A Letter to Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature,

I give up! You win! I'm defeated! That hopeful feeling I had a few hours ago when I wrote my last post is gone after I saw the following "Special Weather Map" on Channel 7.




Where should we put this 15-20 inches of snow?

Yours truly,

Vicky

Cheese Fest 2011 and Snow!

Another week, another storm, and another snow day. We often talk about "summer loss" but now we're all about "winter loss." With no consistency is three weeks it's been tough to get back in the swing of things since the holiday vacation. In four weeks of January we only had one full week. We also had a two day week, a three day week, and a four day week. I'm feel utterly jumbled so I can only imagine how the kids feel.

This past storm really sent things over the edge. Even though it wasn't a huge storm it added just enough snow on top of the existing snow to make things extremely challenging around here. There are snow banks over 5 feet in some parts of the city. The residential streets look like ice cube trays from where the cars "popped" out of parking spots. Everyone seems totally defeated and the streets are a mess. On Friday night I had to park my car quite far away because it was the only decent looking spot around. The walk gave me the chance to really take in the massive amounts of snow piling up everywhere. This was the saddest/funniest sight from my walk home:


This car is never going to be unearthed.

There was a major breakthrough though on Saturday evening when I was dropping my Inman Square friend off after a cheese shopping spree. We took a side street I don't normally take and we were greeted with a snow mirage. In front of us, as far as the eye could see, were perfectly plowed parking spots. By some winter miracle this street had been shoveled out and plowed out down to bare pavement...and not many people know about it. This discovery has totally lifted my spirits and given me a renewed energy to face the upcoming snow producing months with an air of positivity.

The crazy snow did not stand in our way from hosting the second annual "Cheese Fest" where we celebrate all things cheese. This year featured a lot less "stinky" cheese which I was happy about. It was a great night with fun friends. Just the pick me up I needed after another week "stranded" by the snow.












I have made a pledge that next weekend we are going on an urban outing. We need to get out and enjoy the city despite the winter... after all that's why I have the puffy jacket! Plus, it doesn't look likes it going to stop snowing any time soon (yes another storm is headed our way this week) and there are certain restaurants that don't offer outdoor dining that we don't frequent in the summer so we need to visit them now!

Snowflakes and Starlite

Another week, another snow day causing storm. Friday's storm didn't leave a ton of snow, but just enough to make parking a nightmare. It did turn all the gross snow white again which at least makes things nicer to look at around here.

As a result of the snow we didn't venture too far from our neighborhood...maybe next week we'll be back to our adventurous ways. On Thursday night I had that little kid anticipation feeling about Friday's inevitable snow day. I wanted to take advantage and was thrilled when our Inman neighbors wanted to join me for dinner at The Druid. They have the worst service, but the best food. I wish I didn't love their fish and chips so much :-) It was great to catch up and discuss our mutual hatred of snow.

Friday night we went to our neighborhood favorite, Casa de Portugal. I have blogged about how good this place is in the past and it's worth repeating. Great food, great drinks, great prices, great atmosphere! What more could you really want?

After spending the afternoon at my favorite Harvard Square hang out Daedalus catching up with my former twirling duet partner who is going to be our wedding photographer I didn't like the thought of staying in for dinner. We decided to hit up Trina's Starlite Lounge. We've been here three times in the last few months and I have to say each time I go I like it more. At first glance the menu looks a bit limiting, but once you start reading the descriptions you realize how yummy each dish must be. They also have "dog of the day" and "blue plate" specials which adds to the dinner options. They also have a great drink menu and a really fun atmosphere which makes it perfect for a night out. And the five minute walk from our place to Trina's is just the icing on the cake. After dinner we headed over to Bukowski's to extend the evening just a little bit more. I have to say I really prefer this Bukowski's to the Boston Bukowski's, and not just because it's in my neighborhood. I really like how big this one is and even though the Inman Bukowski's can get really loud it's never as aloud as the Boston one. My only complaint- they took the sea dogs with mashers off the menu :-(

Today we dug out our cars and tried to catch up on some errands before the next big storm hits later this week. Yes, you read that right. Another storm is headed our way and tomorrow's high is something ridiculous like 8 degrees. Ughhh! Winter needs to move on out of here asap!

Wintervention

I'm in desperate need of a "wintervention." It's only January 17th and we've already had a blizzard and another major storm which kept me out of school for 3 straight days. This last storm really did a number on my neighborhood.




Even worse was that I was sick with a bad cold so I couldn't even take advantage of living in Inman during a storm.

Additionally, I'm pretty sure the majority of the people living in my neighborhood have giving up with shoveling their cars out. They are treating this storm like it's the last one of the season in March. There's a serious lack of shoveling pride around these parts and I'm sure we aren't going to win the city's "Best Shoveled Block Award."

In other news, we have a new plan for our wedding. We're keeping it local with a Cambridge Wedding in Harvard Square at the Sheraton Commander. I'm super excited to be celebrating something so special in a place that is so special to me.



I'm hoping next weekend we can get out and enjoy the city. I've been really wanting to try Amelia's Trattoria.

Taking Advantage of the City

This was a great week, even though we were dealing with the aftermath of the blizzard. My motto for the week was, "If I can't walk there or take the T I don't need to be there!" I wasn't giving up my prime parking spot for anything.

We didn't want to waste away vacation indoors though so Thursday night we headed into the city for one of our holiday traditions- looking at the light displays in Boston. We walked around Faneuil Hall, did some shopping, and got blinded by the huge tree they had on display. Then we walked through Downtown Crossing and around the park. Along the way we found this new restaurant that we really want to try. Bistro du Midi overlooks the Public Gardens and looks like a fun place to spend a cold evening.

We headed over to Newbury Street to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Piattini Wine Cafe. The food is great here and the atmosphere is really cozy and relaxed. I highly recommend the lobster ravioli and the tiramisu. We were going to walk over to the Top of the Hub after dinner but we were a bit tired so we headed over to Mass Ave. to catch a cab. That's when inspiration hit us and we decided to stop in to Deuxave. I've seen this place a few times on cab rides back to our apartment, and it was recently featured on the Phantom Gourmet where it got rave reviews. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed our evening here. Everyone was so friendly, and one of the bartenders even helped us nab some seats. The view from the seats in the bar is great. We both decided that we'll be stopping in here again, although it makes me a bit nervous since it's tempting to walk home from there. It seems like an easy walk but I learned my lesson this summer.

On New Year's Eve we headed back to the Common for the 7:00 fireworks. We were heading to a friend's house for a party but we couldn't resist stopping in at one of my favorite places, the Last Hurrah at the Omni Parker Hotel. Usually this place isn't crowded, but it was full at 7:30. Lucky for us we scored a table and enjoyed a yummy dinner. The last time we were here was on our anniversary and we had fun recounting the special day.

Right before we left a couple in their late 30s early 40s sat down at the bar next to us. They struck up a conversation with another person at the bar. I couldn't help but overhearing their conversation. I have to say that this lady is my hero. She was talking about how her and her husband live just a few blocks down the street. The guy at the bar made a comment that it must make life difficult living in the city. She responded by saying, "I can go home and close my door or I can open my door and have the world at my footsteps." I really wanted to give her a big high five! I love her attitude!

After dinner we headed over to our friend's house and celebrated the new year with great friends. We drove our Inman friends home and during the car ride we were talking about resolutions. My resolution is to definitely take advantage of the city even more than I am already. I don't want to waste a day here. I live in such an exciting place and I know how lucky I am!