October
We had family visit us from Ohio. We had an amazing time together! We showed them around Rockport for some seafood and shopping.

Into Boston for some sightseeing and lunch in Chinatown at the Gourmet Dumpling House. Must orders at the Gourmet Dumpling House are the juicy pork dumplings (soup dumplings) and the Szechaun pork hot pot!

At night we ventured into Frost Ice Loft, then Union Oyster House for drinks. Afterwards we satisfied our hunger at Saus!

The last night we had a very large group for dinner at Barcelona. The tasting menu at Barcelona was to die for! We had more food then we knew what to do with and enjoyed almost every bite! The down side to the meal at Barcelona was the Seafood Paella. This dish was actually inedible. Several of us tried it and couldn't even get one bite down. 

Greg found me another new hobby! I am absolutely in love with abstract art! Unfortunately I love it so much that I think this was a big part of the reason why I'm so late in blogging! I'm trying to manage my time better these days lol!

December
For Greg's birthday we went on an overnight trip to New York City with friends. We got to visit the Holiday Market at Columbus Circle, enjoy some sinful dairy free chocolate sorbet at Grom, another terrific dinner at Morimoto, and went in search of Kosher French Macaroons. 

Right before Christmas Porscha flew out for the holiday. We had a great few weeks together. We went shopping, dined at Koreana, and enjoyed family time. We also were privileged enough to experience my sister getting engaged!!

January 
We became members at the Museum of Fine Arts again. The museum has truly become one of my happy places. I can easily wander around there for hours, enjoy a bite to eat at one of their restaurants, and I can always find something unique in their shops.

February
For Valentines day we dined at O Ya in Boston. O Ya is an amazing sushi restaurant on the higher end of cost. We thoroughly enjoyed the tasting menu along with the wine/sake pairing! It's a must try in Boston.

The million and one reason to quit smoking! In February my father had to have surgery for a nodule in his lung. This is scary enough when someone you love is having surgery. Then you throw in the words cancer, and wedge resection and you start panicking. I'll start this by saying that my dad is now getting back to his normal life and is free of cancer! However the road to here has been exhausting. After the surgery my dad's blood pressure was elevated so we weren't allowed to see him right away. He then started developing air in his skin (pneumothorax) and required a 2nd chest tube to be inserted. The next day his stats still weren't improving and we found out that he had multiple blood clots in his lungs. After a 3rd chest tube, as well as a new procedure. He started to improve and could go walk around the floor. 9 days later he was allowed to be discharged but he would be on blood thinners for months and oxygen for weeks! As this is going on my mother gets a call that she needs to have a biopsy done due to a spot on her mammogram. Can you believe this! My stress level was sky high not to mention that we also stayed with my parents for 3 weeks! We are lucky and blessed my dad's cancer didn't spread and my moms spot was benign! Moral of the story is take care of body, take care of your mind, remove harmful chemicals from your system, and try your best to live a long and happy life with your loved ones. 

March
My sister and her fiance went on a weekend getaway to Newport RI. What they brought back for all of us to try was awesome, scary, and partly gross! Dried Spiders and Scorpions. Greg, my future brother-in law and my Dad all tried the Spiders. For the 1st time ever my dad was the cautious and smart one to only eat the Spider Legs. Apparently the body was hairy, chewy, and utterly disgusting! My sister and I tried the Scorpions! Oddly enough they were crunchy and slightly salty. Really not bad at all lol!

​***Greg and I just got back from a trip to Miami and Orlando! I have lots of reviews coming for hotels, restaurants, and attractions!!!

April
This past weekend we went back to the MFA for the Megacities Asia Exhibit at the MFA. This Exhibit was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will go back and see it again!
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Leaving Moab in the very early morning we made our way into Colorado. Our first stop was lunch with Greg's grandparents. We picked up Five Guys (gluten free, dairy free, and soy free for me) and enjoyed a couple of hours in their backyard.

After a while we headed north and made our way to Greg's parents house which was our home away from home for the next few nights. His parents made us feel so welcome! We had our own room, bathroom, supply of wine, and a variety of foods I could eat. Fred thoroughly enjoyed running freely through their large house and naturally become the boss of them too. Fred also loved being able to chase the rabbits out of their yard which my in-laws also loved to see him do lol. 

The next day I woke up with a terrible head cold! I should have known it was coming. I had a sore throat the day before and that's always the first sign. Next comes the stuffy nose, then the cough, then the chest congestion! Time to push on! We all pushed up our sleeves and started getting our crafting on! My nephews birthday party was How to Train Your Dragon themed. We made viking hats, shields, and more! This activity was fun but afterwards we were all looking forward to a nice glass of wine!

That evening we headed south to my brother and sister in laws house. It's so amazing every time we get together with our nephews! The only sad part was our niece being unable to come over. Naturally we gave our nephew his birthday present early lol so lots of playing ensued! Including me being locked up in jail by the birthday boy! I was let out of jail occasionally but the cops would chase me and lock me back up.

On our last full day we made our way back to the grandparents house for lunch and family time! At this point I am deathly ill and between blowing my nose and washing my hands I have unhappy skin! After lunch we headed back up to his parents house, grabbed some souvenirs for the boys that we forgot the day before and made our way back down south. After hanging with the kids for a while it was time for us to go and pack for the way home. 

After we were done packing I did some research and due to my cold and the probability that Greg would catch my cold we altered our route home. Unfortunately, this ended up being a mistake but we did get home sooner than planned which all in all was good. The next morning we said thank you for everything, hopped in the car, and made our way east to Massachusetts. 

The next day we made our way through Kansas. The day after through Ohio. The third and final day we made it home. We unpacked the car, realized we were both sick at this point and headed off to bed to get some rest before the work week started!

To finish day 7 we brought in our luggage, marveled at our view and then headed back into Moab for some dinner. We decided to try some BBQ at the Blu Pig. The Blu Pig has 2 pet friendly patios, amazing staff, and delicious food. For my full dinner review visit here.

Later that night Greg and Fred cuddled inside while I opted for some star gazing and photographs. My stubborn husband lol didn't want to believe that we would get cold at night so he didn't light the stove. Needless to say we were freezing! Poor little Fred was under the covers and curled up against us. If you are camping at Moab Under Canvas and it's going to be 50 degrees at night go ahead and light the fire. 

This morning we definitely had a cold start and breakfast being a little late actually was a good thing. We got to let the sun warm us up a bit before heading out. For breakfast we enjoyed a burrito for Greg and Quinoa with coconut milk and brown sugar for me. Quinoa has become one of my favorite breakfast items thanks to this trip!

We packed up our day stuff and headed towards Moab to Arches National Park. Arches is is just a short drive back towards Moab and it is absolutely amazing! You can't believe your eyes and the pictures truly don't do it justice. Unfortunately only the parking areas are pet friendly. We would take as many photos we could within the pet friendly areas. At several stops especially at the Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint and the Sand Dunes Arch Greg and I would split up. I would hike one area while he watched Fred and then vice versus. ​

After a few hours of driving around and hiking we were getting pretty hungry. We decided to try Eddie McStiff's for lunch on their pet friendly patio. For my lunch review visit here. After lunch we opted for some more sightseeing so we drove to Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands is about a 40 minute drive from Moab and it's also well worth it. The drive to Canyonlands and Canyonlands itself is beautiful,  vast and memorable. Unfortunately it has the same pet policy allowing dogs only in the parking areas. Since we were limited again we didn't spend as much time here as we would have liked. ​

As we made it back to our car both of our stomachs were grumbling with hunger. For lunch we headed for BBQ at the Blu Pig for the 2nd time (the first night we arrived in Moab we went for dinner). We had another delicious lunch on their pet friendly patio and thoroughly enjoyed chatting with our waiter Joe. 

On the way back to our camp we stopped at City Market for some snacks for dinner (you will definitely be full after eating a meal at the Blu Pig). I also find that grocery stores can be great for finding local foods as souvenirs for foodies in your life. 

Sitting on the deck of our tent at Moab Under Canvas is one of the most relaxing moments of our trip. You are surrounded by beautiful scenery, the comforts of your tent, and wonderful staff. That evening I trekked outside in the dark and cold again for some night time photography. The next morning also provided me with some amazingly cool shots of the sun slightly on the horizon while the stars were still out. ​