Ryan and I were running out of work Tuesday night when we were offered 4 tickets to the Red Sox that night. Not just any tickets, amazing seats! The weather was a bit questionable but really, saying no to the Red Sox isn’t an option. So we called two friends to go with us and met them at Fenway. The weather cleared up just as we got there and it turned into a perfect night. One of our friends that we invited just happened to have 4 tickets to see the Stars at the Paradise later that night. So we went straight from the game to the show. It was a completely unexpected, awesome Tuesday night.

When I moved to Boston I had 2 days to find an apartment. After seeing a few that made me reconsider relocating, I finally walked into the place I would call home for the next two years. I admit, I didn’t spend a ton of time in my apartment. I travel a lot and work even more so I basically only used it to sleep. But on the occasional weekend when I would be there with the sun shining in the corner windows, it was an extraordinary home. It wasn’t perfect, the windows in the living room were drafty and there was the mouse incident–I named him Franklin–but it was a great first ‘grown-up’ apartment.

Memorial Day always calls for a BBQ. And all BBQ’s require toys. We grilled at Coolidge Park in Brookline yesterday, the photo is of all of the toys we brought to play with. We also took advantage of the swings, playground and found a stray basketball to entertain us for a while. The frisbee has an LED light in it so it’s great to play with in the dark, although we usually get too excited and start around dusk!

If you ride a bike in the city you have to lock it up. And finding something to lock it up to isn’t always easy. It can be a tree, a fence, a street sign or occasionally an actual bike rack. Attaching your bike to all of that stuff tends to lead to scratches…hence, the top tube protector. I admit, mine is really just because I like to be able to change the colors around a little but it really does protect it. Copper pipe insulation is the perfect padding, and the quilting scraps from a fabric store give you just the right amount of fabric. Mine have velcro across the bottom but I’ve heard of people making them with zippers too!

I’m a sucker for birthdays. It doesn’t matter if it’s mine or someone else’s, I think I just like to celebrate. Not only was I flying home to Boston on my birthday this year but it was also the LOST series finale so I didn’t expect to do much of anything. I was totally surprised to walk into my apartment and find a unicorn, monkey, frog and huge 24 balloon in the living room. All of my friends came over later to celebrate (and watch LOST). It was a great surprise and an awesome way to kick off the last year of my early twenties.

I spent the weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas at my cousin Kait’s wedding. It has been ages since I’ve gotten to be together with all of my cousins, the picture is one of the only ones I remember of all 4 of us in the last several years. From left to right: myself, Kait the beautiful bride, Andrea who has two unbelievably amazing little girls and Allison who is getting married in January. It was a beautiful ceremony and I’m so glad I got to be there. Congratulations Kyle and Kait!

Also, my cousins new name is Kait Hudson. How many people can say that?

My brother recently wrote about his hobbies on his blog, how he starts something one day and almost immediately loses interest and moves onto something new. As I was working on this terrarium post, I kind of started to think maybe I do the same thing. I blame it on the fact that I have unbelievably creative friends. I think Todd had the terrarium idea, Ryan had the lightbulb idea, I wanted to make something out of clay to put in mine and Kat documented the finished product. So now we all have terrariums. It may not be a long lasting hobby–but for now, they are adorable and I love them.

This weekend was the first Brimfield Antique Fair of the year! We didn’t get to go on the first day like we did last year but we still saw lots of interesting things. I loved the walkie-talkie helmet. The letters are from the junk yard that is behind the big barn at the very edge of the show grounds. It looks like people just leave the stuff they don’t sell there when they pack up at the end of the week.

Sunny weekend weather usually equals an outdoor adventure. This weekend was no different. Ryan and I took a moped ride to the suburbs and found this castle along the way. It had bars over the windows but the spiral staircase inside was too good to resist. The view from the top really wasn’t all that impressive but it was fun to feel like a kid on the monkey bars again.

>

Alcatraz is a pretty creepy place in general, but going there at night is definitely not for the easily spooked. The boat ride out to the island is fun and they tell you a lot of good information. Once you get to the island you’ve got to do some pretty serious uphill walking before you get to the actual jail. Luckily, every time the group started to huff and puff they would stop everyone and tell an interesting bit of little known information about attempted escapes or famous prisoners. Once you get inside you get a headset that provides step by step instructions and a very detailed lecture of the jail, the prisoners and the history of the island. By the time you leave it’s pitch black and of course you have to walk right by the morgue to get back to the boat. Overall it’s a very cool tourist attraction, creepy–but worthwhile.