Category: Races

Halloween in full swing

Published on by MarieLeave a comment

Like I said in my last life update, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I got my first real kiss on Halloween (I was 15), I’ve dressed up as everything from a cowgirl to a pirate, the pink Power Ranger to a Hocus Pocus witch (Mary Sanderson complete with a floor length black and red cape), and living in the town next to Salem, Massachusetts definitely has its perks in October.  Besides Christmas, Halloween is the best day of the year.

On Friday night, a few of my BU friends ventured to Lynn to the first time to eat, drink and carve pumpkins.

Yes, it is okay to be a full time graduate student, drink yummy beverages and cut faces in pumpkins.

No judging.

My pumpkin... and why yes, it does look like a 5-year-old carved this. Thanks for noticing.

I made nachos with homemade guacamole, pizza and Hungry Girl pumpkin cupcakes with my own buttercream and a candy corn garnish.  It was the casual, college kid version of a Torto dinner party.

Notice my friend Matt wearing my Harrod's apron...

My friend, Sandy’s pumpkin:

She went to art school. Doesn't count.

Saturday brought one of the laziest days I have had in while.  I relaxed most of the day with a brand new 21-year-old and watched Halloween movies (Double Double Toil & Trouble is one of the ultimate classics.)

On Saturday night, DanceWorks Boston hosted a huge Halloween party at Au Tua Nua in Boston.  My good friend and fellow DWB-er, Devlyn, and I headed to our friend Dana’s to have some wine and get ready for the party.  For my cat costume, I wore a black, high collared lace-covered dress, black heels, white lace hand gloves, a jingle heart necklace (in place of a bell), cat ears and of course, my bright yellow contacts.  I coated my eyes with liquid eyeliner and smoky black make-up.  It was pretty cool.  Almost everyone noticed, most people freaked a little.  Loved it.

Cat. 'Nuff said.

I kept my beverage intake to a minimum knowing I would have to wake up somewhat early and do my best on my third 5K: the Witch City 5K in Salem (race report on another day!)

Sunday morning’s alarm came WAY too quickly.  And as usual, I woke up to the alarm and said “WHY DID I SIGN UP FOR THIS RACE?”  I told you I’m not super positive in the morning.  I got up, got dressed, stretched, had my pre-race toast with peanut butter, slugged some water and woke up BF who picked me up from the party on Saturday night and crashed on the couch at my house.

And sometimes he brings me pretty flowers for no reason.... I'll keep him.

The race, overall, went just okay.  Running with a friend is definitely better but my stomach was not feeling it.  It was also the coldest race I’ve done to date.  But the scenery was lovely and I finished it.  A little slower than normal, but ya “win” some, ya lose some.

Salem. Done.

Sunday also brought about some fun research.  Enough said for now.

On the baking front, I made pumpkin snickerdoodles yesterday.  I brought them to work today and everyone loves them.  They taste like pumpkin pie filling and I could’ve eaten all of the batter myself.  And I think if I neglect to post the recipe, I’ll be beaten with something.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin 'Doodles

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Adapted from pagespak.com

1/2 cup softened Brummel ‘n Brown margarine spread
3/4 cup Splenda/Brown Sugar mix (trust me on this one..)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground giner
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 baking sheets liberally with nonstick spray.

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer (this can also be done with a hand mixer), cream together margarine and brown sugar until smooth.  Beat in egg and vanilla and then the pumpkin.

3) In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger and pumpkin pie spice. 

4) In batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet until fully incorporated.

5) Drop tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake 18 minutes until set, slightly puffed but not browned.

Happy Fall!

A Life Update

Published on by Marie5 Comments

Okay, it’s been approximately 3 or so weeks since I panicked about school and I haven’t written since.  I hope you are still out there listening to me ramble in my now dust-covered corner of the Internet.

So it’s time to tidy up a bit.

In the past three weeks, I’ve calmed down and gotten through my first few projects for my grad classes.  I survived.  And did pretty well.  Maybe I overreacted a bit at the beginning.  Maybe.

A lot has been going on here at Chocolate & Wine.  Here are some highlights:

2 weekends ago, I attended 2 weddings: my cousin George married his beautiful fiancé (of 4 years!) Julie, and my friend Raechel married the love of her life, Steve.  Both weddings were gorgeous and I cried a lot. Of course I did.  I realized how much I can’t wait to plan a wedding of my own!

George & Julie's Wedding with the family

And wedding #2..

Raechel and Steve

This past weekend, I spent Friday in the North End with Stephen and we FINALLY got to go out for his birthday surprise.  I took him to Riccardo’s Ristorante where they put on a “Mystery Cafe” show every Friday night and serve a three-course meal.  The show was hilarious, if not a bit cheesy, and the food was as genuinely Italian as you’d expect from the North End.  Highly recommended for good food and a good time.

We capped our night with beers at a bar called The Point and goodies from my favorite North End bakery.

Heart You.

Saturday was party marathon day.  Together, my two best friends and I tackled a “I’m Pretty Good at Drinking Beer” party (where we consumed no beer or any beverage other than iced coffee), taco night hosted by Alyse (which were de-lish!), a Halloween party and finally, my sister’s 21st birthday celebration at Tequila Rain in Boston.

Swy, Jeff, Alyse... That's nice.

Did you know Halloween is one of my favorite holidays? 

So freaky, so cool, so legit. Cat costumes are the way to go.

And it wouldn’t be a 21st birthday without a 16-ounce beer in each hand.

Happy 21st! Here's 2 Coors Lights.

Sunday brought another 3 events: the Boston Bruncher’s 1st Birthday Brunch at the Island Creek Oyster Bar on Comm Ave. in Boston, my good friend Miriah’s daughter’s Christening (that little baby is nothing short of an angel) and a 4-hour dance rehearsal with DanceWorks Boston (always a fun time!)

A sneak peak into Birthday Brunch!

Then on to the Christening…

You can't tell me she isn't the cutest baby in the world..

I made favors… Oreo ball truffles with a piped pink A on each one, individually wrapped with a pink ribbon and a tag.

Not bad considering I usually stink at piping.

They came out pretty freakin’ cute.

Everybody loved them. Makes me happy when people like what I make!

Along with my jam-packed weekends and filming/editing-laden school schedule, I managed to get in a couple of quick training runs for my 3rd 5K coming up this weekend!  I, along with my friend Kim, will run the Witch City 5K in Salem, maybe even dressed up a bit.

This upcoming weekend also brings pumpkin carving with my BU friends and a huge DanceWorks Boston Halloween costume party on Saturday night.  I will, unfortunately, have to keep my drinking to a minimum because of the race on Sunday morning, but that won’t stop me from wearing those cat eyes!

I promise not to wait another 3 weeks to post.  I have finally pulled myself out of a slight rut I had fallen into, but I’m back and excited.

And I had delicious Bon Me truck food for dinner the other night: a brown rice bowl with tofu, shitaki mushrooms, cilantro, pickled veggies, bean sprouts and mesclun greens.  YUM.

Healthy and filling.

I wanna know: What’s new in your life?  What would your dream wedding consist of?  And what are you being for Halloween this year?

Run for Ryan’s Cup 5K Race Recap

Published on by Marie7 Comments

Second 5K – Boom. Done.

DONE.

Tough? Yes.  Worth it? Hell yes.

This past weekend was amazing overall.  It included lots of time with Boyfriend, apple picking, the best pre-race dinner ever and a great race ending in a PR!  But more on that a little later.

When I woke up Sunday morning (Race Day), my first thought was “I don’t want to go.”  I’m not very optimistic in the morning.  But after dragging myself out of bed, pulling on my new Refuel with Chocolate Milk tech t-shirt courtesy of a giveaway I won a few months back, and lacing up my new Asics, I felt much better.

My new favorite shirt!

When Boyfriend and I got to the race, I was already pre-registered like a good little nerd.  I got my number, a swag bag complete with free water bottles, a t-shirt and two tickets for free beer post-race.  Free beer for running? Sweet.

I meandered around, used the portapotty (which had no line and was the cleanest portable restroom I’ve ever seen), stretched and took a warm-up jog around the parking lot.  I felt good, I looked legit and I was ready for the race to start.

Soon enough, I was moving with the masses to the starting line.  There were no designated corrals because of the small size of the race so I picked a spot towards the middle-back, chatted with some first time 5K-ers and set my music to blare some Nikki Minaj.  When the gun went off, I clicked the timer on my watch to have an idea of how I was doing.  A makeshift Garmin, if you will.

So, how did I do?

Place        Name        No. Div/Tot Div   Age S   City    St    Time    Pace
108    Marie Torto   26   2/4       F2029  23  F Lynn  MA  32:46  10:33

My official time clocked in at 32:46 with a 10:33 min/mile pace.  I was thrilled!  Going into the race, I had a goal to run it under 33 minutes, taking time off of my first 5K time, 33:38.  Originally, I believed that my first time was 34:something, taking a full 2 minutes off but I’ll take the 58 second PR, thank you very much!  Plus, my pace improved from 10:50 to 10:33.  Woo!

The Highs:

The weather: It was nice and chilly when Stephen and I got to the race which is how I kept from getting (too) overheated during the run.

Water stops: There were a bunch along the course.  Friendly people holding out full cups of water so I only had to slow down a tad to grab one.  I then proceeded to take a sip and dump the rest over my head. Felt good.

The event: Everything was so organized and I got lots of fun things for pre-registering.  A free t-shirt, multiple water bottles (I can’t say no to free stuff) and a variety of granola bars, apples and a chocolate chip cookie!

My legs: I gotta say, having a dance background definitely helps the running process.  My legs, large and in-charge, are stocked with keep-going muscles that don’t tire easily.  Not one time during the race did my legs hurt.  Love it.

Mmm... free Bud Light

 The Lows:

My stomach: Once again nausea took over.  Right around that 1.5 mile mark, my insides did a flip flop, threatening gruesome consequences.  I powered through thinking of everything from crossing the finish line, hugging my boyfriend,  showering… anything to keep my mind off of the circus show that was going on in my abdomen.

The inclines: Yes, I said inclines, not hills.  There were a couple of bigger ones in there, reminding me once again that I need to train outside and on more difficult terrain more.  Because “flat” does not always mean flat.. and that’s okay.

Post Race:

The second I crossed that finish line, there was a small child holding a water bottle out for me.  I’m sure I looked like a crazy person, bright red, tears in my eyes from sheer pride.  Oh well, I was happy.  Small child will live.

I shared my 2 beer tickets with Boyfriend because I’m so nice.  (Honestly, I got down half of one before I remembered that 2 pieces of toast + alcohol does not a sober Marie make.)  We got Qdoba for lunch and I proceeded to be 100% lazy the rest of the day.

So what now?

I had a goal during the summer to run a race every month until the end of the year so here’s what I’m looking forward to:

Witch City 5K, 10/23/11, Salem, MA (already registered)

9th Annual Marcia Lemkin Foundation Race to Conquer Lung Cancer, 11/20/11, Lowell, MA (not yet registered)

YMCA Reindeer Run, 12/3/11, Beverly, MA (not yet registered)

I want to know: How do you feel as you cross that finish line?  Elated? Sick? Emotional? Happy to be DONE?  Ready to run another? What’s your favorite part of any race?

End of summer, beginning of fall

Published on by Marie2 Comments

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?

My Running To-Do List

Published on by Marie3 Comments

Since it looks like I will be doing a lot more running in the upcoming months (!!!), I have lots of things to do that all revolve around my new hobby.

#149 .. My first 5K

First, buy new sneaks.  This is so important because I honestly don’t remember when I bought the pink Champions that I’m running in now.  I know, so bad.  I plan on making a trip to the New England Running Company and getting professionally fit for rockin’ running sneakers.

Research GU.  I read lots of running blogs (like Christine, Emily, Aron and Ali… just to name a few) and I’m always hearing about this GU stuff.  Apparently, it gives you extra energy and calories when you run longer distances.  There are gels, chomps, jelly beans and I want to try them all.

Make a schedule.  During my 5K training, I was much more accountable when I knew exactly when I was training.  For the Tufts Women 10K, I plan on posting my schedule everywhere, here included so y’all can track my progress.

Get jacked.  Okay, not jacked.  But I would like to be more toned.  And since my legs will be doing lots of work, the rest of my body needs to be equally fit.  I used to think that being a skinny twig was all that mattered.  In a much healthier mindset, I now believe that muscles = sexy, healthy and happy.

Run outside more.  Merr, I suck at this.  I like the treadmill and I find it much easier to run when I am on one.  There are no forces to deal with (rain, temperature, wind, etc.).  In reality, races are not run inside.  I need to stop being a wimp and get my butt outside.

Cross-train consistently.  This one is a little easier for me because I dance three nights a week and have no problem mixing up my cardio workouts with classes at the gym.  Nevertheless, more sweat never hurts.

Keep up the good eating.  More Weight Watchers please.  Lose another 10 pounds? Count me in.

Invest in a Garmin.  A simple Garmin Forerunner 110 will do.  But, since sneaks come before fancy gadgets, I’ll keep it on the wish list for now.  Anyone have one I can borrow for my upcoming races?  I’ll wipe the sweat off of it when I’m done, I promise.

Take more risks.  Sign up for a 10K… check.  Start running hills…. fail.  I can’t run flat forever.  “I think I can, I think I can…”

Be more confident.  Running is hard for me.  I have a love-hate relationship with it.  It is not something I am naturally good at and sometimes, I have to force myself to do it.  But I aim to be one of those people who say to their friends, “I got in an awesome 5 mile run this morning” or “I can’t go out; I have a long run this weekend” or “I need pasta.. I’m carbo-loading for my half tomorrow.”  I know, in time, I will be.

After my first 5K... best feeling in the world.

I want to know…. What’s on your running and/or fitness to-do list?  What types of sneaks should I look into at for running long distance?  Runner friends, what am I missing from my list/what else should I research?