The 25th Year

Ale had to work on my birthday so my Mom and brother came up to celebrate.  We checked out a new restaurant for lunch and hit up good ol' DQ for dessert.  For lunch we went to Aspen in Old Saybrook. My brother and I had the lobster special over pasta while my Mom got the short rib sliders.  We all started with the calamari appetizer and I had a white sangria.

Overall, the meal was good. I would go back again because the calamari was great and I would like to try some more of their small plates.  Ale and I have a really hard time finding restaurants that we like in this area.  Between his cooking and having lived in Manhattan, we are completely spoiled with good food. What used to be a favorite past time for us, is now more of an afterthought because we have no groceries in the house.

On Saturday, Alessandro decided to "officially" celebrate my birthday by taking me on the Essex Dinner train.  Essentially what it is is an old fashioned steam train from the early 1920s that takes you up and down the Connecticut river while serving you dinner.

It was a really fun experience.  Ale and I kept making jokes about how happy we were that planes were invented because of how slow these trains used to go.

For dinner we started off by sitting down to a plate of veggies and crackers with some kind of roasted red pepper dip. The servers then brought out the salads and bread. For entrees, I had the prime rib and Ale had the chicken francese. For dessert you had the choice between chocolate cake and tiramisu.

We had read reviews ahead of time of people complaining about the food but let's be honest, you aren't going on the train for a five star meal.  The food was fine, but we knew ahead of time that we were going for the experience.  It was a fun ride.  We saw Gillette Castle, the Goodspeed Opera house and beautiful views of the Connecticut river.  The entire trip was just short of two and a half hours.  It definitely felt like something different to do for a celebration and we are very happy that we found it and went.

 What I Wore:

 Blazer: H&M (similar)
 Dress: American Rag & Similar here
 Shoes: Steve Madden (sold out) Similar here
 Bag: BCBG Outlet
 Necklace: Touchstone Crystal- Timeless Treasure Necklace