Halloween at the Harvard Club

I love Halloween! It's the one time of year that I get to dress up, look crazy and actually leave the house. This year I was all excited to dress up like a lion. I know it sounds a little weird but trust me, I had a great idea. When I was just about to start gathering the things I needed for my killer look I found out that the Big Halloween party this year would not be a dress in costume kind of party. It was a masquerade ball!

I went online and found this awesome idea for a mask that you paint on your face. My new roommate and GREAT friend Chen Ying designed it and outlined it on my face for me. I didn't have any grease paint to put on, so I improvised (black cream eyeliner and a paint brush). It turned out awesome!

Chen Ying then added crystals around my eyes to really complete the look and we headed for the Harvard Club.

Where we danced the night away.

Hope you had a good Halloween too.

The Adventure Continues . . .

While Jonathan was here, we explored Mount Auburn Cemetery. It's the very first landscaped cemetery in America (I think) and it's HUGE.

I'll spare you all my morbid pictures of people's headstones and jump right to the view from the top of the tower. It was such a perfect day to be up there.

The next day we decided to venture outside of Massachusetts and explore a little of New Hampshire. Jonathan had been asking for months for me to set him up on a date with someone while he was here. I was a little hesitant but decided at the last minute that my friend Kyojin was the perfect candidate. She's super funny, so smart, beautiful and from Korea. (Ding, Ding, Ding!)

We left early in the morning and made our first stop at Polly's Pancake House. It was featured on the Travel Channel and the Dingers highly recommended it. It was packed full of people, so we put our name on the list and walked down to a little antiques store. (Can you believe it mom!)

Breakfast was really good. Although, how do you mess up pancakes? I think the location and the atmosphere are what brings the people in. If you're in the area you should absolutely go, just don't make a special trip or you may be disappointed.

After breakfast we strapped on our hiking boots (not really) and were off to hike the Flume in Franconia National Park.

Jonathan and Kyojin took off hiking, talking, taking pictures and generally doing get to know you first date type things.

Matty and I did our own hiking, talking and . . .

Landscaping?

The Flume was breathtaking. You pretty much walked along a little wooden walkway in between the rocks with water flowing below you. I loved it.

(Bear cave found on our way back down)

Last but not least, we took ourselves over to Loon Mountain were we rode the gondola to the top to really take in this seasons beautiful colors.

We were pleasantly surprised when we reached the top and were told that the glacial caves were still open. Time was running short so we weren't sure we were going to make it.

It was probably one of my favorite parts of this little adventure. You walked on a marked path that showed you where each cave entrance started. It was pretty much up to you to figure out how to get back to the path. For someone who's always secretly wished they were a professional cave explorer and rock climber this was a little slice of heaven!

New Hampshire was such a blast and I'm pretty sure Jonathan loved every minute of it. Whether it was because of New Hampshire or Kyojin, I'm not sure. I'm gonna go with both but you'll have to ask him to know for sure.

Come back soon Jona. I Love you and miss you already.

My little Brother and The Big City

(I know, I know he's not so little)

Last weekend my brother Jonathan came out to visit. He had never been to Boston, so I was thrilled to show him around this great place that I call home. Here are just a few of the highlights from our fantastic weekend.

We went into Harvard Square for some of the BEST hot chocolate ever at Burdick's. I am not even kidding when I say that it tastes just like someone melted down a chocolate bar. It's extremely rich and oh so good. Jonathan grabbed a slice of cake as well which of course did not disappoint. If you come to Boston, Burdick's is a must.

After Burdick's we walked around Harvard Yard, Harvard Square and over to the Charles River. There were so many tourists out that day that we didn't get any really great pictures but it was a blast all the same. Later I found out that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were in the area. Wonder if that's why there were so many people out . . .


Jonathan served his mission in Korea, so he was thrilled when I actually knew a place where we could get some decent Korean food. Really, we ran into so many Korean people while he was here. They were on his duck boat tour, in the restaurant, and on his date (I'll tell you about that later) ;) He was in heaven speaking he language again and eating food that he can't get back home.

Later that day we went out with Matt and my roommate Meredith to canoe on the Concord River. With 4 of us in the boat, we rowed our little hearts out even singing row, row, row your boat in rounds as we went along. It was hilarious and so beautiful (the scenery, not so much the singing).

October proved to be the perfect time to come out to Boston with the leaves changing and the weather beginning to turn. Another reason was that Kimball Farms was still open! They were closing that weekend, so we drove there after canoeing to grab some of the best Ice cream around. While we were there, we ran into this guy.

He was HUGE! I was a little afraid to get too close to him while the boys, in true boy fashion, tried to feed him money. Just so you know, Roosters are not that stupid. He pecked at the money once and was done with us.

That evening we made time to stop at the Boston Temple so Jonathan could see it. It's such a beautiful place and we were all glad we went.

Stay tuned for round two of my weekend with Jonathan. To Be Continued . . .

A little game of Catch up

So yes, I have been a complete slacker when it comes to posting. I have forgotten to take my camera places and I have not made time to post the pictures that I have taken. Time passes and then something exciting happens but I don't feel like I can post it because I have stuff backing up. I know it's crazy and I know I don't have to blog about EVERYTHING . . . but I like to. For that very reason I am going to catch you up on a few fun things that have happened here lately.

A few weeks ago, I packed up my things and drove out to once again attended our big ward camp out. It was too cold for canoes, archery was missing, and the absence of my dear friend and old roommate Juliet was tragic. Despite all that though I still had a great time.

I learned how to play Rook (which I'm GREAT at by the way), roasted marshmallows, listened to extremely talented people sing their hearts out by the lake, and got to bunk with my two favorite people, Anna and Chen Ying.

Oh, I also got to use my new camping gear. I got a camping lantern from Kristin and Kenley that hung from the top of the tent. It was fantastic! I honestly don't know how I ever camped without it. I was also finally able to use the sleeping bag Kenley grabbed for me at the REI garage sale. It's a -20 degree mummy bag and I absolutely loved it. I wasn't cold at all! Okay, maybe my nose got a little cold but that thing cinched up around my face so well that it was warm again in no time. I may look a little funny in there but I was comfy!

Now, on to the concerts. For a long, long time I have had a list accumulating in my head of bands I want to see before I die (or they die). A few weeks ago I was able to cross yet another one off that list. U2!!!

It was such a pain and I almost didn't even go because of all the hassle. Let me just summarize what happened prior to the show.

30 second Summary: I heard they were coming, got excited and bought pretty good seats for the Sunday show. The band then announced a Monday show. The concert was coming up fast and I still had Sunday night tickets. I put the tickets on Craigs list to either sell them or trade someone for Monday. I had a lot of almost sells which was frustrating. The day before I was suppose to go to the concert someone called who had similar seats to mine for the Monday show. Hurray! We traded. Then our luck really kicked in. We drove out to Gillette Stadium, took a back way and parked in someones yard for $20 (you have to pay $40 in the parking lot at the stadium). After the show was over we zipped right out of there and I was home in an hour. People who parked in the lot didn't get home until 2 or 3 in the morning!

After all of the hassle though, the concert was amazing. Snow Patrol opened for them which made it THAT much better. If you don't know who they are, check them out. Now.

U2 put on a great show and had one of the most amazing stages I've ever seen. It was all spaceship themed (kind of weird), had a huge screen that went around the entire thing so you could see them, and had lights shooting out in all directions. They played all my favorite songs and the sound was great. At one point in the show Bono grabbed a girl from the audience and made her carry him across the stage. He's a complete weirdo but he sure knows how to entertain.

(It looks like we're really far away, but it really was a great place to be sitting. We could see everything perfectly)

Last but certainly not least, BRANDI CARLILE! (not Belinda Carlile . . . mom) :)

I cannot even tell you how much I love, love, love Brandi Carlile! I've seen her live 3 times now and I'm amazed by her every time. When I lived in Boise, I would jump in the car quite frequently and go for really long drives, blaring her music and singing my heart out. Seeing her in concert this time took me back to those days and really made me miss it.

She's one of my all time favorite artists. If you've never heard of her, stop what you're doing now and go check her out. You wont regret it.

p.s. Her new cd came out on Tuesday and I'm in Heaven listening to it.