Hosting Thanksgiving? NBD.

Nick and I are hosting Thanksgiving again this year and feel like we have things pretty well under control. Last year was our first year hosting, and we ended up doing a lot of research and planning to make sure things went smoothly. We kept things pretty simple and found this timeline from William-Sonoma super helpful in tackling not only Thanksgiving day, but also the days before. Luckily, most things that I set out to do in this blog post worked out, so we were happy to host again this year. That, and our guests actually agreed to come back!

Our Turkey!

We grocery shopped for everything on Sunday morning. The bread for our stuffing is currently sitting on our counter getting nice and stale. Our heritage turkey will be ready for pick-up on Wednesday. The rest of of the afternoon we will prep more of the food, set the table completely, and get the serving dishes out and label them (naturally!).

Boston Chops - Untraditional Steak House

For Nick's birthday last year we got some drinks at Boston Chops prior to heading to Myers and Chang for dinner. As much as I was looking forward to that dinner, I was enjoying my cocktail and our seat at the bar, and when I saw one of Boston Chops' popovers pass by I was almost ready to forget our reservation and stay put! Ever since, I have been looking forward to making a return trip to Boston Chops to check out the food.

The Popover! so much better than sliced bread!

Skillet Mac and Cheese

With the weather turning cold again and it officially feeling like winter, I think about comfort food. Generally, the more unhealthy it is, the more I crave it. When I stumbled across this Skillet Brussels Sprout and Bacon Mac & Cheese, the recipe seemed to have everything I need and want in a winter dish AND a bit of green to make me feel a bit better about myself (Kidding. Sort of.)

Bacon Brussels Sprout Mac & Cheese!

Charlestown - Bunker Hill Monument

Time to switch from some of our recent travels to sightseeing in our own back yard!

Growing up north of Boston, I came into the city quite a bit for school field trips, shows and some shopping. Every time I came in, I could see the Bunker Hill Monument in the distrance from the highway, but somehow never actually climbed it! Back when we did out Freedom Trail Pub Crawl the Monument was closed, so I was out of luck. This summer, though, after a year of actually living with views of the Monument, I was determined to make the climb. On a sunny Saturday, Nick and I wandered over to the museum and grabbed our free tickets to make the climb.

Bunker Hill Monument

Roatan Honduras - Perfect Diving Vacation

What seems like forever ago, Nick and I went on vacation to Roatan, Honduras. Roatan is a small island off the coast of Honduras known for being a great Scuba diving destination as it houses the second largest barrier reef in the world - second only to Australia's. I have to admit, I first heard about this vacation spot by watching House Hunters International and was intrigued. The more I learned about Roatan (outside of what HGTV offered), the more excited I got. When I realized there were easy flights from Boston through Miami to the island, Nick and I talked about scheduling a trip. It was not until we searched TripAdvisor high and low for accommodations and found Tranquilseas that we actually booked the trip.

View from our room...

Giulia - Italian in Cambridge

When you think about heading out for Italian food in the Boston area, you immediately assume a trip to the North End is in order. However, turns out amazing Italian food can be found at Giulia, between Harvard and Porter Squares in Cambridge. Giulia offers a menu loaded with delicious food that is seemingly simple, but when you take a bite, you know a whole lot more is happening on the plate. Nick and I have been making an effort to get out to more restaurants that are a bit off our beaten path, and Giulia was one of our first stops.

Bottle of Red!

Don't Call It A Come-Back! Lambert Bridge Winery

Sometimes in life you just need to take some time away. Case in point: my blog here. If you have been following me on Twitter or Instagram, you know that I haven't stopping traveling and eating everything in sight, but have taken some time off from writing about it. However, I think enough is enough and its time to get back in the saddle. While many of these posts may be older, especially those from some of our travels, I still want to share them! So, please stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as we play a bit of catch up here at In and Around Town!

Part my inspiration for getting this post up is because we are heading back to California's Wine Country this week, and I realized that I still had one more vineyard to tell you all about. Even more, I rely on many blogger friends, like Meghan, for recommendations and missed the interactions based on these posts.

We loved this winery so much we actually are going back on our next visit! Lambert Bridge was recommended to us by one of Nick's colleagues, and from the moment you turn into the driveway, you understand why they told us this was a must-visit. With its picturesque location and delicious wine, it is definitely worth a stop while you are in Healdsburg.

Lambert Bridge