My neighborhood this morning, this afternoon and this evening.

Theodora: Looks just like Daddy.

Post run. Hat from South African roommate. Jacket from sister Kate. Running light from Dad. SAFETY FIRST!

Mop Duck: an introspective

The 2005 Opus One I opened on my 30th birthday.

Opening up.

New Years Dinner: Rib Eye, Grilled Asparagus, Mashed Potatoes and a 2006 Groth.

Champagne Toast

Did I mention my boyfriend’s parents got …. A PUPPY?!?!??!!?

I can’t even deal with that cuteness. It’s like a teddy bear. That’s alive.

Eric’s birthday was back in October. As one of his gifts, I gave him a mini-trip up north. We sat down and chose the weekend of December 11-13th to go. Can you believe from October THAT was our first available weekend? Well rockstar Eric went on tour with his band in November and I had a couple of obligations in between and …. that weekend was our anniversary ANYWAY, so it all worked out.

We had the most gorgeous drive up, with Argos totally passed out in the backseat (did I mention the resort was pet friendly? Seriously. They had water and milk bone treats waiting for him!).

We checked into our room – which got upgraded to one overlooking the grounds and had a fireplace. SUCH a good addition. Highly recommend it.

I had booked a cooking class for us to take on Saturday night. OH. HOLY. JESUS. The food we made was AMAZING. From the site:

“The Spanish know how to celebrate! This menu will surely kick off any holiday party! Winter Sangria with Apples, Pears, and Orange Zest. Then you will celebrate with some fabulous Tapas. Goat cheese baked in Tomato Sauce with fresh basil. Bacon wrapped Dates with pomegranate molasses. Grilled chicken with Romesco sauce. Learn how to prepare the best Seafood paella with chorizo sausage, scallops, shrimp, and mussels.”

It was a lovely class taught by the most adorable instructor, along side of 3 other lovely couples and then we sat down for dinner and had a lovely meal.

Sunday the Pats were playing at 4:15. Which meant Eric wanted to get to the bar for good seats by 3:00. Which meant we had our first drink in our hand by 3:01.

We made quick friends with our bartender, T, who I now ADORE. Throughout the game we kept receiving snacks from the kitchen (it is a culinary resort and school – so these weren’t your average barfood snacks!). We ordered some dinner later in the evening and T. suggested pairing with a bottle of wine and handed me the wine list.

Over the past few years, I have developed a (deeper) love of wine. I decided that on our anniversary weekend we were going to enjoy a nice bottle of red. I showed T. our first pick … and they were out. WAH! But they DID have my second pick. Which he told me he was giving us for an amazing deal.

WEEEE!! (If you’re looking for a really great bottle of cabernet, I highly recommend the pictured the Groth. Depending on the year and liquor store, you can typically find it in the $45 – $65 range now. I stocked up on this because it is delicious now, but definitely one to hold on to with experts raving that “the patience during bottle aging will reward the ‘steward’ with an outstanding bottle over the next 10 to 15 years.” Yum.)

T. ended up allowing me to pick several bottles from the wine list and purchasing them to take home for cost (what the bar pays – which is, lucky for me, significantly less than what they go for in a liquor store). I ended up with a case of wine to add to my collection that I will cherish for YEARS.

I am opening one particular bottle in a few days on my 30th birthday. A bottle that I normally would have no business buying, ever, but thanks to T. I now have to share with my family.

December 2010 has been an incredibly CRAZY month for me. There has been so much going on that I haven’t been here posting — at all. But to be honest, I’ve been so busy with some offline things, that I’m not entirely sure I’ve been able to update half the people in my life about some/any/all of it.

So I’ll update you throughout the week with some stories through the pics that I finally had a chance to pull off my phone.

First fun story: decorating my Dad’s Christmas Tree. This is one of my favorite annual Christmas activities. Me, my sister, my dad and whatever guests we decide to invite. This year we had Eric and Argos join us. They got to witness first hand the clown craziness.

Quick back story — several years ago I happened to tell a family friend how CREEPED OUT I get about clowns. Not just like “clowns are creepy.” Like FREAK OUT.

So when Christmas came that year, I was given a small, beautifully wrapped gift. When I opened it … I found THIS.

So many things are wrong with this. First, IT’S A CLOWN. Second, IT’S A CLOWN WHO IS GRABBING HIMSELF.

WHAT?!

So anyway, over the years I’ve become less sensitive to clowns. Well at least this clown. Somehow we’ve all become so attached to this creepy, pedophile clown. Now it’s not Christmas unless the clown has a photoshoot on Christmas Tree Decorating night. So … now you have to enjoy the photoshoot too.

And fine. A normal one. Of me, my Dad and my sister decorating the tree. Appropriately.

Thanks for snapping that one, E.

So which one of the clown shots is your favorite? Or maybe just offends you?

Happy start to the week!

Playing around in the South End with my new ClassicTOY camera app.