Bike rides, beer, ice cream and Boston

So I've realized that I tend to post about awesome adventures and fun things I do...over the Weekends. And I'm running out of titles that involve weekend, or any variation of weekend and fun. Good thing this is just my personal blog, therefore I can write whatever I want! I am looking forward to studying abroad where I will posting much more frequently too.

CP, Clyde, and Audrey

So this past weekend (of course) was kind of amazing! It started out on Thursday evening where CP and I went on a lovely bike ride along the Charles River. We got on the bike path at the Mass Ave bridge and went out to Watertown before looping back around. We headed to Harvard Sq. where we stopped for some delicious J.P. Licks as our reward! In total we went about 17 miles, so I biked around 28 miles when you add in my commute to and from work. But by the end of the ride my butt was SORE. My lovely bike, Audrey Hepburn, is a Gary Fisher Simple City 3, and not exactly designed for long distance rides and hours on a bike. Now I know that my next bike will be designed for longer rides while Audrey will be my commuter bike.

Then of course I had to work on Friday, which was unfortunate. Right after work though I met Kim at Daedalus in Harvard Sq. for drinks/dinner. I highly recommend it to anyone! It was a bit pricier and you have to order food to be able to enjoy their roof deck but it was well worth it. Of course Kim and I got a bit tipsy, and decided to bar hop our way home. So our next stop was at The Field in Central Square. It was an adorable little Irish Bar with a lot of character. One of the bartenders was from Ireland himself, so I was instantly in love. The only problem was that they only accepted cash, so Kim and I were lucky that we were able to manage with just enough, and didn't have to run to the ATM. Next we stopped in Kendall Square and went to Area Four. I really liked the ambiance of the bar. It was more modern, yet had vintage flare. We sat at the bar and were able to watch the bartender work. They specialized in Whiskey and Bourbon, so I got a Mint Julep and Kim got straight Rye Whiskey! We were a bit drunk. Actually we were a bit drunk this entire weekend.

Harbor View where our Tour Finished

So Saturday morning Kim and I were up bright and early at 7:30 am to get ready and head to Faneuil Hall for Common Boston sponsored Boston By Foot tour of Boston Underfoot. Which took us around the historical district and showed us how Boston has changed throughout it's founding to today. Our tour guide talked about the filling in of Back Bay, the architectural changes that occurred, and of course the Big Dig. Being a Bostonian I really enjoyed this. Our guide pointed out little things along the way that I always have overlooked and though nothing of. Did you know that the original coast line is actually etched into the cobblestones? Or that Thomas Edison's original lighting companies fixtures are still in place? And to make way for the Big Dig and other projects, centuries old buildings were literally cut in half to make way!

Quote place on the floor

I love being a tourist in my own city! After the tour we headed off on our bikes and made our way to the Boston Society of Architects where they were holding an exhibit "Let's Talk About Bikes." It was so interesting! It covered Boston's growth in the bicycling world as well as the MBTA expansions. Fun Facts were artistically placed on the floor, as well as original bicycles from various welders in the bike community.

The exhibit made me proud that I am now a part of the bicycling community. It was also extremely adorable to see Kim hardcore geeking out. I'm so glad she knew about this and thought I would be interested. 

Bicycles hanging in the Exhibit

After visiting the BSA we headed back to the Greenway area for lunch. A good number of food trucks were out so it was an easy choice where we were going to eat. We decided to have BonMe, my first time having that truck, because our favorite Roxy's Grilled Cheese was not there. BonMe was absolutely delicious though! I ended up getting the Chinese BBQ Pork in a Rice Bowl with a Basil Lemonade, and Kim got the Tofu & Shiitake Mushroom in a Noodle Salad. Both were perfect, as we were able to eat on the grass and watch all the dogs and kids play.

DELICIOUS

Once we were done eating we were going to head to Georgetown Cupcakes that was opening on Newbury St. as they were giving out free cupcakes, but when we got there the line went on for 5 blocks!! Definitely not worth my time, but I will make sure to be trying one of their cupcakes soon. Instead Kim asked me if I trusted her (how Aladdin of her), and of course I responded with yes, so she led me on a ride to Cambridge where we went to Toscanini's Ice Cream.  It might be one of the best ice creams I've had in Boston. I got a cone with Goat Cheese Brownie and Belgian Chocolate. AMAZING. It was so rich and delectable and the staff was friendly and funny, a great experience.

Once we devoured our ice creams, we heading back to my place quickly so I could change into warmer cloths, then headed up to Kim's. We cuddled with her kitten George and watched Imagine Me and You. Which I highly recommend, it was an adorable lesbian comedy-romance movie that left me with a cheesy smile. Saturday Night I also had to baby-sit so I head to do that while Kim headed to the Bars in Cambridge to meet up with some friends. Baby-sitting was so much fun the boys and I watched Tangled and ate popcorn before they headed to bed and I promptly fell asleep!

I finished baby-sitting around midnight, so I biked back to Kim's for the night as we were waking up in the morning to head to Harpoon Brewery!!

 CP, Kim, and I biked to Harpoon around 11 and met Nicole there for 11:30 am. We hopped on the tour at noon and it was a blast! I found it really interesting to hear and see what goes into making a beer. We were able to sample two beers along the way. The second beer we sampled was not done with the beer making process yet, and it was a bit flat but really interesting to try!

After the tour we got to head back to the store/tasting room and try as many beers as we could in about 20 minutes. I had around 7 glasses (I lost track after 5). It was nice being able to try different things without having to shell out a lot of money. I bought a Harpoon Growler, a 64oz bottle and filled it with the Ale which was my favorite at the tasting. And Kim bought me a t-shirt :)

After that we went to Boston Beer Garden for lunch where we proceeded to drink even more while eating a TON. It was so delicious and worth it though. After that CP, Kim, and I managed to find our way home eventually. The rest of the evening involved napping with Kim and watching "If Walls Could Talk 2" which was AWESOME! Yet another adorable lesbian movie with a really interesting plot, I highly recommend it!

I leave for Costa Rica in 12 days!!

Yet another prime weekend. Even if I did spend the majority of Saturday nauseous/hungover/dying.

Of course once it hits Thursday at 5 pm my weekend has officially begun. And thank goodness too, work is horrid. Sitting in front of a desk 8 hours a day, not the ideal way of spending my time. So Thursday evening started out with Dinner with Kim Z. and Liz at a small middle eastern restaurant followed by Coldstone Creamery Ice Cream! YUM. And every Thursday Grey's is on, so Kim came over to watch that and we were able to skype with Lene!

 Friday was super productive for me. I did laundry, picked up my new glasses/contacts, went grocery shopping, and went to the Apple store to pick up my new external hard drive while getting my computer fixed, for FREE! I also was able to watch Winter's Bone, starring Jennifer Lawrence that I've been wanting to watch for a while now. After that, I made some brownies and read for a bit. Then of course I got to see Candace, Kaitlin, Cassidy, Sanam and Kim. Oh and I got super schwasty, hence the hungover Saturday I suffered through. Although I do remember everything that happened, it all seems a bit blurry.

Risotto, photo courtesy of Kim!

Even though I felt sick until the evening, it was a nice day. Kim took care of me, made me breakfast and helped me clean up my room. We then meandered up to her new place and unpacked a lot of her stuff and went through all of her clothes. We also decided what she needs to buy for her room, and we're heading to IKEA tomorrow! For dinner we made an amazing dish: Red Wine + Goat Cheese Risotto with caramelized onions and mushrooms. The recipe doesn't call for caramelized onions, just mushrooms, but we both love onions so we thought why not?! It came out amazing. It doesn't look as appetizing as the photo, but I never think risotto looks especially appealing. The taste is amazing though! I will definitely be making this one again.

Saturday night I spent at Kim's... ;)

Cuban Snails at the Natural History Museum, taken by Kim

So yesterday (Sunday) morning we biked out to Harvard Sq. where we went to the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnography and the Harvard Museum of Natural History. It was so much fun! I'm really glad that Kim likes nerding out at museums like I do. The Peabody Museum was nice, especially since I was able to understand everything thanks to Anthropology, but the Museum of Natural History was definitely my favorite. There where awesome animals in jars, butterflies and beetles pinned up, skeletons of dinosaurs and dodo birds, and taxidermy of any animal you could imagine! There was also a beautiful exhibit on the Glass Flower Collection created by Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph. They started creating the flowers in 1886, and their work is amazing! The collection is of different species of flowers, all made of glass. I was in awe, all of the flowers looked real. So real I was seriously doubting that everything about them was made of glass! Incredible work and talent.

After the museums we went to brunch at the Russell House Tavern. Everything was delicious, we split a burger with fries and salad, and a EBLT (egg, bacon, lettuce and tomato). And since it was brunch on Mother's day we had to get some Mimosa's to celebrate!

We made a quick stop at Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up a few more things for Kim's room. Then we headed back to her place to relax, meaning that she took a nap while I continued reading A Storm of Swords, I'm having trouble putting it down! George R. R. Martin is a genius.

Then because CP got her new bike, we HAD to go on a bike ride. So we took an evening ride along the Southwest Corridor, through JP, of course stopping at JP Licks to get some much needed ice cream. I'm so proud of Candace and her bike! She did really well for her first longer ride, and she is a quick learner so biking in the city will be a breeze soon enough. I'm excited to go on our next ride! But of course it won't be until this rain goes away. I thought it was supposed to rain in April, not in May. Oh well, I have my super attractive rain pants that I get to wear biking to work.

Birthday, Sailing, and Rainbows

Today is Kim's 21st Birthday! Over the weekend, I slaved away on a cake (not so much of an exaggeration) and the results were spectacular! This may be the prettiest thing I have ever made.

This is the recipe I made, but I made a traditional buttercream frosting as the reviews said the frosting recipe given came out soupy and runny.

Kim and I are also officically dating again! And the L-word was mentioned a few time. Pillow talk is the best. Seriously the best. Since I'm leaving for Costa Rica then Italy we are just going to just take it day by day and see what happens. Costa Rica will be the real test, so we shall see!

This weekend was also Boston Sailing Center's Open House. So some friends and I spent a lazy Sunday sailing the harbor, drinking free beer, then eating seafood while enjoying the view. Followed by a walk back home through Boston in the warm weather. Kind of an awesome weekend, despite being uninvited to six flags!

This week may be absolutely exhausting. Bars and dancing every night to celebrate Kim being 21. I also met a lot of her friends last night and am going to one of their apartments tonight. Excited/nervous as I have never met a majority of her Frisbee people before.

Perfection

I just had the most amazing weekend. Looking back, nothing too spectacular happened. Everything was pretty average and normal, so I'm not quite sure why it was so perfect.
My Weekend:
Friday
No work (definitely a plus)
Participated on an Admitted Students Panel for Northeastern University
Had lunch/ went shopping for a costume with my friend Correy
Day drinking on the quad
NU Pride's Drag Show
Played on the slack-lines 
Nick's Graduation Party

Saturday
Relaxing morning watching Game of Thrones
Lunch with Candace at Picco's
Ice Cream and walking through the South End
Coffee
New red dress
Poster making to welcome Kayla home at the Airport
See Kayla for the first time since January!!
Spontaneous Fun. concert with Kim
Burgers for dinner
Kim sleeps over ;)

Sunday
Relax in bed with Kim
PostSecret
Browse Tumblr together
Make breakfast and tea
Cuddles
Mind-blowing sex
Cuddles
Pillow talk
Showering together
Bake homemade chocolate chip cookies with Lene
Lady Gaga and Oprah are on TV!
Take-out Mexican dinner with Lene and Kim
Help Kim pack to move on Wednesday
Kisses and Cuddles

Yeah this weekend was perfect. Just thinking about it makes me smile. AWESOME. 

Weekend

This time change is seriously throwing me off schedule. I feel as though I am wasting my day and everything is moving much to fast. It also doesn't help that I keep forgetting to change the clock on the stove/microwave and anything else that doesn't automatically do it for you.

So this weekend was filled with FOOD. Lots of cooking, eating, and drinking. My friend celebrated her 22nd birthday on Friday so I made her a carrot cake. But being the poor college student that lacks essential supplies, the only cake-like pan I could find was a bundt pan that belongs to my roommate. The cake was delicious, but I thought it was missing some essential carrot cake ingredients: raisins, crushed pineapple, and coconut. But my friend doesn't like those in her cake, and since it was for her birthday I left them out. (Look how nice I am) Recently I've also been making homemade frosting instead of buying it out of the can at the store: SO MUCH BETTER! Not sure if it is actually cost effective though.

I also edited the recipe a bit: I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil to get some heart healthy fats in the cake, I added a tablespoon more of cinnamon, and cut out half the water called for and replaced it with yogurt to give the cake a small kick and be a bit more moist.

And along with the cake, a bar crawl was necessary to celebrate my friends day of birth. And Boston has to be the best place to do such a thing. 

The following morning I went to my friends for brunch where she made a delicious vegetable frittata, with toast, a side of fruit and some orange juice! Not a bad way to start off a slightly hungover morning.

It was really nice catching up with her, as we hadn't seen each other in a while. And it doesn't hurt that she is an excellent cook!

After breakfast I went home and read some of my book. I'm currently reading A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin. I'm on the second book 'Clash of Kings.' If anyone is looking for a new series to get into, this should definitely be it!

My day was then followed by a half successful trip to the Sam Adams Brewery! It was only half successful because we had to wait an hour and a half for our tour, and during that time we became very impatient and ravenously hungry. Therefore we skipped out on the tour, got on the party/rage trolley and headed to Doyle's! Doyle's was the first bar in Boston to start serving Sam Adams beer so they have a very special connection. And once you're at Doyle's and you order a Sam's you get to keep the glass. I had a Sam Adams Red (my favorite) and got to keep this awesome glass.

Then later that evening, my friend/girl I'm kind of dating/my ex (very complicated relationship and hard to define) came over. And we made homemade pizza topped with caramelized onions, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Easily the best pizza we've ever made.

I also hate how when you make a homemade pizza the crust comes out a bit soggy. So I Googled "How to get a crispy crust" and learned the trick. Cook the pizza at a high temperature, we cooked it at 500F, and keep the pizza close to the bottom coil.
TA DA! It worked.

The rest of the night was filled with card games, cuddles, watching the new HBO movie "Game Change" (which I highly recommend), drinking Bushmill's Whiskey, and of course cutesy couple-y stuff.

Then Sunday included walking the Freedom Trail to end up at the New England Aquarium! It was such a fun day. I was able to take a ton of photos, pet some sting-rays, hangout with some seals, and squeal whenever the sharks would swim by in the giant tank.

Can I also comment on how absurdly warm Boston's weather is. Yesterday was fabulous, the sun was shining and I could not stop smiling. And it probably helps that my evening ended with a trip to J.P. Licks for some ice cream.

Easily one of the most enjoyable weekends I've had this year. Here's to hoping that many more follow!

I also need to note that today was my first day commuting to work on my bike. My co-worker joined me (it was his first as well) and it was ridiculously fun. I couldn't help but smile, laugh and enjoy the amazing Spring weather. Plus it doesn't hurt that my commute is about 5.3 miles, approximately 11mi round trip, and totally counts as hitting the gym!

Co-op, Life, Ramblings

Anyone familiar with Northeastern University has probably heard of the co-op program. If you're not familiar with it, it is a part of Northeastern's 'experiential learning' and is basically a six month internship where students are not taking any classes and working a full time job instead.
I am currently on co-op. My third and final co-op to be more specific.

I am so sick of sitting at a computer eight hours a day. Now don't get me wrong, I love being on a computer (blogger, duh) but I like to take breaks and have other options available to me. So at this co-op I sit, type, stare a blinding screen, and wish that I wasn't working in a windowless office space.(I also write blog posts which I'm pretty sure aren't a part of my daily tasks)

One good thing about doing all these co-ops is that I now know what I do not want to do with my life, and I know a bit of what I do want to do.

 Do Not Want:

• Desk Job
• Windowless room
• Robo calling (horrifying experience)

 Do Want:

• Access the outdoors
• Interaction with people besides my coworkers
• Movement
• Fun (But doesn't everyone)
• The ability to continuous learn new skills 
• To be challenged intellectually

Now how the heck do I find any of this!? I've been thinking of potential careers for when I graduate next May (2013) and that just leads to a whole other list of  "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO"s.

Should I move and work abroad like I always dreamed? How will I work abroad when I only speak mediocre French? Do I get an apartment in Boston and find a dead end job to pay back my mountains of loans? Can I actually afford to not move back in with my parents? OMG what if I have to move in with my parents?! How long could I last before offing myself if I lived with them? Should I just teach English so I can travel? What if I start dating someone? Do I bring them into the picture as well? Should I not move abroad but get out of New England? Maybe California? But how would I afford that?

And the list of questions goes on and on....trust me you don't want to know them.

This is the first time in my (short) life that I don't know what I'm going to do next. It's also the first time my next step won't revolve completely around my education.

So for some more background information on me regarding co-ops:

- My first co-op involved living/working in Ankara, Turkey for 6 months teaching English at TOBB University

-My second co-op was with Northeastern University as an Admissions Counselor

-For my third one I am working at a non-profit International Exchange Organization for High School students.

So I could easily work as an Admissions Counselor for a University or get my TEFL certification and become an ESL Teacher.

UGH, LIFE.

I know I have over a year before I graduate but I am stressing hard core about this. How do people get through this!

Introduction

Me!

Welcome to my newly revised Blog! I've deleted all my previous, horribly written posts in hopes of actually being able to create something worth reading. I've been a contributing writer to NEUnited.com and decided to create my own more personal blog that I can update in my spare time.

I hoping to fill this blog with: random thoughts, travel destinations, my adventures in bicycle commuting, exploring Boston, delicious foods, and anything covered in rainbows and glitter!

As a fourth year student at Northeastern University studying International Affairs and Anthropology, I will most likely be complaining/stressing about graduating next year. And because I have no idea what I am going to do, my worries will also be mixed in with some philosophical posts about life, love, and questioning if it was all worth it!

Cheers,
Mackenzie