Graduation Celebrations

'Tis the season to celebrate! Yesterday, Collin and I walked across the river, into a tent, and feasted on a cupcake tower twice my size and an assortment of other desserts and appetizers. Thanks HBS!

On top of graduations, engagements have been happening left and right. Not to mention baby showers and milestone birthdays (more to come on these)! One thing I've been having a lot of fun with is making simple single-sided "cards." I have a lot of Paper Source stock cards left over from my wedding, and they are the perfect size for a card. Add a few decorative stickers, and it's easy to create homemade, personal, custom-tailored cards. :) And, who knew, they are good for hanging (homemade) earrings on as well!

Congrats to all my lovely graduated friends!

Vignettes from the Week

Has it been a week already since I last posted? That flew by. I've noticed with the warmer weather, time seems to be passing faster. Or perhaps we are just having more fun! Some highlights from last week...


Collin played in sand for the first time. With the nicer weather, we have been taking walks almost daily, and often end up in parks and playgrounds. Here he is on a play-date at the park in Harvard Square. Who knew it was so elaborate in there!


Jason and I are steadily working through my brunch list. We are halfway there! On Sunday, we went to Vee Vee in Jamaica Plains. It is now the top contender for my favorite brunch place this year. I loved the relaxed atmosphere, and the home-grown restaurant feel. And how the owner would chat it up with the customers. Not to mention the orange walls. Oh yes, I loved the orange walls! The best part was the small crowd that gathered outside the restaurant about 10 minutes before it opened. Then, right at 10:30am, the owner came out, clapped his hands together, said "let's do this!", and invited the chattering crowd in. What a wonderful way to start a brunch!


We introduced Collin to the ducks in Jamaica Pond. Living in the city, Jason and I try to take regular day-trips out to nature reserves, farms, hiking trails, and the beach...just so we (and Collin) can remember what the natural world feels like. But sometimes, especially now with a baby, we can't quite make it out to Maine or New Hampshire or the Cape...and it is nice to have a selection of little "nature spots" (or perhaps "spotlets" is a better word) right here in the city, especially on a beautiful day.

This week has mostly been taken up by preparations for the weekend, including: hosting a baby shower, baking and transporting 50 cupcakes to New York City on a day-trip, and hopefully spending a relaxing Memorial Day with the family.

Farewell to Cambridge: 1369

This is my favorite local coffeeshop in Cambridge. I first wandered into this cafe in college, when Central Square seemed like another world away. But I was attracted to it's cute little lamps, and began frequenting it more often in the years to come. When I lived at Banks and Trowbridge, I would sometimes meander over, to study or journal or chat with a friend.

Then, when Jason and I moved to Central Square, this became my go-to coffeeshop. It has great lattes (depending on who makes it, you sometimes get the nice little creme on top), wonderful freshly-bake scones, and a homey local feel. I love walking in on a rainy day, and seeing all the little lamps a-glow. When I was pregnant, I visited this cafe almost everyday for a decaf iced latte--one of the little treats I indulged in when I felt like a big marshmellow.

Most recently, several times a week, Collin and I would walk Jason to the bus stop in the mornings, and then stop by 1369 for a hot cup of coffee or an iced latte. Sometimes, we would go back home after a quick stop in; othertimes, we would continue to walk, sometimes for hours...just me, my baby, and a good cup of coffee. Good times.

(Check this out for supporting local businesses: The 350 Project).

Work in Progress

Tonight, I finally took out the fabric and started the quilt I've been talking about for months. I was pretty tired out from the weekend (of eating and playing...I know, poor me), so I only got to cut a few squares. But still, it's a start. I can't wait for the different pieces to come together, and to see how the fabrics and squares play off of each other. It'll be so fun! Of course that is still very far away...so, for now, here's to a first step in the right direction.

Summer Dreamin'

Maybe it was the sunshine. Or the warmer weather. Or the hand-me-down beach hat Collin got from a friend. But today, I had an itch to put these sandals on and head to the beach. To lounge around, read a book, pack a picnic with fresh squeezed lemonade (of course, Collin would be well-behaved and play on his blanket quietly while I lounged around enjoying my book). Alas, the sun is already setting and it's getting chilly. But one can dream...

Humble Beginnings

Here is our first little garden, stocked with rosemary, thyme, arugula, garlic, basil, red peppers, mint and some sunflowers. I am hoping that Collin will be able to watch these plants grow in the coming months, and that we'd enjoy a small harvest at the end of the summer (maybe we'll have a home-grown pesto and mojito party!). I'm especially curious about how the red peppers and garlic will turn out...and whether the arugula will survive the somewhat unpredictable New England temperatures.

We had fun planting the seeds and seedlings. There's something very theraputic about working with dirt. I even got Jason to try his thumb out...here he is, gardening at dusk:


And so begins our humble little balcony garden. I will say, it is so tempting at the gardening shop to want to buy different seeds and grow a large variety of vegetables. But for now, we start small...and see where this takes us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sun flower seedlings. Morning snuggles. Brunch with friends. A call to mom and mom-in-law. Happy Mother's Day!

Weekend Brunching

Originally, this blog was only going to be about crafts...but I think it is slowly turning into a blog about daily life, motherhood, the things I enjoy, and the things that inspire me. So, naturally, the art of brunching must make a debut! Brunch is my favorite meal. It is just so...happy. I can think of few things more pleasant than sitting down to a good, hearty brunch on a sunny, weekend morning. (Guess what we're doing for Mother's Day?)

Where as real foodies look for restaurants to go to for dinner, I gravitate towards brunch. It's not even really about the food (though good food is nice); but just the pleasure of sitting down to eat during the day-time and not being in any particular rush about it. I have been giving Jason lists of places that I would like to try.

Here is my 2010 Brunch List (in no particular order):

Masa (South End)
Ole (Inman Square)
Friendly Toast (Kendall Square)
East Coast Grill (Inman Square)
Vee Vee (Jamaica Plains)
Ginger Park (South End)
Stella (South End)
The Blue Room (Kendall Square)
Teranga (South End, lunch)
The Beehive (South End)

We've hit 3 of the 10 so far. We'll see if we can make it through the list this summer. Perhaps I'll pick a favorite. My favorite brunch place of 2009 was Tremont 647--the pancakes were the best I'd ever had...and I've had my share of pancakes. Happy brunching!

Farewell to Cambridge: Harvard Yard

Earlier this week, on our morning walk, Collin and I wandered into Harvard Yard. Collin's first visit to my Alma Mater. It struck me, perhaps for the first time, that this is a part of my life that Collin will never really know about--a distant past for him, irrelevant and most likely uninteresting. He may never know (or care) that I first sat here in 1998, a starry eyed freshman, waiting eagerly to hear Nelson Mandela speak. Or the numerous times I've walked through this yard late at night, after "studying" at Lamont Library. Or that Jason and I spent the morning of our wedding here, taking photos when no one else was around, savoring a few quiet moments for ourselves. Not that I hold Harvard and its culture of drivenness in particularly high esteem (I would be happy if Collin could grow up without the pressure to acheive, the fear of failure, the trap of measuring himself against others). But this physical space, whatever it may mean to others or symbolize to the world, holds many memories for me and a history twelve years in the making. Walking Collin through the Yard today made me realize just how long ago college was for me, and how much a new life can put space between the present and the past.

The feel of the Yard is different to me now, though traces of the past still linger. Ten years ago, walking through this very same place, I was enthralled by the potential opportunities life presented (they seemed endless!), and anxious for what the future would hold; excited about dreaming big dreams, and insecure about whether I'd ever find the right path; loving the freedom and independence of being on my own, and wondering if I would ever find someone to share a life with. Today, life feels a bit more settled, the potential opportunities do not feel so endless, but neither am I as anxious about the future. I think I still have many of the same dreams, but they have deepened and become more tempered. I no longer need to accomplish all of them right now. Some dreams may remain just that--dreams, and that is okay with me. There is a quiet joy that seems to be growing with the years, and I find myself looking back on my time in Cambridge with fond contentment.

We are moving from Cambridge to Somerville in a couple months. As I pass by all my favorite spots in Cambridge these days, I feel compelled to record them, savoring the last moments of living in this town. So here is the first of what hopefully will be a "Farewell to Cambridge" series. Sure, Somerville is only a short drive (or walk) away, but there is something particularly special about Cambridge. It is where I first tasted the independence of living on my own, the pleasure of loving God, the blessing of living in community, the excitement of falling in love, and the joy of starting a family.

It's been a good 12 years.