Comcast Xfinity X1 now supports Netflix and your Home!

Netflix on Comcast Xfinity X1 service.
Photo courtesy of Comcast.

Hey guys! Glad to bring you some updates for Comcast Xfinity service here in Massachusetts. Their X1 service which is pretty cool now supports Netflix as well as your smart home! The Netflix service should now be supported on millions of X1 boxes across the country! We've been X1 customers for the better part of a year now and it's pretty great. Some new updates include faster internet service (by 33% at no cost) in addition to the Netflix service.

Netflix content will be fully integrated into Xfinity On Demand, enabling X1 customers to watch past and current seasons of shows available on Netflix. If you're a current Netflix customer you can just sign in through X1 to your Netflix account. It's super easy to use and you can just start it by pressing the voice command button on your X1 remote and say "Netflix". If you're new to Netflix, you can sign up through this partnership and the service will be added to your Comcast bill which will make things easier to pay since it will be on a single bill.

The other cool thing about this product is that when you use the Last button on your X1 remote you will see Netflix shows and movies as well as regular TV shows and on-demand items in the last viewed list.

As for Comcast Xfinity Home service, this service can be added to your existing subscription as a bundle and you will get the peace of mind home security along with your TV, internet and phone subscription. You can add different devices like cameras, Nest thermostats and other items. You get 24/7 professional home monitoring that can be armed and disarmed remotely, live video monitoring, and remote control of the entire system through your Xfinity apps on your iOS and Android device.

NOTE: We were provided with a Nest thermostat as well as a gift card for this review. No other compensation was provided.

Gather Chocolates from Harbor Sweets and a giveaway!

Gather chocolate is a new type of chocolate created by Harbor Sweets in Salem, MA. It’s inspired by bees and is dark chocolate and honey. It is 6 different types of chocolates that will speak to people’s passions, especially people’s concern for the environment and honey bees.

They will raise funds (2.5% of proceeds) to give back to Pollinator Partnership that will protect honeybees.

Harbor Sweets chocolate also has another line called Salt & Ayre, which are inspired by flavors and salts gathered from all corners of the earth: Thai ginger, caramel, chai and Himalayan sea salt.

We are giving away some of the delicious chocolate to one of our readers! Enter via the rafflecopter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE: We were provided with some of the delicious chocolate from Harbor Sweets for review and giveaway. All opinions, as always, are our own.

Wally and Tessie's Halloween Party at Fenway recap

This past Sunday, we went to check out Wally and Tessie's Halloween Party at Fenway Park. This was a unique experience to visit our storied, local ballpark with a spooky feeling to it!

We arrived at 10:30 and there was already a line forming. It was cool to see all of the Red Sox fans decked out in various costumes. It was easy to find a parking spot and we joined the line and didn't wait long until the party started.

As always entering Fenway, you had to pass through a metal detector which just seemed normal and we were happy that it was a secure place to trick or treat with the kids. The kids were given a Red Sox Kid Nation iron on patch and then we went to decorate mini pumpkins. Oh my gourd, were they cute! We could use pipe cleaners, puffy glitter paint and stickers to make each pumpkin as unique as each kid's imagination.

We then trick or treated around different stations that were set up with various staff from Fenway dressed up as their favorite characters. What was really nice was that everyone was so nice and welcoming - adding to the great family feel of #MyFenway.

The team ownership has really made great strides to make the fan experience at Fenway easy for families and we just absolutely love it!

After getting our fill of candy, we took some pictures with Wally and his little sister Tessie and even played some halloween-themed games.

We had an amazing time and the weather couldn't have been more cooperative. Can't wait for next year!

NOTE: We were not provided with any compensation for this post. I was just providing it as information since I know you guys love the Red Sox and Fenway as much as I do. I am, however, posting it as part of the #RedSoxMoms, #RedSoxDads and #RedSoxParents blogger initiative. As always all opinions are our own.

Red Sox will host Halloween Party at Fenway 10/30

image courtesy Boston Red Sox ©Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are inviting fans to attend “Wally and Tessie’s Halloween Party” at Fenway Park on Sunday, October 30! You will have a chance to trick-or-treat at the ballpark, paint mini pumpkins, and enjoy other kid-friendly activities.

 

The Halloween party will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Kids Concourse at Fenway Park which will be adorned with Halloween decorations as costumed staff hand out candy. 

 

Wally and Tessie will host the event and will be accompanied by Curious Creatures, a balloon artist, face painter, and Big Joe the Storyteller (12:30-1:30 p.m.).

 

Attendees may enter the ballpark through Gate B/K located near the corner of Ipswich and Van Ness Street. The event is free and open to the public. Costumes are encouraged. 

NOTE: I am posting this because I'm part of the #RedSoxMoms, #RedSoxDads and #RedSoxParents blogger initiative. No compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.

The Ringling Bros Circus came to town!

The Ringling Brothers Circus came to town and we had an absolutely amazing time! We arrived early to be able to go down onto the show floor and walk around. Our daughter loved being able to meet the clowns and see the sights up close. Although, I don't know who had more fun, her or me! It was pretty cool. Apparently they do this one-hour pre-show for all of their shows and you don't need a special ticket to participate - it's open to everyone!

This is a new show that's different from what I remembered as a kid. It's produced by Feld Entertainment and as of last year, no longer includes elephants roaming around performing various tricks. They still have other animals (dogs, tigers, horses, etc.) with their trainers but they also have lots of clowning around and some pretty neat acrobatics! I think our favorite was the trampoline guys.

The only downside was the light up toys that they sold were SUPER bright. I don't know if they used some new LED lights in there but it was quite distracting and actually painful at times. So much so that I tweeted it out and the president of Feld promptly wrote back to me - how's that for customer service! I was pretty impressed.

On a totally random note, when we walked in to the TD Garden arena and were going to our seats, we happened to pass a room that had signs that said Nursery and School - pretty neat to think that the program is providing school for the families while they are on tour!

Next time they are in town, we strongly recommend you go! We went on a friday night and it was a nice time to go right after work but there was a little bit of traffic. It was nice though, since the arena wasn't as full as a weekend daytime performance.

You can watch a video I made about the circus:

Here's some photos that we took from our seats.

NOTE: We were provided with tickets and some fun swag in exchange for some promotion before the event as well as this blog recap. No other compensation was provided and as always all opinions are our own.

Parent's Night Out at Trade Boston

Recently, I was invited to a Parent's Night Out at Trade Boston, which happened to coincide with their end-of-summer Patio Party.

Trade is located on Russia Wharf in Boston which is right at the corner of Congress Street and Atlantic Avenue in Boston. I happen to pass this location every day on my walk to and from work. I was pleased to be able to enjoy the cuisine after work one day!

As I was doing research, I realized that the Chef/Owner of Trade, Jody Adams, attended the same high school I did, the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island. I was also pleased to find that for the patio party, they were service shrimp and oysters and that some of the oysters were from Cutty Hunk Island, where the owner is also one of my environmental science teachers at Wheeler. It just goes to remind me exactly how small the world is.

I arrived early and had the chance to chat with a few quite interesting people and even got to meet Jody, who was so nice and down to earth. After enjoying some of the food outside, it was time to go inside to meet the rest of my blogger friends and taste some of the great food Trade is known for.

As parents, we don't often get the time to go out as adults and enjoy delicious food and write about it. I was quite excited when I found out that Trade wanted to host a Parents Night Out to showcase some of their great eats. I think it would be a perfect place for parents to spend a nice "date night" without the kiddos in tow as the setting is relaxed and the ambiance is nice.

We sat at a table that was right near the bar, and were passed various plates of delectable delights. We even had the Giant Tank which was a lot of alcohol situated inside of a fish tank (and even had the plastic fish to go along with it). This drink was listed on the menu to have 2 people share but it was large and strong enough to have 6 people share easily.

The food was cooked perfectly and the conversation flowed like the drinks. We had such a great time, chatting, drinking, photographing and eating. It was really hard to pick out a favorite dish since they were all so great!

When dinner was over, they brought out dessert and I think my favorite thing might have been their milk and cookies which was all homemade. The "milk" consisted of a cream-based pudding and the cookies were homemade "oreo type" cookies. So unbelievably good!

Here's some photos to showcase the wonderful food:

Here are a few posts that recap the night from some of my friends who were there:

Capability Mom
DGrubs
Leah's Life
Appetite for Instruction






NOTE: I was provided with a complimentary meal to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.