creative

Fishbones of Chelmsford Review

March 31, 2015

"I don't feel like going to a chain restaurant tonight," said my mother. I couldn't have agreed more with her. I usually don't feel like eating at chain restaurants unless I'm having a craving... like the Roasted Artichoke, Spinach and Feta pizza on Uno's nine-grain crust. 

During my trip to Greece, I learned that European's biggest form of entertainment is going out and sharing a meal; that's why they take so long to get to your table to take your order, and for your food to come. Not only is it a relaxed lifestyle, but it's entertainment. It's rude for them to bring you your check without flagging the staff down.  I've always loved findng new places to eat that aren't chains, whether it be cafes, thai places, indian places, organic eateries, pizza places, froyo shops - you name it. I always say if my career as a PR pro doesn't work out, I could become a foodie.


My latest foodie conquest was Fishbones in Chelmsford, MA. My mother suggested it after we decided to go shopping in that same area.


Fishbones is located in the quaint downtown area of the mid-sized town Chelmsford, in MA. Downtown Chelmsford has an old New England village vibe, so Fishbones puts a modern spin on it with a modern style inside. The dining is split in half by the open-style bar, and the light blue color tones keep a chill mood.


The tap water is served just like they do in Europe. A refillable bottle is split by the table. (Fun fact - in Europe, it's rude not to pour your neighbor's glass of water.)




We started off with an app and salads. Our appetizer was an arrangement of local honeys and cheeses, served with cranberry bread. This dish is SO  New England.


My mother's salad consisted of two roasted Romaine lettuce head halves topped with blue and gouda cheese, bacon bits, tomatoes, and their house vinaigrette.


My "Meyers Lemon Salad" was mixed seasonal greens topped with beets, blood oranges, fennel, goat cheese, mixed with a Meyers lemon vinaigrette and a balsamic glaze.


We both agreed upon the special of the day - herb roasted haddock, roasted brussels sprouts, bacon and fennel served with smoked maple accented mashed sweet potatoes.

I would give Fishbones a 9/10. Service was great, the design was modern and nice, the food was absolutely delicious and creative. I would have liked to seen a bigger selection, and a less noisy dining room. If you're ever in the Merrimack Valley, check it out!




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atp

LIFESTYLE: HOW MUCH CARBS DO I REALLY NEED? #MacrobreakdownMania

October 13, 2014

It's time for the second of three installments of the #MacrobreakdownMania, where I, the nerdy Nikki tell you the bitty gritty of exactly how much of the three macronutrients (carbs, lipids, and protein) that we really need to survive. However, carbohydrates (CHO) seem to have the worst rep. Little do most people know, they're actually the most vital macronutrient out there. Where would we be without carbs? We'd be energy-less, tissue-less, and motion-less.



Carbohydrates consists of CHO (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen). It's functions are to make energy to preserve tissue, and to fuel your central nervous system. So, next time you're feeling sad about eating that last bread stick, think of it this way: would you feel sad for not fueling your metabolism or your central nervous system?

Carbs give us energy during workouts/activity by producing ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which kickstarts your metabolism to give off energy essentially. Not only do we need carbohydrates to fuel our workouts, but to replace the tissue lost in our workout if our workout was high duration or intensity.


image credit

Part of the reason that carbs get a bad rep is because the composition does break down into sugars. Simple carbohydrates inclue monosaccarides and disaccarides (single and two sugars). These easily break down, so if you don't use them ASAP they will store as glycogen in either muscle or tissue. These are found in processed foods, table sugars, fruits, and milk products
However, polysaccarides are complex carbs, which don't break down as easily. They include starch and fiber. They're found in vegetables, potatoes, rice, and whole wheat pasta and bread.

I can't tell each and every one of my readers exactly how much carbs you need (unless you e-mail me), however I can say that the recommended daily value for carbs is 45-65% of your calories. That's a big percent, more than the other two macronutrients combined. So, long story short, don't sweat it! Unless we're talking about exercise, then in that case, yes, sweat it. Happy carbo-loading, lovelies!


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christmas

STYLE: Christmas OOTD and Recipe Roundup

December 26, 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my lovely readers! I'm writing this post on Christmas Eve. Every Christmas Eve my family goes to Mass at 4, eats homemade lasagna, and then the rest of the night is filled with relaxing, opening one gift, and preparing the cookies for Santa and the turkey stuffing for tomorrow. It's our first christmas in our new home. I'm super excited to wake up to Christmas Day in a new home and to have all of the family over to celebrate!

Now, for my outfit.



Watch my video on this.
However my dress, socks, and tights are from Forever 21. My shoes are from TJ Maxx. My necklace is from a boutique in Hawaii. 
Now for my makeup. I used a Revlon bb cream, BH Cosmetics eyeliner, Benefit eyeshadow, Bare Essentuals lipstick, and Physicians Formula concealer. My eyeshadow and blush are from Studio Gear Cosmetics. If you're interested in buying their Holiday Palette or any other products from http://studiogearcosmetics.com/, use my discount code "DOLLAR13" for an extra 10% off!




Now for the yummiest part of the day, the fooood! First, I made white chocolate peppermint popcorn. The only "clean" part of this was that I used "Skinny Pop."
here's where I got the recipe.

The second sweet treat I successfully made was crinkle cookies. I always wondered how Panera got their red velvet ones to look just like that. Now I do! (Psst, the secret is powdered sugar.) They came out absolutely lovely. Check out the recipe here!

I also roasted up some green beans and sweet potatoes with goat cheese!

Lastly, I'll share a bit of what I got. I got a crosley record player, a wireless printer, an "up" activity tracker, a jacket, a cardigan, some trail mix, a pilates DVD and a pilates ball, and a Cape Cod alex and ani bracelet. I'm so incredibly happy and blessed!



Aaaannd one last note: post-christmas shopping! I scored some amazing deals. I've never been so content with my purchases and how I budgeted my money. I suggest going in with a plan, know what you want and how much you want to spend on it. That's just what I did at lush and I got the price I wanted. I'd like to highlight the amazing fringe and floral cardigan I scored at Forever 21. It was on sale for $20.99! It seems like velvet and fringe and going to be huge trends coming up. Here's a preview - however watch out for a huge haul of this on my youtube coming up!


However we all know that besides the gift of giving and getting, Christmas is about being renewed. Whether your are religious or not, take this time of year to renew yourself in your heart and your head. Reflect on the past year, take a deep breath, and think about how you can better yourself in 2014. A gift is not all about how much you spent on it, but whether it came from your heart to their heart. Have a great day, holiday season, and year everyone!