{dear friend}

HI FRIENDS!

It’s been a week since I’ve been here!

A week of watching the Olympics, and remembering my amazing weekend in New York (more on that to come later), enjoying all things Boston before the summer is over, and devouring books like I haven’t done in years.

Things are pretty good around here, and VERY busy.

I kind of got overwhelmed last night with all the pictures I’ve taken and want to share, and all the things I’ve been wanting to post about but haven’t had the time. It’s safe to say this summer has been crazier than ever, but I also think it’s been my best yet.

Here are a few things I’ve been up to lately…

I visited New York City.

I hadn’t been in a few months, and was down in CT visiting with my parents and the rest of my family, so I decided to take the train into the city one day to do a little walking around and to have dinner with Molly and Colleen. It was so nice to get together with them and when we do get together I always wish we lived in the same city so we could do this all the time. LOVE these girls. They are my favorite.

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We went back for another weekend at the Farmhouse.

Usually I only go once a summer (sometimes not even), but this year was meant for a double dose. We didn’t hike a mountain this time, and it rained quite a bit, but it was relaxing all the same. There was still porch sitting and still plenty of time for reading, and there was delicious food and company the whole weekend through.

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I saw Ingrid Michaelson!

This one was on my bucket list:

25. See Ingrid Michaelson in concert.

DONE and DONE. I went with my sister and we dressed up all concert chic and had an awesome time. I only bought the tickets a few days before, but was able to score two front row seats which causes me to believe that it was all just meant to be (silent cheer!). Anyways, the concert was wonderful, Ingrid rocks, and being that close through the whole thing was an experience I’ll never forget.

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I went with friends to see Shakespeare in the Park (and drank fine wine and ate cupcakes, too).

This goes on in the Common in Boston every summer, but in my 7 (!) years of living here I had not yet been until last week. I met up with some friends from my book club and we sat on the lawn with juice box wine, pizza, and cupcakes. We chatted and had a great time spending the evening outside. And in truth, we didn’t watch the play at all. Well, maybe a tiny bit of it, but mostly we just sat back and hung out together. And I loved it.

(And even though, I didn’t focus on the Shakespeare I couldn’t help but think how amazing it is that this happens for FREE every night for 3 weeks in the summer. To give people the chance to come out and see a performance that they might not have the opportunity to see otherwise? Pretty cool. Now, if only they could get some ballet to happen. That’s something I could reeeeally get behind.)

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I visited the Boston Athenaeum.

Just yesterday! And that one was on my summer bucket list, too.

19. Visit the following list of Boston museums:

Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum

Orchard House (Little Women!)

Boston Athenaeum

Harvard Museum of Natural History

My friend Rachael (blogger, book-lover, and serious appreciator of Boston), has a membership there, so we decided to get together so she could show me around. We had a great morning strolling through Beacon Hill with our iced coffee, talking about this and that, and eventually making it up to the Athenaeum. It’s absolutely gorgeous inside, and something that I didn’t even know was there until recently. For those of you that don’t know the Athenaeum is a private library and museum (you can walk through the museum part for free) that is truly a hidden gem in Boston. There are beautiful rooms to sit and read, thousands of books at your fingertips, and lovely outdoor terraces where you can relax and catch a glimpse of Boston from above.

Thanks for a great morning, Rachael and Lux! Another win for Boston!

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And so, that’s a little bit of what I’ve been up to these last couple of weeks. I still have pictures to share of my week in CT (and some from NYC) and my weekend home in Syracuse. I’ve just spent my last week enjoying this summer in Boston and from here I am heading to Nantucket for a few days before finally spending my last week of summer in the Cape! SIGH. It’s coming to an end, but boy has it been a ride. I have loved getting to spend time with family this summer, and have also felt incredibly lucky to be able to see so many friends as well. Soaking it up, people. Soaking it all up.

I hope you are soaking it up, too!

Until next time, friends! XO!