The Lizard Lounge

I think we've become Session Americana groupies.  When we saw them at Club Passim they mentioned they were doing a three week residency at the Lizard Lounge.  JO and I have always wanted to go to the Lizard Lounge so we decided to get tickets.  A Tuesday night show that starts at 9:00 is a little challenging, but I loved doing city things on a school nights.  It reminds me how lucky I am to live where I do.

The Lizard Lounge is a really neat basement venue.  It really fills up, so if you get stools or a close table don't give that up because the speaker might be close to you (thanks JO!)  The show was super fun!  I will definitely go see Session Americana anytime that they play a show.

Christmas Tree Challenge 2017

I think the Christmas Tree Challenge has become my favorite holiday tradition we have!  It started a few years ago when I had no Christmas Spirit.  I decided the best way to get my holiday spirit was to roam around the city trying to see all of the holiday displays in the hotels.  This year our December schedule was crazy busy so we only had one day that we could undertake the Challenge.  Then it snowed and it looked like our plans would be ruined!  I hate driving in the snow and the red line wasn't running between Kendall and Park, requiring a train and a bus ride.  At the last minute we decided to throw caution to the wind and hit the town in our puffy jackets and winter boots!

Our first stop was Hotel Nine Zero (I loved their purple theme)

Then Omni Parker (my sentimental favorite)

The we hit up the Ritz, Four Seasons, Revere (skinny tree big statue) the W (abstract much), Park Plaza, and a few more ending the night at the Taj.

We're hoping to squeeze another night of the Challenge in because we missed a bunch of hotels near Copley!  It was so fun running around the city while the snow was falling!  So far the Ritz is winning, especially because they have so many accessories!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Another one of my favorite holiday traditions is walking down to Ricky's Flower Market to get our tree, and walking home with it!  I love the look on peoples' faces when they see us leave the place with our tree!  Ricky's is a great place to get a tree.  They make the whole experience really festive!

Apparently I misjudged the size of the tree this year.  It's pretty "full."  It looks great and we even decided to take a risk this year and decorate it.  Ever since we got the kittens we've avoided the decorations for fear they would destroy them but we figured they were old enough.

And other than one little ornament issue the kittens have left the tree alone! And yes, we have a UConn tree!

Huskies at Parlor Sports!

I have blogged a ton about the awesomeness that is Parlor Sports.  I couldn't wait to watch a UConn game at Parlor Sports but the schedule is tough this year because a lot of the games are on ESPN3.


My Huskies won and it felt like we were right at home!  We even got the window tv so everyone in the neighborhood could watch the Huskies too!

The Nutcracker

Another one of our holiday traditions is going to see Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker.  There is something magical about walking into the Opera House and being greeted by the holiday decorations. and the teddy bear and rabbit waiting for pictures.  This year they even added a choir which was a great touch.  I used to go to this show with my mom when I was little so it always reminds me of that.  The production was excellent, the bubbles were fizzy, and the holidays were officially underway!

I loved seeing the Macy's tree on the way home.

Winter Classic 5K and Flour

I really had no interest in waking up to run the Winter Classic a few weekends ago.  I had so much to do, it was cold, and I didn't want to get out of bed.  I'm so glad I did because the race was a lot of fun and I came in under thirty minutes!  It felt great to be out on the course.

After the race, we decided to go get coffee and snacks at Flour.  I'm late to the party here.  Flour is amazing!  I kind of wish it was closer because I would go all the time!

Session Americana at Club Passim

It had been a really long time since we had a chance to see a show at Club Passim.  We got to see Session Americana play an amazing set.  They love to jam, and jam they did!






I can't say enough about Club Passim.  It's such a great place to check out some great music.  The room is so intimate and the artists are always thrilled to play there so you know your going to see some amazing performances.

Spontaneous Night Out~ Alibi, The Common, and the North End

A few Fridays ago, our plan was simple.  Get some take out, watch Christmas movies, and go to bed early.  It was the first Friday of the "December Crazies," that lovely time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas that is absolute torture for teachers.  I was dead tired and wanted nothing to do with going outside, but....

Then JO had this great idea to go to Alibi since there was a plea deal made in Russia Gate and he thought that would be really funny!  I couldn't resist because I love the Liberty Hotel.  Plus it would give us a chance to kick off the Christmas Tree Challenge, our annual tradition of seeing as many hotel holiday displays as possible.

Before getting a spot at Alibi, we went upstairs to see the famous upside down trees!  The pictures don't do them justice, it's definitely worth checking them out...and getting a class of bubbles in the upstairs bar. 😀

 We had a really good time at Alibi!  We got a mozzarella appetizer which I highly recommend because it comes from Scampo, and they have an entire section of their menu devoted to mozzarella.  We also split a pizza which was quite tasty as well.  We also enjoyed some bubbles because who doesn't love bubbles!

It was only seven o'clock when we had finished dinner, so we decided to extend the evening with a stroll down Charles Street.  I love Charles Street any time of year, but especially during the holiday season.

When we reached the Common we decided to check out the big tree.  Then we decided to go see the tree at Faneuil Hall which led us to Christopher Columbus Park...

which led us to the North End and Caffe Vittoria.  I love Caffee Vittoria and it has been years since I last visited.  It's a super cute dessert and coffee cafe that also serves wine and beer.  We both agreed that we don't go to the North End enough!

The lesson of the evening was~ spontaneous city outings can be really successful!

The Bittens

We love our Bittens!  Denali and Rainier have really been turning up the cuteness lately!  Enjoy!

Miracle Pop-Up Bar

I heard about the Miracle Pop-Up bar back in the fall and really wanted to check it out, so the first chance we had we headed over to Hotel Marlowe to give it a try.  Do not waste your time!  It was really nothing special and kind of boring, although I did like the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree centerpiece.

The hotel bar, Bambara, on the other hand looked delightful!  We'll definitely go back for that!  Thankfully, the company was great so it wasn't a total loss!

Wit's End Opens!

There's a restaurant space in Inman that we can see from our living room window.  First it was an Indian restaurant.  We tried to like it but it really wasn't that great.  Then it became Hops and Scotch, which had a lot of potential, but was flawed and didn't last.  It's a great space with a great location so we've been waiting patiently for the next restaurant to open up.

Wit's End bills itself as a bar when you can hangout, have "witty" conversation, play games, and enjoy time with friends.  All of these things sounds perfect!  Our neighborhood could use a place where you can hang out.  We've been following the renovations and vision for the restaurant on the owner's blog.

When they announced they were doing a "soft opening" on the Friday after Thanksgiving we headed right over!

The positives~
The decor.  I love the Scrabble Bar and TV Guide wall.

The waitstaff~
Is really friendly.

The space.  There are a lot of different kinds of tables to really promote playing games and relaxing!

They have an app!  When you check in, your name goes up on the big screen to promote "friendly banter." The app also has a rewards program which is always a nice touch.  

They encourage games~
JO and I went and brought our own game.  We scored major cred for this!  We always talk about how the restaurants in our neighborhood are extensions of our living room, and in this case it really is.  I love the idea that we could go and play a game there since sometimes you just want to get out of the house!

The cons~
The food.  The food isn't bad, and the menu keeps expanding (we've been back a few times) but their food doesn't match their vision.  Fancy small plates don't exactly lend themselves to hanging out.  I want wings, nachos, burgers, and snacks.  The mac and cheese was especially not good!

The place has been pretty full the last few days so I'm hoping Wit's End can be successful!  They have a lot of potential and our neighborhood needs a successful restaurant to last in that place.

Tis the Season~ Tree Lighting in Harvard Square and Dinner Out(side)

I love our city holiday traditions.  I didn't have a lot of traditions growing up so it's extra special to celebrate the traditions JO and I have created.

The first holiday tradition is the tree lighting at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square!  We've only missed this once when JO was sick.  The Charles Hotel decorates their courtyard and gets several trees to light!  There is a band and Santa even makes an appearance!  This year the weather was lovely, I almost didn't need a jacket!  Everything looked so nice and the holiday season officially started!

After the tree lighting our plan was to head to Park for dinner.  The weather was too nice though, so we changed things up and got dinner on the patio at the Red House!  Yes, a patio at the end of November.  We got oysters and small plates and enjoyed a lovely evening on the patio.  The patio at Red House is one of my favorites.  It's designed to look like a cottage you might see on the Cape, and they had white lights and greenery decorating the space.  The whole experience made me yearn to live in California where I imagine the patio dining season never really ends.

After dinner we decided to continue the evening with drinks at Park.  We hadn't been to Park in so long and we both agreed that it's a great spot in the Square.  It's cozy, with delicious food and drinks, and a great atmosphere.  We had seats near the cocktail prep area and it was really fun to watch the bartenders at work.  The whole evening was just such a great way to kick off the holiday season!

ThanksgivingFest

Our group of friends celebrate a lot of "fests" during the year~ Oktoberfest, Wine and Cheese Fest, Meat Fest, and my favorite, ThanksgivingFest!  We are really fortunate to have a kitchen that can sit 20+ people around the same table and we love hosting our friends for this really special tradition!  This was our 9th year hosting in this apartment and we have it down to a fine science!

It's that Time of Year Again~ It's UConn Time

I love November!  It's a short month at school, the holidays are around the corner, and the UConn season starts!








JO and I went down for the season opener and were thrilled to get to see the Huskies win and Rebecca Lobo get honored for induction into the Hall of Fame!