Parlor Sports for the Win

I know, I know, I blog about Parlor Sports all the time but they deserve it!  It's the "Cheers" of Inman Square and we love it.  Why do we love it so much?

*When they see us coming they have the tv set to UConn and show up at our table with our favorite beers and let us know our nacho order is already in.

*When we took my dad they gave him the royal treatment.

*They let me ring the bell when UConn regained the #1 ranking.

*They turned the Bachelor (a show I don't even watch but want to now) into a sporting event.

*They actually know a thing or two about the UConn women's basketball team.

*They gave us that autographed Geno Auriemma bottle of wine last year.

*The Thursday of March Madness at Parlor Sports.

The Thursday of March Madness is a magical day.  Everyone feels optimistic about their brackets and then the upsets and buzzer beaters start.  I've been saving my personal day for this great day for the last several years and for the last four years I've been spending the day at Parlor Sports.  This year we were the first ones there and got great seats at the bar.  The owner happened to be seating near us and he was talking Huskies with me!  I love that he comes to the bar to enjoy March Madness!  We were there for the Georgia State game and when they pulled off their upset win at the buzzer I happily shouted out "I picked it!"  It was so much fun.  On the way out our favorite bartender and the owner told us to to have fun at the Husky game and that they were rooting for us!  It was awesome!  They really do treat their regulars well.

Craicfest- 5K

Since injuring my back in December I haven't been able to do much of any physical activity.  No climbing and no running.  Over February vacation I got cleared to start running again.  I started with 5 minutes on the treadmill, then 7 minutes, and then 10 minutes.  The Craicfest 5k was only two weeks away and I wasn't sure I would be ready.  Making it worse, I got a cold and wasn't able to run for an entire week.

With just a few days before the race I was able to get myself up to 20 minutes on the treadmill.  It was a killer but after not being able to do anything for several months if felt so good to be back at the gym.  I actually enjoyed it and the back pain was very minimal.

We lucked out with the weather for the race.  It was mild and the predicted snow showers held off.  This race usually runs in the park under the Zakim Bridge but do the Snowpocolypse they changed the course to the Freedom Run version that goes through Inman Square.  It's one of my favorite courses because I know it inside and out so pacing is not a problem at all.  Plus, I love running down Cambridge Street in my own neighborhood.  This race also starts at the mall which is great because you can stay inside until just before the race starts.

I ended up running the race in 30 minutes and 23 seconds.  I couldn't believe it!  We celebrate at the post race party that had been moved inside the parking garage.  It was actually really cool.  They had painted some of the walls with Craicfest graffiti and the dj was awesome.  We had a blast enjoying the after party with our friends.

Pax East

JO's version of my March Madness is the gaming convention known as PaxEast.  He lives for this annual convention held at the Boston Expo Center.  The excitement starts in early winter when he starts keeping a watchful eye on Twitter for the ticket release time.  The convention is so popular that they don't set a date for ticket release, instead they just mention that tickets will go on sale in a few hours via Twitter.  Then the week of the convention he does things like goes to a Pax Pig Roast and a pre-Pax day of gaming.

This year's event was on my birthday and there was no way I would tell JO he couldn't go, so I spent my birthday at Pax.  It was really an awesome way to spend a birthday.  You are surrounded by all of these people who are in their glory and video games remind you of your younger days!   JO even organized a surprise birthday lunch at Legal's with our friends who were also attending the event.

The Brattle's Oscars Party

I got JO a Brattle Theater membership for his birthday.  We go to the theater a lot, and have resolved to go more.  A perk of being a member is that you get to go to their annual Oscars Party.

I have to say, the Brattle did a great job with this event.  The theater was decorated with white lights, lanterns, and tulle.  There were appetizers, a bar in the theater, and of course the telecast on the big screen.  A lot of people got really dressed up.  I couldn't find anything that matched my snow boots, but maybe next year :-)

I wish I had watched more of the movies that were up for awards this year because everyone seemed to have favorites, and the cheering was quite loud at times.  It was a really fun way to watch the Oscars.

Happy Birthday JO

JO's birthday was on a Tuesday this year, during a rather busy stretch of time for us, so we weren't planning any kind of celebration but then one of his friends suggested we go out for dinner and drinks.  We couldn't say no.

We met at John Harvard's in the Square.  It had been a while since we had been here and it was a nice change of pace.  This place holds a special place in our hearts, since we had our first date here and our rehearsal dinner here.  It was fun to go out on a work night right after vacation.  The food never disappoints here.  We had fun catching up on how we were all dealing with the snow.

After dinner, we decided to continue the evening at Nubar.  At this point we joked that it was our "wedding bar crawl" since we got married here.  Nubar is a fantastic bar for hanging out with friends.  It's never loud, you can usually always find a spot, and they have a fireplace to enjoy on a really cold night.  We reveled in all the snow removal going on outside the window.

I'm so glad our friend suggested going out.  It would have been easy to stay at home and relax, but a city night, especially at some of our favorite places, was perfect.