Chowdown Countdown # 1 & 73

Louis' Lunch

  I have mentioned before that one of my favorite things about traveling is trying new places to eat.  Whenever we are in a new location we check the Chowdown Countdown to see if there is a place nearby.  We got lucky in Connecticut to have two.  One of them is Louis' Lunch and happens to be the number one place to eat in America! (according to the Food Network).  Justin, my mom, and I traveled to New Haven today to try it out.  Louis' Lunch has been around since 1895 and was the first place to make a hamburger in America, which got it placed in the Library of Congress.  Today they still use the same grills that made the first one years ago.  Besides the original grills the restaurant itself looks like it hasn't changed much over the years.  It is very small with only two tables and bar area.  History is not only present in the setting but with the workers and customers as well.  It seems those guys knew just about everyone who walked through the door.  Having this prestigious title brings a lot of high expectations.  They are so certain their burger is good that they don't allow ketchup.  Yep... no ketchup.  I was convinced that no matter how good the burger was that I would still want ketchup and that was true.  My mom and Justin however didn't miss it.  We all agree that Louis' Lunch delivers on taste and experience!

 

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

  Number 73 on the countdown is Frank Pepe's.  It has been around since 1925 and rivals with another local pizzeria called Sally's.  Pepe's is also located in New Haven and was the first place we went after picking my mom up from the airport a few weeks ago.  The history of this restaurant is interesting.  Frank started this pizzeria after moving to America from Naples.  He never learned to speak English and owes much of his businesses success to his wife who learned to speak and write in English when they moved to America.  We all thought this bread oven cooked pizza was delish!



Tomorrow my mom leaves : (  I have so enjoyed spending time with her while she was here.

Keep you posted,

<3 L

Yankee Candle Village

  One of Justin's work friends told him that while we are here we should go to the Yankee Candle Village.  So today we went!  Yankee has two "village stores" which are their mecca stores filled with not only candles but a restaurant, a home decor, a Christmas land, toys, and much more.  One of them is in South Deerfield, MA and the other is in Williamsburg, VA.  We went to the one in Massachusetts.  It took us an hour to get through CT and to the store in MA.  Being able to travel through states that quickly is still something we are not used to.  When you get to store it is very overwhelming and they have someone at the door to give you a map to navigate through everything. 

 

  We went straight to the "make your own candle" section.  I made a jar candle and my mom dipped hers.  Justin watched : )  You could also make a wax hand if you wanted to.  I was a little disappointed to find that they had no vanilla wax beads so I had to get adventurous and try some new scents.  The recipe to my candle is 3 parts Pumpkin Patch, 1 part Very Berry, and 4 parts Cinnamon Cream.  They also had less than thrilling color options for dip your own candle so my mom ended up with a bright blue.  I suppose kids are their main audience and appreciate bright colors and scents like Confetti more than I do. ha ha  I was most excited about going through their Christmas store where they said it snows every four minutes.  I love playing in the snow and the thought of doing that while inside where it is warm was right up my alley.  The "snow" ended up being a soap suds machine.  So upsetting.  Just outside of the Christmas land is an adorable children's book section and then homemade fudge.  Yum!! Of course we got a box and filled it with original chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, and cookies and cream.  We smelled SO many different candles and by the time we left there it was hard to tell them apart.  I thought the man section was hilarious!  They had 2x4, touch down, man town, fresh cut grass, and bacon. 

 

I've been in hiding from the cold weather lately so today's trip was perfect for getting me out of the house.  Burr!!

Keep you posted,

<3 L

Ski Sundown

  Today Justin, my mom, and I set out to Ski Sundown in New Hartford. Both of them have skied before but it has been a while. At least thirty years for my mom and a few for Justin. I, however, was a first timer. Of course I don't have the proper ski clothes so I tried to layer as much as possible. I wore pajama pants, then jeans, and another pair of pants on top of those. I will admit to you that two things. 1) For the first time in my life I kind of looked like I had a butt and 2) With all those layers my legs rubbed together and I understood chaffing. I also learned that no matter how many layers you have on, your hands are going to freeze. A twenty five minute drive from our house, past my favorite Connecticut river and adorable new england houses and we were there.

  We headed straight for the bunny hill.  It did not take long for the chair lift workers to tell it was my first time.  I got and when it was time for me to get off at the top of the hill, I couldn't get off.  I was headed back down but the nice guy stopped the chair lift and helped me off.  "Is this your first time", he says.  Uh yeah.  Justin was waiting for me at the top and started teaching me how to ski.  I have been practicing skiing on the Wii Fit and honestly did not think it was going to be that difficult.  I was wrong.  I fell so many times and am already bruised.  Who knows how sore I'll be when I wake up tomorrow.  I would get going and freak out that I was going so fast but I don't know how to stop myself so I would just fall.  Despite Justin's efforts of teaching me how to stop he ended up just standing a little ways down the hill and I would ski into him to stop myself.  The going fast and having no control over stopping myself really scared me.  Meanwhile my mother was just cruising past us, getting back on the lift and passing us over and over again.  She did awesome!  It took me about an hour to go down the hill and when I got there I was over it.  I couldn't feel my fingers anymore (it was 15 degrees out) and the idea of getting back on the chair lift was not happening.

  My mom and I headed to the warm lodge where we found hot chocolate, a snack, and a window seat to watch Justin and all the other skiers tackle the difficult slopes.  I have to say I liked that part much better.  I may try it again on a warmer day but it is definitely not my new favorite hobby.  It was a fun day of memory making nonetheless.

I am really excited about the new section on my blog that features my favorite blogs.  I check these blogs almost everyday and I hope you enjoy them as well : )

Keep you posted,

<3 L

06010

  Two-thousand nine-hundred seventy-nine miles and four time zones later we have arrived at our new home in Bristol, CT.  I remember when Cara first moved to Boston and her zip code started with a zero, I thought that was so weird.  Now ours does too!!  Bristol is interesting so far.  The town is very small and we are just starting to locate everything we need in town.  The grocery store here is called "Big Y" and every time you check out you play a slot game to earn silver coins.  These coins can then later be turned in for free things like bread.  Very strange but kinda fun to play.  I was less than thrilled to find out we have no washer and dryer, microwave, garbage disposal, or ice maker at our new apartment.  These are probably things most people have had to do without before but I have been spoiled.  However we do have two very nice neighbors that are brothers, one works at ESPN the other is applying for a job with the Bristol Police Department.  They already stopped by to give Charlie a toy.  Bristol is actually home of ESPN which Justin and I stopped by to see today!
 

  While taking our road trip over here we first stopped in Denver, CO.  We drove through the rocky mountains and had our first experience with 5 degree weather. Burr!! Next we stopped in Chicago, which is a city I love.  Justin had never been and I was so excited to show him around.  Well the trip turned out to be an epic FAIL.  When we got there we learned our hotel only allowed small dogs so we had to sneak Charlie in and out of our room.  Then we walked all the way to see the Bean and watch ice skaters when security told us dogs weren't allowed in the park.  Now that is just the craziest thing I have ever heard.  Dogs belong in parks, especially in the city where they have no where else to go.  Then I found out the carriage rides allow dogs on them as well, but they were closed for new year (of course).  So we ended up eating Chicago hot dogs and stuffed pizza in our hotel room while watching Law and Order marathons for two days.  Needless to say Justin was not impressed and I must take him back another time without the little one so he can really see what the city has to offer.  On our way to my Aunt Susan's house we went through Gary, Indiana because I wanted to see Michael Jackson's childhood home.  I can't believe they fit two adults and nine children in that tiny little two bedroom house.  While at my aunts house in PA Charlie got to run, run, run.  She also had her first spill on ice and now she is more careful.  I have to say that it is good to be back on the east coast again!! We've missed you east coasters : )
 

 

Keep you posted

<3 L

California

  New year, new state!  Justin and I are almost to our new home in Connecticut.  Our road trip back to the east coast has me reflecting back on our time spent in California.  I decided to make a list of my top five memories from Cali.  I have so many great ones and making this list was NOT easy, but here it is:

1) Big Bear
2) La Jolla
3) Disneyland
4) Yosemite
5) Wine Tasting

  Big Bear is small town charm at its best.  Eight thousand feet up the mountain I experienced my first hiking trip, fall leaves, warm fires, cool weather, delicious pizza, and quality time.  La Jolla is a picture perfect town ocean side with cliffs filled with seals.  Beautiful!  Disneyland California has always been on my bucket list.  I was a little nervous about going since Disneyland Paris was so disappointing.  However it was much better than the one in Paris, but of course Disney World is still my favorite : )  Yosemite caught me completely by surprise.  This was something added to our itinerary since we were making a trip up north and we thought we might as well stop there since we were going to be in the area.  I didn't expect to be that impressed but it ended up being my favorite part of our northern Cali trip.  Stunning is the word I would use to describe this National Park.  Now the last one I must admit that the actual wine tasting was not something I enjoyed.  We visited several wineries while in California and I have yet to find a wine that I like.  What I did like was the wineries themselves.  You can't help but feel calm and relaxed when you visit one.  We never went to a winery where the property grounds and view were not beautiful! 

Goodbye Cali, it's been fun!

Keep you posted,

<3 L