Union Square Donuts

 JO has been waiting forever for a Saturday morning that started with Union Square Donuts.  We made sure to check that off the list as soon as possible, because really, isn't this the reason to live in Union Square!

Neighborhood Living- Barra and Celeste

 Oh my goodness, how I have missed neighborhood living.  For 265 days we lived in the Fresh Pond area where there's a ton of apartments and barely any local shops and restaurants that you can walk to.  We actually only had one restaurant we could walk to (it was a Gran Gusto and it was quite good.) There were no coffee shops around, no local shops to visit, and it was really taking a toll on me.  The first week we lived in our new place, we made it a point to get out and enjoy walking around a neighborhood again.  

We checked out Barra, a small Mexican place on Bow Street.  I'm not sure how this place operates in the winter.  I think they have like five or six tables inside but they do have a small heated patio in the back and a small patio in the front.  The cocktail menu is super impressive and all the food we tried was delicious.  We sat on the patio kind of in awe of being in a neighborhood again.  It was such a nice feeling to be able to walk somewhere and enjoy neighborhood life again. I'll definitely come back here, although I felt like the portions were a bit small for the price.  The waitstaff was amazing and when we told them we were new to the neighborhood they gave us a tour of their interior and exterior seating options, even though they had a lot of customers to deal with.

After Barra, we walked up to the Prospect Tower to take in the views.  We could feel our city selves coming back and it felt great!

Later that week, we went to Celeste for dinner.  We've only heard amazing things about this place and I was definitely excited to try it out.  It's a Peruvian restaurant that specializes in a small menu and lots of pisco cocktails.  I was absolutely blown away by our experience here.  Again, this is a super small space so I'm not sure how it was functioning even before a pandemic but with the added (unheated) patio, there's ample seating.  The service is phenomenal.  We both got the pisco cocktails which was a bit of an adventure for me because it had egg whites in it.  (Ummm- I've been missing out because those were delicious!) We started with an arugula salad and it met my high standards for a salad- fresh, perfectly dressed, with just the right accouterments.  JO got the seafood risotto (he said it was quite good but lacked vegetables) and I got the Peruvian shrimp scampi, which I would say was one of the best meals I have ever had.  The dessert was a little lackluster but overall I can't believe this amazing restaurant is only a three minute walk from our new place.  

We Went Back to Club Passim

 Back in the end of August, Club Passim announced that they were moving towards a vaccine only policy.  That was a game changer for us.  Club Passim is small, you sit very close to the other people, and there aren't windows that can stay open during the shows.  As soon as they announced this policy, I bought tickets for Mark Erelli's show in October. 

The Mark Erelli show ended up being in the middle of our moving weekend and we thought about skipping it.  I'm so glad we didn't.  It was amazing to be back at Club Passim.  (Not going to lie, it was a bit nerve wracking being in such close proximity to everyone but most of the time we were masked and everyone was vaxxed and being able to see live music again made everything ok.)

Mark put on an amazing show.  He was definitely enjoying being back at Club Passim.  He released a new album during the pandemic and never got to do a real album release show.  This show was basically his album release show, a year and half after the fact.  Mark always puts on a good show but this was a different level.  It felt so great to be able to do something we did before the pandemic.  

Moving

 I'm not a fan of moving.  JO on the other hand, says he loves moving and that it's easy.  You can move in one day.  Easy, no problem.  Guess what?  Moving is hard and it takes a long time and the dolly isn't always as secure as you say it is 🤣

and the Ikea cubes aren't as under control as you think they are.

We took a weekend in the middle of October to move into our new place.  It had been 265 days since we moved into our tiny rental that we moved into thinking we would only be there for a few weeks, maybe six weeks at the most.  For 265 days, most of our stuff was in storage.  Moving was like Christmas morning for me.  I had my books back and my clothes back and all my kitchen stuff again.  

I love my new closet, by the way.  

And my bathroom that I don't have to share with my cats.

At one point I went back to the apartment to pack up more stuff and I had forgotten the dolly.  I improvised with the Whole Foods shopping cart that the building has in the garage.  It was a great way to transport a bottle of gin and crock pot!

After a really long weekend, it was nice to be able to enjoy our patio, which was really the main reason we gutted things out through the craziness.  

We still have some house drama, because this is the house that keeps on giving, but that's ok.  We're surviving and I have a lot more clothing options now 🤣

October- What a Blur

 October was a blur.  We moved into our new condo,  ten months after our original closing date.  I hate moving.  I hate boxes and having things not in the spots they belong in.  I hate changing my address everywhere and I certainly hate doing all of these things during the school year.  (And I really hate doing these things during the hardest month of teaching during the pandemic.  Ask any teacher.  October was rough.) But we did it.  We moved in the middle of October and have been unpacking and catching up ever since.

Right before the move I was feeling super stressed.  I texted JO at lunch time and told him we needed to be on a patio that night.  He understood the assignment and got us a table at Colette.  I know I've raved about this place a lot and I'm going to do it again.  Colette is amazing.  From the decor inside to the beautiful patio outside, the wine list, and the food, everything is perfect. 

It was the perfect cure to moving stress.  

Anniversary Weekend and Chasing Magic

 We had so much fun celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this past weekend.  This is my favorite picture from our wedding weekend and it always makes me smile when we walk past this mural in the square.

We started our festivities at the Kendall Hotel, where we got engaged and stayed for our wedding.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize their restaurant is still not open.  We usually get a drink there and we were pretty disappointed but we turned our frowns upside down by stopping in Catalyst for drinks by their fireplace.  It was really fun to be inside a restaurant again.  (We decided to sit inside because it was fairly empty and we were spaced pretty far apart from other people.)

After Catalyst we headed over to the Commander, where we got married, for a staycation!  It was so fun to not be in our living room!

We had dinner and desert on the beautiful patio at the Commander's restaurant, NuBar.  This is a really fantastic patio- safe, pretty, and special!  Plus, the food and drinks are always great!

After dinner we headed out to walk around the square and over by the river.  It was so nice to be out and about in the city again.  I've really missed doing things like this.  While we were walking around we saw an ad for the first live show at the A.R.T. theater in their return.  I was so inspired, and the ART has a vax and mask policy, that I scooped up two tickets for Sunday. 

The next day, we headed into the Seaport to go to the ICA.  We thought we had tickets to a special exhibit but we were wrong.  Oh well.  It was still really fun being in a museum again and being down in the Seaport on such a beautiful day.  

We found a new restaurant we need to try.

Since the weather was so nice, we stopped by the Paris Creperie in the Seaport for drinks and a snack.  I love this spot. It has a real French bistro feel with the round tables and how it's tucked away in a pedestrian way.  They had a fun cocktail menu and the crepe was pretty good.

On Sunday night we headed over to the A.R.T. to see Chasing Magic, a dance show featuring tap dancing.  The minute we walked into the theater I was overwhelmed with emotions.  I have so missed the arts these last 18+ months.  I dealt with almost everything else pretty well but not seeing theater and dance and art really was tough for me.  This show was mesmerizing.  This was the perfect show to see as a return to theater because it had dance and music and sound all in one.  The A.R.T. is a small theater and it made the whole experience even more exhilarating.  

After the show we decided to extend the evening by getting a drink at Longfellow's.  The bar wasn't crowded so we felt like it was ok.  The cocktails here are so good and I'm so glad it survived.  It almost felt like we were living our old life.  It felt great to be City Vicky again!

Life is a Blur but I Managed to have Brunch at Harvest

 The last three weeks have been a blur.  I always forget how overwhelming the first few weeks of school are.  It's like having 1,000 tabs open on your computer and going back and forth between them all at the same time.  

Thankfully I had a brunch/lunch date to look forward to with a good friend.  Normally I'm the one that picks the restaurant but I didn't have the mental capacity so she took over and booked us a table at Harvest in Harvard Square.  It was so nice to get a bit dressed up and head into the Square again.  I loved seeing people out and about.  It's been so long since the Square felt alive and it was really invigorating for me.

If you are looking for a patio then look no further than Harvest.  I love how both interior walls of the restaurant open onto the courtyard patio.  Everything feels so light and airy.  We were able to sit on the patio and it was beautifully shaded by a lovely pergola.  They pack a lot of people into their patio but I never felt too crowded.  It was a great time catching up with my friend and the perfect setting for some city living!

Harvest has a great brunch menu.  It's not a huge menu but it has some great variety and everything is delicious.  And they have a grand mimosa that is out of this world!  We ended the meal with some mock mojitos and they were also delicious!

I'm very much looking forward to that magical moment in the school year when things start clicking and I settle into a routine so I can get back to city living!