It's late and I'm in bed, but I went to the most amazing bday party ever tonight for my friend Gabi. She knew people were coming over, but what she did not know, was that her boyfriend Matthew had hired a mariachi band to play at the party!

Let me tell you, there's not much I would rather do than hear a live mariachi band on a humid Tuesday night while drinking a Corona.




(pardon my blur)

Laura liked the wee guitar player


Happy Birthday Gabi! (officially in a few days)

I left a bit early to "surprise" Hunter when he got back from the airport. He's been in NC since Friday, so I decided to take the long way home so I could see him. Unfortunately, my surprise consisted of sitting on the rocking chair on his porch and scaring him half to death when he came up the stairs. I am glad that he's back though. We have big plans for the next couple weeks while I'm off work.. mostly going to the beach and working up a tan for Jamaica. Ooo.

ok goodnight.

i went to gloucester to get cancer

Brooke Black was in town this weekend so we made plans to go out to Gloucester to enjoy the nice weather. The train ride is about 45 minutes, and it takes you past all the little MA beach towns like Manchester and Swampscott.

Once there, we stopped in for lunch. Brooke ordered the marinated squid salad with ended up being 10 pounds of squid mixed with 3 pounds of onion and a few bits of lettuce. Delicious.


We also took a minute to visit the statue of the disabled artist... ?



Gloucester had decided to also "preserve" his shoes, which apparently were a pair of Birkenstocks


After a bit of a walk, we finally found Good Harbor beach, which was full of families and little kids with sandcastle buckets (my favorite!) Everyone talks about the beaches on the West Coast, but there's something to be said about white sand and giant tide pools


Check out Brooke's single braid:


We laid on the rocks for a bit, which turned out to be a bad decision, at least without sunblock. I think it was in the low 70's, but that sun took to my skin and torched it. This seems to happen every year.. but it still burns.


On the way back we stopped into Pearl's vintage store and I found a lovely surprise.. a black and white striped romper (skorts!) I'm not sure if this is THE summer onesie, but I am a bit in love. Make sure to notice the awkward burn line on my chest. It's not as great as the criss-crossed one on my back.



The train was an hour late, and after we boarded we found out the reason. Apparently there was a fatality on the tracks.. not sure if it was suicide or an accident, but it was a little eery knowing that the train had killed someone a few hours prior.

We got back to North Station and were confronted with another Memorial Weekend tragedy.. the drunk man who passed out on the ground next to the train. Boston's always good at producing those "I'm-So-Drunk-That-I-Can't-Stand-But-I-Will-Ride-The-T" sorts.

Then.. there was Park Street.

Brooke and I were and saw this little boy (5 or so years old) coming down the stairs with what I assume was his brother. The kid was holding a big spiderman action figure and seemed to be rubbing it against himself (kids are weird.) Once they got down the stairs, I realized he was doing the "i need to pee" face. His brother was saying goodbye to his friend, when the little kid pulled down his pants and started peeing. Right there on the bricks.

I've lived in Boston for almost four years, but there's still things I have yet to see/visit/explore. The Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain is one of those places..

I met Nellie this afternoon and we walked around for a couple hours. It's great to have a place that makes you (almost) forget that you live in a city. There's tons of different species of trees and plants, each with a metal tag that explains what it is.

So about that announcement.. Now that it's all official and everything, I got a new job.

I'm going to be a Regional Music Specialist in the music marketing department of a mobile music company. Plainly said, I'm going to be programming the music that you can download to your phone (in Canada and New Zealand at least.) This may require some travel to Toronto and Montreal to meet with clients, which is amazing. Also, I will be helping build up some of the relationship with independent labels as well.

This has all sort of happened over the last two weeks and I just sent in my acceptance letter yesterday, as well as put in my notice at my current job... Sort of over-whelming. I believe I'll be starting after I return from Jamaica, which means I'll have a few extra days to myself (hooray!) between jobs.

The company is located in Littleton, which is about an hour away by commuter rail.. which means lots of reading time and whatnot.

So yeah, I'm excited.

Also, we'll be in Jamaica in like 23 days. Hoollllyyyy crap!

Oh blessed day, I got a sunburn. All it took was walking around Salem, MA for 6 hours today.

Nate and I took the commuter rail out this morning and wandered around, popping in to various museums/witch shops (ha!) Salem is a great little town, but the magic stuff would get old real quick.


I decided to take off my shoes and test out the Atlantic. It wasn't too bad at first, but after a few seconds I was begging Nate to hurry up with the pic



We went to some witch museum that had a creepy basement full of fake people. It was like a low low low grade historic Disney ride. We learned a lot about people hanging accused witches.



From there we went to the House of Seven Gables and Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace. We toured both, but they wouldn't let you take pictures inside, so these pics will have to do:

House of Seven Gables



A crooked picture of Nate in front of Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace:


Some lovely flowers on the grounds:


We walked around and got some lunch (and delicious ice cream) before trying to catch the train back.. unfortunately, we had two hours to waste until the next one.. So, more walking around:

Why would you name your store this?


We stopped in a book store that literally had books piled to the ceiling.. barely any bookshelves.. Just piles and piles of books that could have been easily knocked over


We eventually made it home and now I'm the kind of tired that comes after a long day in the sun.


Yesterday I spent the afternoon making mango salsa and guacamole for Dominic, Dan and Nell's BBQ in Charlestown. They had a bunch of us over throughout the evening, feeding us potato and pasta salad, hotdogs, sausages, chicken.. the works. Lots of cold beer and good conversations and most importantly, sunshine. After a rainy Friday, Saturday brought out the goods.



Near the end of the night, Cat and I went upstairs to inspect the apartment attic, which was all brick and plaster and perfect for weird pictures:


The past week has been pretty low-key.. but there was one particularly amazing evening that included the Cantab Lounge and a terribly named band called Chicken Slacks. We went out for Laura's birthday and under her suggestion, we went there to finish the night. We were not disappointed! Chicken Slacks is a band of(mostly) older men covering hits like Signed, Sealed, Delivered and What's Going On. The lead singer's name is Diamond D. Not pictured in the photo is the weird Iggy Pop percussion guy that stood on the side of the stage playing the tambourine and shakers. Hunter was sort of transfixed.


The room was filled with a mix of young people and Central Sq weirdos.. and an added bonus was the goth show going on in the basement with a headlining band called Corpse Thriller. It was a weird mix hanging out outside. I'm definitely going back.


I should have some news this week.. stay tuned

Stephanie and Dean got themselves engaged! Cuuuuuuuuute

Also, Laura went to the DCFC show last night and guess who she met?

My clothing addiction may have gotten out of hand. I'm willing to admit it. My mom has never understood why I always buy used clothing (or in her opinion "weird" used clothing) but a lot of it has to do with the fact that I can buy so much of it for so cheap.. It's constantly recycled in and out...

Today I went to Garment District, and though I wasn't feeling too hopeful at first, I managed to find:

gauzy summer dress (which I cut cheesy beads off of), scarf, yellow nightgown, yellow wrap sweater, airy flowered white wrap blouse, sparkly black v neck sweater

(this was all in 1.50 a pound, so it cost me $3)

Then I went upstairs and scored a perfect kaki trench, another scarf, a white and blue striped summer dress, and my pride and joy, a black summer dress with polka dots and flowers (with built in bra.)

I'm strongly considering clearing out my storage closet to make room for more clothes. it's bad.

Friday I went to see Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar with Laura, Gabi and Matthew. It's the first time I've been to a sold out show at the middle east upstairs in a very very long time.. the show was great and let out by 12:30 or so, so I headed to Enormous Room with Gabi and Matthew where their friend was DJing.. we danced and drank and went to a party near davis, even though it was far to late and I had drank far too much to go anywhere.



Hunter came back from NC last night so I went over there and watched him play GTA. Ahah just kidding. Sorta.

Today I met up with Laura in Harvard for May Fair.. which meant we could eat fried dough without feeling guilty. I did feel a little sick though. We walked around for a bit and looked at the jewelry booths and whatnot. We went into Mint Julep and I fell in love with a $250 dress that I can't possible afford. Ahh a good Sunday.

If there's one thing I learned about Maine this weekend, it's that they like stupid plays on their name. So let's say I have a bookstore.. I might want to name it Mainely Books. Or say I have a horse grooming service? Let's call it Maines and Tails! Ohhh hilarious.

We made it up there in one piece, stopping in Portsmouth along the way so that we could go to the Smuttynose Brew Pub for dinner (and beers of course.)

We hit Ogunquit at close to 9pm and managed to find Cat's uncle's cabin. I suppose I was expecting a cabin in the wood the whole time, but this was a nice, two floor condo with a covered back porch. Luxury! We were all pretty excited about having it as a (free) place to stay for the weekend. Hunter and Pete got wrapped into the Celtics, so Cat and I had a marathon of a conversation on the porch until the boys started peeking through the window, wondering where we'd gone.

The next morning we went to the Maine Diner for brunch. It was packed, even on a gray and rainy Saturday, and the food was delicious. After that we got back on the road and headed to Portland. I think it was at this point that we saw the man in the clown suit juggling in the rain in the front yard of some house. That was a little weird.

Portland was pretty great. Many of the towns in New England remind me of WA (like Port Townsend) with little shops and lots of brick and a waterfront view. Portland was pretty deserted for a city on a Saturday. It took forever to find a store that was open so I could buy batteries! We split up so Cat and I could look at clothes and Pete and Hunter could look at books. I eventually got batteries, so the picture taking started.

Cat and I found a lovely tree to stand under:

And there were boats:

And lobster traps:

We found the one vintage store in town and I bought a velvet cap with fake jewels and a grean belted dress. Cat found a Fred Perry tank top with tennis racks on it. We were both pretty satisfied.

Then we found Hunter and Pete doing what they do best:

After that, it was time for Pete's most anticipated part of the trip: Gritty McDuff's brew pub. Things got a little funny here. The door guy was really psyched on life "this whole summer's been amazing so far, yeah I'm doing really good." A stretch escalade limo pulled up with 20 bachelorette party ladies. The bride wore a white hoodie that said "Sexy Bride to Be." Hunter made a connection with the limo driver through the window. One of the ladies kissed the doorman goodbye on the lips. We drank some beers and ate some food.

We made it somewhat of an early night and got up the next day to head back home. Hunter cooked us up some omelets, plus there was homefries, english muffins, cantaloupe and bacon. It was brutal and delcious.

After cleaning up the condo, we made a stop at the Ogunquit beach (my idea!) which was cold and gray and rainy. I think it was worth it.. look at their faces!

This guy was looking for treasures:

Finally, we went back to Portsmouth and walked around for several hours. I bought a gold tree necklace

We took the Harbor trail for a while and saw some more water and a graveyard and some old ass houses:



(built in 1703 I believe)

Here are my purchases from the trip (can't see the dress too well, but whateverrr)


It was a really great weekend and I hope we get to return! Maybe without the rain, next time..

Tomorrow is Friday (yessssss) and this weekend I am embarking on a journey to a mystical place called Ogunquit, Maine with Hunter, Cat and Pete.  Sort of a hideous name, but a very welcomed escape from this city (it's been 5 months.)  Cat's uncle has a condo in Ogunquit, so we have a free place to stay and whatnot. Plus, it looks like my kind of place!

We can't go to Maine without hitting up a couple breweries during the weekend, being refined craft beer people and all. I think it may be the biggest appeal for Hunter and Pete, even above spending time with such lovely ladies. 

Sunday I'm going to see The Cavesingers with Laura, and if we get back early enough, good old Dr. Dog in Harvard Square.

So yes...Looking forward to the weekend.

also, six weeks to jamaica