Flashback

We never posted about our quickie trip to NYC in February.

Our long-weekend excursion offered the opportunity to re-connect with beloved friends Darin and Nanna from Copenhagen (and meet their baby, Sebastian!). We enjoyed brunch, walks in Central Park, and met their hosts and good friends who welcomed us into their lovely home on the Upper West Side.



Mike and I also took the opportunity to see a couple parts of the city that we'd missed over previous visits: the MoMA (amazing!), Ground Zero (mixed emotions for that one), and we really dug into the area around Union Square.

March has brought less travel outside of Boston (with the exception of maple sugaring!) and busier work weeks which have generously extended themselves into the weekends.

That said, we have enjoyed Boston's Restaurant Week and have taken advantage of the gourmet prix fixe menus littering the city's finest establishments. We've played the role of gastronomic tourist right here in our own city! Both Harvest and Rialto were delicious experiences last week. (Last month we also treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at the chic Craigie on Main - formerly Craigie Street Bistro - it was definitely memorable.) We hope Chicago has Restaurant Week...!

I'm singing in BLO's Rusalka right now and Mike is prepping for a busy first two weeks in April which will include visits to Virginia and Tennessee. Oh yeah - we'll swing through California later in the month, too.

Wouldn't want to stay still for too long...

March = Maples and Mud

I recently read that March means mud and the beginning of sugaring season: when maple sap starts to flow freely. With that description, a big stack of pancakes can't be far behind...

Catching sap from maple trees

Today was a gorgeous early spring day in the low 50s so we hit the road with friends Liz and Tom and drove out to Western Massachusetts on Hwy 2 (a particularly beautiful drive in the fall!) to Shelburne.

We landed at Davenport Maple Farm around 11am and, as we'd anticipated, saw groups of hungry patrons standing in the sun waiting for their names to be called for breakfast. So, we put our names in at the family-owned and community-run restaurant and then headed around to the sugar shack where maple sap was busy boiling away. We learned a bit about the process and perused some of the junk - errr, kitsch for sale.

Before long our name was called and inside we went for Finnish pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and good old plain pancakes with delicious Grade A maple syrup! Yum.

Pancaked, syruped and happy.

Our day trip was super touristy and yet very New England - something that we've wanted to do since moving to Cambridge. Now we can check it off the list! Since we won't be running the Boston Marathon in April, I think the next task is to attend a RedSox game...

It's melting!

Fingers are crossed that this past Monday's snowfall was the last of the season. With temperatures expected in the 60s tomorrow... how can Mother Nature possibly be so cruel as to smack us with more snow at this point? It's MARCH, for crying out loud!

The best part is that the snow pack is melting. Wider walking paths on the sidewalks, less build up of brown/black snow...

Just like the Wicked Witch... it's melting!

In the mornings there are a few brave birdies singing in the trees, and this today I didn't even wear a hat to work! Take that Winter! Spring is just around the corner. (It HAS to be!)

There's even evidence of spring in our home: a small vase of daffodils is sitting on our kitchen table -- sweetly brought over this afternoon by a girlfriend who dropped by for a cup of tea and some yarn-fun.