Here it is - the last month of 08, and what a year it has been! I had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and so much to look forward to as the year ends and a new one begins.
I spent the holiday with the O'Sheas, and it was lovely as could be. Matty's Aunt Jane is an amazing cook, and she made enough to feed an army...or 9 of us. It was so much fun to hang out with the family, especially Matty's Dad, who may just be one of the funniest people on the planet, and definitely the best story teller ever. We traded work stories, and found out we have come "clientele" in common. Matty and I had spent that morning baking and watching the Macy's Parade, and spent the later evening hanging out with Emily and her sister. The next day we got even more family time in with Matty's sister - who turned another year more fabulous - over lunch and presents for the birthday girl. We got to spend a lot of time with loved ones, and the whole weekend together, which I believe is a wonderful way to spend any holiday. We started some new traditions, while sharing our own, making our first Thanksgiving together super special and very much ours.
Friday night was Emily's birthday bash - we started with cocktails at Noir (I recommend the LA Confidential, Matty doesn't recommend taking the waitress' recommendation), where we also surprised the birthday girl with her new green iPod. Then we went to Z Square for dinner (the mac and cheese was phenomenal, it is up there with the Publick House, for sure) where we polished off a bottle of wine and birthday cupcakes from Party Favors, serious yum. Then we hit up Grendel's Den for a beer before heading to Hong Kong for scorpion bowls, dancing, and all out debauchery. It was a super good time, and I think the birthday lady thoroughly enjoyed herself.
On Saturday Matty and I drove out to Gloucester. It was the 21st anniversary of my Daddy's death, and it used to be a tradition of mine to put a flower out to sea for him (he is buried at sea, with one of his old fishing boats off the San Diego harbor). Matty pulled off to this beautiful spot where the waves were crashing over the rocks and the sun was shining just perfectly over the sea. I put my lily out, said a prayer for my Daddy, and watched the waves with Matty. It was absolutely beautiful and felt very peaceful. It was incredibly thoughtful of Matty to do that with me, and without his urging and driving I would not have found such a beautiful way to memorialize my Daddy this year. Afterwards we drove to another beach where we got out and walked along the shore - I wore a winter coat on the beach for the first time in my life! I am officially an East Coast girl! Then we grabbed lunch at the Topside Bar and Grill where we had the nicest waiter; he told us about the Cape Ann Brewery tours and served us an amazing lunch of fried clams (with bellies, of course), haddock au gratin for me and homemade fish cakes for Matty. I topped mine off with the Fisherman's Ale while Matty went with the Lobster Brew, both from the Cape Ann Brewery. We are definitely going back to the Topside when we take a weekend out there next summer. We finished off our adventure by visiting the famous Fisherman's Memorial, as well as the Fisherman's Wives Memorial, then we drove to the Hammond Castle, which was closed, but I got to take a peek around and add it to our list for the summer. All in all it was such a fun and pretty trip; any day I get to spend with Matty is wonderful.
Now it's back to work - which is quite chaotic after four days off. I have had people knocking down my door and paperwork up the wazoo all day. Thank goodness I am almost out of here for the day - I need to get my head back in the game!
This week I am looking forward to the Boston Cares Annual Holiday Party, Boston Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony , and volunteering at the Home for the Little Wanderers. I am also going to spend some time with Amy over sushi, get my Catechism on, and enjoy the fact that Matty is no longer a vampire and is working days!! No more spaghetti-o nights alone on the couch for me!!
I hope everyone had a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!
XoXo
I spent the holiday with the O'Sheas, and it was lovely as could be. Matty's Aunt Jane is an amazing cook, and she made enough to feed an army...or 9 of us. It was so much fun to hang out with the family, especially Matty's Dad, who may just be one of the funniest people on the planet, and definitely the best story teller ever. We traded work stories, and found out we have come "clientele" in common. Matty and I had spent that morning baking and watching the Macy's Parade, and spent the later evening hanging out with Emily and her sister. The next day we got even more family time in with Matty's sister - who turned another year more fabulous - over lunch and presents for the birthday girl. We got to spend a lot of time with loved ones, and the whole weekend together, which I believe is a wonderful way to spend any holiday. We started some new traditions, while sharing our own, making our first Thanksgiving together super special and very much ours.
Friday night was Emily's birthday bash - we started with cocktails at Noir (I recommend the LA Confidential, Matty doesn't recommend taking the waitress' recommendation), where we also surprised the birthday girl with her new green iPod. Then we went to Z Square for dinner (the mac and cheese was phenomenal, it is up there with the Publick House, for sure) where we polished off a bottle of wine and birthday cupcakes from Party Favors, serious yum. Then we hit up Grendel's Den for a beer before heading to Hong Kong for scorpion bowls, dancing, and all out debauchery. It was a super good time, and I think the birthday lady thoroughly enjoyed herself.
On Saturday Matty and I drove out to Gloucester. It was the 21st anniversary of my Daddy's death, and it used to be a tradition of mine to put a flower out to sea for him (he is buried at sea, with one of his old fishing boats off the San Diego harbor). Matty pulled off to this beautiful spot where the waves were crashing over the rocks and the sun was shining just perfectly over the sea. I put my lily out, said a prayer for my Daddy, and watched the waves with Matty. It was absolutely beautiful and felt very peaceful. It was incredibly thoughtful of Matty to do that with me, and without his urging and driving I would not have found such a beautiful way to memorialize my Daddy this year. Afterwards we drove to another beach where we got out and walked along the shore - I wore a winter coat on the beach for the first time in my life! I am officially an East Coast girl! Then we grabbed lunch at the Topside Bar and Grill where we had the nicest waiter; he told us about the Cape Ann Brewery tours and served us an amazing lunch of fried clams (with bellies, of course), haddock au gratin for me and homemade fish cakes for Matty. I topped mine off with the Fisherman's Ale while Matty went with the Lobster Brew, both from the Cape Ann Brewery. We are definitely going back to the Topside when we take a weekend out there next summer. We finished off our adventure by visiting the famous Fisherman's Memorial, as well as the Fisherman's Wives Memorial, then we drove to the Hammond Castle, which was closed, but I got to take a peek around and add it to our list for the summer. All in all it was such a fun and pretty trip; any day I get to spend with Matty is wonderful.
Now it's back to work - which is quite chaotic after four days off. I have had people knocking down my door and paperwork up the wazoo all day. Thank goodness I am almost out of here for the day - I need to get my head back in the game!
This week I am looking forward to the Boston Cares Annual Holiday Party, Boston Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony , and volunteering at the Home for the Little Wanderers. I am also going to spend some time with Amy over sushi, get my Catechism on, and enjoy the fact that Matty is no longer a vampire and is working days!! No more spaghetti-o nights alone on the couch for me!!
I hope everyone had a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!
XoXo
Comments