Christmas Gift Guide 2015

Great news party people! Christmas is next month. If you're like me, you probably had a mini panic attack after reading that, trust me my heart is beating out of my chest just typing it.

If you celebrate Christmas, theres a pretty good chance that you experience some kind of anxiety about shopping in the upcoming months. Between the Christmas music playing perhaps a bit before you'd like it to, the masses of people in most shopping centers, and the lines that make you want to pull your hair out, no wonder there is a shift in shopping patterns from physically going to stores to ordering online.

More good news - were here to help. I'm coming in hot today with tips, gift ideas, and wish list items. Hold on to your hats, this is gonna be a big one - so grab that Caramel Bruleé latte and take a seat.


Gift Buying Tips

We all want to save some money on the bomb gifts we're going to give our parents, significant others, siblings, and kids. If there is one thing to take away from this post its this: don't buy in to Black Friday. Unless its a tradition or something you're dead set on (more power to you), I'm telling you - skip it. Take the extra night off after Thanksgiving to spend time with your family. It's all about Cyber Monday. Make a list and a shopping cart over the weekend, and on Monday go ahead an take advantage of all of those deals and online coupons. It will save you so much stress and time waiting in crazy lines!

When it comes to gift buying in general, its all about organization. Personally, I have a lot of people to buy for every year, and I want to make sure that I don't skip anyone, so I make lists. First, I just make a list of all the people I have to buy for on my Notes app on my phone. Then, as I buy gifts for them, I type the gift next to their name so I always have a running list of things I have purchased. This helps me know who to buy for, as well as make sure I am spending similar amounts on each person.

If you have a big extended family like I do, it may be beneficial to think about non-traditional ways of Christmas gift giving. We used to put all of our names in a hat and pick two names, so we all made a big game out of buying for someone and they would guess who the giver was once they opened it. Such a fun way to give! This year we're trying something different, and making an even bigger game out of it. Each person buys a gift for themselves, brings it in, and we put them all in a pile along with a $5 scratch ticket. Then, we all go in to the pile and pick a gift (not our own) and open it, then guess who bought it for themselves. At the end, whoever gets the most right gets to take home the scratch tickets, and we all take the gift we bought ourselves. This way, our Christmas isn't as burdensome and we still get to spend a lot of time with our family, having fun, eating, sharing stories, and just being around each other - what the holidays are all about.

Gift Ideas
For Her:
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Freshwater Pearl Earings
Non-traditional Scarf
Nice pair of Flats
Or a fancier pair
New perfume
Makeup face kit, eye kit, or cute sampler 
A movie night package (with one of her favorite classic movies, and 2 new ones she has mentioned wanting to see, a bottle of wine, popcorn, and some kind of chocolate)

 For Him:
New Watch
Shaving Kit
Nice Down Jacket
The Ultimate Boxers
Bluetooth Earbuds
Wool Peacoat
Chukka Boots

So happy shopping! Don't let the elves hear you whine about the lines!

Freedom Trail – Revolutionary History

Freedom Trail – Revolutionary History

 

Boston is arguably the birthplace for the American Revolution and the driving influence of the importance of “freedom” to the American culture. The plethora of historically significant monuments in the city has drawn tourists to explore the city year-round, however, the sheer number of attractions created confusion for tourists. Before the advent of GPS, navigating these without a tour guide was not the easiest task. In 1951, local journalist William Schofield suggested building a path linking important landmarks throughout the city. Boston Mayor, John Hynes, took this idea to heart and created the Freedom Trail. For over 60 years the 2.5 mile long Freedom Trail has guided millions, starting at the Boston Common it passes by: the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, the Paul Revere House, ground markers, graveyards, historical churches, and ends at the USS Constitution.

 

Millions of people travel the Freedom Trail every year to see the history that has played an enormous role in shaping the very being of Boston and the identity of the United States. Guided tour groups delving deeper into the history of each site are available for private groups as well as schools.

http://www.massvacation.com/business/1587/

 Spero Dimas

America's Hometown Thanksgiving - Plymouth, MA

Plimoth Plantation

If you would like to immerse yourself in a unique experience of 17^th century life in a Pilgrim village, you should visit the Plimoth Plantation. This place brings the English colonial village to life.  The people you will meet there are costumed role players portraying actual residents of Plymouth Colony. (Plimoth is the original spelling used by the settlers.  The modern town and county are spelled Plymouth.)

This is truly a fun historical experience. While learning about the colony’s difficult beginnings, you can ask actors about the Pilgrims’ religious beliefs, education and child rearing, relations with Native People, gardens, cooking, or any other topic that might interest you.

Some of the things you can see when visiting Plimoth Plantation and Plymouth are: 

Wampanoag Home site

 Unlike the people you will meet at the 17th century English Village, the staff of the Wampanoag Home are not actors; they will be wearing historically accurate clothing, mostly made of deerskin. In addition, they will proudly share information from a modern perspective about Wampanoag  native history and culture. 

Mayflower II

You might buy a ticket including a visit to a full scale replica of the Mayflower ship that brought the pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620. Costumed actors tell you about their dangerous journey across the Atlantic, while modern guides speak about the fascinating history of Mayflower and Mayflower II.

Nearby is the famous but disappointing Plymouth Rock. It isn't very impressive, and may not be the actual rock the pilgrims landed on, but it's worth a look and perhaps a selfie.

The Plimoth Grist Mill

The Plimoth Grist Mill tells the story of the grist (corn grinding) mill built by the Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony. The Plimoth Grist Mill is a functioning reproduction of the 1636 water-powered mill. 

After learning about how this mill processes the corn, you might want to finish your tour by visiting the mill museum shop, where you can buy their freshly ground, organic cornmeal and sample other culinary treats. 

Additional things to see at Plimoth Plantation and in Plymouth are:

·         Craft Center

·         Rare breed animals

·         Plimoth Cinema

·         Plymouth Farmers Market Plymouth Farmers Market 

·         You might want to check out events in December as well as a Thanksgiving celebration dinner dates. 

Tickets to visit the site are available at  Plimoth Plantation

Banana Cake Recipe 

                                                            

This recipe is perfect to eat in this cold weather, especially as Thanksgiving approaches.

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour (white or wheat flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large eggs
¾ cup of brown sugar or ½ of white sugar
6 tablespoons of vegetable oil or coconut oil
2 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Mash the bananas with a fork or hand mixer, then place it in a bowl. Add the nutmeg, eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon.
2. Mix with manual egg beater or electric mixer on low.  Lastly you add the flour and the baking powder. (I like to add little pieces of semi-sweet chocolate chips.)
3. Pre-heat the oven to 365F.  Grease the cooking pan  with cooking spray (I use a Bundt pan) , and then use white sugar to coat it. Flip it upside down to remove excess sugar.
4. Place the cake dough in a cooking pan.
5. Bake it for 40 minutes.

The smells of the banana with the spices are delightful and the finished cake is even better.  Enjoy it with a glass of milk or a cup of tea.  You can spread cream cheese on it, or, if you’re watching calories, plain yogurt.  It gives an enjoyable tang.
Try making it and let us know.  Oh! Now I am hungry :-)

The North End - Little Italy

If you love a good pizza, pasta or pastry, Little Italy in the North End of Boston is the place to go. With over 80 restaurants, cafes and patisseries lining the narrow cobblestone streets there is plenty for you to choose from. 

As Boston’s first neighborhood, the North End evolved from an isolated village to the home of American Revolutionists to Irish haven and finally to Little Italy.

After being to Little Italy a couple of times now, I have found a few favorite places to go. The first restaurant I visited was Ristorante Fiore, here you can dine on everything from fresh, handmade breads and pastas to classic, old-world, Italian plates to inventive, locally-sourced, seafood dishes. As well as pick from three options of where you want to sit; the main dining room, the roof top deck during the cold winter months and then also outside where you can look onto the busy streets when its warm during the summer.  

This restaurant may be seen as a higher priced one as pasta dishes range from $20 to $32 but each dish is generous and always more than you think you can eat! It, however, is defiantly worth the little extra money. 

The next place I visited was Florentine Cafe further down the street from Ristorante Fiore. The Florentine Cafe is one of the oldest bars in Boston. Established just after Prohibition on the corner of Hanover and Prince Streets in Boston's historic North End, it provided a place to meet, greet and enjoy a drink in the heart of one of Boston's most famous neighborhoods. 

This restaurant is a little less pricey as dishes start from $10 and the portion size is no different to that in Ristorante Fiore. With a warm welcome from the friendly staff, this is the best place to go on a chilly day in November for some pasta or pizza to warm up. It is also perfect on a summers day as it is one of the first open air, side-walk side cafes which allows you to take in the atmosphere of the busy street while enjoying your meal. 

After you have enjoyed your dinner and drinks, the best place to go and visit to continue the Italian feeling is either the famous Mike's Pastry or The Modern Pastry shop where you can indulge in a variety of different flavored Cannoli's. 

Mike's Pastry offers a range of different flavored Cannoli's from the original fresh Ricotta cheese to Amaretto and Espresso flavored. Each Cannoli is made fresh in store that same day, the most popular flavors are; ricotta cheese, yellow and chocolate cream. Other fillings are chocolate cream, yellow cream, chocolate dipped, chocolate chip, chocolate covered, New York cheesecake and Florentine ricotta. The ultimate chocolate lovers favorite would be any of the chocolate ones with a chocolate flavored shell dipped in chocolate chips at each end. 

The Modern Pastry shop just down the street form Mike's Pastry provides similar flavors along with a selection of different cakes and cookies. The choice is yours, whatever option you choose you will not be disappointed. Both shops give you the option to sit in and eat your pastry or take them home to eat later. 

Little Italy is a couple of minutes walk away from the Haymarket T station on the orange line.