Friends Do Things Together, La La La La

This weekend was crazy busy but it was such a blast. On Saturday, after a bridal shower for one friend, I hit the road to Maine for another bridal shower yesterday. Of course, no trip to Maine is complete without a stop at the New Hampshire Liquor Store where I picked up Piña Colada mix for happy hour cocktails.

I found this awesome pre-mixed Pina Colada by Bacardi that’s made with coconut water and pineapple juice. It’s super refreshing but definitely has a punch. We enjoyed a round before heading out to dinner.

We ventured to dinner at a new-to-us restaurant, Pasta’z.

The entrees are served in skillets which is different but pretty cool. I had the chicken, broccoli and ziti. It stayed warm to the very last bite. The garlic bread was super-garlicky but I liked it.

We shared a couple of Caprese salads and a bottle of pinot noir. Our meal left us sufficiently stuffed and in search of a nightcap. We ended the evening at our local watering hole with a round of margaritas and some great people watching.

{me and my homies, we’re tighter than a glove}

 

Yay for a great start to Vacation!

We’re just settling in back home after a weekend up in Maine visiting my family and some friends. We are wiped out but had a great time.

We did a lot of napping relaxing, especially puppy. After enjoying some long walks along the river, he would gulp down some water and head to his spot on top of the couch for a siesta. After a brief rest, he would resume his exploration of the woods surrounding my parents house. With every chirp of a bird or rustling of leaves, he would come bounding back into the house and reclaim his perch.

Pictured above, “Black & Blues” at the Seadog Brewery in Topsham.

We went for lunch and margaritas at a little Mexican restaurant called Buen Appetito in Waterville. The place is so popular with the locals and visitors to the area that there is usually a line out the door. It shares the building with a cinema that shows some new and some second-run movies in addition to indie flicks. They also have a film-fest every summer that brings in movie lovers from near and far.

Doesn’t my pomegranate and blueberry margarita look so good? It was so refreshing. The regular margaritas at this place are also fantastic. I could go for one right now. For my meal I enjoyed a HUGE grilled chicken and mango burrito with sides of rice and black beans. Everything tasted so fresh. Oh and they have the best house-made salsas and sauces. I couldn’t get enough of the spicy verde sauce. I probably dipped an entire basket of tortilla chips in that stuff.

More about our great weekend later, I’m off to unpack!

This Used to be my Playground

Ok, actually it used to be my high school. And not the actual building, but the site of my former high school is now the home of the World’s First Platinum-certified LEED supermarket and the first green designed supermarket in the state of Maine. What does that all mean? Well, Platinum designation is the highest rating a company can obtain from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Pretty awesome, huh?

This store consumes about half the energy of a normal supermarket due to modifications they’ve implemented in refrigeration systems. It also has a partial green roof, and energy efficient lighting (skylights!).

This is the best shot I could get of the “green roof”. This 7,000 square foot green area on the roof will reduce water runoff, help insulate the store and reclaim greenspace!

When you enter, there is a whole learning center devoted to educating visitors about the green practices of the store!

As far as the interior goes, it was definitely super bright and had some unique features. One thing I found pretty cool? The lights in the freezers dim when the doors are closed to save energy. Good idea!

Way to go Augusta!