The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

On Saturday we hosted Maddie and a group of her friends (and parents!) for a day at the Boston Children's Museum. Winter birthdays can be tricky and being 5 months pregnant with a city-sized dwelling meant that it was better to outsource, and the Children's Museum was the perfect venue! Everyone got full-day admission and we had a party room for crafts, cake and presents; we were there a little over four hours and I am still recovering from all the fun. I was so thankful for the party-planner and other staff who ran around like crazy to make sure everything was perfect. It was really fun to see Maddie and all her little friends running around the museum and enjoying the exhibits together; there is so much to do and we didn't even see everything. It was my first visit (Maddie's third) and now I am definitely going to be asking for a membership from Santa so that we can go back a bunch this winter! The theme of this year's party was dinosaurs, as you will see in ...

To me, summer in Boston is so wonderful because there has to be something to wipe away the memories of what February is like (aka the month when I think we need to move to an island in the tropics). New England has so much to offer in the summer, but you can really do a ton of fun things without ever leaving city limits (or having to get in a car)! I narrowed it down and these are the five things that I think everyone, tourist and local alike, need to do during the summer months in my fair city: Get a lobster roll. Bonus points for eating it outside with a local beer. We like Yankee Lobster for convenience and deliciousness, but you really can't go wrong with your choice when in New England whether you're a cold with mayo or hot with buttered bun type of person. Hit the beach. Since this is about what to do in Boston, I suggest going to Carson Beach in Southie. For a long time I thought it was probably pretty dirty with its view of a water treatment facility and prox...

This past Sunday we celebrated the best AIL ever with a picnic at the Boston Public Gardens followed by our annual Swan Boat ride. This year we also added riding the carousel on the Common (three times) and a trip to the Frog Pond playground. It is pretty much the best tradition ever, especially since it involves lobster rolls from Yankee Lobster . The clouds were threatening our plans when we got to the Garden, but by the time we were done and walking around the sun was shining. It was a pretty perfect way to celebrate a pretty perfect lady. It is not lost on me how fun it can be to play tourist in my own city (even if the real tourists do still kind of annoy me every other day). With all the stress and unknown surrounding our home buying situation, it is so nice just to enjoy a few hours of summer, family and of course, food. Thanks Boston, you really know how to take our minds off the chaos and fill it with fun. Helping to set up our picnic blanket. A mouth f...

My little explorer. I will be the first to (proudly) admit that I am not the outdoorsy type. I run outdoors and every once in a while I will hike, and I do love a nice outdoor cocktail on the porch, but my enthusiasm ends there. Camping is literally my idea of punishment. Soooo I was as surprised as anyone when I found myself taking Maddie to the Boston Nature Center on Friday for some outdoor exploring while her nanny took a much deserved day off. There is a program called Free Fun Fridays in which families can go to all sorts of fun places around Mass for free, but it tends to be really popular and the last couple of times any of us have tried to take advantage of it we have decided it was not worth the crowds. However, I had a hunch that this might not be as popular as the zoo or the children's museum, so I decided to give it a try after checking their schedule and seeing that this was just a couple of miles from us. Turns out, I was right! There were defin...