegetables/Fruits- Roasted Red Peppers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Capers are all great items to have on hand for regular cooking.  That jar of capers is huge so I would only recommend buying it if you use a lot of capers in your house.

9.  Vanilla- A must have for anyone who bakes regularly.

10.  Chocolate Chips- I tried to always have a bag of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips on hand for whenever I have the urge to make chocolate chip cookies.

What items do you prefer to stock up on Costco or other warehouse clubs?  What do you consider to be must-have items in your pantry?

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