Poohead comes to visit

So, my brother Daniel came to visit a couple weeks ago (or as I prefer to call him, Poohead). It was a fun-filled weekend of tourist-ing, eating, and playing board games! We took him to the Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord. This is 5 out of the 16 miles that the American militiamen chased the redcoats back to the Boston Harbor on April 19th, 1775. It was pretty cool to see where the first fighting of the American Revolution took place!

The next day, we went to tour Cambridge..which is the home of many, many universities, including MIT. We tried to do this the day before, only to find parking was not free on Saturdays =(

Daniel and JJ mapping how to get to Harvard Square from the only parking spot we could find...which was like a mile away!

Poohead and I rubbing John Harvard's shoes for good luck in the "Hahvahd Yahd"

More of Harvard

Um...what? These Harvard kids. They're crazy!

After we were done walking around Harvard, we took a walk (a very long walk) to the MIT campus. It was a little more laid-back than the Harvard campus....

The Great Dome of MIT, overlooking the Charles River

Admiring the Charles River from the front of MIT

So that's it! We all feel smarter after after our little stroll on two of the most famous college campuses in the US.

Freeeeeeeddoooooooommmmmm!

I just realized I never posted our pics from the Freedom Trail...which we walked way back in August. Ooops =(

Anyway, we decided to take the commuter rail into Boston rather than drive, because parking is apparently terrible and really expensive in Beantown. The train ride was pretty fun! Seeing as how we only have one car right now, when I get a job I will almost certainly be taking the train into work.

JJ is happy he's not driving!

Once we got to Beantown, we decided we'd do an ultra-touristy thing (of course!) The Freedom Trail. We only walked the south part, figuring that the slightly more awe-inspiring Bunker Hill Monument and U.S.S. Constitution in the north part would be something visitors might want to do with us.

Me posing with the sign on the Boston Common. Boston Common is America's oldest public park, and it was host to a camp of redcoats during the British occupation of Boston in 1775.

The Granary Burial Ground. I felt sorta weird taking pics of the graves,  so I just got a pic of this sign.  The people buried here include Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. The biggest memorial was actually for Benjamin Franklin's parents!

So I didn't get any really cool pics of the Old South Meeting House because they charged 5 bucks to get in, and we figured we'd probably be doing it again when our moms come to visit.  Among other things, this was where the march to Boston Harbor for the Boston Tea Party originated.

So awesome...the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read! At the Old State House

We went to watch street performers outside Faneuil Hall (where the Stamp Act was protested) , and then thought we'd catch a bite to eat in Quincy Market, just behind it. However, we quickly discovered that Quincy Market (one of the oldest trading posts and centers of commerce in America) was a gigantic tourist trap, and we both got really claustrophobic in there. So we left...as quickly as possible.

....And walked over to the North End of Boston, which (as far as I could  tell) consists entirely of delicious Italian restaurants. One after the other.....we walked to Pizzeria Regina and I ate THE BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER HAD. Drooling a little right now just thinking about it....

I snapped this pic of the Boston skyline on our short walk back to North Station.

Wedding Pics! WHOOO!

So we finally got our wedding pics! Here are the linkies for them:

Pastor Bill is awesome!

Emma doggy doesn't know what to think about all the rehearsing
more from the Rehearsal Dinner

Playing on a playground

The front desk of the Wigwam
More from the Day After Wedding

"Just Married"
More Wedding Pics

Of course all these pictures are from the awesome Mrs. Rachel Perrella of Bright Fizz Photography. Definitely worth the wait! 

KITTEH!

So, JJ and I have been looking around for a ragdoll kitty for a few weeks. This has been problematic because:

1) They are very expensive in Massachusetts. Why?
2) It's hard to find an available litter.
3) Most of the cat breeders we came across we batshit crazy. Um, your cats are called "cats" not "lords and ladies" or "dukes and dutchesses." And no, I will not sign a contract saying you can come visit the kitten I bought from you at any point in their life within 24 hours notice. That's just creepy, no.

Well, yesterday morning I got an email back from one of the breeders who actually seemed NORMAL. She had kittens on special because they were the last of their litter, two males and a female. And she was uh...only two hours away.

So what did we do? We jumped in the car and drove to Connecticut to get the damn kitty! And he was worth it. How did we pick which one? Well, I knew I wanted one of the males. So we both held one, and then we switched, and then we put them on the floor. The one we didn't pick ran away. The one we wanted did figure eights around our feet. So, that was him then!

We were thinking the 2 hour ride home was going to be terrible with a meowing kitty. But now, he just curled up in his cat carrier and went right to sleep. Awwww.

Now for the oogles:

At the breeder's

Getting him home...he went for the first enclosed space he could find, the entertainment center.

Getting pets from JJ, he seemed to calm down.

This cat loves JJ...and that zebra snuggie. Never met a cat who didn't, actually.

Getting the people germs off of him.

Haha, doing what they do best! =P

We haven't picked a name yet. We both seem to like "Moose" the best, because when male ragdolls become adults they average between 15-20 pounds. However, we have also discussed "Optimus Prime" (O.P.): Lord Samson Wiggletummy, Esquire; and Oliver Paddington. I dunno. What do you think?

For now, he is just "kitty." He slept with us last night. Oh how we love him, oh how we do.

Unpacking Progress!

So, in between unpacking, I have become addicted to HBO's Game of Thrones. I managed to watch the entire first season in three days before I went on to the books. I mean, I seriously needed a break from The Count of Monte Cristo which is...interesting....but dry. I know not everyone out there is a big fan of the fantasy genre, and I'm probably late on the bandwagon for those that are, but I highly suggest reading/watching this series for those of you feeling adventurous. Go on!

Ironically, I feel like I'm actually in the books because of the Stark House's motto, "Winter is coming." Yes, I feel it looming closer everyday. I've started wearing my fuzzy boots around the house because my feet get cold easily. And it's not even October yet. ::heavy sigh::

Anyway, we finally unpacked the kitchen! It is now officially the only room in the house that is livable. See:

My favorite cupboard....look at how bright!

But of course, we still have this to look forward to. Anxiously awaiting our couch...

We also bit the bullet and bought our horribly expensive but-oh-so-comfy sectional and chair from Crate and Barrel that we've been drooling over for weeks. It should be here, in, oh, 2 months. NBD. I'll just sit on the ground or in a folding chair until then...

Pictures! Finally!

Well, I finally found the camera-connecty-thingy! So this post is dedicated to showing off our brand-spanking new AWESOME apartment. Please excuse the various items strewn about...

The view into our living room from the front door. As you can see there, we slept on the floor Thursday night rather than buy an air mattress. Because we're badasses, that's why.

Yes, sirs and ladies, we are now the proud owners of a coat closet! Which is, for now, the "extra stuff we probably won't use for a while" and the vacuum closet. And of course, our cherished luggage/

The view into our kitchen from the front door! It's wonderful to be able to open the dishwasher and the fridge at the same time! 

The view from the kitchen from the living room. And of course, all our groceries, which I still have not decided where to put.

The guest bathroom. Nothing fancy (except that baggy of miniature toiletries from the hotel).

One linen closet....

Two linen closets!

Another view of the master bedroom (excuse all our clothes...at this point we didn't have any furniture.

More of the master bedroom.

Our closet and doorway.

Master bathroom...luckily that giant window doesn't look into anyone else's apartment.

No, but it does look into another creepy old building. Maybe we'll just keep the window shut?

The study/guest bedroom

More of the guest bedroom

And this is not a very good pic of our view. Just beyond that roundabout is part of the Merrimack River. To the right, there is a giant, beautiful old church.

And that's all for now, folks! Luckily we now have interwebs. I mean, only after a day full of haggling with Comcast to get the internet package we actually paid for, that is.