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!