100 things to do in 2011: month in review.

holy crap, i just realized it's almost july. as such, i need to keep track of what i did this month...not too shabby overall!

13. see 50 new movies - CONTINUED.

my lovely friend and bride-to-be took us future bridesmaids to see the movie of the same name, which was HILARIOUS. seriously, if you haven't seen it...get on that. i also watched the creepy but totally hot and engaging indie flick "daydream nation" which stars kat dennings as a bored teenager who seduces her classmate AND sexy teacher (played by sexy josh lucas). definitely worth a watch!

14. dine at 50 new restaurants - CONTINUED.

i'm not counting the 20+ restaurants i had food from at taste of cambridge because that would just be cheating (i just realized i gave new meaning to the phrase "eatin' ain't cheatin'"...ANYWAYS i digress). i had fun family brunch at the windmill diner in connecticut (best greasy spoon EVAH), consumed burgers and beer at deep ellum in allston, greasy pub food at the townie dockside in malden, and....i think that's it. if you've been keeping up with me this year, i've only been to 14 new places. i gotta speed it up if i wanna hit 50.

32. try one new recipe a month - CONTINUED.

i made "easy parmesan-garlic chicken" from the kraft website. which was aaactually super easy. who knew? yes, i've been slacking on this one and still need to make 10 other dishes to catch up, but i'm trying, guys.

42. learn the single ladies dance - STARTED.

i got frustrated after about 20 minutes but i'm slowly starting to get the hang of it. p.s. i'm using this tutorial which is effing fierce.

55. eat at pinkberry - COMPLETED.

GAHHH i love froyo with strawberries and granola.

61. make $1,000 in freelance - COMPLETED.

my $120 haul from this month brought me up to $1,005 total. cha-chiiing.

62. tone my stomach - STARTED.

i've been doing 100 crunches a day for about a month now. i'm feeling the burn, man.

70. go to a farmer's market - COMPLETED.

went to the aforementioned sowa open market a few weekends ago...and left with no produce and a painting. it's fine.

fewd, dewd

i've literally eaten the best food ever over the past couple of weeks and i obviously needed to talk about it with all of you.

• my pal james runs the roxy's gourmet grilled cheese truck here in boston, and they're going to be featured on the food network's great food truck race in august! i finally got to sample the delicious GC at the sowa open market in boston's south end. sandwiches include a wild mushroom confit-and-swiss creation and another with port salut cheese, candied walnuts and cherry compote...for real, for real. i went classic (and local) with "the green muenster", which included guacamole and applewood smoked bacon. ohhhhyeahhh. literally, best grilled cheese you'll have in yo' life.

• i also attended the phantom gourmet bbq beach party on sunday and delighted in rib, brisket, and pulled pork sandwiches from australia, texas, and virginia, respectively. the winner? texas thunder's brisket. still dreaming about it.

• em (my cupcake crawl partner in crime) and i went "taste of cambridge" last night, where over 50 restaurants set up shop in harvard square to feed us lil' piggies. it's all a blur, but among the things i ate were: deviled eggs with baby shrimp, rice krispie treats, bacon cotton candy(!!), pork bahn-mi, a pb&j cookie thing, 5-spice chicken satay, cod and lobster chowder, gazpacho/beef carpaccio/strawberry macaroon (pictured above), salad, vegan lime tart, crispy duck tacos, oreo ice cream, summer veggie maki, clam ceviche, meatloaf slider....are you puking yet? honestly don't know how i didn't. as emily said, "this is the best event of my life, aside from my wedding".

bottles & models: summer 2011 mix

in keeping with the trend of seasonal mixes, i got inspired by the beautiful weather we've finally been having in boston and decided to make a whimsical mix that's perfect for driving around during summer days and nights, too. also, it's sunday and i just had a fun day in the sun, so i'm not really in any mood to describe EACH AND EVERY track, but trust that it's killahhhh, kids. enjoy!

listen...HERE!

track listing:

1. washington social club - breaking the dawn

2. superchunk - here's where the strings come in

3. art brut - people in love

4. the young veins - young veins (die tonight)

5. the joy formidable - whirring

6. mazes - most days

7. nikka costa - everybody got their something

8. the cab - i'll run

9. phantom planet - leave yourself for somebody else

10. allen anthony - alright

11. the new pornographers - july jones

12. amerie - why don't we fall in love

13. two hours traffic - better sorry than safe

14. jagged edge f/ nelly - where the party at

15. the pack a.d. - deer

16. hanson - tearing it down

17. someone still loves you boris yeltsin - glue girls

18. the jesus & mary chain - stardust remedy

19. REM - supernatural superserious

20. damone - carwash romance

N-K-O-T-B-S-B...baby.

last night, i had the fortune of attending one of the most epic events of this year in boston, and one of the most epic events of all time to occur at famed fenway park. yes, folks, i'm talking about the union of boy bands new kids on the block and backstreet boys. in fact, it was fittingly ironic after i got this article published in thought catalog this past week about things i should stop doing now that i'm 25. but WHATEVER. plenty of awesome people-watching: cougars on the prowl, lots of north shore hairdressers, and one fine-ass nick carter. all in all, AMAZING.

highlights:

- all of the group members being introduced as a "starting lineup" and running out onto the field in red sox jerseys

-boston mayor tom "mumbles" menino declaring june 11 "NKOTBSB day" hahaha

- joey mcintyre crying during "please don't go girl"

- torrential downpours halfway through the show and no one caring (joey mac: "it's rainin' at fenway and we don't give a shiiiit!")

- nick carter almost biting it onstage because of the rain/looking amazing

- a finale of their hybrid song "don't turn all the lights down" while wearing bruins jerseys

- an encore of "hangin' tough" from the green monster while wearing celtics and orlando magic jerseys (i didn't catch these last two because my camera died...COOL).

THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT NEW ENGLAND.

welp, the word is out!

i'm moving to the land of boy bands, mickey mouse and the magic at the end of july - sunny orlando, florida - to attend grad school.

while i'm wicked excited for getting down in o-town, there are some choice things i will miss about the NE. in no particular order...

matty in the morning

i LMAO just about every morning to this snarky, cynical man and his sidekicks, billy and lisa. my friends and talk about them as if we know them personally. matty completely crushes listeners' and billy's self-esteem on a regular basis and it's fantastic. i only hope i can stream that ish in FL.

liberty bell roast beef & seafood/roast beef roundup

while working in woburn (or "the woob", as we affectionately called it), my coworkers introduced me to the gem that is roast beef roundup, or "guns and beef" - a hole in the wall where ordering is meant to be slightly frightening and the decor is more shoot-em-up than stylish. best damn beef i've ever had in my life. but when our office moved north, i needed my fix without the drive. enter liberty bell. just about a mile from my house, and just as good as the ol' RBR.

i also got word that the roundup is closing in august, so i guess good things never last...siiiigh.

phantom gourmet

the andelman bros are some funny men. for y'all non-new englanders, they host and produce a weekly TV and radio show called phantom gourmet. the TV show highlights yummy new england eateries every weekend morning and is basically total food porn for a freak like me. they also host local food events, and at the food and wine phest last year, i went up to dan andelman and asked for a picture. as we're posing, he goes "this is my girl, @kimlw! i retweeted you this morning...no shit!" I. DIE.

downtown melrose, ma

before i saw my current apartment, i had never even heard of this town. but i've totally fallen in love with the damn place. the old victorian houses are stunning. it's hokey, but walking down main street quite literally feels like a storybook. i can walk from my adorable lil' place to dunkin' donuts, a bunch of great restaurants, starbucks, like 4 different independent bakeries, CVS, the grocery store, my hair salon, a relaxing pond, etc. etc. and, i'm only a 15-minute t ride from boston! i guess i'm a 'burbs girl after all. and while it's time for a new chapter in the sunshine state, i would come back to melrose someday in a heartbeat. in the summer, that is.

foliage

meh, i'll miss me some red and orange leaves. i guess.

newbury street

classic boston. i've had many a magazine-reading brunch at trident booksellers, summer night ice creams at JP licks, and window-shopping seshes at marc jacobs and fcuk. loves itttt.

100 things to do in 2011: month in review.

HAPPY JUNE, GUYS! i did some stuff last month (including turning 25, last weekend...EEK) and it was sweet.

13. see 50 new movies - CONTINUED.

cried like a baby at the katherine heigl rom-com "life as we know it" (josh duhamel, u so cute) and laughed my ass off at "the hangover 2". same jokes, but still funny.

14. dine at 50 new restaurants - CONTINUED.

had yummy italian food and ogled a yummy waiter with my former roommate at bellino in wakefield, chowed down on bbq sliders and sweet potato fries during my birthday dinner at the new scorpion bar at foxwoods, and cured the hangover blues with eggs, homefries, toast and bacony grease the next morning at the equinox diner in mystic.

29. take a dance class - COMPLETED.

zumba, baby! though i was barely sweating at the end. and i never exercise, so somethin' was wrong with that.

61. make $1,000 in freelance - CONTINUED.

think i'm up to $885 now. almost there!

67. get a mani/pedi - DID ONE.

i got a french manicure for my birthday and i pretty much want my nails to stay like this foreva-eva.

97. win money at a slot machine - COMPLETED.

i won money at foxwoods...then promptly lost it a few minutes later. i'm still counting it, dammit.

also, it should be noted that a couple weeks ago i crossed off a long-time bucket list item, "be a movie extra". i shot an audience scene during a 9-hour day with a bunch of other people at the tsongas arena in lowell for the upcoming kevin james/salma hayek comedy, "here comes the boom". i don't even really care to see the movie actually, except for this scene to see if i can spot myself. ha! the scene was a UFC fight in vegas at the mgm grand, and it was a much different experience than i was expecting. for one, neither kevin james nor any of the other movie stars were there, and we weren't ACTUALLY reacting to anything. the director gave us cues ("someone just got hit! wince!") that we followed in a sequence. then we moved to the next section, and did it all again. all. around. the. arena. twice. i could never be an actor. but it was a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience! see how happy i am?