SNOWMYGOD, the recap.

Spoiler alert:  we did fine. 

Ricky and I both were at home on Friday, which was key because then we wouldn't need to fight our way onto the last train out of town.  I could also make a crock pot roast to feed us all week.  It was nice to see the snow lightly falling during the day.

After dinner, we did a pre-emptive shoveling, but it didn't matter because we were covered in snow so badly at the end of it.  We also tried to walk and see what the water looked like, but the conditions were so bad that we had to turn around five minutes in.  It was so windy and white out that we couldn't see, and feared walking into a plow.

The next morning, we woke up to the most snow we'd ever seen in Salem.  At least 2 feet, possibly more.  It was to the top of my boots, whatever that may be.  I tried to walk and see how it looked, but nothing was plowed so again I turned around.

Ricky and I made egg sandwiches, then spent an hour shoveling.  We'd end up doing another pass at it once the snow stopped, and then cleaning up our cars on Sunday.  My arms are still sore from shoveling.

We took a walk to see the snow once it stopped and the plows had been through.  It was crazy how desolate the city looked.  since there are so many historic buildings in Salem, it also made us feel like we went back in time with the barren streets and no cars.

At night, the city began to wake up again and we walked to Howling Wolf to meet up with friends and get tacos.  It was nice to see people again.

Sunday things were getting back to normal.  One crazy thing was that there is nowhere to put this snow.  Most of the sidewalks are still covered in snow, not because people didn't try... but because there is nowhere to put it.  It'll be warmer this week, so hopefully the accumulation will melt a bit.

Here are some of my photos from the storm.

Our street on Friday night.  Not a lot of snow at this point, but a lot of snow is falling.

Derby Street, Friday night, in the middle of the white out conditions.  You can't see the harbor straight ahead of us, but you can see two people who had a similar plan of taking a snow storm walk.

Yard, Saturday morning.  I had shoveled this last night, but it was all for naught.  This is at least 2 ft of snow.

Custom House, completely covered in snow.

Salem Commons, looking like it's 1900.

SNOWMYGOD

Ricky and I are at home this Friday due to the snow storm Nemo.  Ricky is off getting a bit of gas and a DVD player (priorities) and I have made a roast so we can eat for the rest of the weekend.  Lewis is beyond excited to have both of his parents at home all day.  We have salt and shovels at the ready.  The laundry is done. 

BRING IT, STORM.

I'm excited to use my new camera to take high-quality storm photos.  Probably won't do it until after the snow has fallen.

According to the news, the snow has already started and Al Roker is in town.  It looks quite light right now, which is good since Ricky is still out buying a DVD player to replace our broken one.  I'm looking forward to being snowed in and drinking wine and eating pot roast and brownies while we watch movies.  It seems very cozy.

Again.... BRING IT, STORM.

MFT Day 26: Mandee's

This post may be biased by the fact that I'm enjoying myself a little Friday night that will involve yoga pants, trashy TV, doing a mountain of laundry, and a calzone from Mandee's.

When I first moved to Salem, I needed to find my neighborhood pizza place.  I somehow stumbled upon Mandee's, possibly because they were only a couple of miles away, and also because you can order online.  Yes, you can order online.  It's insanely helpful for those times when you don't want to have to call.  They're also very quick with their delivery, which is nice.  I got a calzone, and in less than half an hour it was in my hands.  How's that?!

I've discussed convenience, but onto the food itself.  Mmmmmm  Their buffalo chicken is insanely tasty.  I also just had a calzone with a bunch of veggies in it, and that also was quite tasty.  Their salads are massive.  I've never had food there I didn't like.

When I go into the store itself, I'm always pleased at how nice and friendly the staff is.  I feel like I know them personally!  And they're always willing to appease our requests for insane amounts of blue cheese dressing, which is a win.

Salem residents, definitely check out Mandee's!  So worth it!

MFT Day 6: Bagel World

Sunday mornings consist of two things at our house:  Bagel World bagels and Meet The Press.  Meet The Press is always interesting -- especially with it being an election year -- but my favorite part of this is getting a Bagel World bagel.

When I first moved to Salem 4 1/2 years ago, my friend Patti (who was my roommate at that time) told me I needed to eat at two places:  Crosby's and Bagel World.  I slightly discounted her for the Crosby's recommendation, only because it's a super market, so I never actually went to Bagel World until I met Ricky.  This might be one of the many reasons why I love him.  Him introducing me to Bagel World was a key turning point.  I love Bagel World.  Every time we're gearing up for a roadtrip, we get Bagel World coffees and sandwiches.  When we're recovering from a late and buy Saturday night, Bagel World egg sandwiches and coffees are the elixir of life (case in point:  after Amanda's bachelorette party, we all dragged our tired selves to the Bagel World, and it made Sunday a lot more tolerable).

I asked Ricky what his favorite bagel was from Bagel World, but it was hard to decide on just one, because it's all based on mood and level of hungry.  Sweet:  chocolate chip.  Savory:  spinach with smoked salmon spread.  Sandwich:  Chicken salad with veggies and honey mustard.  Every Sunday, it's definitely a long debate as to how hungry we are and what side of Bagel World are we leaning towards.

I also appreciate Bagel World's prices, since we can get two coffees and two bagel sandwiches for well under $20.  (are you listening, Jaho?)  Today, Ricky got one large coffee, one small coffee, and two bagels with cream cheese for a little under $9.  At Jaho, you can buy a banana for $9.  And not even a whole banana.  (I'm only slightly kidding)

So in short, Bagel World?  You're a-okay in my book.

MFT Day 2: photos of baby bunnies doing cute things

I thing baby bunnies are adorable, because they are essentially animated pom poms that have wiggly noses.  I, however, never want to own a rabbit of my own, particularly after house-sitting for a neighbor who has two.  My reasons are:

1.  They are mean.
2.  The chew on everything.
3.  They shit everywhere.

So in the end, you wind up with a giant pom pom who shits everywhere and destroys your wiring and molding. 

This revelation, though, has not stopped my love of photos of baby rabbits who are doing cute things that litter the internet.  Seriously, google "baby bunny" and watch the cuteness the image results will garner.  If you're feeling sad or happy or whatever, you will immediately feel better or even more better than you were already feeling at the sight of a bunny clapping hands.  Or eating a carrot.  Or playing with a flower.  Or sleeping together.  Yep, pretty much one of the best things ever.

Wildlife city

I came home from work to find that the giant opossum that had previously been living in my neighbor's yard has moved to my yard.  It ran from by the front steps to where the trash is held (and the bistro... eek!) to now hiding in a bush.  I shined a flashlight around my backyard and saw it.  It is big.  Fortunately, it seems harmless and just trying to find food, and every opossum website I found said that it should be harmless and just want to leave us alone.  Meaning:  it's not going to be a larger scarier version of Rat Invasion 2009.

I was hoping it would look like Old Lady Opossum from Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas...

...but it instead looks like this:

Thankful

While taking the train into work this morning, I began to make a list in my head of things I am thankful for in 2011.  I think 2011 has been, at times, even more emotionally trying than 2010, so I feel perhaps even more thankful than usual for these things:

Ricky
Lewis PizzaCat
Alva (still healthy and happy as a clam!)
My health and the health of my family
My friends
Having a reasonably priced apartment
My love of knitting
My job
The YMCA
Shopping local and the growing popularity of that concept
Friends being in love (but that being said, I am thankful that I don't have to go to another wedding for 4 months!)
Freshly baked goods
Hot tea
Tasty wine
My apartment appearing more and more like an adult lives there and not a college grad with a non-matching set of furniture
Millie
Foliage
Long weekends to Vermont
Farmer's Markets
Salem Restaurant Week
Warm wool socks
Mashed potatoes
The Landry brothers
Netflix
Comfy shoes
Blogs that post pretty things (looking at you, Apartment therapy)
Pinterest
Not moving in 2011
TBTL

Gross!

Not this post, just the weather.  If it was about this post, it'd probably be called "slightly boring!"

It's really nasty outside.  And did I have a hat, umbrella, or wellies on?  Nope!  Because I'm a moron and it was sunny when I left for work this morning... because in my world, if it's sunny at 7am, it will still be sunny and pleasant at 6pm.  So I walked home tonight in the dark rain, and came home very wet and cold.  My walk isn't long, but when it's dark, cold, and dreary out... it gets a lot longer.

To warm up, I'm indulging in one of my favorite things in the whole world... baked sweet potatoes.  I love them so much.  It's baking right now, and I'm sitting here in comfy pants, dreaming of the toppings I may put on it.  Because that's how exciting life has become these days.

So I don't just eat a sweet potato, I'm also going to pan fry some brussel sprouts and put them with cranberries.  It'll be quite tasty.

While I'm honestly pumped for my dinner, this is a day my friend Bob didn't up and move to New Jersey, so I could beg him to make me tasty foods and ply me with fancy cocktails.  Sadly, I don't think something warm and tasty would travel well from that distance.

Halloween in Salem

The Halloween party I normally go to every October isn't happening this year, and for a moment it seemed as though Ricky and I wouldn't be dressing up this year. But then my friend Rachel, a fellow Salem resident, decided to throw a party. Costume ON!

I don't know what it is, though, but I've had some costume malaise this year. No costume idea felt right, or perhaps felt too daunting. I weighed a few ideas, but nothing stuck. I was feeling a Halloween grump. (take that, Christmas, you're not the only holiday with grumps)

On Monday, though, Ricky and I were going to Savers for his Halloween idea (a pirate... but a real pirate, like the ones that are in the ocean now) and they had flyers with Halloween ideas for people like me: people who have no ideas of their own, and also refuse to buy a pre-made costume. One of them was... the slightly overdone but also extremely idea of Holly Golightly.





Aaaaand we have a winner.


I realize that about a bajillion girls before me have dressed up as this iconic call girl, but I'm okay with it. It's easy to pull off (black dress! Big sunglasses! Tiara! Pearls! Cigs!) and easily recognizable. I'm hoping I still have my prom queen tiara, but it's a little doubtful. I don't think I'll get the dress or pearls quite right, but I think whatever I find will do. I also plan on going to Coffee Time before the party to get a couple of danishes and a small coffee to go to complete the look.

Photos will be posted after the party. If you'd like to go down memory lane to see past Halloween costumes, here's a search I did on my Halloween blog posts. I also noticed that I never blogged about last year's costume, so I may need to remedy that later in the week.

Garden 2011

Today I planted the garden! I must say, it was nice not having to drag all my stuff up to the third floor like I did at my old apartment. Still a container garden, because we have no land. For my birthday, Ricky got me the book The City Homesteader by Scott Meyer, to give me other ideas on what to garden and how to have a country lifestyle in a city. Definitely a good read, I recommend checking it out. Because of this book, I'm expanding into more veggies, such as three varieties of pepper, eggplant, and miniature cucumbers. All three I read were good for containers, so here's hoping.

I'm also excited about all the herbs I'm growing, because I love fresh herbs and it'll make all our meals this summer that much tastier. The list of herbs was inspired by Apartment Therapy's list of the Top 10 Herbs to grow. Normally I just do basil and rosemary, but I decided to try others to make for a more flavorful summer. Going to be great!

Above are my three pepper plants (along with the pot I've designated for all our smoker friends to put their cigarettes so they don't dirty the walkway) and below are my herbs (back to front basil x 3, dill, mint lavender, cilantro, thyme) and veggies (back to front miniature cucumber and Japanese eggplant). Not featured are my parsley and my rosemary plants.

I also have some flowers, beans, and radishes growing from seeds, so it's just dirt right now and not very exciting. The book says multiple times that radishes are very quick to produce, so I'm hoping to have a few batches of them.

I'll be posting pictures as they grow along with my bounty. Hope that they turn out nice, the squirrel next door doesn't eat everything, and that they all taste good. I also can't wait to sit out on my porch around my plants and enjoy it all summer long. Something I definitely missed when I lived in that studio, and one of my favorite parts of this new apartment.

New Gardens

The last few weeks have been very busy, with my busy season at work coming up, Lewis to tend to, and other things on my mind. I had my gum surgery and recovered from it so nicely that I am a teaching sample at Harvard Dental School! I joked with a few people that I hope I can use this to get an honorary degree and put it on my wall.

But this post isn't about teeth or kittens or being busy. It's about planning a new garden.

With the warm weather and all the snow melting, not to mention Crate and Barrel emailing me pretty things almost daily, my mind has been wandering to the Bistro and what plants I want to put there. The Bistro is our porch. A friend of Ricky's dubbed it The Bistro during a party, and it's stuck ever since. Right now it only has some patio furniture, empty pots, and the remnants of dead plants that have been covered with snow for about 4 months. It's time to pretty the space up!

MSL had an article about growing gardens in small spaces, which I learned a lot from. It's all about using what space you have, and knowing what plants to grow based on the limitations of space. Her pretty photos of porches with levels of potted plants also inspired me.

For sure, there will be basil and other herbs. Basil, rosemary, and dill are on my list. One thing I learned from the Salem Farmer's Market is that I never use all the herbs in their packaging. A few pieces of dill are nice, but a large clump of it doesn't work. And making pesto and basil-based desserts is always lovely in July.

For veggies, definitely a pepper plant or two. It was nice to add a fresh pepper to a stir fry dish. I'm also thinking of growing beans again. They're great raw, and with a nice piece of fish. Lettuce I'm on the fence on. I've had mixed results, though it's nice to make fresh salads. Martha Stewart wrote last month about miniature cucumbers, which I plan on trying. That and radishes.

I think in early April, before the craziness of work and the wedding season of 2011 starts I'll go to a garden store and get my supplies for this season. I got a pot from Crate and Barrel last week to repot my spider plant, and it definitely put me in the mood to get to gardening. (I'll post photos of my indoor plants soon... they look very pretty in my kitchen, especially with the nice lighting)

Thursday Eve Lunch

Mmmm... a ton of different flavors thrown onto a bagel...

Tomorrow I will be out of commission for eating a variety of things for a few weeks, because I am getting horrible, sad times gum surgery. I had the first round of it in December, but had to wait until now due to the limits of dental insurance. I decided that, on the eve of this surgery, I'd have one of my favorite things in the whole world before I'm unable to eat solid foods for a while. This would be the Everything Bagel.

My favorite Everything Bagel exists in two places in Salem. One is at Bagel World (this comes as no surprise). Recently, I think they've changed their recipe so the bagels are less salty. It's a nice touch.

The other is at Gulu Gulu. I have a feeling they don't make their own bagels, and I sadly don't know the origin of this bagel. But it is glorious. It has caraway seeds on it, and just the right amounts of garlic and onion.

Today's Everything Bagel comes from Espresso Royale Cafe, which is a great little coffee shop/cafe around the corner. What I like about this bagel is that it's a whole wheat everything bagel. I also get the impression they don't make their bagels themselves. I think, if I can remember correctly, they're made in Somerville.

So here I sit, enjoying my crusty, tasty, too-many-calories bagel, knowing that in 24 hours I'll be reduced to eating yogurt and pureed sweet potatoes.

Welcome...

...Lewis the kitten! Lewis PizzaCat!



Ricky and I have known for awhile that we wanted a kitten. Alva, while great, doesn't really like us to play with him and seems content if we pretty much leave him alone. We tried to play catch with him, but he completely ignored us and swam away from the ball. Sigh, fish. Sigh.

We we decided that once we moved in together and if the landlord allowed it, we'd get a kitten in the wintertime. The landlord said yes, and Valentine's Day weekend seemed the perfect fit. We'd both be home all weekend, and then I would be home with him for five days straight due to gum surgery and President's Day. It was a plan.

After doing some research, we realized that mom cats are usually popping out babies in the wintertime, mainly just in the spring. But we went to the first shelter on our list hoping that there would be one. Sadly, no kittens. Only a few ornery adult cats.

My friend Trish tipped me off that there was a shelter in Salem (it's a shelter system called PALS. They're really great, I'd recommend working with them) that had five brothers for sale. We went there next, and found Lewis. There were only three boys left from the litter. From what the caretakers told me, mom was found in Lynn pregnant and a guy took care of her and her litter until they were all old enough to be adopted. Mom was, at this time, ready to be done with her babies, and was getting a lot of interested bids as well.

We then brought Lewis home we decided to keep him in our bedroom, as it was small and made kitten-proof. He took well to it, and has been very playful. So far he's liking to play ball, necktie, and run around. At night, much to our joy and surprise, he cuddled in with us and slept most of the night without any problems (one wake up at 3:45am to clean himself a little bit, then back to bed).

So look forward to Lewis stories and pictures up here as well!

Quiet Saturday

Today's a quiet Saturday for me and Ricky. I'm doing a mountain of laundry and some research for something exciting coming our way (announcement coming soon!*) and Ricky's doing work. We're playing classical piano music, there are some candles lit. It's a very nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I was supposed to have the second half of my gum surgery on Thursday, but the doctor canceled last minute, so we find ourselves with a whole weekend wide open, without me being uncomfortable and on pain meds in bed. It was a very nice problem to have. We may scope out the museum down the street, or share a cheese plate at Gulu Gulu. Something low key.

Since I haven't blogged in about a week, I figure I'll also show you all what I've been up to since Thursday. I had been planning on being out of commission due to gum surgery for a few weeks, so I had stocked the house up with soft things to eat. When the doctor canceled Thursday afternoon, I found myself with a house filled with soft things with a short shelf life. Bananas and yogurt probably wouldn't keep for two weeks. Solution? Whip up a loaf of banana bread:

The bowl is from Erin for Christmas. I must say, it's pretty nice having pretty/nice bowls to mix in instead of the tupperware ones I've been sporting since graduating from college. I had a potato masher, but when I moved it went missing, so I've just been using a fork for light mashing these days. It did the trick.

The recipe calls for buttermilk, but since I didn't have any on hand, I used plain yogurt. It created a nice tang to the bread, and also a bit of denseness, but with that, it's extremely moist. It was very easy to whip up, and used up my slightly too ripe bananas.

I'm very happy with the results, and bread is far nicer to be eating to get nutrients that the protein shakes I should be drinking right now if I had had the surgery.



*I'm neither engaged nor pregnant. Less big news than that.

2010's best pics: #7

Let's keep plugging along, shall we? This one is a weird submission, but I swear it makes sense as to why it's in the list.

#7. The Commons. Salem, MA.
This is an odd submission, I'll admit to that. So this is the morning after a big wind storm in Salem this past spring and I was living in my old studio. Ricky spent the night, and we were up all night worried the house was going to blow over, because it was being shaken that much by very intense and scary winds. The next morning I walked to the train to go to work through the Commons, as I always did, and the roads were a mess. A funeral home up the street had a huge tree fall over, fortunately only on the drive and not on the fence or house itself. I remember feeling really relieved that my car or apartment didn't have any big damage, and that things didn't seem too bad the next morning.

I think what I really liked when taking this picture is not only the texture of the soft clouds in the background vs. the rough debris in the foreground, but also that the dark and shadowy debris may be in the front, but in the background shining through was the blue skies of a clearer day, and therefore something to look forward to.

Winter gear 2011

Last Monday was a snow day for Ricky, so we were able to trek all over Salem and enjoy the views. I absolutely love Salem in the winter, because I feel like I've been brought back to the 40's and 50's by the lack of cars and people, and all the beautiful brick buildings stand out against the white.

Ricky took a few pictures of me sporting my winter gear. Last winter I was getitng one last year out of an old coat and didn't really have snow boots. I was also in the process of knitting up substantial commuting accessories.

Side note, apparently side streets don't like being plowed in Salem. That's about as well plowed as it got. WTF!?

The coat is from J Crew, but I bought it off of ebay because I'm too poor to get a full priced J Crew coat. I must say, I've gotten more compliments for this coat than anything else I've worn, hands down. It fits like a dream, is super warm, and I love that it's green. Compliments my hair, too. My last J Crew coat lasted about 4 years, so I'm quite pleased with the quality of product.

Like every twentysomething in Boston, I got Hunter boots. I got mine in March because I was tired of walking to work with wet feet all spring. Pricey, but worth it. What's great about these boots is that with use and age, they "bloom" and I love the weathered look of them. I'm not quite at blooming stage yet, but hopefully by this time next year.

The mittens you'll remember from an earlier post. They're my wonderful Bird in Hand mittens. they're so warm because they're fair isle. A smart knitting choice, indeed.

The hat I made a few years ago during a blizzard, and the scarf I made during another blizzard while watching the entire box set of Freaks and Geeks. (side note, definitely need to do that again)

It was very warm, and I can see myself using the coat and wellies for a long time, especially since they're good for all seasons. I recently went to Vermont, and they came in handy there as well.

Finz during Restaurant Week

No no, I had a different kind of banana split...

Last Thursday night Ricky and I had date night at Finz before I headed out for my girl weekend trip. It's walking distance, and since it was Restaurant week, we knew we could get an amazing meal for less.

We were not disappointed. It was easily one of the best meals I've had in Salem.

It was surprisingly quiet for a Thursday night, especially since it was Veteran's Day that day, so we got seated almost immediately and by the window. During the day, it would have been a nice view of the harbor, but right now it was just darkness and some lights. The room looked quite pretty nonetheless.

Thanks to Restaurant Week, we got a three-course meal for $25 each. This is a deal for Finz, where entrees are averaging $20 a plate. We also each got drinks. Ricky got beer, and I had the ginger peach martini. The ginger warmed me upon this cold night, and the peach helped mellow out the flavors. If I go back, I'm next eying the cinna-rita or the autumn mule.

I got a salad that featured blue cheese, bacon, nuts, apples, and a pomegranate vinaigrette. It was very filling and the flavors were a unique twist on the typical "salad with nuts and fruit and a pungent cheese" fare. The bacon added a meatiness and weight to the salad without overpowering the flavors. Ricky got the lobster bisque, which had leeks in it. It had interesting flavors, and wasn't too fishy.

For entrees, I got salmon wrapped in bacon with a side of asparagus all over a cranberry walnut risotto. The Great Escape, THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE RISOTTO. Perfectly cooked, great flavors, and definitely complimented the fish. As far as wrapping some things in bacon... I'm not usually crazy about it. I hate soft, undercooked bacon, and I feel like this is what usually results. The top was well cooked and the smokiness of the meat complimented the salmon well, but the bottom and sides weren't as good, so I just picked around it. I could have eaten that risotto morning, noon, and night. It was that good.

Ricky got shortrib tacos with sweet potato strings and a slaw. I had a few bites of his meal, and it was quite flavorful. The meat had a lot of heat on it, but the creaminess of the slaw mellowed it out. And who doesn't love a sweet potato product?

For dessert, we each got their take on the banana split. I tend to shy away from banana splits because they usually involve pineapple, which I'm allergic to. This version, fortunately, did not involve it. Instead, it involved banana ice cream, candied walnuts, whipped cream, and fried cubes of cheesecake. Needless to say... it was a nice departure from the classic.

Finz is clearly not a "go every week" kind of restaurant, but I've found a new "go for special occasions" restuarant in Salem. The location is great, the convenience is equally key, and the menu is thoughtful and tasty. I strongly recommend it.

Halloween 2010!

I think we're just gonna to have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that, Ritchie.

Friends on Twitter or FB have already guessed, but this year Ricky and I were Ritchie and Margot Tenenbaum. Sadly, the Halloween party we always go to at Di and Danielle's house was canceled this year due to stomach bugs, but we did display our costumes all over Salem for two days. Ricky is currently rocking a shaggy, bearded look, and owns about 90% of the stuff that Ritchie wears, so it was an easy sell. I've always loved that movie and her look, plus... it's freezing cold in Salem at the end of October. Knowing I'd be walking around that area, I REFUSE to dress in something where I'll be freezing my ass off. I'm sorry, sexy nurses and storybook characters, but there's nothing "sexy" about hypothermia.

Ricky's character was quite easy to create. He owned a pair of khakis and the scarf. We then took a trip to Savers and got a khaki blazer and a polo shirt, and then a trip to the sports store to get sweat bands. I also let him borrow my Marty McFly aviators. He got dressed five minutes before we headed out to our Halloween parties, and plans on wearing most of the pieces again in his real life. Life is good for Ricky.

For me, it took some more planning and purchasing. I already own loafers. I found a striped polo dress on ebay for quite cheap. I then got a blonde wig, some barrettes, and a black eyeliner pencil. I also bought several packs of fake cigarettes for me to secretly smoke all night long.

I got (or tried to get) crafty for two parts of it. First, was Margot's wooden finger. I had some scrap brown yarn and whipped up a fake finger for myself. It took 20 minutes and was super easy. It got pretty warped and a little stretched as the weekend progressed, but whatever. It did the job.

Me as Margot, coatless. Note the wooden finger and secret cigarette, though.

Second, was Margot's fur coat. This one was an epic epic FAIL. I got cheap faux fur and a pattern for a coat. I spent a day cutting the fabric and ran into the first issue: it shed like a mother fucker. Such a mess and pain. The second issue happened on Friday night (the night before our first Halloween party) when my sewing machine started having issues. The bobbin wasn't getting the right gauge and was making bad noises. I had a bit of a meltdown at this, because I was a little stressed and overtired. Ricky came home to me quite sad and told me that it wouldn't be awful if I didn't have a fur coat. I agreed (sadly).

Me and Ricky, now featuring a fur coat. I liked not having to smile in photos all weekend.

Saturday night at the first party, though, was a fur coat miracle. Our friend Amy has a fur coat from her grandmother and let me borrow it for the weekend. COAT WIN. And this was quite good, since this weekend was miserably miserably cold. I was very happy to have a mitten on one finger and a fur coat to keep me warm.

Tenenbaums on the street.

I like how this costume turned out. We were both quite comfortable, and a few people yelled "Baumer" out to us, so I consider that a success. We did see two other Ritchies, and I hear that Nicole Richie was also Margot, but that's okay with me. Ricky and I have already discussing options for Halloween 2011, because we are crazy.

Mittens Mittens Mittens

So I'm blogging on a sick day. Long story short: went to a housewarming yesterday, I think some food didn't sit well, was up last night from 2am on unable to sleep and there was no way I could work on an hour of sleep and the spins. So I am checking emails from home, drinking coffee, and trying to have a low key day.

I figured it would be a good time to show off my latest FO that I am super proud of:


The bird in hand mittens! I started these bad boys in February, but other knitting projects and not wanting to sew in loose ends delayed finishing it. The pattern also calls for embroidering wings, feet, eyes, and a beak for each bird on the thumb (get it? bird in hand?) so that also delayed me finishing them. It was rough getting into such a small space, but the results are quite cute (see below). Fortunately, the cold of October in Salem almost forced me to finish these mittens, so my hands would be protected when walking to and from the train. I really love the colorwork on them, and how the gray pops.

They're also super warm. Probably because it's essentially lined with another yarn. I chose Rowan Felted Tweed, which is great. The flicks of color make it. A bit pricey, but so worth it when you see the results.


When I bought the yarn for this, the person who was working advised me to buy two skeins of each color for the mittens, but that is waaay too much for Rowan Felted Tweed. I used maybe half of each. This just means I'll have to make another pair of mittens in Rowan. :)

I strongly recommend using the pattern, as it's adorable, as well as using Rowan for a project. You get great results.

Escape the Great Escape

If Steve McQueen were still alive, he'd also try to escape this restaurant.

It's been busy weeks for both me and Ricky at work, and I am leaving in a few hours for my trip to Rhinebeck. So Ricky, being the dear that he is, said we should go out to dinner last night before I run the million errands I needed to to get ready for this trip. We decided we'd be brave and check out The Great Escape in Salem, the new Italian restaurant that's built in the old Salem jail.

Much like the Boston's Liberty Hotel, Salem has turned their old jail into luxury condos and a bar/restaurant that still has a lot of the old architecture and feel of the old building. I've seen pictures of the Liberty Hotel, and had heard stories from friends of the opulence there, so initially, I thought that it would be similar in Salem. However, thanks to some friends in the know, I had also heard that the team running the show also owns a low end Italian restaurant on Rt. 1... so then I began to get concerned.

Let's just get this over with: The Great Escape is NOT The Liberty Hotel. At all.

One of the biggest problems The Great Escape suffers from, in my opinion, is identity crisis. When the "coming soon" flyers were up, as you can see below, it advertised casual American cuisine. Somehow, this turned into "high end Italian". And while this is what they're trying to accomplish with the menu, the restaurant itself doesn't seem to match that with looks. Much of the original iron for jail cells is still there, and between the walls are large pictures of old jail items, and comically cheesy and bad posters with sayings like "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime". I feel like the designers couldn't commit to a look, so instead of making a decision, they just did a little of both.

On TGE's Facebook page (it doesn't seem to have a website yet) a photographer posted photos of the jail how it looked before the renovations. These images are quite textured, graphic, and haunting. If they had just blown up these images and used that as decor, it would be far better than the aforementioned posters. Or even (as there's also a poster of the movie it borrows its title from) old movie posters of movies that take place in jail. I thought of easily 4-5 movies, and even that would go better with the food. Or if you do want a bit of cheesy fun with the idea of jail, don't have high end Italian food.

The menu also has a failure to commit. While very limited (other than 2-3 salad options, there were scarce options for vegetarians or those looking for lighter fare) it seems that they named maybe a third of the items after jail-ish things. I say jail-ish, because while there were menu items like "Al Capone" and "Alcatraz" there were also some called "Al Pacino" and "Jack Bauer". Not only was it disconcerting having only a few menu items with this theme, the idea of high end Italian food just doesn't go with that camp. If you're going to have fun names for your dishes, have them all have fun names. It's just weird.

Service was mediocre at best, but seeing as they just opened less than a month ago, I'll let that pass. The waiter was nice enough, though he did forget our bread (which were small rolls and left us unimpressed). Once he realized we were none too pleased with that, I think he began to hover a bit too much to try and save the meal.

And onto the meal... Ricky got a chicken dish with prosciutto and cheese with roasted potatoes, and I made the mistake of getting the scallops cooked in dijon over risotto. Ricky's meal was fine. It was tasty enough, filling, but nothing special. We both agreed that it was not well made enough to be in a "high end Italian restaurant" and severely overpriced at $18. Then again, the whole menu appears to be overpriced by the quality of the food.

And now my mistake order. I say mistake because this was, unequivocally, the worst meal I've ever had out in a restaurant. And, from the looks of Yelp, I am not alone. The description sounded intriguing: risotto, spinach, cheese, and scallops seared in a dijon sauce. What I got was a white mess that had the same consistency of hot breakfast cereal. The risotto was undercooked, and spinach underwhelming, and the scallops were just off. What was worse, the dijon mustard sauce overtook EVERYTHING. And when I say sauce, I'm being nice. It was more like Grey Poupon smeared over everything. The dairy flavors with Grey Poupon was just bad. I couldn't finish my meal. Ricky offered to switch meals with me, and agreed that it was a bad dish. It did not sit well in our stomachs the rest of the night.

We opted not to get coffee or desserts, but instead to just get out of there as soon as possible. I was sad that such a cool venue is being wasted with TGE. I also think it needs to seriously reconsider its menu and decor if it wants to survive in a town with such far superior dining options. First, make a decision with the decor and menu naming. Second, expand for patrons who don't eat meat or instead want a sandwich. (What? No jailbait burger or Capone chicken parm? Come on!) Third, fire the chef and make your food better. We both agreed that unless any of these things happened, it seemed highly unlikely we'd be returning.