Eat, Pray, Love...and Eat some more

This week has been interesting for me. I still get those moments where I have this overwhelming sense of 'wow, I'm living in Boston now, this is actually my life and I'm *actually* getting to do all this cool and amazing stuff!' a lot. Fall is in the air and a New England fall is spectacular...I can't wait to bust out my jackets, boots, scarves...and drink mochas from Diesel Cafe and hot cocoa from L.A. Burdick...and walking around Harvard Sq and see all the old prestigious buildings and the fall leaves...yowsers!!!! I am so thankful to be able to live up here and enjoy all that I do :) Oh aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand - Madeline is coming to visit me in less than 2 weeks!!!!! Y'all should see the spreadsheet itinerary I put together (planning and mapping out trips is one of my faaaaaaaaaavorite things to do). Ok, a few pictures from this past week...

Last Sunday I went to try out a new 'soul food' restaurant in Davis Square with James called M3. I put 'soul food' in quotation marks because I think it's hard to capture the exact flavors and awesomeness that is southern food up here in the north...that being said, the restaurant was fun and slightly quirky in a 'we're trying to be quirky' kind of way.

The tables were fun - you got to write on them!

My dinner - I've been searching for a place with good fried chicken and BISCUITS since I moved here...the chicken wasn't that great, but all the sides were awesome, so next time I go back I'm ordering a plateful of sides.

Restaurant week continued this week so the roomies and I went to Miel for dinner (my pick - it's French)

Very pretty setting

Dinner - I got a cod with truffle gnocchi and tomatoes and a citrus cream sauce - YUM

At community group this week, Melissa made a dinner of chicken, spinach, and butternut squash risotto and a salad with pear and aged gouda - DELICIOUS. She even let me take some for lunch the next day :)

CJ and I met up for dinner at Marliave and we tried our first ever Beef Wellington. I watch cooking shows alllllllllll the time and I especially love watching anything with Gordon Ramsey in it, and he always talks about beef wellington being such a hard dish to make and I've always wanted to try it.

C'est parfait! Crispy, buttery puff pastry, foie gras, mushrooms, a perfect filet, and a red wine sauce....AMAZING.

Pretty flowers on my walk to.....

....ACUPUNCTURE!!!!! Yes, ladies and gents (and parents who remember the screaming child who was terrified of needles), this needle-phobe voluntarily went to get stuck. 

I know I don't look very happy here, but I totally am... I've never been much of a believer in acupuncture or other less-traditional forms of medicine, and for me part of the reason I think acupuncture works is that psychosomatic aspect of the patient thinking it will work (so it does)....I went in very skeptical and came out being not quite so skeptical! It actually felt really good, was relaxing, and got rid of a headache I'd had for weeks...I have a couple more sessions to use, but may continue this if I see a drastic improvement in my headaches or stress levels.

Walking home, I stopped with my cappuccino and sat under this gorgeous tree and enjoyed sipping my bitter coffee and looking at the leaves...after just having had acupuncture, it was a very 'eat, pray, love' kind of moment for me - I felt very zen and happy :)

I told my friend Andy that I got acupuncture and he decided to make a bunch of really corny jokes about it....remind you of someone? (family members will know who I'm talking about...) ;-)

I got a haircut! Very short and bouncy and fun :) 

Yesterday I went to a pig roast with Han...the guys there built their own keg (these are the pictures/diagrams of how to do it)

...and this is the finished product! Looks pretty good, eh?

The pig from the pig roast (yes that's an apple in its mouth) - tasty

Fall is coming!!!! The mornings and nights are getting nippy, there's a slight breeze, the leaves have that hint of color....

I rearranged my room this weekend to maximize the space - I really like this new layout! All I need now is a nice comfy chair to put in that corner by the window....

I like having my bed against a wall so I can prop all my pillows up and lean against it...and I like my cascading pictures on both walls :)

So there you have it, folks - as you could see, there was tons of good eating, I did quite a bit of praying this week, and I'm loving my life a ton :) Now I'm off to make chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast...