It's Donut Day!

chocolate banana-and balloons!

You may have gathered that I like donuts...like, really like them. I think it's the fluffy yet chewy texture and creative flavor combinations that have been showing up more and more-plus, New England is just really into them! If you need a recommendation of where to celebrate for Providence, Boston, or Greensboro, look no further...

lemon-raspberry-coconut and chocolate-peanut-coconut

I'll get Greensboro out of the way first-I've only had donuts once there, but they were awesome. Duck Donuts is a design-your-own, freshly baked model that reminded me of how good cake donuts can be when done right!

I have had some pretty fantastic donuts in Boston. At the Union Square Farmer's Market, I picked up a lemon honey one from Mariposa Bakery-I love how they throw the donut hole on top!

sea salted bourbon caramel, maple bacon, vietnamese coffee, and brown butter hazelnut crunch

Union Square Donuts might be the best known, and they definitely have some delicious flavors. The brown butter hazelnut crunch was particularly excellent.

Blackbird Doughnuts is my go-to, possibly because they are too conveniently located between barre and work...I have yet to try the ice cream sandwich or cake, but they are happening at some point!

For classic flavors, a much better deal, and 24/7 service, Doughboy Donuts and Deli is awesome. I am also a fan of all their different iced coffee flavors!

And of course when in Providence, you know my weakness is PVDonuts!

There's definitely more places on my list to try...Knead, Allie's, and Kane's all come to mind!

Who wants to go on a donut date?? 

xoxoxo

Emma

Backstreet's back!

For the month of March, PVDonuts created a totally '90s inspired menu. They change up flavors on a monthly basis, rotating in specials for holidays as well. When I saw that all the forbidden treats of my childhood were going to be available in much more delicious form, I knew I had to create an opportunity to taste them all. When Dad saw that they had a St. Patrick's Day special called "Luck of the Irish", a brioche style filled with Guinness chocolate mousse, topped with a stout chocolate glaze, and finished with a pipette of Bailey's, he immediately requested I get two-one for sampling and one all for him.

I had some friends over to help in the demolishing of said donuts, but only managed to get pics of the food! We were having too much fun laughing and singing along to the '90s music (ok, maybe the last part was just me). Accompanied by a quick frittata (gotta balance with some protein), chocolate milk-to which I may have added some homemade kahlua, and plenty of coffee, it was the perfect Saturday morning!

We couldn't come to a consensus on the best flavor, but everyone had their favorites. Of course Dad preferred the Luck of the Irish, while Rici and Svenja loved the Hershey's chocolate milk. Georgina picked the Dunkaroos...and I couldn't decide! My top selections included Wildberry Poptart (a filled brioche) and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch monkey bread...but I wouldn't turn down any of them!

 

Anyone up for another donut trip?!

xoxoxo

Emma

Eating Elsewhere: Pittsurgh

Naturally when I visited my friends in Pittsburgh, good food was a major priority. We made it to a number of excellent places, and even when I couldn't enjoy the food as much as I would have liked (Sunday morning...oops), the service was fantastic.

Alexa and I started with an amazing vegan brunch on Saturday morning at B52. We shared the avocado toast (of course!) and had to have our coffee, especially after my delayed flight the night before. I then ate waaay too much of this dish, the kofta tofu scramble. It was perfectly savory and spicy-I need to find a way to recreate it! Alexa definitely enjoyed her seitan shwarma as well-it looked delish but I didn't manage to get a photo of it before it was devoured, ha.

Later in the day, we took a break from our busy sightseeing schedule to have a casual beer before Beerfest (the beginning of the end, perhaps?) at Roundabout Brewery. It was small but lovely-and the beer selection was excellent! It doesn't look like much from the outside, but don't let that fool you. 

Dinner at Umami was excellent-I was able to have ramen! Few places have vegetarian ramen that is also fairly authentic so I don't often have an opportunity to enjoy it. While I don't think as a vegetarian I got a full perspective on the menu, my taste of it was delicious. 

For my last meal in Pittsburgh, we headed to Apteka, a vegetarian Central/East European restaurant. Again, all truly fantastic dishes-I had the kluski slaski, while Alexa went classic with pierogi and Jack had the salatka zimova. We of course had to sample each others dishes, and I'd have trouble saying which was the favorite!

We visited a couple other places, including the excellent coffee shop next door to the apartment, Espresso a Mano and the French bakery La Gourmandine, both of which were very much enjoyed.

When visiting friends and family it is always a tough decision whether to go back to old favorites or try new places-I usually go for a mixture of both. And I'm always open to recommendations!

xoxoxo
Emma

Snow Daze

These snow days-resulting in a 4 day weekend-couldn't have come at a better time. I've noticed myself feeling more tired and frustrated (it's concentrated at work, but spilling over everywhere honestly), so was just saying on Tuesday that I really needed to take a day off. I'm not 100% sure of what is causing this, though I've got some ideas of contributing factors. I can't change all of them-I have to keep reminding myself that I can't make people see things my way, and sometimes trying to will just make things worse-but there are some that I'm working on.

The commute is taking its toll, so I'm apartment hunting. I've been missing my friends-it's hard to make new ones when you work till 8pm and commute almost 2 hours each way-so I'm trying to book a trip each month to visit them in their various cities, and encouraging them to come out this way as well. I'm definitely holding stress in my body, so I'm sticking to my Bar Method routine as much as possible and adding in yoga and running where I can. I'm celebrating as many things as I possibly can. I find solace and relief in cooking and baking, so I'm trying out new recipes on myself, my dad, and my coworkers. I might also be doing a little too much shopping...but if that's my worst vice right now I'm not going to beat myself up over it. At least I'm definitely getting some good deals!

when even your sticky socks are trying to pep you up...not pictured: the pom-poms on the back!

Wow, that got more serious than I'd been intending. But you know what? I'm going to leave it. I personally love to read blogs that are real, and not just all sweetness and light...though I think it's time for some of that!

The first snow day I did not leave the house other than to walk Binker-she was loving the snow! I had stocked up on Girl Scout cookies on the way home from work Wednesday in preparation, and may have opened up both boxes...and only changed from pajamas to other pajamas. I got a lot of little tasks done, but definitely still count it as a perfect lazy day.

The second snow day resulted in a trip to PVDonuts...despite our kind neighbor snow-blowing the sidewalk and much of the drive, doing the rest + walking Binker in the snow = feeling like I earned it! This was the first time I was able to walk right in and was able to order after waiting for just one person-though since I'm only one person and these are best when they're fresh, I only got two flavors: churro Nutella and Providence cream (their take on the Boston cream, made with coffee milk cream filling). Holy moly are they delicious. Every month I think I have a new favorite!

Triss and Binker are also pretty happy about our long ladies' weekend...lots of snuggles and play time!

Hope everyone has had a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend!

xoxoxo
Emma