Advent

Christmas is in full swing in our house.... hot chocolate with marshmallows is the beverage of choice, Christmas movies have taken over our TV (we are currently watching Christmas Vacation... oh Clark.) and I am almost done with our Advent calendar-yes I know it's December 12th...... One of the best early Christmas gifts was my dear friend Eli coming up to visit - we did all of the things I had hoped for and then some. We cooked yummy dinners, we frolicked around Beantown, sat in coffee shops, ate delicious lunches, and had wonderful heart talks. It was a sweet visit.

This weekend was wonderfully restful, filled with two date nights with the hubs, Christmas shopping, church, and pizza with sweet friends.

And stay tuned because I am hoping to debut something I am really excited about very soon!!!!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday people! Get ready for a completely scatter brained blog post. I thought I would give you the gift of a new blog post for the beginning of the week. This week is big - I am rediscovering self-discipline and early mornings in preparation for the prospect of starting work next week. The past couple months have been wonderful and restful but they have completely gone against my nature of being an early morning riser. Growing up I was known to get up at 5 am before school.... why you ask? well to watch Saved By the Bell and Gilligan's Island of course! This tendency for early morning productivity has not left me since (I don't know that I would call getting up early to watch tv productive...). So this week I am getting back into the routine of being a productive member of society. This weekend I planned meals, chopped up and prepared all of the veggies for the week, made lunches, cleaned, and planned exercise classes to attend. The first time I have fully planned out a week in a lllllooooooooong time.

Let's stop here for just a second and let me share one of the most life changing conveniences that I discovered this weekend -- online grocery shopping - yes that's right. While watching football on Saturday I went from aisle to aisle of a grocery store with just a click of the mouse. I could compare prices on the items that I wanted, see my total go up, and delete anything in the basket we didn't really need. Let me just say it was magical! Then on Sunday, voila! A nice man named Chuck rings our doorbell and there are our groceries with a complimentary apple pie! Alright now back to being productive.

This morning I went the gym with the full intentions of attending a spin class..... but the spin class was full and so I ended up in Zumba. Love it.... in my room alone, but this was a room full of women with an instructor who may as well have been J Lo. Let's just say things didn't go down pretty.

I have fallen out of the habit of cooking full meals, so in celebration of making a full meal, here is what we ate Sunday



Salad (lettuce from the CSA farm), with pears (from pear picking!), golden raisins, candied walnuts, and goat cheese
Roasted potato slices and carrots (also from CSA farm)
Balsamic Pork Chops with shallots

Oh Cambridge My Cambridge...

So I just got back from a run, which was really more of a mixture of walking and faster walking, and I realized how much I really do love this town. I so wish I could take each of you by the hand and show you the places that we walk and the things that we see. But, a blog post will just have to do for now..... until each of you come visit that is!

First off, let's just say that its 60 degrees here..... yes that is correct, people are walking around in sweaters, scarves, and leggings, the way fall really should be in September. Once again I know the trade off of a long gray winter is coming, but for now I am loving this cool weather.

I love how people congregate in the streets, walking to the many pastry and coffee shops for a mid morning visit. I love how you can run into a post man and give him your letters and how there is a cop on every corner to greet you as you walk to the square. I love the historic cobblestone, the people who ride their bikes with their dog in the front basket, I love the little mamas and their babies across the street who always want to play with our dogs. I love that it is a two minute walk to the closest fro yo, coffee shop, pub, or restaurant. I love that there is life on these streets. And once you get past some of the quirky characters you might run into, with their offensive signs or clothing, you can really get to love this place.

Thankful

I don't even know where to begin with this post but I wanted to portray how thankful I am. God has been gracious over this last month in New England, providing us with new friends, church, and community. I knew that our lives in Boston would look very different from the one we have led so far, not bad or weird, but different. I was nervous about living in a liberal culture of academia, where churches are young and believers are few. But God has shown us Himself in so many ways.



Before moving here we had looked at churches online that we would be interested in making our homes during our time in Boston. We had basically narrowed it down to two in the whole city that we would be interested in visiting and one of those is around the corner from our apartment. We have also been placed in a church community group in our neighborhood with a couple who is starting their second year at HBS. It's awesome to see how the Lord perfectly orchestrated where we would live to bring glory to His church.

On top of giving us a church family, God has surrounded us with other Believers in the Harvard community. Last night we attended Harvard Business School Christian Fellowship and I was astounded by the turn out. It was also fun to see classmates who we didn't realize were fellow believers (not exactly the first question you ask in these parts :). I think I heard one of Hudson's classmates turn to someone and say, "Dude! I didn't know you were a Christian!"

There have been countless other situations with Bible studies forming, women's get togethers, and couple friends to get to know. So all that to say, I can't wait to see what God's plans are for the people of Cambridge and Boston, and I am excited that we get to be a part of His story here.

I've been thinking...

So I wish that I had some wonderfully crafted post to share.... but I don't.... so that leaves us with some not-so-entertained readers and an empty-handed blogger. And here is where you come in! What do you want to hear about dear friend? Do you like the random posts on random happenings? Do you want to get more personal? More pictures? You tell me!

Email me at BeantownChronicles@gmail.com Anything and everything is welcome!

For right now all I have are some random thoughts on some random topics:

1. Our apartment is being overtaken by dust-bunnies.... no not from the dogs, but from the flokati rug. Apparently these things shed like a lab in an Alabama summer, and I have gotten aggressive. Can I be spotted sitting on our floor on summer evenings, brushing the rug with a metal dog brush.... perhaps?

2. I am feeling a bit like a bad dog-mom these days..... I know, you think I am the best dog-mom, but apparently in New England there is an entirely different "breed" (no pun intended.... okay it was intended) of dog moms. Yesterday I took B and P to the vet for their yearly check up and shots. I asked the vet what the best treats were to keep the tartar down on their teeth, also informing him that I brush their teeth every two weeks (which I feel is pretty good for a dog?) and he informed me that I should be brushing their teeth every day, or every other day at a minimum. Who has time for that?! Also, last night in the rain B and P were the only rain-jacket-less dogs. I guess that's the life of southern dogs in the big city.

3. Hudson's southern heritage is coming out in full force at Harvard Business School. Their class of 900 has been divided up into sections... well unfortunately for Hudson he was placed in a vowel section "I".... which nobody can understand him pronouncing. Instead of saying, "I am in section 'eye'", he says, "I am in section ayehe"..... "oh section A"?.... "No, ayehe" "oh section E?".... and on and on it goes

4. On top of that sweet southern accent he has also been identified as some as the kid in class who wears colorful polos.... not exactly the usual garb for these parts.

5. And just for funzies here is a pic of the hubs and our friend Mark hitting up the Brookstone chairs while we were on a double date..... typical.

Trying to be productive

Alright people, yesterday was a big time struggle..... as in I bought a pound of candy at the local market (and the cashier asked, "surely you are sharing all of that?"......), stopped at Dunkin' Doughnuts and bought some munchkins (doughnut holes), watched way too much of "Keeping up with the Kardashians", and then took a nap on the couch (sugar crash). So yesterday wasn't the best day for productivity, but today was different. I made a to-do list, went to an interview, washed the pups, went on a run, walked to the dry cleaners, wrote some letters, and put on real clothes.

What I wore -Thursday edition- the hubs won't get home until late tonight so unless someone sees that I put on real clothes does it really count? (sorry for the camera angle, my head looks strangely large compared to my body)



Afternoon tea and a little bit of reading









View from my run, the Charles River



Clean puppy

Rando

Random musing on the here and now:
I am loving the no-humidity factor here in Boston
It has been consistently 70 degrees, in AUGUST - I know the trade off is coming...
Everything here is crazy expensive - got my Massachusetts driver's license yesterday..... 100 dolla!
Last Sunday with tolls and parking it cost us 11$ to go to church
Harvard Square is all about pizza and ice cream..... and I am taking full advantage (ahem, midnight ice cream run)
Cambridge Equals Permits: we have to get a permit to have dogs, a permit to park on the street, a permit to carry pepper spray... must I go on?

This was the view of the Charles River when I walked to Hudson's school yesterday

Moving In!

*This post was meant for yesterday but I had a little trouble with the internet, so here you go!


Confession: I am a homebody, an intro-vert, and a nest-er, and the lack of “nest” over the past couple of weeks has definitely ruffled my feathers. I am itching to create a home out of our little apartment, to have a place for all of our things and things for our place. Soooo…. I am very excited that today is TODAY!! Our nomad-vagabond-ness officially ends today! Our moving truck is supposed to arrive in the next few hours (Lord willing) with all of our belongings in tow and I. CAN’T. WAIT. They were supposed to get here on Wednesday, when we arrived, but after we had already begun our cross country adventure, we learned that they had been delayed….. until Sunday. Sooooo, that left Hudson, Bear, Paisley, and me rocking out with an aerobed, in an empty apartment, in a city we do not yet know. The past few days have been filled with lots of walking around Cambridge, getting to know the people and places that we will now call home. I have been pleasantly surprised at the kindness people have shown to us. They don’t welcome with the voice inflection and the inviting smile that is so familiar in the south, but they are genuinely kind and helpful. More on that later, for now stay tuned as our house becomes a home!

Below our some pictures to accompany the last post.


Ruthie and Tots came to graduation with bells and whistles on


My very supportive and beautiful parents


The man who got me to pinning!


Just throwing down a little sequence in our empty apartment before graduation- not sure why dad has sunglasses on?


Hudson's dad got some cookie cake to celebrate the festivities


Cousins and sibs! - Robert and Kim had us over for a delicious cookout!


Ruthie got this delicious and beautiful cake! Notice any similarities with the header?


Yum


Packing


De-Lish


Adrienne ordered sweet rolls for dinner, she was really hungry. Just kidding, they were for everyone :)


Hudson's love language = presents


My last pedicure for a while.... yellow, really?


Celebrating Hudson's birthday with my family, surprised with chocolate cake.



DB and Me, throwing down some BBQ

Update and We are Here!

The past couple days, well shall I say weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind, but I can finally say that our cross country trek has come to an end and we are HERE, in Cambridge! I want to go ahead and apologize if this post is somewhat of a conglomeration of all of my thoughts and our doings over the past few days. I want to remember all of our wonderful fairwells that we had in the days approaching our departure, and it was Hudson’s birthday on August 2nd, what what?! Oh and did I mention that I am writing this post in a starbucks FOUR doors down from our apartment, yes please slash this could be dangerous.

Whew where do I start. Hudson’s 24th birthday was August 2nd, which (poor planning on our part), was the day before the movers came…… so it was pretty anticlimactic. In the midst of crazy packing (which I have found, and Hudson can vouch, is one of my weaknesses) I grabbed a cookie cake to remind us what a special day it was. Besides some oh-so-delicious Great American Cookie, not much celebration happened….. until we went home to family and we had FOUR more cakes!!! (Thanks for making Hudson’s birthday so great!)

Things I want to remember about our last week in the South:
* On my last day of class Hudson was still back home with family while I was in Nashville, and my sweet sweet friends Emily and Mark picked me up, took me and treated me to some delicious Thai food, vacuumed and dusted my apartment (seriously who are these people?) and then treated me to Bobbie’s Dairy Dip (If you live in Nashville – go there now). I don’t think I can say how loved I felt watching friends vacuum our nasty empty apartment.
*Shout out to our families for watching the pups while we packed, literally would not have been possible if they had been there.
*Farewell breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with sweet friends.
* Going to target to buy twinkle lights with Julia in the four hours that she was home between college and camp, and hearing all about her summer adventures and hopes for the coming year.
*Getting my nails done with mom – not sure why but I chose yellow?
*The multiple dinners with Hudson’s family and my family – I dearly love and miss these people already! Get yourselves here A to the SAP, you know who you are!

Things I want to remember from our roadtrip
* Disclaimer, I in no way want this blog to be a trophy shelf but I do need to throw a big shout out to the hubs, who is hot, wonderful, great, amazing and also…. Drove 20 hours!
*New Jersey – I hate to indulge the stereotype but this state was ridiculous. Granted I am sure there are beautiful lovely parts, but if you ever drive through it, make sure you do your bathroom stop in Delaware, because there are about 2 interstate exits in New Jersey and they are horrible. Okay stopping there.
*Hunger Games on audiobook was amazing, go read it now.


Things I want to remember about our first 24 hours in Cambridge
*All of our furniture is still in transit and won’t be here until Sunday, so our first night in Cambridge included Hudson becoming a member of the public library and us checking out Rainman to watch on my laptop on the aerobed.
*The library yard across the street is an undercover dog park, which is where I met two other dog owners at 6 am this morning- in my pajamas
*I took the dogs on a walk around Harvard’s campus this morning – where do we live?
*Us driving for the first time through the city was terrifying, we got honked at 3 times, and almost hit twice. (I don’t think our Tennessee tag helped)
*Did you know that carrying pepper spray here is considered carrying a weapon – so I have to go get a permit to carry my pepper spray – there is no way am I getting rid of that stuff (I wonder if they will be okay that mine has tear gas in it)

My apologies for the lack of photos..... I didn't bring my camera with me to the Starbucks but will add some soon!

Growing up

Hello there dear reader-friend! Today marks a milestone as I feel a little more grown up today. Yes, I know what you are thinking, "Annie, you are grown up! You have a poochon, a cockapoo, and live with a man!" Yes, I know dear friend, but nothing has really made me feel quite as grown up as purchasing my first rug, make that TWO rugs!

Since making our own little home two years ago, we have been graciously loaned beautiful furniture from family and friends. Pieces that we are SO thankful for! If we hadn't had these things we probably would have been watching tv on beanbags and sleeping on the ground. But now we have TWO grown-up rugs, that WE bought. Not borrowed, not handed-down, but brand new, being shipped to us, picked out for our home. College kids don't have nice new area rugs, non-grown-ups don't have area rugs...... we have two new area rugs and are now grown up.

I am anxious to show you these two beauties but I think I will wait for the big reveal when they are home in our new crib. Think warm, bright, cozy, and inviting. Stay tuned!

Simplicity

In Paul's 1st letter to the Thessalonians he instructs them "to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

I love this verse. Somewhere in these words I find rest and the call to create. I like to think that because we are made in the image of the Creator, we also have the desire to make and mend. In our brokenness we reflect the image of Christ, making things with our hands just as God knit us together.

I find this calling most alive in my desire to make our house a home, redeeming it's beauty one project at a time.

With a small budget, limited space, and a novice craftswoman, I invite you to join me in the making of our new little nest.

Stay tuned.....