Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

I am sorry that it has been almost two months since I have posted to this blog--that is too long! We have been very busy travelling lately, but I have some great photos to post of our trips to Cape Cod, Ireland, and NYC! I will post a few as soon as I can.

This weekend was a lot of fun! We went to our first Red Sox game at Fenway Park with our friends Brian and Christine. The Red Sox have quite a following here (the fans call themselves "Red Sox Nation"), and, literally, any time the Red Sox are playing, the game will be blaring from every TV set and radio in Boston. It reminds me of how Austin felt when there was a UT football game--Go Horns!

This Friday, the Sox played the Texas Rangers, which was a conflict of interest for me, but luckily both teams played well, and the Sox ended up winning by one run (2-1). At least is wasn't a blow out...that would have been sad for the Rangers.

Fenway is the oldest baseball stadium in the country that is still in use (it was built in 1912!), and it definitely has a lot of charm and character. When you sit in the wooden seats with layer upon layer of chipping paint, it feels like a place that is full of energy where people have come for almost a century to eat hot dogs and watch some "ball." Obviously, the "ball" here is a little different than the football we are used to back home, but it was still just as fun to go to a game. Thanks to Brian and Christine for getting tickets for us and for a wonderful night--the game and the Fenway Franks were delicious!

Here are some photos of the stadium and all of us with the mascot, Wally the "Green Monster," which is also a nickname for the stadium, which is green.

Settled In

Knowing that you have finally settled in after moving to a new place is a wonderful thing. The realization that we were finally Bostonians (well, maybe not Bostonians, but definitely no longer outsiders) was when we ran into friends we had not planned to meet up with at a concert! One of our Austin favorites, Junior Brown, was in town last weekend playing a few shows. We went to see him play on Saturday night at a fun, laid back venue in our neighborhood called Johnny D's Uptown. As Ben and I were hanging out watching the opening band, we heard someone call our names. We figured that the voice couldn't possibly be calling for us, but to our surprise, it was our friends Dave and Liz!

You know you have finally settled in to a new city when you are running into friends at a little hole-in-the-wall music venue to watch a rockabilly band that no one in the area has probably ever heard of. Until this past weekend, we have recognized virutally no one when we have been out and about, and it was incredible to actually run into people we know in a big city like Boston! It was a great feeling!

Here are some photos I snapped of Junior Brown and of Johnny D's:

PaloozaHeads!

The PaloozaHeads Web site is so addicting! I can't get enough of it! It is definitely responsible for a lot of lost productivity here at work.

(P.S. Ben's hair was done especially that way for the "rocker" effect. He is getting it cut soon--even if I have to do it myself ;-) ).

Check these out:


Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com


Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com

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:

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!

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

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


















Me in the JFK Museum Atrium
















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.