Movies at The Brattle

After several months of mediocre movies, The Brattle came back with a vengeance.  In one week we watched E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Stand by Me, and Ghostbusters!  The Brattle holds a really special place in my heart since it's where JO and I went on our first date.  If you've never seen a movie there before I highly recommend it.  It's got this great vintage feel and it's so neat to see these movies on the big screen, where they belong.  They have some great movies coming up, including lots of Tom Hanks movies including two of my all time favorites, Money Pit and The 'Burbs.  They've got Vertigo and Double Indemnity coming up too, both of which should definitely be seen on the big screen!

Session Americana at The Oberon

Since discovering Club Passim a few years ago (see a few posts before this one) we've really tapped into the local music scene here in Cambridge.  At a Mark Erelli show last year, he mentioned that his favorite band was Session Americana, which features Dinty Child who plays with Sub Rosa (the group we saw at our first Passim show.)  When I saw that Lula Wiles (you know, that group that I became slightly obsessed with this past spring and summer) was playing a show with Session Americana at the Oberon, I quickly grabbed a ticket.  Normally, JO would've gone with me but Wednesdays are reserved for Guys Night Out (unless it's our anniversary, a huge UConn game, or my birthday) and I would be coming from practice so it would be hard to coordinate with someone else because I was basically going to be getting there right when the show started (but I'm a dedicated Lula Wiles fan so I was willing to run around like a crazy person.)  What I wasn't planning on was falling down the stairs on my way out of work.  I sprained my ankle and was sure I would have to miss the show.  Thanks to a big city winning pep talk from JO, I hobbled into an Uber and took my seat just as the show was starting.  I'm so glad I went.

Session Americana is fantastic.  Folksy, with lots of Free Bird style jamming (I think that's an accurate description), and I think seven members makes for a super fun concert going experience.  And Oberon is such a cool setting for a show.  It's set up like a jazz club, with some neon lighting and lots of black circular tables and a bar in the back.  Lula Wiles played some new songs and I'm so excited for their new album to hurry up and get here.  I can't recommend these two acts, and Mark Erelli and Kris Delmhorst, enough.  Go see them.  Get inspired.  Have a lovely city night.  You deserve it!

King Richard's Faire

JO, his brother, and some of our friends discovered the fabulousness that is King Richard's Faire last year.  This year, JO really wanted me to join him, and even though I had a tremendous amount of school work, I decided to go.  I hadn't been to the Faire since I was a teenager and it was just as I had remembered.  There were vendors, jousters, horses, performances, and lots of fun to be had.  The weather was beautiful and it was really fun to just hang out with friends.  I didn't wear a costume this year, but I think I need to get one for next year.

I couldn't resist this. As JO said, it would look great at Ruka or Palm Springs

The Night Shift with Mark Erelli

I've blogged before about this great show at Club Passim before.  It was the first show that we saw at Club Passim and we got hooked on Club Passim and several of the singers we saw that night.  Since that first show in early 2016, we've gone to see members of Sub Rosa play their solo shows and they never disappoint.  One singer from that show that we just love is Mark Erelli.  We rarely branch out of Cambridge (because really, Cambridge has more than enough going on) but when we saw he was playing a show at the Charles River Museum of Industry in Waltham, as part of their Night Shift music series, we knew we had to go.  It would be a small, intimate show, in a really funky space.  Plus, Erelli didn't have any solo Passim shows coming up so we didn't want to miss our chance to see him live.

I highly, highly recommend seeing a show at the Museum.  What an incredible space for an intimate show.  I was super tired on this particular Thursday (we had been on a field trip that day and field trips are exhausting) and almost cancelled in favor of going to bed early.  I'm glad I didn't.  The show was great and Erelli was masterful once again.  His music is so beautiful and emotional.  It's a real experience to see him play live.

Bruno Mars

Look at me~ the crazy concert goer!  Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and finally Bruno Mars made for a musical fall to say the least.  Such a fun night with great friends!  We're such city pros now.  We hit up Anthem, in Faneuil Hall, before the show to avoid the crowds and highly recommend this strategy.  It's not too far of a walk from the Quincy Market area and dinner and drinks will be way more relaxing than over near the Garden.

Oktoberfests and Ribfests...That's a lot of Fests

I love the fall city traditions that we've created since moving to Cambridge almost nine years ago.  My family didn't have a ton of traditions growing up, so I really love the traditions we have here in the city!

There's the Oktoberfest 5K

Then there's East Cambridge's RibFest

And Harvard Square's Oktoberfest~ apparently I have no pictures but the weather was perfect and we were even able to enjoy the Legal's Outdoor Bar one last time.

Katy Perry!

My dad is Katy Perry's #1 fan, so when I saw she was playing a show in Boston, I knew I had to take him.  I was hoping the concert would be ok because I didn't want my dad to be disappointed in his favorite pop singer.  I have to say, Katy Perry rocked!  She played a great set list and put on a great show full of crazy sets and costumes.  My dad had a blast, and as a result, I did too!  Bonus~ taking the Lechmere green line train home, thus avoiding all of the crowds leaving North Station.  #citywinning

Night Out in the Seaport

After a crazy start to the school year,  I finally found myself with some free time, and warm weather, on a Saturday night.  We decided to head over to the Seaport for a night of fun.

I wanted to explore a new place so we headed over to the roof deck at Yotel to meet up with some friends.  In keeping with the Yotel theme, the roof deck is small, as is the inside lounge.  The deck was packed so we begrudgingly set up in the lounge.  The views from the deck are nice.  The views from the lounge are less than interesting, although we did have a view of the fog rolling in on the airport which was kind of neat to see.  I would definitely try again to get a spot on the deck, but I'll pass on the lounge.  It was fine, but nothing special, and there are a lot more options in the Seaport.

After drinks, we started looking for a place to have dinner.  We didn't plan this evening really well and found ourselves with a dinner dilemma.  Everything was packed and I was thinking we would have to abandon the area in search of food.  Thankfully, JO remembered Casa de Pedro and we were able to get a table for four.  It wasn't exactly what I had in mind for the evening.  I had really wanted to eat outside, but with the unexpected fog rolling in, we ended up inside.  If cold, spooky fog forces your plans inside, Casa de Pedro is the right place to be "stuck."  Best mojitos in the city, lots of yummy small plates, and a super fun atmosphere easily makes you forget about the patio you wanted to be sitting on.

Fluff Fest

Somerville is a pretty proud of the fact that fluff was invented in their city!  They are so proud, that every fall they put on Fluff Fest in Union Square to celebrate all things fluff.  There are cook offs, fluff challenges, fluff themed vendors, and live music complete with the "fluffettes" dancers.  This year's festival was insanely popular and so much fun!

Parlor Sports

Parlor Sports is just like Cheers.  Everyone knows your name, what you like to watch, and what you like to eat and drink.  It's Inman Square perfection!  I recently went to Parlor Sports to watch a soccer game and got to meet the new bartender who won me over immediately by knowing about me and my Huskies and commenting that he wished he had know the USWNT was playing a game that night because he would have promoted it more and done something fun for the game.

One of the things I love most about Parlor Sports is how much they respect women's sports.  The first time we went in I wasn't sure if they would put a women's basketball game on but they didn't blink an eye and gave me a tv to watch my Huskies!  Over the years it's been the same thing, no matter if it's my Huskies, the women's soccer team, the USA Olympic Women's basketball team, or WNBA.  Once I had some guy complain that there was a women's basketball on one of the tvs, to which a bartender responded, "Hey, she's watching that game and we're not changing the channel.  Sports is sports."

So yeah, my sports bar is amazing and I love it!

Three Mile Island

The one truly fall thing we did manage to do this year is go to Three Mile Island on Lake Winnipesauke back in September.  My parents and my dad's friends have been going on the same weekend since the late 70s.  It's such a special tradition and I almost skipped it this year to do school work.  I'm so glad I didn't.  The weather was unbelievably beautiful.  It was so relaxing and peaceful.  I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Sulmona~ We're Pretty Much Regulars Now

I just blogged about Sulmona a few posts ago, but I'm going to blog about it again because we are pretty much regulars there now!  The food is so good, the ambiance is perfect, they have a patio, and they have affogato so it's pretty much perfect!  Plus, it's in Kendall Square so we get a nice city walk in!  I love, love, love Inman Square, but it's nice to leave the neighborhood once in a while too!

Charles River Boat Cruise

One of the things I love about Cambridge is the Charles River.  It adds a touch of nature to the cityscape and the views are great.  After the first weekend of almost ten hours of school work, JO declared that we needed to get out of the house and go on a cruise of the Charles.

This boat ride is a hidden gem in Cambridge.  It's run by the Charles River Boat Company and starts and ends at the CambridgeSide Galleria, which is super convenient if you need a place to park.  The tour last about ninety minutes.  The boat has a bar, with wine and beer, and fun music playing.  There is no narration, which I love.  You can just enjoy the views and the people you are with.  It used to be free for me with my union card, but they don't do that promotion anymore 😕  That's ok though because it's priced so reasonably, at $18.  

The boat has a covered section, with bench seating, and an uncovered standing room only section.  A big hint~ try to line up early so that you can get a spot at the front of the boat, where the views are the best.

We had a beautiful fall night for our boat ride.  The sun was setting against the buildings and the views were just lovely (as they always are.)  I definitely felt more relaxed after such a pleasant night on the river.

Where did the Fall Go!

In a shocking development, school started and I had zero free time.  Throw in some fun mystery illnesses and fall was over before it started.  I feel like I missed a whole season.  I missed apple picking, hiking, Castle in the Clouds, the Regatta, leaf peeping, and everything else that defines the fall season in New England.  Despite missing out on those things, we did manage to squeeze some city fun into the last few months (thanks to JO's insistence that I put the school work away from time to time) and I finally have a few free moments to catch up with the blog so here goes nothing!