there be dragons

oh, hi! forgot about this thing for a minute. it's been a whirlwind few weeks--new job, new apartment, new errything--but i've finally settled down enough to catch my breath and share a few photos. 

most of y'all have seen some photos of my place, but if not, here they are again (plus a few more). my bedroom is still art-less and no one cares about bathrooms, so here's the living room:

and the kitchen:

 

 

oh, and this my current view. decks and decks and centre street in between. i've got the windows open and it smells like i'm about to crash one of my neighbors' cookouts.

 

speaking of, i've only been in jamaica plain ("jp" for short) a week and i feel like i probably should have been here all along. it's kinda hipster, kinda hippie, extremely diverse, everyone's really friendly and has adorable dogs, the houses are out-of-a-storybook-af (more on that below), there are so many great restaurants and cafes and stores within walking distance (namely grass fed, fomu, ten tables, and obviously the original jp licks). plus, i made it to copley square on the t this morning in 13 MINUTES. all about all of it. oh, and the DILF factor is off the charts. today, while waiting for a sandwich at city feed, i observed a bearded hipster with two little ones in tow, wearing a t-shirt that depicted the cast of sesame street crossing abbey road. peeeeak JP dad.

anywho, i took a little walk yesterday to explore the area:

apparently i'm living in an actual fairy tale

they looove their murals

little free library #1

house. goals.

little free library #2

mural #2

jamaica pond!

so in love with this porch

GIMME

aforementioned storybook house.

 cute indie bookstore

my apartment building isn't as cute as this one, but it's across the street so it still counts

kryptonite

 

last night, i strolled over to this little art exhibit/block party thing at the sam adams brewery, which was cute. they had free beer and the jp honk band played and they projected art on the outside of the brewery and such.

 
then, a few blocks away, i just HAD to catch a glimpse of the start of the annual world naked bike ride. it did not disappoint.

that's all i got for now, but so far, moving across the river might just be one of the best decisions i've ever made.

an exhaustive list of stuff i'll miss about arlington

i'm moving in just about three weeks, and i've been getting strangely emotional about it. granted, i'm only moving across the river -- from arlington to jamaica plain for you boston locals -- but it might as well be another universe. i've long joked that "there be dragons" in JP and have only spent approximately a few hours in the area ever, so naturally it was time for me to end up there. anyways, i realized that i've been in my current apartment 4 years, which is the longest i've lived in any place with the exception of my childhood homes. i've laughed here, cried here, entertained friends here, passed out from an edible here, hosted suitors of various levels of quality here, and danced around my living room frequently here. i'm excited to explore my new 'hood, but there's definitely quite a bit i'm going to miss about the old one (mostly food-related). so, for posterity ...

- lucas at the dunkin' donuts next door who starts making my coffee as soon as i walk in/always puts my iced coffee in one of the hot cups so it doesn't sweat
- the dunkin' donuts next door in general
- my off-street parking spot
- getting pizza from andrina's/just walking by andrina's and inhaling pizza parlor smell
- the revolutionary war puns at my trader joe's:

 
- the hippie man with long white hair that has a beautiful white husky that he always lets me pet when they're walking down mass ave
- turkey subs from d'agostino's deli
- the cute old middle eastern man who works at the citgo and smiles/yells hello to me every time i pass by
- this gorgeous red victorian house on the street behind me:

- the leg lamp at the bar at common ground
- saturday mornings at kickstand cafe
- the view of the boston skyline from robbins farm park:

 
- fish tacos from la victoria taqueria
- walking through a sketchy underpass to get my scorpion maki from sono
- the 77 bus to harvard square (specifically, the fact that the bus stop is a two-minute walk from my apartment)
- the dude with epic blonde dreadlocks that lived next door when i first moved in, who i creeped on constantly
- buying shellacked decorative gourds and apple cider donuts from wilson farm in the fall
- the cross-breeze in my apartment
- my weird, dirty, inexplicable crush on the white trash guy who works at blue ribbon barbeque
- leisurely strolls on the minuteman path
- paul revere road, solely because of its name
- the now-defunct brigham's ice cream shop which probably hadn't been updated since the '60s
- related: ice cream sundae delivery from the scoop and scootery  
- saying/thinking "i see old people" every time i pass by jimmy's steer house
- the all-caps, music-themed graffiti on the sidewalk (i.e. "LED ZEP" and "ABBEY ROAD")
- getting a massive moussaka plate from the greek festival at the church around the corner every year

what are the neighborhood quirks you'd miss if you moved away?

five things i love right now: home decor edition

sorrrrrrrrry guys, i've been MIA again. i was pretty nonchalant about moving, but as it turns out, i guess it's kind of a big deal.

i still have no cable or internet (this is why i'm writing from the starbucks in my new neighborhood) due to the "historic charm" and terrible wires in my apartment, but that shall all be resolved by next week!

in the meantime, i've been keeping my media-dependent self busy by going out to dinner with friends, exploring my 'hood, and going to see chuck klosterman (well, a signing for his new book, tomorrow). oh, and decorating my apartment. it's not quite all together yet, but here are a few of my favorite items so far.


1. this blue cynthia rowley chair

2. this badass bird lamp

3. this antique kitchen table & chairs

4. this folk art painting of quincy market

5. a charcoal couch (not this one, but it looks similar)

i'm feelin' rootless

long time, no blog! since my last post, i've graduated with my master's degree, packed my life away in orlando & made the three-day move back to NH (for the moment). and oh, what a trip it was.
here's some random stuff that happened:


-i discovered the sirius XM "pop2k" station which basically captured my entire tween/teen years. enrique, mandy moore, dre & eminem, chili peppers...it was literally flawless.

-pretty sure a hillbilly freak was trying to take pics of me in a hardee's in the middle of nowhere in virginia. he was doing that thing where you pretend to be looking at your phone while aiming it DIRECTLY AT THE PERSON you're trying to creep on. dude, you can't outstalk this stalker. also the hardee's staff all looked related, in the deliverance sense.

-right before that, i saw a white van with spray-painted dogs on it and laughed/cried

-also spotted a license plate that read "DOL LUVR" and shuddered :(

-i was forced, against my will, to eat at a friggin' olive garden in maryland. my family was all super-tired and wanted somewhere really close. we were also in the mood for italian. so, i asked my homegirl siri for some help (thanks to the hotel wi-fi because i had no cell service in this joke of a place?). her response was the following:

GODDAMMIT, SIRI!
so we went to the OG and i had eggplant parm and our waitress was *~super perky~* and whatever. it was fine and i felt a little dirty afterwards.

-almost every hotel we stayed in had cookies and i went on cookie missions every night. still got some of those suckers in ziploc bags.

-i saw an AC/DC tribute band's van in the parking lot of wendy's, smiled, and then turned around to see that i was eating my spicy chicken amongst mock-rock royalty. i thought about hitching a ride with them to their next biker bar show but they seemed a bit surly.

things i will miss about florida.

well, just about 21 months have come and gone since i moved to orlando for graduate school, even though it kind of seems like yesterday that i packed up and left boston. it's been a good/weird/challenging/transformative time down here, but as many of you know, i have done a lot of soul-searching and decided that:
a) i miss my family and friends immensely
b) my heart is in boston, and it felt like home from the first night that i spent in my north end apartment at age 20 (something which unfortunately never really happened here), and
c) i had my move-across-the-country adventure and don't get me wrong, i'm still a free spirit, man. that said, i'm kind of ready to put down some roots. go all house hunters or some crap in the next couple years. y'know?

so! enough sap. since i made this post when i moved away the first time, i figured it was only fair to give flo rida the same courtesy. so without further ado, the things i will miss about the sunshine state!

1. the weather
'nuff said.

2. the mall at millenia
literally the nicest mall i think i've ever been in. it has a very "florida" feel and a great forever 21/urban outfitters to boot! also, valet parking. at a mall. and PINKBERRY! there's a pinkberry.

3. the vero beach hotel & spa
i'll be making my third trip here next week, before my graduation, because my family and i are obsessed. mainly with the nightly free wine tasting and the weird-ass people that show up to it. and it's right on the ocean, and the staff is really nice, and they have a little sign with the names of the dogs that are staying there(!).

4. goodfella's pizza/sweet! cupcakes/marshmallow delight from publix/four rivers bbq
these four things are honestly all you ever need to know about if you're visiting orlando (aka chain restaurant capital of the world). goodfella's has the best italian & pizza i've ever had, sweet! has the best cupcakes i've ever had (owner is a 2x cupcake wars champ), and four rivers has the best BBQ i've ever had. DONE. i can probably make publix marshmallow delight myself, but it won't be as good.

5. palm trees
never got sick of 'em! :)

6. the winter park farmers market/downtown winter park
a little taste of class, and new england, in florida.

wave backwards to massachusetts: a moving mix

i start the 22-hour drive down to my new life in orlando tomorrow morning, so i decided to make a mix to start me out on my journey. and why the heck shouldn't i share it with y'all? random comments on select tracks below. enjoy!

listen: HERE

1. the maine - don't stop now

makes me giddy like a schoolgirl. that riiiiiiff.

2. cobra starship - you make me feel

3. ja rule- always on time

believe me, the pimp game is VERY religious.

4. morningwood - best of me

if music ACTUALLY played during my life, this would be perfect for a "screw you" romantic or job-quitting scene.

5. hallelujah the hills - wave backwards to massachusetts

had to include this because it's SO apropos.

6. metric - combat baby

7. black kids - look at me when i rock wichoo

fun lil' ditty about a girl who won't give it up before marriage. hilar!

8. alien ant farm - glow

that "smooth criminal" cover totally ruined this band's street cred, but my friend totally changed my mind about them when she sent me this song in high school.

9. nappy roots - roun' the globe

really, really makes me want to have a glass of purple juice for breakfast.

10. arkells - pullin' punches

11. panic at the disco - that green gentleman

a total 180 from their debut stuff, i don't even think you'd recognize these former pop-punkers aside from brandon urie's kinda distinctive voice.

12. phantom planet - dropped

sooooo catchy.

13. rooney - stay away

sooooo summer.

14. ben kweller - penny on the train track

15. cheap girls - ft. lauderdale

16. eve 6 - rescue

from one of my all-time favorite albums (shut up, i'm serious), this song also has some of the best and subtly dirty lyrics ever: "i professed my love in an animalistic manner, like an endless foreign flick....my subtitles were sick." yah, brah.

17. the ordinary boys - week in week out

18. dj khaled f/ drake, rick ross & lil' wayne - i'm on one

i found out the other day, thanks to some kind twitter friends, that "i'm on one" means "i'm high" or "i'm on drugs". WHITE GIRL PROBLEMS!

19. the parlor mob - can't keep no good boy down

20. lucky boys confusion - hey driver

on moving

i’m starting to get used to this.

as i prepare for my 4th move in 5 years, i’m becoming accustomed to the routine: crave a change, find a new place, sell my already inexpensive IKEA furniture for less than i paid for it, start all over, repeat. at 25, while many of my peers are planning weddings and settling down in the suburbs, i feel anything but settled. but for me, i wouldn’t have it any other way.

i saw a segment on the today show recently about two best friends who were separated when one moved to new york city in her 20s. still back in california and attempting to entice her to return after she was heartbroken by a boy, her friend sent her a postcard that read in part, “life is a romantic adventure”. to me, there are few phrases that ring truer. change is scary, yes, but also invigorating. it shakes you up, forces you to dig deep down to begin anew and learn new things about yourself. some might mistake the desire for change as stemming from unhappiness, but nothing could be further from the truth in my experience. i’ll always have an incredible fondness for boston and the time i’ve had here. the people I’ve met, the amazing culture and history, the fantastic restaurants and gorgeous summer days spent strolling through the city. yet, i know that the time has come for me to explore new streets, find new go-to sushi and pizza places, and quite simply, experience another way of life.

sure, I’m trading in crisp new england air for sometimes stifling humidity, a historic victorian home with tons of character for a sleek modern apartment, and vibrant fall foliage for insects of all shapes, sizes, and colors. but, in my estimation, i’m also getting palm trees instead of sneeze-inducing pines, sun-drenched winter days that might have otherwise been spent shoveling snow up north, and dinners al fresco in the middle of the winter. who’s to say what’s better, really? it’s just different. and until i experience that difference for myself, i’ll be left not knowing which I prefer. as far as I’m concerned, that freedom to explore is the best part of being in my 20s.

i’m all about putting down roots...somewhere, someday. but for now, i’m quite content being a tumbleweed.

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.