Sweet Barefeet

Sunday was a Hubway-kind-of-day.

In the early afternoon, A. and I set off on a walk down Comm Ave towards the Esplanade. It was sunny, ridiculously hot and beautiful. Perfect day for a walk.

We brought sandwiches and I wore my bathing suit under my clothes, so we could spend an hour or two baking in the sun by the river. We lasted a little over an hour before we set off to finish the walk toward the Mass Ave bridge (It was dang HOT, y’all!). We planned to circle around the Charles on the Cambridge-side back to the BU Bridge and home. 

Halfway across the bridge, A. stopped in his tracks. I could tell a great idea had struck. “We should take out a Hubway bike!” 

Being the adventurous-type that I am (eh-hem), I responded quickly. “What! No! Uhh, have you seen the traffic? Is it safe? I’m not sure! We don’t have helmets. Can’t we just do it another….day?” A. had already started walking back towards Beacon St. on the Boston side, and I trailed after him shouting questions and doing a fair bit of grumbling.

After a Gatorade purchase and a quick (read: thorough) examination of the bikes, followed by A.’s reassurance that we would ride down Beacon St., take a back road behind BU and then head over the neighborhood streets of Brookline, I found myself atop a Hubway bike preparing to peddle off into the dangerous Boston unknown.

Turns out, my reluctance was for naught (Go figure??). Biking in Boston is wonderful! We rode for an hour, winding up and down the tree-lined streets of Brookline and exploring roads we’d never rode down before. Riding alongside traffic wasn’t even that bad—just requires a little defensive riding. 

It turned out to be a wonderful Sunday afternoon—the perfect way to end the weekend. A. graciously didn’t even say “I told you so.” What a guy. 

I’m alive! (In case you were worried.) Sorry for my short absence.

I’ve been traveling, enjoying Independence Day with friends, and trying to enjoy summer in Boston as best I possibly can.

Lots to show and tell, of course. Not just yet though. Tonight I’m out with my man at the movies to see Brave. :) We love a good date night!

Happy Friday night, folks. Back soon.

- Taylor

Sunday was the first absolutely perfect day that we’ve had this summer. The sky was the brightest blue, with only a few wispy white clouds dancing by. There was a breeze, and it was hot, but not stifling.

We packed up the car and all piled in (A., his sister and her boyfriend) to meet our group of friends and drive together the 30 miles north to Crane Beach. 

We made a quick pitstop at Sofra for our favorite Bacon, Egg & Haloumi sandwich (of course). I drove with a cappuccino in hand and fun tunes on the radio. 

First real beach day of summer: I was a very happy girl! 

Crane Beach was packed with people—the parking lot was full, so we had to take a shuttle from the Ipswich train station. It took a few minutes longer, but was no big deal—especially when the consolation prize was this view. 

Oh man, it was gorgeous. The first area of the beach was packed with people; it seemed like they all had walked only a few feet and plopped into the sand as close to the bathrooms and cafe as possible. 

We turned right and headed down the beach to the clearer and more remote spots. Crane Beach is huge—with dunes for hiking, sandbars during low tide, and the Crane Estate for sightseeing. It’s an all-day affair and worth all the effort to get to it. Only an hour drive from Boston!

We spent the day lounging in the sand, playing ball, frolicking on the sandbars, and just enjoying time with friends. 

We love summer. Can you tell?

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And now… I am headed to Florida tonight! Yippee!!! I’ll be spending the rest of the week with my family in St. Augustine, FL at Crescent Beach. 

Wishing you all a few days of fun in the sun and a little Vitamin D induced happiness. 

Be back soon! (But thankfully, not too soon!)

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”  - Rabindranath Tagore

Time is flying by quickly this summer, or so it seems. But really, I’m always feeling that way. Some days pass by dreadfully slow. Others, they speed past quickly and I’m left in the dust wondering where June has gone.

The conclusion I’ve come to: I need to stop counting so much. Stop counting days, commenting on time passing. I need to get to living. 

The quote above struck me—what an epiphany. Not months but moments. 

In the last two weeks, I’ve had a lot of good moments. GREAT moments. Time spent doing new things and surrounded by good people. Somehow, I’ve managed to convince myself that I’m restless. I keep wishing for more and counting down till the next big thing.

And yes, there are so many good things coming, dear readers. But really, so many good things have already happened this year. Big, grand adventures aren’t the only things worth noticing. I forget that.

So here’s to the small moments: spending a day exploring my city with an unexpected visitor, lying in the grass in the Common with my guy after a workday, walks in the park discussing life, last minute trips out of the city, the warm weather and sun on my face, learning new things at work with too-good-to-be-true coworkers. Life is good, folks. I can’t/shouldn’t/won’t forget that.

//

Happy Friday, friends. I have a lot to tell you and show you from my recent adventures. I’ll catch up, I promise. For now, I leave you with a few things: 

Here’s what I am loving, reading, and remembering this week:

• Design Mom: Oh, this blog is TOO COOL. Gabrielle Blair is a designer and mother of 6 (6!), currently living with her family in the French countryside. Just because! Her posts are always inspiring and uplifting. Her children even have their own online tv series: Olive Us. I’m a daily reader there.
• The Power of Positive Clothes: What if someone told you everyday when you woke up, “It’s time to get up and get dressed to go dreaming!” What would you wear?
• Positive Thinking: 7 Easy Ways to Improve a Bad Day: Avoid those terrible days where you end up wallowing in unhappiness (we all have ‘em!) by remembering these 7 things.
• Every Secret Thing: A novel by Susanna Kearsley. Another historical fiction piece, but this time it’s a mystery. Enjoyable read.

//

Whatever time I’ve got left in this world is time enough, if I just get out there and live it. 

Have a wonderful weekend! I’m off to Chinatown for lunch to have my first Dim Sum experience. A.’s sister and her boyfriend are in town, so a weekend of exploring and eating is in order. We might even go see Brave tonight. I love this life! 

Midday walk and a breath of fresh air. (Taken with Instagram at Copley Square)

Dear readers, my apologies for the late post… a friend came into town unexpectedly, so I’ve been busy enjoying his company and this wonderfully warm weekend.

It seems that summer is coming to Boston! It has taken its time, but I think it has finally come and decided to stay awhile. And I am so ready for it.

After a dreary week filled with rain and wind, the sun rose on Saturday and all the residents of Boston spilled out of their apartments and into the parks. 

A. and I headed out on the B-line, picked up our good friend Ryan and went straight to the Common. We strolled around the park, watched the ducklings swim around the pond, and stopped by the Boston Frosty truck for an Orange Crush, a heavy dose of vanilla ice cream mixed with orange soda… heaven! 

The Orange Crush is known to bring intense happiness to any who dare try it. See? It was delicious and I was quite reluctant to share. 

We spent time wandering through Beacon Hill, then sat in the park and caught up on each other’s lives. After people-watching and chatting, we set out for dinner on the C-line, headed for Sol Azteca because I was craving Mexican food.

In true Bostonian fashion, we celebrated the beginning of summer with dinner outside on the patio with a carafe of Sangria. Patio seating is the best in Boston. You have to try it.

We loaded up on chips, salsa and queso. 

We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore.

Shrimp, enchiladas, tacos… it was wonderful.

We ended Saturday night with the Celtics game, and spent our Sunday brunching with friends at The Friendly Toast and preparing ourselves for the work week ahead.

Have a great week, friends. I have much to tell you… there are many things on my mind and I really will make a better effort to share them with y’all this week.

Bonne nuit!