on welcoming fall and bike riding dreams.

October 9, 2012

Well, fall. I guess you’re here.

And I guess we’ll keep you.

Yesterday was one of those rare (but sacred) Mondays where teachers everywhere got the day off. Now I don’t believe that Columbus should get any of the credit, but I do believe in a day off every once in awhile, so I went along with it. Hopped right on board that Columbus Day train.

This day yesterday was all about bike riding dreams and chocolate nutella covered waffles and loving Boston. This day was just what I needed.

I feel like I’ve been in kind of an inspiration rut since summer ended. It happens to me every year. It kind of feels like the day after Christmas. Or your birthday. Or an awesome weekend with your favorite friends. You know the feeling, right? You are so excited and the anticipation is amazing and then it (whatever it is) happens and you’re loving life and the experience and the world and then, BAM. The next day it’s over and that’s it.

Over and done and you kind of feel blah.

Well that’s how I always feel when summer ends and fall hits.

Just kind of blah.

I don’t like being cold and I don’t like how it gets dark so early and I just don’t like having to wear so many clothes.

Aaaaanyways. Enough complaining.

This weekend was good. It was chilly and it got dark early and I had to wear a lot of clothes, but it was good. My sister and I rode our bikes all the way into Boston. We breathed in the fresh air and chatted throughout our ride. We took a walk through the North End and walked into shops and stopped for some food (we tried Saus, per Rachael and Bridget’s recommendation), we met up with our old roommate (and awesome friend) Lauren, and we basically just had a day filled with good in this city that is ours.

Boston has a way of doing that. Giving you a reason to love the seasons.

The trees are turning and there is beauty simply everywhere you look. And I don’t like cold, but I do like cozy. So there’s that.

I guess I’ll keep you, fall. I’ll keep you and your colors and your weekends for bike riding through the city.

I’ll keep you til Christmas and it’ll be good.

Cozy and very, very good.

14 Comments · Filed Under: boston, boston photography, fall, life ·

new york city in september.

October 3, 2012

Two weekends ago we took a weekend trip to New York City. Zanner had some hotel points that he’d collected (he travels sometimes for work), and so we packed our bags and left Boston for Queens on the last weekend of September in 2012.

On the first day we took the subway in from Long Island City straight to Grand Central Station. We walked over to the Flat Iron District, had some Shake Shack (LOVED!) in Madison Square Park and then made our way to the High Line on the Lower West Side. This day was all about walking and just enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. We stopped in bookstores and markets and rode the subway when we could. A few times we jumped in taxis when our feet needed a break, but mostly we just explored the city by foot all day.

After we walked most of the High Line (a long, elevated park on an old railroad track above the city streets in Manhattan) and did a little exploring at the UrbanSpace market in Meatpacking, we then took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. We had dinner plans in Greenpoint with one of Zan’s cousins and my sister who was also visiting her boyfriend in the city for the weekend, and even though it was NOT in the same vicinity I still felt like a trip to Brooklyn deserved a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge.

What. A. View.

The whole experience is absolutely amazing.

You can see the Manhattan skyline and even catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty! The sun was shining on her so gloriously that day. Gave me goosebumps.

The second (and last day) of our trip we decided to ditch the subway to take the East River Ferry over to Manhattan (also amazing views!) to meet up with one of my besties from college, Kprime. I was suffering from a small case of “too-much-fun-from-the-night-before-syndrome” so I was slow to eat my grilled cheese, but the company was lovely and the ginger ale helped, too. When I think back, I believe it was ultimately the hot dog I ate from the stand on 34th street that really saved the day. And thank goodness for that.

After brunch we took a stroll through Central Park and then made our way down 5th Avenue, past Rockefeller Center, and back to Grand Central for our departure.

The weekend felt too short, but don’t all good weekends seem to work that way?

I loved every step I took and every sight I saw.

That city makes me feel like an adventurer. I just want to keep moving and see everything. I want to do it all. And when I get home, it’s wonderful and satisfying to finally take a breath, but when I’m there it sure is something special.

12 Comments · Filed Under: fall, life, travel ·

summer bucket list 2012 (concluded) + a video.

September 30, 2012

I’m here! It’s a Sunday night and it’s nearly October, but I’m here with summer still in my heart, and long list of cool stuff I did to prove it. You’re probably thinking, Girl! Get over summer already! That season is long gone! And to this I will say NEVER. Long live the idea of summer. Long live the memories!

To be honest, I’d really love to be blogging about the present, but I nearly forgot about doing this little recap on my summer bucket list and I thought I should for some closure, and also just to see how well I actually did crossing things off the ‘ol list.

If you do nothing but watch the video I made at the bottom (one of the things on my summer list), then I will be grateful. It took me A MILLION HOURS and was really tedious, but I’m really happy with it. My brain is now saying STOP PLAYING THAT SONG, but my guess is you haven’t butchered the song like I have, so here’s to hoping you’ll think it’s rad.

Also, I’m pretty pumped I did so much on my list. Consider me accomplished. And thanks for following along!

Here is the run-down on Dear Friend’s Summer Bucket List 2012:

1. Shop mostly at the farmer’s market.

I did this to the best of my ability. Sometimes I went twice in a week, sometimes I went every other week. I was away a lot towards the end of the summer, and finding time for a regular scheduled lunch was hard with my summer job, but I made it work. The summer fruit was my favorite, and we did a good amount of veggie eating, too. My favorite picks? Strawberries, blueberries, summer squash, and corn on the cob. YUM.

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2. Run 3x a week, increase my running stamina, and sign up for a 5K for the fall.

MAJOR FAIL. Bummer. Maybe someday?

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3. More yoga. Do the 6:45 AM class a couple times a week. (I did this last summer and it’s completely worth it. I need to remember this.)

Also, failed at this one. My yoga studio was closed for renovations for the month of July. Not really an excuse, but I took it as one.

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4. Take a photography workshop.

Nope. Didn’t do this one either. But I did feel like I practiced my skills on my own. And I’m fairly pleased with how a lot of my pictures came out this summer. I still don’t know how to fully use my camera, but I just see that as something to look forward to. Someday. When I get the motivation to learn.

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5. Photograph my way around the city of Boston. And do weekly blog posts about my favorite spots.

Can’t say that I did this either. Whoops! Too busy enjoying the summer sun!

(I promise I crossed things off! Keep reading!)

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{above photo by Doug Levy}

6. Flash mob. Doing it.

Hands down one of my favorite experiences ever. What a rush.

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7. Read 10+ books.

So proud of myself. SO PROUD!

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8. Picnic and/or canoe on the Charles.

Yes! With Clair!

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9. Swim in Skaneateles Lake.

BEST. That is all.

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10. Eat a lobster roll in Cape Cod.

It was amazing. Always has been. Always will be.

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11. Make homemade ice cream.

Remember when I made Graham Cracker and Strawberry flavored? Yeah, me too.

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12. Get a bike. And a cute helmet.

My bike got stolen (you can read about that when you click on the link), but what I didn’t yet tell you is that I rose above that terrible situation by getting myself another one. BOOM. Ain’t nobody gonna hold me down.

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13. Have a BBQ. Send invitations.

SUCCESS!

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14. Take a flying trapeze class. I’m totally serious.

I didn’t do this one, but I DID get a gift certificate for my birthday. So it’s happening! And I’m psyched about it.

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15. Write a handwritten letter to a friend once a week and walk it to the local mailbox.

This might have been one of my favorites on the list. Such a feel-good thing to do. HIGHLY recommended. (I’ll send you my address if you’re interested.)

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16. Go to a Red Sox game.

Too bad they were terrible this year. SIGH.

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17. Make a homemade video to music on iMovie. Been wanting to do this, but not sure what to do it about.

I did it! And the evidence is below!

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18. Create a piece of artwork. I even bought a canvas.

Inspired by this post here. This project was a fun one!

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19. Visit the following list of Boston museums:

Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum

Orchard House (Little Women!)

Boston Athenaeum

Harvard Museum of Natural History

I actually visited quite a lot of Boston museums this summer (MFA, Aquarium, Museum of Science), but I only got to two out of four on my list. Okay, but not great. I will just have to do the other two this fall! Thinking maybe I can go to Concord on the way to apple picking, or even after school one day, seeing as I work close enough.

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20. Take public transportation every possible day I can.

Totally loved doing this. 1) I hate (loathe!) driving. and 2) This is how I was able to read 11 books.

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21. Nantucket!

TAKE ME BACK.

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22. Print my favorite instagrams and do something cool with them. I like this idea a lot.

Still want to do this! And I will!

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23. Have a romantic dinner with Zanner at the Top of the Hub.

Still want to do this, too! And WE WILL!

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24. A weekend in NH at the Farmhouse/ Hike Mt. Lafayette in the White Mountains

Twice!

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25. See Ingrid Michaelson in concert.

LOVE!!

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And so concludes the Summer Bucket List 2012. And the crazy amount of exclamation points in this post.

Here is my video… I’m really glad I have it, and almost pulling my hair out while making it was completely worth it. ENJOY.

You can watch the video full-screen here.

{All pictures by me. Song by Phillip Phillips.}

22 Comments · Filed Under: life, summer ·

thanks for the wishes.

September 21, 2012

This year’s birthday was everything.

I had a great Monday in first grade.

I came home to balloons all around the apartment and streamers as decorations, too.

There were dinner party people with hats and cheer and smiles.

There was taco soup and root beer and raspberry chocolate angel food cake.

There was the best present ever.

And some pretty cute new outfits for school!

There was thankfulness for everything.

So, thanks! Thanks for the wishes and thanks for the love!

This weekend I’ll continue this celebration called life by heading on down to the one and only New York City. You’ve probably figured out I kinda like that place by now, huh? I can’t wait to spend a little time there in all it’s fall glory. Zan and I are staying in a hotel that overlooks Manhattan, and there’ll just be a lot of skittering around the city like I do. I was hoping to cross this off my bucket list (I got a gift certificate!), but the classes are pretty much all filled at this point, so it might have to be saved for another time. I always want to see and do everything, and there’s never enough time in one trip, so others will be planned in the near future. New York is one of my favorite cities to visit and I have no desire to stop any time soon. I’m never too stressed about not getting everything in because there’s always next time!

As far as this trip goes, I’m excited to have Zan with me this time around, and my sister is going to be there, too. The weather is going to be beautiful, which is great because that’s how I like to roll. YAY for fall weekends in awesome places.

Have a good one!

12 Comments · Filed Under: celebrations, life, travel ·
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