someone new on the Charles River

We welcome a new neighbor at the office, although I think he picked the wrong season to move to the Charles. I wonder if his family misses him?

Happy Thanksgiving from Boston

eight great friends.

22 pounds of turkey nicknamed "big boy."

one great Thanksgiving in Boston.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday with plenty of thanks.

a surprise vacation in...

Right after I volunteered to bring quiche for my book club's November meeting, Ian told me I couldn't go. He had plans for the weekend.

"Well, can we do it later Saturday? After book club? It's just in the morning."

"No. Actually, it might involve an overnight bag."

The next day, I received the following e-mail:

In preparation for this weekend, please block off your schedule from 3:30 PM on Friday, November 12th until 8 PM Sunday, November 14th, and be waiting at the office by 3:30 on the 12th with the following items packed:

• Nice evening dinner attire for one evening,
• Casual comfortable clothing for 2 days, including fleece/warmly lined pants and outdoorsy shoes,
• "Cozy" clothes for the purpose of vegetating,
• Toiletries,
• Reading materials of your choice, and
• Provisions for automotive travel ranging from three to eight hours of travel.

*If possible, please try and complete all work prior to 3:30 PM on the 12th to ensure maximum productivity during the weekend.

If you have any questions regarding this appointment, please feel free to ask. However, know that at this time, some details are confidential, and therefore I may be unable to answer.

Thank you.

Friday, we brought our bags to work and by 3:45 we were sitting on the bench outside. Ian let me think we were waiting for Enterprise, then Brett and Emily drove up. Discovery 1 — the trip was in honor of Emily's birthday. But the guys remained tight-lipped about our destination.

After one Target stop for an iPod cable, three states (including Mass) and four Frosty + french fry snacks, Brett stopped in a gas station parking lot and pulled out his MacBook for a slide show presentation. Emily made discovery 2 — our destination was the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont — quaint mountain resort town and home to Ben & Jerry's and Cabot cheese. Amen.

We enjoyed a late dinner at Pie-casso (tip from our awesome waitress — order "pigs in a garden," an off-menu pie) before checking in at the Lodge.

The next morning, we had a late breakfast and spent a good hour playing with the modeling clay that came in one of Emily's birthday boxes. We finally decided we should probably get out and explore, so we headed to Pinnacle Trail and conquered Hogback Mountain.

I learned that while I may have the balance and grace of a mountain goat (flattering, right?), I'm not a die-hard outdoorswoman.

In the face of mud and a couple icy sections, we made it to the top and spent some time eating homemade Chex mix while looking at this.

After our hike, we hopped back in the car to catch a Ben & Jerry's factory tour. Short and sweet, you end with a heaping sample of ice cream. Then we headed to the scoop shop to get more.

We finished Saturday with nachos and shepherd's pie at Gracie's, then headed back to the lodge for some well-earned rest and relaxation.

Sunday, we indulged in brunch at the Trapp bakery — possibly the best chocolate croissant I've ever had. After Brett finished his training run, we loaded up the car, then wandered the grounds. Our search for the extra-hairy cows was unsuccessful, but we did see a von Trapp family member giving a tour at the Captain and Maria's graves. Content with our von Trapp experience, we headed into town.

After lunch at the Depot Street Malt Shop, we explored downtown then headed to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill for some tasty souvenirs and Ian and I's first encounter with cider doughnuts. Car and stomachs full, we headed back to Boston.

Brett — thanks for letting us join your surprise for Emily. It was so much fun spending a weekend with you both. And again, happy birthday Emily!

For more photos, click here.

chocolate world tour: Peru

60% cocoa, well-rounded with subtle jasmine notes and a clean finish
Ideal pairing: cabernet sauvignon

I confess, Peru was shortchanged. We were relaxing with Micki and the chocolate bar disappeared with very few tasting notes and no pairing. I did, however, manage to write down two descriptors: "creamy" and "the epitome of dark chocolate." I think it's safe to say this was a satisfying end to an evening with good company.

chocolate world tour: São Thomé

70% cocoa, intense cocoa flavor with an exciting bitterness
Ideal pairing: dry roasted almonds

As we unwrapped the São Thomé bar, a nutty baking chocolate smell wafted past the foil. The first taste revealed a deep molasses flavor, and floral (jasmine in particular) and earthy components. A hint of rubber snuck in, but not in any unpleasant way - more of a memory of summer bike rides than an actual, tangible flavor.

The texture of the chocolate was a good match for roasted almonds - thicker, so it coated the nuts as I chewed. The chocolate was a little bitter at first, but the almond balanced this. It reminded us of hot chocolate at Cafe by the Ruins in Baguio - rich dark chocolate bits melted into steaming carabao milk - if you drank it sitting next to a cozy campfire, everything taking on a hint of woodsmoke.

Since coming back from the Philippines, I get sporadic craving for a cup of Rizal's hot chocolate. It's nice to get some satisfaction without a $2,000 plane ticket.

Catherine and the original Boston cream pie

Last week, Catherine was in town for a food and nutrition convention. Even though her schedule was packed (when your grad school pays, you can't miss anything), she managed to squeeze in an evening with us.

After work on Monday, we met her at her hotel downtown then headed straight for the Omni-Parker House, home of the original Boston cream pie.

We walked in to old money elegance — dark wood, high ceilings, gilt molding, plush carpet. Feeling mildly out of place, Ian led us on to the hotel restaurant where the maître d’ apologized, but as we didn't have reservations he couldn't squeeze us in until after eight. Catching a glimpse of the restaurant interior and patrons, perhaps this was for the best — I'm not sure our attire was quite up to snuff.

Instead, we opted for The Last Hurrah — the hotel bar — for a relaxed dinner while still indulging in that Boston classic at it's birthplace. We caught up over clam chowder, stew, and chili before splitting dessert. It was gone in 5 minutes.

After dinner, we wandered around Beacon Hill and the Common, and Catherine told us more about Hershey — the man, the company, and what it's like to work there. It was a lovely evening despite the rain.

Catherine, it was great to see you and we'll be taking up your offer to visit Hershey!

chocolate world tour: Venezuela

70% cocoa, unique mild taste with hints of floral and dried grasses
ideal pairing: Earl Grey tea

The Venezuela kicked off our chocolate tour with a strong, rich scent, reminiscent of a good dark hot chocolate. It started off dry and sweet but darkened the longer we savored it. On a texture scale, it was evenly balanced between smooth and chalky — there was a sharp snap but it wasn't too dry.

After an initial taste, we combined it with Harney & Sons Earl Grey tea. This brought out more dry, grassy flavors in the chocolate. It was almost musty, like a hay bale in the summertime, and the tart and bitterness of the chocolate came through more as well. The chocolate also heightened these flavors in the tea.

Wine is the usual suspect for in-depth flavor analysis, so I find it delightfully intriguing that other foods also have a deep complexity of flavor. Hello again, chocolate. It's nice to know you've grown up alongside me.

Eagle's Deli, or John and Erin move to Boston

Almost two weeks ago, John and Erin arrived in Boston with a moving truck. We're so excited to have them here in Boston, just a ride away on the green line!

Fox was able to leave work early and help them unload in the afternoon. By the time Ian and I arrived at their new apartment, everything was inside. So instead of revealing my lack of muscle, we admired John, Erin, and Fox's sheer moving power, then told our commute story.

November 2, you might recall, was an election day. To fulfill our civic duty, we made a pit stop on the way to John and Erin's. Post-vote, we discussed the candidates as we passed the elevators on our way out. Then we heard a yell and a thud.

Our polling location happens to be in an independent living apartment building for older folks. Ian and I turned around to see an elderly Asian woman on the floor in a puddle of blue Tide with bleach alternative. Ian checked to make sure she was okay and helped her up while another man went to get paper towels. The woman kept apologizing, but we were just glad she wasn't hurt. Between her sorries, we learned her husband hadn't tightly replaced the detergent cap. It must have leaked as she got off the elevator and she slipped in the inevitable puddle, flinging soap everywhere. I couldn't help but think of an episode of Fringe where an off-the-charts genius sets chains of events in motion by doing something mundane — dropping a pen or perhaps unscrewing a laundry detergent lid.

We cleaned off a few more soap globs at John and Erin's before the five of us headed out for dinner at Eagle's Deli, of Man vs. Food fame.

I finished my food. Ian didn't. Those are some pretty big bragging rights.

Clean plate or not, they were excellent burgers, and we're glad we got to share that Boston first with John and Erin. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Anna = office supply item, Ian = guest speaker

I'd been researching couples costumes for Halloween this year. Then the department head invited Ian to go back to K-State on Halloween weekend to speak to students about internship opportunities. It was a huge honor, so of course he said yes. (Plus you really can't turn down a free trip.)

Thus began my quest for an amazing Halloween costume for Dan and Kristin's Costume Brew ha ha.

I settled on Post-It note. Creative, simple, inexpensive, and most importantly, not too flashy while riding the T (as Ian wouldn't be there to fend off decked out drunk guys). Original idea credit goes to a random girl in an English class my junior year.

Saturday evening, I showed up at Dan and Kristin's looking like this.

We had a memorable evening of sweets, Catchphrase, and Pictionary. I thoroughly embarassed myself in Pictionary — so much so I'm unwilling to share the details. And to add insult to injury, the guys routed the ladies in both games. Just wait until Valentines, when we exact our revenge.

In the meantime, Ian had a great trip. Over 70 people showed up for his presentation on great Boston spaces, and he enjoyed talking to students and faculty about preparing for internships, graphics (especially sketching), and sitting in on classes as a guest critic. K-State, the department, and studio are all like family and he loved spending time with everyone. Add that to dinner and football with Nathan and Caleb as well as Deb and Jim, and you get one happy husband. Throw in some dust jacket protective covers from the Dusty Bookshelf and a trip to the jewelry store for a wedding ring cleaning, and you get a happy wife, too.

And by now, you might be curious about those couples costumes I found. Bazinga! You'll just have to wait until next year.

TJ's chocolate palette world tour

Several months ago, Trader Joe's offered a special stack of chocolate bars. Dark chocolate bars from eight different countries, each with a distinct flavor and recommended pairing. Ian and I love this sort of thing (evidenced in our Jones Soda reviews), and I'm a huge fan of dark chocolate. So we tossed it into the cart.

We're still working through the bars — for some reason we've been unmotivated to pick up the recommended pairing items so they're chilling in our fridge. Yes, I know that discolors the chocolate. But it was the only way for the chocolate to survive the hot, humid late summer months — room temperature butter was puddling so you can imagine what chocolate bars would have looked like sitting out. I digress.

To motivate us into finishing our grand chocolate world tour, I'm blogging about it. Watch for reviews soon!

What Stewie Did on Her Fall Vacation

The weekend following Chris and Kelly's wedding, Stewie came to visit. She's a teacher and took advantage of her well-earned fall break to join us for a renowned New England autumn. On Friday, she walked the Freedom Trail and stopped at Mike's before joining us at Zaftig's for an evening of conversation and Jewish food.

We spent Saturday and Sunday zipping around Boston — Harvard, Beacon Hill, the Public Garden, the aquarium, SoWa Open Market, and Chinatown.

Megan and I both enjoy taking lots of photos wherever we go, so we spent a lot of time in the more picturesque areas of our walking tour, snapping away. It's fun to have a comrade-in-camera!

Megan left the weekend plans up to us, only requesting a trip to H+M. A word of advice — avoid this store on weekends if you prefer an under 20-minute dressing room wait or desire a relaxed shopping experience. Thankfully, that was our last stop of the day and were in no rush. Lesson learned.

Unrelated (I think), we've been informed the world will end on Dane's birthday this year (hour: still unknown). It's a Saturday, which is a little dissapointing — I'd rather be raptured on a Monday.

At the SoWa Open Market, Ian and I picked up some handmade soaps (his and hers).

All the shopping triggered an appetite. Thankfully the market also hosts food vendors. Ian and Megan opted for barbeque pulled beef and pork sandwiches, respectively. I indulged my comfort food itch with a gourmet grilled cheese — Cabot cheddar on hearty french bread, and shared dessert with Ian. I'll be experimenting with banana + marshmallow + nutella grilled between two pieces of bread.

For a 4 p.m. snack, we received a lesson on olive oil, complete with tasting. To my tastebuds' surprise, we learned for olive oil, as for wine, weather, location and fruit ripeness have a big impact on flavor. And yes, you can tell a difference.

We walked through Chinatown on our way back to the T, then decided to call it a day. We went home, opened a pomegranate, and watched Top Chef: Just Desserts over some cheeseburger pasta and Mike's cannoli. A relaxing end to a great weekend.

Stewie — thanks for visiting, and we hope you had a great time in Boston!

For more photos, click here.

Chris and Kelly sitting in a tree...

A few weekends ago we flew to Denver for Chris and Kelly's wedding. And not only was it a beautiful milestone in their relationship, the weekend was a reunion for the old Studio 200 gang (including their support systems, i.e. significant others). Spending five years of sleepless nights together in Seaton Hall while stressing out about plantings, renderings, and AutoCAD turns you into family, and it's always good to see family.

Rehearsal dinner was a lovely Italian-themed meal with a pasta bar (the white sauce was to die for) and melt-in-your-mouth beef. I miss great cuts of beef here in New England — it's just not the same. As they handed out presents to the wedding party, we indulged in mini cannoli and tiny cheesecake pops (so good I couldn't put my second one down for a photo).

But back to family.

Friday afternoon my mom and dad drove all the way to Denver, just to have breakfast with us Saturday morning. They're amazing. We had fun at Target and a quirky little breakfast place that didn't measure up to Early Edition.

Dane also drove up to see us and go to a CU football game with Ren. And I somehow failed to get a photo of them. This will be rectified at Christmas.

After brunch, we met up with everyone to go present shopping then get ready for the big event. This, of course, involved much discussion amongst the ladies, and included a few last-minute outfit decisions. But once we placed the bow atop the large stack of board games (brilliant group gift idea, if you need one), we were off to The Sanctuary. Proper noun. Stunning.

After a beautiful wedding, mouthwatering food (I'm still craving the mac and cheese appetizers), and a smashing party, we crashed. After all, Ian and I's internal clocks are two hours later than most of the guests.

The next morning we loaded up, enjoyed breakfast with Dane and Ren, then headed back to the airport, where we whiled away our time with Pass The Pigs.

Happy wedding, Chris and Kelly, and welcome to the married club.

For more photos on Flickr, click here.