Hello BAHSTON Boston!

Hello there! :D

Welcome back to my page! :D

I wanted to write this post to share my experience in Boston with you and to also have this as a keepsake for myself.

Here's a little quick little backstory to Boston and why I went. Both of my parents are retired now. We didn't travel growing up because they were saving and using up all their money on me and my other two siblings. Now that they are retired, they want to travel but don't necessarily have the means to do so.

I am a hardworking adult now with a better paying job and want to thank them for all their love, time and sacrifices spent on us.

This was the second trip I took them on (first was Seattle and Vancouver, but I will get to that on another post). I asked my mom to pick from the following: Hawaii, Boston and Chicago. Hawaii was secretly my vote but she picked Boston.

I did my research on Boston and found that a lot of the tourist parts are historical monuments. I am farthest from being a history buff. Honestly, I am not a big fan. I appreciate history happened and I understand the significance, but I didn't want to feel like I was in class on vacation.

I internally huffed and puffed and was not totally excited about the trip prior to the trip. BUT WHOA. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong or proved wrong. Boston stole my heart.

I really give credit Scott "Milk" from the Duck Tour. In 90 minutes, he presented the history of Boston in an interesting and entertaining way. He was super funny. He actually made me excited to re-learn (and I say re-learn because I am sure I "learned" this in school back in the day) history. Government center was my favorite area. Who would've thought?? Not me. Not in a million years.

 

 

 

On my last day, I had several hours before my flight and even went back to some of the historical sites Scott "Milk" referenced. If history in school was presented the way he delivered it, I probably would've paid more attention. LOL.

MY MEMORABLE TAKEAWAYS:

1. FOOD
Since Boston is by the coast, seafood is the grub to consume. I had oysters, poke, lobster, crab, squid, clam chowder, basically the ocean. It was delicious. I really really recommend Neptune Oyster House. Everything was bomb dot com.

You can find a lobster roll almost anywhere

 

First time eating at Wagamama which I think originated in the UK

 

Local beer at Martha's Vineyard - Organic Summer Love

 

Lobster roll + shrimp scampi burger

 

Puerto Rican food - mofongo (thumbs down, hella dry)

 

My dad has to hit up every Chinatown wherever we go

 

Mike Pastry's - famous for cannolis. I was not a fan.

 

2. CROSSWALKS

I was definitely not in Los Angeles anymore. In Boston (and NYC that I have experienced), people don't wait for the walking man on the crosswalk to cross the street. If there's no cars, you just go. Or if there are cars, you kinda just go anyway. LOL. You would have gotten yourself runover in Los Angeles if you did that here. You can definitely tell who's a tourist by who waits at the crosswalk.

3. EXPENSIVE
It was way crazy to stay in Boston. Yikes yikes yikes. My hotel fees included state tax, city tax and bed tax. Yes, folks. BED.

4. ARCHITECTURE
The architecture is beautiful. I never imagined myself to like old style buildings. Now I understand what people see when they admire that old charm. It also bewilders me that when you stand on a street corner, and look down the road, it always looks like a dead end but it's not. It's a little insane but really cool at the same time. If you stand on the street corner in Los Angeles and look straight ahead, it just looks like the road continues and you can see right through it. All the dead ends were pretty trippy but beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5, RANDOM FUN FACT
I just wanted to share a random fun fact for myself so that I remember. There are tunnels in Boston. If there is a red stripe in the tunnel, that means you are passing on/through land. Blue means water. Fun fact! My friend who is from the city over didn't even know that. I was totally spitting random Boston facts to her. I learned so many random, cool, amazing things. Thank you, Scott "Milk" and thank you Boston.

6. MY NEW TOURIST CITY
Hawaii will always be my number one, but Boston is definitely my new favorite city that I've visited. And no no, I'm not saying that just because it was recent. A month before my Boston trip, I took my parents to Seattle which is my least favorite city ever visited.

7. MARTHA'S VINEYARD
This is a beautiful place, but during off-peak season, there was not much to do or see. A lot of the shops and restaurants were closed with signs that said, "We'll be back in May." We totally wasted a day at Martha's. I don't know if I want to even go back during peak season. Things to do there - water sports and golf. I do neither.

 

 

8. QUINCY MARKET
There was just so much going on at Quincy Market - shops, eats, sweets, free entertainment. I loved it. That's also where I found the best cannoli.

 

9. HISTORY HISTORY. SO MUCH HISTORY

Harvard

M.I.T.

Site of Boston Massacre

Fun fact: The massacre actually occurred on the intersection but the monument was moved about 50 feet onto the sidewalk because tourists were disrupting traffic by taking pictures with the plaque

Site of Boston Massacre

Samuel Adams

Gold tea kettle (Boston tea party)

10. DUNKIN REIGNS
This is the only city in the US that I have been to where Starbucks is not king. It was crazy. Instead, there was a Dunkin' Donuts on nearly every street corner. It was wild and actually pretty cool. There were 3 Dunkin' Donuts within 0.3 miles of my hotel (shoutout to the Boxer Boston Hotel). I love donuts so it's amazing. And oddly enough, I never had a donut over there. Just 8 miles outside of Boston is Quincy - the birthplace of Dunkin' Donuts. Next time, I would love to go there.


AHHHH BOSTON! I MISS YOU ALREADY.

I really hope to see you soon <3

<3<3<3

Last Seasonal Starbucks Meal of 2014

I am one of the biggest gimmicky consumers out there. Slap on "Limited Edition" or "Seasonal" on a product and you know I'm on it.

As much as I detest the cold, Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons because of all the seasonal flavors - pumpkin, chestnut, gingerbread. And then there is the savory like stuffing! OOH STUFFING.

Starbucks is my biggest weakness this time of year! The amount of money I shell out each year on their holiday drinks is pretty embarrassing...though I must admit, half of my purchases were for others. Sharing is caring! :)

This year's holiday favorites included: chestnut praline latte, holiday turkey and stuffing panini, and the frosted snowman cookie.

In late December, Starbucks will stop ordering new shipments of holidays flavors (or so I was told). Whatever you can find in late December and early January are the last stock. I just had to get my last fix before they disappear til Fall 2015.

My Starbucks holiday favorites

I actually had to drive to two different Starbucks to find the frosted snowman cookies. The first one were all out with nothing coming in anymore. Thank goodness for living in a big city like Los Angeles where there are Starbucks everywhere. I found the cookies at a nearby Starbucks. Oh the joy!!!

Trust me when I say I was so close to buying nearly all of them just to stock up! My little nephew loves them. One of my best friends loves them. We would all be in seasonal cookie heaven.

Until next time holiday menu....you will be greatly missed and craved.

<3<3<3

November Grateful Challenge Part 4

This post is 3 days late! Got lost in the grind of life. Oops -_-

Last week has been a tough week for me. The silver lining to tough weeks are the blessings that come buried within the chaos.

1. Ben. Three little letters that, when put together, mean so much to me! Last week was a challenging one. I was vulnerable, sad and had many a meltdowns. He picked me up each time. He listened and validated. He let me cry, rant, and whine, but he also stopped me from getting carried away in my emotions. He pushed me to pick myself up after the tears dried instead of letting me drown in them. In my moments of helplessness and vulnerability, he made me feel safe. It is no wonder I have loved this guy for nearly 3 years <3

2. Baby O. Big surprise, right?! I always talk about him. It's hard not to. this little guy has stolen my heart. I am very so grateful to have him in my life and to witness him grow. Last Saturday, we attended a children's event at Glendale Community College where they had ice snow (which was pretty hilarious as it was 80 something degrees), crafts, pictures with Elsa and Olaf, face painting and more! He spent nearly an hour just jumping in the icy puddles. The sparkle in his eyes when he got to sit in and on the firetruck just melted my heart <3

3. Seasonal treats. I am the biggest sucker for anything seasonal/limited edition. This time of year is my most favorite time at Starbucks. This year they came out with Chestnut Praline. YUMMMM. ANNNND they came out with a turkey, stuffing,gravy, cranberry panini. I am not a turkey person, but when you combine stuffing (my most favorite!!) into a Thanksgiving blend of cranberry and cravy, I cannot resist. If you have this at your Starbucks, you must try it. It would be a crime not to.

4. UCLA Runs LA. UCLA beat U$C in Los Angeles' biggest football game of the year. The two crosstown rivals have been going at it since their very existence. This year's victory marks UCLA's third consecutive year of victory. If you are unfamiliar with how monumental this is, UCLA has experienced an extensive dry spell/losing streak in previous years. This is so exciting for us Bruins (past, current and future) to stomp all over U$C again! GO BRUINS!!!

5. Health. I had so much negative energy within and around me last week. I decided to release that toxic energy into positive energy. I started working out (I haven't gotten to the gym since February, I know, I know.) in order to release all that bad aura. Sometimes I do get lazy to go, but so far I have gone everyday. I'm going to be real with myself and I know that I can't go every day forever. I'm aiming for 3x/week. I'll keep you posted! :) I did see the Instagram post below and it was a great pick-me-up. We only have one body for the rest of our lives so let's be kind to our bodies and treat them with the utmost care.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I know I have a lot to be grateful for. We all do. I hope that amidst our long table spread of a yummy Thanksgiving feast, we all find the time to reflect on our many blessings and fortunes. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

<3<3<3

November Grateful Challenge Part 3

Reflecting on the past week, there is always plenty to be grateful for. Let's get started :)

1. My little two year old nephew, Baby O. I totally adore this kid.  I spent all of last Monday with him. He's now taller, heavier, and just as cute! We were real Handy Mannys "fixing" things around the yard with his toy hammer. These baby toddler years go by fast. I am thankful I am able to share many moments with this little guy. 

(10/9/14)

2. Heavenly treats. I am a sucker for seasonal treats or any food/drinks that are limited edition. Those promos and gimmicks? They get me every time! DOH! 

(a) I found these Milano Pumpkin Spice cookies at Ralphs and bought one bag for my friend for us to munch on during our girls' night sleepover. DELICIOUS DOT COM. We went back the next day and bought 6. Granted, two were for me and of the 2, one was for my work party which they gobbled up! One coworker even "stole" the bag and brought it back to his office. LOL.  

(b) The Franken Frappuccino from Starbucks. This was a Halloween promo that I finally had last week. Oh my word, oh my word. This was definitely heaven in a cup, or rather diabetes in a cup. It definitely has a lot of sugar (Green tea frap, 3 pumps white mocha, 3 pumps  peppermint, java chips, whip cream, and mocha drizzle). I got the lighter version (green tea frap, 1 pump of each white mocha and peppermint, java chips, whip cream and light mocha drizzle). It was absolutely amazing!!!!! I will definitely order this again but with just 1 pump peppermint and java chips as a once in a while treat (and gulp a bottle of water after, lol). It tasted like mint chocolate chip heaven. YUM.

3. Friends that just get me... Self-explanatory. This has been a rough week. To top it off, I'm PMSing (TMI, sorry) so I'm more emotional. Stepping back, I feel so blessed to have people stand by my side through the storm. They get me, they feel me, and they love me anyway. 

4. Meeting Mindy Gledhill. I talk about it in detail in my post here but I feel so grateful to have been able to attend Mindy's concert. I adore her! I love her music, especially her albums Anchor and Winter Moon. She is definitely a true artist and one of my favorites.

5. My parents are off to the Philippines. They left today! They will be gone for a little less than 14 days. I'm not so much celebrating their departure. I'm celebrating their return to their motherland. My dad hasn't been to the Philippines since he came to the US in the late 1970s. My mom hasn't visited since 2007. The occasion for their return is not happy as they are visiting my Lola Mommy's grave. My Lola Mommy (my grandmother) passed away in August. I feel eternally grateful that I was able to see her in April before she got really sick. Although their return will be sad, I am sure my parents will be so happy to be back home to see family (well, my dad's family are all here in the US). 

May you all have a beautiful week <3

<3<3<3