NYC, y'all

This past weekend, the sisters, Chuckie and I traveled down to NYC. I had a very strict and packed itinerary planned out for us and we followed it pretty well, but unfortunately weren't able to fit EVERYTHING in... There was just too much to do.

Saturday morning started at the World Trade Center Memorial. The weather was gorgeous, so the memorial had a long line and a big crowd inside.

 

 

After the memorial, we headed north to the High Line- a park made from an old, abandoned railroad track. If you're in NYC and looking for a place to just walk and get some good pictures of a different part of town, this is the spot. 

At the High Line, we met up with our cousin Megan and her boyfriend G who drove in from New Jersey to hang out with us. The 6 of us drove from the High Line to our hotel near Central Park for a little pregaming and UofL game watching before our dinner reservations. We played the game Heads Up on the iPhone and laughed a lot.

Dinner that night was at PJ Clarke's- an American restaurant across the street from the Lincoln Center. I'd highly recommend this place to anyone looking for relatively decent dinner prices and a view.

Once dinner was over we cabbed it to Times Square, mostly for photo ops and people watching.

Oh and we had a good time photobombing just about everyone around us for 15-20 minutes. Some people are going to get some nice surprises when they get home and look at their pictures up close. :)

After a lot of photobombing, we made our way to McGee's Irish Pub. It was inspiration for the bar MacLaren's on How I Met Your Mother (one of our favorite shows) and the cast of the show has been known to make appearances from time to time. As an added bonus, the pub is Irish and it was St. Patrick's weekend, and also the bar was 3 blocks from our hotel. Sadly, we didn't run into Neil Patrick Harris, but we did rack up a large bill and played more Heads Up and laughed a LOT more. (Yes we played a game at a table in the middle of the bar and yes people stared at us and no we did not care.)

Sunday morning we were all miraculously feeling great, (I said it was a birthday miracle!) so after some showers and checking out of the hotel, we got Starbucks and walked around Central Park.

Next we were back in a cab heading south to meet some other cousins for brunch at Baracca's. The food was delicious, the Bottomless Sangria brunch deal was fun, and our company was great.

After brunch we headed to the Met- Sami's one and only wish for our NYC to-do list. We basically ran from gallery to gallery and decided the Met needs a whole weekend to itself to properly see everything and in a way you're not just running past it. But what we did see was awesome. Who isn't impressed by standing a foot in front of an actual Monet?

After the Met we went on a hunt for ice cream, which proved impossible as it was after 5 pm on Sunday and apparently no one serves ice cream (at least not where we were) after 5pm. So we decided to start the drive back to Boston and look for ice cream on the way home. After 2 hours of driving and no ice cream, we caved and stopped at a McDonald's for some McFlurries and milkshakes. It wasn't quite what we had in mind but, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Monday was St. Patrick's Day. We slept in a little, watched some TV, and left the house in time to have lunch at Border Cafe in Harvard Square. Yep, we had Mexican food on an Irish holiday. Then we spent the afternoon shopping in Harvard Square, playing Scrabble in a Starbucks (because why not?) and mostly just chilling. We redeemed ourselves later that night and made our Irish ancestors proud- we had drinks at an Irish restaurant followed by dinner. Oh and we had birthday cupcakes.

That night we watched The Departed and then just like that the trip was over. :( I think we made the most of our time in NYC and we especially loved getting to spend some time with cousins we don't get to see a whole lot.

Highlights of the trip (besides all the sight-seeing and food):
-  Laura, Sami, Megan and G got into a cab behind mine and Chuckie's and Laura got to say the line "Follow that car!" just like she wanted to.
- We watched Newsies Friday night before NYC which gave us some really good taglines for the weekend like "Headlines don't sell papes" and "Awww, Crutchy."
- I kept calling the Empire State Building the Eiffel Tower
- Playing Heads Up in the bar but especially when we had to act out "Losing Keys" and G threw his actual keys halfway across the bar.
- We took a birthday shot called a chocolate covered pretzel and it changed our lives.
- Laura and Sami took some of the cupcakes home to Louisville with them and live tweeted the journey with the hashtag #travelingcupcakes.


Happy belated 21st birthday, Sami and happy early 30th birthday, Laura!

Next week is Chuckie's Spring Break and my huge project at work is finished and turned in, so we are taking the week to get out of town and relax. Chuckie's sis invited us down to Virginia Beach for the week and since D.C. is on the way, we decided to stop and spend the weekend there before ending up in VA Beach. I haven't been to D.C. since I was 14 and Chuck hasn't been since he was 21, so we are excited to explore the city together and have a nice little vacation week.

Highs and Lows

In high school, my favorite part of youth group every week was at the end of the night when we went around the circle and shared our "highs and lows" or "glads and sads" from the week with each other. It gave us a few minutes to celebrate the happy things with each other and sympathize with each other on the not-so-happy things. Last week was the ultimate week of highs and lows, and since I obviously don't go to youth group anymore, I will share them here.

I don't want to recap the "lows" in too much detail because I don't want to relive all of it right now, or in the future either really. Last week, my Grandma passed away. She was one of the greatest people I've ever known and she was the best Grandma. My sisters and I were lucky to grow up 15 minutes away from our Grandparents and got to spend virtually every holiday and birthday with them, spend the night at their house often and go over for brunch after church or dinners on the weekends. You know all the good Grandma-like things that Grandmas do, like let you have an extra piece of candy after your parents said no, or take you shopping with them and spoil you? Well she did them all, plus more. Not only did she treat us like royalty, she was also funny as heck and a fiesty little woman. She loved all of her family fiercely, especially my Grandpa (and her 6 daughters, 16 grandkids, 25 great-grandkids, and 2 great-great grandkids!) and we all loved her back just as much. So Chuck and I cancelled everything in Boston and bought last minute plane tickets home to be with family for the memorial service.

When we arrived at my parent's house, we found out that our family dog, Lucy, was sick. After a few days of medication and no improvement, we took her back to the vet the morning before the memorial service. My dad got a call right after it ended saying that Lucy was not going to get better and it was recommended we put her to sleep. So, my parents, sisters, Austin (Sami's boyfriend), Chuckie and I went to say goodbye to her at the vet, immediately after saying goodbye to my Grandma.  It was pretty much the worst. We got Lucy when I was 15 and we all had our own special relationships with her. She liked to drive Dad crazy by running through his newly raked leaf piles in the Fall. She liked to give Mom "hugs." She liked to crawl on Sami on the couch. She liked to sleep at the end of Laura's bed. She liked to flop down in front of me and force me to rub her belly, a trick I accidentally taught her that she never forgot after the very first time. Lucy loved everything about her life and her family. She was a good dog.

Lucy and I still kept in touch even when I was in Boston.

If all of that, plus lack of sleep plus stress wasn't enough already, Thursday night when we had only 3 hours to sleep before we had to head to the airport, Chuckie got violently ill and stayed that way, even while we were traveling through airports all day. I've never seen him this sick in all the time we've been together. It was like a nightmare that wouldn't end. 

Friday afternoon we got back to Boston, along with my sisters who have had plane tickets to come up and see us for months. We had a whole weekend planned in New York City to celebrate all of our birthdays- specifically Sami's recent 21st birthday and Laura's quickly approaching 30th birthday. The weekend just also happened to be my actual birthday so we celebrated that too. Friday We used Friday as a day of rest so we could actually try to enjoy our weekend in New York. We slept most of the day, showered, went to the grocery and bought all kinds of food and then went home and ate it while we watched Newsies. It wasn't quite the day we had planned for months but, it was necessary down time.

The "highs" of the week came Saturday and Sunday when we were in NYC. There is something so energizing, no matter what state of mind you are in, about being in THE big city. There's just nothing else like it. Our cousin and her boyfriend met up with us Saturday and we did some sight-seeing, had dinner and went out. I can't remember the last time I (personally) had as much fun as we did on Saturday night. Sunday we met up with more cousins for brunch (at a place with bottomless sangria...yum) before some more sight-seeing. The weekend was busy, funny and a great way to celebrate our birthdays. I have a lot of pictures so I will post them in a separate post soon.

Again like I said earlier- we had some of the lowest lows and highest highs all in the same week. Thank you to everyone who was there for our family last week and has reached out to me or them. It means the world. And thank you to New York City, for giving us one of the best weekends ever, when we needed it most.

Letters to Boston

As the reality of leaving Boston creeps closer and closer, I've reflected on some things/people/places I like and dislike in Boston and written some short letters to them. Enjoy.

Dear Pepper Sky,
I am so sad that it took us until January 2013 to discover you. I regret those 7 months we were in Boston and failed to recognize your greatness. Your Pad Thai is one of the best things I've ever eaten and I'm afraid I will never find another like it. Whether it's in the restaurant or take-out, it's always perfection. I will hold every future Pad Thai to your standards.
With Love,
Your number one fan and customer

Dear Boston Pedestrian Crosswalks,
I love the power you have over cars, buses, bikes, and taxis. You are the most powerful crosswalks I have ever witnessed in my life. I love the power I feel when I walk across a large, main road during rush hour. Because you are there, I have the power to stop buses full of people and it feels amazing. It's the closest I will ever get to having a superpower. I wish crosswalks in other cities would take note.
Love,
An Adoring Fan


Dear Upstairs Neighbor,
You are the loudest walker I've ever heard. You wake up earlier than us and go to bed later than us. And you stomp the whole time. You also move furniture a lot, vacuum suspiciously frequently, and run some kind of machine that also makes noise. What are you doing up there? We're not sure if you are a Dexter, a Walter White, or maybe just a hairdresser or work-out enthusiast. But whatever you are, it's loud. I want to leave you a note asking you to be quiet but I'm not a grouchy 79 year old woman so I won't. Also, Chuckie won't let me.
Not with love,
Your annoyed neighbor


Dear T,
I love you and hate you so much. I love that I can easily travel around the city without sitting in traffic. I hate that people invade my personal space when it's overcrowded in the mornings. I love that Chuck and I never have to decide who will be DD because we can just take the T home. I hate that you are sometimes ridiculously delayed which makes me late to work. Once we're gone, I will simultaneously miss you and be happy to be rid of you forever.
Sincerely,
Sometimes happy/sometimes grumpy T rider


Dear Hi-Fi Pizza,
The only reason I am slightly ok with visiting you is because I found out Matt Damon and Ben Affleck used to get their late night pizza there when they lived in Cambridge back in the day. I think you are kinda gross but Chuckie loves you. You've brought him so much joy. When he's ready for the 4th meal at 2 in the morning, you've provided it. You may have the greasiest pizza I've ever seen but I guess that's all there is to eat at 2 am.  One thing I know for sure is your to-go bags (aka the pizza on a paper plate shoved into a brown paper lunch sack) are second to none.
Fondly,
Rachel on behalf of Chuck


Dear Really Old Yellow Lab in our Apartment building,
You are so old and so cute and you make my day every time I see you in our hallways. I didn't know dogs were allowed in our building and I see a lot of your hair collecting on the stairs, but it doesn't bother me because you are adorable. I wish you lived with me.
Love,
Dog Whisperer


Dear Snow,
NOBODY LIKES YOU.
Sincerely,
Rachel and 98% of all people ever

Chuck turns 27

Last year you may remember I basically failed at celebrating Chuck's birthday in Seattle. We went to brunch and I gave him a gift, but overall it wasn't a very exciting birthday. I forgot to make him a cake or dessert of any type and gave him a lame (in my opinion) gift. In my defense, we had JUST moved to Seattle, our furnished apartment had no baking appliances or pans, I had only a day or two to find a birthday present, and we didn't know anyone else in Seattle yet who could celebrate with us. On top of all that, he had to fly to Phoenix the night of his birthday, so spent most the afternoon packing and getting to the airport.

So this year I made an extra effort to make the whole weekend fun and birthday related. Unfortunately, Chuck's birthday weekend happened to fall right before the due date of the first draft his thesis. Stupid thesis trying to ruin my plans! So he had to spend a majority of the weekend writing, but we got to squeeze in a little fun here and there.

On Friday, Valentine's Day, Chuck had made reservations for us at a restaurant in Cambridge we've been meaning to try forever. It was really good food and a lively atmosphere so we had a lot of fun.

Before dinner, Chuck gave me a Valentine's gift in the form of donuts. He knows me so well....  But seriously. Who wants a box of chocolates when you can get heart shaped donuts?

For his birthday gift I had purchased tickets to see a comedian, Mike Birbiglia, at a theater in Boston on Friday night. So after dinner we killed some time in a bookstore and a Starbucks and then headed into Boston for the show. Mike was pretty funny and I'd definitely recommend going to see him if he ever comes to your city. Also the Wilbur Theater, where we saw the show is a great venue to see a show in and it has this trippy ceiling thing going on that will entertain you while you wait for the show to start.

The ceiling design is oval, so it looked like the ceiling was crooked from our seats. Or is the chandelier crooked? (Neither are but tell me it doesn't look like something is off here?)

Saturday and Sunday we barely left the house on account of a blizzard and Chuck's thesis. At one point we left to go to a friend's house for dinner and some Olympics watching, but other than that we didn't really leave the house.

 On Monday, Chuckie's actual birthday, we were both home due to the President's Day holiday. He still had to write his thesis AND do homework for his Tuesday classes, so I tried to make his day still a little fun by cooking him brunch and a late lunch. I basically just kept bringing food to his desk all day.

A french toast sandwich, chicken and cheese quesadillas, and birthday strawberries, because Chuck isn't a huge lover of cake.

That night he took a break from working and we met up with friends at Green Street Grill, another restaurant we've been meaning to try forever that is literally 2 blocks from our apartment.  It was so nice of our friends to come out and celebrate his birthday, even though some of them were also in the middle of thesis writing!  We had a lot of food, a lot of drinks, and sang "Happy Birthday" to Chuck not once, but twice at the table.

Pinkies up!

All in all I think it was a birthday win this year, especially because on Monday night before bed Chuckie told me it was "one of the best birthdays ever." Mission. Accomplished.

Happy 27th Birthday, husband! I think this will be your best year yet!

T-Minus 4 months

Chuck graduates from LGO 4 months from today.

That means we have exactly 4 months to do as many things still on my Boston/Northeast Bucket List as we can. While I'm pretty satisfied with everything we've managed to see and do so far, there is still more to do. That's the beauty of Boston and the Northeast! There's so much to see and do here, I'm pretty sure you would have to live here your whole life to do it all!

Here's my short list. (Like I said, we've done a lot already...)

- Tour Sam Adams Brewery
- Have drinks at the Top of the Hub
- Spend a day exploring the Museum of Science (because I've heard it's the best one)
- Take a day/weekend trip to the Newport Mansions in Rhode Island
- Spot Matt Damon and/or Ben Affleck casually strolling down the sidewalk (What? It could happen.)
- Eat more Mike's Pastry

Winter:1 Chuck&Rachel: 0

You guys. It's cold. Lately Chuck and I haven't felt like doing much of anything that involves going outside, even for just a minute. With the exception of work, we haven't left our apartment much because frankly it's just too much work to get that bundled up all the time and also, staying under a blanket on the couch just seems like a better idea than going out there.  Winter is defeating us.

When we HAVE ventured out into the cold and snow, here's what we've been up to.

A couple weekends ago, my friend Kate invited me to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships which were held in Boston at TD Garden. She received tickets from her family as a Christmas present and I was lucky her husband was out of town and she asked me to go to a couple of the sessions! We spent the entire day there and saw all of the Pair's finals and the Women's Finals. It was especially exciting this year because the winners go to the Olympics in a couple of weeks! It was also fun because Kate knows basically everything about figure skating so not only did I get to enjoy the skating, but I got to learn too.

Here are a few of the skaters you'll see competing in the Olympics in February.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White

Gracie Gold

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir

This past weekend, we drove to Connecticut with our friends Clayton and Christen to watch Louisville play UConn in basketball.  It was a big game because it was College Gameday, so we were the game of the day. The arena is small, so tickets on stubhub were WAY expensive, but luckily we were able to score some cheap tickets from the UofL ticket office a few days before the game!

Before the game, we found one of the only restaurants in Storrs, Connecticut, and it happened to be Chuck's Margarita Grill. I think the restaurant was made for us! We spent a few hours there, eating appetizers, our meals, and of course, enjoying margaritas.  The game was pretty intense because I would guess the stadium was 75% college students. In the middle of the game, their coach got thrown out and things got really heated, but luckily no one bothered us. Louisville came out with a victory which made the trip a lot more fun than if they had lost like they did last time we drove to Connecticut to see them play.

Other than those two events, we've pretty much been hiding in our apartment, watching football, watching movies, cooking food, and... yeah that's about it.

We also saw this gigantic teddy bear at the grocery store.

We lead an exciting life.

Murder Mystery New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve we decided to spice up our traditional game night with a different type of game.  Several months ago, my sister Laura bought a Groupon for a Murder Mystery Party package. It comes with everything you need to have a full blown Murder Mystery party right in your own house. Everyone gets a character, envelopes with information about your character's personality and history, goals to accomplish at the party, etc. We had several themes to choose from but ultimately voted to do the "30 Year High School Reunion" theme. We decided the only way we could make it successful was if everyone really committed. And commit, we did.

I had planned to write out a whole summary of the night and events, but Laura, who is a long time blogger and hilarious writer, summed up the night better than I ever could have over on her blog. Seriously. It's so good. Especially the Cast of Characters post. You can click the links below to go straight there.

Part 1: Cast of Characters
Part 2: The Case

The night was a huge success and we're already talking about when we can do another Murder Mystery party.

After the murder was solved, a photo booth session took place, drinks were had, games were played, and of course, we watched the ball drop at midnight. The Murder Mystery was most definitely the best part of the night, but another favorite part of the evening for me was right before the ball dropped. We were all sitting/standing around the living room and we decided to go around and share our favorite part of 2013 (besides Grayson's birth, of course). This group of friends is goofy/ridiculous 99% of the time, but that 1% serious time is what always reminds me why I love these people so much. As everyone shared their favorite moments, I teared up (naturally....I cry daily) and Chuck and I both shared that our favorite part of 2013 was finding out we get to move back and spend more time with these crazy people we call family.

And now... a few pictures of the night post-Murder Mystery.