We're staying in Boston!!!

Boston, oh Boston, I guess we're sticking around for a few more winters!!!


Erik just accepted a job at Massachusetts General Hospital here in Boston! We're very excited about the job: he will be working in a tissue regeneration lab with a bunch of doctors (he's an engineer for those of you who don't know). This means Boston will be our home sweet home for a few more years. I'm so proud of him and we're really excited to be able to spend some more time in this city that we love so much!! Boston has become such a special place for us and we've really enjoyed our time here...now we will be able to explore more of what this beautiful city has to offer! YAY!!!!

Next step...find Britney a job.... :)

Really really late....

Father's Day!

I feel horrible that this post is so late, but I've been so grateful for the wonderful men in my life lately that I can't NOT write this, even if it is unfashionably belated.

First, my Dad!! What a wonderful Dad to have! There are so many good things about my Dad that I remember...I used to love having my friends come over and talk to my Dad because I got to see a side of him that we didn't see that often. He was hilarious! I don't know what happened, but I've seen that side of my Dad a lot more since I've moved out and I love it! He has such a quite sense of humor but it is a riot. He also is such a great example of a hard worker who never complains. There isn't a Saturday that I can remember that my Dad wasn't out working in the yard, even in the 115 degree weather, without complaining. Even working on the cars or random things around the house...he always seems to be looking for a project and a way to help out. When he came and visited for my graduation he even took apart a door! He is so selfless with his time too...if there is something that needs to be done, he'll do it, no questions asked. I will always love and remember 'half-day' Friday's where Dad would call us girls and want to spend the afternoon with us, even if it meant shopping! Also connected with memories of Dad are popcorn and movies, ice cream in little bowls, plunking out tunes from Les Mis on the piano, taking an obscenely long amount of time to buy cars, and creative surprises for gifts for my Mom. He is world class and I am so grateful for him in my life!



The other great man in my life is, of course, my husband. Not a day has gone by since we got married that I do not thank the Lord for this man in my life. He is SUCH a blessing to me. I have also discovered his hilarious sense of humor over these past several months, and I love to hear him laugh. He is constantly inspiring me to become better and to work harder, because he is such a great example of a hard worker. He gives everything 100%....I don't know that I've ever known anyone quite like him in my life. I'm amazed at his consistent dedication and enthusiasm for all that he does. What a great example of what I want to become. He is so sweet with me when I'm not feeling well or have had a bad day...he's always good about showing me how much he loves me, and that is the most important thing to mel!! (he even does our dishes since we don't have a dishwasher! but don't tell him I told you!!! :)) So even though he's not a dad yet, I know he's going to be an amazing father someday!


I'm so grateful to have these wonderful men in my life! Happy Belated Father's Day Dad and Erik!

Italy! (and the world's longest post...)

Europe

Erik and I were very blessed to be able to take advantage of him having a conference in Zurich and travel around Europe for a bit! After his conference was over, I flew in and met him. We hung out there for a few hours...

... then headed down to Lucerne (still in Switzerland). It was beautiful! We took trains between all of these towns, and the best part was the views in Switzerland! Look at these Alps!


Lucerne was fun because of how old some of the structures and buildings are there. The are famous for their covered bridges, like this:


Another famous attraction in Lucerne is this monument. The Lion Monument was dedicated in the early 1800's to pay tribute to Swiss mercenaries who died defending the Tuileries from an invasion of angry Parisians. It is a truly breathtaking monument...and HUGE!


There is also a wall that runs through part of the city with towers that you can climb up. I don't remember the exact time when the wall was built, but it was very, very old. And very cool.



Milan

Next stop, MILAN!! Before coming on our trip, everyone told us that Milan was not their favorite city. We decided to go anyway, just for a little while. We got into town on a Friday evening and left early the next afternoon. But boy am I glad we stopped! I would not have wanted to miss this treasure!


This is the Duomo. Apparently the facade of this church hasn't been free of scaffolding in a very long time...we got lucky! It was so beautiful. We climbed to the top the next day and got an awesome view of the city and the amazing details of the spires that dot the entire roof:



Cinque Terre

Next stop, Cinque Terre (or favorite place #1). I was so excited about visiting here after all that we had heard from family and friends about how wonderful it was. I was NOT disappointed in the least...in fact, I think it was even better than I could have imagined! So the Cinque Terre (or 5 towns) are a connected set of small, interesting towns that are like a flash from the past (or a movie set). Many towns have little to no allowance of motorized vehicles (ours had none). The walkways are narrow, with the apartments multiple levels high. Windows are open and laundry hangs out to dry everywhere. This is what I picture Italy as being! This is the main street in the town we stayed in:


There are also terraces above many of the towns with vineyards and flowers everywhere. Erik got ambitious and hiked to get this view of Manarola (the town we stayed in).



The towns are all linked with a walking path that travels along the ocean cliff. We walked to the two closest towns (Riomaggiore and Corniglia) and on the way back snapped this shot of Manarola:


Oh, and this was the view from our apartment!!! WOW. Paradise. An unobstructed view of the Mediterranean.


We are two very happy people!


Florence

Alas, our time in Cinque Terre had to end. But we traveled to the beautiful and bustling Florence! It was quite the change from the slow and small Cinque Terre! We visited museums nonstop, at least until we couldn't take any more, unfortunately! (museum-itis). And did you know Florence is supposedly home to the creation of gelato? Don't worry, I think we tried enough for EVERYONE (we had 1-2 two scoop servings daily :))

One of the most exciting attractions for us in Florence was the Duomo. Erik had studied it's unique and innovative design and was excited to see it in person. Here is a view of one of the sides (the side closest to our hotel, which was a block from this corner):


We climbed to the top, and here is a view:



We also celebrated my 24th birthday in Florence (don't rub it in...I'm feeling old!). It was so fun...we found a cute little restaurant with patio seating and had the most interesting meal. I got pumpkin filled ravioli with a duck sauce. It was delicious! OH, and we got gelato too :)


Did I mention we went to lots and lots of museums?! We saw David (which is breathtaking) and many other famous works by Michelangelo and Titian, Caravaggio, da Vinci, and many many others. One of my favorite sculptures was a Pieta by Michelangelo. This piece was created to be the monument on his own tomb, supposedly becoming a devout Christian late in life. Some event rendered it imperfect in the eyes of the artist, however, and was never finished. It's power is still evident though, and I thought it was so moving!


Another fun museum to visit was the Pitti Palace, long time home of the Medici Family. Some of the apartments are still furnished as they would have been, and hundreds of famous and not so famous pieces are art fill the walls. They also have a beautiful garden filled with sculptures:


I loved watching some of the street artists:


A sunset view of one of the bridges:


Venice

Finally, now, Venice (or favorite place #2). Venice was everything we could have ever hoped for! Relaxing and beautiful, with amazing weather and so much to watch!

Here is the famous Rialto Bridge, lined with vendors selling everything from carnival masks to fresh fruit:


The most beautiful windows and flowers everywhere!


I always thought it was interesting that all of the doors here were so beautiful!


Canals, canals, and more canals! We took so many pictures of beautiful canals! It was like being in a movie set...it couldn't have been more picturesque.



Our last night there we decided to splurge a bit on dinner and dined at this swanky place on the Grand Canal (that is the main waterway that runs through Venice). You can see it on the left with the lights. It was really fun and the food was fantastic! They even gave me an unpriced menu and Erik the priced one...it was pretty funny! We were out under the patio, and a couple times throughout the night, the waves from the canal came up under the deck and got people wet!


One of my favorite things we did here was go to a Vivaldi concert (Vivaldi was born here). Having some experience with music, I prepared myself for a somewhat disappointing tourist trap. I was WONDERFULLY surprised at both the talent of the musicians and the quality of the performance! It was held in a small church with only about 100 patrons, and the violin soloists were incredible. WOW I was amazed by every movement (they played the Four Seasons along with a few other songs).

Other highlights from the trip:

• Pesto in Cinque Terre
• Bread....pretty much everywhere
• Amazing cheese in Switzerland
• Talking to an interesting couple on one of our trains...they were globetrotters
• Did you know you can't picnic (ie eat and sit) almost everywhere in Venice? They are serious about this. They have signs everywhere and a "decorum patrol" (ie old women with florescent vests) explaining the crime to the young families with small children, telling them to stand up and leave
• Immigrants selling knock off purses everywhere in Venice...tourists can get fined if they are caught purchasing!
• Rick Steves books EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!
• Ever had a Magnum? Go to Europe and have one...it's worth the plane ticket!
• A favorite discovered painting in the Pitti Palace: Ecce Homo
• Swiss chocolate. Enough said.
• A fun ENGLISH used bookstore in Florence...where I bought one of my new favorite books!
• The thrill of the hunt! (gelato hunt :))
• Reading and reading in Venice and on our porch in Cinque Terre.
  

All time Gelato favorites (and must tries...and only a fraction of the flavors we tried):

• Grapefruit
• Peach
• Kiwi
• Pineapple
• Coconut
• Melone
• Dark chocolate
• Nutella

What a trip!

Cranberry White Chocolate Scones

Erik and I were at a cute little shop here in Cambridge called Hot off the Press and had these AMAZING cranberry white chocolate scones...I don't even LIKE scones! But these were so so good. Not too dry and flaky, but just a little less sweet than a cookie. I did some investigating, and subjected Erik to a taste test...SUCCESS!!!! This recipe is AWESOME! Easy too! Love that! Sorry the picture is sideways...I can't figure out how to fix it.



1 3/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
5 T chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I really emphasize the unsalted part! Stay tuned to see if I can figure out a way to cut back on butter w/o compromising taste)
6 T half and half (you can also use 5 1/2 T milk and 1/2 T melted butter if you don't have this)
1 large egg beaten
1/2 c cranberries (I used craisens and they worked great!)
1/2 c white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter. Add half and half, egg, cranberries and white chocolate until dough begins to barely hold together. Knead on a floured surface for 2 minutes. Roll into a 1/2 in. thick round. Cut into 8 slices. Bake for 14 minutes of lightly golden brown (I cooked them for 12-13 and thought they could have been pulled out sooner...but then again I do have an old oven. Just don't overcook!). Oh, and did I mention that I added a little glaze on top?! It was divine.

ENJOY friends!

The finale

What, you might be asking, does this big pile of papers represent? Well let me tell you. It represents freedom. It represents cleaning out the files of the last 6 years of my college experience and realizing I don't need to keep it all. It represents me looking back on past classes and realizing that I have learned something useful in my schooling. This pile is the product of a very long and grueling process to "spring clean" and rid myself of unnecessary baggage. Anticipating a move really makes you motivated to clean!

Graduation is now only 7 days away and I could not be happier. The smell of freedom is sweet! Congrats, too, to all my friends and family members who also graduated this semester!!

Banana Oat Pancakes

These are SOOO yummy and a fun twist to breakfast. They are quick and healthy too!



1 1/3 c. flour
3/4 c. oats
1 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon (I always double or triple this, but we really like cinnamon!)
1 egg
1 1/3 c. milk
1 c. mashed banana (3 medium bananas)
2 T. oil

Combine egg, milk, banana and oil. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Add gradually to the wet mixture until just moist. Spoon onto griddle and enjoy!

Erik liked them with peanut butter and whipped cream, I liked them with whipped cream only. They are mighty tasty! Hope you all enjoy!!

Time for an update!!!

It has been a very long time since I updated...so here we go! Erik and I are doing really well! We are at the tail end of both of our programs, and are SO excited to be graduating soon :) I graduate May 18th (two weeks from today, not that I'm counting) and I'll be done with finals on TUESDAY!!!! Erik is wrapping up his thesis as it's due in a week and a half. We're so excited! We are fortunate to have both sides of our family coming in for the respective graduation cerimonies so that will be tons of fun! MY little sister Chelsea comes in on Tuesday of next week!!! I'm REALLY excited to see her...we always have so much fun together! See?



We're going to have fun, I'm sure. Other exciting news of late is that Erik somehow contracted MONO......yeah, I'm serious. Weird huh? Who even gets that at our age? It's sad though, because he's been really lathargic around the house, which is NOT like him. Poor kid. See exhibit A:



It may not look all that abnormal, but for Erik it is. Mind you it was like 9pm. Sad! However, he looks to be coming out of the worst of it, and he has felt a lot better recently. Perfect timing for finishing off your thesis, right?! :)

Oh, and did I mention we're treating ourselves to a trip to Italy for graduation? I am really really excited. I've never been to Europe before so I am SO ready for this adventure. We are so excited to have a real, bona fide vacation with nothing nagging at our brain in the background. Milan, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Venice...here we come!!!