Lunch in the North End with the Family!

Hello! I hope that everyone had a great Father's Day. My grandfather flew down from New Jersey Saturday morning and is staying until Thursday. We picked up my grandfather (Nonno, which is grandfather in Italian) and headed to the North End. As you may have guessed the North End is one of our favorite neighborhoods in Boston. We were planning on going to Quattro (which Mom and I went to last summer), but there was an hour wait. The five of us then walked down the block to Ristorante Fiore, which we had never been to. We sat on the roof deck and browsed through the menu.

Mom and I chose to split an arugula salad with lemon juice and shaved parmesan. It was a perfect light start to a carb based meal. 

Both Dad and Nonno got the arancini (rice balls) stuffed with sausage and cheese. They both loved it, and I was happy to sample some of Dad's!

While we waited for our entrées to arrive (which took longer than we had anticipated) we discussed some of the work that Mom and I have been doing tracing our family tree. We have since worked on it, and now the tree has 140 people on it dating back to 1837. It has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to find out more about our family!

Emma ate spaghetti and meatballs! Classic and delicious.

I chose the Maccaroni al Forno. An amazing mixture of rigatoni pasta with spicy sausage and goat cheese. It was huge and I could not finish it all!

Mom got the Penne al Pollo, which had artichoke hearts, chicken, cherry tomatoes, in a light cream sauce. Like mine it was huge and she could not finish it, but she loved it nonetheless.

Lastly, Dad and Nonno got the gnocchi with sausage and mushrooms. I'm not a big fan of either gnocchi or mushrooms, but I got to say that it was pretty good! Not something that I would order for myself. 

Even after all of that we could not say no to dessert! Mom, Nonno, and I got cappuccino, while Dad got his usual double espresso. We got two tiramisus to split between the four of us (Emma does not like tiramisu) and it was so good! I love tiramisu. I have made it many times and I have had it at many restaurants. My french host mother even made me a speculoos tiramisu! Out of all of those tiramisus, this one is in the top five. It had a really good coffee flavor, that can be lost with the mascarpone filling and chocolate.

We then walked by the harbor before heading back home! All in all another very successful meal in the North End.

See you next time,

Kara

Shopping and Dinner in the North End!

Hello everyone! I know that it has been a while but I want to get back into the blogging groove. I'm so happy that Summer is here and that the sun is shining (on most days). Living in Massachusetts has been good, although I miss my friends from Florida and D.C.. Two weekends ago Mom, Dad and I went into Boston for some shopping (well the shopping was for Mom and I) and eat at one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the North End.

Once we got into Boston, we wandered through an arts market just as it was about to end. I wish we had gotten there sooner, but we still had the chance to look at some beautiful jewelry.

Me helping Dad with geocaching

We also bought some amazing smelling candles from a Boston-based business called Fifth & Madison. We got three candles: Molokai (Sea Salt, Gardenia, and White Musk) for Mom, Cosmopolitan (Pomegranate and Grapefruit) for Emma, and Spa Water (Rosemary and Eucalyptus) for me. They are nice and light summer scents!

While Dad waited in Quincy Market, Mom and I perused through Ann Taylor Loft where I got two shirts and a pair of sunglasses. We then walked down to the North End to go through the store Lit where I got a cute dress. 

We had dinner at a new restaurant on Hanover St called Parla. I ate here last summer with Mom, which you can read about here. Now this is not your typical Italian restaurant with spaghetti and meatballs or pizza. They change their menu on a regular basis, so you can always try something new. We got beef carpaccio and grilled polenta to start. Both were yummy, but I liked the polenta more because beef carpaccio is not really my thing.

For the main course Mom had the roasted duck breast with carrots and sweet potato purée. She loved it and let everyone have a try. I love duck and I would definitely get that again.

Dad got the most interesting dish: a ramen "carbonara." Just like it sounds, it was a mix between ramen soup with spaghetti carbonara. He really liked it and it showcased how different Parla is from the other restaurants in the North End.

I ate the seafood pasta dish with haddock, scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams. While it was not the most adventurous thing on the menu nor my favorite seafood pasta, it was still pretty yummy. I'm not a huge fan of haddock but the rest of the seafood was perfectly cooked and sauce was delicious.

We had to get Mike's Pastries for desserts just because. I've never had Modern Pastry, but I will always go to Mike's to get a chocolate chip cannoli. 

My parents and I had a great time going to Quincy Market and the North End. They are two of my favorite places to go in Boston and I have fond memories of them both. Since we live here, however, I cannot wait to explore new areas of Boston and try other restaurants. Any suggestions?

See you next time,

Kara

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe that 2014 is already over. So much happened in the past 12 months to my family and me. I went to France (Perigueux to be exact) in March, Playlist Live a week later, graduated from high school in May, drove up and down the East Coast in May then in July, went to LeakyCon in Orlando in July/August, started college in Washington D.C in August, spent my last Thanksgiving in Florida, helped my family move from Florida to Massachusetts three weeks ago, and then we celebrated our first Christmas in our new house last week. I want to thank everyone that has been a part of my life this year. I had a great 2014, and I have every hope that 2015 will hold even more adventure and fun. Here are some of my favorite photos from this year!

Taken during my amazing trip to Perigueux, France 

Last spring break in WDW for a while! Glad to have spent it with my parents, sister, and Aunt Linda. 

Graduation! Can't believe that high school is over!

Beginning of the road trip to Boston. And South of the Border was an experience to say the least. 

Pit stop in D.C., exploring the new home!

First day of the summer in Boston, one of my all time favorite cities. 

Duck face and new ombré hair. 

From the Met in NYC. One of my favorite museums!

Chocolate gelato on a hot day in the city, need I say more? 

The beautiful Leighton Meester after the fantastic play adaptation of Of Mice and Men

Taken after a delicious meal at Jean Georges with my Aunt Kathleen. A meal I will never forget. 

Gorgeous tea with Mom at the Taj in Boston

A few days before orientation for college!

Spending time with my sister is always fun!

One of my favorite restaurants in D.C.: Jaleo!

Connecting with my inner kid in a park this summer

Revisiting my old camp, Camp Bernadette, while dropping Emma off for her first year there!

Leaving Boston (through New York) to go back home to Tampa

A beautiful shot of Charleston, SC from the top floor of a parking garage.

Impromptu trip to EPCOT and meeting up with Dale!

When Mom and I prepared an afternoon tea for my friends and their mothers. So much fun!

Meeting Hannah Hart (My Drunk Kitchen) was definitely a highlight! 

Mary Kate Wiles and Matthew Glick (from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) was another highpoint of LeakyCon!

Nick Lang (member of Starkid) and I at LeakyCon. Cannot believe I met him!

Emma and I at the One Direction concert in MA! 

Start of my Freshman year at college!

Had a great day at the American Girl Place with my roommate and her sister!

Beautiful sunset from the Capitol!

Christmas tree on Christmas Day. I had a great Christmas! How was yours?

Trying to ice skate this past Monday. Started off shaky, but ended strong!

And that was my year! I hope you had a great 2014! Thank you so much for reading my blog this year, it really means the world to me. I hope that I will keep writing in the coming year. Is there anything that you guys want to see me write about?

Have a great new year!

Love,

Kara