February Vacation

Over my February break temps soared into the low 60s. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and it made me appreciate just how mild this winter has been. I was talking with a good friend about how neither of us had had the winter blahs and we contributed it to the great weather we have had.

Wednesday was particularly gorgeous so I headed out to do some urban hiking. I walked into Harvard Square and took a lovely stroll around the River. It was so nice to see so many people out and about in the Square. I especially liked the people ice skating in front of the Charles Hotel. It looked kind of weird seeing as they were wearing t-shirts. I did some window shopping which is always fun.

On Thursday I met up with a teacher friend of mine for lunch. We decided to check out the Full Moon Cafe in Cambridge. I love the Huron Village area of Cambridge so when my friend suggested this place I thought it was a great idea. Little did we know that this is kid central in Cambridge. We couldn't believe how many kids were there. We looked so out of place without little ones in toe. The last thing I want to do on vacation is hang out with children. That being said the food was really good. The menu offers a lot of different sandwiches and salads and the portions are large.

Saturday night we met up with our friends to enjoy a cover band at Ned Devine's. I hadn't been there in several years and I forgot how fun it can be. We had a great time catching up with our friends. They even had the UConn game on one of the tvs so I lucked out and got to watch the UConn/Syracuse game.

Valentine's Day (Long Overdue)

In what has become the story line for this year, I've been super busy and thus fallen behind on my blog. No fear though- I've had plenty of city fun!

For the last four Valentine's Days we have gone to the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square to watch Casablanca. There's something really special about watching this particular movie on the big screen, in an old theater, the way it was meant to be. This is actually such a special tradition for us that we picked As Time Goes By from the movie as our wedding song. I was really looking forward to watching the movie, and hearing the song, this year but since the company that owns Casablanca is planning a rerelease this spring the Brattle wasn't allowed to screen it on Valentine's Day.

We decided to head to one of our favorite restaurants instead. Of course we stopped at the Last Hurrah at the Omni Parker for drinks first. It was a really perfect winter night...not too cold but cold enough to make sitting inside by the windows in the cozy lounge just perfect.

After drinks we headed over to the Marliave for dinner. I think this is my favorite restaurant in Boston. It's got a great atmosphere and the food is always delicious! This time we ordered a cheese plate. We had fun picking out our cheeses. I had been craving the ravioli dish for a while and it didn't disappoint. We spent a lot of dinner talking about how awesome this winter has been. No parking bans, no human sized snow mounds, and best of all no snow days.

Taking Time to Remember

Last Friday JO and I decided to head into the Square and watch Princess Bride at the Brattle. We ended up being pretty early so I decided to kill some time by reading the Life section of USA today. I clicked on the tab and was greeted by the news that one of the Farrelly brothers' children had died. I immediately panicked. I had had one of their children, Jesse, in 4th grade back in Duxbury. I quickly clicked on the link and found out that it was in fact Jesse Farrelly who had died. To say I was shocked was an understatement. The entire night all I could think of is how this amazing kid was gone.

Jesse definitely ranks in my top 10 favorite students of all time. I still tell Jesse stories to this day when I think of my past teaching experiences. I had taught Jesse for a good three months before I found out his father was Bobby Farrelly, the famous movie director. He had written his MCAS practice story about going to visit Gwenyth Paltrow on a movie set and I was complaining to a colleague about how exaggerated the story was. After my rant my colleague laughed hysterically as he tried to explain to to me that the story was in fact true. I had no idea. Jesse was so down to earth, so well adjusted. His mom would spend hours in the room each week volunteering her time to photocopy, hang up projects, etc.

My other favorite Jesse story is one I still tell my kids today in preparation for field trips. We had gone on a field trip and Jesse was assigned to my group. We were at the Harvard Natural History Museum and we were heading to a different wing of the museum. When we arrived at the next exhibit I realized Jesse wasn't with us anymore. I frantically ran back through the museum looking for him, the whole time imagining how I was going to be the top story on Entertainment Tonight because I lost Bobby Farrelly's son. Come to find out Jesse just wanted to be in a different group. I had to explain to him that you had to stay in your assigned groups.

Most of all though I remember how happy, friendly, and kind Jesse was. He was an amazing kid and a true joy to teach. He loved coming to school and he always worked his hardest. He also knew when you were a little stressed and would say just the right thing to make you laugh.

I don't know what changed for Jesse between 4th grade and now. I hope he is in peace now and I hope his family finds a way to move forward and remember all the great things about him. He truly was special and I am so lucky to have had the chance to be his teacher. Rest in peace Jesse Farrelly- you will be missed.

Chocolate, Cheese, and the Library!

This weekend was pretty much a mash up of fun city things!

On Saturday JO and I hit up the Chocolate Festival in Harvard Square. In keeping with this winter, it was absolutely beautiful out. We completed the chocolate scavenger hunt. It was fun to put our Harvard Square knowledge to good use. I've never been in LA Burdick Chocolate Shop before, a crime for sure. It's so cute in there and it smells absolutely delicious. Since we were on the scavenger hunt we got a free chocolate penguin.

After the scavenger hunt we decided to have lunch at Wagamma. I love this place! Great noodles, great soup, great everything! Lately we've been sitting in the window seats which give you a great view of the busy street. We headed back to center of the square for the chocolate tasting but by the time we got there the line was huge! We learned our lesson and will definitely head to the tasting early next year.

It had been a while since we had been in the Square and it felt good to walk around and take in all the sights. We headed home to prepare for our annual cheese fest. Last year we barely managed to get Cheese Fest in between snow storms. This year was much less stressful. It's always fun to see good friends...and who doesn't love cheese and wine!

On Sunday I spent the day with a good friend. We headed to the Prudential Center to visit the Skywalk Observatory. Before riding the elevator up 50+ floors we decided to have lunch at Wagamma (twice in the same weekend...score me!) I absolutely love the view from the Skywalk. You get a complete 360 view of the city. My Boston geography keeps improving :-)

After the tour we decided to walk around and grab dessert. Our wanderings led us to the Boston Public Library. I had never been in the library before so we decided to take a look around. Breathtaking is the only way to describe this beautiful building. I'll definitely be going back!

We ended up at the Met Bar. I came here a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the upstairs lounge. Lucky for us there was a table free so we grabbed it. Despite the slow service, the desserts were delicious. I got spiced donuts with chocolate mousse. I'm not usually a donut person but these were delicious.

I love the fact that I can share my great city with great friends!

Out and About

The last few weekends have been filled with fun city outings, just the way I like them!

Last weekend we hit up Trina's Starlite Lounge...shocking huh? This place is becoming our go to restaurant in the neighborhood. We almost went there for a dinner earlier this week after seeing a picture of the blue plate special on Facebook. I love everything about this restaurant. I especially love that we've been going there so often that the waitstaff recognizes us and gives us the "neighborhood" treatment.

It snowed all day Saturday, which I wasn't too thrilled about. We did enjoy watching people slip and slide on the snowy sidewalk. Luckily, the snow didn't prevent our friend's birthday festivities that night. We started at Woodward at the Ames Hotel. My good friend and I started our "Day of Fun" last year by having lunch on the patio here. I do have a certain affinity for hotel bars so I was glad my friend decided to start the evening here. I would say it's a cross between the Last Hurrah and the Bar at 9 Zero. It was very quiet and relaxed, which I enjoyed. The decor was a bit too black, brown, and white for me but other than that no complaints. I loved the view out the windows. It's certainly a place to go back too. I was surprised at how few people were there, but maybe that had to do with the weather.

After drinks we headed over to Anthem in Faneuil Hall. We had gone here last summer for another friend's birthday and it had been a really fun evening so I was looking forward to a return trip. I love that this place has none of the "young, ridiculousness" of most Faneuil Hall destinations. The decor and lighting set the mood for a fun, sophisticated evening. I have to say I have two favorites here- the appetizers and the champagne cocktail. The appetizers are so amazing. The crab cake is out of this world. Even the arugala salad on that plate was mouthwatering. We also had the tacos and homemade chips and both were super! The champagne cocktail is probably my favorite in the city. I don't know what their secret.

Of course, when the evening was over I was lucky enough to just have to jump in a cab and head across the river. I am really so lucky to live in Cambridge, so close to so many things.

On Sunday we decided to meet up with friends at their apartment in Boston to watch the Patriots game (we're going to the Ship!) I was in what I call an "Erghhy!" mood. Between the snow and a nightmare trip to the grocery store I was just grumpy. We were debating about how to get to our friends' place since parking can be tough in their neighborhood. In the end we decided to walk there which didn't do much to change my mood, or so I thought. By the end of the game I was pretty happy and not just because of the outcome. I felt so liberated that I could walk into Boston, hang out with amazing friends that 5 years ago I didn't even know, and take in the great view from the Mass Ave. bridge.

I am truly lucky to live in Cambridge! And yes, you read that right! I am lucky!!! I consider it a privilege and I'm not about to waste it!

City Happenings

As usual, it's been pretty busy around here. I keep waiting for things to slow down, but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. That being said, we've managed to squeeze in some fun city outings.

We've been really lucky this year with the winter weather. Despite the current arctic freeze we're in most days have been really manageable. Last weekend was so warm, close to 60, that JO and I were able to go for a run to Kendall Square. It seems like every time we go to Kendall Square a new restaurant is opening up. In fact, earlier this year Boston Magazine said the best new Boston restaurants are actually in Kendall Square. I really want to try Catalyst, Kika Tapas, and Mead Hall.

After our run we headed over to Parlor Sports to watch the UConn vs. Notre Dame game. Parlor Sports is part of Trina's Starlite Lounge. Earlier this year they renovated the back half of their restaurant and turned it into a sports bar. Parlor Sports features some great menu items from Trina's (like the chili) along with their own bar food creations. When we showed up it was really crowded but they were nice enough to put the game on one of the tvs. We've been here a few times and we have really enjoyed ourselves each time. The bartenders are really friendly and were very sympathetic to us when my Huskies lost the game in overtime.

Friday night, despite the frigid temperatures, we met up with a few of our friends for a low key night out in Boston. We tried to get a table at Eastern Standard but it was way too crowded so we ended up walking all the way down Newbury Street. Lucky for me I had my "full puff" down jacket on so the walk was manageable. We ended up at Met Bar in their upstairs lounge area. We really had a good time. I loved how low key this lounge was. We could actually have a conversation...it must be my old age setting in but I love that it wasn't too loud.

Tis the Season

December is always a fun month in the city. This December started out with our friend's birthday outing. She always picks such fun places to try out. This year she picked Kingston Station and Stoddard's. I really enjoyed both places and it was a really fun night in the city.

Last weekend we walked down the street and picked up our Christmas tree at Ricky's Flower mart in Union Square. This has become an annual tradition for us. It's so convenient to be able to walk home with your tree and not deal with having to secure it to the roof of your car. Thanks to three strands of LED lights our tree is glowing and certainly visible on the street.

In fact, after we put the lights on we wanted to make sure you could really see it from the street so we ran outside. While staring at our tree we noticed a film crew outside of All-Star Sandwich Bar and went to investigate. Sure enough, Chad Ochocinco was hanging out with a restaurant full of his friends. Just another celebrity to check out our neighborhood.

This past weekend we decided to go out and enjoy the holiday season in the city. Our first stop was It's a Wonderful Life at the Brattle Theater. I absolutely love this movie and always tear up at the end. It's become one of our holiday traditions and I always look forward to it. After the movie, we headed over to dinner at NuBar at the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Harvard Square. The hotel looks so beautiful with all of the white lights. We had eaten at NuBar once before when we had our wedding tasting but we hadn't had anything from their actual menu so we were looking forward to checking it out. The appetizers are outstanding. I had the serrano ham with arugula salad. The dressing on the salad was the perfect match for the peppery arugula. JO got the squid and really enjoyed it. I got the clam roast for dinner and it certainly lived up to the billing. It was featured on Chronicle a while back. The clams had some really deep flavor and I loved the roasted tomatoes and bacon paired with them. Dessert was also delicious.

We spent a few minutes hanging out in the lobby admiring the Christmas tree and remembering different things from our wedding day. One of the reasons we picked the Sheraton Commander for wedding was that we wanted a place we could go back to and reminisce about the day.

Despite the frigid weather, we headed into Boston after dinner. We wanted to check out the holiday decorations at the Omni Parker and stop by The Last Hurrah, one of my favorite places in the city. We took some time to admire the tree in the lobby before grabbing a drink. I will never grow tired of this place. I love the old charm and the quiet atmosphere. I also love that you can get really dressed up, or be totally casual.

It was a perfect city night and just what I needed heading into the last week of school before the vacation.