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Thursday, June 14, 2018

May 2018


WENT: To the cutest little breakfast place in Gloucester, and a great weekend in Boston for Memorial Day.

READ: I finished four books in May! I listened I Shall Be Near To You by Erin McCabe on audio, which while not being one of my all-time favorite books, was probably a top fiction pick for me so far this year. I also listened to A Spool of Blue Thread and Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant, both by Anne Tyler. Neither, I'm sad to say, were as incredible as my first experience with Anne Tyler (An Amateur Marriage). I also finally finished Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts, which took me a long time to get through but was so, so worth it. As always, more reviews in my Instagram Story Highlights!

WATCHED: I really didn't watch a lot of stuff this month, which I guess is a good thing? Friends, Deadliest Catch with my mom, and Masterpiece Mystery's Endeavor are probably my top favorites right now. 

WROTE: A lot of journal pages, and Upwork proposals. On the blog: Summer Afternoon in Boston & The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Hiking Mt. Moosilauke & A (Much Needed) Re-Set.

MADE: A showcase program! And iced tea. 

STARTED: Coming up with plans for next year. 

CROSSED-OFF: I finally got busy submitting proposals to freelance writing jobs through Upwork. 

TRIED: My Novice FS test, sticking to a budget, and a couple new bars.

FAILED: My Novice FS test, to stick to a budget, to pack my bags and lunch the night before.

PERFORMED: A heck of a lot. With American Ice Theater of Boston in Canton, Haverhill, Wesley and Westborough. Competed at Spotlight on the Cape with Act 1 of Boston. Tried my Novice FS test.  

THOUGHT: About the fact that every single weekend, from this past March until the end of June, is packed with plans.

What filled your May?

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Boston For Memorial Day Weekend


Way back in March, my friend Kat and I started getting really anxious to see another one of our friends, Caitlin, again. The three of us had all been on Act 1 together for two years, but this season, I'm the only one still on the team. Kat lives outside of Boston, and we see each other quite a bit, but Caitlin lives a few hours away from me in Maine. We haven't all been together since 2017 TOI Nationals (almost a full year ago!). It was definitely time to plan something.

A few group texts later, and we finally decided to get together for Memorial Day weekend! Caitlin and I drove down to Kat's family's house on Friday night, stayed over, spent all of Saturday in Boston, and came home Sunday afternoon.

Friday night, we stayed in and spent some time catching up. We also made a drink run and ended up buying all of the pink drinks (PSA: the Cape Cod Cranberry Spiked Seltzer is amazing!) and ended up playing cards against humanity.


Saturday morning, we had a slow easy breakfast at home, then ventured into Boston. We made up a group of five: me, Kat, both of her sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth, and Caitlin. Our first stop was the Charles River Canoe and Kayak in Kendall Square. We rented their large canoe, and spent about an hour paddling around on the Charles. It was a really fun (and cheap!) way to start the day. We got to hear some of the Boston Calling Music Festival from the water, we joked that next year we should just rent the boats for a few hours and get to hear it that way!

Once we had completely sweated through our shirts, we returned the canoes and drove towards the Boylston Street and Copley area. We were all getting hungry at this point, so we ended up at Met Back Bay for a late lunch. Their patio seating was full, so we ate inside, and it was lovely! The food was amazing, and everything was cozy and conversational. I ordered their breakfast burrito, and I'm not sure I've ever had anything so perfect.


Once we were done eating, we went shopping! We went to Francesca's, where we spent most of our time. I ended up getting a really cute floral wrap dress. It's a little short, but I think it'll still be great for work and church, and I have a wedding in June I might wear it to. After Francesca's, we wandered into some more boutique type places before ending up at the Prudential Center. We pretty much just window shopped there, but it was still fun!

At that point, our group split up, and Kat, Caitlin, and I went out as the over 21's. We started at Back Bay Social Club, which was pretty good, and then eventually made our way down the street to a new-to-us place, Lir. We stayed there for the rest of the night, and it was a great chance to get a little goofy, catch up, and discover Iced Coffee cocktails (which are fantastic, by the way).

It was so fun to be out in the city the Saturday of Memorial Day. It was almost 90 out, and everyone was outside, hanging around watching soccer games and grabbing brunch. Between memorial day, the music festival, a ton of graduations, and the multiple weddings we passed, it felt like everyone was outside celebrating. Definitely a great day to kick off summer!


Sunday morning, we slept in and took our time pulling ourselves back together, before parting ways and driving home! It was so fun to be back with the ladies that share some of my favorite memories. We definitely can't wait a whole year before doing this again...we're already debating a Burlington VT/Montreal roadtrip this summer!

Hope everyone's Memorial Day was spent with good food, good people, and sunshine!

Happy Wednesday! Be the grittiest.
xoxo Gillian