Friday, April 27, 2007

Coffee Art

Ben and I love the espresso maker Meryl and Marco gave us for our wedding gift! Ben has to wake up for work earlier than I do because he has to catch an earlier train; so, every morning my "alarm" is Ben turning on the coffee grinder and espresso maker. As soon as I hear it, I manage to wake up (even if the real alarm clock has been going off for 20 minutes) because I love making coffee for Ben before he leaves. I am experimenting with different types of foam designs in the coffee, and my foam heart turned out pretty well this morning!

When we were on our honeymoon in Crested Butte, Colorado, we had coffee every morning at a small cafe called Camp 4 Coffee. Camp 4 Coffee is in a small shack with siding made from old license plates from around the world. The baristas at Camp 4 Coffee were amazing--they could make foam designs of howling coyotes, bicycles, landscapes...the possibilities are endless! Maybe with some practice I can have a future as a barista if this law school thing doesn't work out. ;-)










Here are some photos of Camp 4 Coffee taken while we were in Crested Butte:


Thursday, April 12, 2007

Saved By The Bob!

Just when I start to lose faith in Yankeeland (it is still in the 40s in April!!!), Bob Schneider, one of my all time favorite Austin music artists, comes to town and sweeps me off my feet! Ben and I went with our new friends Lisa and Patrick from Austin to see Bob and his band last night at an intimate venue in Cambridge called the Middle East. The Boston Texas Exes even made the concert their "Event of the Month," but there were only a few of us dedicated enough to come out at 10:00pm on a school night. I guess we'll have to wait till Pat Green or Robert Earl Keen come to town meet the other 900 supposed members of the Boston Texas Exes. ;-)

Unfortunately, news of Bob's greatness hasn't made it's way up here yet--there was a disappointing turn out--but he put on one of the best shows I have ever seen, and we got front row seats for the occasion! And it was perfect timing--I needed a little taste of home in a bad way to get me through the morning "wintery mix" commute!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

St. Patty's Day in Southie

St. Patrick's Day is one of the most celebrated holidays of the year in Boston. There is a huge parade in Southie (South Boston), and all of the Irish pubs open early and stay open late, have bands come to play, and serve delicious green beer! Even though it was pretty cold this St. Pat's Day, we decided to grab some "Dunkaccinos" to stay warm (there is a Dunkin' Donuts on every street corner here--literally) and head to the celebration at the Southie parade. We met up with our friends Heather & Mark, Christine & Brian, and Carolyn & Richard to watch the parade, followed by food and drinks at an Irish pub downtown. The floats in the parade weren't all that impressive, but there were plenty of Irish men in kilts and dancing Irish girls with the traditional tight curly hair. There were several groups who came from Ireland for the celebration--Irish people are a hoot! The L.A. Police and Fire Dept. also decided to enter the parade, but all they did was fix their hair while talking on their cell phones the whole time. I guess I'm just jealous of their tans!

Here are some of the picture we took at the parade:





The Steel Worker's Union dressed up as Tin Men!


Seedy Boston Politicians/Mobsters (I can't wait for the Sopranos to start back up this weekend--at times, I feel like I'm living on the set!)


A Chubby Star Wars Storm Trooper!


Irish Band from Dublin


Crazy clowns were everywhere!


Good Ole' St. Patrick, the Namesake of the Holiday

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

JFK Themed Weekend

About a month ago, Ben and I decided to have an entirely "Bostony" weekend--no Tex Mex, no going to the same old places we could visit in Texas--so we decided to make it a John F. Kennedy themed weekend. People in Boston (as well as all of New England) adore the Kennedy family. Not a day goes by when I don't hear someone reference the Kennedys--whether it is commenting on a bill that Senator Edward Kennedy passed in Congress, or how Jackie Kennedy used to wear her famous hats--everyone here is Kennedy obsessed. So, Ben and I thought it would be a good idea to learn more about the Kennedy legacy by visiting the JFK Aircraft Carrier as it was cruising through the port, and by visiting the John F. Kennedy Museum near the traditionally Irish area of town, South Boston, affectionately known to Townies as "Southie."

The USS John F Kennedy aircraft carrier was so massive that it took my breath away! It has been in the Naval fleet since 1964, but was decommissioned this March, and it decided to make a pit stop in Boston before it moved on to reside in Florida.

We had a great time visiting both the aircraft carrier and the museum. We also enjoyed some lobster and a bowl of New England clam chowder to go ahead and make it an over-the-top Bostony experience. ;-)

Here are some of the photos we took that day:

Ben in front of the JFK Museum

right
















Me in the JFK Museum Atrium

left














More photos of the Atrium




The JFK Aircraft Carrier in the Boston Harbor



Coasting Seagull



On a side note, the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign that is making an appearance all over Boston never fails to get Ben's attention...I think they are on the right track with their advertising if the goal is to get attention.