Happy Birthday and Xmas decor

Happy birthday to Chris! This year, since his birthday fell on a Monday (boo), we celebrated the weekend before. We went to The Cottage, in Chestnut Hill. It was a fun day to go to the 'burbs, as it was the first real snow fall of the year. The streets were relatively empty and we almost had the entire restaurant to ourselves. We had eaten at The Cottage in Wellesley with friends several weeks prior and Chris adored the prime rib special. Now, it is rare for him to love a meal/dish at just any old place, but it happened and we decided to give it a whirl again for his birthday. I was glad that the second time around was still a success! (He always pretends he's not pleased with his photo being taken, but again, don't let that stifled smile fool you.)

On the actual birthday day, we celebrated with good ol' college Chris' favorite meal of wings from our old college haunt (or rather, delivery-haunt), Wing It.  

We both have next week until the New Year off and though we are spending Christmas in Boston, we are looking forward to pursuing some quiet holiday time off, exploring what the city has to offer. I've been very inspired by "Twelve Dates of Christmas" from a blog I read and have planned out some good activities in the next coming weeks. I would love to hear live Christmas music but haven't yet found a performance that fits into our schedule. It'll be a busy but fun couple of weeks- we have two weddings to attend before the New Year!

A few weeks ago, we found our Christmas tree. The past two years, we've brought home a tall one- I'm talking, it needs to be strapped to the roof of our car- tall. This year, we decided to go small. It even fit into the back seat- no trunk needed! I've documented how much our pets (especially Gregory) love the Christmas tree ornaments here, and this year is no different. So far, no broken ornaments despite his attempts. The nutcracker soldier still lives. 

Householding

We haven't had too much time these days- mostly due to Chris' intense schedule which requires him to be in bed by before 9:30 pm. I am an early riser at 6 am and every morning for the past 2 months, Chris is gone and out of the home before then. 

This leaves me to do all of what I call the "maid work." One day on my day off, I truly felt like I spent the entire day planning out very strategically, how best to maximize house work. The dishes were cleaned, the kitchen was scrubbed, all surfaces were vacuumed. All the while, load after load of laundry was being washed. The weekly meal plan was established and off to the store I went to purchase and lug home a weeks' worth of ingredients in our reusable grocery bags. I believe 3 separate store employees asked whether I "needed help" with all the grocery bags.

I joked to Chris that when he came home that day, that it must have felt to him, that the "maid" had come while he was gone, as the home was in complete order, clean clothes filled the dressers, and a warm meal was prepared. 

I spent a lot of the morning cooking today, also a day off. Some of the preparation was for our meal this evening: lentil meatballs with basil pesto, and other preparations were made for meals several days away. 

With all the tough work planning, cooking, and cleaning can be, it is delightful to enjoy a gourmet lunch that did take some time to prepare, but with flavors that are well worth the effort. Above, a delicious baby kale and roasted sweet potato salad. 

That ye olde time again

We enjoyed ourselves this past weekend at the King Richard's Faire. It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed so quickly since were were there last time! Though we weren't able to spend as much time at the faire this year, we still had just as grand a time. Strolling through the canopy of tall forest trees and the beginnings of a fall breeze adds greatly to the wonder of the faire, and the medieval music of bagpipes and pipes adds to the mythical feeling of the times. 

Of course, we could not forget about the faire food. We learned from our mistake last year that one roasted turkey leg per person is by far too much. So, one turkey leg per two people it was!

This year, we were not alone and I'm glad E was there to join in on the forest festivities.

We arrived to the faire early this year and the long lines we experienced last year for the bloomin' onion was not an issue at all. We enjoyed our fried onion while watching children try their hand at the best ride/game at the faire: the Dragon Joust!

Finally, who can forget about "peasants' bread"? Warm fried dough with sweet powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Don't let the stifled smile fool you- peasants' bread is pretty much Chris' reason for going to the faire each year!

Summer Ride

A wonderful bike ride with dog. You can read more about the adventure here!

Summer heat

We've tried to make the most out of summer- mostly on the weekends- despite the foreboding temperatures. Today is one of the first days the weather has been more moderate, but temperatures pushing 100F in a city where most people walk everywhere makes staying indoors the most attractive option. 

We've spent a little time on the roof deck, but mostly in the late evening when the sun is on its way down. The photo above is of the neighborhood, as seen from our roof deck. I've been considering making our common building roof deck a little more friendly by adding some planters, but gardening and maintaining it through the fall and winter can prove a bit of a challenge. 

Since getting a bike, we have both been biking as our primary form of daily transportation. We have also been taking Harry out for weekend bike rides in his new bicycle basket! You can read all about how much he (and Gregory) loves it in the post here.

This photo was taken from our bike ride last weekend. We mostly ride along the Esplanade. You can see the all-too-familiar Mass Ave Bridge in the background. 

Speaking of biking, it is somewhat of a new obsession of mine. I've been reading up quite a bit about biking and the more you read, the more you need. We both got brand new, stylish bike helmets last weekend, which we both love.  At the bike shop, I test-rode a gorgeous vintage-style bike and I am so excited about this new, red bike that is supposed to be shipping from the UK any day now.  There will no doubt, be more photos as we go for more 'stylish' bike rides in the upcoming weeks!

Packed summer weekend

This past weekend was a great one. Just what I always want out of a summer weekend: nicely stacked with short city jaunts, but not too busy to feel exhausting.

On Saturday, we drove to Cambridge (Central Square) to pick up some office supplies and necessities that Chris needed. We came home, and watched a great documentary on the restaurant Michelin star system. It made me long for more/any 2 and 3-star restaurants in Boston.

Sunday was a little more filled with a early morning search for delicious croissants in Cambridge (we're still searching for the best croissants but I'm not sure we will find them!). We then went on to Hingham to take Harry to a wonderful dog park (the picture from above and talked about here). We met up with friends for lunch, got coffee in Harvard Square, and went to a choir concert in Harvard Yard. All this on a weekend where temperatures were reaching close to 90 fahrenheit!

Sunday neighborhood stroll

Chris is on his spring break this week and it just so co-incided with a weekend off for me. Free time is pretty rare for us these days (especially free time together), so it's nice to be able to feel like there is nothing pressing to do and to just indulge in the weekend. 

We started off the weekend with lunch together on Friday afternoon. We also got up early on Saturday to get coffee and breakfast at Whole Foods, a nice luxury that we used to do more often. We stopped by the local library branch to pick up the books I had on hold (Celebrate, by Pippa Middleton has been great!) Most of the time, we just caught up on our show (Boardwalk Empire), played (mostly cuddled) with Harry, and just lounged around the apartment.

Today, we took a nice leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. Though I often feel that Boston is too small/too boring, I forget just how lucky we are to live in a beautiful neighborhood with independent shops and stores within walking distance. Really such a rarity these days! There is a beautiful little chocolate shop around the corner and we stopped by there today. We each chose 3 different chocolates. Mine were: lavender truffle, champagne, and Earl Grey (my obsession with tea- I couldn't leave the store without this one). We also stopped by the small neighborhood grocery to pick out some cheese. Finally, we found a delicately grapefruit scented soy candle at a neighborhood specialty gift store. 

Sunday Italian dinner with gourmet chocolates for dessert!