Boston, Oysters, and Wicked Smaaht

A reunion of sorts brought me back to Beantown

Out of the blue, an email arrived in my account with an invite to an "End of an Era" party from a former boss. The PR agency I worked at in Boston was sold and the woman that owned it for 40 years was throwing a party and invited friends, colleagues, and clients to mark the occasion.

I was thrilled to visit Boston and see dear friends. Boston was my home for a very long time. From attending college to growing my budding career in marketing and public relations, I loved my time in Boston and I will always have a strong tie to New England.

The party was fun and it was amazing to see some people I haven't seen in 14 years. I took advantage of the five days I was there to eat as much seafood as possible!

Living in Michigan has forced to re-think seafood. I soon realized how spoiled I was to live in New England for almost two decades with access to the best seafood ever.

Dozens of oysters, bowls of creamy chowder, roasted cod, spicy tuna rolls, hamachi, you name it. I was in heaven! A drive through some of the quaint south shore towns with the ocean and docks sliding into view, I reflected on how special New England truly is and how lucky I was to live there in my 20s and 30s.

While waiting for my departing flight at Logan International, I passed by a store near my gate and saw a sweatshirt with "Wicked Smaaht" written on it. I chuckled to myself and realized how much I miss that Boston accent and promised myself I would return for a visit 'wicked' soon.

Why Michigan? I get that A LOT!

The move from New York City to rural mid-Michigan

A little background,... we often get asked, "Why Michigan?" and there's a reason. Over 11 years ago I met my partner - a look across the room and yes, it was love at first site. This new relationship (as most) adds facets to your life and the addition of a cottage on a lake in Michigan was one that I never expected. For the past decade, we've been coming to the lake house in all seasons for about a week whenever we could get away on holidays and a vacation from the crazy and fast-paced life in NYC. My partner in life, Marc, has a real connection to this land. Since the late 1930s, his family has owned this haven in the woods with lakeside views.

When those weeks at the lake would wind down and we would have to pack up a nagging question would always come up – do we have to leave?

Our cottage on the lake offers a get-away from it all. With five acres of woods, wildlife and lakeside living - it is a beautiful respite. As our stays at the lake progressed and that nagging question kept creeping up into our conversations we decided that we would ultimately build a new house on the property. It would be our forever home, a place where our family could come and memories could be made for future generations.

Now we have the opportunity to make that dream a reality!

My Mantra: Food is Love

Some people eat to live... and for the rest of us we live to eat!

Growing up I was lucky to be exposed to lots of different foods. My Dad was Portuguese and he could hunt, fish, bake bread, cook, make his own wine and even build things.

Mom was Polish and she could cook really well too. She loved food, and always wanted to try new dishes. We had some great but simple food growing up -- well to me it was simple.

Our neighborhood was very Italian so that influenced what we ate too. My Mom had three sisters, one married an Italian, another married a Brit and my favorite Aunt married a Frenchie who was also a Chef in NYC (don't ask me where he died when I was very young). But I know that he was from Brittany and every Christmas we would be presented with the French cake. After my Uncle Laurent passed, my Aunt Emily took on the tradition of making Gâteau Breton - French butter cake.

This "cake" is so delicious, buttery, slightly nutty, just melt in your mouth good and for the longest time, no one had the recipe! Then one day I stumbled upon it in a French cook book and I tried my hand at making it. Each bite brings me back to the kitchen table where I grew up.

Food has always been my touchstone, a special part of life, Mom would make breakfast and we would talk about what sounded good for dinner.