A Battle with Stuffed Mushrooms, 700 Wins, and a Tree Lighting- A Story of Thanksgiving Break

The Thanksgiving break always goes by too fast. I really can't believe I'm sitting here getting ready for another week at work. Where did the time go?

Let's see. I'm extremely lucky to have had Wednesday off... no crappy half day malarkey for me. I can't even explain how wonderful it is to have the whole day off before Thanksgiving. It really makes the break seem like a break. Thanks to a brilliant plan, thought up by a good friend, I spent the day drinking sangria and eating yummy steak quesadillas at Casa de Pedro. The delicious lunch was followed up with a trip to the nail salon and some pre-Black Friday shopping at Target. Lets just say that I am totally ready for tree decorating next week.

Thanksgiving day was a lot less stressful than it has been in the past, with the exception of the stuffed mushroom incident. My mom sent me off to the high school football game with a plate of stuffed mushrooms for my twirling coach. There was no way I would actually be able to deliver these mushrooms since you can't bring outside food into the stadium and the mushrooms would be unrefrigerated for about six hours before my coach could even think about eating them. This was a bit ridiculous but we played along. My dad stuffed the plate under my passenger seat so my mom wouldn't catch on and we were off to the game.

After the game I had a quick dinner with my parents, avoided the impending allergy attack with a little Claritan, and was off to JO's for dessert where I enjoyed a delightful evening of board games. We returned home and I was stuck parking pretty far away. As I was gathering up all of my stuff from my car, including a 3/4 down jacket that I love... but didn't get to wear on Thanksgiving Day due to the unseasonably warm weather, I remembered that my dad had put that plate under my seat. I figured I couldn't leave the mushrooms there overnight so I grabbed them and set off down the street to our apartment. The problem was that my hands were pretty full and that jacket is pretty bulky.

I was almost home when the mushrooms slid out of my grasp and started dropping all around me. I didn't really care about the mushrooms but I did care that they were falling onto my jacket! I did something I'm not proud of... but it had to be done. I ditched the plate, with the remaining mushrooms on it, on top of someone's trash barrel. Unfortunately it was too late for the jacket, which is now covered in mushroom grease. I'm hoping the dry cleaner's can get rid of the stains.

Friday arrived, and so did a monsoon, but it didn't stop us from going to the UConn game. We had a great time and got to see Coach Auriemma win his 700th game.


Saturday started with major debacles at the grocery store and at the rock gym. In addition our street was closed for a while due to a gas leak. Luckily, we recovered in time to hit up Harvard Square for the annual tree lighting and a toast at Daedalus Resturaunt. This is definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions that JO and I have. The tree looked beautiful, despite the 40 mph winds I wasn't cold at all in my mushroom stained down jacket. Any time we were indoors though I was like a furnace.

Unfortunately we weren't able to get seats at the bar at Daedalus at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday so we went next door to Trata and toasted with some sparkling white wine. Trata is no Daedalus so we tried again to get a spot at Daedalus but no such luck so we hit up Garden at the Cellar: 991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA ... for one final drink before heading home.

Today I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and did some Christmas shopping in the square. I only have a few more presents to buy. Tonight I'm going to kick the holiday season into full gear by working on my Christmas cards and watching Elf with good friends.

Thanksgiving... A Little Early

A few years ago I made a huge, somewhat spontaneous decision, to move from the South Shore to Watertown and live in an apartment with three other girls that I met on Craigslist. I had hit a wall in my personal life and felt so stuck. Looking back it was a crazy idea, giving up a pretty secure job (even though I had been pink slipped with tenure...but that's another story) and a relatively affordable apartment to move somewhere where I didn't know anyone. The move could not have played out any better if I tried. In the end that one decision changed my life forever.

I ended up finding amazing friends and wound up in a great relationship with a great person. One of the great things about this new group is how close they still are, post college. I had a pretty close group of friends from college but we have spread out all over the country since graduation. One of my favorite parts of being in this new group are the yearly traditions.... Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving, and Meat Fest. At least three times a year the entire group gathers together and I know how lucky I am to be part of it.

This past weekend we celebrated our Thanksgiving. JO and I hosted the event at our apartment and it was so much fun. I loved watching JO measure out the kitchen, bargain shop for folding chairs, and prepare the turkey. He gets really excited to be the host and he wants to do right by his friends.

In the end we had 21 people at a big long table and more food then we could possibly ever need. Almost every year there is a slight panic over whether or not we will have enough food which almost always results in over shopping. Last year it was the 20 pounds of potatoes we prepared and the two turkeys that got cooked. This year it was the two emergency pies and the ridiculous amount of beer that we got.

We've been eating leftovers since Sunday but you wouldn't know if by looking in the fridge. Thank goodness today is a Guys Night Out, a weekly tradition for the guys in the group, so that a dent can be put in the beverages. I am going to have to insist that any guy in attendance tonight drinks 3-4 beers at minimum :-)

It is so special to me to be able to say that I am a part of a group that works so hard to stay connected. I know how lucky I am and was thrilled to be able to help JO host such a great evening. My big contribution to the event was the wine bar I set up in the living room. (It didn't hurt that my Huskies beat Notre Dame in double overtime on National tv!!!) I remember what it was like to live in the "woods" and feel like your friends were so far away. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the past three and a half years.

Choice...Not Because I "Have To"

I'm just going to say this. It is my choice to live in the city. In fact, I kind of think of it as a privilege. Everyday I wake up and I think about how lucky I am to live where I live. Just knowing that the entire city is at my fingertips makes all of my work stress easier to deal with. I love walking to get my coffee in the morning and am so looking forward to grabbing a delicious hot chocolate at 1369 when the colder weather comes. I love that almost everything I need is a five minute or less walk from my house.

It's really starting to bother me when people insinuate that I have to live in the city because my life isn't like theirs. I choose to live in the city! I willingly signed up for this life and I wouldn't change any part of it. Sure there are nuisances like having to park on the street and deal with the crazy bike riders. But living other places comes with their own set of issues. I remember when going to Wal-Mart was a day trip and trying to get take out food was like jumping through hoops. I remember how I couldn't go for walks because we didn't have sidewalks and being bored meant a trip to the mall.

Now, I could walk to my nearest Target if I wanted to. I have access to food from virtually any region you can think of, and long walks (especially to the river) are easy. If I'm bored I can go to a museum, go for a walk around one of the squares, see an independent film at Kendall, take pictures by the river, etc.

Recently I feel like a lot of people have been judging my life choices using the same standards they use to judge their own lives. Unacceptable! First of all, no one should be judging my life choices. Second of all, by my standards my life is completely and 100% successful. Sure there are some things I would love to change. For example, I'd love to wear more Ann Taylor than Old Navy but Old Navy is cheaper and I don't want to cry when a kid accidentally paints me green in it. I'd love to have a fancy pair of shoes but working with 10 year olds doesn't require it so I don't bother. But in the end, I could not be happier with how I live my life, where I live my life, and who I live my life with. I don't need a house, a yard, or a ring to be happy!

This is the life I chose. This is the life I made happen for myself by taking a huge risk and moving in with three girls I didn't know. This is the life that makes me smile every morning because this is my life, not yours, and I don't need what you have to be happy!

Ginger Express

Recently a new restaurant, Ginger Express, opened up in Inman Square. I finally had a chance to try it out last night.

Ginger Express looks a bit out of place surrounded by The Druid, Bukowskis, and All-Star Sandwich Bar with it's silver chrome exterior. We sat at the high top tables but quickly moved to the bar since the chairs at the high top tables have no backs and seemed to be quite flimsy. The bar offered hooks under the counter for our jackets and purses, always a plus. As my friend noted, "Everything in here seems flimsy...cardboard and glue!"

Furniture excluded the service was good, the drink selection strong, the flavors distinctive, the portions large, the prices reasonable, and the chicken super tender. I got the Pad Thai which was covered in chopped peanuts and served with a lime, both pluses in my book. I will say that the dish was spicier than most Pad Thai I've had but it was good.

Ginger Express is no Spice and Rice, the other Asian restaurant in Inman, but it offers another option for eating out in the square. We also definitely enjoyed the fact that we were able to go out to eat on a Friday night without a big hassle. It was just a two minute walk home :-)

Whew! A Day Off!

I had a much needed day off today. Considering I had a two hour meeting after school on Tuesday, and four hours of meetings tomorrow afternoon/evening, I really needed it. Thankfully Hurricane Ida has been delayed, so we were able to enjoy the city today. We live so close to Central that it only takes us about 25-30 minutes to get to Park Street.

We decided to go to The Marliave for lunch. The Marliave is the sister restaurant to The Grotto. We've eaten at The Grotto twice, and both times it was amazing...so we had high hopes for The Marliave, and it didn't disappoint. The atmosphere, especially in the upstairs dining room, was fantastic. The food and wine were great. There are so many delicious things on the menu...so I'll certainly be going back.

After a delicious dinner we hit up Macy's for the Veterans Day shoe sale extravaganza. JO and I don't normally go shopping together because our shopping styles are so radically different, but I really couldn't handle the Macy's at Downtown Crossing by myself. It's to crazy in there on holidays. JO was my shoe "scout" and helped me find a great pair of boots :-)

We finished our day in the city with a walk through Boston Common and the Public Gardens. The Public Gardens is my absolute favorite place in the park. It is so peaceful in there, and the bridge reminds me of a fairy tale. It was a beautiful day for a walk through the park. The park seemed to be going into hibernation all covered in a blanket of leaves. The flower beds have been dug up and prepared for the winter and the squirrels were digging for acorns.

I feel rested and relaxed. We'll see how long that lasts!

Something to Look Forward To

I hear that it's going to be near 70 on Monday and surprisingly I don't have any meetings. Harvard Square, and Charles River, here I come!!!