Boston-February 25, 2006

Steve and I took another unexpected trip up to Boston. This time it was for major celebrations: Liesel getting job at Oxfam, Olivier returning from France, Steve being promoted, and Steve and I getting engaged.

Our day started in Lexington, MA at chez Diolosa where it was snowing and cold, but that did not stop us from having a good time.

Liesel and Olivier out in the cold snow. Lexington was picturesque in the snow.

In honor of the celebrations, we went to a delicious dinner at Sel de la Terre, a French (or possibly Belgian) restaurant in downtown Boston. Everyone was pleased with their meals: options were lamb, venison, or chicken among others. Desserts were post-dinner cocktails, like whiskey coffee, and a collection of desserts for us all to try: creme brule, chocolate mousse, cookies, ice cream and other fine pastries.

Looks delicious!

Way to present the main course, Steve.

I'm enjoying my dessert!

After the meal, it was time for us to hit the bars. Our bar of choice was: Bar 10, the hotel bar in the Westin. Here we held a few photo-ops:

The old Angora crew: Steve, Jaren, Charles.
Steve and Vigdis.

Vigdis and Jaren.

Charles and Vigdis. Steve and Charles.

Before Steve and I departed Boston on Sunday, we went to brunch at Angora Cafe in our old stomping grounds around the Sutherland T stop. It was fun to reminisce about all the time we spent in that cafe.

Canada Trip-February 16-20, 2006

Steve and I headed to the Great North for a long weekend. Since we were going up to London, Ontario for Matt and Janet's wedding, we figured a quick visit to Toronto would be worth it.
Early Thursday morning Steve and I caught a flight up to Toronto. By mid-morning we were checked into our hotel and ready to hit the streets. Here is the famous "Eaton Centre". Comparing Toronto to NYC, you could say this area is Times Square. There are massive billboards and flashing lights everywhere. This is also the entrace to the biggest mall I've ever seen.


Once we stepped foot inside this mall, we didn't leave for HOURS. What is unique about Toronto is that there is an entire city underground. Instead of walking outside in the cold, you walk through the "PATH". What one finds above ground--shops, restaurants, etc-- is underground in Toronto. I felt like I was walking through one long continuous mall.

We worked our way around City Hall, through the Financial District all the way to Union Station. This is the large transportation hub for the city. Again, comparing Toronto to NYC, this would be Grand Central Station.

From Union Station we walked over to, what used to be known as the "Sky Dome" but is now "Rogers Arena".

It's pretty self-explanatory:


Statues in front of the arena

Next to the Sky Dome is the "CN Tower", which is similar to the Seattle Space Needle. It was a cold and foggy day, so we couldn't see the top of the Tower:

From there, we walked back to "Eaton Centre" and found a pub to watch the Canadian Men's Hockey Team play their first game in the Olympics. It was a ture experience seeing men cut out of work early to belly up to a bar, drink a pint and watch their team. Also, seeing these manly men humiliate their men's figure skating representative was an experience to remember.

After warming up and watching the game, we walked outside in the freezing rain up to the Provincial Parliament Building.

We went inside to see if we could take a tour, but we were too late. What we were able to see, was the foyer, which was full of grandeur and beauty.

To see what we did instead of the tour, click HERE.

The next day, we meandered through the city towards the Royal Ontario Museum

From there, we walked back to the hotel.

I was able to catch a glimpse at the CN Tower from a distance


Farewell Toronto! Hello London!

London, Ontario is about a 2 hour drive southwest of Toronto. As we arrived London, I was given the drive by tour of the city. We headed straight up to the University to see where Steve went to school.

After a tour of campus, we checked into our hotel. Exploring downtown London, I even saw the Thames River.

That night, I met Steve college buddies. It was great to finally put faces with names.

Saturday, was Matt and Janet's wedding. It was held in a beautiful Anglican church in the heart of the city. The bride was gorgeous and both the bride and groom looked happy. Post ceremony was the reception--funny MC, Olympic theme, open bar, great food, even better company, dancing, cake....that about sums up the reception.

Sunday morning we had brunch with the bride, groom, families and friends.

Then, it was a walk down memory lane, or YALE street, for Steve and his old roommate. We went to one of their old houses to see if the place was still standing. The house is still there, but had major renovations. Even though the house wasn't the same as it was 8 years ago, I could picture all the stories and see where all the trouble took place.

Later that night we went to Spaghetti Eddy's...3 words to describe this place--LOTS OF PASTA! From there is was a quick stop off at the Ceeps, one of Steve's favorite college bars, for a drink.


Monday, we headed back up to Toronto and out to the aiport...and it was back to reality!

Big News-February 16, 2006

Need I say more???

The answer was YES!

**For those who want to know the details of the proposal**

Leaving the Provincial Parliament building in the freezing rain, Steve and I slipped or rather ice skated on the pathways of Queen's Park. We were laughing and enjoying each other's company when he swept me in his arms and gave me a big kiss. The next thing I knew, he was holding a ring and asking me what was my answer. Some how in my state of shock, Steve proposed.

Blizzard 2006-February 12, 2006

All last week, the weather forecasters predicted a huge blizzard that would sweep the east coast. I was a bit skeptical when the snow began falling Saturday. It wasn't until the evening that the blizzard began. At first the snow didn't stick but around 9pm a white dusting covered the ground. I woke up Sunday morning and saw a few inches out the window. The snow was falling heavily and rapidly...before we knew it, there was nearly a foot of snow.

(this is my view from my window. A brick wall with windows--what an awesome view)

I spent the entire day inside and by the time I stepped outside EVERYTHING was covered under a layer of snow.








This is the view from outside my apartment. As you can see the cars are completely covered...
I will give NYC credit for one thing. Every home, business or management owner of a building is required, by law, to clear the sidewalk no later than 4 hours after the storm. So you can see that the sidewalks, for the most part, are clear. Even the take-out delivery guys don't let a little blizzard stop them...they use the sidewalks to ride on...Only in New York.

Steve attempted to remove the snow from the top of his carport, because the weight of the snow was caving in the tent. After a few attempts of pushing the tip of a broom up on the ceiling of the tent, it collapsed. TENT DOWN. TENT DOWN....Steve was standing on top of the picnic table and the weight of the snow pushed him off the table and onto the ground. I saw his life flash in front of my eyes. What a close call. Assessing the damage, there was really nothing we could do...so I took some pictures. As you can see, the tent is now holding a pool of snow.

**This is the view from Drew's room. The railing is holding up the tent. And this one pole is about ready to give.

Hopefully, once all the snow melts we can salvage the tent and get her standing again.

To escape our apartments we met up with Chris, Claudia, Ewan and Rhona for a few pints at Becky's Pub. By this point, Bloomberg's committment to have the streets clear by Monday morning was met. There was a bit of slush, but cars were back on the road.

We all survived the Blizzard of 2006. By 11pm Sunday night, NYC broke the record with 26.9 " of snow in Central Park.

Lazy Saturday-February 11, 2006

While bumming around the apartment Saturday morning, Erin made the most perfect pancakes. Look how fluffy and delicious they are. Now, you're probably wondering why are pancakes worthy of being on the blog. Well, our gas stove is a very tempermental. Either the heat is on high--boiling hot high--or not on at all. So for Erin to create these perfect pancakes on our stove is quite impressive.

Props to you Erin! Aunt Jemima would be proud!!

Superbowl 2006-February 5, 2006

Sunday was spent at Chez Schwartz and Company preparing for the big event. The tent was lit, TV's were placed in both corners, food was warming in the oven and the beers were chilling in the fridge.

Check out the beer fridge: It's like 306 was the set of a Snoop Dogg video. Yes, those are all 40 oz. bottles of delicious malt liquor--2 cases ordered by Drew.

The theme of this Superbowl party was a "Chili Cook-off".

There were 4 contestants with their own take on chili for this "cook-off":

(Pictured from top to bottom)

Chris: smokey beanless chili

Claudia: zesty, spicey meatless chili

Drew: sweet sausage chili

Dave & Sarah: traditional hardy meat & bean chili with veggies (not pictured)

All were delicious and flavorfull.

In addition to the chili selection, we had cheesey buiscuits (made Paula Dean style), cornbread, chips, and noodles to be the vehicles for the chili. Look at everyone enjoy the food.

As appetizers there were 2 types of homemade guacamole, cream-cheese salsa dip, fried chicken bits and veggie dip. We had quite the spread of the typical Superbowl eats...We're a classy bunch.

Here's the gang watching the game. Go SEAHAWKS

The food was great, but I can't say the same for the game. As you know, the Seattle Seahawks lost. They just couldn't get their act in gear and the 12th man wasn't loud enough. (Probably because the stands were filled with more Steelers fans by over half).