Shaz by the Sea

Call me cheap, but it's expensive to have [three] kids, and expensive when going out to dinner. So why not do some research to save a few pennies? If you're like me, then you hate monotony and repetition and doing the same old thing every single night - get home from work, think about what to make for dinner, start dinner, let it cool, feed the kids, start baths, do bedtime, argue with them 5 times to "go pee Mom?" and finally settle in to cook something for your husband and yourself. It gets old QUICK. How do I stay sane, you ask? I try and order a somewhat healthy take out meal once every week or two, or we go out to dinner instead. We used to go to Papa Ginos or a sub shop (something super quick and pre-paid, so we could bolt outta there in a flash), but now we are trying more sit down family restaurants. It helped that my parents picked up Cal from daycare on Thurs, so we went out with just Conor and Caden. That meant no high chair, baby food, or bottles neede...

Guys. I took my first prenatal yoga class this morning at 9AM with my friend Shayla and her friend Allison. It was AWESOME! Thanks for the invite, Shay! I am not flexible at all, and I am typically not into yoga, but I really enjoyed myself this morning. I have been having the worst leg/calf cramps in the middle of the night, and it's extremely painful. Therefore, I figured I would give it a go to get some stretching and relaxation and hydration in. I met all those goals. The place was called Zen Therapy in Woburn. After that, I hosted a small family cookout since my cousins from DC were in town for the Beyonce concert and the SOX game tonight. It was nice to get together last minute (legit - planned it yesterday) and all catch up. It also didn't hurt that it was a beautiful day. Unfortunately, Callie - who is Conor and Caden's age - got sick this morning so she couldn't make it. And Conor napped the whole time. So Caden basically held it down for the 2 year olds. :...

On Saturday, Jim and I were fortunate enough to head to Fenway while Aunties Chrissy and Lindsey watched Conor and Caden overnight. We ventured into town around 1PM for a 4PM game. We did a private tour of Fenway with Jim's family (they had set it up months ago for a family reunion on his mother's side). We watched batting practice, got to keep the cool Red Sox gloves, and even got two children's gloves for Caden and Conor! Then we had a buffet dinner at Fenway - with unlimited beer/wine until the 7th inning of the game. It was SO much fun. Great day/night out. Oh, and we were in bed by 8:30PM. It was fantastic. The next day, we toured Charlestown with C&C- visiting Paul Revere Park, the Navy Yard, and the Bunker Hill Monument. See the Hyatt Harborside hotel behind us?!?!  It's where we got married!! Here's a shot of the Hyatt from our wedding night. :) Then we headed over to Foxboro to meet up with Tori and the Boschs. We had so much fun ...

Greetings!!   I am excited about this post because I am cooking one of my most favorite foods in the entire world -- eggplant.  My friend and I ventured to farmers market in Westwood on Thursday. It is located near the UCLA campus, so it's typically pretty busy. As soon as we arrived, there was a vendor with tons of bags of 3-4 pieces of eggplant for $3! I didn't think twice and immediately picked one up. I also grabbed some freshly made eggplant hummus from one of the vendors -- and also a bag of fresh basil for $1. I remembered I needed some fruit for the house, so I grabbed a couple green and purple plums and a few apples. They are all so fresh and delicious this season. I was also in search for some olive bread since I had the eggplant hummus, and although none of the vendors had any left, I found the last loaf at the bake shop on the same street. It's called Le Pain Quotidien and ironically, there is one next to my h...