I'll do it...starting Monday.

I can't tell you how many times I've uttered those words. They have been said in regard to eating healthier, working out, cooking more often, brushing the dog's teeth, and even starting this blog. I have started many a blog and subsequently abandoned many a blog. I can't even tell you how many one post blogs I have out there in cyberspace, but I have decided to not let this blog join their ranks.
So why am I trying to do this, yet again, after so many failed attempts?

Because I want to.

It's not that my life is terribly exciting or anything, but I find that when I have new experiences, I typically like to share them with friends, family, and anyone who I think might find them interesting. People end up asking if I'm getting paid to promote a new restaurant, movie, or store because I talk about it so much. I've learned a lot about myself in the past year or so and one of the things that I've learned is that I'm a passionate person and that my passion can be applied to anything and everything. If I've just tried a new restaurant and love it, you'll hear about it. Same goes for that new movie that had a crazy twist ending, or anything else really.

So that's the gist of this blog. Just like the title says really - life as I see it. Except in French because, well, you know.

Now to begin, I tried a couple of new restaurants this weekend and simply HAVE to talk about them, as I am wont to do.

Anyone living in the Rochester, NY area just has to try Atlas-Eats in Irondequoit. Anyone living in the Rochester area is now completely discrediting anything that I say in their mind because they know that the Irondequoit area is sketchy as hell, but hold on. The building itself is sort of eh and maybe lock your doors on the way there, but once you're there, it's amazing. This place just opened in July of this year and is a small family-run restaurant, as in the father is also the chef (and quite the chef at that). Their regular menu doesn't have much on it at all, but it seems that their thing are their dinner series. Every Friday and Saturday night, they have a dinner series, which is essentially a prix fixe five-course dinner. Now typically, the words "prix fixe" and "five-course" also result in quite the bill at the end, but not at Atlas-Eats. They only charge $30 per person and let me tell you, it is 100% worth it. We went this past Friday night for their 6:00 PM seating and enjoyed their New England menu, which consisted of baked & stuffed clams, Maine potato salad, lobster bisque, maple glazed chicken & Boston baked beans, and Indian pudding with a coffee milk cabinet (they informed us that the coffee cabinet is the official drink of Rhode Island - it's essentially a coffee milk shake). Literally every piece of food that I tasted was amazing and Mark and I both decided that we would keep tabs on their menus and go again another night to try something else. I suggest you do the same! I'm a little bummed that I didn't think to take any pictures, but trust me, it all looked as delicious as it tasted!

http://www.atlas-eats.com/p/welcome.html


Saturday was spent with great friends that we are lucky enough to have as neighbors as well. After a hard day of pottery painting (which sounds lame, but anyone who has actually done this knows that it's actually quite awesome), we had dinner at a pizza place which they both raved about. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like pizza. I'll eat it if there's nothing else, but I don't typically enjoy it. Well, Napa Wood Fired Pizzeria proved me wrong. They have two locations - one in Rochester on Clinton and the other is in Fairport. We went to the one in Rochester and the experience was awesome from the moment we walked in. The place itself has a cool atmosphere and it smells amazing. After much deliberation over pizza vs. pasta, I decided to just go ahead with the pizza and I definitely did not regret it! I got the Parma, which has house made garlic oil, prosciutto, artichokes, figs, goat cheese, and their Napa cheese blend. It sounds weird, but tastes oh so good! I tasted everyone else's pizza as well and they were all delicious. The crusts are thin and the flavors are amazing. Our pizzas even tasted great re-heated in the oven for lunch on Sunday. I did remember to take a picture of my pizza and then realized that I don't exactly relish in becoming one of those people who takes pictures of their food, but for the sake of the blog, I'll suck it up!

http://www.napawoodfired.com/



I would also like to take this time to remind everyone that Candy Corn M&Ms are back! Mark and I have already had our allotted bag for the year, and by Mark and I, I mean mostly I. I've only ever been able to find them at Wal-Mart - go get your bag now! On a side note, I think I understand now when people ask whether or not I'm receiving compensation for the promotion of certain things. I assure you, I'm not. They're just that good.