Inman Square Harvest Hoedown

As I said recently, I love all of the events the Inman Square Business Association puts on for the neighborhood.  This year they added a new event, the Inman Square Harvest Hoedown.  Of course, upon seeing the event advertised on Facebook I snapped up tickets as fast as I could.

The event featured local restaurants presenting the "Perfect Apple Bite."  We had fun sampling all of the delicious food.  There was also a beer garden and when the sun was shining it was a nice spot to be. They got an awesome turnout for the event which was really nice to see.  It was almost like a block party for the neighborhood.  Everyone was happy and it was nice to see people of all ages mingling together.

Check out the ingredients.  Pumpkin buttercream was amazing!

JO was in his glory with all the apple desserts

In the end City Girl won for best table decor, Ole won for food, and we won for living in such a great neighborhood!

Fuji- Kendall Square

We've been on quite a Groupon kick lately and they are starting to pile up.  We've decided that we can only go to restaurants that we have coupons for until they are all used up.  I had a surprisingly good day at school on Friday and felt like going out to celebrate.  We decided to hit up Fuji in Kendall Square.

This restaurant opened up last winter and I've been wanting to try it for some time.  Kendall Square is really booming with lots of new restaurants opening up all the time.  It's still nearly impossible to actually live in Kendall Square, unless you are willing to pay ridiculously high rent to live in the new luxury apartment buildings that recently went up.  We tend to consider Kendall Square the Tommy Doyle's and Kendall Hotel area but there is so much more to the Square than that.

Our walk to Fuji gave us a chance to explore the area.  We found Abigail's, which we've heard a lot about but never seen in person, Tatte Bakery, the most beautiful dry cleaners ever, and Kika Tapas.  We really need to explore this area more.  Luckily for us, we won a gift card for Abigail's so we'll be checking it out soon.

Fuji is a decent walk from our place, any further and we'd be at the mall.  It's smaller than I expected but makes good use of the space.  There's a bar/dining area with brighter lights and tvs and a side dining room with tables for two or four lined up in a row.  We sat there and it was fine.  It was a bit drafty since the restaurant features floor to ceiling windows so I was glad I had my scarf.

We had a $50 Groupon deal so we were able to try a bunch of things from the menu.  We started with Miso Soup and Gyoza, both of which were delicious!  Up next was the Spider Maki roll.  You can tell they are sushi experts.  For our main meals I got the udon with vegetables and JO got the pineapple friend rice.  JO's dish was so pretty I had to snap a picture.  My udon noodles were cooked perfectly and had a nice, delicate soy sauce for flavoring.  The vegetables were high quality and cooked perfectly.

We both agreed that Kendall Square has a lot to offer and we need to venture out there more often.

Super Hero 5K

A few summers ago I started using the training program Couch to 5K to help me get in shape.  I never really had any ambitions to run a 5k but I needed something to keep me motivated at the gym.  I was two sessions away from completing the program when my mom passed away.  Needless to say going to the gym wasn't a priority for me.  The next summer I was determined to finish and I did!  I even signed up to do a 5k but that was the year it snowed in October I opted out of the race because I wasn't going to run in the snow.  This past summer I started the program again.  It was so hot in July that I didn't make it to the gym that much but I got in a nice groove in August and was super inspired by our trip to Mt. Rainier that I have somehow managed to keep going to the gym during the school year.

JO and his friends have been running the Super Hero 5K in Central Square for the past few years.  JO somehow convinced me to sign up this year and I'm so glad I did.  I couldn't sleep the entire night before.  I was only half way through the Couch to 5K program and had maxed out at 10 straight minutes of running at the gym so a 5K was quite intimidating.

I somehow managed to run the entire race and in 32 minutes no less.  I was so proud of myself for finishing the race and not giving up.  I've gotten so inspired that I got JO and our friend to sign up for the Yulefest 5K in Harvard Square in December (please, please don't snow!)

After the race I was absolutely starving so we decided to go out for brunch.  We live in the brunch capital of Cambridge:  City Girl, S and S, Tupelo, Puritan and Co., The Druid, Ryle's, and Parlor Sports all offer brunch.  Unfortunately, living in the the brunch capital of the world means you can't get a table on a Sunday at 10:00 a.m.  We ended up walking to the Thirsty Scholar where we easily got a table.  Normally the walk to the Thirsty Scholar is nothing but on sore legs it was a bit challenging.  I have to say, they make a mean omelet.

The Change Over

Last Saturday the city was full of people.  The combination of Red Sox victory parade and absolutely gorgeous weather brought tons of people to the city, and they stayed all night.  I met JO and our friend in Boston for dinner and drinks before the Zelda Symphony at the Wang Theater.  I couldn't resist taking these pictures before dinner.

We had some time to kill before the concert so we stopped by Statler's Lounge at the Park Plaza Hotel.  I love trying out new places and I love hotel bars so this was a perfect choice.  The drinks were very reasonably priced and the atmosphere was very relaxing.

After the show we decided to call it a night since we were both exhausted.  It was around 10:45 and as we headed to the train station we noticed we were caught up in a large crowd of people.  It dawned on me that we were caught up in the "Change Over"~ that time when the "older" crew heads home and the "younger" crew is just getting into the city.  It was kind of fun to stand on the train platform and watch this change over unfold.  In the future, I might be incentivised to stay out for one more drink rather than get caught up in the crowds.  That being said, I might have been heading out of the city for the night but it certainly was a great day!

Boston Strong~ The Red Sox are World Series Champs!!!

I'll admit it.  I'm not a huge baseball fan.  The game is a bit too slow for me.  I love Fenway Park but I've never loved watching baseball live.  I'm always afraid I'm going to get hit by a foul pitch.  This all changes though when the Red Sox are in the playoffs.

This year's Red Sox were so inspirational.  I teach my kids about teamwork and how important it is to work together as a team.  I'm all about Together Everyone Achieves More.  Really, could this year's Red Sox have been any more about TEAM?  I don't think so.  Every night a different person stepped up.  Players were in slumps but their teammates didn't give up on them and eventually they were able to come through with clutch hits and plays.  Simply awesome!

I loved how the Red Sox embodied the spirit of "Boston Strong."  They helped heal our city after the bombings.  Who can forget Big Papi's, "This is our #$#%^ city" statement?  I honestly believe that was heartfelt and genuine.  It was our city and the Red Sox helped us reclaim it.  They played their hearts out this year and overachieved in the experts' eyes.  So many times during the playoffs they could've given up but they wanted to win for our city.  They wanted to win so that our city had something to celebrate!  I never felt like they were being cheesy with the "Boston Strong" stuff.  I think they genuinely wanted to help the city and this is how they could do it.

JO was in the Fenway area Wednesday night, at our friend's apartment that looks over Fenway.  I wasn't able to join him but I loved living vicariously through him.

With this gorgeous sunset how could they lose?

After the last out I called my dad.  He was so excited...like a little kid.  We decided to go to the parade together on Saturday and I'm so glad we did.  I now have such a special memory with my dad that will last a lifetime.  We watched the parade from the Longfellow Bridge and while we were waiting snippets of what was going on along the parade route spread through the crowd.  The Duck Boats had beards!  Awesome!  Dropkick Murphys had their own boats!  Awesome!  Officer Horgan on a boat!  Very awesome!  But the story that really got to the crowd was the special ceremony at the Marathon finish line.  We pulled up video of it on our phones and I seriously started crying right there on the bridge.  Chills!

We had a blast watching the boats go by the bridge and waving at the players.

So to the 2013 Boston Red Sox- thanks for lifting the spirits of this city when we were crushed and for giving us something to join together and celebrate on an absolutely gorgeous fall day in November!  You embody everything it means to be a Bostonian!

Upstairs on the Square and the Beat Hotel

A few weeks ago it was announced the iconic Harvard Square restaurant Upstairs on the Square would be closing at the end of the year.  We've been a few times over the last few years and each time we have had a great time.  It's such a unique restaurant and definitely a special spot in the Square.  I'm very sad to see it go and have decided we need to go here as much as possible before it closes.

On Tuesday it was apparent that it was going to be "one of those weeks" so I started planning a city outing for Friday to de-stress.  Luckily for us, one of our good friends was able to join us, since Harvard Square adventures are always funner with friends.

After delicious noodles for dinner we headed over to Upstairs on the Square for drinks.  Of course it was crowded but we lucked out by finding some space at the bar.  The ambiance at Upstairs should be studied by all future restauranteurs.  This is what a restaurant should feel like.  Our drinks were delicious and we had fun catching up with our friend who had jut gotten back from a trip to Seattle and Vancouver.  We had fun swapping stories about Mt. Rainier.

We were having a lot of fun so we didn't want the night to end.  We decided to check out the new restaurant/bar The Beat Hotel that had opened up a few weeks ago.  It's from the same people that run The Beehive in the South End and offers live music, dinner, and drinks. I love, love, love the decor.  It's rustic, modern with crystal chandeliers.  What's not to love?

Music lineup

I had heard online that it hadn't been very crowded but that was totally wrong.  We had trouble finding seats but lucked out with a couple seats off to the side.  We all agreed that it was a great spot to enjoy some drinks.  I would love to come back when there was live music playing.  We will definitely be adding it to the rotation, but not before we head back to Upstairs on the Square a few more times.

Inmanween

As I've said before, one of my favorite things about living in Inman Square is the neighborhood atmosphere.  We really are a close knit community and one of the big reasons is the Inman Square Business Association.  The ISBA puts on several annual events each year and one of our favorites is Inmanween.  Last year we won the pumpkin carving contest with this gem and we were determined to defend our victory again this year.

 We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to carve this year.  We thought about a Boston Strong pumpkin but we wanted to be able to reflect our neighborhood so we passed on that idea.  We also thought about a Red Sox pumpkin but ultimately we settled on a Zelda themed pumpkin... because JO is a little bit obsessed!

We proudly brought our pumpkin to the plaza and entered it in the contest before heading to Trina's Starlite Lounge for dinner.  This was the perfect place to celebrate an evening of neighborhood awesomeness since this place embodies everything that is great about our neighborhood.  One of the head bartenders stopped by our table to talk about how the Huskies are looking for the upcoming season.  I was in my glory!

After dinner we headed back to the plaza where we were informed that we had won again!

The next day we headed over to Boutique Fabulous to catch a glimpse of our pumpkin in the window! So much fun!

With each passing day in Inman (we are nearing almost five years now) I fall more in love with living here.  I can't imagine living anywhere else.