nantucket!

hi, hello.

a few weekends ago i drove down to hyannis with some lady friends, we boarded a ferry, and then 2+ hours later we were in nantucket! it was a little colder than i would have liked but we needed to go before friend mel moves so we went earlier than we probably would have done otherwise. for the first little bit i was kind of depressed that in still looked wintery in most parts (which you won't really see because i didn't like taking pictures of that) but as soon as we started walking around i quickly forgot about my sadness and became obsessed with all of the shops and homes and whale paraphernalia errrrrywhere. 

 i loved this back road so much

nevermind the dead trees LOOK AT THAT GREEN GRASS

 that little house in the background was a sandwich shop we ate at for lunch and the tiny little shed with a door next to it was the bathroom (cutest outhouse there ever was!) and they even sold nantucket nectars drinks! i looked down as i drank it and blurted out "hey guys, we're here!" (referring to nantucket) which made me feel kind of juice famous. also, i just noticed that little lighthouse on the label. it is the very same one in the first picture of this post! CUTE.

they had the best flower boxes 

(which is something the east coast is really good at in general) 

 coffin park. uncomfortable.

we perused so many fun stores.

 how about those doll chandelier things hanging from the ceiling? classy

 i spy tennis rackets

 i still mourn the fact that i didn't buy a whale plate

 i went to the second floor of a book store to find all of my friends just reading their hearts out. i had no idea half of them were even in the store, apparently one by one they went up the stairs and just never came back down. one even read the entire book "of mice and men" hahah weirdos

the world needs more cobble stone, brick, and flower trees.

 self-time fail/success

 kristin is way good at holding lots of stuff

 these guys and that sign!

 and then it was time to head back because the last ferry leaves at 5:30 in the off season. 

don't be deceived by amber's smile, we were sad.

then the "we realized we had not taken even one photo together the whole day" picture happened right before going home. so glad we snuck it in there! 

and then just like that our nantucket day was over. 

thank you for joining me! on a photo recap of this lovely day. 

april, i'm sad you're over!

..i always really like april.

 note to self : never stick something under your arm at a store that is carrying a bag - you will walk right out of the store and not realize that you have committed theft until you are almost home. 

as part of my birthday present i made j-man come get mani/pedis with me. sadly the place was really busy and they did a terrible job so he probably will never do that again but it was still fun! 

after weeks of taking a break we went back to my favorite thai place and i think i'm getting sick of the phad thai and IT MAKES ME SO SAD. i hate when food that once brought you so much joy just makes you sick. 

and, after months and months and months of not seeing old companion sister starley she happened to be in boston for a work trip! we met up in the north end for lunch and cannoli and it was so fun to catch up with her. 

my grandpa had a 90th birthday surprise party!!! i really hate missing out on things so my dad was sweet to facetime me. sadly i forgot what time the party was and was actually on my way to go sailing so it was kind of a miracle that we even connected for a few minutes!  

i was happy to see him and be a part of his party! (kind of)

then the sailing happened after the facetime failed. thanks captain chip! or whatever your name was

seasonal mount auburn photo with the nat

and a bonus picture with sister jordan! natalie is a good person and takes the sisters out to dinner regularly and then sometimes i join her. sister jordan is a convert and has worked for gladys knight the last five years in vegas! i told her to tell gladys hello for me. 

bonus picture number two and three would be facetiming with this dear ashlie friend of mine. it was one of the happier hours of my recent life. ashlie come to boston already!

i need you to imagine me and about 10 other girls doing yoga on the grass in the picture above. sunset yoga is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and i need to figure out a way for it to happen every day. 

and look! it's my netpal! me and my homegirl sonam have been writing emails back and forth for the last few months through a program my work has with a local middle school. we got to go to their science fair and see their projects and then eat lunch with them. i got my last email from her today which included this - "I'm gonna miss reading and writing emails to your fun, excited, and always interested personality! Everyone was like, "OH MY GOSH, YOUR NETPAL IS AWESOME! SHE'S SO YOUNG AND HIP!" And I'm just like, "Yeah, I know right!" *hair flip* haha, I'm not kidding though!"

yep guys. if you want to feel good about yourself just start emailing a 7th grader.

also, can we talk about how the last few weeks of spring blossoms have been unreal? new england sure knows how to do spring and fall right with all of these trees everywhere. i've taken 4,934 pictures of them so don't worry, you'll get to experience it too.

natalie was nice to gather some gals together for a belated birthday dinner. i'll tell you something, you can really tell who has lived in utah and who hasn't just by someone's enthusiasm for texas roadhouse rolls. some people just don't get it!

and then the next night i went to A CIRCUS IN A TENT. i got there a little late and walked in as the horses were running around and i guess i looked really excited by it all because the usher was like "oh i can tell from your face that you haven't been in here yet, let me help you to your seat" haha.  i loved that it was small and intimate and i'll say it again - in a real tent. old circuses have always fascinated me so it was fun to feel like i was at one for a minute. 

and then that is the end for now because i got overwhelmed with how many photos i have of life and had to stop going through them. but when i bring myself to blog again you can look forward to weekend trips to nantucket/cape cod and brooklyn! and many blossom photos in between. 

one month ago on this very day

the 2013 boston marathon occurred. 

via

if we all remember from my last post i was sick and miserable so instead of going to some reenactments in the morning and then heading over to the marathon like i had planned i ended up laying on john's couch and watched it instead on tv. 

via

i decided to see what else was on around 2:30 and then at 3 i saw that my friend had instagrammed a photo of her television with a caption about something terrible happening at the marathon. i quickly turned the tv back to it and then sat in horror as i watched them replay what had happened. at this point no one really knew what was going on so i sat glued to the television for probably six hours listening to a small detail here or there as the story unfolded. usually when things like this are on the news i feel sad for the people but have no real attachment to the place so it was weird to watch and instead be very familiar with the bombed area. i just couldn't believe someone would do such a terrible thing and i had an even harder time with the fact that it happened in my city. 

and because it was my city i had friends and family text, call, send fb messages, etc to see if i was there and if i was safe/unhurt. considering i was supposed to be at the marathon that day i was very touched by all those who reached out, some of which i hadn't talked to in months and months, to make sure i was okay. 

the next day i still wasn't feeling well (my body felt fine but everything in my head was still sad and my throat was maaaaybe on fire) but felt better than i had the days previous so my work friend meg and i decided to go downtown to participate in one of the many vigil's being held for the victims. 

i loved the flyer that was passed around for it, 

"darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that"

we tried to make our way to a different vigil but many of the streets were still closed off so we just checked out boylston street (where it happened). 

other than the random japanese news anchor it was pretty deserted. it was eerie since that street is usually packed with cars and people. i found the photo below on the internet, it looks like in the following days that tiny mural in the picture above on the left became rather large. 

via

since it was only a day after the bombing it was touching to see that signs with words of encouragement and love were already posted everywhere

(and this is unrelated to the bombings but i really enjoyed other parts of our walk too, like this night time scene near the prudential)

wednesday and thursday seemed semi normal. everyone was going about their lives but you could tell they felt a little worried, not very safe with the recent events, and didn't like not knowing where these bombers were. 

and then there was friday. 

i was so proud of myself that i woke up on time, showered, and was even going to be a little early for my 7:30 am yoga class. i was about to go out the door when i got a text from my roommate saying that they had been chasing the bombers all night and that it would be a good idea to stay home until further notice. 

i thought that was kind of crazy and unrealistic so i was about to go out the door anyway when i decided to check and see if the buses and subway were running.  they were not. i then checked my work email and found the three emails above which confirmed to me that my roommate's suggestion to stay home really would be a good idea. 

sooo my day (and probably everyone else who lives in boston) went like this:

8 - 2:30 tried to work from home while simultaneously listening to the news and taking gross pictures of myself to send to my sister kim. i also tried to do yoga for one minute and made myself lunch 

(this play by play is for you grace!)

2:30 -5:30 i couldn't take the boring repeated news anymore, laid down, then woke up in a panic 3 hours later

5:30 - 5:45 got really rebellious and  sat on my porch outside for a few minutes

5:45 - 9  tried to keep working but finally things were really happening so the news was much more exciting. around this time they finally found the guy! 

he was captured three miles away from my house, as you can see from the really helpful map i made above. 

so then we drove down there and joined in on the celebrations going on in the streets of watertown. 

i have a feeling the military and policeman felt like rockstars. so much cheering and clapping going on!

then we drove to the arsenal mall which is where all the tv crews were set up all day. so many satellites!

(i circled some of them in pink but that was only a fraction of them)

and then it was time to visit the house with the boat where he was found. 

oddly we were were able to get really close to it, and felt really pleased with ourselves (as seen below) 

and then just like that it was over. now a month later it all kind of seems like a dream. i know it isn't that way for those who were personally impacted and will probably feel like a bit of a nightmare for a long time, but for the rest of us life just continues to move forward and the media finds some other tragedy to exploit. but just so i don't forget - it was a week full of uncertainty and sadness and tears yet it was also full of hope in humanity and gratitude for so many wonderful people who helped save those who were hurt. my heart was especially touched by those who had just finished the marathon and then continued to run to the hospital to give blood or the physician who immediately started working on people even though he himself was exhausted. i've felt so proud to be a bostonian at this time and to be associated with such good people and for others to recognize that goodness. i loved what stephen colbert said, "here's what i know. these maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston but all they can ever do is show just how good those people are." and that is true for all places of the world, i feel like every time these terrible things happen somehow so much good comes from it. so that was my experience. i saw people rise, unite, show love for one another, and in the end grow stronger as a community than they were previously.