Hoppy Monday, friends! I hope you had a nice weekend. I’m currently nursing a chocolate/Peep hangover and trying to get back into the swing of things when all I really want to do is take a nap inside my Easter basket. My family came to visit for Easter weekend (which just so happened to be my mom’s birthday this year, hence the bunny birthday cake) – yesterday we did brunch at my apartment and then took a trip to Walden Pond and Concord for the afternoon. We even found the Easter bunny!
Last week my dad had to come to Boston for work, so my mom tagged along and we got to spend the week together! I loved having her here to do and appreciate all the touristy things I tend to take for granted in this beautiful city I call home. Obviously I had to show her all my favorite cupcake joints, which resulted in a mini cupcake taste-test and a potential NEW FAVORITE CUPCAKE. Can it be???
The cupcake crew: Snickerdoodle, Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake and Carrot Cake from Sweet, Boston Cream Pie from Curly Cakes, and Chocolate Peanut Butter from Mike’s Pastry (below).
We thought the cake from Sweet was a little dry, but their frosting continues to BLOW my mind in its deliciousness. We were unimpressed with the Boston Cream Pie from Curly Cakes, mostly because it was missing the cream filling? Isn’t that sort of key?
But the totally unexpected winner? Chocolate peanut butter from Mike’s Pastry! Though I love their cannolis, WHO KNEW Mike’s Pastry had unbelievable cupcakes?? Their peanut butter buttercream is perfection and even managed to rival my favorite buttercream, and the chocolate cupcake is stuffed with a huge blob of STRAIGHT PEANUT BUTTER. Gen.ius. If you haven’t tried Mike’s Pastry for cupcakes yet, it’s a must!!
I’m currently on a bus to NYC to meet my sister for the weekend. We’re planning to eat our way around the city and take in the holiday spirit 
Any places we can’t miss?
Happy weekend!
While at home in upstate NY this past weekend, I went Christmas tree shopping with my family. Here are some pictures from our adventure!
GUYS, I did it!!! I ran a 15K in less than 2 hours, completing my goal with a smile on my face and without falling, quitting, or crying (who are we kidding, I cried 4 times). As a self-proclaimed loather of running, having only ever run as far as 7 miles, I truly didn’t think I’d ever be able to complete a 9.3 mile race. It was reaaaallllyyyy really hard, but I’m super proud of myself for finishing and also super proud of the whole crew I was with!
Pre-race
The weather was perfect, the crowd was supportive, the hills were ROUGH, but we’ve decided to make it an annual tradition!
Post-race!
My sister Emily came to visit me in Boston last week – here are some of our adventures!
Red velvet cupcakes at Sweet
Beautiful flowers and strawberries at the Harvard Square farmer’s market. And octopus. Which we ate. It wasn’t so bad as long as I didn’t think about it..
Boston skyline from the red line
We did some necessary baking: red velvet brownies and tie-dye cupcakes.
And finally, dinner at Top of the Hub. Awesome views of Boston!!
Because of my mom….
I have an awesome sense of style.
I understand the importance of room-temperature butter.
I know when to stop and smell the flowers.
I sometimes speak French. Je t’aime, maman!
I am inspired to teach.
I have naturally blonde hair.
I love to read.
I know that homegrown/made things always taste better.
I know how to sew on a button.
I know how to make pierogis, love the sound of Polka music, and have a special place in my heart for kielbasa.
Because of my mom, I am who I am today, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love you mom. You’re the best!
Happy Mother’s Day!
We kicked off part two of spring break with a looooong traffic-filled drive back to Boston with my whole fam, as well as a looooong trip to the Verizon store to [finally, happily, joyously] get me an iPhone!!!!!! I am now officially a real adult in the 21st century. I am also that annoying iPhone user who has her phone glued to her hand 24/7 like a crackBerry. Though iPhones are WAY more fun than crackBerries. Truth.
We also made a pitstop in Charlestown for Easter attempt #2 to climb the Bunker Hill monument (original summit attempt circa Easter weekend 2010), only to find that it is STILL CLOSED. We’re hoping the third time’s the charm. Easter 2012, bring it on.
We ended the day with a trip to the MFA to check out the Chihuly exhibit. The photos from the exhibit deserve their own post, but here’s a preview:
Totally and completely mind (and glass, har har) blowing.
On Saturday we got up bright and early to drive up to Gloucester and Rockport. Though the weather was terrible, my umbrella flipped 18 times and hit me in the head twice, I potentially water-damaged my camera in an attempt to get the perfect “Perfect Storm” photo (George Clooney, I did it for you!)- we made the best of it! I kept singing a song I learned in 4th grade chorus:
Hey hey, come what may
I’m not gonna let that ruin my day
No sir, no way
I’m not gonna let that ruin my day!
It’s a catchy little diddy and you should feel free to sing it to yourself whenever your umbrella hits you in the head or you lose your dad in a town without cellphone service.
Perfect tiny lobster sliders!
Perfect “Perfect Storm” photo. Ehhh.
Please note my dad and brother also trying to get the photo. Sorry to any and all Martin family cameras harmed in this process.
And finally, Domenica and I hosted Easter brunch for our families at our apartment on Sunday. We are soo adult.
We also ventured over to the Arnold Arboretum and almost had a throw-down with a certain family who was hogging a certain beautiful pink tree. But that deserves its own post as well…
Whew! What a week. Is it summer yet???
Instead of the “relaxing” spring break I had expected, the past week was jam-packed full of new adventures, family time, and LOTS of good food. Can’t complain there!
It all began with Marathon Monday.
I elbowed my way to the front of the crowd @ mile 24 to snap this pic of [I believe] the winner. This is the one and only time I have successfully used the sports setting on my camera, and as a result I have roughly 864 pictures of various runners – 0.1% of whom I know their name. I couldn’t help myself – the snapSNAPsnap rapid fire camera noises made me feel like a true paparazzi!
On Tuesday I ate 14 of these s’mores bars and headed home to upstate NY!
On Wednesday I momentarily stopped feeling sorry for myself for not going on vaca to some exotic tropical location.
Why pay for airfare when upstate NY has water just as blue?
…As I said – it was only momentary.
On Thursday we navigated the rural NY backcountry roads in order to find the Chobani factory.
Only to discover that it looked like this. And no, they do not give out free yogurt samples and yes, we were trespassing.
Part two tomorrow!
Wishing a very happy 19th birthday to my little sister Emily!
I miss you and can’t wait to see you in Boston in a few months!!!
Hope your day is better than this one…
Oh, and these are en route to you as we speak
Happy Birthday, Em!
