Beers and Tears

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend! I’m not quite sure what happened to the big snowstorm we were expecting, but since my weekend snowman-making plans were out, we had to go for plan B this Saturday, which included going to see the movie ‘The Vow’.

I’ll admit it, I love a good sappy love story once in awhile, I own the movie ‘The Notebook’ and I have girl-crush on Rachel McAdams (and Channing Tatum isn’t too bad to look at either….)

You’re welcome.

My thoughts on the movie? It didn’t disappoint. It was a little cheesy in parts (which is to be expected), and I felt like the plot was a little dragged out at times, but it was also incredibly romantic, and a great story (based on true events). I’m sure the reviews will be mixed, and movies that come out with so much hype tend to get hit the hardest by critics but overall I would say it was well worth seeing and definitely a great way to get in the Valentines Day spirit.

I have had mixed feelings about Valentines Day before, and while I hate the commercialism of it, I can’t blame that on the holiday itself (if I did, there would be no holidays I wouldn’t hate). I like the idea of a day that’s all about telling and showing the people you love how much they mean to you (whether is be a significant other, a best friend, or a pet). Sure, you can buy fancy presents and flowers and chocolates, but just taking a moment to share some festive cupcakes and a few glasses of wine, or making a homemade Valentines day card does the trick just as well.

That being said, my Valentine to-be was not as excited about seeing ‘The Vow’ as I was. We found a great compromise at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square though. You see, at this theater, they have a bar at the concession stand and they sell BEER! (and wine) So I offered to buy my sweetheart beer if he would come see the movie with me = Everybody wins!

The theater is very cool and while it’s not as big and fancy as the gargantuan Loews downtown, it’s also less crowded and a lot less expensive (tickets are only $7, $5 for matinees. It’s also only $5 for beer, I think Loews sells water for more than that these days). There is also an old-timey feel in the theater, with red curtains and fireplaces, that I really like. So Ross drank his beer while I enjoyed crying over a sappy love story and a glass of red. Yes, that is in fact my idea of a good time 🙂

After a long walk and dog park session with Mango, we are off to finish up this weekend with a little shopping downtown.

What are your thoughts on Valentines Day? Love it? Hate it? Couldn’t really care less?

Boston Bloggers

It’s way past my bed time, so I’m going to keep this post short and sweet. I wasn’t going to blog at all, but since it’s been a few days, and since I’m coming home from a blogger event, I feel I little bit of blogger guilt 😉

The Boston Blogger event tonight was held at Sonsie on Newbury Street. I met a ton of great people, and I have a lot of reading to do with all these fantastic blog links, so see you in a few weeks….

The reason I’ve been so busy? My first day at the new job was this past Tuesday. I am loving it so far, I am also super busy adjusting to a new schedule and being away from Mango for more than 20 minutes at a time. It’s been much harder on me than it has on him.

Also, my camera died *weep* 😦 It stopped working this past weekend, and Ross brought it to a camera shop downtown, where it was pronounced dead. That little Cannon has traveled the world with me and captured some of my greatest memories. I can use Ross’s camera, or buy a new one eventually, but I’m currently going through a mourning period and need some time. I apologize in advance for the lack of current photos.

What I could do instead of taking new photos on a new camera, is just have my wonderful and talented friend Ashley paint replicas of all my old photos. Here is one example she’s been working on (it’s not quite finished yet), she really is amazing:

One of her other many artistic abilities includes pet portraits. I’ll have to get a pictures of the painting she did of us for Mango, when I get a working camera. I plan on eventually commissioning her for a different painting of Mango for every room in my house. Luckily, I only have 3 rooms.

If you are interested in contacting her, or just seeing more of her stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with me, check out her website here: http://www.ashleyfreeland.com</a OR stop by and get an ice cream at J.P. Licks in Davis Square, where they are featuring her artwork this month!

I’m going to try to stop reading blogs and crying about my camera and get some sleep now, Good night 🙂

Pobrecito sin Quequito

According to this very unofficial Costa Rican document, today is Mango’s 1st birthday!

Unfortunately our little guy is still dealing with some tummy issues. We brought him to the vet today, and it looks like a with and injection, a little medication and some special food he should be feeling better in just a few days. So, we’ll just have to wait a little longer to surprise him with the Gourmet Tails peanut butter cupcakes that look so good I’M tempted to eat them:

He could still enjoy some of his other presents, including a new comfy bed and a small frisbee:

Last night Ross and I had a great date night starting with dinner at Pho Basil an interesting Vietnamese/Thai restaurant. The waiter was one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, and the food was so good it made us forget we were basically sitting at a table in the hallway (it is BUSY here)

We shared the steamed Shumai to start, and I ordered off the Vietnamese menu and got the Crazy Udon as my main dish. With a glass of Pinot Grigio (which may have been more Californian than Vietnamese):

Ross went all Thai with the Drunken Noodle and a Singha beer

All the food and the drinks were wonderful, and very affordable. I really want to go back and try everything on the menu at some point.

We walked to Jordan Hall after to see the NEC Symphony perform pieces by Schubert and Tchaikovsky. These free Jordan Hall concerts could become a great new hump day tradition.

I’ve been feeling a little stiff/sore after my long run Monday (I knew it was too good to be true), so I did a little On Demand yoga in my living room today. I might try to go out for a quick 3 miler, and then come home and spend the rest of the evening taking care of the sick birthday boy!

How do you celebrate your pet’s birthday?!?

Rough Night

It was a rough night for everyone in our house last night, but I think Mango suffered the most. Our poor little pooch was up with an upset tummy ALL night long, which means none of us got a lot of sleep.

We went to bed around 11pm per usual, but around 1am Mango started crying. Sometimes he cries at night because he is thirsty or wants a toy, but this was not the case last night. Ross finally got up to take him out, but it was too little too late. Mango had already relieved himself in the hallway. We were angry (and tired) and just thought it was one accident, but just 2 hours later it happened again, and again and again. Ross gave him a bath at 1:30 in the morning (complete with a blowout) I got up and took him out every hour or so after that, but when I fell asleep on the couch around 6am I woke up 30 minutes later to find Mango relieving himself in the bathroom. I could hardly be mad, I mean he was obviously sick and in his defense, he did go into the bathroom.

Around 7am Mango and I went out for a walk by the waterfront, it was snowing a bit, the sun was bright coming up over the ocean and it was really beautiful. I realized that even though having a dog is a huge responsibility, and on nights like last night it seems like a ton of work, it is so rewarding. He is a great friend, a perfect exercise buddy and such a little love bug!

Maybe we can invest in some doggie diapers?

He seems to be feeling better now, I’ll keep him on the supermodel diet (only water and ice cubes) for the rest of the morning and try feeding him some bland rice/chicken mixture later this afternoon. I’m assuming it’s something he ate, since he eats EVERYTHING. Feel better little Mango!

I was tired this morning, but still wanting to make the best of this Monday. So when life gives you lemons, make cinnamon french toast (with fresh cinnamon bread from Bovas) with maple syrup and bananas:

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Milk
Dash of Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
6 thick pieces of bread

Whisk 4 first ingredients in large bowl, coat bread slices with mixture and place on preheated/buttered pan. Flip a few times until both sides are toasty brown.

I’m going for a run to enjoy some more of this sunshine.

Nice and easy Sunday… it is Sunday, right?

Is anyone else confused about what day it is this weekend? I think it was the big (and totally awesome) Patriots game last night (Saturday) that threw me off, and had me thinking today was Monday. Not only is today NOT Monday, it’s almost like Saturday because Monday is a holiday! Confusing, right?

Ross and I had a great time watching the game, Mango was less impressed. Instead of watching, he insisted on chewing the loudest squeaky toys he could find the entire game. I guess after growing up in Costa Rica, he’s still not a big fan of Football Americano:

Ross and I went out after the game (way past our bedtime!) to see a friend who was in town visiting for the night. We went to a fun place called Minibar, which was small but not too crowded at midnight on a Saturday. I brought my camera but was too tired to to remember to take pictures 😦 Luckily I can steal them from Facebook:

Hi Cait! (love this girl, AND cupcakes). Safe travels back to TX, Hopefully see you soon!

Since we were up so late, we slept in all morning. Mango never wanted to get out of bed:

Can you blame him? It was only about 9 degrees outside this morning!

Time to do some cleaning/organizing in the apartment and taking advantage of the long weekend! Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day tomorrow 🙂

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King, Jr

Literally ‘Running’ Errands

I’m sure you you’ve heard the term ‘running errands’, but do you do it? I’m sure you run errands, but do you RUN them as well?

According to Urban Dictionary, running errands is:

A trip to get or do something, especially for something you don’t really like to do or have to do for someone else. It’s not like shopping!

I like to take the phrase literally and actually run to do errands. I’m lucky enough to live in a place that is beautiful, safe and nice to run in. Being in a city, I’m also in close enough proximity to be able to realistically run most places, if you live in the suburbs (with 2.5 kids and minivan) it might not be as convenient for you.

Take today for example: Ross and I bundled in our cold winter gear, and running backpacks (essential when your errands include buying something you have to run with) and headed to PetCo in Cambridge, where we bought our spoiled adorable puppy some fun things, including booties. He has sensitive feet, and I want to be real careful about the salt on the city sidewalks this winter. So far, he’s not a fan:

You’ll thank us later Mango, I’m sure

After PetCo, we ran over the river to Wholefoods, where we got all our chilli supplies. I guess there’s a little football game on in Boston tonight? Lol.

We had to walk the mile home after Wholefoods with our groceries, but we logged a little over 3 miles running to and from PetCo before that… we got our errands in AND a workout at the same time. My kind of multitasking 🙂

I look forward to spending the next few hours on the couch with my guys watching football and eating chili!

Ross adding the secret ingredient…shhhh 🙂

There’s a first time for everything

Happy Friday the 13th! Interesting fact: The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia

The rain from yesterday faded away but the warmth stayed around, making it a perfect day for a nice Boston run! I did about 3 miles today, and ended my run at Haymarket, there’s no better time to buy fruits and vegetables than right after a workout when your healthy endorphins are raging. Although, sometimes during/right after longer or more difficult runs, all I want is a burger and a beer.. is that just me?

I know I talked all about veggies yesterday, but I just thought I’d share that for only $10 ($9.75 to be exact) I got all this at Haymarket:

If you’re around the area, it’s open tomorrow (Saturday) from dawn until dusk. It can be a dirty, rude place, but it’s also a Boston landmark, and more importantly it fits my price range!

What I am going to do with that giant bag of jalapeno peppers is another question, I guess things are going to be spiced up around here. They will work well for some chili and maybe other football food for the big Patriots game tomorrow night!

The bag of baby carrots is for Mango, I read that baby carrots are a great dog treat. I heard they are good frozen, but I gave him one at room temperature and he seems to be a fan. He loves anything he can chew/crunch on:

Today I signed up for my first blogging event!

I’ve read all about these meet-ups in the blogging world, but have never had the chance to attend one! I don’t really consider myself a blogger, just someone who loves to blog (same thing with running, I wouldn’t call myself a runner but I love to run). I am fascinated by the world of blogging and would love to meet some local, like-minded people with common interests and hopefully learn a few things to help improve this blog.

Maybe I’ll even meet a few new friends, because there aren’t always so many great opportunities to do that in the city. If you’re interested in reading more on this topic, I recommend the post How to Pick Up Women by Rachel at http://www.rachelwilkerson.com/one of my personal favorite blogs.

What a weekend!

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend, for me the past weekend was downright decadent.

Ross’s Mom Sydney came to visit and see our new place for the first time. She couldn’t have had better weather for a visit, it was definitely more like Costa Rican weather than Boston in January!

Mango and I soaked up the sunshine on a walk by the waterfront:

After a day in the sun, it was time for some food. We’ve had a lobster roll competition going on for sometime. A bunch of us in the North End are convinced that Neptune Oyster’s hot buttered lobster roll might be the best thing in the world. Ross’s mom has another favorite near her hometown in Connecticut called Skipper’s Dock.

The verdict? While she loved the Neptune Oyster roll, her loyalty lies at Skipper’s. Still a win-win, because everyone got to eat yummy lobster rolls (and oysters, and wine…) 🙂

Tough guys (kinda)

Nice guys 🙂

Me and Sydney

Oysters from the raw bar

2nd best lobster roll in the world, right Syd? 😉

Dessert= Espresso and Chocolate Martinis!

It doesn’t get much tastier than that folks.

On Sunday my Mom came to join us and we spent the day playing games and eating more (I don’t know how we could even fit more food). We ended the weekend with our Moms and some friends at Sinatra Sunday at Lucky’s Lounge. This is an old favorite of ours, from 8pm-12am Sundays you can go listen to some really great music for no cover, and it’s never been too busy. We had front row seats last night! One warning: if you do bring your mom here, keep your eye on that piano player 🙂

So fresh and so clean

While I’ve been having a fine time adapting to Boston life, my skin isn’t on board. I did take it from 30 degrees Celsius to 11 degrees Fahrenheit (I don’t know that exact conversion, but it’s a lot), from cold showers to scalding hot , and from warm, moist air to very dry cold air. I lost my tan as soon as I got off the runway at Logan, but I did acquire some very itchy dryness to make up for it. There is a cure though!

Neutrogena Rainbath

This stuff has been amazing for my skin; it cleans, moisturizes and even works well for shaving. It has a great subtle smell too (because do you really want to walk around smelling like the beach or cotten candy? Think about it).

Mango likes it so much he wants to eat it, although that’s not saying much, he also eats dirt.

One of my favorite things about our new teeny-tiny apartment are the great windows over-looking a gorgeous church and Hanover Street. Mango has also taken a liking to these windows and since he can’t see out of them from inside of his create, he now prefers to be on top of his crate.

I’m heading out for a walk with the pooch now, he’s all dressed and ready to go!

Later this evening I’m hopefully taking my first class at North End Yoga. They have a new member promotion for $30 for 30 days!

Baby, it’s Cold Outside…

We’re back!!!!

We’re freezing!!!!!

But we’re very happy 🙂 Friends and family, thank you so much for graciously taking us back, taking care of us and being flexible with us. It’s definitely overwhelming, and we are looking forward to getting re-adjusted and spending time with everyone as soon as we’re settled. Here’s a quick update for now:

Saturday: We had quite a trip home (blog post on this to come, our flight experience deserves a blog of it’s own) but as soon as we landed in Boston we headed to a party to see many Boston friends. If you were there, I’m sorry if I didn’t get a chance to talk to you much, if I spoke to you only in Spanish or if I made you hold my dog all night. At that point we hadn’t slept for 24 hours and I don’t really remember anything about this night except just feeling so happy to be there.

(Thanks again for the cupcake welcome Laura!!!)

We spent our first night in our new North End apartment. Can’t wait to be all moved in next week and get re-acquainted with city living!

Sunday: My Mom, Sister and niece picked us up and we all went to Ross’ house in Connecticut for the evening. Ross’ Mom threw a great dinner party and we sat by the fireplace, drank wine and laughed a lot with our families.

Monday: After a little xmas shopping in Mystic, CT we drove back to Rockport. We’ll be here relaxing, tree-decorating, eating and spending time with the fam. We’ll be here until Friday morning, when we’ll be driving back to Conneticut for the holiday weekend. If you’re on the North Shore this week give us a call!

Next week after Christmas we’ll be moving our stuff from CT and into the new North End apartment. If anyone is interested in helping us move/helping with Mango during the move please let me know! There will be free pizza, beer and Spanish lessons included!!!

Mango had a really tough time getting here as far as flights are concerned (again, blog post about this coming) but he is such a little trooper! He is LOVING it here; the colder weather, the freedom, and the cuddles from his new extended family.

I don’t have my camera cord right now, but our friend Laura caught the moment with our party entrances Saturday night, right after our flight:

Me first, Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand (how did I live without this for a year?!)

Ross was next, look at that smile:

And finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for…. y Mango?

How CUTE is his fleece coat (I’m talking about Mango here, sorry Pete)??

I think 2012 is going to be a very good year ❤ Now if only we could maintain these tans…