A Blog Break and Our Trip to Boston

Excuse the radio silence...

 

I know it's been about a month since my last blog post and I apologize for not keeping you informed about all things Brioni. My work initially blocked all things blog-related but has since removed the block (I don't write these at work, I swear! ;)

 

Anyway, I have a bunch of half finished posts that I'll try to complete so sorry I'm not sorry if it seems like "old news."

 

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Now back to the regularly scheduled old as heck blog post. :)

 

Before and after the wedding, Justin and I spent some time in Boston. We stayed near Fenway for the duration of Boston leg of the trip. As soon as we arrived, we hit up a nearby brewery called Boston Beer Works. They make all their brews in house so of course I opted to get a sampler! My favorite ones were the the blueberry beer (the second from the left) with fresh blueberries and the pumpkin beer on the far right, rimmed with cinnamon and sugar!

 

We also watched a Sox/Yankees game at Fenway. It was a packed house to see this rivalry!

  

 

 

As intimate and historical as Fenway is, I like Nationals Ballpark better. Call me biased, but I like how at Nats Park they have beer vendors that serve you in your seat. I like having cupholders. Where else can you get a Ben's half smoke and a Shake Shake burger in the same place? Although Nats Ballpark is a gargantuan stadium full of concrete, I like having a view of the entire field no matter where you sit. I must value modern conveniences more than nostalgia. ;)

 

With all the injuries the Yankees had and the whole A-Rod scandal, I'm sure this game could have been more epic...but it was still a fun experience since I had no loyalty to either team. 

 

 

See how full it was?

 

  

 

The bullpen. It looked like if you were seated close enough you could reach down in it!

 

 

 

The Green Monstahhhh (said with Bostonian accent)!

 

Surprisingly, although the Red Sox were crushing the Yankees the crowd stayed for a majority of the game. At the end of the game, the droves headed out...probably looking for something to eat. 

 

So that's what we did :)

Honestly, the food outside of the ballpark at the various carts tasted better (and had better value!) than the food in the ballpark!

 

In addition to hitting up a baseball game, we also had a side trip to Plymouth Rock.

 

Here's a replica ship, perhaps like the one the early settlers sailed in on.

 

Justin and I thought it was interesting how these boats were docked. You would drop anchor in this inlet and a little rowboat would take you to the dock.

 

 

Ta-da! The Plymouth Rock. Sorry for the shadow, I couldn't get a good angle!

 

 

Apparently, this is only a small piece of the huge boulder the Pilgrims landed on. Instead of thinking of Pilgrims, Native Americans and whatnot, all I could think of was the famous (or infamous?) line from Malcolm X referring to Plymouth Rock. You know which one it is ;)

 

 

So that was our Boston trip in a nutshell! I'll leave you with a perfect shot of my Spanish latte from Pavement Coffeehouse!

Weekend Review - April Edition

Weekend Review - April Edition (aka: the month of basketball, brunch, birthdays and baseball!)

Since my individual reviews of each weekend haven't been making the blog (insert tired excuse here), I decided to wrap all the weekends in April into one giant picture-filled post. Yes, I know that April isn't over yet, but don't stop me while I am on a roll here :)

In case you've been living under a rock, you should already know that my husband's beloved 'Cats won the NCAA National Basketball Championship. During the Elite Eight and Final Four we opted to watch the games at the closest true University of Kentucky bar in the DC area, Grevey's.

Here I am posing with the UK folding chair I won during the raffle. Too bad we would later find out it was defective :( But who knows? Maybe we'll try to fix it?

Here is a shot of the owner, Kevin Grevey. He is a former UK and Washington Bullets basketball player. He's KY in DC to a "T"!



Amidst all the game watching, we managed to grab merienda (aka: afternoon snack) at Pound. They are known for their coffee (the nutella latte seen below was to die for!) but they just introduced a dinner menu. Justin and I will be having dinner there soon enough. I bought a Bloomspot coupon for a dinner and wine pairing so we could check it out!

On Easter Sunday we took part in at the famous, Georgia Browns brunch--complete with buffet, dessert bar (with a chocolate fountain!), and take home meal. Here's Justin about to dig in (sorry for the sucky lighting).

And me ready with fork in hand!

By the way, we found out that our House Hunters episode had aired the night before so while we were waiting to be seated we got recognized. :)

Justin and I also managed to catch a Nationals game while they are on their best start yet!

We have been wanting to catch the Nats play the Reds (the team Justin followed during his college years in Cincinnati) for quite sometime so we got the opportunity to see them last Friday. 

The game went into extra innings and despite all the heat we've been experiencing, the night got to be really chilly--as evidenced by our hoodies. Luckily, we were able to pull off a win! :)

Lastly, we attended my uncle's 65th Birthday Party and it was truly an event not to be missed! Justin and I didn't really know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised with each event as the night progressed.

The night started off with Mass (right in the hotel, how cool is that?) in honor of the birthday celebrant. Justin and I were didn't know that there was going to be a Mass, but it was a neat surprise because it was a wonderful and meaningful service. We were also glad because "it counted." You Catholics know what I mean. :)

Next, the evening continued with food and lots of fun entertainment!

First, there was the guitarist and the flamenco dancer....

Then, various people sang some tunes. Here's a picture of my cousin and the birthday boy himself singing the BeeGee's "How Deep is Your Love."

They even got a Julliard-trained violist to perform!

It was a fun night from beginning to end!

As evidenced by my April recap, we haven't been working on too much house stuff as of late. In April, we let our social calendars take over, but hopefully by next month we'll be getting some work around the house done! Stay tuned!