Feels Like Home
I worked from home since it was closer to the airport, and thought I would take my apartment's shuttle to the Metro and hop down to the airport. No big deal. Bob, the super nice shuttle driver, stopped up the street to let people out since there was a bus in the way and started to take off without me! I sprinted into the street with my roller bag (traffic was stopped at the light) and climbed into the van. "Sorry, I didn't see you up there," he said. No worries! Thanks, Bob! I made it!
I got to the airport and breezed through TSA Pre-Check. Let me take this opportunity to mention how much I love Pre-Check. It's stupid, though. It's the way it should be for everyone. I didn't have to take off my shoes or my belt, or take out my liquids, etc. They scanned me, I went through, the end. On the way through I ran into Dave, my Crossfit coach, and his lovely wife. They were heading to San Francisco to his brother's wedding. It was nice to meet his wife and briefly chat since I haven't been able to swing the mid-day Crossfit classes lately. They're my favorite - small class size, Dave's a great coach, and it breaks up the monotony of work. *sighs longingly*
The flight was oversold and I was seated in the front of the plane, so I had to gate check my bag. While this is not my preference, Boston is usually pretty quick to get bags out to the carousels, so it wasn't the end of the world. I was prepared to read or listen to one of my books, but the nice gentleman who sat next to me on the plane had other plans. He chatted away with me the entire flight. What can you do? :)
I grabbed my bag after waiting about 2 minutes for it and Kelli was already there to pick me up at the airport. Thanks, Kel! It felt like I had just come back from a long trip and she was picking me up like she used to when we were roommates. We, of course, drove straight to Night Shift :) They have changed up the inside a little bit and added some umbrella-like things to the patios, but otherwise it's the same. Munch was the food truck (Kelli's favorite) so I bought us each a beer and one of their incredible hot dogs. Trust me. If you ever get the opportunity, eat one. They're incredible.
We got home and Kelli had moved into my old room and the guest room I was sleeping in was now her old room. So weird! Everything else was pretty much the same. We changed into pajamas and watched This Is Us, just like we used to. That show is soooo good! It is totally not something I would have expected to like, but it's a winner.
Insta-Fall
I started off Thursday working from my old home (so sad!). There's nothing interesting to tell you about that. Angela, my Twin (not really, but people sometimes think we are so we call each other Twin), picked me up to grab some lunch since this was the only time our schedules were free together. We went to Southern Kin Cookhouse, which is a relatively new restaurant in Assembly Row.
We had gator tacos (spicy!), fried green tomatoes with green goddess dressing (the tomatoes were really, really fresh and delicious), and their enormous biscuits with honey butter. We were going for healthy, obviously! Then back to my old digs to finish up working for the day.
Double Roomies
I picked up Kelli at work in Black Betty, her trusty Nissan XTerra, and we attempted to go to Lucca in the North End. I love the North End, but parking is always a nightmare. Usually we try to make our way there in any other mode of transportation, but it was cold, Kelli had forgotten a jacket (amateur move!) and we gave up after a few loops. We braved rush hour city traffic to head to the South End to Cinquecento, which is a great little restaurant that validates parking in an adjacent lot. Win-win!l Unfortunately it was too cold for their patio to be open, which I highly recommend on a nice night. The inside of Cinquecento is also a really beautiful atmosphere, and you're greeted by these kind of trippy stairs on your way up to the restaurant.
Kelli and I each got a glass of wine, some cheese and some salty meats while we waited for Laurel, my other former roommate, travel buddy and fellow healthcare professional. She met us there after she got out of work and ordered her usual ricotta and a glass of Chardonnay. Nothing changed, there! I also ended up getting a half order of their rabbit gnocchi, which I absolutely love and rarely branch out from ordering.
Friday was a ridiculously awful day of teleworking. I’ll just leave it at that. I had wanted to check out the new Trader Joe’s that popped up in Assembly Row after I moved but I didn’t make it. I did, however, get to take a short walk to run a few errands before heading out for the evening. It was the most beautiful, bright, crisp fall afternoon so that helped improve my mood after working. When I got back to the house Toufek, one of our downstairs neighbors, was outside. I was greeted with, “Laine! How are you? How great to see you!” Nadia and Toufek are the best neighbors anyone could ask for!
I drove Black Betty (recall: Kelli’s car) to Cambridge with a glimmer of hope for finding street parking rather than paying $24 for the parking lot. Loop #1 - unsuccessful. I figured I’d try a second time and go further away from Harvard Square this time. Miraculously, someone was pulling out of the last metered spot on Brattle Street and score! It was mine. $2.10 on the parking app (thank you, technology) and the space was mine as long as needed.
Since it was such a beautiful night I decided to walk the mile to Nick’s mom’s house for the pre wedding gathering. I walked into the backyard where Nick and Katie both greeted me with a big hug. Katie is about to finish her ENT residency (congrats!) and Nick is my former ambulance partner and fellow PA. I knew no one else at this shin dig, so I chatted with a few folks, petted the adorable black labs begging for food, had a drink, had a snack... the usual I know nobody at this party moves. Then Nick grabbed me and said he wanted to introduce me to his fellow GW PA classmates. Instant friends! I chatted with Casey, Katie and Dina and almost didn’t realize it was time for me to leave to meet Kelli at Alden and Harlow! I walked back to Harvard Square because it was still beautiful out - over the classic cobblestones and down the stairs into one of my favorite restaurants in Boston, ahem, Cambridge.
Perpetually Amazing
Alden and Harlow is never disappointing. Every time I go there I am wowed by their foods. Kelli and I ordered our favorite, the charred broccoli with a butternut squash hummus, because it is the only time Kelli likes broccoli and it is over a creamy hummus that is just delicious. We also got chicken fried local rabbit and anson mills hush puppies. Oh. My. Goodness. They were both incredible! I really liked the hush puppies with the bacon, rhubarb jam and bacon fat aioli, and Kelli was crazier about the rabbit. Both were really, really flavorful. My friend Caitlin joined us for a drink and helped us out with dessert. We got an Italian almond torte with pistachio biscotti, chocolate soil (?), fig and ricotta. It was perfect - it was delicious and with just enough sweetness to satisfy a dessert craving but not overwhelmingly sweet. It was also perfect for the three of us to share.
Wedding Time!
Kelli and I started Saturday off enjoying a leisurely morning, which we loved to do when we were roommates and had the time to spare, which wasn't that often. Kelli caught me up on the first two episodes of This Is Us, which I would never have watched without her encouragement, while we drank some of her African safari coffee with bacon and eggs. We got to chat and catch up some more, and it felt like we were still roommates. Eventually we both got dressed and she dropped me off in the North End so I could go to the wedding and then she headed into work for a few hours. I was a little early since traffic was surprisingly light, so I stopped into the Thinking Cup on Hanover Street for a cup of coffee. I slowly walked along the rough cobblestones of the North End over to the church and met up with my kindred PAs: Casey, Dina and Katie. They were Nick's classmates from GW's PA program and they graciously adopted me into their circle of friends for the day. Thank you, lovely PA friends! The wedding was great - Katie and Nick looked phenomenal.
They went out into the courtyard to take some pictures and Casey, Dina, Katie and I went into North Square Oyster (which was new!) and enjoyed champagne and, of course, oysters.
Considering there are 200+ restaurants in the North End, most of them amazing and iconic staples, a new place is always a tough sell. That being said, I would absolutely recommend this place. Try it out when you can't get a seat at Neptune Oyster, which will always be my favorite. We then walked over to Modern Pastry for my absolute favorite cannoli in the city.
From there we grabbed an Uber and went to the pier in the Seaport for the reception.
We ate, we danced, we drank, we danced, there were speeches, we danced, and we danced! The band kept playing great music, so we kept dancing.
When the wedding ended I went to the after party at Tony C's for a few minutes, but instead grabbed an Uber home (home!) and went to bed. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. (Dr.) Nicholas Sever!
Sunday Funday
Sunday Kelli and I went to our gym. We met at the BAC playing tennis, so it was only fitting that we hit up the BAC. Thank you, Caitlin, for putting me on the list for the barre class that I love so much! The BAC is the best. Caitlin, the head trainer fantastical person, is just incredible, and the people there really make it a great place. I will probably never find a gym I love so much. I miss it terribly. Kelli played in the ladies Sunday morning round robin, and after that we split a semi-private tennis lesson with Marcy, our tennis coach.
We both were exhausted afterward and desperately needed showers.
After we no longer reeked, we went for lunch at Tenoch, another gem. They have a few locations and a few food trucks. TRY IT! Get a torte. You will be pleasantly full for days. After we stuffed ourselves we tried to go to the Medford location of Modern Pastry, but we just missed them closing by 15 minutes. Darn! Instead we frequented another local business, Mystic Coffee Roaster, and split a chocolate croissant. We then proceeded to roll ourselves home. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing something else we frequently did on weekends - hung out in the backyard with Nadia, our downstairs neighbor. She was also great to catch up with and it was so nice to enjoy the unseasonably warm, sunny, Boston fall day. Unfortunately I had to head to the airport and fly back to DC. So I did. Bye, Kelli! I miss you already.
I landed in Reagan National Airport and expected to pull my usual hop off the plane, into an Uber and back to my apartment in 15 minutes or less move. No dice. The Metro was shut down and so were several lanes into and out of DCA, so it was an absolute madhouse. I waited 10 minutes to connect to an Uber driver and another 25 for him to get to me. While I was waiting, I witnessed two car accidents and one guy tried to "flee" the scene in the bumper to bumper airport traffic, so the driver whose vehicle was hit just walked over to the police car and escalated that situation quickly. People are crazy! I finally got home, unpacked, and made it to bed around midnight. What a crazy, whirlwind, awesome weekend!
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