Date Night at Sintra

The kids were staying at Nana and Papa's on Saturday night.  To celebrate (just kidding) my husband and I went out for a very nice dinner.

We went to Sintra, right in our hometown of Braintree.  We had been here a few years ago and I remember the food was really good.  Every time I drive by I think, oh, we should go back there...and then I think of 20 other things I forget about it.

You definitely need a reservation for a Saturday night at this place.  Being that this was a last minute decision, we sat at the bar until a bar table opened up.  It is very cozy and romantic atmosphere.  I did sneak a few pictures but I couldn't use a flash (or Mike would die of embarrassment) so they are not the greatest.

We were seated in a nice little corner bar table and served fresh, right out of the oven bread with a hummus spread...yum!

We ordered an appetizer - "potato and chorizo spring rolls with romesco sauce"...O.M.G. delicious!  It was like a mashed potato with little bits of chorizo (a spicy sausage), wrapped in a spring roll...so different, so good.  Oh and I'm not sure what romesco sauce is but whatever it is, it's wicked good (can you hear my Boston accent).

For dinner we both got "beef shortrib canneloni with aspargus, tomato puree and shaved parmesan"...to die for.  Amazing short rib, wrapped in pasta...total comfort food.

Oh my God these pictures are so bad, sorry!  Click here for some pictures from Sintra's website

The restaurant was very busy and even though we sat in the bar area, the service was still excellent.
The dessert menu looked really interesting too, but we were so full of wine and food it was ridiculous.  We went home and both fell asleep on the couch...pathetic!

Anyway, I highly recommend Sintra.  Great for a date night, girl's night dinner (I am definitely bringing the girls here), special occasion or even just a drink at the bar.  We tend to go in town (Boston) for nice dinners like this...we realized we can just go to Braintree Square - 906 Washington Street to be exact.

http://www.sintrarestaurant.com/
follow them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/SintraRestaurant?sk=info

I did not receive anything, and was not paid for this "review"...it's just lil' ol' me sharing my opinion of good food and a lovely experience.

E.T. Phone Home...the obsession continues

This winter, New England has been unbelievably warm.  My Nolan loves to be outside.  Sean is much more of the indoorsy type.  This picture was from last week.  The weather was amazing.  Nolan was out in the backyard right after breakfast.  I keep peeking out at him.  He was "fixing" his old bike.

Next thing he is begging Sean to come outside to see a "surprise."  "Mom don't look yet."  I thought, oh God!  

"OK Mom you can look now..."

A few weeks before Halloween Nolan watched the ET movie and became obsessed.  It started with him attaching a basket to the front of his little bike.  Then he pleaded for a red sweatshirt.  (That I found on Hanes.com for $8)  He put Yoda (from his Star Wars obsession) in the basket, as it was the closest thing he could find that looked like ET.

So there was no question--he was going to be Elliot for Halloween.  His uncle (my brother) fueled his obsession by crafting a paper mache ET head!  Yes my entire family is completely nuts creative.

That was all fine and good for Halloween but ET stayed on his bike for weeks after...getting some strange looks at the park from other little kids who had no idea who ET was.

Most of the parents got a good laugh out of it...or maybe they were laughing at me for allowing him to ride around the park with ET wrapped in a towel strapped to his bike!  That's normal right?  I would tell myself, just like all his other obsessions favorite things--The Wiggles, Pirates, the Wiggles again, Star Wars, Harry Potter...this too shall pass...and God knows what will be next!

When the new Muppet movie came along, poor ET was put on a shelve in the playroom and forgotten. But for some reason ET has reared his funny big head again.  Nolan had asked me to download music from ET the day before...but he also asked for music from Star Wars, Spongebob, Victorious and the chicken dance, so I wasn't thinking that ET was coming back in full force.

Not only did he stick his bike in a tree and dress Sean up like Elliot, he had the music playing for the full effect...

The next Steven Spielberg?
Although Sean will tell you, he can be a bit difficult to work with.

Pink and Green was the Theme

I love looking at all the fabulous, creative party ideas and themes on Pinterest (yes, I am talking about Pinterest again!).  Thought I'd post a pink and green baby shower theme I did last spring for a BFF of mine.

After having two boys my friend Kerri was having a third child and found out it was a girl!  We wanted to throw her a little shower, a sprinkle really, of PINK!  Kerri had told me Olivia's room is going to be pink and green, I immediately thought, hello baby shower theme!  I love these colors together, it reminds me of the preppy early 80's.

I had so much fun putting this little shin-dig together for my very dear
and deserving friend.  Here is all the pink & green greatness:

The Invitation - from the Paper Store (Hingham)

The favors - I found the little buckets at Target and picked up some flower seeds at Lowe's.

Also at Target, I found these fun pink lanterns...

I got some more buckets at Target and IKEA

I used the little ones to hold utensils and I put plants the big ones for centerpieces.

Pink lanterns from IKEA

Used this "baby shower" paper from Papersource to decorate.

The cake that our bff Heather got from Veronica's Sweetcakes that was so good!

a picture I wish I thought to take - our bff Maureen brought the wine for all the non-pregnant gals...it was a whole lot of wine!

Baby gift from me - given that I have two boys, had a great time baby girl shopping. 

Inside the pink bin:

This adorable little tote bag from The Christmas Tree Shop.  I had it monogrammed at Threads and Ink in Braintree (who I highly recommend!)

Some stationary...

that I personalized...

Cutie bootie socks

A tu-tu of course!

Here are all the ladies ou-ing and ah-ing over the baby gifts.  I wish I had more pictures of all the adorable gifts but my camera was not cooperating :(

Here she is, Miss Olivia...she arrived in July 2012...always dressed to the nines...

The New Play Station Vita

Yesterday we attended a very cool Boston Parent Blogger event hosted by Christy (Morethanamommy) at The Vita Hill Social Club in Cambridge.  My kids (and husband) got to test drive the new Play Station Vita that hits the stores tomorrow.

I am so not a "gamer", but my boys are...apparently this is a very cool handheld game.

Sean played the entire time, he loved it.  Nolan liked it too but was much more interested in the snacks.

One lucky attendee won PS Vita.  There were other prizes Nolan won a tote bag, he was thrilled.

We had a fun time and I got to see some fellow bloggers...here is Melanie (The Coupon Goddess) and her girls.

Sunbutter Cookie Recipe Everyone Will Love!

My sister-in-law Sheila is a fabulous cook.  Now that Sean can eat wheat, Sheila gave me some great recipes to try.  My niece is allergic to eggs and peanuts so these recipes are egg-free, peanut-free and in Sean's case I will make them dairy-free and soy-free as well.

Last night I made Sunbutter Cookies.   I've talked about Sunbutter a few times but if you are just tuning in, Sunbutter is a creamy spread made from sunflower seeds.  It is a great peanut butter alternative.

These cookies are out of this world.  They are just like eating a peanut butter cookie.  They were a hit with the entire family.  I seriously can't stop eating them!  Here is the recipe...oh and for Sunbutter coupons click here:

Sunbutter Cookies

1/2 c margarine - for Sean I used soy free Earth Balance "natural buttery spread"
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c + 2 Tblsp Sunbutter
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup choc chips - we use Enjoy Life choc chips

*Preheat oven to 325 and lightly grease a cookie sheet
* cream margarine and sugars together w/ a mixer. add the apple sauce and vanilla to blend. Beat in Sunbutter.
* gradually add in salt, soda, and flour until combined. 
* stir or mix in choc. chips
* Roll dough into 1 inch balls, lay on greased cookie sheet, flatten the balls a bit w/ your hand and make a criss cross with a fork on the surface (like when you make peanut butter cookies). *Bake 10-12 mins.
* When the cookies first come out they are very soft. You might have to let them sit for a couple of minutes on the cookies sheet to firm up until you can use the spatula and take them off. Once you can get them off, put on a cooling rack for 10 minutes or so so that they can completely cool and firm up.

Thank you Sheila for sharing this awesome recipe!!

Girls Night at Disney On Ice (and a discount code!)

Last night I attended Disney on Ice "Dare to Dream" at the TD Banknorth Garden.  Since it was all about princesses, I took my friend Maureen, her daughter Ciara and her friend Ella.  These two are quite the princesses!

We found on-street parking (free!) and grabbed a quick bite to eat at The Grand Canal.

Then we walked over to the TD Garden.

Before I go on about the show, I just have to point out that princess Ciara made the dress she was wearing!  That's right, she designed it, made the pattern, picked out the fabric and sewed it together.   She loves fashion and has been taking sewing lessons at "In-Stitches" in Quincy.  This is one talented mini diva!

Back to the show.  The girls loved it.  Maureen and I loved it.

There was the Princess and the Frog...

Cinderella  - a timeless classic.  It was great!

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald came out a few times.

There were so many little ones dressed in their princess costumes, it was so cute.  This little Snow White was sitting in front of us.

Tangled -- the story of Rapunzel--was our favorite!  Full of action and excitement and, of course, a love story...

At one point Rapunzel and Flynn were hanging from the ceiling, twisting around in the air like Cirque du Soleil!  All my pictures of that came out blurry, they were moving too fast!  I was amazing.

For the grand finale, all the famous princesses came out dresses in gorgeous white costumes.

We had a such a great time.  I asked the girls what was their favorite part --Ella said "Rapunzel!"  Ciara said "oh when we were in the hallway we saw a bald guy wearing a crown, that was so funny!"...giggle, giggle, giggle..."Oh and I liked the "lunch" scene in Rapunzel."
If you are looking for something fun for February vacation I have a special DISCOUNT CODE for tickets!  Go to Ticketmaster and use the code EARLYMOM to get kids tickets for $15
You will definitely enjoy this show!


I was given a 4-pack of tickets to review the show, no other compensation was received.