A Very Cabrera Christmas

Even though our short trip home felt very short, we had a wonderfully fun time with our families and celebrated Christmas to its fullest!

Christmas Eve morning and afternoon was spent eating fish and lots of fish at my mom's house and enjoying the company of family. 

Then at 7, we joined AJ's family for 7 o'clock Christmas Eve mass. The church was decorated beautifully and I was so happy to hear Christmas Carols sung during the service. After church, we packed up the gifts we brought for the Cabreras and brought them to AJ's uncle's house. There, we had a big dinner of turkey, ham, green bean casserole, potatoes, and Panetone. We opened gifts around 11 at night and had fun watching everyone enjoy their presents. 

At about 12:30 on Christmas morning, AJ and I drove back to my mom's and promptly fell into a deep sleep in bed. I woke up around 7 and put on A Christmas Story and turned on the fireplace, enjoying the tree and the lights and the look of wrapped presents beneath the green pine. Once my grandmother came over, we all sat around the tree opening gifts and being happy to be together. 

Around 2 in the afternoon, we had our Christmas day meal of cavatelli pasta with meatballs, sausage, spare ribs, and beef followed by ham, sweet potatoes, and veggies. My mom made pie and we had many cookies to munch on the rest of the day. 

The following morning, my mom and sister drove AJ and I back to Boston. Even though Christmas is over, this time before New Year's Day still feels festive because its that in between time where not much gets done and everyone is still in the holiday mood. 

Close to Christmas

My recent blog-silence is due to a few different factors. The semester just wrapped up so I was busy working on my final projects and grading final exams for the class I assisted. Christmas shopping. Spending two days straight baking for a Christmas party (because the first day was a failure). Wrapping presents. Writing thank you cards. And watching Christmas movies.

I'm not complaining  though, it was all fun stuff. In two days, AJ and I will be taking a late train to Connecticut two spend two short days celebrating the holidays with our families before coming back up to Boston with a few family members in tow.

The city has been feel pretty festive lately. After a pad thai dinner on Boylston the other night, AJ and I walked home down Comm Ave. It's filled with lights and we spent the whole walk pointing out pretty Christmas decorations on the exteriors of buildings and noticing lit up trees in windows. We did the same in the North End last night, there are some beautiful wreaths along Hanover. And today, walking down Newbury among Christmas shoppers, it started to snow very lightly and carolers were singing in the distance. It couldn't feel more like Christmas if it tried.

Boston Has Been Good To Us

 We've been here for a full week now and have enjoyed our time to the fullest. There's a lot to do every day and we're taking advantage of it! Here are a few perks from our time in Boston so far:

I had my orientation this past Thursday and had some down time between events so I wandered over to Brattle Book Shop, one of my favorite places in Boston and a book lover's heaven on earth. While browsing the outdoor shelves, I came across the above book which you may recognize from past posts about my love for Elena Ferrante (are you sick of it yet?). I don't know how that copy ended up there—it's not available in the US until September 2nd. I checked the copy, flipping through pages and looking for any signs that it might be an advanced proof and as far as I could tell, it's the real the deal! At the end of the day I came home, told AJ about it and where it was, and the next day it was sitting on the kitchen table with a new mug as well. I'm still reading Russian Winter (I'm over halfway through and loving it!) but as soon as I'm done, I will jump right into Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. 

This is AJ in his element. He's a big Manchester United fan and it just so happens that the same year we move here, a bar on Beacon Street becomes the official bar for Manchester United watching in Boston. AJ was excited to have a fun place to watch the games and even though we're not bar people, I thought it would be an experience. However, because the games are played in England, the time difference means that many games are first thing in the morning. So, at 7 am yesterday morning we rolled out of bed and made our way down Beacon Street for a 7:45 game at the bar, Crossroads.

We had breakfast sandwiches, potatoes, and coffee while watching the game among other rowdy fans. The man who organized the game watching at Crossroads introduced himself to us and said he liked having a community of fans together for games. It wasn't too crowded and it was very laid back, probably because it was so early, and we had a great time! I'm sure we'll be back for more games. 

Last night we went to Mass in the North End at St. Leonard's church. This weekend, the North End is celebrating the feast of St. Anthony so we knew there would be a lot going on down there. After Mass, we headed down Prince Street to Thacher Street where the original Regina Pizzeria location had set up an outdoor patio for diners to eat al fresco and watch the people milling about the food stands that had been set up in the streets. Of course, there was a line but I really wanted to eat there and we decided it was worth the wait. While in line, the procession of St. Anthony made it's way down the crowded street. There were trumpets and drums and people pinning money to the ribbons around St. Anthony's likeness. 

Our wait in the line was probably 30 minutes long, seating was limited, but the line moved faster than I thought it would. We ordered a crostini appetizer that was delicious and split a small pizza that had chicken, mozzarella, and peppers. Regina's Pizzeria is well-known in Massachusetts and has been in business since 1926! Their crust recipe is 80 years old and is probably the best pizza crust—it's crispy but not too thin—and the mozzarella is the best I've ever tasted! We both agreed the pizza was perfect and we'll be going back for more soon!

We could've stopped eating after the pizza, but the streets were filled with tempting smells from all the food stands set up around us. The most tempting smell was fried calamari. AJ bought a plate of that while I opted to buy myself a dessert of fried dough bites, covered with melted butter, honey, cinnamon, and powdered sugar. They were delicious, but not as good as my mom's pizza fritta. We walked among the heard of people and listened to the music that a local band was performing—they sang old school Italian songs as well as current pop songs so it was a fun mix! 

The smell from the cigar stand added to the feel of the night. Pizza and pasta and fried seafood were available at most food stands and there were plenty of cannolis being eaten from Mike's Pastry's stand—not to mention the huge line that was at Mike's real location on Hanover. 

Our last stop was at a drink stand where already drunk vendors were selling mixed frozen drinks in keepsake mason jars. I got a banana daiquiri and AJ got the piña colada. The prices were steep, $12 each, but you got to keep the jar and get a free refill. We listened to a bit more music and I sang along as the band played Che La Luna before calling it a night and walking back home to Beacon Hill. 

It was a fun night and personified the fun times I had hoped for while living here, and it's still only our first week! And what a great weeks it's been. Soon I'll be starting school and AJ will start working his new job and real life will set in but I have a feeling that, while living in Boston, doing something we've hoped to do since we started dating, it will never really feel like real life.