April Showers bring May Flowers and Mayflowers bring Pilgrims

I love New England, but sometimes I wonder how we all managed to stay here when winter rolls around. It is brutal and this year was especially brutal, we're still shaking off the cold in May.

But then, spring arrives. When the first dogwood blooms, the birds return en masse, and the tulips emerge, I remember. This kind of beauty can make you forget the worst of Nor-easters.

Happy - almost - Spring!

SOWA Antiques Market and New Uses for Clip-ons

Sundays are made for brunch, gin before noon, and browsing. The newest drink of the day around the homestead is the French 75, with it's lovely mix of gin and champagne. You can't go wrong.

We also had crepes with nutella, biscoff, bananas, powdered sugar, etc...but we ate the whole batch before I thought to take a picture. Oops.

We then headed out on a mission to find clip-on earrings. Not something many people go looking for very often, but I had a plan. In Boston's South End neighborhood, the SOWA ('South of Washington Street') market offers an outdoor arts fair and farmers' market in the summer and an antique market year round. 

It is housed within old mill-style buildings with a variety of sellers offering home goods, objets d'art, clothing, and of course jewelry.

It's a good place to find a special gift, an interesting accent for that blank wall, or just to take a stroll through time and taste.

I did find my clip-ons for $5 and with a few furniture sticky felt pads, turned them into collar tips.

Volia!

Boston loves Impressionism (...and pizza)

When life kicks off your weekend on a rough note, you go to brunch. Actually, if life is going swimmingly, you should probably go to brunch. Brunch is where it's at: either side of the river, Saturday, Sunday, or every weekend, do it. Go to brunch.

Then you can have magical things like breakfast pizza: baked runny eggs, garlicky spinach, brown sugar (!) glazed bacon, and crispy, crispy crust.

You could survive on a serving of this for a week, no joke. Russell House Tavern, check it out!

The Museum of Fine Arts opened it's first guest-curated exhibition, "Boston loves Impressionism" on V-Day appropriately. You could vote online in the weeks leading up for your favorite and earn free passes! 

We popped into see the winners - and the favorites (notice the heart?)

I was very pleased to see what good taste my city has - we didn't go for the obvious Monet 'Water Lillies' - not that there is anything wrong with Monet...

Speaking of Monet...

After a quick spin around, we decided we needed food. I'm a sucker for museum cafes, but the MFA's is in a glass artium between the original museum and the new wing and is incredible.

Give me free bread and I may give you my heart.

We shared some fablulous cod cakes served with bacony, smoky white beans. It was a perfect snack in between all the cooking I've been doing lately. For some reason these cod cakes like being viewed at a strange angle and will not cooperate today...

Weekends around town when we don't have any plans are some of the best times - we always find good food and something to dazzle the senses!

Christmas Nights, Christmas Lights

Since we spend Christmas Eve and Day at my parent's house in and then this year are heading immediately to England (!), A and I always celebrate our own Christmas one weekend before December 25th. This year we headed to brunch at one of my favorite places in Boston: Kitchen.

Kitchen brings to life dishes and recipes from throughout time - all the meals have dates of origin next to them on the menu, dating all the way back to a 17th century 'sallet' (salad). I love the historical aspect, the old cookbooks and records that make up the decor of the small South End locale, but I most of all love the doughnuts:

But really

I don't even really like doughnuts as rule (cider doughnuts be an exception) but these little pillows of cinnamon-y sugar goodness are heavenly. They are both a brunch starter and a dessert; they actually appear on the brunch menu twice. They are perfection in a little warm cakey bite, completed by the berry jam and vanilla sauce. 

LOOK at that

During brunch hours, complimentary homemade warm from the oven muffins are also served. 

A broken muffin still remembers it's true strength

The evening carb offering is homemade pretzel rolls. They may sound simple, but they are worth the trip. Really, if one went to Kitchen and had nothing by a cocktail and the doughnuts or pretzel rolls, one could be sated...until the call of the carbohydrate rises again...

After I stopped crying my tears of joy over the doughnuts, April had some beautiful oysters on a half shell that I did not partake in and thus forgot to photograph, but then the (other) piece d'resistance: lobster grits.

Bubblin'

Lobster grits may sound simple, but that is the magic of Kitchen: they take beautiful, high quality ingredients and make them live up to their tastiest level. 

Extreme lobster close up

Lobster grits half-consumed and the rest happily packed up, we wandered in the bitter cold through the downtown lights until it was time for the annual Trinity Church Candlelight Carols. Trinity is a beautiful Romanesque church that sits in the center of Boston's Copley Square. Every December, Trinity hosts a carol service for the community. 

View from the balcony

As twilight drains out of the church, the candles are lit and the light spreads throughout every nave and row of the church. The carols represent countries and cultures from around the world, including medieval folk songs and African spirituals. The spectacular surroundings combined with the soaring music of a choir could put anyone in the holiday spirit. 

After the music ended, we re-entered the city to find a pristine dusting of snow.

Our perfect day was complete. Until the next Christmas event...

A Walk through Mount Auburn

The U.S.' first landscaped cemetery Mount Auburn lies in Cambridge, MA and is a beautiful place filled with history, art, and testimonies to memory.  It's about a mile and half walk from Harvard Square and open to the public year around, with guided and audio tours available. Birds, frogs, turtles, amongst other small creatures fill the ponds and groves with the gentle sounds of life's constancy. 

Animal Tales & Birthdays

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in New England and thus is the last hurrah before school starts and work gets (more) serious again. My birthday typically falls during or near Labor Day, so I always treat it as an excuse to celebrate for three days instead of a measly one.

We kicked off the weekend at the freshly renovated Aquarium,

then took an inaugural ride on the new Greenway Carousel.

After adventures with our animal friends, we moved on to finding an appropriate birthday meal before the weekend is out.