worlds 2016: a figure skating fan's dream comes true

Two years ago, Boston hosted Nationals for figure skating, and Ian and I went to the exhibition where we saw the entire US Olympic team, as well as every single US Olympic champion. #bestillmyheart

This year, Boston hosted Worlds, and once again we snagged tickets to the exhibition. I watched every moment of the competition that I could catch on TV in anticipation. (This required kicking Ian out of the house for March Madness viewing, because I figured a sports bar wouldn't carry figure skating. Just a guess.)

The day of the exhibition, we arrived early at the Garden and inadvertently bumped into the small medals ceremony for the pairs and ladies free skate (the top three finishers in the free skate, not to be confused with the overall top three finishers). After the awards were handed out, the medalists stuck around for a Q&A with the audience. Most of the questions came from elementary school girls, and I tried to imagine what it would have been like for 10-year-old Anna to have the opportunity to ask Michelle Kwan or Nancy Kerrigan a question (it would have probably involved tears and maybe passing out before actually saying anything). After they headed backstage to prepare for the exhibition, we made our way to our seats.

Exhibition performances may not be packed with technical difficulty, but they make up for it with fun and personality. It's fascinating to see what skaters choose to perform when they're freed from the requirements of competition and are skating simply because they love it. And I feel honored to have seen so many of the big names in figure skating, as well as up-and-coming skaters with lots of promise. I was especially excited to see Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia, whose competition performances left me transfixed, Papadakis and Cizerone of France, who set a new world record score for their free dance, and Patrick Chan of Canada, who's one of my favorites (perhaps in part because like Michelle Kwan, Olympic gold continues to elude him). Not to mention Yuzuru Hanyu, Mao Asada, and the Shibutanis. And I was in awe of 2016 World gold medalist Javier Fernandez of Spain. He's powerful but also brilliantly artistic in every last detail, and reminds me of Michelle Kwan at her best. I couldn't think of a more perfect skater to top off the Exhibition of Champions.

Helsinki 2017, anyone?

a weekend in New Hampshire

We were so excited to finally get out to New Hampshire to hang out with our friends Brett and Emily! We've known them almost as long as we've lived in Boston, and have experienced so much life with them, including adding their two amazing kids to the mix.



It was a short weekend, but we packed in a lot! They gave us a tour of the boarding school where Brett teaches and coaches (they live on campus) and we got in a quick drive by of the Tuck School of Business, where Emily works. We took a family hike, enjoyed a double date sans kids, and experienced brunch at King Arthur Flour, which I'm sure must be a mecca for bakers for both the store and bakery. (I picked up my sourdough starter there!) We also learned their hill is great for rolling.

But most importantly, we enjoyed our time with friends (big and little) that we don't get to see nearly as often as we'd like. Brett and Emily, G and P, we love you, we miss you, and we hope we can make it up to New Hampshire again soon!

thankful list | March 2016

01. hosting a community group friend for dinner.
02. our amazing community group.
03. Sara introducing me to Neko Astume: I'm not into phone games, but I couldn't resist kawaii kitties.
04. having A. Fox over for dinner.
05. leadership community.
06. lunch at Mei Mei with Enid (and a fun conversation about the Spanish language).
07. Danielle's birthday high tea at L'Espalier.
08. Winsor Dim Sum with our beloved Drs. Hu.
09. bubble tea for dessert.

10. breakfast with Kelly.
11. a successful errand run for pet supplies and groceries.
12. deviled tea eggs at Bon Me for said successful errand run.

13. a quick trip to town hall to get a cat license for Astrid (she's officially a resident!).
14. time with Micki and Grandma Judy.
15. rain inadvertently creating a temporary office art installation of colorful umbrellas.

16. a little reminder of home, with a group of K-Staters in the office for a tour.
17. new lights for our entryways.
18. Toscanini's.
19. REUNION.
20. Cutty's Super Cluckin' Sunday.
21. pulling off our DIY cat scratching post.
22. Meat Spot, because it's good to be known at a lunch spot.
23. a March Madness watch party at the office (mostly for the BBQ — thanks, Trey!)
24. an evening at Symphony Hall with a few of my favorite friends.
25. a road trip to New Hampshire to see the Nichols!
26. a (short) hike with the kiddos.
27. dinner with the grownups at Worthy Kitchen.
28. more catching up over post-dinner drinks, because we always wish we had more time with them.
29. King Arthur Flour, where I picked up sourdough starter. #aspiringbaker
30. a great library in easy walking distance.
31. successfully awakening my sourdough starter (it sounds like I adopted an alien).

21. a text letting me know that G randomly burst out how much she loves me.
26. the first photo of Astrid out of hiding.
27. figuring out the right frames for our gallery wall.
28. Easter with family (and friends!) on the Cape.
29. the beach.
30. finally getting our Make Good Old Try print framed (at the Framer's Workshop).
31. a new TV, which ended our months-long frustration of traffic interfering with our signal. #cutthecord
32. a house guest who's finally back from a year-long adventure (we're counting down to Danielle's return).

freezing in Vermont (with good friends!)

For the long President's Day weekend, we headed to Vermont for a holiday extravaganza with friends. We rented a giant lodge, divvied up meal duties, and planned out what local attractions we wanted to see. How often post-college do you get to spend so much time with friends?

It also turned out to be the coldest weekend New England has seen in decades. Thankfully, our new (to us) Honda Fit handled the weather like a champ. We made it out to to the lodge Friday night, arriving to a roaring fire, a big stack of firewood, and a whole bunch of awesome people. After dinner, we whiled away the evening by the fireplace with good tunes and good conversation (and maybe a little "Hotline Bling" on a toddler's ukulele, thanks to Ian).

The next morning, everyone decided to brave the cold for lunch. We caravanned into the great white wilderness until we reached The Blue Stone. Hot pizza tastes extra good when it's below zero outside. And logically, we decided to head to Ben & Jerry's for dessert. After enjoying our ice cream, our friend Alli agreed to join me for a quick walk to the Flavor Graveyard. It was so cold, my phone shut down. We took that as our cue to head back to the lodge. We spent another evening by the fireplace, only sneaking outside for a brief moment to learn that yes, boiling water tossed into frigid cold air disappears in a puff of snow. (For the record, the real-feel temperature hit 40 below.)

The next day was Valentine's Day. Because Ian knows the way to my heart, he drove the two of us to Cabot for a factory tour with lots of samples. We knew Cabot is a farmer's collective, but it was fascinating to learn exactly what that means (including how great it is for farmers). They are also continually working on sustainability. They save all the liquid from the cheesemaking process and through a reverse osmosis system, they're able to harvest the dried whey protein and reuse all the purified water. We also learned their muenster and jack cheeses are made from some of the same curds as cheddar. The difference is the curds for jack and muenster are rinsed once or twice, which inhibits aging and increases moisture content. After a lengthy wander through the Cabot store, we headed back to the lodge for another night around the fire, with lots of delicious cheese to share.

The next day we packed up and headed home, exploring Montpelier on the way. Hearts full, we were thankful for a weekend away from our daily lives and distractions. No matter the weather, we love spending time with friends, new and old!

thankful list | February 2016

01. soup club at the office, for the good food and the good company.
02. close proximity to a good library.
03. our community group.
04. a REUNION baptism celebration.
05. a date at Blackbird Doughnuts.
06. strolling through Niche. #crazyplantlady
07. hosting Kerwin for dinner (do you really have to move to California?).
08. hosting a Super Bowl party.
09. living so close to so many good friends
10. an apology painting from G (for missing our party because she acted up at naptime).

11. dinner at Tasty Burger.

12. our first DR team meeting (people showed up despite the snow!)
13. a weekend in Vermont with friends.
14. a big cozy lodge with a roaring fire to ward off record low temperatures.
15. Pizza at The Blue Stone.
16. a stop at Ben and Jerry's.
17. watching boiling water turn into snow when thrown outside in said low temps.
18. a Valentine's Day date at the Cabot Visitor Center.
19. a Valentine who knows my love language is cheddar cheese.
20. an evening in our old stomping ground.
21. dinner at Dorado.
22. watching the Oscar-nominated animated shorts with Ian (our oldest tradition).
23. the guys at Meat Spot.
24. a Skype with the Oaks (counting down to seeing them in person again).
25. a two-year-old birthday party (we love you, H!).
26. the Medfield Animal Shelter.
27. our new cat (she's still skittish terrified, but purrs like crazy when you pet her).
28. community group brunch.
29. the best pizza ever (with sausage and eggs, because brunch).
30. a night with friends at the Warren family taco truck.