The Hamptons

My President's Day weekend in the Hamptons could not have been any more lovely and relaxing. I took the bus up to NYC Friday after work and got into the city around 10:30. I had a much needed long night's sleep at Kate's place. She got up a little earlier than I to do a long run as she is preparing for a race. I headed out on my own a bit later and headed up and west crossing over to the lower west side of the park and then cutting through and ended up doing about 5 miles. At noon Carrie picked us up in the SUV and we headed to the Hamptons stopping in Queens to pick up Erin and Liz. 

The whole weekend was wonderful. The house we stayed in was beautiful (Carrie's employers were generous and let us stay). We each stayed in our own room with bath. And we each took over responsibility for a meal. Saturday night we went out for dinner at a nearby place. It was delicious -- I feel like the food in NY just tastes better. We headed to the grocery store that evening as well. Sunday, Carrie made an amazing breakfast for us, while I taught a yoga class for the others. After breakfast we got ready quickly and started out on the one hour drive to church. It was a far from memorable meeting, but it was good we went. Returning from church, Liz made an absolutely delicious frittata combining all my favorite things -- protein (eggs), cheese, green stuff (spinach), and red stuff (tomatoes) (I like my food to be colorful and have lots of the food groups). Sunday afternoon we relaxed and read and then went on a drive through the different areas of the Hamptons and down to the beach. Oh, and don't worry - we were one street over from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)'s home. It took us a long time to be hungry Sunday evening. I'm not used to three big meals in a day. We ate a really late dinner. Monday we woke up to snow! A LOT of snow! I worked out in the gym (yes, there was a gym) before we washed and ironed sheets and headed back to the city. We weren't there for very long, but it kind of felt like we were. It was just so nice to get out of the city and eat and relax. The conversation was so excellent too. Wonderful girls. It was great to get to know them. 

Kate in one of the little girl rooms. 

Me in the room I stayed in. 

Carrie's room

Kate posing in Carrie's room

Erin getting toasty by the fire.

Liz right before we began breakfast of pumpkin pecan pancakes.

The beautiful kitchen.

Frittata!

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/greek-frittata-10000001613225/?xid=dailyrecnews

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Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
• 8 ounces feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Heat toaster oven to 350° F.
2. Add the oil to a 2-quart casserole and transfer to oven for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, and pepper. Add the spinach, tomatoes, and scallions and combine. Gently stir in the feta.
4. Remove casserole from oven. Pour the egg mixture into casserole. Bake until the frittata is browned around the edges and slightly puffed and a knife comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

By Frank Mentesana,  September 2006

See Nutritional Information for this recipe »

Nutritional Information

• Per Serving
• Calories 461Calories From Fat 68%

• Fat  35g
• Sat Fat  4g
• Cholesterol  579mg
• Sodium  1,868mg
• Carbohydrate  8g
• Fiber  2g
• Sugar  5g
• Protein  26g

What does this mean? See Nutrition 101.

And the Ocean!

Dinner late Sunday -- amazing salad, green beans with almonds, pork, mashed potatoes, and amazing rolls. 

A last view of the beautiful room. 

February

I know I gained some weight in February. Because

1. I ordered myself a box of these:

No one else buys me chocolate. I deserve it. My favorite is the "nuts and chews" box. I'm pretty much convinced See's is the best chocolate in the world. We used to get a box for every person in my family from my great aunt and uncle every Christmas. They'd ship it to us from Cali. They've passed away and I like to remember them in this way.

and

2. Girl Scout Cookie Month. I only buy two boxes - one Thin Mint, one Samoas. It's a yearly tradition I want to uphold.

It was a good month.