Restful Weekend

Well, to be honest, the weekend wasn't too restful because I had to turn in edits for my book on Sunday (the request came in on Friday, eek!), so much of the weekend was spent reading, but there was some time for fun!

Friday night, Eric and I went out to Ristorante Maria di Napoli, a small Italian restaurant in Newton that smelled like my grandma's apartment. It had a cozy interior and was run by an older Italian couple who were amazingly sweet people. I had pasta and Eric had eggplant parmigiana and for dessert, we split spumoni and a cannoli. The food was so traditional that it really felt and tasted like my grandma had cooked it all. Talk about perfect comfort food! It was also a great way to celebrate the official end of my exams--that afternoon, I had my oral, which is the culmination of the comprehensive exams you take before writing a dissertation. I sat in a little room with my two advisors, who asked challenging questions about my previous exams and my dissertation ideas. Then I stepped out of the room while they deliberated whether to pass me, which, thankfully, they did! I can honestly say that I haven't been nervous like that in a long time--I was so lightheaded I almost couldn't answer their first question--but hearing the exams were over and I could move onto the next stage of the degree was really exciting!

Saturday morning, I woke up early to do some edits and go to yoga with a neighbor. After a quick lunch at UFood (where they had egg nog frozen yogurt--yum!), Eric and I went to see the new film Tangled with our friend and her five year old daughter. The movie was great, but the best part was watching the little girl standing up and just staring at the screen, completely enthralled by what was happening. The light in her eyes and her rapt attention just made the film-viewing experience really special for us. Not to mention her sitting on her mom's lap was really cute!

We all went out for hot chocolate afterward, and when we came home, we felt like we'd just had a really great Saturday filled with friends of all ages and smiles!

Little Miss Communication

Well, it has been way too long since our last blog! We promise to provide updates on our 22 hour, one passport trip to Montreal and a Thanksgiving where both our families joined up, but for now, we wanted to tell you about our latest adventure: going to see The Ego and the Oracle.

Our friends Priscilla and James offered us their ticket to this iPod shuffle meets psychic reading event because they'd already gone and wanted to spread the glee. We had no idea what we were in for! In line with our Driving to anyplace in Boston is horrible but the anyplace itself is great motto, the 20 minute drive took an hour, we couldn't find parking, and we barely made the start of the show, which was in the back of a cozy pub.

Here's the premise: everyone turns in a card with a question and a fake name (mine was Brand New Bride). Then the band comes out and a Wheel of Fortune (the oracle) and a guy who moderates. He pulls questions out, the person who asked the question comes up, spins the wheel, and then the oracle reveals a song, which the band plays, and then the moderator interprets how the song answers the question.

So, they called up Brand New Bride (aka, me) and my question was: "I'm newly married. Will my husband I be happy." Then I spun the oracle and the song that came up was...Miss Communication! Ha ha ha! The song was about all the miscommunications in relationships. Super perfect! Eric got called up as well (and was given the name BNG--Brand New Groom). Oh, and did I mention the band was good? Because they were awesome--their songs were clever and fun and catchy.

Afterwards, we went to a little crepes place and I got a lemon and sugar crepe and Eric got one with Belgian chocolate. It felt thoroughly magical to get to have crepes at 9pm on a school night in an area of Boston we rarely explore. A truly perfect evening. Thanks Priscilla and James!