Chuck Turned 30

A couple weeks ago on February 17th, Chuck turned 30.

I tried to make his entrance into a new decade special and memorable, starting the night before his birthday when after everything he did I would say something like "ohhhhh it's the last teeth-brushing of your 20s!" which may have been more annoying to him than memorable but, it was fun for me! But in all seriousness, I did try to make it as fun and memorable as I could because he deserves a memorable goodbye to one decade (which was pretty amazing for him) and a big welcome to the next decade (which will probably be even more amazing.) Also, he's just pretty great and I really like him and planning celebrations for people is my love language.

On his birthday, he had to go into work for a little bit that morning but I got him to leave by lunchtime and we met up with his sister Shannon and 2 of our nieces to start the weekend of celebrations.

With a couple of hours to kill before our dinner plans, we weren't sure what to do so we ended up at a bowling alley where I obviously let him beat me 3 games in a row since it was his birthday. :)

That evening, we met up with our family at a Hibachi grill, where we surprised Chuck with our group gift of a ping pong table that was not only already purchased, but already set up and ready to play on in our basement because our awesome dads snuck in and set it up that morning while Chuck was at work!

As you can tell, he was pretty excited.

Then it was on to the next surprise location, Great Flood Brewery where a bunch of our family and friends were waiting with beer, cake, balloons, and some I Heart Chuckie stickers- a throwback from when Chuck ran for Class President as a freshman in high school and handed out stickers with that slogan on them for his campaign. (Yes of course he won the election, and stickers were soon banned from Eastern High School because those things were on EVERYTHING in the building.)

Henry got to stay out late and party, too!

Of course the celebrations didn't stop there, because there's always a party after the after party! A bunch of friends came back to our house from Great Flood to help us break in the new ping pong table. We played from about 10:30pm until 3am so I'd say the table got broken in pretty well. We created a bracket and held the very first tournament on the table. And because our basement is still mostly empty because we need a lot of furniture in our house and furniture is expensive, all our friends got to sit on the floor when they weren't playing! (sorry, friends)

The tournament came down to the final 2....

and the birthday boy emerged victorious! (Please pay close attention to the region names and ignore the fact that we don't know really how to draw a bracket for 13 people.)

Even though his birthday was technically over, I had one more surprise for him on Saturday which was to go to Breakout Louisville with some of our friends I had convinced to celebrate Chuck's birthday for a second day in a row. Breakout Louisville was SO. MUCH. FUN. and we all wanted to go do another one as soon as we were done. We broke out of our room but with only 4 minutes to spare. It was way harder than I anticipated and also way more fun. We felt just like Nicolas Cage in National Treasure.

And that pretty much sums up his birthday weekend! I'd say it was definitely one to remember.

Oh and if you're wondering if I spent all of his birthday reminding him of things like "awwww, first french fries of your 30s!" the answer is DUH.

A Post About Cookies

This blogpost is all about cookies.

On Friday, I hosted my 4th annual Holiday Cookie Swap Party. I hosted my first Cookie Swap in Boston with some of my girlfriends there, and it was so much fun that I've continued it every year since. The idea is this- you bake one kind of cookie. Invite your family and friends to make one type of cookie and bring it to your house. Everyone swaps cookies and then gets to go home with a variety of cookies after only having to make one! Whoever came up with this idea is genius.

Of course, you also have to test all of the cookies during the party and then vote on them too. Or is that just us?

This year we made everyone go around and say which cookie they brought and what it was. People got really into it this year as far as trying new and more difficult recipes. Some turned out really well, and some... not so much. Whether their cookie turned out great or not so great, everyone seemed very stressed by the whole process this year. I have a feeling people may not be as adventurous next year.

Baby Henry got to join us at the party even though he didn't get to try any of the cookies. :( Maybe next year, Henry!

And while we're on the subject, can we talk about how freakin' cute Henry is ALL THE TIME?!?!

After we ate entirely too many cookies, it was time to vote. This year we voted on Best Looking cookie, Best Tasting cookie, and a booby prize for "Aw, at least you tried. Maybe baking isn't your thing."

Of course there were prizes.

And the winners were.... Jennifer for best tasting- SHE MADE HER OWN CARAMEL. WHAT?- Anna for Best Looking -she made the polar bear cookies - and Laura for "aw at least you tried" because her cookies somehow became one giant cookie that was kinda collapsed in the middle and may or may not have fallen apart if taken out of the pan. It's ok. She owned it.

We had such a good time, and even though I was awake with a stomachache most of the night from too many sweets and felt like I had a hangover the next day, it was totally worth it. I can't wait to do it again next year!

(The group minus one- Pat had left already when someone said "hey we should take a group picture!" If I knew how to photoshop I would put her in but just imagine her standing to my right.)

Spring Gala

On Saturday, May 3rd we went down to Newport, Rhode Island for the Sloan Spring Gala. Every year, Sloan hosts two formals- Fall Ball and Spring Gala. We haven't made it to any of the other formals, so made a point to get tickets for the Spring Gala this year, our last chance to get all fancy with our Sloan/LGO friends.

We drove down to Newport Saturday morning with our friends Brittany and Marcus. We stopped for lunch and then toured one of the Newport Mansions, The Breakers. If you don't know (which I didn't before doing a lot of research), the Newport Mansions are the former summer homes of some of America's richest families in the late 1800s, early 1900s. Several of them were built and owned by members of the Vanderbilt family. They were all similar to the Biltmore, but smaller.

Still, the mansions were ridiculously huge, especially considering the families only spent 3 months out of the entire year living in them! They didn't allow any pictures inside any the mansions (during tours), and people were watching us like hawks so unfortunately I only have outdoor pictures.

The back of The Breakers

After our tour, we found a liquor store to get the fixins for Mint Juleps, since it was Derby Day in Kentucky after all, then headed to the hotel to watch some Derby coverage and get ready for the Gala.

That evening, it was finally time for the Gala! The Gala was held at the Rosecliff Mansion, and it was beautiful.

Is this real life?

We took a ton of pictures, enjoyed a cocktail hour on the back porch and in the yard, and then had an amazing dinner in big tents on the lawn. I felt like we were at a party in The Great Gatsby, except our party was a lot more tame and not quite as lavish...

After dinner, there was of course dessert, and then a DJ and a dance party. It was packed, really hot, and really fun.

This picture is crazy. Our friends Jan and Orion are partially disappearing from the picture Back To The Future-style! (They're glasses and hats were green, so disappeared with the green screen behind them.)

 The LGOs at Spring Gala!

The next day, we slept in a little and then went to a late brunch, accidentally happened upon a parade, and then toured one more mansion, Marblehead, before heading back to Boston.

The mansions were incredible and the self-guided tours were great. I wish we had more time to go back to Newport and do more tours or spend more time exploring the town. It seemed like a really fun place with a lot more to see and do! It was also fun to learn some history and Chuck and I may or may not have developed a small obsession with the Vanderbilt family and watched a documentary on the family and read a ton of Wikipedia later after we got home.

Parents' visit and the Party Trolley

Things are getting crazy around here. Between school, work, dinner dates, bridal showers, birthday parties, karaoke, seeing a friends' play, staying out drinking margaritas on a Wednesday night until 1 am because "soon we won't be able to see each other," etc etc- we've been non-stop busy lately. So, I'm a bit behind on posting about my parents' visit to Boston but, better late than never, right?

Two weekends ago, my parents came to see us! They visited us in Seattle last year and are coming up for Chuck's graduation (just for a couple of days) in June, but they haven't had a chance to just see our place and life in Boston and explore the city. They figured they better come see us before we leave Boston, which is less than two months from now. (Cue: mixed feelings of sadness and joy.)

They arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and while I was at work, Chuck took them to explore Harvard and HBS. My mom wanted to see my Grandpa's dorm where he lived as an HBS student back in the 1930s/40s. I met them after work at our old stand-by, Border Cafe. We had some margaritas, dinner and then just made our way home to relax the rest of the night.

On Thursday they drove to Western Mass to visit my aunt and uncle all day and that night we had sushi at Thelonius Monkfish in Central Square. I have walked past this restaurant for almost 2 years and never gone inside and found now that was a huge mistake. We've been missing out on amazing sushi less than 2 blocks from our apartment. Booooo.

We taught my parents how to play Pandemic. We're obsessed.

Friday my parents and I explored the city and walked about 50 miles. Not really but it felt like it. We walked down Newbury Street, Boylston Street, bought lunch at a food truck parked right next to the Boston Marathon Finish Line, wandered into an old church and happened upon an organ concert which we proceeded to sit and listen to, walked through the Boston Public Garden, Beacon Hill, found Acorn Street- the most photographed street in America, and watched opening ceremonies of the first Red Sox home game at the Beantown Pub while we enjoy Sam Adams and pretzels. And that was all before 4pm.

That night we made our way to the North End for Italian food and Mike's Pastry. Late that night, my parents went to bed and Chuckie and I walked next door to the infamous "3 Class Party" at Fort Awesome. It is the only time every year where all 3 LGO classes (the 2nd and 1st years, as well as the incoming class who is in town for Open House weekend) are in town at the same time. So obviously, they throw a huge party. And obviously they have a flip cup tournament between the classes to determine who is the best class and OBVIOUSLY the LGO '14s won because they're the best. And obviously I'm biased. Sorry!

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early (my parents, well rested, Chuck and I- not so much) and headed for the Sam Adams Brewery tour in South Boston. This was definitely the highlight of my parents' trip and of my life. Just kidding, kind of. The tour is free, and pretty short, and at the end they do a tasting and teach you about the different beers. Our tour guide was hilarious and kind of a smart ass, which made the tour a lot more fun. During the tasting, someone asked him how many beers he drinks a day to which he replied "That's rude. I don't come to YOUR work and ask you how many beers YOU drink a day." Our guide then advised us to take the "Party Trolley" to Doyle's for lunch. My friend Ana had told me that the party trolley was a must, so we decided to go for it. And I'm SO glad we did. Let me set the scene for you: a party trolley with flashing lights, a disco ball and loud pop music, being driven by a possible ex-convict who has the best legit Boston accent you've ever heard who also happens to be hilarious. It was seriously the best 10 minutes of my parents' trip. And then he dropped us at Doyle's where we had the most delicious onion rings I've ever tasted and a tasty lunch and of course, more Sam Adams.

I'm starting to feel like I could have written a much shorter blog post about their visit in just two sentences: "My parents came to see us in Boston. We drank."

After our amazing, life-changing morning, we went to Fenway to walk around and take pictures and observe the atmosphere of Fenway right before a game. Then, we were tired. So we went home, made a Trader Joe's run, and then spent the evening at home watching the Final Four games and stuffing ourselves with cheese and grapes and chips and salsa and WATER.

This guy tried to be nice and duck under the camera so he wasn't in our picture.

 I feel like my parents had a great trip and got a very accurate view of life in Boston: lots of walking, lots of eating, lots of Boston accents, and lots of drinking. Yep. That's pretty much what it's like here.