Family Day in Boston to Celebrate My Mom's Birthday!

A couple weekends ago, it was my mom's birthday, and my family decided to celebrate by going into Boston for the day! I always love when I get the opportunity to go into the city and get a little break from the suburbs. After my mom opened her presents and we had some lunch at home, we headed into the city!

We had planned to get dinner in the North End, which is the Italian part of the city, but had decided to just see where the day took us before that. The great thing about Boston is that it's a very walkable city, so we could easily walk anywhere we decided to go. We parked in Chinatown and then walked through Boston Common and the Public Garden. The Public Garden is so pretty in the summer because it's so green! After stopping to get a few pictures with the birthday girl, we kept walking until we got to Newbury Street. My dad was feeling pretty tired and a little faint, so he and my sister Lexi decided to sit in Starbucks for a little bit while my mom and I went to Marshall's across the street for some shopping. While we were there, my sister texted us saying my dad had passed out in Starbucks and the employees had taken him into the back to lie down! She even said one of the employees was holding a straw for him while he drank some lemonade! My mom and I actually believed her and were laughing hysterically in the store from the visual of a Starbucks employee holding a straw for my dad while he laid on the floor complaining haha! Eventually Lexi called though and said it was all a joke that they decided to play on us since they were bored sitting in Starbucks!

with my mom in the Boston Public Garden

After that, it was around 6pm, so we decided to start walking toward the North End which was about a half hour walk away. We walked through Faneuil Hall and past a bunch of Irish pubs before we came to the North End, my favourite part of Boston! We had heard of a restaurant from a few different people called Trattoria Il Panino that we wanted to try. Amazingly, we only had to wait for about 15 minutes before we got a table! The restaurant doesn't take reservations and it was a Saturday night, so that was impressively fast! We think the host favoured us since he knew it was my mom's birthday, because we ended up getting seated before a few groups who had been there before us. We got such a perfect table too! It was in their little terrace area right next to the sidewalk, so it was perfect for people watching! We heard some musicians who were playing an accordian and violin outside, which was really cool! To celebrate my mom's birthday, we got a bottle of wine for the table which we thoroughly enjoyed! And the food was so amazing! I got lasagna with beef in it, my dad and sister both got chicken parmesan, and my mom got a pasta with pesto, cheese, and vegetables. The sauce on my lasagna was amazing, and I tried some chicken parm and pesto pasta too which were also so so good! I have had meals in so many different North End restaurants over the years and have always been amazed by how good the food is in each place!

the North End

This is the restaurant we went to. It was amazing!

my lasagna and wine

my mom with her pasta

the chicken parmesan that both my dad and sister ordered

another shot of my lasagna. It was sooo good!!

After dinner, we decided to walk around the North End a little bit to digest our food before hitting our favourite dessert place: Modern Pastry! Mike's Pastry has the reputation of being the more famous pastry shop, but we have always preferred Modern. When we got there, there were no tables available, but a server told us about a room downstairs that was relatively new and not many people knew about yet. There were a bunch more tables and only one other group down there, so it was the perfect atmosphere to enjoy our desserts! It looked like a cute rustic Italian cafe down there too! I got a chocolate covered cheesecake, Lexi got carrot cake, my dad got a cream puff, and my mom got a cannoli and a cappucino. As always, the food was amazing!

all of our delicious desserts

my chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious!

After enjoying our desserts from Modern, we started to make our way back toward Chinatown where the car was. We went into a couple North End shops and walked through Faneuil Hall again before arriving back at the car. I had an amazing day in Boston with my family, and I know my mom had a great birthday! I always have a great time in the city and will hopefully be going back into Boston again soon!

with my mom and sister at the end of the awesome day!

My First Wedding!

This past weekend, my cousin Tina got married, and I got to attend my very first wedding! (I went to the wedding of a family friend when I was little, but I was really young and didn't get to go to the reception, so I don't usually count it.) Tina got married to a guy named Mike who has come to a bunch of family events, and everyone in the family loves him!

On the day of the wedding, it was such a perfect day with amazing weather. It was an outdoor wedding with a cute little gazebo and a little river going by. Tina's dress was really pretty, and it was a nice ceremony. It was really short too, which everyone liked!

me and Lexi getting photo bombed by our dad

with my mom and Auntie Michelle

Then came the reception, the part that I was most excited about! My dad's side of the family can get a little bit wild, so I knew it would be really fun! First up was to get some drinks! Once everyone had hit the bar and sat at their tables, it was time for the speeches and the toast. The speeches were given by Mike's brother and Tina's two older sisters. My cousin Katie had a long speech that was funny and made us all laugh a lot! Then, it was dinner time. My dinner was steak with mashed potatoes and vegetables, and was really good! And finally, it was time for dancing! We got some more drinks and hit the dance floor for the next couple of hours! I didn't know some of the music that the DJ played, but there were some good songs too that everyone got really into! Once it hit 11pm and everyone started to leave, we were all so exhausted after the celebration. I'm so happy for Tina and Mike and think they make a great couple :)

me and Lexi with our cousin Allie

All in all, I had a great first wedding experience! It's so weird that I'm getting to the age when people close to my age are starting to get engaged and married. I personally can't see myself getting married for a long time, and inside I still feel like I'm definitely younger than 22, so it's crazy to me that other people my age can already feel ready to settle down! But I know I have a ton of friends who are also enjoying being young and single, so I'm not alone! And even though I feel far away from getting married myself, I'm looking forward to attending some more weddings in the future!

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

Over the past several months, I have been on the hunt for a job that would be a good fit for me after I recently graduated from college. I am from the Boston area and had a plan in my mind that I would find a job in Boston, live at home for the first year, and move into the city next spring or summer. When I realised the number of entry-level jobs in Boston in positions I would be qualified for and interested in was much less than I expected, I started to panic and feel depressed thinking that I would never get a job. Every time I checked a website like Monster.com or Indeed.com, I would see thousands of available positions in Boston, but it seemed that all of the marketing or sales jobs I would come across either required 5+ years of experience, a master's degree, or were too far to commute to from home. I had never really considered moving to a new city, but when I randomly decided to broaden my search to include cities other than just Boston, I was amazed at how many great opportunities I was finding! I still felt hesitant, because surely I couldn't afford to rent an apartment at this point in my life. But after browsing the rental markets in some different cities, I was actually surprised to see that, once I have a job, I probably could afford an apartment! Ever since discovering that the possibility of moving to a new city could actually work out for me, I have been excited looking into more opportunities and researching cities that I think would be a good fit for me.

While I'll always love my hometown Boston, I feel like I'm ready for a change and to experience something new.

A bunch of the jobs I saw were in states that don't necessarily interest me, such as Texas and Missouri. But I have found opportunities in more exciting cities like New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and Miami. I've been researching all of these cities and could see myself being happy in any one of them. I have decided that the cities I can most see myself in (and which are most practical without having a car) are San Francisco, Seattle, New York, or Chicago. I already know I love New York, and after interning in Seattle last summer, I could definitely see myself living there. I think I would really love Chicago as well, but the city that is intriguing me the most at the moment is San Francisco. I had never really thought of San Francisco as a city I would want to move to, but after researching it a little bit, I think my personality would fit right into the laid-back, adventurous, and open-minded atmosphere of the city. Not to mention, there are so many start-up companies there that are looking to recruit twenty-somethings like myself. Ever since learning about some of the opportunities in San Francisco and the other cities I mentioned, the thought of moving out and experiencing a new city is so exciting to me, and I can't stop researching job opportunities, possible business connections, and the cultures of the different cities. If things continue along this path, I could be living in a different part of the country within the next few months! And as scary as it seems to move to another part of the country where I may not know many people yet, I keep thinking of a quote I read once that I try to live my life by: "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." I am going to keep that in mind as I continue on the search to find a job and possibly a new city to call home!

I already know I love New York and would have a great experience living there.

Even though I've never been to Chicago, I can see myself really liking it there.

After interning in Seattle, I grew to love the city and think it could be a good option for me.

San Francisco is currently at the top of my list in the search for a new city to call home.

Spending the Night with Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and New Politics

I think everyone has a few singers or bands who have had a significant impact on them, and for me, one of those bands is Fall Out Boy. I first became a fan of them in 2005, and in 2007 after their album Infinity on High came out, they quickly took over the role as my favourite band. Throughout high school, my love for Fall Out Boy stayed strong, and if I was ever having a bad day, I knew that listening to their music would cheer me up. I even saw them in concert twice, in 2007 and 2009. (Of course, they were amazing!) I was so sad when FOB broke up in 2009, but was so excited when they got back together last year. They quickly returned to being one of my favourite bands, and I grew to love their new music just as much, if not more, than their previous albums.

So needless to say, I was so happy when my sister told me that Fall Out Boy was going on tour this summer and would be playing a show near us! And to make it even more awesome, Paramore was joining them on tour! Paramore is another band I loved since high school, but had never seen in concert. At first, we didn't think we would be able to go, since the lawn seats and cheap seats were all sold out, and the only ones left cost hundreds of dollars a piece. But then, after checking one last time on eBay, we found tickets in a great spot for $75 a piece. Score!

The concert was on June 22, which ended up being such a nice day! My sister Lexi and I headed out early to park and get some dinner before the show. Of course we jammed to my FOB CDs the whole ride! After finding parking (that was free!!), we went to a little Italian place nearby for dinner. The restaurant was having a special where pizzas were half-price that night. Everything was going perfectly for us! :)

Lexi and I all ready for the concert!

When it got closer to the time doors would open, we headed back to the concert venue and got t-shirts. (I have a Fall Out Boy t-shirt that I got seven years ago when we saw them perform for the first time, but unfortunately it doesn't fit any more!) 

The first band to perform was a newer band called New Politics, which Pete Wentz just signed to his record label. I had only known one of their songs before seeing them perform, but they were really good and I enjoyed their set a lot! I've been listening to a bunch of their songs since the concert, and definitely want to buy their CD.

Next up: Paramore! Before the concert, I hadn't bought Paramore's latest CD yet, and didn't know most of their newer songs, but I was so excited when they ended up playing a ton of their older songs! Hayley Williams has so much energy and was so great to watch. It's amazing she can run around on stage as much as she does and still sound so good singing! My favourite song they performed was probably Misery Business, because that was the song that made me originally fall in love with Paramore when I heard it on TRL. (Any other 00's girls miss that show as much as I do? ;) ) The entire crowd seemed to know that song, so the whole venue was singing along with the band. They even brought two girls up on stage to sing the end bit of the song with Hayley. Paramore is a band I had wanted to see for years, so I was so happy to finally get to experience them perform live. (And seeing them perform inspired me to buy their newest CD that I have been absolutely loving!)

And then it was time for the performance I had been anticipating most: Fall Out Boy! As I expected, they opened up with Phoenix from their latest album, and from the very beginning, their set was full of energy and excitement. It's amazing how many hit songs they have had over the years. I did not stop singing and smiling the entire time they played! Something about seeing them perform live just makes me feel happy because they have had a pretty big impact on me growing up. I can't even pick a favourite song because they were all so good, but one thing I loved was how they ended the show with their song Saturday. I know it used to be their tradition to end all of their shows with this song because it was one of the first ones they ever recorded together, but I wasn't sure if they would continue that tradition after returning form their hiatus. But they continued the tradition, and I sung along with the other die-hard fans who have been fans of theirs ever since their early years.

I had such an amazing time at the concert, and seeing the three bands perform live made me love them even more and made me so excited to (hopefully) see them again in the near future!

Reunited with a best friend and travelling to New York City!

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since my last post, but I have been extremely busy finishing up my last semester of college, moving home, and then working on the job search. I am now officially a college graduate which still hasn't really hit me yet. This summer is going to be so great, and has already gotten off to a great start. The first exciting event of my summer happened a couple of weeks ago when my friend Ciela came to visit.

Ciela is from Holland and now lives in London, and we met and became good friends when we studied abroad together in Lyon, France. Even after leaving Lyon, Ciela has been one of the people I have really stayed in touch with and talk to on a regular basis. But since we live thousands of miles away from each other, we didn't see each other, other than through Skype, for a year and a half... until she decided to book a trip to visit the US for the first time! She landed in Boston around noon on June 11, which was a Wednesday, and was here until the following Tuesday.

As soon as I picked her up from the airport, the fun began! Since we didn't have a full day to hang out, we decided to have a more low-key day and stay on the South Shore. I drove her around my town a little bit and she was so excited to see the beach and ocean from this side of the pond. Then we headed down to the Plymouth waterfront where there are a bunch of cute little shops and restaurants and there are really pretty views of the water. And unlike a lot of tourists in the area, Ciela was not all that enamoured by Plymouth Rock haha! Us locals always like to giggle about tourists who come from all over the world to view the rock, and we never understood how it can seem so exciting to some people when it's literally just a rock with "1620" carved into it, and it's not even the real first rock the Pilgrims stepped onto! After exploring the area and getting some ice cream, we headed back to my house to have dinner with my family.

The next day, we headed into Boston! When we got there, it was around noon so we decided to stop for lunch. We got burgers from an outdoor restaurant on Newbury Street, which was amazing! Then we walked all over the city. We walked down Newbury Street, which is like the Rodeo Drive or 5th Ave of Boston, then to the Boston Common and Public Gardens, Faneuil Hall, the harbour and everything else in between! Once we got near the North End, it was too early to get dinner from one of the amazing Italian restaurants, but we did decide to stop and get a snack from Modern Pastry. Mike's Pastry may be the more famous of the two pastry shops, but I have always loved Modern Pastry more! I got strawberry cheesecake and Ciela got chocolate mousse cake, and we went to sit by a relaxing fountain to eat them. Unfortunately, then it started to rain a little bit, so we headed to the nearest T station and went to the Prudential Center, which is the big mall in Boston. Once the rain had cleared up, we walked around some more and made our way to Chinatown where we grabbed some dinner. Then it was time to head back to my house to pack for the weekend because we were heading to New York City! :D

Boston Common

Quincy Market in Faneuil Hall

delicious snacks from Modern Pastry!

Friday morning, we left the house around 6am to catch an early bus from Boston into Manhattan. Throughout most of the bus ride, it downpoured all through Massachusetts and Connecticut, but once we arrived in New York, the weather had cleared and it was sunny and warm out! We think New York had known we were coming and made sure the weather was good for us :) After checking into our hostel in Williamsburg, we didn't waste any time and headed back into the city to start sightseeing! First we went to the 9/11 Memorial which is so cool. I had been there in January, but it had still been under some construction then and was closer to being finished this time. The main focal points of the memorial are the Freedom Tower and two huge fountains where the two original towers had stood, with the names of all the people who died carved around the edge. It's a really nice memorial and a good way to honour all of the people who died on September 11. After that, we walked by the Hudson River and went over to Wall Street to see the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve.

the 9/11 Memorial

the Freedom Tower

Wall Street (the NYSE is on the left and the Federal Reserve is straight ahead)

Then we went to the nearby TJMaxx, but when we were going to leave, I guess the rain we had experienced in Connecticut made its way to New York, because it was downpouring! We managed to run to a subway station though and took the subway to Grand Central Station and then Chelsea where we made our way to the Chelsea Market for some Thai food. Once the rain had cleared up, we decided to head to the best place to see in New York at night—Times Square! I always love going to Times Square and this time was no exception. It looked so cool and we even saw the Naked Cowboy! (It was a younger, different Naked Cowboy, though, so I wonder if the older one retired!) After walking all through Times Square (and taking lots of selfies), we walked over to Rockefeller Center which is also cool to see at night! After that, we headed back to our hostel to rest up for our full day of exploring Saturday.

Grand Central Station

Times Square!

I have my own company in NYC, no big deal ;)

Rockefeller Center

In addition to being a fun day of sightseeing, Saturday was also Ciela's 22nd birthday! It was so cool to spend her birthday with her. We started off the day by heading to Herald Square and the Upper East Side. We went into a few shops and just enjoyed taking in the atmosphere. We went to the Chrysler Building but realised once we were next to it that maybe viewing it from below may not be the best idea because you can't really see it :) We walked all around the Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, and Park Avenue area and then went into Central Park. I had been to Central Park before, but I completely forgot just how huge it is! We spent a couple of hours walking around and saw a lake with people boating on it, the John Lennon memorial called Strawberry Fields, Belvedere Castle, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Even though we spent so much time walking around, I feel like we still didn't even see so many parts of the park! It's so cool how peaceful the park is even though it's right in the middle of a huge bustling city. If I lived in New York, I think I would spend a lot of time in Central Park during the summer. After exploring the park, we went to the Met and sat on the steps to rest and pretend we were in "Gossip Girl" haha. And as our final sightseeing destination of the day, we decided to take the Staten Island Ferry. This was new for me too because I had never taken the ferry, but I've heard it has amazing views of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. It didn't disappoint and we had timed it perfectly so it was sunset as we were taking the ferry from Staten Island back to Manhattan. It was such a beautiful view and it was awesome seeing the city from a new perspective.

the John Lennon memorial

Sitting on the Met steps pretending to be Blair and Serena ;)

view from the Staten Island Ferry

Then it was time to go out and celebrate Ciela's birthday! She had a friend from London who was also in New York for the weekend, and we went to meet up with her, her husband, and her cousins who were all at a rooftop bar called 230-Fifth on Fifth Avenue. When we got there, there was a HUGE line that probably would have taken two hours to get through, but we were able to skip the entire line and go straight in! Ciela's friend Sandy had a table in the VIP section where they had bottle service. It was so awesome! The view was amazing and it actually felt like we were in a dream! It was such a fun night hanging out on the rooftop overlooking the Empire State Building and Manhattan skyline, and I didn't want it to end! When they eventually made everyone leave at 4am, we had a little bit of trouble navigating the subway back to our hostel since we were both so exhausted. It took us about an hour and a half to get back. We had also been excited to see the Manhattan skyline at night one more time when our train emerged from underground to cross the Williamsburg Bridge, but since we had been lost in the subway for so long, by the time we crossed the bridge, it was already light out!

230-Fifth rooftop bar

the view from 230-Fifth

After a couple hours of sleep, we were woken up to the sound of the guy in the room next to ours loudly Skyping someone, so we packed up and headed out into Manhattan for one last time before we would be taking our bus back to Boston that evening. We went to Washington Square Park to see the big arch. Where Ciela lives in London is right down the street from Marble Arch, so she was excited to see the Manhattan version of the arch! After that, we explored Soho a little bit, and then went to a restaurant called Jack's Wife Frida to meet up with someone for brunch. The girl we were meeting is the daughter of my mom's friend, and we had been next-door neighbours and good friends when we were little kids! She is a year younger than me and goes to school in New York. She brought a friend as well, and it was so cool reuniting in NYC! The food at the restaurant was amazing too! After brunch, we had a little bit of time before going back to the hostel to pick up our suitcases and going to the bus, so we made one last stop at the Flatiron Building, another New York icon that I had never seen before! The weekend in New york was so amazing, and it was the perfect way to celebrate Ciela's birthday!

Washington Square Park

the Empire State Building

poached eggs, pita, avocado, greek yogurt, and chopped veggie salad... yum!

reunited with my childhood friend Catherine

the Flatiron Building

The next two days were more low-key and relaxed, spent on the South Shore. We needed some more relaxing days after our busy weekend in New York! Monday, we slept late and then went to the beach. The beach was a little bit chilly, but it was still fun! We also hit up a few American places that Ciela had never been to before but wanted to experience: Dunkin Donuts and Target! She loved both of these places just like I do! That night, we went back to my house for dinner with my family. My mom had also bought a cake so we could all celebrate Ciela's birthday together! My family loved Ciela too and were sad that she couldn't stay longer.

Ciela's cake and birthday gift

The next morning, Ciela and I went for breakfast at a restaurant down the street from my house that makes the most amazing and huge pancakes! I got banana chocolate chip and Ciela got blueberry. I had been to that restaurant before but had never had the pancakes, which they are known for, and it was definitely a good choice! After breakfast, we went to a couple more American places before I had to take Ciela to the airport: Walmart and also a drive-thru ATM. It's funny how things that seem so normal are so interesting to people from another country! Ciela was amazed by how many drive-thru places there are in the US, since the only drive-thru they have in Holland, she said, is McDonald's. Then it was time to go to the airport and say goodbye, which was really sad, but I was happy that the week had been so great! And I have my flight booked to visit England in October, so I know I will be seeing her again in just over three months—much better than the year and half between this visit and the last time we said goodbye in Lyon. Seeing Ciela made me so grateful to have friends from all over the world, and it made me even more excited for my trip to England in October and being reunited with some more of my international friends :)

banana chocolate chip pancakes! :D