Boston Walkabout

Today was one of those, "get out of the house and get movin'" type of days. Partly because of spring fever, but mostly because I had construction going on in my apartment. And, much to my weekend dismay, unlike San Francisco (which has a law that makes it illegal for residential construction to start before 9am), the Irish lads working on my place like to show up around 7:15am. Ouch, says the weekend sleeping in gods.

OK! So out and about we go. A total of 9 miles walked from one side of the city to the other. A bit windy, but all in all, good to feel the sunshine. With the goal of the Bunker Hill Monument in mind, a friend and I meandered across the Mass Ave bridge, along the river taking in the water sports, all the way to Charlestown. A really charming little neighborhood, with it's traditional New England clapboard houses. Two hundred and ninety four steps later, and we were at the top of the Monument.

A post-climb stop at Massachusetts oldest tavern, the Warren Tavern (we're talking 1780 here, people) for an Allagash or two was much needed. We passed on the food, as the standard bar fare looked, well, fairly standard. It was then off to the Navy Yard, the North End (new favorite dive bar there would be the humble and oh-so-Boston Corner Cafe - lots of accents in here) for a beer and pizza and a stroll through the Commons and Garden.

The city is really starting to rumble from it's slumber. Lots of runners, walkers and bikers had the same idea today. Wake up, Boston! Spring is here!

-xo-

eb

crew practice on the charles.

sails away!

love these colors.

the pond is full at the boston garden!

i was here two days ago, and it was an empty muddy mess!

YAY spring :)

i liked the look of this here truck.

can see tooling around during summer in it.

just add a cooler, dog and some company 'n tunes. beach time, anyone?

294 steps to the top.

#workitout

hey there, mister. 

RAWR! What kind of monster did YOU draw today?

I would say that I try to draw at least one monster each day. I attended a "Get Drawing" talk at the SXSW Interactive conference in Austin last month. The idea was that as designers, art directors and (wow!) everyone else, we don't draw as much as we should.

Draw or doodle, it doesn't matter. As a society, we rely too much on the computer to create our ideas. We should get back to the basics to help loosen up the creative thought process. The speaker, Von Glitschka, challenged everyone to make a habit of bringing drawing back into your life by drawing for 21 days.

So, the next time you're chatting away on the phone or reading the paper, try picking up a pen to draw. Then keep doing it. Such a simple joy.

Happy drawing!

- xo - 

eb

my medium of choice.

mark up those monstas!

we're moving out of our office in a year... so i got permission to draw on the walls. 

so satisfying. nothing better. 

hi little guy.

david bowie monster.

i'd like to do a whole serious of celebrity monsters.

fun, right?

the piece on the left was commissioned for a set of siblings birthdays. 

they were turning four and two.

monsters for all!

rawr 'n xo 'n stuff

Oh Joy! It's Spring

Well, I think it's (knock on wood) official.

Spring is here in New England.

And boy, oh boy, am I one happy girl about that. The winter wasn't tooooo terrible (ok, it got a little long there at the end) but all in all, the Coloradan in me kind of said, "Hey Boston winter, so what? Yea, you're a little too cold, a little too grey and a little too long. But all in all, you make me appreciate the summer, blue skies, bike rides and the warmth of good ol' sunshine that much more."

So, good riddance highs of 32°, wool jackets and hot toddy's. Bring on rosé, bare legs and walks around town.

Spring, welcome back.

- xo -

eb 

view from the office.

look at the springy rainbow.

breaking rules left and right:

white kicks before memorial day is how i roll.

an easter monster card i made.

even monsters like spring!

One Year Later

Hey all,

Today is a big day. One year ago today, I boarded a one way flight, SFO to BOS. Yikes! Stripes... Man was that scary.

Leaving friends and family, everything I knew and loved... That took a lot. But it turns out the past year has taught me a lot about living, adventures, people and myself. I have taken some amazing (New England) adventures, meet some unreal (New English) friends and had an overall wonderful time exploring, well, New England.

Can't wait to see what the next year will bring.

-xo-

eb

Happy 2013

Here's a new year and new adventures. 2012 brought lots of big changes for me - namely moving to a city where I didn't know a soul. I've had a freaking fun time exploring and getting to know new people. Two of my favorite things. Here's to more of the same in 2013. 

- xo - 

eb

Sparkle shorts + Fernet = a fun New Years/nasty hangover on Jan 1

A monster for y'all.

Brrr... Kind of...

It's finally feeling like winter here in Boston. It's not cold or windy enough to make it miserable, although I'm told it's coming.

For now, I'm ok with it. Appropriate for the holidays and it's nice to have an excuse to cuddle up and enjoy some tea and good book. Or, let's be real... most days it's good whiskey and online shopping.

Here some pics from my first real snow in Boston. It's so pretty - I'm wanting more of this white stuff! Famous last words, as I'm sure come February I'll be online window shopping for trips to the Caribbean. When in Rome, eh?

- xo -

eb

My street and own little park. Ain't it cute?

BRING YOUR RED HAT!

Whoops

Uh. How about this? How about my 2013 resolution is to better about blogging.

Ok, now that that's been said. I'll do it: I'll be better about blogging. But not before I apologize for being absolutely awful at it for the past four months.

Let's start with the fall in New England. I have to admit that this little quaint region of the world is starting to grow on me. Autumn brought new decorating to the apartment and a trip to go leaf peeping. Both of which caused me fall deeper and deeper "in like" with Boston.

The apartment redecorating was a huge step in my making Boston as much of a home as possible. It's now filled with art from SF AND New England, lots of textures and different materials. My sense of style is a hodgepodge and my home now reflects that.

Stripes! Chevron! Wood! Metal! Glass! 

OH MY!

The 48 star flag was a gift from my brother.

He found it at the Alameda Flea Market in the Bay.

Here's a sampling of my bike posters. 

All of these came from ArtCrank - an poster party I showed in for three years in SF.

Don't call me pumpkin, Pumkin'.

So now let's talk about Leaf Peeping (yes - we're gonna make this a proper noun)! My parents came East for a week to explore New England during the fall with me. It was wonderful. We drove north to Vermont, stopping and exploring in little towns along the way. We then looped back via North Adams and the Mass MOCA, staying at The Porches Inn. Between the museum and the absolutely adorable hotel, I'd say Western Mass has a lot to offer. We then scooted down to Stockbridge to visit the Normal Rockwell Museum and soak up a little Americana. 

The leaves were a little disappointing, but the scenery, food, pumpkin beer and company all made up for it. Can't wait to do it all again next fall. 

The Concord Cheese Shop. Yup. Amazing.

Concord.

Cheese was everywhere in Vermont!

See?!

My Leaf Peeping souvenir in prep for the Boston winter.  

The claw foot tub at the Porches. Amaaaaazing.

Love the wainscoting walls.

The porch at the Porches. Charming, no?

One of my antiques purchase. The antiques are amazing out here.

The wall drawings of Sol LeWitt. Unreal. On till 2033.

Normal Rockwell's studio.

His bike!

My favorite fall beer.

Well, that's if for my fall. Fast forward to winter! 

Happy New Year! 

- xo -

eb