'Twas the Night- Cirque du Soleil

 We spent the first Saturday in December out and about in the city with friends.  It was a nice way to take my mind off of what school is like in December.

We started with dinner at the W Lounge.  (Dinner spots are few and far between in the theater district- someone should work on this.  Where is the new restaurant in the old Teatro space.)

The W Lounge did the trick but the menu is quite small, although everything we got was tasty.  

We stopped to check out the "tree" which was just a W with pine cones.  The W was last year's creative winner on our Christmas Tree Challenge, so this was a big let down.

After dinner we headed over to the Wang Theater for the Cirque Christmas show.  

I wasn't sure what to expect from this show and I was pleasantly surprised.  The circus elements were eye catching and the choreography was strong.  It was a great way to spend a night with friends.

After the show we headed over to the Rebel's Guild at the Revere Hotel.  This was a nice find on our part.  It's a second story bar at the hotel, with windows that overlook the theater district.  (This could be a good dinner spot- see my first paragraph note) We enjoyed some yummy drinks and good company before heading home.

Tree Lighting at the Charles Hotel and Fun Around the Square

 Another one of our holiday traditions is the tree lighting at the Charles Hotel.  It's been cancelled the last few years, so we were excited when we heard it was happening this year.  

After the tree lighting, we stopped at the bar at Bar Enza for drinks and appetizers.  I don't think this place gets enough credit.  It's a great spot featuring really soft, cozy lighting and lots of neutral colors that just make it feel so peaceful.  The drinks and food are also top notch and reasonably priced.  They've ruined calamari for me because there's is just so perfectly cooked and dressed in this lemon butter sauce.  

We wanted to turn the evening into a bit of a lounge crawl so we headed over to Longfellow's to enjoy the rest of the night.  We usually don't get food when we come here but we did order a few dishes and they were quite yummy.  The drinks are always on point here, and the mezcal mule and pisco sour did not disappoint.  Plus, check out that bitter art in the sour- that's quality right there.  We got to talking with the bar tender and he gave us a taste of brandy to end the evening.  (Nice touch!)

It was a great way to kick off the holiday season.  

Kicking off the Holiday Season in Union Square

 JO and I have a tradition of getting our Christmas tree at Ricky's Flower Mart and walking home with it.  We've been doing it this way since 2009 and when we moved to Union the walk got a bit shorter!

We headed over to Ricky's shortly after Thanksgiving and found the most perfect tree.  Our living room has a bay window and really high ceilings so finding a tree that fills up that space can be a challenge.  But as usual, Ricky's did not disappoint.  

While the tree was opening up, we headed over to Bow Market to enjoy small business Saturday.  The cotton candy and hot chocolate were nice touches and it was a fun way to spend an afternoon in the neighborhood.  

Later that weekend we got the tree all decorated and I have to say, it looks amazing!

Session Americana at the Crystal Ballroom

 I'm pretty much never going to say no to a Session Americana show but one that features Ali McGuirk is an absolute must.  The show was at the Crystal Ballroom which is a great venue in Davis Square. (Side note- we don't go to Davis nearly enough and we need to fix that!)

The show was fantastic.  

Six The Musical

 My November self was thankful that my September self had enough wherewith-all to purchase tickets to see Six- The Musical.  I went into the show pretty blind, only knowing it was about the six wives of Henry the VIII and featured a diverse, all female cast.  

Of course we stopped at Better Sorts Social Club for drinks and dinner before the show.

The musical was fantastic, filled with lots of energy.  It was basically like being at a rock concert.  I loved the costumes, the light up set, and the lyrics.  It was a great way to kick off the Thanksgiving week, where the demands of work are less and you can actually take a little time for yourself. 

Friendsgiving in the New Place

 We got back to hosting Friendsgiving this year.  It was our first in our new place and it worked out so well.

Power Outage Show at Club Passim

 We enjoyed another annual tradition at Club Passim- Zachariah Hickman's Power Outage Show.  It takes an already intimate venue to another level.