My 2014

Another year has (quickly) come to an end. I'm so looking forward to what 2015 will bring. I'm sure it will be a year filled with happiness and adventures and unexpected moments. I'm thankful for every new year, just as I'm thankful for every year that we say goodbye to. Now, I'm excited to look back on 2014 and look forward to the what comes next.

We started off the year with a trip to Minnesota in the middle of their coldest winter to date. We went to The Mall of America and visited family and friends. We'll go back again soon, but hopefully in warmer weather this time. 

Also in January, we took our engagement photos, which also just so happened to fall on the coldest day of the year. I couldn't feel my toes by the end of the shoot! But the photos are still great. 

We celebrated our one and only Valentine's day as an engaged couple this February with a fancy dinner at a dimly lit Italian restaurant and a lovely cake made by my MIL. 

In March, AJ and I moved to Boston for his final internship before his graduation. He worked a lot and determined that he did not love working in an out-patient facility and I read, wrote, and worked in this lovely city. 

I turned 22 on April 10th while we were still living in Boston. My mom and godmother drove up from CT to be here and a few friends from the North Shore came for a dinner of pizza from Fig's. 

May was a busy one! First, I celebrated Mother's Day with this pretty Mamma in Boston. We did all her favorite things, which included relaxing in her apartment in the morning with coffee, followed by a walk through the Public Garden where we sat and people watched from many different benches, book browsing at Barnes & Noble, and pizza from Upper Crust.

 Also in May, I graduated from Fairfield University! I really graduated in January, but I walked with my class in May. Luckily, it was a beautiful, warm Spring day and all my favorite people were there to watch me walk. I was also treated to a delicious brunch at my favorite restaurant in Connecticut, Centro.

AJ graduated, too! After a few years of constant studying and working, AJ graduated with a degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant. He then passed his licensure exam and was offered a job in Boston!

Every year in June, we go to Chatham for a relaxing week and this year was no different! This was AJ's second time joining our family trip to the Cape and I think he's starting to love this beach town almost as much as I do! I can't wait for our next trip out there to eat lobster rolls and Chatham Candy Manor chocolate and to sit on the porch for hours every morning, reading and watching the gentle waves get closer and closer. 

We celebrated our fourth 4th of July together with a family barbecue at my cousins' house and reminisced about the past four years. 

At the end of July, we celebrated our four year anniversary together with an al fresco dinner of finger foods followed by a movie and macaroons. 

In August, I finally visited my sister in New York City and spent a weekend with her and her friends all around town. 

I was also lucky enough to celebrate my wedding with the best bridal shower, thrown by my mom and sisters at my mother's house. All of my favorite ladies were there to help me celebrated and I was so generously gifted beautiful gifts along with a delicious brunch followed by cake and cookie trays. 

At the very end of August, AJ and I moved back to Boston for his new job and for me to start school. We are so happy here and were so excited when we moved back!

AJ turned 24 in the beginning of September and we celebrated with a delicious Italian dinner in the North End and some gifts, which included a magic bar cake. 

I also started grad school in September and quickly got to work reading, writing, and figuring out how to balance my classes and my teaching job. 

October was the most important month of the year because we got married! We had a lovely ceremony in New Canaan, Connecticut and had the best time at our reception in Darien. Every time I watch our wedding video, I wish we could have the exact same party all over again! This was definitely the highlight of our year. 

In October, we also did some festive, New England activities, such as eating apple cider donuts and picking apples at an orchard in North Andover and visiting Salem the week before Halloween.

In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving on our own. I cooked a big meal and we happily ate together before taking a nice walk through the Common and Beacon Hill before we started decorating for Christmas! 

And finally, in December, we decorated our cozy apartment for the holiday. We baked, watched Christmas movies, and burned candles that smelled like pine to get in the spirit of Christmas before heading home to celebrate with our lovely families. 

It was a crazy, amazing, and fun year and I'm so thankful for all of it. This was a big year of change for me but I had family and love surrounding me every step of the way and it could not have been better. I hope all of you had a wonderful 2014 and I wish you all a very happy new year!

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.

On My First Semester of Grad School

This past Tuesday I had my last class of the semester. And, while I still have two assignments to turn in next week and some grading to do for the professor I assist, it feels weird to be done with classes for a few weeks. Actually, I have over a month until next semester even begins!

photo

The semester went by crazy fast and I feel like I learned so much without even realizing it until now, when I think back on the semester. My writing habits have changed but could be improved even more and I think that I have gained a bit more confidence since my workshop (although I'm still waiting on my grade!) The other class I took focused on getting us prepared to teach in Emerson's first-year writing program so I learned a lot about pedagogy, teaching techniques, and theories that had never been part of my education before. It was an interesting class and I'm hopeful that one day I'll be able to use what I learned as a teacher. My final for that class is a semester long outline of a sample class...I should be working on that now.

Next semester, I'm changing up my schedule a bit. Instead of taking only two classes, I'll be taking three. And instead of having classes only at night, I'll have two that are a bit earlier in the afternoon. I'm going to try to get another position as a TA but with three classes I know my time will be a bit more limited. I am looking forward to taking lit classes and to seeing what other workshops will be like.

Even though classes are done, I still have work to do. Today I have to proctor a final exam for an undergrad class and then grade them before sending them off to the professor. And, like I said, I have some final assignments to finish up, but by Wednesday at noon, I'll be able to say that my first semester in grad school is officially done. Feel free to celebrate with me.

What I'm Thankful for This Year

The title of this post is probably a misnomer because these are things I've been thankful for in the past and that I will be thankful for in the future. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share the (many) things I am most thankful for in my life.

My husband, of course. And I'm thankful that we are spending this holiday together as man and wife for the first time! I'm thankful for our relationship and the love he gives me. I'm thankful for the way we work as a team and for the conversations we share on a daily basis.

My family, including my amazingly wonderful mom, my two sisters, my grandparents, my in-laws, my many cousins, and all the friends who are more like family than friends. This year has really shown me how much love my family has for each other and I can't believe how lucky I am to have so many great people in my life.

My education, past, present, and future included. I went to a great public school in Minnesota that taught me so much. The university I went to for undergrad is where I learned to love learning and where I cultivated my interesting in writing, reading, and academics. And now, I am pursing my master's degree and I am really enjoying what I am learning and studying.

This place where I live. Boston is a fun and inspiring place to live. There's so much to do and see. It's a city that really feels like home and I'm happy to be spending my newlywed years here with AJ.

Lastly, I am the most thankful for the fact that the things I just listed are daily blessings and that I am able to be thankful for them all year round. Let's all strive to give thanks every day for our many blessings and for all the moments that make life wonderful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and yours! Enjoy this day with family, friends, and loved ones who make you happy!

Literary Links

photo via

These are my favorite kinds of articles to read. Reading about books and writers inspires me to write more and to write better. I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite articles from this week.

For people that are wondering what MFA creative writing programs are like, this article will give you some insight! All of it reads true and I'm glad someone was able to eloquently put this experience into words.

This article about making it through writing critiques kind of goes along with the first. When you're in a grad program for creative writing, you have to go through workshops a lot and being well prepared to take whatever comes at you is essential!

I'm going to be adding these titles to my list of books to check out from the library. Debut novels are always inspiring to read. I love seeing how writers achieve such great first novels.

Feel like spending the summer in Paris? Why not write while you're at it! The expats living in Paris provided us with phenomenal works of art by prolific writers (Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald, I could go on) and I imagine there's no better place to write than in the cafés where they created their classics.

Back to Blogging

This poor blog, always getting neglected. I don't know how that happens but it seems to be happening once a month lately. I'll attribute it to homework and work work and general upkeep life seems to throw at you unexpectedly. 

But things are. Things are great. AJ and I are happily moved into our new apartment. We have a good bit of furniture but part of our home is still a bit under furnished. We have what we need, though, and it's so fun having this cozy place to call ours. 

I went back to CT last weekend to bring back a few more of the many gifts we received so that we would have more than two plates and such and we have plans to go back again the first weekend of December. 

It's very foggy in Boston today, hence the above photo, and this foggy weather makes me feel foggy. And tired. I took a long nap yesterday, much longer than I had intended to take and it turned out being one of those naps that you wake up from realizing just how badly you needed that nap.

Anyway, this post is really just one to get my butt back to blogging. This all feels like filler but sometimes that's what you need to be able to get back into it. I've been reading a great book and I have plans to read some more good ones soon so I will do my best to get some posts about that! Plus, the holidays are coming and I'm sure I will have some great festivities to share!

We Did It!

On October 11th, AJ and I tied that knot! It was wonderful and amazing and perfect and all those things that a wedding should be! We were very lucky to be surrounded by our friends and family—we had an absolute blast and it was all even better than I could have hoped for.

Of course, I have a million photos and plenty of stories to share but it's late and I still have 8 more student papers to grade—I've been playing major catch up all week. I went from Thursday to Monday without doing any school-related work and I can feel it. And I want to watch How To Get Away With Murder in 20 minutes—is anyone else watching that show? I recommend it!

For now, I'll leave you with just a few photos. I'll do my best to get up a more comprehensive (without being boring) post tomorrow depending on how much work I can get done. Tomorrow afternoon my sister and her boyfriend are coming to visit for the weekend so I'll be pretty busy and preoccupied this weekend too!

at our reception at The Waters Edge at Giovanni's

because every millenial needs a wedding reception selfie

and a wedding party selfie—although this is only part of the group

it's the little things

the whole group

the morning after

and one of my favorite wedding gifts

What I Have Learned From Grad School So Far

I've been in grad school for just over a month now. I know I still have an incredible amount to learn, but I do feel as though I have already learned quite a bit!

1. If you think you've completed and printed all your homework, check again. Two weeks ago, I had to scramble at the last minute to finish all my readings for Teaching College Comp because I forgot to read my syllabus and last week I missed turning in an assignment. I did it, but I forgot to print it. 

2. Reread everything. We typically have to read 4 stories for fiction workshop every week, sometimes more. In the past, I've been able to get away with reading assignments only once but when it comes to these in depth class discussions and analyses we have,  I've found that reading everything twice—if not more—is essential.

3. It's ok to step away every so often. It can become really stressful when you sit down to start working and your mind becomes overwhelmed by every assignment you realize you have to do. Take it one task at a time and when you feel like you need a break, take it. You'll find time to finish the rest.

4. Naps are good. It's crazy how tiring writing and reading can be! I'll do a few hours of it straight and need a nap to go on. Usually, I try to resist napping because I feel like there are too many other things I should be doing. But I always find that after I sleep for 20 minutes (sometimes 60) I feel more aware of my work and can focus even better.

5. Sometimes, you have to drink coffee at 9 pm. Especially if you are in class until quarter 10 pm and your eyes won't stay open.

Happy October!

I can't believe it's already October! But I'm oh so happy it is. This is my favorite month. I love the leaves and the cool weather. I love seeing pumpkins and gourds for sale at markets. I love the feeling of a new season and I love the yummy foods that come into season. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples (Honey Crisp especially), apple cider donuts, and tangerines. It all tastes like Fall and it is my kind of comfort food. I added some pumpkin pie spice to my oatmeal this morning, just in celebration of this new month!

Today, Boston is cloudy and rain will be imminent all day. Yesterday was wet and chilly. The next few days will be the same but I like it. After a heatwave this past weekend, this really feels like Fall!

As you can imagine, AJ and I have been really busy lately. Every weekend there has been something keeping us busy. After we got back from our quick trip to Connecticut, AJ's family came for the weekend. This past weekend, my mom, godmother, cousin, and sister came to visit for the night and it was great! It's always fun having family around and they do so much for us when they're here. Plus, school and work take up just about all my time but I'm really enjoying my classes! I'll post more specifically on school later.

A few other fun things to note, it is now mine and AJ's wedding month! It is extremely crazy how quickly time has gone by since we started planning. It's so soon! And we're very excited and everything is coming together just perfectly.

Also, today is AJ's first day at his new job here in Boston! His start day had to be delayed due to the extremely slow processed of becoming licensed in another state but—the day is here! I just some him off this morning. I am so proud of him and can't believe how much he's done and how far he's come since the day I met him. He's amazing and I hope he really enjoys this job. I can't wait to hear from him and hear all about his day, but I have to leave at 5:30 for class tonight so I might just miss him!

Last month, I completely neglected this blog and—even though this month might be busier than last—I don't want to let that happen this month. My favorite month. I love blogging and I don't want to let this slip away and get lost in school and work. I'm going to work hard and try hard to keep this going and keep it interesting!

Posts on books, food, and school will be coming!

September Update

I've been neglecting my blog again! I hate when this happens—and it seems to keep happening—because once I go a few days without blogging, it becomes even harder to get back into it! But I'll try to now.

The past few weeks have been buys ones for us. Two Sundays ago, AJ went back to CT for an appointment he had and stayed there for 5 days until I met him there. I went back on a Thursday after class and stayed until the following Monday morning. While there, I had a few appointments to tie up some wedding details and spending time with the people I missed. On Monday, Mom drove AJ and me back up to Boston. I brought quite a few more shower gifts and more clothes to have here at the apartment so it took me a little bit to unpack, not to mention I had a lot of homework to get done over that weekend.

We had a few days to get settled back in and then this past Friday, AJ's parents, siblings, and grandmother came to visit! We spent this weekend showing them around the Public Garden and Boston Common, eating at Quincy Market, going to Mass, eating Upper Crust Pizza on the roof, and spending time talking and hanging out together. It was really fun and it's hard to believe that the next time we'll see them it will be at our wedding! Which is 20 days away, by the way. Crazy!

AJ's family just left about two hours ago and we promptly fell asleep watching football. Tonight we're going to a Black Keys concert and tomorrow we'll be back to our normal routine. It's crazy how quickly the time is flying by.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

School So Far

Like I mentioned a few days ago, my first day of grad school went really well and it was really exciting! Since then, I've come to start to grasp how much work this semester, and probably the rest of my semesters as a grad student, will include. Not to mention...I got the TA job! I'm so, so very excited about that. I really want to have the opportunity to teach at the college level after grad school and I feel this is a great way to get experience, not to mention I'll be assisting a British Lit class in which we are reading some of my favorite authors and novels.

Plus, I've only had one out of my two classes so far and the work from one class alone feels like a big amount! I already talked about my homework for this week, and I just received the first story I'll have to critique for workshop on Wednesday. Now I've added a bit more work with the TA position—I am currently making my way through Book I and II of Sir Thomas More's Utopia, which is an essential read for a British Lit class, but I don't have it with me and I have to read it on my computer so it can be a little straining on the eyes. Regardless, as long as I'm reading or writing, I'm usually happy!

On My First Day as a Graduate Student

And what an eventful day it was! It started the same as any other with an early morning trip to the gym and plans to sprawl out on the grass of the Boston Common to get some sun. But, no, that did not happen. Instead, as I killed time on my computer waiting for it to get just a bit warmer, I received an email from a literature professor, following up with my application to be a Teacher's Assistant. I scheduled a time to meet with him, then regretted scheduling the interview for four o'clock, giving me five hours to think and worry about it.

But luckily, we did some stuff to take my mind off it. Around 11, AJ and I went to Brattle Book Shop. I picked up a short fiction anthology, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, and The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, for $3 each!

From there, we walked over to Boloco at their Commons location where it was free burrito day! Neither of us have tried Boloco before, but every time I walk by I'm tempted to try everything! Their shakes, salads, bowls, and burritos all sound delicious and—with it being free and all—we decided it was the perfect time to try it out! The line was kind of long but we were there before noon and the line only got longer after that. AJ got a chicken teriyaki burrito and I got the chicken tikka masala burrito. They were both delicious and (we each got a small burrito) the perfect size. We will definitely go back to Boloco—it's free burrito day at their School St. location in two weeks. 

After that, all I had left to do was get ready for my interview and class. I changed into the most grown up outfit that was conducive to the sweltering heat. My shirt had birds on it but the skirt was J. Crew so I figured it worked. I went to the meeting, was there a little early, and talked to the professor about the job. It sounded great and he gave me a little assignment to do—grade a student paper—to see how I work and he invited me to sit in on the first day of class, which I did this morning. I felt surprisingly old, even though I was an undergrad just a few months ago! But I did feel pretty lucky to be taking a British Lit class for free! I haven't been offered the job yet, but fingers crossed!

After the interview, I ran home quickly, changed into jeans, ate a quick omelette for dinner before over packing my schoolbag with books, paper, a laptop, and lots of pencils and hurried back out to school. My class was on the 11th floor of a building on Boylston. I was in awe when I walked into the classroom, one whole wall was made of windows, giving me the best view the Common, the State House, Beacon Hill, and beyond. I was very distracted during class. 

Some of us were early and some other students filtered in just after 6 so we spent the first ten minutes or so doing a free write on the prompt, the best time of day. We didn't have to read it or share and it was a great way to start the class. I'm usually terrified of in-class free writes but this one came pretty easily for me! There are 12 of us in class, all of different ages and stages of life. Some people have been writing for a long time and are very experienced in workshops and some others are relatively new to fiction writing. 

The professor, Daphne, was wonderful and smart and made everyone feel comfortable. After the free write, we went around the room a few times to introduce ourselves, talk about our writing background, and who were our favorite authors to read. We went over the syllabus, which told us all how much work we will have, and made a schedule to workshop our fiction. We then read a great short story and had a discussion on it for quite sometime. The class is supposed to last from 6 to 9:45. Last night, we left class around 8:20 and I was in bed by 9:30 and I kept thinking to myself 'I would still be in class if this weren't the first day.'

We were assigned two short stories, one by Chekhov and one by Grace Paley, to read and prepare for discussion, two student stories to read and write critiques on, and we each have to write a 3-5 page story or story fragment which takes place all in one scene. I'm glad we have smaller writing assignments on top of the short stories we will write for workshop so that it doesn't feel like we only have to write twice a semester. My first short story is due for workshop on September 17th!

I'm looking forward to next week's fiction workshop and this coming Tuesday I will have my first day of my other class called Teaching College Composition. 

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.