I am happy to say that I got one of the biggest “To-Do’s” off of my list.
Can you guess what I bought? I hope so since the title of the post practically gave it away!
I have been running for a little over 6 months now, have a 5K under my belt and am signed up for two more, one of them this weekend! But I was running in the crappiest sneakers known to man. Seriously, I’m pretty sure I bought them during my junior year of college. 3 years ago. Not acceptable by any means.
Yikes. Those pink Champs were so far gone.
So last weekend, I dragged my mom to the New England Running Company in Beverly, practically jumping up and down at the thought of finally getting legitimate running sneaks.
When I walked in, I was completely overwhelmed (in a good way) by all of the gear in the store. I’ll admit it – I felt cool. I felt like a runner who needs new sneakers in order to run correctly and safely and power through those races with a smile on my face.
So many sneakers, so little time..
The saleswoman was incredible. She had me walk back and forth through the store so she could see how I carry myself. When I first got there, I for sure thought I wanted Nike Frees because I’ve heard some good things about them. She told me that being a new runner and for working up to longer distances, that type of shoe wasn’t the way to go. She had me try on a couple different types but the first pair I tried, the Asics Gel Cumulus, were the perfect match.
Seriously, it’s like running on a cloud in these things.
Pretty sneakers, hideous floor!
So where does that leave me? I’m sorry to say that my 10K training has been postponed. I want to concentrate on the few 5Ks I have coming up without the added pressure to have to run more than the 3.1 miles. And to be honest, I’m scared.
Somewhere between the accident and now, I’ve put up a mental roadblock. Even running the 3 miles is daunting at times and I can’t imagine myself going further than that. Luckily, I did not end up registering right away for the 10K so no money lost but I am bummed. It’s still on my running bucket list for sure, along with even longer races, but for now, 5Ks are my thing.
I want to know… How do you get over mental roadblocks when it comes to running? Have you ever hit one? How do you just get through the toughest long runs without wanting to quit? Oh – and what are your favorite running sneaks?
Last week, I got an e-mail from Boston Bruncher creator, Renee, with an exciting event: Dinner at Lil Vinny’s Ristorante in Somerville, MA. She opened it up to the first 8 bloggers who registered. Luckily, I check my e-mail approximately 126 times a day (rough estimate) and jumped on the chance to have a delicious dinner with fellow foodies.
After a not-so-wonderful 2-mile run per my 10K Training Plan (I skipped that day’s strength since I did it the day before plus with 2 hours of dance), I headed out to Somerville. Note to self: Run outside more. You suck at it.
What should have been a short 28-minute drive turned into a 1(+) hour nightmare. With no GPS, I ended up in every city around Somerville except Somerville. I was aggitated to say the least.
When I finally found the restaurant, I walked in to a dimly-lit atmosphere, immediately greeted by the comforting aroma of Italian food. A few steps in and I recognized my fellow bloggers enjoying each other company. I instantly felt much better.
I was especially excited to go tonight to meet some of these bloggers in person. It’s one thing to follow a blog and converse on Twitter but there is something even more meaningful to me when I connect with someone through actual human interaction. I spent the majority of the dinner conversing with: Katy, Rachel, Audrey, Kathy and Amanda.
Dinner itself was served family-style but no one could’ve guessed how much food Lil Vin’s would provide for us. Six courses. SIX. Seven if you include the bread basket and herb olive oil before the meal. And the food was as scrumptious as it was beautiful.
I should’ve worn stretchy pants.
Delicious Caesar Salad
The salad course was a larger portion of caesar salad complete with homemade anchovy dressing and crisp croutons. I didn’t even know the anchovy was present until one of the servers told us. It gave a nice salty bite to the dish.
Don't those look incredible?
Next up, a little seafood for my palate. Served family style, we were given perfectly steamed mussels in a spicy, yet delicate sauce. Then they brought out extra bread so none of the broth was wasted. They already knew us so well… a mere 2 courses in.
At this point, I was starting to get full...
Our first pasta dish (yes, I did say first) consisted of tortellinis in a yummy pesto sauce. They were perfectly al dente and I could’ve eaten the cheese filling alone. With a spoon. Out of a large bowl. What? I like cheese.
A very large helping of eggplant parm.
See that little beauty right there? It actually wasn’t so little. In fact, it was a huge slab of eggplant parm. Lightly breaded and fried, it was covered in cheese and not the least bit oily. I must admit, I’m partial to Boyfriend’s mom’s baked eggplant parm but this is the best restaurant version I’ve ever eaten.
You had me at "Homemade Pasta"
My family makes homemade pasta. It’s incredible. Lil Vin’s also makes homemade pasta – fusilli with bolognese sauce – it is also quite incredible. At this point, I couldn’t eat more than a few bites so I asked for it to be wrapped up. Unfortunately, because of jumbling circumstances , it never made it home. Sad.
The dessert gods must've been smiling down on me.
Finally, after much debate on whether or not I could take another bite of food, this plate arrived in front of me. If you’ve been reading C&W for more than a day, you know that I can’t say no to sweet stuff. Vanilla bean panna cotta with candied lemon peel and homemade caramel was the cherry on top of a very large, multi-course, Italian cake.
And I ate every bite.
A big thanks to Lil’ Vinny’s for hosting us and providing us amazing food and wonderful service (and lights for our photos!) It is the perfect place to go for a romantic date night out or to simply catch up with a good group of friends, like the Boston Brunchers, and enjoy an Italian meal with a tasty twist. Highly recommended would be an understatement.
Sign of a good dinner, I think...
NOTE: This dinner was provided to me free of charge by Lil Vinny’s Ristorante. All of the opinions expressed here are mine. Neither Lil Vinny’s or the Boston Brunchers asked me to write a review of my experience there.
I categorize the sad ending of summer in two different ways. The first – when I officially finish my last NDA camp. This happened on Saturday when I ended 2 back-to-back camps: Shen in New York and Bryant University in Rhode Island.
We work really hard at camp... That would be me as a dead staffer.
The second time I say goodbye to the summer is the first day of September (aka tomorrow.) After Irene, there is an autumn chill in the air up here in Boston. As much as I love the hot days of summer, I also bask in the cooler breeze of fall.
One of the best parts living up here in the fall is watching the leaves change colors. Another is carving pumpkins, apple picking, then cooking with said pumpkins and apples. I also love when I have lots of things to look forward to and this is definitely the time of year when it happens on a regular basis.
Monkey Trunks. Has anyone ever heard of this place? It’s in NH on Weirs Beach. Apparently, it’s like a jungle gym for adults. With harnesses. And heights. And nets in case you fall. And medical waivers. Clearly, this was not my idea. I’m just being dragged along for the ride. Could be fun.
School starts. Hello Boston University COM. You are a lovely building. I think we’ll be great friends. Conveniently located only .87 miles from the beautiful BU gym? That was really nice of you to consider me like that. Side note: When my mom asked me the other day “What types of notebooks do you want?” it brought me back to 4th grade when Anne Frank was popular. Good ‘ol nostalgia..
10K Training. 6 weeks, 6.2 miles. And I plan on crushing every.single.one. (I’ll try not to throw up the process… No guarentees though.) Follow my progress on my new 10K Training page!
Dance. 3 nights a week and I could not be happier. Choreographing “Hello World” is both wonderful and heartbreaking. “Sideways” hits home in more ways than one. “Suckerpunch” and “Superbass” are high energy and just fun. And “Crazy Crazy Insane” will be sexy as hell. Keep an eye out of video updates.
Sweaty and happy
Boston Brunchers dinner at Lil Vinny’s Ristorante. Good thing I check my e-mail 4543 times a day or I might have missed Renee’s invite for a free, family-style dinner at Lil Vinny’s in Somerville with the Boston Brunchers on Thursday night. Lots of pics and a review will be coming your way!
Boston Brunchers brunch at Local 149 . Once again, my OCD-like behavior of checking my e-mail wins. I originally didn’t get the opportunity to be apart of this brunch but since Irene caused an uproar, they moved it and I snagged a seat!
Chocolate & Wine’s 1st Blogiversary. I started my little blog on September 7, 2010 never knowing that people would want to read it and that I’d get so much support for it. I am so grateful for all of the friends I’ve made and the different events I get to go to through my blog. Thank you to everyone for making Chocolate & Wine a success.
Stephen’s 24th Birthday. Man, he’s getting old. I like to remind him of it everyday. He doesn’t mind (much). However, he is probably one of the most difficult people on the planet to buy a present for so this year, we are doing something a little different. It includes dinner and Boston. Hopefully it’s a success.
Yeah, we're cute like that.
Raechel’s Bacheloretty Party. I mean, who doesn’t love dinner, drinks and dancing with a good friend who’s about to tie the knot? I’m a big fan.
Turn that martini into a shot and we have Raechel's Bacheloretty Party.
Races.Run for Ryan 5K on September 17th. Tufts Women’s 10K on October 19th. Witch City 5K on October 23rd. I’m going to make it rain PRs all over those 5Ks. And in Salem, I’m gunna do it in costume. Watch out now. PS – if you want to run one with me, let me know and I’ll send you the info! (Head’s up – I run slow.)
George & Julie’s Wedding. After a long 2-year engagement, my cousin George is marrying his fiance, Julie. Seriously, she could not be more right for him. And of course, we can expect lots of crying from this girl right here. Damn emotions.
My Sister’s 21st Birthday. Finally. She’s kept me waiting long enough. Now we can have some real big kid fun.
Halloween. Candy, costumes, parties… enough said.
That takes us through October. I also plan on having my first giveaway for my blog’s 1st anniversary. Lots of people right now are doing “Favorite Things” giveaways and I’m jumping right on that bandwagon. If you want in, check back around the 7th! Until then, follow me on Twitter for updates – @ChocoAndWine.
I wanna know… What are you looking forward to most this fall? Any suggestions for what to put in my “Favorites” giveaway?
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