Campfires in the Square

Last night the weather continued to cooperate. We headed into the Square for the annual tree lighting at the Charles Hotel. Most years we are freezing and sipping hot chocolate to keep us warm. Not this year! The trees looked beautiful and once again the jazz playing santas provided great music.


It was so beautiful out that we decided to take advantage of being able to dine outside at the end of November so we grabbed a table at Charlie's Kitchen Beer Garden. Early on we didn't need our jackets. It felt surreal to be outside this late in the year and not be freezing. As the evening progressed it got a bit colder but lucky for us our table was right next to the wood burning stove. A few of our friends joined us and the evening was a lot of fun.

Global Warming...or the Best Thanksgiving Break Ever!

Remember a few weeks ago when it snowed in October? Well, in true New England fashion it was gorgeously sunny and in the mid 60s yesterday and today. Seriously! I'm not kidding!

In what has become an annual tradition I headed into Harvard Square on Plaid Friday (small business post Thanksgiving shopping day) to do some holiday shopping. It's such a great alternative to mall shopping since it's not usually crowded and there are some really unique stores. Usually though I have to bundle up. Not this year! It was an absolutely glorious day to be in the Square. JO joined me for the walk and we grabbed lunch at an Indian restaurant overlooking Winthrop Park and JFK Street. I ended up staying in the Square for a while longer after JO left because I just couldn't believe how beautiful it was out. I got most of my holiday shopping done. We ended up heading back to the Square to go see Hugo and have dinner at Wagamamma.

This morning I headed out early to run some errands. It was so gorgeous out that I was inspired to do some urban hiking. I headed through Kendall Square to the Salt and Pepper Bridge. The view is so amazing from that corner of Cambridge. You get this full panoramic view of the Boston skyline. I love watching the airplanes as the take off over the skyscrapers. I sat on a bench and just soaked up the sun and views. I am so lucky to live where I live! This spectacular spot is just a 25 minute walk from my apartment. I regret that I haven't taken this walk more often in the past three years. That's certainly going to change.

Tonight it's off to Harvard Square again for the tree lighting at the Charles Hotel. It's still beautiful out... this is what Christmas in California must feel like. I'm hoping to take advantage of the nice weather with one more outdoor dining experience before the weather becomes more wintery.

Boston Music Awards

A few weeks ago, during a particularly rough day at school, I decided to eat lunch in my classroom. I almost never do this because I usually need a break from the room. On this day though my brain was on overload and I wanted to take a few minutes to check my email on my phone. The email I got from JO asking me if I wanted to go to the Boston Music Awards at the Liberty Hotel was exactly the energy boost I needed. Of course I said yes. I absolutely love the Liberty Hotel as evidenced here, here, and here.

In one of my posts from last spring I talked about how great it is to have something to look forward to on a Sunday night. It really extends the weekend and you're not so focused on the week ahead. That's exactly how I felt on Sunday night as we headed to the hotel for the awards. We really had no idea what to expect from the event but we were excited to get dressed up and hang out at the hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel we were greeted with a red carpet and a press area for the artists to have their official pictures taken. We headed upstairs to study the schedule of performances. The way the show was set up was to have performances going on in several different rooms in the hotel leading up to the awards which are announced in the five story open lobby. We were a bit early so we passed the time by people watching and enjoying a drink from Clink.

JO was really looking forward to seeing Freezepop. They were performing in the ballroom and we were able to get a spot right next to the stage. After their set we checked out Viva Viva. Both bands were really good. On our way upstairs we stopped to watch some epic bartending. Seriously, the bartender looked like she had been put on fast forward. We checked out the Wandas before listening to the awards announcements.




The neat thing about the awards announcements is that the artists are floating all over the hotel. We happened to be standing next to one of the winners when her name was announced so we got to enjoy the celebration.


Drop Kick Murphy's accepting their award!

We had such a great time we're already planning our return next year. We definitely want to stay longer. After the awards there a bunch more performances. We couldn't stay this year because we were exhausted from hosting Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun to get all dressed up and mingle with some of Boston's best local musicians. Plus, we loved getting to tour the hotel!

Thanksgiving Fest

Thanksgiving Fest is one of my favorite fests that we host for our friends. This is our third year hosting our Thanksgiving Fest at this apartment and we definitely have it down to a fine science. This year our final count rang in at 21 +3... 21 adults and 3 babies! We managed to fit everyone around one long table in our kitchen.



We also unveiled our new steamer trunk wine chest. This piece of furniture will come in handy if we have to move and we no longer have 20 kitchen cabinets. I enjoyed how the neighborhood Rif Raf didn't think JO and Ernie could move it into our apartment.



The evening was a huge success. It's so nice that this group of friends have a few annual events each year to bring everyone together and I love that our kitchen is big enough to have everyone sit at the same table.

Out and About

The last few weeks have certainly been busy. I really thought that after the wedding I would have all of this free time. That really hasn't happened. Despite this, we've still managed to get out and enjoy the city.

We went to Daedalus and NuBar for the perfect little Harvard Square outing. Daedalus has added some new items to their menu, including my personal favorite fried artichoke hearts. I also discovered that NuBar has an excellent prosecco, complete with a raspberry. I'm so glad we changed our wedding venue to the Sheraton Commander. This way we always have a place to go back to when we want to reminisce. I really enjoy the atmosphere in NuBar and am looking forward to dinner there soon.

I met up with my blog inspiring friend for dinner at the Rattlesnake on Boylston Street. We got detained by the transit police...but that's pretty normal for our nights out.

I had a lovely night out with great friends at Ruth Chris Steakhouse and the Last Hurrah. Although I'm not really into steak houses Ruth Chris was really fun and I love the entrance.

I have come to realize that I have not tired of city life in any way. I feel so happy in the morning walking to my car. I look around and still can't believe this is my life!

Snowtober

It's October 30th and I'm sitting in my living room watching people clean off their cars and shovel the sidewalks after the Snowtober storm.

We started hearing about a possible snowstorm on Wednesday but I didn't think much of it. After all, it's October. I figured any snow we got would be of the "pretty" variety and not the "real" variety. I stopped listening to the weather on Thursday when their special weather map had predictions of up to 10 inches for some part of Massachusetts. After last year's winter of Snowpocolypse 1, 2, 3, and even more I really can't stand snow. I'm not alone. My fourth graders were not at all excited about the impending storm. That has to say something. I think they are still scarred from last year's six snow days.

That being said, I still didn't think the snow would be that bad. If you remember from my last post, I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I was hoping some city fun would change that. The weekend started off great. Chris van Allsburg, author of great books like Polar Express and Jumanji, was talking about the new book The Chronicles Of Harris Burdick based on his book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. The talk was at one of my favorite Harvard Square places, The Brattle Theater. A few of my friends from work joined me and a couple of us went for dinner afterward. It was a really fun way to start the weekend and I loved the fact that if I lived back in the woods I would never have been able to go to something like this. Before the talk I stopped by EMS to check out their winter coat sale. I got a kick out of how crazy it was in there. People were ripping gloves, scarves, hats, boots, and jackets off the shelves like we were expecting a blizzard.

Saturday morning we got up early determined to carve a great pumpkin for the Inmanween pumpkin contest. We were really excited with our entry, even if we used a kit.


Unfortunately, by 4:00 it was clear the event would be canceled due to the ridiculous weather unfolding in our area. I was really disappointed since I love the neighborhood events thrown by the Inman Square Business Association. I burrowed under several blankets on the couch ready to succumb to Mother Nature.

Luckily, JO suggested we go to Top of the Hub to watch the snow fall down on the city. This was something we wanted to do last winter but last winter was just too ridiculous it made it really hard to embrace the snow. I threw on the Pufferator (my full length down jacket) and we headed out. Although it was foggy we really enjoyed ourselves. It was relatively empty so we had no problem finding seats at the bar. It was nice to turn the tables on Mother Nature for change and get my "City Mojo" back.

We woke up today to find out half the state doesn't have power and New Hampshire got close to two feet of snow. I'm really hoping this is not a sign of things to happen.

Stuck in the City

Eventually I will get back to that last day in Yellowstone. I mean...it involved Old Faithful after all.

The last few weeks have been crazy. In addition to all of the normal school crazies I got married and my best friend was in town for two weeks. I spent the next week catching up on some much needed sleep. Now that I am no longer sleep deprived it's time to get back to the city living lifestyle I love. Unfortunately I don't have much free time to work with since I'm pretty sure planning a wedding was far easier than trying to get 19 kids to pass MCAS. Throw in the holidays and I think I have one free weekend between now and January 15th. I think the stress of school and all of these meetings is really starting to mess with my city mojo. We went to the Regatta this weekend and it wasn't really fun at all.

So this weekend I am reclaiming my love for the city with Inmanween and The Great Pumpkin Festival at the CBC this weekend. I hear snow is in the forecast. It better stay away so I can enjoy these two fun Cambridge outings.