Superhero 5k

The third race in our fall/winter 5K series was the Superhero 5K!  I was feeling really good heading into the race, and it's my favorite course of all the races we will run.  It was a cool morning, making it perfect running weather.  We lined up for the race closer to the front of the pack than we usually do and I found myself keeping up with the runners around me.  By mile 1 I could tell I was running fast, and before I knew it I had made the loop and was headed back towards the finish line.  I felt really good, and pretty fast, so when I rounded the final corner and saw the clock said 29:10 I kicked into overdrive.  I ended up crossing the line at 29:15, my best time ever.  I had a blast celebrating!

Inman Fail? We think not!

After spending Saturday bundled in lots of layers JO really wanted to go out to eat.  I was feeling really blah after having spent a few hundred dollars on car repairs, the whole no heat thing, and the fact that I hadn't showered all day.  I was pretty adamant about not wanting to go out in the rain and wind, figuring I would just get colder. 

It took some major convincing by JO, but we decided to head out to City Girl.  Since that's a short walk from our house I donned my raincoat and grabbed my umbrella, choosing to leave the gloves and scarf at home.  We arrived at City Girl to find most of our neighborhood was already there.  Since they have no waiting area we decided to go to The Druid, but we both knew that since it was 7:30 pm on a Saturday night it wasn't going to happen.  The Druid was extremely full, and we found ourselves standing in the freezing rain trying to plan our next move.

Parlor Sports was out because of the big college football games going on, we had been to Trina's the night before, and Ginger Exchange just seemed lame.  We were about to call it quits when JO suggested Casa de Portugal.  We headed over there and got the last table.

As usual, the service and the food were perfect.  We watched the rain fall out the big windows in the front of the restaurant and enjoyed the blasting heat.  Although I felt kind of grubby I knew it didn't matter.  Casa de Portugal is the kind of place you can go all dressed up or all dressed down.  With happy bellies we headed home to get ready for a cold night!  I'm so glad we didn't waste a night in Inman.  

Snow in November and No Heat

It's been a horrible weather weekend here in Cambridge.  We got pummeled by a Nor'easter with high winds, lots of rain, and even some wet snow.  We all know how I feel about snow so this was not acceptable at all.  I figured it would be a good weekend for some housework and lots of school work.

We had tried to turn the heat on on Thursday night but it never kicked on and we were too busy with the pumpkins to do anything about it.  Friday night the heat was still not working but we went out to Inmanween so we didn't really realize.

That changed on Saturday morning when we tried to crank the heat, to fend off the cold weather.  Even with the thermostat on 90+ degrees nothing seemed to happen.  JO went exploring in the basement and it sounds like the boiler is working but we aren't getting any heat.  I'm wondering if our neighbors downstairs are experiencing the same thing since we don't seem to be enjoying any of their heat escaping upstairs.

It's been real cold and we've taken to a couple of different strategies to stay warm:

Hats and three pairs of pants










Warming ourselves by the "fire"










Piling up the clothes fresh out of the dryer on top of us.

Hopefully the heat will be fixed tomorrow.  Until then, the kittens will have to keep snuggling.

Out and About

We're approaching our six year Inmanversary and with every passing day we are securing our spot as Inmanites.  Recently I've run into my two favorite bartenders from Parlor Sports, one at the Whole Foods and one at the mall.  Both encounters made me feel this special Inman Square family feeling.  Both bartenders reiterated that any time I come in they will put the Husky game on the tv for me.  I got to tell them all about UConn's First Night and they reminded me that no one can discount UConn after last year's magical run.  

We are really lucky to live in a neighborhood where people really do know your name!

Inmanween

One of the things I love about our neighborhood are the events that the Business Association put on.  The ISBA is responsible for events like Inmanween, Shop Inman by Moonlight, the Inman Hoedown, Inman Fun, and Inman Movie Night.

JO and I were the two time defending Inmanween Pumpkin Carving Champs heading into this year's event.  On Tuesday we walked down to Ricky's Flower Mart to select our pumpkins

Love this place

and on Thursday we carved our pumpkins under the tutelage of my father, master pumpkin carver (although he refused to help scoop out the guts insisting he was supervising only.)

There may have been some power tools involved.

Four hours later the pumpkins were complete.

Bowser- My entry

Luigi- JO's entry

Friday night we headed over to the plaza to enter our pumpkins but upon seeing our competition it was pretty clear we would be relinquishing our title (which we were ok with...I mean the dragon pumpkin kicked butt!)

Truly stunning work

After the judging we headed over to Trina's for cocktails before meeting up with our friend for dinner.  We had a great time catching up and enjoying all things Inman Square.

We walked home past all of the decorations.  I really do love our neighborhood and thanks to our 2nd and 3rd place finishes we have gift cards to enjoy local businesses and our pumpkins ended up in the window of Boutique Fabulous!

Noir- Drinks, Dinner, and a Movie

One of my favorite movies of all time is Double Indemnity.  So when I found out it was playing at the Brattle Theater I knew we had to go.  A friend of ours heard about our plans and joked that we should go for dinner and drinks at Noir Bar at the Charles Hotel before the movie.  I loved the idea and went with it.

JO and I met up at Noir, grabbed a table, and settled in for a lovely dinner.  Noir has an extensive cocktail list and we each enjoyed the drinks we ordered.  I was surprised that the place was so empty, but it was only 5:30.  They have film noirs projected on the wall in the corner.  For a place known primarily for just it's cocktails they have a lot of food options.  We decided to get a couple of small plates and a flatbread.  We tried the meatball which was covered  in a spicy marinara sauce and was pretty good.  We also got the arugula salad which was pretty good.  We both kind of wanted to stay but the movie was starting so we headed over to the Brattle vowing to return to Noir in the near future.  It's definitely a place we don't go to enough.

Charles River Regatta and Roof Decks

I love the Charles River Regatta.  I look forward to it every year.  It reminds me of why I moved to the city.  It was the first date JO and I went on where we held hands and really felt like a couple. We've lucked out with the weather the past few years and this year didn't disappoint.

We went on Sunday and it was the first real fall day we had had in a while.  It was in the high 50s so it wasn't too cold but it definitely felt like fall.  The sun sparkled off the river and everyone seemed happy.  We stopped by the Boston 2024 booth to show our support for bringing the Olympics to Boston.  I think it would be amazing if the Games came to Boston!

We sat along the river, eating clam chowder in a bread bowl, and watched the races for a while before heading into Harvard Square to walk around.

The sun was out, and as we passed Daedalus, we couldn't resist one last visit to the roof deck this season.  They changed the tables on the roof decks this year to include a drinks only section.  We toasted to a successful fall!

There are so many things to love about Cambridge and days like this one remind me of how lucky I am to live here!

One Last Warm Night

Well today, as I write this, I'm watching snow fall outside my window and wicked winds whip through the trees removing the last signs of fall foliage from the trees that line our street.  Just two weeks ago we had a beautifully warm evening and JO and I decided we needed to go back to the Belly Bar for one last night on the patio before the weather changed for good.  We finally enjoyed this patio over Labor Day and we thought we wouldn't be able to enjoy it again until next spring, but we lucked out with one last patio night.

We were a little nervous that the patio would be full, seeing as we couldn't be the only ones who realized this was probably the last outdoor dining night of the year.  We were pretty shocked to arrive and find no one on the patio.  We ordered inside and took our drinks outside.  I laughed when I thought back to Labor Day weekend and how I had to wear a jacket and how on this night I didn't need my coat.  I can't say enough for this place.  The wines are great, the 2 oz. pours let you sample a lot of varieties, and the meats and cheeses are yummy!  We spent the last patio night thinking about all the great things we had to look forward to this winter, because that's how New Englanders have to deal with the impending winter months.  Who knew winter would arrive so quickly!

UConn- Basketball Capital of the World

Last March Madness was epic for me, since I'm a die hard UConn fan.  UConn took home the title for both the women's and men's championships.  It was a crazy month of not sleeping, wearing Husky gear every day, and lots of screaming (I mean cheering.)

On October 17th it was time to celebrate with UConn's First Night extravaganza!  First Night is always a lot of fun, but this year it was incredible.  They brought out all 13 National Championship trophies, each brought out by a different UConn legend including Ray Allen and Sue Bird (one of my all time favorites!!!)  Both championship banners were unveiled and there was a coed scrimmage.  At the end of the night confetti rained down like it did at the end of the championship games and I got to walk across the court.  It was such an amazing night!

One of my favorite things about the UConn campus

What's hiding behind that brown paper?

Ray Allen comes home

Sue Bird and Rebecca Lobo

13 National Trophies- let's add some more this year :-)

Men's Banners

So Ray Allen took shooting practice

Amazing!  Ray Allen coaching KML

Confetti time

Wow!  Women's Banners

I really can't believe this happened!

Harvard Square's Oktoberfest

Twice a year, Harvard Square puts on a big, outdoor festival- May Fair and Oktoberfest.  Oktoberfest is one of my favorite fall events of the year.  I love that it's on the Columbus Day long weekend, since I always feel ready to enjoy the day with the extra day off to prep for school.  

This year, the weather was perfect.  High 60s and lots of sunshine.  It definitely felt like fall, but it was so nice out that you could walk around for hours.  Our first stop was lunch at the Beat Hotel.  I had heard they were turning the space into a German Biergarten so I was excited to check it out.  The German band was great and definitely put us in the Oktoberfest mood!

After lunch we wandered around listening to the Honk bands and checking out all of the vendors.

We ended the day with drinks at the Legal's Outdoor Patio because we figured there weren't too many more chances to drink outside this year.

Casa de Portugal

A few Fridays ago I was totally beat.  It had been a rough week at school, and I had stayed in my classroom until almost 6:00 in an attempt to feel like I wasn't drowning.  JO had plans to go to a game night later in the evening so I figured I would be on my own for dinner.  I really needed a little city outing to get my mojo back, but I figured I would have to wait until Saturday.  But in true JO fashion, he was able to squeeze in a trip to Casa de Portugal before leaving for his game night.

Casa de Portugal is one of those things that makes Inman Square so great.  It's a family owned and run restaurant.  It's cozy and it makes you feel like you are somewhere in the North End, without having to leave your neighborhood.  The waitstaff always greets us with a warm welcome and the food is always yummy!  I decided to try a different meal this time, I always get the chicken with mushrooms, and it didn't disappoint.  The steak with mustard and wine sauce was so tasty, and came with the delicious Portuguese potatoes that are a staple here.  I felt so much better after dinner, and ready to enjoy the long weekend!

Sometimes you just need to be in your neighborhood to feel alive!

Oktoberfest 5K and Smoke This Rib Fest

 Some days are filled with so much fun city time that it almost doesn't seem fair :-)

A few Sundays ago we ran the Cambridge 5K Oktoberfest.  The race was great and the weather was perfect.  It started in Kendall Square, down Broadway near Harvard Square and back up Harvard Street to Kendall.  The course was a fast one, although it was a bit crowded towards the end.  After the race there was a big block party in the park next to Catalyst and Area IV.  I cut my time by over two minutes from the last race so I was pretty pleased.






After the race we headed home to get ready for the East Cambridge Smoke This Rib Festival.  This is a great even put on by the East Cambridge Business Association.  They close down a huge portion of Cambridge Street, tons of local restaurants cook up delicious ribs, and there is live music.  We had a great time tasting all of the ribs and trying to figure out which one we would vote for.  Our favorite was East by Northeast.  My friend and I had to stop after our 8th rib, but JO and his dad sampled all ten.  It really was a fun way to enjoy a fall day!

Cuteness Overload

For a while now, JO and I have been talking about getting a pet.  Since JO wants nothing to do with walking, and cleaning up after, a dog we settled on getting a kitten.  We were on the lookout for a gray kitten, with white paws, to adopt.  Well, we ended up finding two gray kittens with white paws.

Meet

Denali (or as we have nicknamed him- Fat Cat Tubber Cat)

and Rainier

So far the kittens are adjusting well.  I love how playful they are, especially when they are having "rumble" time.  JO even had an excuse to buy a jigsaw, which for some reason he has really been wanting, so that he could install a pet door in the extra bathroom.  JO also has had fun building box structures for the kittens.