#DrinkUpLinkUp: Green Flash West Coast IPA

Happy Thursday my nerrrrds!

Who else is ready for this week to be OVER? Seriously, the week leading up to a long weekend always feels like a month. And the short week after a long weekend usually does too. Am I right?!

Thankfully, this week is drawing to a close - the Bruins are on tonight (let's end this TONIGHT boys!), then we've got a fancypants dinner out with Jay & Heather tomorrow for NH Restaurant Week - and then it's the weekend!

Speaking of Jay & Heather, they're responsible for providing me with beer, glorious beer, for this week's #DrinkUpLinkUp - and spoiler alert: they have good taste (or at least they know what kind of beer I like)!

Green Flash Brewing Co. - you had me at "extravagantly hopped" <3  Based in San Diego, CA, Green Flash prides themselves in making great beer. This West Coast IPA is the first of their beers that I've had the pleasure of trying and I can tell you right now that I'll be keeping an eye out for their other varieties in my travels. 

Clocking in at 7.3% ABV, this treat of a beer pours clear, copper in color featuring a strong, frothy head and a potent hop aroma. The first sip was like a hop explosion - in a good way. Pine, grapefruit, citrus, bitter - the taste lingers in your mouth (again, in a good way). Despite the high alcohol content, the taste is smooth and finishes with a slight sweetness that balances the hoppiness. Definitely a solid IPA. 

If you're a hop-lover like me, this is the beer for you. I can see myself enjoying a few of these on our back deck this summer while firing up the grill. It's big in flavor and would pair well with a lighter meal, maybe grilled fish or chicken. 

Want to join the party? Link your beer/wine/spirit-related post below (and tweet using #DrinkUpLinkUp), then be sure to check out the links shared by others - who knows - you may just find YOUR new favorite drink!

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Extreme Home Makeover: TPG Edition - The Reveal!

This is the final installment of my four-part series of posts for a sponsored project with Kitchen Resource Direct, LLC. As always, thoughts & opinions are 100% my own. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Missed the previous installments? 

• The Ugliest Kitchen in the World
• Designing My Dream Kitchen (in my current space)
• Shipping a Kitchen to NH from FL
  

Holy moly. At long last, the kitchen renovation is complete... and I've gotta say, it's quite the transformation. I feel like I am in a completely different house, and it's freakin' awesome. Goodbye nightly restaurant visits - you can find me cooking some of these recipes in my fabulous new kitchen!

We went from outdated and drab...

... all the way to contemporary and fab!

For those of you stuck behind a firewall who can't view the video tour, I'll recap - the video features the Shaker Maple Espresso cabinetry and brushed nickel hardware that we purchased through Kitchen Resource Direct. I also show off the sweet vertical spice rack that Jessica suggested we add to the design and the Blum™ Motion Soft Close Drawer Slides that come standard on KRD's Deerfield Assembled Cabinetry!

I'll admit that I took extreme pleasure in the demolition of the old kitchen. Dingy off-white counters and appliances, ugly melamine cabinetry, a pantry that served little purpose besides making an already small kitchen feel even smaller - it was terrible!

I think that the whole demolition crew enjoyed taking a crack at that awful eighties decor - nobody is missing the parquet flooring, sea foam green carpeting or the goldenrod paint on the wall! 

Since we chose a dark espresso finish for our maple cabinetry through Kitchen Resource Direct, we installed a very light bamboo floor throughout the kitchen, dining area, living room and half bath to balance and unify the space.

We chose a Butterrum Granite Formica counter top which featured flecks of both light and dark colors, brushed nickel hardware and Martha Stewart's "Fig" Interior Paint for the walls to further pull the design together.

My "must have" items for the kitchen remodel focused around making my life easier - I had to have a wine rack as a feature in the space (LOVE) and the addition of a dishwasher was non-negotiable. Given our space limitations, we chose an 18" stainless steel dishwasher by Danby (it got better reviews than the "brand names" you've heard of).

We also landed on Maytag for our refrigerator (a built-in icemaker was a necessity), convection oven and over-the-range microwave. Just getting the microwave out of the corner gives us so much more counterspace, I can actually prep food without using the stovetop as a counter!

 

To complete the look, we went with sink and faucet by Moen, purchased from Home Depot and the pendant light above the sink, purchased from Lowes.

A huge thank you to Christopher Howard Construction out of Hampstead NH for an installation job well done, to our awesome demolition crew (we couldn't have done it without you) and to Kitchen Resource Direct for agreeing to partner up for this remodel project!

To my readers: based on the experience I've had during this whole process, if you're planning a kitchen remodel any time in the near future, I strongly recommend that you consider KRD for your cabinetry needs.

With their selection, competitive pricing, quality product and amazing customer service, we were able to upgrade our kitchen (with all the bells & whistles I required), stay within our budget and add considerable value to our home. Your new kitchen may be closer than you think!

Out with the outdated and in with the kitchen of my dreams, you can bet I'll be spending A LOT of time in what is now my favorite room in the house! Thanks KRD!

Check out Kitchen Resource Direct on Twitter and Facebook for special money-saving offers for your upcoming kitchen redesign - tell them The Purple Giraffe sent you!

Disclosure: This compensated post is part of a sponsored project with Kitchen Resource Direct. Also in exchange for my honest review, Kitchen Resource Direct has applied a "builder discount" to my order of factory-assembled cabinetry. Regardless of compensation received, I will always provide you with my honest opinions, findings and beliefs based on my experience.

Reach the Beach MA '13: Runner 7 (& one leg as 10) Recap!

Good Monday morning my lovelies!

How was your weekend?

Mine was exhausting, exhilarating and exciting all at the same time. At 8:08am on Friday, Team Tutu Hot to Handle set off from Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA toward Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA.

Just under 33.5 hours later, we reached the beach having raised over $7,000 for Alzheimer's research! Thank you to all of you who supported us along the way with donations and encouragement - we couldn't have done it without you!

As I mentioned on Thursday, we had some last minute changes to the roster that we were working out - one of our teammates came down with a bad stomach bug and wasn't able to run, but thankfully my mom stepped in (again - thanks mom!) to round out our 12-woman freestyle team. After some rearranging, we landed on the order we'd run in - I wound up with legs 7, 19 and 34 which totaled 16.77 miles (my GPS had me at 17.16).

After our first runner started on her way, those of us in Van 2 had some time to kill before meeting up with Van 1 at the first Vehicle Transition Area. We decided to use that time to grab a quick breakfast at The Ugly Omelette (delicious) and decorate our van.

While we were decorating the van, a few people approached us to ask about our cause - and even donated to us on the spot (you can donate HERE) after we told them we were running 200 miles for Alzheimer's research - how cool is that?! Then it was off to Assumption College (the first Vehicle Transition Area) so I could prep for my first of three runs.

My fabulous Van 2 teammates - Kara, Mandi, Sarah, Leslie, Kathi and me! 

It was pretty warm and very sunny by the time Van 1 met up with us at 2:15pm on Friday - I quickly changed into my running attire (I rocked my Thin Dotty Lime BICBand, team shirt from Blue Dolphin Screenprint, Aspaeris Pivot Shorts, my lucky Shamrock ProCompression socks and my Saucony Kinvara 4's) and applied sunscreen. Then it was time to run!

Samantha coming into the transition chute! 

I'll admit that I was nervous about this leg - it was ranked "hard" by the course creators despite it's shorter distance of 3.79 miles because of the 285 feet of elevation gain that I'd have to tackle. Hills are NOT my thing. Imagine my surprise when my first mile clocked in at 8:04! I wound up with an overall average pace of 8:55 despite the hills, handing off to Kara at the transition. My team was waiting for me with an iced cold pineapple VitaCoco which I guzzled in the blink of an eye - it was HOT out and I needed to rehydrate!

Roughly 5 hours after we started, we were done with our first leg and ready for dinner (and a beer!). This was a little different from my Van 1 experience at RTB NH, in that it was actually dinner time when we ate!

We headed to Prezo Grille in Milford MA, a short 20 minute drive from the next Vehicle Transition where we'd meet Van 1 in 5(ish) hours - I had half a burger, some fries and a really tasty beer. After dinner, we just hoped we'd be able to catch a few minutes' sleep before transition. Spoiler alert: it didn't happen for me. Before long, it was midnight and time for my night leg.

Ranked "intermediate" by the course creators, leg 19 was a bit of a hilly beast, most of which were short & steep. Last year at RTB NH, I didn't see another runner for nearly my entire night leg, so this year I came prepared with show tunes on my playlist to keep me entertained for my 6.51 mile jaunt through the dark woods of Bellingham, MA. Apparently, that was JUST what I needed to power through my run, because I cruised up those hills and finished with a sub-9 average pace.

Unfortunately, when I got to the transition area, there were no tutus in sight! Suddenly my phone rang (I use it for music and GPS tracking until I receive my Bia Sport Watch) - it was my teammates wondering where I was and if I was okay! Apparently while I was speeding along to show tunes, I had snuck past them in the dark at mile 4.5. When they hadn't seen me around the time they were expecting, they thought I was hurt somewhere along the course before that point - while they went back looking for me, I was finishing strong!

They quickly turned around and we were off and running once again! The rest of my van 2 ladies crushed their night legs and at 5:09am we handed off to Van 1 and headed to the next Vehicle Transition to try to get some sleep - after all, it'd been 21 hours since we'd started this adventure!

I did get a bit of sleep before preparing for my third leg - a whopping 35 minutes! When I decided that trying to sleep was essentially a lost cause, my brain & body responded in kind with a second third fourth wind.

Sorry Kara, I've got a spidey sense when it comes to cameras!

Mom was Runner 7 for the third leg (she wasn't up for a >6 mile leg as Runner 10 so we switched - perks of being a freestyle team), so around 11:15am, she hit the road - and it was already a scorcher. We stopped every mile to offer water as we made our way to the beach, leg by leg. Thankfully by the time I ran as Runner 10, the winds had changed and it had cooled down considerably.

Despite being ranked as an "easy" leg by the course creators, I found leg 34 to be pretty tough. Nearly half of the 6.47 miles were uphill (gradual and long hills) and my legs were tired. Really tired. Despite the cooler weather, it was still very humid and pollen was falling around me like snow. Ugh. I plodded along as best I could but just couldn't get into a rhythm. I was so happy to see my team and finish that leg - I mustered a kick and finished strong!

Sarah and Mandi destroyed their legs (seriously, they were so fast) and just like that, Van 2 was done - we met up with Van 1 and crossed the finish line as a team - in 33:29:43, we reached the beer beach!

Just like last year, I'm already experiencing relay withdrawal - thankfully, there are only 116 days between me and Reach the Beach NH! A huge thank you to my Van 2 teammates - for the support, the laughs, the fun and the run - you girls are amazing!

Van TWO-tu!

Interested in sponsoring Team Tutu Hot to Handle? Email me!
Interested in supporting our fundraising efforts for Alzheimer's Research? Donate HERE today!

#DrinkUpLinkUp: Cheap Wine in Boston?

Good morning my lovelies!

It's an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day outside, and in less than eight hours, I'll be loading up Van 2 and heading to our hotel near the start for Reach the Beach Massachusetts! I only hope that this nice weather holds up through Saturday afternoon when we finish - the forecast looks good!

Snagged this from RTB Relay's Facebook Page!

Not gonna lie, I'm getting a little nervous - our team has been plagued with injury and sickness, we've got some rearranging to do in terms of who's doing which legs, and we still don't know if everyone will be able to make it! Thankfully, we signed up as a Freestyle Team which means we don't have to stay in a set order like a traditional team does. You can follow our journey on Facebook and Twitter where we'll be posting pictures and live updates!

Before I get packing (believe it or not, I'm still not done - though I have made some progress!), it's time for another edition of #DrinkUpLinkUp, the link party that brings together beer/wine/spirit-loving bloggers for a virtual happy hour!

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This week, I'm excited to tell you about Finca La Linda Malbec - and while I'll be focusing on this particular wine (because it's not half bad and I'm a sucker for a decent Malbec), the post is really about the restaurant where I got it and their ridiculously cheap (for Boston) wine prices.

So Saturday night, after months of our friends telling us about this little Italian restaurant in Boston (Giacomo's Ristorante in the Back Bay) that featured delicious food with equally delicious prices, we finally had the chance to check it out and see what all the fuss was about!

We arrived around 8:30 for our reservation (yes, this location takes reservations - apparently their North End location does not) and were promptly seated - the first thing I noticed was the wall of wine that flanked the kitchen! Not a bad first impression, being the wino wine lover that I am!

Giacomo's appealed to my cheap frugal side with their large compliment of wines under $20 per bottle - prices that are pretty much unheard of at a restaurant anywhere, let alone at an Italian restaurant in Boston! I was feeling red wine with dinner and selected a bottle of 2010 Finca La Linda Malbec for $17 to share with Aaron. I've had GLASSES of wine in Boston that cost nearly that much!

I would categorize the Finca La Linda Malbec as an "easy drinking red" in that it's fairly light in terms of mouth feel, well-balanced and would pair well with pretty much anything - I chose to pair it with a rich and creamy lobster ravioli and it was delightful.

Dark red in color, I tasted notes of blueberry and cherry with a hint of smokiness that balanced the fruit flavors. I'd definitely buy this again, whether out at Giacomo's or for at-home enjoyment given the price. I think it retails for around $13 per bottle at the grocery store, so the restaurant mark-up was negligible - score.

If you find yourself in/around Boston, check out Giacomo's - both the food and drink were delicious, and the prices can't be beat!

Running a relay? Food for thought... or... for your van!

Holy moly... it's almost here! Just a couple more days until my team kicks off our second ever Reach the Beach Relay for the Alzheimer's Association! We are roughly at 79% of our fundraising goal - you can still donate by clicking here!

Last September in the days leading up to RTB NH, I had read a bunch of tips and tricks for packing for a relay - what each runner should bring and what should be shared among the team in your van. We packed bagels, peanut butter, bananas, cold cuts, cheese, candy - you name it, we had it. After all, we had a lot of dietary needs to meet! 

And guess what? We had the majority of it at the finish line too - as it turned out, we packed WAY too much food (and not a single person brought coffee) since both vans stopped for dinner along the way... and apparently that's pretty normal.

Lesson learned! This year, instead of packing a ton of food to share, each runner is responsible for packing their own snack pack to supplement whatever we find for dinner according to individual preferences and dietary needs. 

But that gets sort of tricky too - you're going to be in a van for 24-36 hours, so you've gotta pack food that will stay fresh, fuel your run and not leave you running to the bathroom! That will vary for each runner, but the main thing to remember is to keep it simple and be considerate of your vanmates.

I've included a few ideas based on what I've packed for this weekend - please understand, this is what I'm hoping will work FOR ME. It may not work for you, especially if you're allergic to nuts or you don't eat meat. Anyway - here we go... 

Check out what non-relay people are eating at
Jenn's Weekly WIAW Link Party!

Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it seems! First, your van lacks proper refrigeration, so that protein shake that you wanna chug after your 8.5 mile leg isn't going to work. Consider an alternate protein source such as beef jerky, nuts or trail mix! 

If you're anything like me, there's only so many granola bars you can stomach in a 24 hour span (I'm not much for packaged bars of any sort) and you're not keen on eating back ALL of the calories you're burning through the relay. That's when things like fruit snacks, nut butter, oranges & string cheese come in handy - just be sure you have an ice pack in your cooler for the string cheese! 

What about when all you want is an iced coffee - sweet, delicious nectar that will get you through that third leg on 0.025 hours of sleep - and you're in a little podunk town with no Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks in sight? Well, that's where ingenious products like Cool Brew come in - a coffee concentrate where you just add water - I'll be adding iced water and a splash of shelf-stable vanilla almond milk for taste in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday!

You'll notice that (aside from maybe the beef jerky?) none of the items I packed give off a strong odor - this is a key to keeping your life on good terms with the other 5 people in your van who haven't slept and aren't in the mood to smell your caesar salad with anchovies. They're also shelf-stable/non-perishable, real food products that will fill me up on the go. I'll also have some additional fruit (grapes & bananas in plastic containers) in my snack pack for when I'm not feeling salty trail mix or beef jerky.

It is important to note that I've tried all of these items well in advance of this week AND I've made sure they don't cause me any gastric distress. You're going to be in a van. That means that a bathroom isn't always going to be at your immediate disposal. You're going to be lacking sleep and eating at odd hours already - don't chance further discomfort by trying something new to fuel your run.

Aside from the food items, I'll be hydrating like a champ - not just water, but VitaCoco Coconut Water, Nuun and Island Boost Endurance Fuel (some of our wonderful team sponsors) will be key in my hydration strategy. Again, all things I've tried well in advance of this weekend just to be on the safe side!

Have you run a relay before? 
Any tips you'd like to add related to van-based eating? 

Blog & Tweet NH: TI Fitness SurfSet!

Hey there lovelies!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything special for Mothers' Day?

My weekend was jam-packed and I've got a crazy week ahead of me too with Reach the Beach MA preparations - you can still donate to our team by clicking here - maybe donate $16.15 in support of the 16.15 miles (of which over half is uphill) that I'm running?

Be sure to follow our Reach the Beach journey
this Friday/Satuday on twitter: @TutuHotToHandle and #RTBMA!

Friday night we grilled up some fancybitch burgers (for those who were wondering, that's just what I call crazy gourmet burger concoctions like the Buffalo Bleu Cheese and Taco Burgers I made this weekend) and watched the Bruins lose (boooo, they'd better win tonight!).

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early to hit up TI Fitness Training in Manchester, NH for a Blog & Tweet NH SurfSet Boot Camp class - spoiler alert: Chris destroyed us (in a good way).

There were 8 of us in attendance: me, Amy, Angela, Allie, Sara, Kristen, Vicki and Jaime - everyone but Allie and I were SurfSet virgins, so be sure to check out their recaps/tweets of the event for a first-timer's perspective!

The class was high energy and intense, incorporating kettlebells, plyometrics, jumproping and standard calisthenics in with the SurfSet board - a true total body workout, I've been sore for two days!

It was really challenging and by the end, I felt like I had actually been surfing in the ocean because I was drenched in salt water sweat! Of course, that didn't stop Allie and I from hamming it up post-workout!

Okay, truth be told, it didn't stop ANY of us from hamming it up after class - Amy and Angela joined me for a quick paddle before we caught a wave parted ways - can't wait til the next event girls!

I'd like to thank TI Fitness Training for hosting us this weekend - if you're in/around Southern NH and would like to check out a class, be sure to reserve a board - your first class is free - and tell them that you read about it on The Purple Giraffe!

Saturday night, Aaron and I headed to Boston with some friends for dinner, drinks and to take their engagement photos - I'm no photographer, but I didn't think were half bad for a newb with a so-so camera!

Yesterday was a whirlwind of family time - brunch with Aaron's mom followed by dinner with my mom at my aunt's house! By the time I got home, I was so wiped out that I crashed hard on the couch during the Bruins game. Sadly, I woke up just in time to see them lose (again).

I've got soccer on tap for tonight - followed by what had better be a Bruins win!

What're you up to this week? Anything exciting?  

Top 10 Exercise Myths - A Killer InfoGraphic!

IT'S FRIDAY.

Phew, it's been a long week. I'm SO happy it's Friday. Beautiful day outside, friends coming over for the B's game later, fancybitch burgers on the grill AND it's payday - does it get better? 

Since today's high is 78* with a "real feel" of 88* when you factor in the humidity, I got my 4.3 miles of hills out of the way this morning. 

Yes, the hills were supposed to be yesterday's workout. Yes, I was supposed to do 6 miles instead of 4.3. No, that's not my idea of a well-paced run. Sometimes your body disagrees with your best laid hack training plan. Either way, it was better than nothing and I'm glad I did it, even though the hills kicked my @$$. I'll make up the miles this weekend. 

Who does this to themselves willingly?!

Moving on... we all have that friend who is a self-proclaimed gym rat, who logs hours on the cardio equipment and wonders why they're not losing weight when they've consistently burned 1,000 calories at the gym every day for weeks. And we've all had that moment where we wanted to say "aw, hunny... you didn't burn 1,000 calories in 23 minutes, regardless of what that machine told you..."

Tell me I'm not alone here. I have SO MANY friends who live their lives by the numbers on the machine and then wonder why they're not seeing results, so when I saw this infographic, I had to laugh... and then share it with y'all!

Top 10 Exercise Myths infographic by killerinfographics.

The only thing I'd like to amend is from Myth #3 - muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, it's just denser than fat so it takes up less space per pound. For more of my crazy ranting on this topic, see my post from 2011!

How many of these exercise myths have you heard before? 

Any others you'd like to add?