All good things must come to an end...

So, sad to say, this will most likely be my final entry. I had hoped to update way my than I did, but what can I say, keeping up a blog is pretty difficult. I've been doing this blog for a class all semester, and now the semester is over. And I definitely think I will miss this.

At times, keeping this thing updated felt like a task, but at other times, it was great fun! I found out about things I may never have known had it not been for this blog. And everything I wrote about, I really enjoyed. I'm not sure how many people were actually reading this, but I hope at least a few strangers stumbled upon my musings and maybe, perhaps, got a little laugh or took away one of my suggestions.

Also, as much as I enjoyed writing, I also enjoyed reading the blogs of my fellow classmates. They came up with some great ideas for their blogs and I definitely regularly read a few of them.

All this being said, I hope you all enjoyed my blog. Maybe if in a different world, where I wasn't buckled down with schoolwork, jobs and other responsibilities, I could give this blog the attention it deserved.

Buzzing on Tequila

Just a quick little snippet that I found interesting...

Everyone knows what Patron is. It's that tequila that all the rappers sip on while their chillin the club. I'm not big fan of tequila at all, but I REALLY like Patron.

As I was perusing the Edge on Bostonherald.com, I came across a story announcing that Patron has a new spirit called XO Cafe...It's apparently a blend on tequila and coffee. In an espresso martini, it sounds like it could be tops.

Well, if like the song goes, Tequila makes her clothes fall off, then XO Cafe is going to make her want to run a marathon.

Opening Day!

As everyone in Boston knows, today is the Red Sox home opener. They are playing against the Seattle Mariners. Even though the game already started over an hour an a half ago, I'm sure Sox fans will be celebrating way into the evening. In honor of this day, I'm linking to City Search's best places to watch a Sox game in Boston. The obvious places that I would pick are Jillian's, Game On!, and Boston Beer Works, but their list gives you a few more options if you want to avoid the Fenway crowds and enjoy the game at a distance in another part of the city.

Don't kill me for saying this, but I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't have Red Sox Fever. I'm from southern Connecticut, which is about an hour away from NYC. Which means ::gasp:: that I am a born and bred New York Yankees fan. My parents put me in a Don Mattingly jersey at the ripe old age of 2 and if I became a Sox fan, I'm pretty sure my parents would disown me.

In other news, K-Fed is going to be at Gypsy Bar again this Friday. Please contain your excitement folks. Now calm down, and enjoy today's game!

Back in Action

Wow, where in the world did the last week go? I apologize for my less than frequent postings as I have been wrapped up in working extra shifts and the pile-on of end-of-the-semester work that has kicked in. I promise this week that I will be more diligent.

As we all know, spring is in the air (although if you are stuck in frigid Boston like I am, you might not feel like it). With spring comes lost layers and fantastic new spring clothing. Around the world, many major cities hold their annual fashion weeks right around this time. In honor of this, the Boston Phoenix put together an article listing off some chic, hip and spring-y cocktails to make you feel like a fashionista.

They run through all the major cities that have their own fashion weeks and they tell you where to head for a cocktail that will make you fill like your Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Tokyo or good ole' Manhattan.

Plonk this

I just realized that I've been blogging for about three months and I have yet to write about one of my favorite features on Boston.com. One that I look to religiously. What I speak of is their "Plonk of the Month" feature.

What is a plonk, you may ask. Here is Boston.com's official definition:

This is a monthly column on wines we call "plonk," which began as British slang for the cheapest drink served, and is now widely used to mean simple, inexpensive bottles. This new year, we're raising the price ceiling from $10 to $12. The decision stems in part from the continued decline in the value of the dollar, a situation that makes all European wines more expensive than they might otherwise be. The change will also allow us to report on some California wines that otherwise wouldn't make the cut due to high costs of winemaking there. "Plonk of the month" appears on the last Wednesday of the month and is posted on Boston.com.

And when you are, like me, a college student on a budget, you will come to LOVE plonks. This month, the topic is red wines. Red wines that you can relax after a long day with, and red wines that will warm you up in the still-chilly weather.

For more specific wine suggestions, keep checking out the plonk of the month!

I'll catch you on the flip side...

Looking for something to do tonight? Or are you looking to see what you missed when you didn't go out last night? Check out The Flip Side.

This is a blog from the Boston Globe Sidekick team. It's a cool little thing that provides info on local Boston events, unique goings-on around town, and it's rounded out with a little humor. I really enjoy this one a lot, so check it out kids.

Warning: Upcoming Celebrity Event!

So as some of you may know, Christina Aguilera is making her way to the Hub and playing a much-anticipated show at the TD Banknorth Garden this Friday night, March 30th. And she's bringing the Pussycat Dolls with her.

If you are a big Christina fan, the official concert after-party is happening at Aria nightclub. You can enter to win a chance to have dinner with Ms. Aguilera in NYC and you get reduced admission with your ticket stub from the concert.

BUT, if you are like me, and you'd rather actually party with the celebrities, the Pussycat Dolls are going to be at Gypsy Bar after the concert on Friday night for their official after-party. Admission is only $10 and according to the invite, the girls we'll be around to meet and greet fans.

Thanks to HeyLetsGo Boston for the head's up!

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

So my friends and I, sometimes, revert back to our childhood. We like to play pretend. But this is more of a grown-up game of pretend. You see, if we've recently gotten paid or have something to celebrate, we like to pretend to be rich. We'll go shopping in Copley or get dinner and wine on Newbury. Or, we'll go get drinks at somewhere entirely out of our price range.

Yesterday evening, my friend Chris and I decided to get dressed up and get drinks at the Skybar at the Top of the Hub, located on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Tower. And it was totally worth it.

Sitting in the lounge, drinking top-shelf martinis while looking out at an almost 360 degree view of the city of Boston made me feel like I had all the money in the world to spend. Martinis ran about $11 and other cocktails were $8 or $9, but definitely worth it. I ordered the Purple Rain martini and it may have been the best drink I have ever had.

Now I may not be able to afford $11 martinis everyday, but it's definitely fun to splurge and pretend once in awhile.

Organic Beer

I came across this article from the Boston Phoenix about Peak Organic Brewing Company. Now I've had a lot of different kinds of beer, but I had never heard of such a thing as organic beer. The organic thing is pretty big now, so it makes a lot of sense that there is an organic brewing company out there. Here's a little snippet from the piece:

Put aside for a moment the personal, environmental, and social dimensions of organic food and drink. Think instead about the flavor. One of beer’s strong points is its simplicity: barley, hops, water, yeast. Shouldn’t it follow that those ingredients be as unadulterated as possible? Peak’s hops (from the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Canada, and New Zealand) and barley are grown entirely without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

“The most important thing in a beer is the purity of the ingredients,” says Cadoux, who’s been brewing Peak Organic from Portland, Maine, since last spring. “They just really make it pop with flavor. That’s why organic products are doing so well.” (Organic beer sales topped $19 million in 2005, a 40 percent increase.)

Luck 'o the Irish

OK, so I know this is going to seem a little belated, but after hearing my podcast and listening to some of the low points of my St. Patrick's Day, I was pretty excited to find the website I am about to share with you.

On St. Patrick's Day in Boston, if you try to set foot into any establishment with an Irish-sounding name, you are guaranteed endless lines and excessive admission fees. It seems appropriate that one would want to spend St. Patrick's Day in one of Boston's many fantastic Irish pubs. However, I think that all these places are equally as fun any other time of the year.

In my searching, I found this site. BostonIrishPubs.com lists any and every Irish establishment in the greater Boston area. I could think of at least 7 or 8 pubs off the top of my head, but this site lists 30 or 40 others that I hadn't even heard of!

So, if you are still seeing green and haven't fully finished your St. Patty's Day celebrating, check out this site. But, don't be too jealous of the fact that in less than two months, I will be floating from pub to pub...in Ireland.

Show me your Shamrocks!

Hello all! So, after spending, oh, the past four or five days recovering from St. Patrick's Day, I'm finally back in action! Instead of writing a big, long post about what I did to celebrate the holiday, I've put together a podcast! For my ramblings and rantings on St. Patrick's Day in Boston, check this out...

Spring Break Photos!

Ok I said I would be back with some pictures from my trip and here they are:

This is a picture of the Bacardi Distillary off the coast of Old San Juan.

Some of my friends and I posing by the wall of Bacardi Superior bottles. These bottles are actually there, I did not photoshop them in!

A view from one of the historic forts in Old San Juan. There are two forts on opposite ends of the city, both with amazing views overlooking the water.

Beautiful cemetery on the edge of the city overlooking the water.

Waterfall at the base of the El Yunque rain forest. We swam in it after our 4 hour hike to the peak of the rain forest and back.

My entire spring break group after we had reached the top of the rain forest. Definitely the highlight of our trip for me.


Beach that our hotel was located on.

But alas, now I am back in Boston and it's snowing :-( I'll get back to some real updates very soon!

La Isla Bonita

Hello hello! I have made it back from Puerto Rico pretty much the same way I left, only with a little bit weaker of an immune system, a slight tan, and a few bruises that I honestly don't remember acquiring.

Since I have to do everything in excess, I spent 10 glorious in a beach-side condo in beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico. I couldn't have asked for a better spring break.

I went to San Juan last year for spring break with four friends and stayed in the same condo complex. We had so much fun, that we decided to go back this year. Two of my best friends who I went with last year and I left on March 3rd and met up with my other roommate and her boyfriend who were staying with us at the complex, but in a different condo.

We also had a whole slew of visitors lined up for our extended stay. Two of our NU friends who were staying in Ponce came down to spend a night with us. One of our other friends who transferred out of NU came to stay with us for five nights. Also, my best friend from home in Connecticut (who also knows all of my Boston friends) came down with one of HER friends for a long weekend. It was like a new vacation started every time we had a new visitor!

The whole vacation was pretty much a whirlwind. We spent our time lounging on the beach, frolicking in the ocean, relaxing on our balcony, playing poolside bingo against retirees, touring the Bacardi factory, riding banana boats, exploring old San Juan and the historic forts, singing karaoke with the locals, hiking to the top of the El Yunque rain forest and swimming in waterfalls. All that, in addition to mid-day tiki bar excursions, pina coladas by the pool, pitchers of sangria and plantains every night, and drinking more rum than I ever thought imaginable. And that's only the PG-rated stuff my friends.

Let's just say that I'm still not adjusted to being back in the states and we're already talking about what we're going to do when we go back. And I probably won't be able to drink another rum and coke until then.

P.S. - Pictures to follow in a later post!

I really wish I could be around to see this...

So the one Friday night when I definitely can't go out, I stumble upon an event that I would die to see. Well, not really, but this will prove to be highly entertaining I'm sure.

So one of today's most popular events on HeyLet'sGoBoston is "WeeMan Rides the Bull." For those of you who are not familiar with WeeMan, he is one the skateboarding "Little person" of MTV's Jackass fame. And apparently he is going to be riding the mechanical bull at The Liquor Store tonight and judging the bull riding contest.

I've been DYING to go to this bar and ride the bull. Not so unfortunately, I will be spending the next at least 12 hours preparing to get on a place tomorrow morning to spend 9 wonderful, glorious days in San Juan, Puerto Rico. That being said, I will be back with an Island-themed update on March 13th. Happy Spring Break everyone!!!

Best Friends are Forever...

...so obviously when my best friend from home came to visit a few weeks ago, I had to show her a good time.

My friend Tara and I have been best friends since practically the first day of freshman year of high school. She goes to school closer to home in Connecticut, so I don't get to see her too often. She usually comes to Boston at least once and year, and this was the first time she had come to visit since we both turned 21.

Naturally, going out in Boston is more expensive than going out in other places. I knew she had to pay a lot for a train ticket to come to see me, so I didn't want her to break the bank on one night out on the town. So, I decided to round up some of my friends and take her out on one of my favorite not-so-expensive bar crawls.

If budget had allowed, I would have wanted to take her down to the Faneuil Hall area, but once it hits about 10 p.m., $10 covers for each bar visited is not the most economical thing. So, we started off on Boylston St. at the Pour House. This is, by far, one of my favorite Boston spots. The food is CHEAP and it's only 21+ after 8 p.m., so it's a fun place to grab a bite for all ages. All their beers on tap come in 22 oz. glasses and are quite reasonably priced. After grabbing dinner and a few beers, we backtracked down Boylston towards Copley.

Our next stop was Vox. It's a little more upscale and the atmosphere is more late 20-somethings after work than college kids. But, every single martini I have had there is fantastic. I knew Tara would love it because she has a sweet spot for Lemon Drops. My personal recommendation is the White Crantini.

We then ventured back in the other direction on Boylston, bypassed the Pour House and made a stop at the Cactus Club. Best Margaritas in Town. I kid you not. In every flavor imaginable. And I'm not even a huge fan of tequila. And how could you not love a restaurant with one of these perched on top of the bar:

After our margarita, we made our way to our last stop of the evening, Tiger Lily's. There is nothing really phenomenal about this restaurant, but almost every single one of my really fun bar-hopping nights has ended at Tiger Lily's, so I wanted to keep the tradition going. And their scorpion bowls are pretty great.

Oh, and did I mention that none of the places we went charged a cover? So, the moral of the story is, if you are at a loss for ideas on what to do for a night out, definitely give my full-proof Boylston Street bar crawl a try. I can guarantee its success because Tara is already counting down until the next time she can come visit and go out.

This gives a new meaning to "liquid dinners"...

Hello hello. Four days until spring break and counting. I've been so all consumed with midterms and projects and work and signing a lease on a new apartment, I'm surprised I can still count. I'm going to try to update like crazy this week so I won't be missed too much when I'm gone being a beach bum for 9 days.

So I found this article from the Boston Phoenix about food-fused cocktails. Apparently, there is a new trend in the Hub towards cocktails accented with food. I, for one, love a drink with perhaps a pineapple or orange wedge. Blue-cheese olives and oysters in my martini? Not so much.

The story definitely mentions some interesting one. At 28 degrees, they boast the prosciutto-and-melon martini. At the Good Life, they can offer you a cucumber martini.

My favorite, however is one of the specialties at Ivy:

...Ivy (49 Temple Place, Boston, 617.451.1416) has a hearty cocktail that will satisfy your palate and your stomach. The Leaning Mary-tini ($12) is an antipasto of tomato, olive, and fresh mozzarella on a skewer, soaking in citrus vodka, house-infused horseradish gin, fresh lime, and V8 juice, and finished with a salt-and-pepper rim. Basically, it kicks the Bloody Mary’s ass to a gory pulp.

As interesting as all these concoctions sounds, I think I am going to stick to keeping my dinner and drinks separate.

Oscar Time

So it's that time of the year again. The Academy Awards are this Sunday. For some reason, I'm not too excited about this year's Oscars. I've only seen two of the films nominated for best picture, which I'm a little ashamed about. I'll definitely admit that I'm pulling for Little Miss Sunshine. I'm also very excited that Ryan Gosling got a best actor nomination for Half Nelson. It's a fantastic movie and if you haven't seen it yet, you should.

So, if you are more psyched about the Oscars than I am, there are some really cool Boston-area Oscar parties going on this weekend. This article from the Boston Globe lists off some of them.

I, on the other hand, am going to be on my couch, hopefully catching up on my movies.

Spring Fever

It's not even spring yet, but I think I officially have spring fever. Or perhaps just spring break fever. I cannot stop thinking about my upcoming trip to Puerto Rico. This is making life difficult, considering I should be buried under a mountain of pre-Spring Break midterms, projects and papers. March 3rd cannot come any sooner.

Now on to more relevant topics. I came across this really cool site today. Chowhound is a blog for people who live to eat. It's a national site, but is broken up by geographic areas. The best thing about it: You can post any food or drink-related question on their message board, and other users will respond to you. You can ask anything from recommendations for the best Fenway-area bars to where to go and get the best Thai food. So if you are ever stuck for an idea of where to take that friend from out of town, Chowhound might help you find the answer.

Fat Tuesday

I apologize for my week-long disappearing act. I have been hiding out in the loft at my parent's condo in Connecticut f0r the long weekend. The best place I can think of when I need a break from the city. The only downfall: My wireless Internet connection is less than stellar.

That being said, I'm back in action and counting down 11 days until I am sunbathing on the beach in San Juan Puerto Rico. But on to more relevant topics.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. If your Catholic, this means the start of 40 days and 40 nights of not eating meat on Fridays and giving up something you hold near and dear to your heart until Easter. This also means that today is the official Mardi Gras, or as some like to call it, Fat Tuesday. And since we aren't really too close to New Orleans, some Boston-area hot spots are throwing Fat Tuesday bashes of their own.

On the front of today's Boston Globe Sidekick, they listed a couple good suggestions for ways to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Tequila Rain is having a SoCo Lime party with a Mardi Gras theme. Dick's Last Resort in Fanueil Hall is also hosting a Mardi Gras party with a best-dressed contest and a craw fish-eating contest.

Coincidentally, these are also the two most popular events for today on HeyLet'sGo Boston. If you are in the mood to go crazy and try to snag some beads, you know where to go.

Alert: Another Awesome Site

It makes my day when I find new and fabulous sites to share! This one is absolutely amazing. It's called Hey Let's Go Boston.

This site sorts events by day and popularity, which means that it's constantly updated with the most current event information. It also breaks it up by nightlife, culture, music and activities. This is convenient for finding the best event suited for whatever mood you are in.

Today's most popular event is the St. Single's Day Party at Upstairs on the Square, and event to mark the new holiday, "St. Single's Day."

Another cool feature of the site is that you can create a profile and RSVP to events that you will be attending. You can also see the profiles of other people who will be attending the same event, which makes for a great networking feature.

More cool features: being able to upload pictures from events and message board on a huge range of topics.

This site is definitely being added to my favorite links.