Pomplamoose!

The day tickets went on sale for the Pomplamoose First Ever Tour, Pomplamoose tweeted about it. It pays to follow your favorite bands. The tour happened to be of New England. The first location happened to be in Boston. On the day of Ian and I's fourth propose-aversary/engagement-versary (June 21). So I bought tickets.

After work, I swapped business casual for my Pomplamoose tee (courtesy Ian way back when), and we headed downtown. Before the show, we enjoyed a nice romantic dinner at B Good over a shared a mint chocolate chip shake. Then we walked to Cafe 939.

I was slightly worried we'd get stuck in the back, but a 7:15 p.m. arrival put us near the beginning of the line, which by 8 p.m. resulted in a front row square of floor next to Jack Conte's keyboard, right between a nice Japanese Berklee student (name pronounced you-skay, no idea how to spell it) and two little girls. Pomplamoose has a very diverse following.

The show was everything we hoped it would be. Lauren O'Connell opened with an excellent acoustic set — she's a very talented and honest songwriter. After a few stage modifications, Jack and Nataly walked out with Carlos (drummer) and Ryan (bassist for Ben Folds' latest tour). They are as funny, quirky and talented as they look/sound on YouTube.

Jack is energetic and an entertainer — he joked about how he was talking between every song. Nataly is his perfect balance — calm, with the ability to deadpan one-liners in response. When someone hollered a request for one of Jack's songs, he said, "This isn't a Jack Conte show, it's a Pomplamoose show!" to which Nataly replied, "There's a difference?"

They played through a good chunk of their repertoire. Nataly dubbed us, the audience, the best backup vocalists for "If You Think You Need Some Lovin'" and for "September", their "last song" they divided us into three sections and assigned backup parts. After much cheering, they returned for two more songs and finaled by rocking out "Centrifuge." As cliche as it sounds, I couldn't believe it was over. How was that two hours already? It was in that moment I realized Pomplamoose is not just one of my favorite bands, but my favorite band period.

After the show, we stuck around to buy "The Album You Bought at Our Show (thanks for that)." and meet Lauren, Jack and Nataly. I clammed up and kept repeating, "You're amazing!" but managed to wow them with my shirt — one of the original batch of v-necks promoed on their "If You Think You Need Some Lovin'" video (2:31), and the fact I've been a fan for almost three years.

photo taken and twittered by @pomplamoose

We also signed their poster. I like thinking our handwriting and some of Ian's sharpie ink is hanging on a wall in their recording studio.

Click here to see the rest of our Pomplamoose photos on Flickr.

the day Ian saw the Stanley Cup

After driving my family to the airport at 5 in the morning, Ian and I went home and crashed. But we set the alarm for 10 a.m. so we could head downtown for the Bruins Championship Parade. Ian, avid sports fan, wanted to see the Stanley Cup in person.

We arrived at the D line a little after 11 a.m. and watched three trains pass while one drunk Bruins fan stripped to his boxers. Then we checked with a nearby MBTA official — all trains between our stop and the end of the line were full. Plan B — the C line didn't end in a suburban commuter parking lot, so hopefully it wouldn't be as busy. We headed towards Beacon Street, turning down a ride from the group of drunk Bruins fans containing the formerly almost-naked guy.

Our hunch about the C line was right and we hopped on the next train. The conductor informed us over the loudspeakers that Copley and Park Street station were closed (to more evenly distribute the crowd), but we were planning on Arlington anyway. The Public Garden would provide more room to move and a good view of the parade route.




We relaxed under some trees in the Public Garden until an increased number of helicopters alerted us to the Bruins' approach.





After watching the last boat drive down Boylston Street, we headed out in search of hydration and a usable T stop. Two hours and three beverages (water, iced coffee, and a coconut frappuccino) later, we completed a loop around downtown and got on the green line at Park Street — two blocks away from where we started.

When we finally got home, Ian decided to continue our hockey theme with the first documentary in ESPN's 30 for 30 (birthday present thanks to Dane and Micki). King's Ransom follows the trade of Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One," from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. As upset as the Oilers fans were, it's amazing to think how one trade led to huge growth for the NHL and it's American fan base.

I'm still not a hockey fan, but I have a new appreciation for the game.

they're not in Kansas (again): the finale

Friday morning, I dusted off my Camelbak, Ian packed a picnic, and we met my family at Kupel's Bakery for breakfast. We've heard rave reviews since we moved to Boston, and it's a pretty sweet bagel joint. In addition to tasty bagels + cream cheese, we also picked up, for our picnic, a bag of their rolls — they turned out to be ideal sandwich buns. And I'm excited to try items from the sweeter end of the counter. A nearby pocket park served as our breakfast spot and allowed us to experience the exact moment it started sprinkling. We lamented not sending the family to the Harbor Islands the day before and saving the MFA for the rainy forecast.

Since it wasn't pouring, we decided to risk it and hopped on the train inbound. By the time we popped out at Government Center we needed our umbrellas. Ever the optimist, Ian realized this was the perfect time to check out the new Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion with its rain-capture roof.

Our 21 Flickr photos of the pavilion are just the highlights of a much larger group of photos I found on my camera when Ian handed it back.

By 11 a.m. things were dry enough for us to put the Harbor Islands back on the schedule. We took the noon ferry to Spectacle for a picnic and sea-glass hunting. The ranger's theme of the day was red glass. I found one and took a photo before adding it to the rangers' collection.

We then headed on to Georges Island, home of civil war fortress Fort Warren.

After a relaxing (and dry!) afternoon in the Harbor, we headed back and meandered through the Quincy Market area — Mom got to celebrate the Bruins win with famous Celtics coach Red Auerbach.

And what would a family trip to Boston be without an authentic Filipino dinner at JnJ Turo Turo? Filipino food doesn't get a lot of attention, but thanks to the archipelago's colorful colonial history, it's arguably the original fusion cuisine.

And just like that, their vacation was over. Early Saturday morning, we drove them to the airport. Mom was a little disappointed they couldn't see the Bruins Stanley Cup parade before they left.

Thanks to Mom, Dad and Nathan for spending their vacation in Boston with us (and for treating us to dinners at our favorite restaurants) — we loved every minute.

See the rest of the week's photos here.

they're not in Kansas (again): the birthday boy

Last Thursday was Ian's birthday. (Happy 25 years + 1 week to the guy who loves me more than I deserve. Sorry I was lame and didn't write you a birthday post ON your birthday. I'll make it up to you.)



To celebrate, we went to Ian's restaurant of choice: The Dumpling Cafe. It's hard to resist juicy pork buns (a.k.a. soup dumplings, a.k.a. xiaolongbao, a.k.a. C11).



Mom, even more exuberant at Asian restaurants, told our waitress, who didn't speak a lot of English, that it was Ian's birthday and jokingly asked her if they could sing to him. The waitress pointed to the owner. Five minutes later, the owner came to our table. With her soft-spoken accent, the distance across our table, and the noise level at our neighboring tables, we weren't entirely sure what she was saying. But her gestures seemed to indicate she would be bringing some sort of birthday hat for Ian.

We returned to our sesame chicken, pepper beef, and pork buns. Then Ian noticed behind the counter they were searching YouTube. A few minutes later, the Chinese version of "Happy Birthday" played over their sound system. Other patrons smiled and glanced our way, singing and gesturing along. Ian insisted his face was only red because of the pepper beef.

After the song ended, they moved on to the English version of "Happy Birthday" performed by a Chinese group, which repeated approximately six times as the owner beamed at our table. We laughed and thanked her.



After dinner we contemplated a Mike's Pastry run for some sort of sweet birthday treat. Then decided we were too full. Instead, we strolled to the nearby theater to catch Super 8.



Our whole family loved it. I don't know what else to say but J.J. Abrams is a genius behind the camera, and this one is an instant classic.

Thanks to my family and Mr. Abrams for making Ian's birthday one to remember. And thanks to Ian for wanting to celebrate your birthdays with me. I love you.

Stay tuned for the family's vacation finale!

See the rest of the week's photos here.

they're not in Kansas (again): Bruins fever

Monday evening, while Ian was stuck at the office thanks to an impending deadline, I left early to meet up with the family. We wandered around the Public Garden, where all of the statues seemed excited about the upcoming Bruins game.





And Nathan was excited about impersonating another Boston animal statue.



We ended up at The Last Hurrah, a (cheaper-than-the-restaurant) bar at the Omni-Parker House (hotel — Mom didn't realize this until the waitress asked if we wanted to charge the bill to our room), for incredible chowder and the original Boston Cream Pie. The Oyster House may have the atmosphere, but the Parker House has the flavor.

Tuesday contained their last-minute day trip to NYC via the Chinatown bus, departing at 6 a.m. and arriving back in Boston at 2 a.m. Much to my dissapointment, they didn't make it onto Cash Cab.

After walking and riding all over Manhattan, riding on buses for eight hours, and taking a, shall we say challenging, cab ride back to the hotel, Mom, Dad, and Nathan were tired. So we decided to take it easy Wednesday. They came over to our apartment for dinner and Ian rolled out a batch of homemade spaghetti. Then we headed back to their hotel for free cable to watch the game (seven, Stanley Cup). Within minutes of turning on the tv, Mom was cheering loudly for the Bruins. We'll have to get her some gear for Christmas. We stayed long enough to watch several Bruins players make laps around the rink with the Stanley Cup, and watch several Canucks fans toss their jerseys into a bonfire.



Ian and I headed home and fell asleep to the sound of firecrackers, car horns, and yells in the distance.

Stay tuned for Ian's birthday celebration.

See the rest of the week's photos here.

they're not in Kansas (again): the airport and the ivy

Mom, Dad, and Nathan arrived two Saturdays ago to cool weather and predictions of rain. Not an auspicious start to summer vacation. But sunshine or not, we were excited to see them!

(Their flight from Kansas was domestic — Southwest flies into Logan's international terminal. Go figure.)

Like last summer, we kicked off their visit with Jewish comfort food at Zaftigs. The rain began just as we started digging into our knish and kugel. After dinner, we picked at the last of the french fries and guessed the gender of our pregnant waitress's baby (boy). Still it rained. The kitchen closed, and we were forced to acknowledge the inevitable: the walk home would be wet. Dad settled the bill (thanks Dad!) and we headed out the door, huddled under two umbrellas. Picking our way down the street, stuffed with challah french toast and corned beef, we hoped the forecasters were wrong about the coming week.

Sunday morning was cool and overcast, but sans precipitation. After [REUNION] and brunch at Charley's, we crossed our fingers and headed to Boston College, then Harvard, so Nathan (future planner) could experience a few Boston campuses.

Dad had an ulterior motive: collect evidence demonstrating how Cornell's ivy (fig. A) is significantly more impressive than Harvard's (fig. B).

Figure A

Figure B

We finished the evening at another favorite restaurant — FuGaKyu, where we convinced Dad to try the sushi. Growing up, I thought of Dad as a fearless eater. He bragged about eating dog and boa constrictor during his time in Indonesia, so I was shocked to learn he'd never before tried sushi. Something I, pickiest eater of the family, tried (under loving duress from my then-boyfriend Ian) and now enjoy. Ian decided to push the limits with sea urchin, but they were fresh out so he settled for mentaiko — spicy cod roe. I stuck with the spicy tuna and Philadelphia rolls. Nathan, the only family member to try balut (link warning — not for the faint of stomach) with Ian, loved everything. Mom and Dad also gave their stamp of approval, even though they aren't sushi aficionados.

Stay tuned for hockey and Boston Cream Pie.

See the rest of the week's photos here.

Battle of the Sox

Thanks to a connection with the White Rhino, Memorial Day included cheering for the Sox (the red ones) at Fenway. Al knows everyone at the park, and we know Al. He offered to let us volunteer with him in Autograph Alley, then sit with him behind home plate. Twist our arms.

The weather was perfect for an evening baseball game and the park was full of Sox fans, both red and white (the white ones being from Chicago).

Fenway pulled out all the stops to honor veterans — a massive American flag unfurled down the green monster as the announcer introduced all the veterans working at the park. Frank Zarba, of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, belted the national anthem.

Fred Czupkiewicz, a 94-year-old WWII veteran and former POW, nailed the first pitch. I might have teared up a bit.

Aside from lackluster pitching and a final score of 7-3 Sox (white, Chicago), is was a perfect evening at the ballpark. Ian's favorite thing about Fenway is the absence of gimmicks — aside from the hot dog prices and gigantic screen, you can imagine you're at a game from years past. And win or lose, you always* have fun — we sure did. Thanks to Al for inviting us along!

*exception: Yankees.

strawberries for Sabbath

We've been talking about Sabbath lately — how we, as Christ-followers, are still called to Sabbath, but observing Sabbath isn't simply about following legalistic rules. Our community group brought up a challenge to think about what a day of rest and focus on God would look like for each of us. Ian and I had some good discussions and started by structuring our weekend with all of our chores and errands on Saturday — we felt very intentional. But when Sunday rolled around, we ended up watching Hulu all night because we had only been intentional about not working on Sunday, instead of making Sunday meaningful. So we tried again.

Sunday of Memorial Day weekend resulted in Sabbath growth for us. Ian played in the band at [REUNION], then we headed home to get ready for community group. Ian relaxed and I had the kitchen to myself. I methodically hulled and halved strawberries, mixed up batter for Smitten Kitchen's strawberry summer cake, and assembled, taking photographs along the way.

Once the cake was in the oven, Ian joined me and together we prepared empanadas and cucumber, tomato and feta salad from Bon Appetit magazine.

As we turned off the oven and the apartment started cooling down, our community group began to arrive. We had a great evening of fellowship and learning how to put our faith into practice.

We didn't observe Sabbath in the traditional sense. In fact all of the cooking (plus other electricity usage like lights and electronics) is in direct violation of Sabbath law. But I felt so purposeful. The baking and cooking was relaxing — a different kind of "work" than the rest of the week. Structured but creative. And all of it was about relationships — with others and with God.

We don't have it all figured out, but I think we're on the right track.

bread pudding that doesn't disappoint

During our eight-month honeymoon in Philadelphia, i.e. Ian's internship, we fell in love with Caribou Cafe's brioche bread pudding with white chocolate butterscotch sauce. Unfortunately, it set the bar so high we've avoided bread pudding at restaurants, afraid of disappointment. Then Ian heard about Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square.

A few Sundays ago, after [REUNION], we stopped by. Ian marched up to the hostess and asked if they were currently serving bread pudding. She confirmed, then seated us with a dessert menu only, per our request. This threw off the waitress, but we soon had a large slice of butterscotch bread pudding topped with praline ice cream and salted caramel.

We each took an apprehensive first bite, quickly followed by many more enthusiastic fork-fulls. Ian might have licked the plate.

Where Caribou is classic, Eastern Standard is modern and punchy. Take a bite of Caribou's pure flavors: caramel, chocolate and vanilla, and your eyes close as you savor the perfect balance, the richness, and the copious amounts of butter. Eastern Standard hits you with one intense flavor: caramel, and adds intrigue with textures: warm bread pudding, smooth ice cream, and a thin disk of salted caramel crunch.

Ian ordered a cup of coffee and declared it was the perfect balance to dessert-for-brunch. I took his word for it.

Like Caribou, Eastern Standard's dining experience was as good as the bread pudding. We sat on the patio next to a wall of greenery dividing diners from pedestrians. It cut out the distracting sights and sounds without losing the al fresco. Not often can you enjoy garden dining in the city.

We'll be back.

chocolate world tour: Tanzania

73% cocoa, subtle fruitiness with a fine hint of vanilla
Ideal pairing: jasmine tea

We don't stock jasmine tea. It's a comforting scent, in that it reminds me of my family's quarterly trips to the nearest Asian food store 1.5 hours away. We'd come home with buko juice, dried mangoes, and at least 200 pounds of rice (as well as a few unsavory — at least to a picky preteen — items like durian and strange vegetables). But for unknown reasons, I don't enjoy tasting that pleasant jasmine scent. Go figure.

So when jasmine tea showed up as the ideal pairing for Tanzania, we were lazy and skipped a grocery run decided to go for a pure chocolate experience.

We first noticed a more pronounced butter flavor than previous chocolate tastings. The "subtle fruitiness" mentioned in the description came through with citrus tendencies. The chocolate was sweet (possibly the vanilla), but also developed a sharper and almost savory taste. It was subtle but pleasant. The bar had a nice snap to it without any chalkiness, and finished smooth in both flavor and texture.

Our friend Grant spent a summer in Tanzania a few years ago, and last summer he was kind enough to share with us his stories and photos. If secondhand experience serves me well, I'd say they managed to infuse the cocoa with the essence of their country. It's just the sort of chocolate I'd want to eat sitting on a white sand beach while watching boats skim over quintessential equatorial waters.

We, of course, had to settle for our living room and an online photo of Zanzibar.

adding "green" via Boston Organics

CSA (community supported agriculture) subscriptions are popular in Boston. And we were very interested. Buying a share in a local farm and enjoying farm-fresh food all summer sounded like a sweet deal. Unfortunately, all the ones nearby didn't have pick-up times that worked with our schedule, and we weren't sure we wanted to commit to the possibility of massive amounts of kale and a ZipCar rental every two weeks. After all, it's just the two of us — could we eat it all?

Then our friend Amanda introduced us to Boston Organics. We signed up, and for $29 every two weeks, we get a small box of produce, perfect for two people. Unlike a CSA, we can put it on hold if we're out of town. We signed up for a half veggie half fruit box, and like a CSA, the exact mix is a surprise every time. They locally source as much as possible, and everything is organic. (You can also sign up for an all-local mix, but Amanda said it's more veggie heavy, and I'm a fruit girl.)

We feel good about this decision, but realize making green choices can be complex. Local isn't always eco-friendly when you factor in additional CO2 emissions for smaller delivery batches (thanks Dad, for sharing the article). So you drive more to pick up your CSA. They might drive more to make deliveries. But what if you have a hybrid? What if they do? And do the green farming practices used by CSAs offset the additional miles? Where do you factor in the health benefits of food with less chemicals? Is my desire for fruit while living in New England increasing air pollution, or do the efficient large-delivery supply chains make it work out the same?

We don't have the answers to these questions. But we do know our new Boston Organics food subscription is an extra boost to our efforts in a healthy diet. And a more plant-heavy diet is better for the environment. We're indirectly supporting local farms. It's all organic — also good for us and the planet (and for the people who live where the food is grown, even if it isn't fair trade). And Boston Organics cares about the environment: they plan deliveries to maximize efficiency, recycle and compost, and place orders to minimize waste.

Our best option is to support companies that share our values, and to keep learning. More knowledge means better choices. And better choices mean happy planet.

How do you add "green" to your food?