A Little Summertime

Torrone

Hi folks. I'd like to talk to you about torrone.

What is torrone (yes, you pronounce it toh-ROH-nay), you ask? Well, well, well, aren't you in for a treat!

Torrone is an Italian nougat candy that is traditionally eaten around Christmastime. I love the stuff, can't get enough. But my dad, ohhh my dad LOVES it. We've tried torrone from different bakeries all over the place. But the best, the very best torrone I've ever had, and I mean this with all my heart, comes from Boston's own Modern Pastry.

If you're thinking of the stale, orange flavored candies that come in the little colored boxes, then think again. Because this stuff is the real deal. Chewy, crunchy with the almonds, slightly sweet. And the dipped chocolate cappuccino or the dark chocolate espresso - oh. my. god.

Every year before I head home for Christmas, I have to go to the North End and stop at Modern to get torrone to bring home for my dad. This year he asked me to get 3 dozen. Now they come in bars the size of a king-size Snickers, maybe a little bigger. It ended up weighing almost 13 lbs. THIRTEEN POUNDS of candy. In other words, $187 worth. Of candy. I'll let you visualize that.

But boy oh boy, was it worth the hassle. Mmmmm, buonissimo!

Halloween

I love Halloween. Like, I LOVE it. Maybe it's the theatre kid in me, but I can't get enough. Costume parties are so great! This year some good friends of mine held an epic Halloween party at their house. My friend Adam and I went as Roger Sterling and Joan Holloway from Mad Men (one of my very favorite TV shows).

Yes, that is my real hair. It's just covered in red hairspray.
And yes, I look exactly like my mother.

Here are some of my other favorite costumes!




Happy Halloween!

P.S. Can we talk about how good I look with red hair?
I may have to try this out for real...

Pumpkins!

Have I mentioned that I love the fall?

On our cuhRAZY Friday night last night, my roommates and I carved pumpkins!

Brainstorming ideas and prepping pumpkins for carving.

Ta daaa!

Isn't my pumpkin adorable?!

Happy (early) Halloween!

Zombie Run 2011

Sometimes my friends and I do crazy things. That's probably why we're friends. Last year we started doing this zombie pub crawl through Davis Square in Somerville. Here's a photo from last year.

Yup.
Here's a few from this year's Zombie Run:





I may or may not have scared a baby. And then got yelled at by the baby mama. It's all good.

(Paint)Ballin'

I had a pretty rough week last week. The physical and mental stress of moving, putting myself out there and the disappointment that followed, everything that happened with my little Sammy-dog... it was a lot. I took a metal health day on Wednesday. I just needed one day to sleep and recharge my batteries. And, once my reboot was complete, I decided I needed to do something to get all of that pent up frustration out. Then the perfect opportunity presented itself.

Paintball.


My friend Chris is turning 28 on Monday and he decided that he wanted to get a group together to go paintballing to celebrate the big day. Even though I've been wanting to give it a try for years, the idea of being pelted with paintballs was still slightly terrifying. But I did it! And, even more amazingly, I had a blast.

We went to Randolph Paintball and played for about 4 hours. They have a few different fields and organize all different kinds of games for you to play. My friend Deandra and I were the only girls there (except for one hardcore mom...yikes), so it was a little intimidating. My guy friends took it very seriously. They were all about strategy. My strategy was to get hit as few times as possible. It didn't work that well.


Just one of my battle wounds. It's protruding from my leg and turning a lovely shade of purple today. All in a day.

Now that I'm a badass paintballer with some serious street cred, who knows what's next: tattoos, base jumping, roller derby.. You don't know me!

The Big Move

Well folks, it's official. I am now a resident of Brookline!

I was so stressed about moving. Like beyond stressed. Like I couldn't fall asleep at night because all I could think of was how much had to get done. But, honestly, it wasn't so bad! Minus the fact that it was literally 95 degrees outside, it wasn't too bad. Oh and then I fell down the stairs. That wasn't fun. So other than the heat and Domenica taking a tumble, it was all good.

And the tenants that lived in my apartment before us left a case of Bud Light in the fridge. Score!

Look at our adorable kitchen! The kitchen in in my old apartment was the size of a closet and didn't have any windows, so I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury now.


And our pantry!


And LAUNDRY! I'm doing loads of wash just because I can.


We still have lots of unpacking and organizing to do. And, the most fun part, decorating! I'm also going to paint my bedroom in the next week or so. Right now it's the most atrocious shade of oatmeal and red. Yikes. More on that later. For now, I'm enjoying getting settled in the new place. More pictures to come soon!

Studio 54, Revisited.

I love musical theatre. I spent the majority of my adolescence/teenage years on stage or at rehearsals of some kind, and I love love loved every second of it. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's something that I'm seriously ready to get back into but for now I'm OK with just being a part of the audience.

One of my best friends, James, works for an amazing theatre company in Cambridge called The A.R.T. (American Repertory Theatre), headed by the amazing Diane Paulus. For those of you who aren't theatre geeks, Diane is an incredible force. She directed the broadway revival of Hair (which I am still DYING to see) and was nominated for a Tony Award for best director. She's taking The A.R.T. in an extremely exciting, innovative direction with productions like Sleep No More and Gatz. She is also the creative genius behind a little something called The Donkey Show.

I had been hearing about The Donkey Show from James for months before it even opened, and I knew it would be amazing, even then. I finally got around to seeing it in November and I was NOT disappointed. The plot is based around Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and set in a Studio 54 style dance club. AMAZING! I know it may sound bizarre, but this glitter covered, polyester wearing extravaganza is seriously a match made in disco heaven. There are no seats at this show. You stand on the dance floor, throw back your drinks, and boogy to an incredible soundtrack of the best that disco had to offer while the show unfolds around you. It's hilarious, sexy, a little avant-garde, definitely rated R, and - best of all - FUN! I went to see the show again this past Saturday night with two friends who were going for the first time and they both had a blast.

The show was supposed to close in the beginning of January, but it's been extended through the summer due to popular demand. I highly recommend The Donkey Show. Can't recommend it enough, actually. I've been twice and I had a ball both times. Take a look at The Donkey Show's website for dates, ticket information, and a gallery of photos to whet your appetite. It's hedonistically fabulous and divine disco at its very best. Break out your platform pumps and best polyester jumpsuit and make your way down to Harvard Square to see The Donkey Show the first chance you get. Afterwards, you can do like my friends and I did - head on over to The Hong Kong and slurp down some scorpion bowls and get hit on my inappropriate men. Groovy.

Young Love

So today's post actually comes from a blog called Domestic which just so happens to be written by my best friend in the whole wide world, Melanie.

Me and Melanie (and our good friend Erin) circa 1994

Mel is a preschool teacher with a class full of 3-4 year olds and she comes home with the best stories from work. Stories that inevitably end with me exclaiming, "I can't believe this is your job!" Her most recent work related tale, one about young love and the little diva who's apparently the toast of the town, was too adorable not to share. Melanie writes:

Today, Little Miss Sunshine entered the classroom and announced that she had asked Billy to be her valentine. "He said yes, because I am going to give him looooots of valentine's cards next week." They proceeded to hold hands during circle and story time. Then, one of the other classes knocked on our door, because Small British Child had something to give to Little Miss Sunshine. Their interaction went something like this...

Small British Child: I have something for you. *hands over ziploc bag with small package inside* Be careful, it MIGHT have an egg in it!
Little Miss Sunshine: Oh, thank you. *opens package, decorated hardboiled egg emerges* Um, what is this?
Small British Child: Will you join me for a play date?
Little Miss Sunshine: Of course! *class leaves*
Me: LMS, do you and SBC hang out often?
Little Miss Sunshine: No, we've never talked before. But I think he likes my yoga poses."

This is the egg. No one can figure out the story behind it. I think its better that way.

There was also a note, that said:

"Please join me for a play date because I am very sweet."

Ahh, young love.

How freakin' cute is that?! Not to mention hysterical. I love the way children think. Now you understand my jealousy over the fact that Melanie gets to play with these little people all day long. Valentine's Day is definitely in the air. And, apparently, men my age can stand to take a few notes from the kids at Melanie's school!

I Solemnly Swear I Am Up To No Good

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I am a huge nerd. HUGE. I'm a nerd in a lot of ways, but let's just focus on one for today. Harry Potter! I was the biggest critic of the Harry Potter books for the first few years they came out and I made fun of my friends relentlessly for reading them. And then my best friend Melanie showed me the light. Seven books later and I'm one of the biggest Harry Potter nerds going. On top of that, I think J.K. Rowling is a genius and a woman whom I truly admire.

Since there are no more books to look forward to (so sad) and the next movie won't be out until November (should we start a countdown?), us Potter fans have to get our fix somehow. That's why I was beyond excited when I found out Harry Potter: The Exhibition was coming to the Museum of Science. Luckily for me Melanie - the friend who turned me on to HP - lives in Boston and was more than willing to go with me.

Now, technically, we were not allowed to take pictures. Does that stop MelButt? No, no, no. And does that stop me from stealing those pictures from her? Nope!

The Sorting Hat!
They only let little kids get sorted :(

Buckbeak and costumes from The Prisoner of Azkaban

The Maurauder's Map

The Great Hall!

With details as tiny as the jewelry the characters wear to pieces as big as Harry and Ron's complete bedroom in Gryffindor Tower, the entire world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts is vividly brought to life. For anyone who's a fan of the Harry Potter books or movies, I highly recommend this exhibit!


P.S. 289 days until Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows comes out!