Archive of ‘Life & Adventures’ category

Unofficial End of Summer

We all know that Labor Day Weekend is the “Unofficial End of Summer.” People enjoy their last barbecues, last weekends at their summer camps, and just embrace the last few days before the cooler weather rolls in and kids head back to school.

My friends and I decided to go out with a bang and try to complete all of the quintessenial summer activities in one weekend. The weekend started with a day at the Saratoga Race Track with my office. We had a beautiful, sunny day at the races. Though I didn’t win a single dime, it was still nice to spend some time out of the confines of the office and relax with my coworkers.

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Wining and Dining Through Long Island

IMG_1538My girlfriend has a house on the outskirts of Long Island. In years past we’ve spent a weekend every summer relaxing on the beach, eating lots of delicious food, and just enjoying the care free atmosphere. Now it’s been some time since we’ve been able to get together over at the house. We decided to settle on a weekend that would work for the three of us and stuck to it. (more…)

Exploring San Francisco

As I’ve previously posted, my friend Theresa and I made a short trip over to California.Throughout our four day stay, we were able to pack just about everything in that someone traveling through San Francisco would want. We had an early start to our trip and were off exploring upon landing. Our first stop, of course, was the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. I was able to surpass my fear of bridges and we walked across most of it. I’m glad I did because I was able to get a few great shots!

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New and Improved!

For those of you who may remember, it was a goal of mine this year to revamp this here blog. I had been utilizing Google’s Blogger since it’s inception for several reason; it was cheap (free to be exact), easy to use, and had decent templates.

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However, the time has come to move on to bigger and better things. I was limited in some ways and wanted to have a blog that was my very own. So I have officially purchased the domaine name http://www.essentiallyjackie.com (thanks for your help Shane!). I have spent a few weeks playing around with the new site trying to make it as close to perfect as possible before launching. I think I have it as ready as it ever will be. Plus, I think it looks so pretty and I can’t possibly write any more posts without showing you all here!

 

I hope you enjoy the new and improved Essentially Jackie.

USA Food Tour: Connecticut

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This past Friday was Nick’s birthday. When I had asked him what he wanted to do he had said, “Why don’t we start your USA Food Tour and hit up one of the states?” I thought that was a great idea! I had come up with the idea a few weeks ago so I was eager to get the ball rolling. I mean, I do have 50 states to conquer so time is of the essence, right?

Since it was going to be a day trip we had to narrow the destinations accordingly. We had three options, but settled on Connecticut. Now, one would think that being that the entire southern part of the state borders the Long Island Sound, Connecticut would specialize in some form of seafood. Do not be fooled. Not very far into my research did I realize that pizza was indeed one of the foods that the Constitution State is known for. Silly me should have realized this before I started typing into Google. I mean, we’ve all heard of the 1988 film starring Julia Roberts based around the small town restaurant Mystic Pizza! No? Am I the only one? (more…)

USA Food Tour

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I have recently become slightly obsessed with a particular travel blog, Alex in Wanderland. This girl is living the high life. She travels around the globe and writes about all of her experiences while sharing advice with her readers. What makes it even more interesting is that she is from my hometown. This particular blog has become a topic of conversation amongst myself and a few of my friends. Reading about all of her adventures gave me a wonderful idea. Why don’t we travel around the US, exploring each state’s cuisine. You have probably figured out by now that I Love Food. My life essentially revolves around it. Therefore I feel that this is a great way to try new things and see new places.

I have created a list of all 50 states and started compiling research to illustrate all of the different foods known to each region. So stay tuned for my new series of USA Food Tour stops.

 

My Week of Dinners

This last week was extremely hectic. I had one obligation or another every single night. This in turn made for a great week to document my week of dinners.

Monday was the monthly dinner date with Joyce, Jamie, and Sabrina. We had originally planned to go to a different restaurant. However, the day turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. After a week of rain we all agreed it would be great to sit outside. So we switched to another restaurant in Saratoga Springs that has great outside seating. This worked out well too because I had been meaning to try Druthers since they opened. Everything was delicious. From the beer, to the pretzels, to my chicken burger. Everyone was satisfied to the last bite. The company was great as well, but that goes without saying. (more…)

Bridesmaids Revisited

A few months ago Sarah, Theresa, and I decided we were overdue for a get together. The last time the three of us had seen each other was for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. So we settled on a weekend in June that worked for all of us. Sarah and I set out Saturday morning to spend the day together. 

We knew going in that it was going to be a wedding filled weekend. Theresa wanted to show us the church where she will be married next year, as well as the venue where the reception will be. Then we were going to meet some of her friends from home. Little did we know, Theresa had an exciting surprise in store. After we arrived at the house, the three of us sat down to chat and catch up before meeting up with the others. Right away Theresa jumped into a story which ended up with her asking Sarah and I to be two of her bridesmaids! She even wrote out these really sweet letters, personalized to each of us, telling us why she wants us to be apart of her special day. Of course, we said Yes!  (more…)

A Sisterly Weekend

About a week ago the twins and I were discussing our Memorial Day Weekend plans. All three of us were shocked that this long weekend had come upon us so quickly. Melissa and I quickly realized we had zero plans and decided it would be a great idea to spend it together. She drove in Friday night which worked out perfectly, allowing us to really spend all of Saturday together. 

After enjoying a stack of blueberry pancakes and doing a few chores around the house, we hit the fairways and played a short round of golf. The weather was shotty looking however during our time out the sun kept on shining. It wasn’t until we finished our last hole that the rain started to come down. 

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