Emma’s Fantabulous Blog

Spring is quickly approaching, and I finally got around to ordering seeds for my garden this year. I’ve decided to go through Johnny’S Selected Seeds, which is a local employee owned company that has pretty reasonable prices. In addition, I used their seeds last year & stuff turned out pretty well, so why not be a repeat customer?

This year I’m going with Red Grape Tomatoes, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas, Zucchini, Collard Greens and Scallions, along with some various herbs, and maybe I’ll pick up some Pepper or Broccoli plants later in the summer. The tomatoes should be interesting, as I’ve never grown those from seed before. Last year I just gaffed some plants from my mom, so hopefully I can figure it out on my own. Also, I’ve never tried scallions before, but how hard can they be?

Now all I need to do it get my gardening staff (aka Devon) started on building the 2nd raised bed so I can increase our harvest by double this year!

Devon turned 30 yesterday! A big milestone, I think, but I think that he’s still struggling to come to terms with this traumatic event. Plans for a huge blowout in Las Vegas fell through, so for the time being we’re just having a small dinner with some friends and family at a new hot spot: Post 390 in Boston’s Back Bay.

In addition to my brother working in its kitchen, Post 390 serves delicious food in a laid back, but still hip setting. The space is decorated with lots of brick, wood and leather and there are multiple fireplaces, which I especially enjoy because I’m always freezing. Both times I ate here, I was extremely pleased. Their cuisine is totally accessible for even the pickiest eaters, focusing on American classics with an upscale twist. Everything that I’ve had so far has been super tasty. Their Crab & Spinach dip was especially finger licking good, although I never want to see the nutrition info that dish. But a girl has gotta spoil herself sometimes. Along a similar vein, their freshly made pies are insane. Now, I make a damn fine pie crust, but I dare say that their pastry chef’s recipe may trump mine…. (as much as I hate to admit it!)

If you’re ever in the area, give Post 390 a try. They’re located at 406 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116.

Howdy gang! ….Although it’s been 2 months(!!!) since my last confession, er, blog post, so who knows who is still checking this regularly? Soo, what’s been a’happenin’?

The holidays were a blur, but full of goodness. Family & friends, awesome presents relating to surfing and modern Italian design home decor, crackling fires in the fireplace, a Christmas lizard of doom and other things like that.

I’ve been hitting up a bunch of local rock/punk shows at the Middle East, which has probably been my fav music venue since I was a wee teen. The most recent show I took in was a Punk vs. Metal night, with all sorts of fantastic bands, including the August Spies, who used to play most of the punk shows that I saw in high school. It’s always nice to learn that some Boston punk bands from the ’90s are still around. Ahhh, I’m old.

But yeah. I gotta get better with this whole keeping up with my blog thing. What with discovering microblogging via Facebook and Twitter, it’s harder to make myself sit down for 30-60 minutes and write a real blog post. But I’m gonna give it a shot again.

So last night I was out drinking at a bar….. Ok, I know some of you think  that you know where this is going…. “Just another one of Emma’s stories which would make her parents proud.” Hear me out. In actuality, I was just out having a post-dinner cocktail with a dear friend, at Eastern Standard (a snazzy &  hip eatery/lounge in Boston’s Kenmore Square, which prides itself on authentic cocktails from the pre-prohibition era.). So we walk in & I snag us a couple of stools at see through glass bar by the door. At that point I notice a strikingly dark, tall and handsome gent standing by the waitress stand & say to myself “Wow, he’s really good looking!”.

Let me stop here and say that I am married to the most amazing man in the world who makes me incredibly happy. Devon is the love of my life. That said, I believe that there’s nothing wrong with admiring some eye candy once in a while.

Back to the “lounge”. So, tall, dark and handsome turns around and notices me, and I give him a big cheezy smile, because I’m a mega dork. He smiles back and at that point I realize that he looks very familiar….. I try to place him… Tall, kinda wild brown hair, big wrist cuff, tight & low slung hipster jeans, in a really cool eatery….. And all of a sudden my mind puts 2 +2 together………

Ok, this picture isn’t the best ever….. But!!!!   It’s fricking Sam Talbot from Top Chef’s Season 2!!!!! During his season of the show, he came in 3rd place (but in my opinion was the most talented out of the entire group). Ok, so most people probably have no idea who he is, but I think I’m a pretty big foodie, in addition to being a majah Top Chef junkie. Season 2 was probably the most enjoyable for me. I never really had the hot’s for Sam during the show, although they always made a big deal about him being “the hot contestant”, but man, I can totally see why now that I saw him in person. He’s no my husband, but he’s almost somewhat close.

Anyways. We totally shared a moment, and then I totally had drinks with him (from the other side of the bar). And after he left, our waitress and I recounted how we closely we had come to destabilizing into puddles of ooze.

God, I love this town.

It’s November. Jesus. I’ve once again fallen dreadfully behind on updating. The past month has been really nice. Falling back in touch with old friends, some of whom I thought had been lost forever. Exploring new places and activities. Hanging out at the airport at night with A, which is eerily quiet, and surprisingly relaxing when I don’t actually have any travel plans. Doing Cambridge pub crawls with two friends where we got collectively propositioned which was unreal and kinda creepy. Checking out a townie bar in Littleton with my girl, Katie, that has awesome karaoke nights, and you’re not sure if the end of the night will wind up with your corpses being dragged out into the woods. I discovered that the commuter rail is actually a thing of beauty, and makes me rely less on my car to get into the city, and I love that. Sometimes I love driving, but it just seems horribly wrong to do it in Boston. I like being a subway rat, and the commuter rail will allow me to get back to that. It’s good. I love getting out of the house and being social, and doing random things. This past month has been really great for it, and I look forward to doing it more.

So, in September, my mom took my aunt and I on a exciting “Girl’s Gone Wild” weekend in Las Vegas.  We packed a whole hell of alot into 2 and a half days, and I wanted to share what I thought was dank.

Our Hotel: Planet Hollywood. Dank, but crowded.

It was in the middle of the strip. Great if you’re into hoards of annoying/drunk uber-tourists, but not so awesome if you’re into a little more of a chill scene. We had a nice room on a high floor with a great view of the strip and a super gigantic bathroom, which was great since we had 3 ladies getting ready at the same time. The room’s decor was nice & modern with some vintage movie props. There is a gigantic mall built around the hotel which had some super amazing shopping and there were about 20 dining options to choose from. I think that if we had been bigger into the club scene & staying up late thing, we would have enjoyed it more, but in all honesty, I never got used to the swarms of people.

Activity: Stripper 101. Dank pole skills.

Every wondered how the girls on “Rock of Love” work the pole as well as they do? Take this class and have new appreciation for their skills. Learn the how-to’s of giving a sexy lapdance. Then learn the basics of working the pole. A week and a half later and I still have the bruises on my legs to prove how much of an earnest learner I was. Add in a free photo of you working the pole, and an alcoholic drink to get your inhibitions lowered…. How can you afford to NOT take this class? Although, It was awesome to have some bonding time with my mom and aunt, I would probably recommend others to not do  the same as I did. It’s kinda awkward to be straddling a chair while learning how to “get paid” next to your blood relatives.

Show: The Thunder From Down Under. Dinki-di Dank!

Hot guys with buff bods and Australian accents, who do choreographed dance routines with fireman themes? Please, and thank you! Maybe not the most polished dancing from males on the strip, but it was obviously clear from their moves that most of the guys were into chicks. Also, 3 jello shots for $5 was a saweet drink special. I enjoyed watching the show. I was really glad that I wasn’t at the table that one dancer climbed and then poured a drink all over himself (ala Flashdance), but it was totally awesome/hilarious to watch.  Also, it was totally worth the $20 to get my picture taken on a couch with 6 of the dancers. (who were all very friendly and chatty & totally dug my hair, bracelet and shoes…….. wait a sec… I may have to rethink my previous stance on how straight the majority of them were….) All in all, though, I totally dug the show, and would probably go again if I got the chance.

Show: Jubilee! 9 out of 10 show choir members would vote it Dank.

Picture this. Naked high school show choir on crack. That’s Jubilee!  Amazing outfits with tons of feathers and sequins. Gigantic 2 story props with smoke and fire, and they move! And nudity! What’s not to love (if you’re an ex-show choir member)? Book the show in advance to make sure that you get seats close to the stage, like we did, and you’ll be so close that you can read the names of the dancers off the bottoms of their shoes. Shout out to Colette! Nice moves

Restaurant: Koi - Dank Japanese food

Beautiful venue, beautifully presented food. The vibe was very hip and modern. I ordered the Seaweed Medley, which was amazing. I’m a big fan of seaweed salads, and this one went above and beyond. They usually contain one type of seaweed, and this one had 3 or 4, most of which I’d never tried. It was delicious, perfectly seasoned, and was artistically presented. I also had the yellow tail and scallion roll, which was also delicious and the fish tasted very fresh. I’m a huge fan of sushi, and this place did not disappoint.

Restaurant: MIX at Mandalay Bay - Dank food and view

This restaurant is located on top of THEhotel and has one of best views in the city, IMO. The food is pricey, but super fancy and well-thought-out.  I ordered a veggie terrine, which name alone, doesn’t really sound great, but in actuality was totally fan-f*cking-tastic! The crab salad was also delish. For dessert we split the MIX candy bar. OMG. It’s the candy bar of your wild-ist dreams.

In general, we had an amazing trip! Girl’s gone wild, whoo-hoo!

Holy crap, it’s October already. The air is crisp, the leaves are changing color and grocery stores are selling pumpkins already. And here I am, still hopeful that I’ll get 1 harvest-able zuchinni from my garden before frost sets in. I think I’m boned.

September was totally insane, but probably obvious, since I barely posted last month. I visited Puerto Rico, Las Vegas and NYC, while also taking care of Mistress of Honor duties in my best friend’s wedding. Not to mention having house guests and doing somewhat less glamorous activities. I think I’ll be writting up and posting some reviews of places I went/saw/conquered, because I’ve been having a really great time trying some new things. So keep your eyes peeled for that.

Also, now that the surf shops are all closing up and I wont be able to rent gear, I need to find some sort of physical activity that I enjoy, won’t easily bore me and that I can do during the dead of winter. Any suggestions?

D & I went to Puerto Rico for our 4th anniversary & had a really relaxing & fantastic time.

We layed on the beach a TON. We also checked out El Murro in old San Juan, hiked through El Yunque to swim in La Mina waterfall, and I took a surf lesson in water warm enough so I didn’t have to wear a full wetsuit.

Click on the pic to check out the entire photo gallery.

4 years ago I was having my hair done and putting on my wedding dress.

Right now, I’m sitting in the office of OUR HOME, next to my man. Drinking a warm cup of espresso.  Devon is working, unfortunately, but I think his day started out on the right foot, with me bringing him breakfast in bed…… It is our anniversary after all. The traditional 4th anniversary gift is fruit and flowers, so it works out well that his breakfast tray had a flower from our yard and cut up fruit.

The 4th anniversary is supposedly supposed to celebrate ideas and symbols, and the flowers symbolize the blossoming partnership of a couple. I’ve noticed that a lot recently. Our relationship growing and evolving into something slightly different. Not bad by any means, just something different. And the more care, love and attention you put into it, the more beautiful it grows. Maybe less flashy, but more true. I’m still ever so in love, and learning more about Devon every day. What makes him tick, and what makes him happy. How to read his face and body language.   And he has learned that sometimes all I need is chocolate and an hour of watching “Oprah”.

I love you, Devon. I promise to be the best gardener possible.

Here she is pretending like she’s about to eat my leg. Hilarious, no?