Biking Martha's Vineyard

One of my absolute favorite ways to explore a new city is by bike. How could I not love that feeling of the wind in my hair and the prettiest sights coming into view? And with Martha's Vineyard being so picturesque, ferrying over with our bikes was a no brainer, especially since Husband just attached this pretty new bike basket to my bike.

 Biking though the Vineyard was at the tippy top of my wish list, so on our first morning in Martha's Vineyard, we hopped on our bikes and pedaled our way through scenic Edgartown. 

harvard museum of natural history

This past labor day weekend, we had a pretty wet Sunday. While I'm sure this rained out some people's plans, it was the perfect timing for us. Because there is nothing better than a rainy day museum visit. 

boating boston: kayaking the charles river

Don't you just love long weekends? Especially with being in a long distance relationship, having a little extra time to visit over the weekend makes a big difference. We had a relaxing labor day weekend and spent our time catching up on work, napping, shopping, brunching, and museum hopping. But my favorite thing we did was kayak the Charles River in Boston.

Boston Broadway :: WICKED!

Boston Broadway Belated Birthday

Say that 5X fast

One of the best parts about Tom being in Boston is that, well it's Boston. And being so close to New York-"the home of broadway", means that we've gone from never having seen a broadway show to having seen 4 together (The Lion King, The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Aladdin) and now lucky #5 with Wicked!

SoWa Sunday

Happy SoWa Sunday! 

Just crossed this first item off my Fall to do list with attending the SoWa market. SoWa is short for South of Washington Street and refers to Boston's outdoor farmers market. It runs every Sunday from the first of May to the end of October. Only it's not just a farmers market. There's also a vintage market and an arts & craft market. Plus, the food truck scene is on point with a beer garden to boot. 

kayaking with a dog

Something that has been on my Boston Bucket List forever is to kayak the famous Charles River. But for our first time kayaking in the city, we decided to go a more relaxed route. Tom planned a kayaking trip for us at Spot Pond and the best part of the trip is that we were able to take our pup along.

Aside from fitting in my purse and being the perfect lap warmer, another perk of having a small pup is that they are kayak sized!

day trip diaries: cape cod

Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 20 

After my birthday tea last month, sweet husband planned for us to have a day in Cape Cod. But Cape Cod isn't a single place, it's a cluster of several towns. We headed to Provincetown, which is right at the northern tip of the Cape. Not only is Provincetown the very first landing spot of the pilgrims, it represents classic Cape Cod. 

Fireworks in Boston

Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 17
After spending an amazing 4th of July weekend in Vermont, we headed back to Boston to officially celebrate the Monday holiday. We've actually never spent the 4th here in Boston because we've always been traveling. And we've definitely been missing out! Boston is one of the best places to be for America's birthday since this city played such big role in earning it's freedom. That being said, Boston really shows off on the fourth of July.

We brought along our camping chairs, which breakdown and fit right into my purse. These seats made things extra comfy while we were waiting for the fireworks to begin. 

boston bucket list

Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 9

I've mentioned our boston bucket list many times, but never got around to sharing it. With husband being in boston for school, we're not sure how long this time here will last. For now, we're thankful to be in this amazing city with a history that America was built on. We have access to a world class symphony, art museums, and the best seafood. And with places like martha's vineyard and cape cod just a ferry ride away, boston is classic new england. I love sharing the best of boston through our eyes, so feel free to click on any of the items we've checked off our list to see more. 

you know you live in boston when...

Wanderlust Wednesday-Week 8

Lately, I've been thinking about how lucky Tom and I are to have this time right now. Our entire marriage has been long distance so this time together is precious. And I couldn't think of a better city to spend it in than Boston. This city is so unique with all it's history and while it's small, it is jam-packed with culture and so much to do. But there are some quirks about living here that you would never find anywhere else in the world. On that note…you know you live in boston when...

St. Patty’s Day is a MAJOR holiday

you know you live in boston when they are just called Boston cream pies

Every bar in the city has Sam Adams on Tap, but then again you’ve never checked the Cheers bar because that’s only for the tourists

You love to hate the-T {our public transit system} but couldn’t function without it. Plus you know all the alternate routes because the green line will inevitably breakdown again.

Your version of a light dusting of snow is anything less than 3 feet. Speaking of snow, winter is October-April…bring on the full length puffy coats and bean boots!

You spend the summers in the stands of Fenway Park {even if you don’t like baseball…that's me}

you know you live in boston when…you eat fresh seafood like other people eat chicken

You’re used to walking down cobblestone streets lined with gaslight lamps

You are completely unphased by having to navigate round-a-bouts, one-ways, and trolleys when you drive. Plus you can parallel park like a pro

There’s a different university on every block. That's the only way we have managed to jam 100 colleges in this small city.

you know you live in boston when walking past historal re-enactments is the norm. And you roll your eyes because they're blocking the way, BUT secretly you love it.

You refer to Cape Cod simply as the Cape…speaking of which, you readily spend your summers ferrying between Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Cape.

you know you live in boston when…there's not a Starbucks on every corner, but there is a Dunkin Donuts

You know how to skip the lines to get front row concert sees and you know all the free days at the major museum

you know you live in boston when…you've inadvertently memorize all the stops along the freedom trail because you walk by them all the time

Seriously, try doing this exercise with your city. It will highlight the best parts! I promise, you will appreciate it so much more. 

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

This weekend gave us a chance to cross another item off our Boston Bucket List. We spent Sunday at the most unique art museum...the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It has a checkered past with being the victim of one of the biggest unsolved art heists in the world. And while this place has such an interesting history and some amazing pieces, at times it felt more like we were wandering through a secret garden than an art museum.

Normally art museums are cold and dark in order to better preserve the art. But this museum is so well done with managing to add in lots of natural light. There are two buildings connected by an open walk way. The newer modern building has a restaurant, a concert hall, and plenty of bright open areas. Meanwhile, the original building houses most of the art. It's centered around an open courtyard that can be accessed from every floor. So each gallery offers a different perspective of the courtyard. 

Isabella modeled the courtyard after an Italian Palace, so those pink marble walls and romantic balconies are always surrounded by sprawling palms and sculptures. But the flowers are changed out multiple times a year. During our visit, the courtyard was filled with bright orange nasturtiums, flowering maples, and the cutest orange trees. Perfect for the start of spring + ideal for this girl who was just getting over a cold and in need of some good vitamin C. 

I assure you that there is actual art in this ART museum. Isabella was a very wealthy woman and she used her personal fortune to purchase and display art for the "education and enjoyment of the public forever". While the frames from the $500M art heist remain empty, there are still thousands of pieces of art including some favorites like Rembrandt and Degas.

One thing I know for certain, we will definitely be back to visit this secret garden art museum again and again. 

linking up with weekending//travel tuesday//

a little vitamin C

I've been so under the weather this past week and it's been depressing because it made me miss out on so many great things. We had to cancel a date that we had planned on Thursday. Plus, I didn't get to link up for Wanderlust Wednesday or Friday Five. Seriously, is there anything good about being sick?  But this weekend I've started feeling much better. While I should probably be taking it easy, I desperately wanted to get out of the house. Thankfully, we found this perfect hidden spot with orange trees growing right in the city and they are providing just the right dose of vitamin C. 

Can't wait to share more details tomorrow. 

all you need is love…and art

We have been staying in a lot lately to help fend off this winter weather. But Valentine's Day really pushed us to get out of the house {even if it was -9 degrees outside}. We decided that it was a perfect opportunity to cross another item off our Boston Bucket List by visiting the Museum of Fine Arts. 

We spent a night at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art a few months ago and adored every minute of it. Since we prefer classical art to modern, we knew that we would love the museum of fine arts even more. And it did not disappoint! There were so many pieces from our favorites…Monet, De Gule, Picasso. We were actually a bit overwhelmed.  

We decided to start with one of the museum's many free tours. Our tour guide was a nice elderly gentleman with a Harvard PhD. He was so knowledgeable and showed us some exhibits that we might have otherwise skipped. It was a perfect way to get our bearings {because this museum is massive} and determine which exhibits were worth revisiting once the tour ended. 

These flowers were definitely one of the pieces we revisited…I could stare at these gorgeous beauties all day

 I'm a fan of all things impressionist 

  Me + Monet

A few other favorites included the music exhibit 

and the pieces from the ancient worlds of Egypt and Greece

Plus we were able to see the visiting Picasso exhibit 

But without a doubt, our absolute favorite was this red room that housed some of the Art of Europe. Husband wants the red damask wallpaper in our future home 

while I wanted to take this tea service 

The Boston MFA has been open for over 100 years, which has given them plenty of time to collect thousands of pieces to the art. We loved that we spent Valentine's Day here because now we have something extra special to remember it by. 

The Details 

Time: 3-4 hours 

Cost: Adult $25 (free to Boston students)

Featured Collections: European Art, Egyptian Art, Greek Art, Contemporary, Japanese Art, Art of the Americas 

it's Christmastime in the City

Blogmas Day 24 

Merry Christmas Eve Dear Friends,

 I hope you are all enjoying the holiday! One of the best parts of our holiday season has been spending it in the city of Boston. We love this city so much already, but it truly shows off at Christmastime…

the Golden dome of the State House shines a little brighter thanks to lovely holiday wreaths tied up with giant bows

 city sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style 

In the air there is a feeling of Christmas 

it's Christmastime in the City

I can't get over all the fresh greenery floating around the city

festive wreaths hanging on doors…window boxes filled with holiday cheer….and loose garland wrapped around everything

Also, I'm a little obsessed with these gorgeous doors and their holiday wreaths scattered throughout the city. I could happily move into any of these

but really, I'm serious about all these pretty doors and wreaths 

And just one more door because why not...

When the sun goes down in the city, it gets even better around here 

Strings of street lights, even stop lights, blink a bright red and green 

it's Christmastime in the city 

Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall are the best place to be at night…

Lots of lights and plenty of places for holiday shopping 

 We popped into Quincy Market for some warmth…had to take a shot of this gorgeous ceiling 

Also, how do you choose between these two pictures of the same Christmas tree. 

On the left, it's surrounded by other trees being lit up…On the right is the exact same tree being reflected by the shops in the background. 

I couldn't chose, so I had to include both 

the prettiest store fronts that invite you right in…

it's Christmastime in the City 

A big thank you to Boston for being so magical this year and to Husband for getting us out of the house. Whoever you are, wherever you are right now…I hope you're enjoying your Christmastime in the City. 

Follow along with Blogmas to see more holiday fun everyday this month

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