Recent Reads: Firefly Lane

This book was incredible! I can't tell you how many times I felt like the author, Kristin Hannah, was describing my life or how many times I cried. I actually finished this book on my flight back to Boston after Thanksgiving and balled on the airplane - seriously, the girl in the seat next to me was staring at me as I tried to silently sniffle back my tears.

Firefly Lane tells the story of two best friends growing up in the 1970's. It follows them through their college years in the 1980's, young adulthood in the 1990's, and motherhood and career advancement in the 2000's. It talks about their relationships with their families, men, their children, and most importantly each other.

(Cozy night in)

The book is pretty daunting in size, but such a quick and easy read. I will admit though there was a portion about 3/4ths of the way through where I was a little bit bored.

But really, this book was amazing.

Thought Catalog Post: 10 Great Things About Michigan (By A Non-Michigander)

While I lived in Michigan for seven years and most of my family is still there, I will never consider myself a true Michigander. That's not to say thought that I don't love America's largest high five/mitten shaped state.

So I decided to take a look at some of my favorite things about Michigan: 10 Great Things About Michigan (By A Non-Michigander).

Recent Reads: The Husband's Secret

If you wan a book that makes you think about fate and destiny and your life choices, The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty is for you.

The book follows the lives of three women, who are acquaintances at best, over the course of one week. All three women's lives unknowingly intersect based on events that took place in each woman's past. The book's tone is also set by the dark secret one woman's husband reveals.

I really enjoyed this book. The complexity of each of the characters and the overlapping storyline made it a really great read.

Head of the Charles 2014

So I've been meaning to write about Head of the Charles for over a month and I've just kept putting it off. Partially from laziness and partially because I don't think I can adequately describe just how awesome of a weekend it was.

Head of the Charles is one of the largest rowing events in the world and this year also happened to be the 50th anniversary of the event. Michigan State also decided to put together an Alumni 8+ this year.

(View from CRI)

This wasn't so much a day or weekend event, but more an entire week event/celebration/reunion. My apartment also found out just how many rowers it can hold - 11 one night. It was also an effort to keep up with the schedules of all of the people coming and going - Jim arrived Wednesday, Cory Thursday, Slops Friday morning, Pyzik and the Canadian crew Friday night, and Alyse Saturday morning. Seriously, a whirlwind of some of my favorite people.

The real fun started on Friday though. The Alumni 8+ (minus Pyzik, plus Jim) was able to get together for an afternoon practice row. This boat was SO much fun. I had coxed all but two of the guys before (Brett and Bob) so it was really just a row down memory lane.

Our lineup was myself, Brett, Slops, Cory, Pyzik (or Jim), Bob, Kevin, Jimmy and Karl. The rowing was... sloppy, but fun. I also had to use a stack of butt pads to see over Brett. The course was also just a complete clusterfuck Friday afternoon, since every crew was trying to get in a practice row and most were completely inexperienced to the Charles' sharp turns and many bridges. But we made it back to the dock alive and only having been yelled at by a regatta official for taking a break in the middle of the course (#sorrynotsorry).

After some quick showers and an incident involving a broken shower curtain rod and the Monkey King, most of us headed over to Lulu's for dinner and drinks. We all had fun catching up over a beer and burgers and getting pumped for the day ahead. Pyzik and a unique group of Canadians also arrived Friday evening and our apartment started to feel (and smell) reminiscent to the 404 basement when we had the squatters.

(Dinner at Lulu's)

Saturday morning we all woke up super pumped for the race. And nervous (my hands were extra clammy and I made sure everyone felt it). HOCR is considered a coxswain race because of its countless bridges, multiple sharp turns and the vast amount of boats competing on the course. I had raced the course once before but the boat was a bow-loaded four and much slower - completely different than the 8 I was about to get in.

We launched plenty early out of CRI (upriver from the finish line) to make it all the way past the start line to the pooling area. Once in the pooling area, we were met with wind, choppy water and boats coming from every direction. Slops also felt this was the opportune to time to ask if his hair looked okay.

Finally, they started calling our event to the starting line. As bow #46, we were the back of the pack and weren't really sure where we would stand against other boats since the second half of entries come from a random lottery draw (opposed to the first half which are seeded from the previous years results).

We got off to a solid start and were able to pass bow #45 right after the BU Bridge. We held a 29-30 through out most of the race and were able to have nice solid lines coming around the Magazine Beach turn and into the Powerhouse Stretch. Coming up on Weeks we started coming up close on bow #44. They held us off through Weeks and we passed them immediately after Anderson, giving us the inside line coming into the Elliot Turn. Halfway through the Elliot Turn we began moving up quickly on bow #39. Bow #39 held us through Elliot and the last turn of the race where we crossed the finish line bow to stern with them. Phew! I could breathe again. Later, we found out we took 33rd.

We rowed back up to CRI, put the boat back and began walking back towards the course to watch some more racing. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the Charles with the boys, meeting up with other MSU alumni, seeing the current MSU team and eating. We also got to see the Michigan State boat race in their event.

(My college career could be titled: Boats and Bros.)

Saturday evening we met up with the team at Tavern in the Square for dinner before heading out to Hong Kong for a night of adventures (and Scorpion Bowl races...).

(#casual)

Returning home from Hong Kong we got to experience our Canadian visitors in true form. Jim bonded with Grace (and confirmed she wasn't poopin') and Francisco army crawled around our apartment because he "wanted to get out."

Sunday morning saw a slow start to say the least. I headed down to the course with the boys and met up with Slopey and Glines to watch some racing. Alyse would be coxing a Champ 4+ and Laurissa would be racing in a Director's Challenge 4x. However, we're apparently idiots and missed both boats coming down the course. Womp womp.

(The most center boat is the MSU Alumni 8+, photo credit to Sarah M.)

Sunday night meant Ned Devine's. So after some power naps, showers and pizza. We made our way downtown with our incompetent Uber driver named Regis. This was my 3rd HOCR party and each has been epic. I mean, what else would you expect when you throw a bunch of rowers into a huge party in the heart of Boston?

(For Lyds)

(Roomies)

It perhaps got more epic when Eric screamed for all of us to get in a taxi (yep, that was 7 of us in a taxi) and we made our way back to our apartment. In true MSU Crew fashion, we of course couldn't let the party stop just because the bar had closed. We did a lovely rendition of Piano Man followed by a very unique rendition of Lean Back.

We closed out the festivities with breakfast Monday morning at Allston diner. I'm already excited for next year.

Chi Town

Over the long weekend of Columbus Day I decided to take a trip to Chicago. I've been to Chicago a few times, but every trip has either been super short for a college visit or job interview or in the middle of winter/a polar vortex. This time, the weather was fantastic and I had a over two and a half days to see the sights and hang out with some awesome people.

My flight to Chicago was delayed Friday evening so I didn't end up landing until after 9 p.m. CT. Todd picked me up from the airport and we headed to Danny's a bar in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Oddly enough, I had been here once before when I had visited Mary a couple years ago with Brett and Kristen! The bar is a super hipster spot and while I had a ton of fun their the first time I went, it was a little dead when we arrived their a little before 10. But it was still a fun time and I got to meet a lot of Todd's med school friends.

Saturday morning Todd and I got bagels and coffee and then walked around Midwestern's campus. The campus is so opposite of MSU's, it reminds me a little of Grand Valley's - smaller and newer.

I then caught the train into the city to meet up with Lydia and Stephen. Of course, food was high on their agenda so our first stop was Yolk. This place was so good. We opted to get a couple of dishes to share - nutella crepes (duh), a bagel and locks, sausage, and some home fries. Not a scrap of food was left on our plates (mainly because of Lyds and Stephen).

(Sharing a fantastic donut)

Immediately after finishing brunch, Stephen expressed his desire to get tacos so we wandered over to Big & Little's. The walk over was really nice, it was a great fall day and Chicago looked beautiful. It seemed so much bigger to me than Boston, and newer. Boston has the Charles River running through it and Chicago has the Chicago River, but they couldn't be more opposite. The Charles is wide and its banks are lined with open green areas, the Chicago River is narrow and surrounded by city.

After Stephen got his taco fix, we headed to Tin Lizzie's to watch the MSU game. The bar was really fun and you got a complimentary Michigan State Rose Bowl mug when you ordered a mug of Miller Lite. The bar also gave out Jell-o shots every time State made a touchdown - which got crazy fast! (Go Green!) The best part was Mary came and joined us, shortly followed by Brad and his boyfriend Matt.

After a victory for MSU, we headed over to Mary's new apartment and then headed out for some dinner. I can't remember the name of the place we went for dinner, but they had some delicious pizza. We then headed to beercade called Headquarters which is exactly what it sounds like - a bar and arcade. We didn't stay too long here since we were all getting pretty tired and I needed to catch the train back to Todd's. I hopped in a taxi and it took to Union Station, where I proceeded to run (possibly slightly drunk) to catch the train and boarded it just as the doors were closing. Phew.

Sunday morning Todd and I got breakfast at a spot near his apartment and then caught the train back into the city. The Chicago Marathon was taking place and Alyse was running in it. We weren't able to make it down in time to see her run it, but Todd and I met up with Lydia by Millennium Park and spent sometime walking around there and down to the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Lydia then led us to a place called Eataly where we met up with the marathon runner herself! I don't think I can adequately describe this place. Any kind of cheese, wine, bread, meat, beer, coffee and anything else you can think of was in this two story restaurant/grocery store. We all got different kinds of espresso from the espresso bar (except for Alyse who got a well-deserved beer!). We wandered upstairs only to be met by more deliciousness. We got a snack from Focaccia which made these delicious pizza type breads - Alyse and I split one and still didn't finish it. We decided to part ways after this and Todd and I caught the train back to his apartment.

Monday meant it was almost time for me to head back to Boston but I still had just enough time to meet Lyds for brunch. After a failed attempt of going to Wildberry Cafe (who would think a brunch wait would be super long on a Monday?) we ventured to Toni's, a French Cafe near Millennium Park. The place was a little odd but still good even though they had run out of what both of us wanted to order.

After breakfast it was actually time for me to go, so Lydia saw me off to the subway to take me to airport.

Until next time, Chicago!

The Best of the Best Came to Beantown

Almost a full month ago now, my two favorite people came to Boston. Yup, that's right - Babcia and Poppy ventured back to the East coast.

This weekend was so much fun. It was also mildly challenging. Whenever I've had friends come visit, most of our time is split between touring breweries, eating and drinking at great restaurants, and walking around downtown. None of these things appeal to Babcia and Poppy so I was left to come up with some new activities to entertain them for the weekend.

(They're here!)

We met up Friday afternoon after I got out of work. After I gave them a tour of my new apartment (which received their stamp of approval!) I took them to Harvard Square to get some dinner. We headed to Grafton Street Pub, which I don't think they loved but I enjoyed it. It also took them a while to put together that being in Harvard Square meant we were literally across the street from Harvard's campus. The revelation came when Babcia said the buildings looked like dorms and wondered aloud "what college is around here."

Saturday morning, after a delicious breakfast at the hotel they were staying at located just outside of the city, we headed back downtown for some exploring. They parked their rental car at my apartment and we Uber-ed to the Prudential Center to take a Duck Tour. (Side note: Explaining Uber to Babcia and Poppy was an invent in and of itself. "What do you mean a stranger in a car is coming to pick us up?!") If you've never heard of a Duck Tour, they take place in most major cities in WWII style vehicles that were designed to travel both on land and in water. These tours are ideal for cities like Boston that are located on the water. The tour was really fun and perfect for people who were not into walking. We were able to see most of the major Boston landmarks and learn some fun facts about the city. Towards the end of the tour, the vehicle splashes down into the Charles River and we were able to take in that view. I will admit, I got pretty anxious when we were floating around on the wrong side of the river.

(Duck Touring!)

After our Duck Tour, Babcia and Poppy decided to get lunch at the finest of establishments - the Star Market hot bar. Yup, that happened. Afterwards we headed over to the Mary Baker Eddy Library. This place has a lot of history and interesting facts, but the true appeal is the Mapparium. I have never seen anything like this. It is a three-story glass globe that you are able to walk in. Unfortunately, you aren't able to take photos of it but I don't even think a photo could capture its beauty. The tour guide asked visitors to remain quiet while in the globe since it echoes so much, so naturally - Babcia and Poppy began to loudly discuss the location of Poland.

When we had finished up at the Mary Baker Eddy Library we Uber-ed over to Faneuil Hall. Unfortunately, it started down pouring while we were there so they weren't able to take in the true beauty of the area - maybe that's why Babica called it dumpy.

When the rain had let up, we headed over the Barking Crab for dinner. I had been here once before when Todd had come to visit and really enjoyed it. I think Babcia and Poppy enjoyed it as well and we were all definitely in the mood for seafood!

Sunday morning we went to church. Yup. But then we decided to head up to Salem, MA for the day. We had originally intended to check out the Witch Museum which felt like the perfect thing to do in early October. But apparently, everyone else in the world thought it was the perfect thing to do as well because the town was packed to the point of not being able to find any parking. I quickly Googled what else was in the area and discovered there was a lighthouse only a few miles away, so we opted to drive out to that.

Spending my summers in Florida growing up, I'm used to big lighthouses that you can climb up and learn the history of. I'll admit, this lighthouse was a bit of let down. However, it happened to be located right where the trolley tour picked up so we decided to give that a try.

The trolley tour was surprisingly fun and informative and we ended up being able to see much more of Salem than we would have if we had just gone to the Witch Museum. Along with some great history of Salem, we saw the high school and park where Hocus Pocus was filmed and the character Allison's house in the movie.

(Allison's house from Hocus Pocus)

We headed back into Boston after the tour and went back into Harvard Square to get dinner. This time we went to Daedalus for dinner which was delicious.

After dinner it was time to say good bye. I was so sad to see them go but can't wait to see them in just under four weeks for Thanksgiving!

Summer Songs 2014

I can't believe summer is over. I've been in denial of it all week, but today's chilly, cloudy, windy weather officially sealed the deal that fall is really hear.

As a conclusion to summer, last weekend I went to Boston Calling with my friend Zach. Boston Calling's Saturday line up was killer, featuring, Lorde, Childish Gambino, Bleachers, and Girl Talk among others. (I was personally really bummed The 1975 were playing Sunday so I missed them.)

The weather was hot (90 degrees with humidity) and we eventually got rained out at one point but it was still a really fun show!

A couple of my other favorite songs this summer have included:

You Are My Summer
by LA+CH
This song could have been a sound track to our weekend on the Cape. The lyrics are fun and quirky (and oddly align with our activities) and just speak of classic summertime fun. While its a little less upbeat than typical summer songs, it still makes me think of long days spent on the beach and backyard bar-b-ques.

A Ways to Go
by GroupLove
I love GroupLove and I love this song. But after the four of us had it stuck in our head the entire time we were in Hyannis I can now only think of biking around the town!

Boom Clap
by Charlie XCX
This song just screams fun and long summer nights.

Recent Reads: The Lullaby of Polish Girls

I randomly picked up this book while purusing Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago. I had never heard of it but felt like I had to read it because of my Polish heritage.

The book itself was not anything to write home about but it kept me interested mainly because of the handful of Polish words that I was able to understand and the Polish traditions referenced in it that my family also partakes in.

My favorite was that the main character called her grandmother Babcia - which if you know anything about me, you know that is what I call my grandmother. Her Babcia also wore nightgowns all the time with no bra and pockets sewn into the front - which is my Babcia's uniform.

I won't go into the plot line of the book because there truthfully wasn't much of one. But if you have a family with real Polish pride like mine, its kind of a fun read.

Recent Reads: Sharp Objects

I read another Gillian Flynn book – Sharp Objects.

On the positive side of things – the book was an easy read, kept you interested and provided the same chilling detail that Gone Girl did.

On the negative side of things – the book was so effed up (like gave me twisted dreams level of effed up), some of the character development was lacking and it really felt like the author rushed the ending. Seriously, the whole book is wrapped up in like five short pages.

Chicago reporter Camille Preaker is sent back to her hometown of Wind Gap, MO to investigate the murder of two young girls. As Camille dives into the murder investigations she is faced with some familiar faces from her past and some unsettling discoveries from about her family.

Was I interested while reading it? Yes. Was I disappointed after I finished it? Yes. But not because I never wanted it to end, but because I was actually disappointed with the authors “quick and easy” ending.

I read this with a group of girls here in Boston and the feeling was mutual. I can’t say you shouldn’t read it, but I don’t think it should be high on your reading list.

Old Orchard Beach, ME

One day, Laurissa and I spontaneously bought a Groupon for tickets to a water park. Neither of us had been to a water park in years, we actually had no idea where the park was, and we are both in our mid-20's (not your normal water park demographic) - talk about an impulse purchase!

That being said, the water park was a bit of a bust. And after spending a lot of time waiting in chilly lines, and riding a grand total of four rides, we decided enough was enough.

But why waste a perfectly good day in Maine? So we headed to Old Orchard Beach - once again, not knowing anything about it.

Old Orchard Beach is incredibly touristy, or at least the little we saw of it was. But it was such a fun spot. Their main street was just a mix of ice cream stores, surf shops, and gift shops. The main road lead right to the beach which was completely packed with people! Seriously, every inch of sand was covered with sunbathers - which was really shocking considering the weather was overcast and in the low 70s and both of us were wearing sweatshirts. There were even some kids swimming in the frigid water.

(Some Saturday fun in the sort of sun.)

(Love this boardwalk)

There was also a quaint and picturesque boardwalk that extended out over the water. Both starving, and now in the mood for seafood, we decided to check out what the boardwalk had to offer and grab some lunch.

(Under the pier.)

The very last spot on the boardwalk, facing right out to the great Atlantic Ocean, belongs to The Pier Pub. You can tell based on the blasting music and their extensive drink menu that this place is the spot to be on summer nights in Old Orchard Beach. We each ordered a Sea Dog Sunfish and I kid you not this was the best beer I have ever had - a Belgium white beer with peaches and grapefruit.

(View of the beach from The Pier Pub)

As for food, I had the fried shrimp platter and Laurissa had the lobster roll, both were fantastic.

(My mouth is water just looking at this...)

Despite being full of amazing beer and seafood, getting ice cream was a given. We tried a local place along the main street where we were served by two men who could have easily been on The Jersey Shore. Anyway, my coconut chocolate chip ice cream was the perfect end to a spontaneous beach trip.

(Ferris wheel at Old Orchard Beach)

Summering on the Cod (aka the Cape)

The ocean is my happy place. And a long weekend on the beach was exactly what I needed.

The four of us (Marissa, Jess, Alyse and myself) departed Boston Friday afternoon on the Cape Flyer - a train that runs from South Station in Boston to Hyannis. I highly recommend taking the train because not only do you avoid all of the traffic, you can drink on the train!

(Prosecco for the train ride.)

(And chocolate!)

We arrived in Hyannis a little before 8 p.m. on Friday and checked into our hotel which was perfect. The Cape Cod Harbor House Inn is fantastic. It had a nice beachy feel to it and a little kitchenette. After we had unpacked a little and changed (semi-unintentionally) into matching outfits we went to meet Jess' friend at Torino's, a bar and restaurant in downtown Hyannis, where we kicked off our beach weekend with some pinot and apps outside on the patio.

(Casually matching)

Saturday we started our day with our hotel's complimentary breakfast on the patio overlooking the harbor. Talk about how I would like to start my day everyday - coffee with a view!

We decided to rent bikes for the day so we could get around a little easier. And after biking around town for a while we were all starving and decided to check out the place right across the street from our hotel that Alyse's boss had recommended - Spanky's Clam Shack. I had a lobster roll which was phenomenal and so packed with lobster meat it was impossible to eat as a sandwich! Plus, I of course didn't finish my meal so we decided to save the lobster meat to add to mac n cheese later. We were also adventurous and tried oysters and I did not freak out this time!

(So good!)

Incredibly full of seafood, it was time to hit the beach. A short bike ride later and we were soaking up the sun at Kalmus Beach. The water was a little too cold for swimming but it felt nice to have that salty air on my face again. A nap and a couple of margaritas later and we were all feeling incredibly relaxed.

(I swear I was having fun.)

(My jellyfish friend.)

(Lol if you thought we wouldn't match.)

(MSU girls take on the Cape.)

We decided to get creative with dinner Saturday night. Instead of going out, we decided to take advantage of our kitchenette and patio's view of the harbor and put together a little picnic. Our picnic consisted of cheese, crackers, grapes, apples, "homemade" lobster mac, chocolate, carrots, hummus, and wine. Such a simple but awesome meal.

After our picnic and some ice cream we headed back downtown and wound up at the British Beer Company with quite the mix of people. We started telling people it was my bachelorette party (which people terrifyingly enough believed) and shut down the bar with our own rendition of piano man.

And for sake of this blog, I'm going to pretend our night ended there but please enjoy these lovely pictures of me and Alyse.

Sunday morning we spent shopping around downtown. Mixed in with the standard touristy surf shops there were some pretty good finds!

Starving once again, we went to the little restaurant next to our hotel called the Black Cat Tavern to order some fried shrimp and clam chowder. The clam chowder was some of the best I've ever had and totally hit the spot - and I ate the whole thing!

(Amazing.)

We then headed to the Veteran's Memorial Beach which was a bit closer to our hotel and, personally, I think it was the better of the two beaches we visited it. While smaller, it was less busy and the water wasn't filled with seaweed. My only complaint, for both beaches, is there weren't enough big waves. I love body surfing and getting tossed around in the water.

(Ready to go back!)

Unfortunately, our time in Hyannis was coming to close and after another ice cream stop we boarded the train back to South Station.

I wish this weekend could have lasted longer. The weather was great. The food was delicious. The hotel was perfect. The beach was relaxing. And the people I spent it with were by far the best.

(Sunset on the train ride home.)