Beantown!

I just returned home to Tucson last night after having spent 8 days in Boston visiting friends, attending weddings and wedding receptions, walking until my feet blistered, seeing lots of cute pregnant bellies, and witnessing Jill put her first offer in on a condo!!

I just don't get the weather in Boston...I went from sweating like crazy (it's my own fault for not wanting to wear anti-perspirant anymore I suppose :) to freezing overnight! It was nice to see the fall weather and the very beginning of some trees starting to change colors...it's my favorite season for running!, but I must also admit that I'm happy to be home in my 85 degree weather where I know what it will be like outside before even walking out the door.

Jill and her roommates had a party on Friday night...lots of fun conversation, great food, and of course good music too! (he he he, I was given the duties of making a playlist...I think since Ryan's a musician, people think I know music too...I like to pretend I do, but the truth is...I only know what Ryan has taught me!:)


(Jana, Jill, Megan, Toby, and Matt)

On Saturday Jana and I went to the Vineyard Festival to hear Kathleen Dieguez perform!! Kathleen and her husband Francisco were in our small group when we went to the Vineyard. For those of you who haven't yet heard of Kathleen Dieguez, she's an amazing singer/songwriter who got her start in Cambridge, MA. I think she is the only person I know who just one day said she wanted to write a song, and wrote something soo beautiful and worthy of performing on her first try.


(David Linhart and Kathleen Dieguez)

Rebecca from our small group was also there and looking sooo cute and pregnant...she's got one more month to go!


Orla, who was my roommate while I was studying abroad in Ireland, got married to Will (whom she met while we were studying in Ireland!). Will's immediate family and Orla's extended family came over from Ireland for the big celebration!




It was such a fun wedding!! When Orla was little she used to tell her mom that she wanted their neighbor, Willy's band to play at her wedding. And sure enough the 5 piece band drove all the way from New Jersey to play at their wedding.



There was tons of great music, including some good Irish pub songs, and lots of Irish dancing. Orla went to the World Championships for Irish dancing, so she and some others from her dancing group did some incredible Reels and such. We all got up and did the Seige of Ennis, which was super fun and dizzying all at the same time.



Sunday morning I had breakfast with Meredith and Erin before church. So great to see them!!


It's fall...a tree that was already changing colors...



I spent all day Sunday and Sunday night at Liz and Douglas' house. They made a delicious Ugandan dinner of gonja (baked plantains), curried beef, avocadoes, and Irish potatoes.



We planned Liz's baby shower and went to Target to get her registered! She's due on December 6th!



Jill, Jana, and I got to be back together and spend some quality time talking, running, eating, walking, etc! Sooooo great to see them again in person (not that I don't love our web cam dinners together, but it's harder to hug a person over camera than it is in person.)


Jill may soon be entering the world of condo ownership as she signed for an offer on a great place in Washington Square! Ryan is a little confused as to why she didn't get a 2 bedroom for when we come to stay...but I have him assured that we can still visit Jill when she's in Washington Square!


The saddest part of my trip came at the very end. There is a great musician named Teitur. Ryan and I went on two "not"-dates while we were just friends to see him in concert in Boston. We listened and sang on the top of our lungs in the car to one of his songs just before Ryan proposed to me, we danced our "first dance" at our wedding to one of his songs, and then that same song came on shuffle on Ryan's iPod at 11:59pm on our 1 year anniversary. You get the picture...we really love this guy's music and he's become a special part of our relationship. Anyway, I decided to extended my visit a few days so that I could see him in concert while I was in Boston. I got to the show sooo excited...only to find out that Teitur hadn't been able to get into the country because of visa troubles! Mauryn and I were devastated...so we went to Angora Cafe to get pizza and sulk. (I'm not sure why the gold squiggle around Mauryn's head is there...perhaps it's a halo.)



Ryan picked me up at the airport and brought me home to a fabulous dinner that he had prepared: parmesan crusted chicken w/ red pepper alfredo sauce and pasta, and spinach salad with mixed berries in it. And for dessert...A CANNOLI!! :)