puppy love.

its always astounding to me how much animals change things.

last night i got to hang out with -count it- three! my three favorite kitty cats in boston. one of which shed on me to no end and the other two of which bat at my hand whilst simultaneously vying for attention as only cats can.

more importantly though

my parents are driving up to boston and will arrive today. and they have decided to bring the pup!

as a person who has never had an animal of any sorts in this city, i am very excited to take her for a few walks around my blocks.

i always see people walking around with their cute dogs and playing with them in parks.

its my turn now!! welcome to my city little stella.

splashing about.

though annoying and sometimes pointless trying to get downtown proper in boston for a night out, the allure of seeing the ocean and being at the harbor somehow always wins out in my decision making process. sometimes, i feel good about my decisions to make the trek (and deal with the transportation failures of boston); at other times, i wish that i could erase two hours from my life and move on with my night.

last night, a few friends and i decided to go to the volvo ocean race area which has been set up at fan pier. the allure was there, along with the promise of some good tunes for listening, and a very unique space. i made my way to puma city last night to check out what i've heard many people talking about.

not to be overshadowed by the nomadic pop-up puma shop... the volvo ocean race, the main event, is a strenuous nine month long extravaganza hitting major port and sailing cities around the world as their stopovers including one of my least favorite port-towns (qingdao) and some of the most interesting places in the world like cochin, the capital of the communist-elected state of kerala in southwestern india. having been on the high seas for a few months myself, this race is an extreme and explorative type of competition.

the puma city space is an interesting bit of mobile architecture which consists of two dozen extremely modified, 3-tier stacked shipping containers which form the shopping, nightlife, and lounge space adhering to all international building codes and completely moveable. this pop-up space is both interesting conceptually and in actual execution.

but, last night...something was missing. the space was great, the lounge-y couches are pushed back from the center of the bar area against the sides of the space so that they almost seem like hidden compartments and the center can have a dance floor seemingly free of seated onlookers. the night was billed as "<3throb vs. thunderdome djs" it sounded like a pretty good reason to make my way downtown (grr) all dressed up.

wrong.

the puma city bar was TINY which caused wait times of up to 20 minutes for a simple gin and tonic sloshed into a plastic cup by bartenders who didn't really look like they had ever made a tasty alcoholic beverage in their lives.

the music was nowhere NEAR loud enough for a pleasant musical experience -except the corner of couches where we decided to plop ourselves after finally having acquired drinks at the dull bar. *sorry boston globe guy who had to shout over the speaker in his ear to interview us*

further on the music, the djs did a really poor job of mixing the music that i'm sure they were trying to play so that the very diverse type of crowd would all be happy and dance. the loops went too long at times, they didn't know how to drop anything well, and really? blur?

essentially, i'm glad i went. it was a fun night and since puma city is making its sole stop in north america right here in boston, it will be an architectural experience that few will get to party in.

as a final note, as a few friends and i had finally let ourselves be free of puma city, i was stopped on the walkway by a very cute, bubbly and stylish girl who asked to take my picture for her boston style blog. after a few quick snaps of mine and then also my boy's outfits, i come to find that i have finally met martine of beyond boston chic. she was probably the first boston blog that i ever linked to and i'm so excited to have finally met this fashionable lady!

here's to a new week.

a shameless (quick) plug.

hi all of you out there in the land yonder:::

this is really just a quick post plugging the event that is being held in Boston's South End tomorrow at the SOWA Open Market.

its called Baked Fresh and it looks fantastic for a fun sunday adventure extraordinaire! via Morgan of MAP Boston, i was cordially invited to this delightfully grandiose gathering and i really hope it goes off well because honestly...boston has so much potential for fun events like this but never really expresses each burgeoning new fun thing to ALL of the neighborhoods worth telling.

i sadly won't be able to attend due to my amazingly lovely little job at Mint Julep...however...

i would really appreciate some reports back from anyone about how the gig goes off and what kinds of wonderful things were to be seen at the Baked Fresh @ SOWA Open Market event!

For all those who don't feel like clicking on the link and just want to know where it is::: the sowa open market takes place at

540 Harrison Avenue
Boston MA
in the South End

the event will be going from 10-5...

HAVE FUN!!!! let me know how it goes!

In the Spirit!

so i'm quite positive that we have all know about and have seen the lovely, little, handy-dandy notebook known as moleskine.

you know::: notes, quotes, pockets for everyday paraphernalia you deem it necessary to keep, jotting down those music threads that might escape you, and hell even pulling out your watercolors for the little wonders...

well for a while now i've seen the little “city notebooks” that they seem to be selling at the Strand in New York (highly recommended if you've never been...hours have been spent there!) every Barnes and Noble...well since they came out.

and finally...
finally!

i found a reason to purchase one!
...though it is not for me...

in the spirit of giving and really wanting a friend who is coming to visit me soon in boston (once i return from my excursions of which he will be a part from serbia through london) to thoroughly enjoy this town for what it is...i decided to get him one. I also cleverly disguised the city notebook for boston amongst a cute little book about berlin art, getting around germany, and vanity fair (no, not the magazine). i went up to the counter to ask the salesgirl where vanity fair was in the bookstore and she gave me a completely blank stare and pointed to the magazines. i then suggested that i was looking for the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray (what a name!) and she totally snapped out of her daze and took me to where it was. in my own attempts to try to get insights into other cultures i like to try and read a classic piece of literature, famous author, or novel set in the place that i will be visiting. its really a nice way of making sure i get the classics that interest me (more so than most contemporary literature) read and thought about the country/city/region i will be heading to a bit more.

i'm so excited...the city notebook for boston sounds and looks and feels (?) so promising! Plus, the real deal-maker for me was the fact that the maps even show::::

MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

huzzah! so...thank you moleskine for recognizing my neighborhood.

and now it is time to finish preparing things before I head out in T-minus 3 days and counting. still awaiting suggestions for Frankfurt, Munchen, Budapest, Berlin, Koln, London, Serbia!

BONUS:::
some favorites/books that I have read in the past /am reading for some of the adventures that i've made/will be making:::

-The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson -read before going to the Caribbean, Guadeloupe, to work on an excavation, drink rum, and be in the hot hot heat

-Solitude, Victor Catala and The City of Marvels, Eduardo Mendoza -read before going to Barcelona, city of wonder!, on two separate occasions

-The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway -read before going to Spain at a different time.

-The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho -read before taking a jaunt to Marrakech, Morocco

-Faust Books 1&2, Goethe -have read before i take this journey to Frankfurt (where Goethe was from)

-”Deutschland,” Heinrich Heine -of which i posted last summer and am glad to have read before taking this excursion!

mint juleps taste nice.

well really. cute.
i went in to work yesterday to pick up a few presents and i realized how much i love my job at Mint Julep.

its so great to completely adore the place that you are employed and the coworkers that you know you 'll every time you are at work. i mean...really. i wanted to point a look towards the blog that one of my coworkers writes for the store because of three things:::

1) its adorable and pink
2) it might give you ideas for wardrobe refreshers (always key, especially when you're in a funk with clothes or have no outlet for new expression)
3) its my job!

i would also like to give my first mention to the only boston street fashion blog worth mentioning:

beyond boston chic
because she has a tasteful eye and doesn't just look for fashion-spiration at dance nights and the vegan restaurant down the street. also as i was doing the daily internet browsin' i was delightfully surprised to see a picture of my coworker and a shout-out to Mint Julep as her post for today! thanks gal!

cheers y'all, enjoy the weekend.
i know i will.