Ignite Fest

 In the fall, it seems like there is a festival of some sort every weekend in my neighborhood, and I'm here for it.  The last weekend in September found us venturing out to check out the Ignite Fest.  This "fest" celebrates the diverse food of Union Square and brings in "light" art to complement the food.  

For most of August, I wasn't feeling much like City Vicky.  I was definitely out of sorts.  I missed Cambridge.  It was so hot.  The trains weren't really running so I felt a bit trapped.  Then school started and my funk just turned into feeling overwhelmed about school.  Ignite Fest changed that for me.  I think it's the day I fell in love with my new neighborhood.

We walked down to the plaza, not knowing what to expect.  We figured it would be a small thing and we would be back home after a short visit.  We ended up staying for three hours.  Many of the local restaurants had food tents.  There were flamenco dancers and fire performers.  There were circus arts performers.  The "light" art scattered around the neighborhood was really fun to check out.

My favorite part was the "neighborhood" dance party complete with dj to close out the night.  

On our walk home I realized that my city meter was once again filling up!

Reminiscing at The Commander

 We continued our anniversary weekend with dinner at Nubar at The Commander.  It was a special night and we really enjoyed remembering how great our wedding was.  

Toscano's

 The end of September is always a special time for us.  It's our anniversary time and we always make time to enjoy some quality time in Harvard Square.  We decided to kick off romance weekend with dinner at Toscano's. 

I can't remember the last time I ate inside Toscano's.  We were seated in the dining room area which was perfect.  I love all the carved wood and statement lighting.  You can't go wrong with anything on the menu and I really think this is one of the best priced restaurants in the city.  

Plus any night that ends with an espresso martini is a good night in my books!

Juliet Reopens and The Neighborhood

I had a random day of in September and I took full advantage of the chance to enjoy the day in the neighborhood.  Speaking of the neighborhood, JO and I finally had brunch at The Neighborhood!  (see what I did there :-).  This place is always packed and I can understand why.  And who can say no to a $5 mimosa. 

Juliet recently reopened in their new space in our neighborhood.  JO and I were excited to check out the new space and one rainy night in September we headed over and grabbed two seats at the bar.  The new space is a lot bigger than their old space but it hasn't changed the coziness quotient at all. We each picked a wine and enjoyed the cheese plate. 

We Got into Back Bar

 A couple weeks into school, I came home on a Friday and actually wasn't dead tired.  We took advantage and hit up Back Bar right when they opened.  It's so hard to get into this place so I was excited!  I love how they do theme menus.  I love all the details they put into their drink book.  I wish I could remember what my drink was because it was really yummy!

It's Been a Hot Minute

 Well, it's almost November and I've finally managed to find some time (on a Friday night) to catch up on this blog.  School's been crazy.  Life's been crazy.  You know the drill!  I'm going to do my best to recap the past month and half because I'm feeling a lot more like City Vicky, and that's always a good thing!

I'll kick it off with the last day of summer vacation.  It was a beautiful summer day and I was trying to fend off the school stress for as long as I could, so I suggested we head into Harvard Square for lunch.  I wasn't sure where we would end up.  After meandering around a bit, we walked past Charlie's Kitchen and saw that they had open tables.

We enjoyed the sun, they oysters, and the best priced lobster rolls in the city!

Dinner at Celeste

 We closed out the summer fun with dinner on the patio at Celeste.  Celeste is this amazing Peruvian restaurant in our neighborhood.  We went for dinner last fall and it ranked as a top 5 meal for me.  I was eager to see if it would be just as amazing this second time around.  I won't keep you in suspense, it was!

We started with a salad (fresh and tasty) and a potato with shrimp dish (odd mix, absolutely delicious) and some pisco sours!  The pisco sours are so delicious.  I had no idea I liked egg whites in my cocktail until I tried these.  

For our main meals we each got seafood dishes.  I went with the shrimp scampi, which is what I had gotten the last time, and JO got the seafood risotto which was drenched (in the best possible way) in a tomato broth.  My shrimp scampi was just as good as I remembered it.  Instead of doing the whole garlic, white wine, sauce thing, the Peruvian version features some Chinese cuisine influences and a mix of vegetables in this delicious broth.  (These pictures are not great quality but the food was outstanding.)

It was such a nice way to close out the summer.  I am not ready to go back to work and not ready to be as busy as I know I'll be.  I know patio nights won't be happening very frequently so this one was extra special.  Each year I head into the school year determined to make this the year that I find work life balance.  Then I get frustrated and upset when that's just not possible.  I'm thinking of heading into this year with a different approach- acknowledging that I'm going to be working at least six days a week and about 55 hours each week.  Maybe if I just start accepting this from the beginning, it won't be so bad.