my trip to the cathedral

it's not often i blog about my "real job"--this is an outlet for me, afterall. but from time to time, my job affords me some pretty unique opportunities that i just have to share. this weekend was one of those. my good friends at the chicago cubs invited me on a trip to be part of mlb history. the cubs were playing at fenway park for the first time since babe ruth himself was on the pitcher's mound. babe ruth! 1918, to be exact. so 93 years later, i got to be there when today's cubbies entered those hallowed grounds.

while in beantown we experienced fenway, shopped on newbury street, had some celebrity sightings, and traveled back in time...

fun @ fenway
i'm no sports geek, but i have a strong affinity for the tradition of america's pastime. to think of all the memorable moments that happened behind these walls makes my head spin a little. the history of fenway park far pre-dates me. and you if you're reading this. what a testament of time.

it wouldn't be a trip to fenway without yawkey way. for those who don't know, yawkey way is a closed-off street technically inside the gated area of the ballpark. it's a big ole baseball themed street festival.

complete with a band...

and fried dough...

did you hear me? FRIED DOUGH. yes, i had one. i would've taken a picture but i had powdered sugar all over my face fingers and gobbled it up rather quickly. it's basically a funnel cake without the trouble of the pattern. it's a fried pancake covered in sugar and/or cinnamon, depending on your preference.

shopping on newbury street

between games, we spent some time shopping on newbury street. the shopping district has erected amidst brownstones, mixed in with a few architectural gems and eateries. in the south, our architecture is pretty limited. ya see, we had some guy come into town and torch everything a while back.

funky shoes at john fluevog...

another stop was jonathan adler. of course we couldn't resist the punchy patterns and bold colors... 

[a li'l inspiration for a project]



[funky butter dishes from jonathan adler. shoes, dogs, mouse, whale?]



it wouldn't be boston without seeing a firehouse. with firemen hanging out in front, of course.

the junior league of boston. do you think kate spade was a member?

the iconic brownstones with a little ivy...a nod to the cubbies i am sure.

celebrity sightings in beantown

first, we saw marilyn. and we actually stalked her like the paparazzi when we saw her running down the street. we finally caught up with her as she was greeting some adoring fans. jfk was from boston, no?

then, we saw bill murray at the game. he's a big cubs fan, so i hear. 

last, but certainly not least, and definitely most appropriate for this trip...the babe. he was kind enough to pose for a pic and didn't mind my blue stripes...



time travel

on saturday night, we traveled back to 1918. the red sox decided to recreate the last cubs @ bosox game, including details like...

if you wanted to know who was up to bat, the jumbotron only showed the lineup card...

[can you even read that? i can't tell you if it was today's roster or 1918's]

and if you needed to see what that player looked like, they provided the black & white photo of the 1918 red sox team for easy reference...

oh, and if that wasn't enough to test your baseball knowledge, there was no PA announcement throughout the game. only if you were sitting in the infield could you hear the play-by-play from the megaphone. yep, a megaphone.

as thorough as they were, they overlooked a few details:

• there were no lights at the ballpark in 1918
• women probably weren't allowed at the games. especially wearing pants.
• ticket prices weren't prorated to the 1918 price
• some folks started the "USA" cheer...which wasn't invented until the 1980 olympics
• beer prices were much higher than 1918

but of all the throwback nods, this guy was my favorite...nicely done t-bone.

hope you enjoyed my trip to see the Old Towne! i wish i'd seen more sights, but i missed out on the duck tour thanks to an incredibly slow waiter at charley's eating & drinking saloon. guess i'll just have to go back...but definitely not waiting 93 years like the cubbies.

oh, and if you need a convenient place to stay to visit the place mentioned, we stayed at the hilton back bay. it was about a 15 minute walk to the ballpark and 5 minutes to newbury street. the rooms were spacious and clean!

disclaimer stuff - i wasn't paid to endorse any of these places or things. i was on this trip as part of my full-time job, but i didn't receive any direct compensation.

super simple summer strawberry shorts

to go with the bbq shower menu, i needed a crowd-pleasing + easy-to-eat treat for the sweet-toothed guests. the guests of honor aren't fans of banana pudding, so strawberry shortcake "shots" were the winner.

assembly is EASY and could be partially pre-prepped ahead of time. makes about 40 individual servings.

ingredients:
3 pints fresh strawberries, rinsed + diced
1 fresh lemon
2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on your tastes
1 store-bought pound cake
whipped topping
3-ounce cups

add berries + sugar to large bowl. squeeze 1/2 lemon into berry mixture. use a potato masher to mash the strawberries and mix the flavors together.

spoon the strawberry mixture into 3-oz cups. return to refrigerator to chill.

once ready to serve, cut the pound cake into small cubes. remove the strawberry cups from fridge. place a few pound cake cubes into each cup. top with a dollop of whipped topping.

serve + enjoy!

if i'd had enough strawberries left over, i would have used a few to garnish the tops. oh well!

i'm linking up to Rhoda's summer recipe party so hop on over + check it other tasty goodness...

judgment day to-do list

with these guys claiming that the rapture will occur at 6pm on Saturday, it's got me thinking. well, only partially thinking since they once claimed the world would end in Sept of 1994.

so i probably need to re-prioritize my current to-do list. so far it's this:

• return my new wedges to BR. they hurt my little pinky toe. who needs shoes to walk streets of gold?
• return some party supplies to Michael's that we didn't use. i imagine there are plenty of doilies in heaven. and candy.
• straighten out some address issue at the bank. but this probably won't matter since we won't need $ where we're going. and my address will likely change, come to think of it.
• pick up some birthday cards. hmmm. maybe i'll go ahead and pop those in the mail, just in case.
• get a haircut. obviously, i want to look my best at the pearly gates, but i should probably make sure it'll work with the windblown look since we'll be defying gravity on our ascent.
• try on my bridesmaid dress for a summer wedding. maybe i'll wear it on saturday to make sure i get a good wear out of it. it's pretty!
• book our hotel for a summer wedding. again, maybe futile, but i hate to miss this wedding.
• return a library book & pick up a new one. i'm guessing St. Peter frowns upon late fees.

in all honesty, i'm not terribly concerned about 6pm on Saturday. i'm pretty comfortable with where i'll be whenever the good Lord calls us all home. and, on Saturday, i'll be at one of the few remaining cathedrals in the country, so i can't think of a much better place to be. more on that trip to come!

has the threat of the end of the world helped you prioritize anything?