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Starting a Legacy

30 Aug

I decided to drive down to Dedham today to check out the brand-new Legacy Place. Located at the intersection of Rte. 128 and the VFW Parkway (exit 15A on 128), the outdoor shopping center is a pretty nice place to spend some time. Sure, not all the stores and restaurants are open yet (many are due to open in the next two months, and at least a couple won’t be open till the spring), but the architecture and design of the place, plus some nice landscaping, make it a pleasant place to wander around. And that’s exactly what I did, stopping into L.L. Bean, City Sports, the Apple Store, the Showcase de Lux movie theater, Yankee Candle, and others. I also looked into the soon-to-open Whole Foods, Brooks Brothers, J.P. Licks, Met Bar & Grill, and Borders. I even bought something. It’s just a shame Legacy Place is only opening now, as summer draws to a close, because once the weather gets colder, I can’t see myself wanting to spend much time outdoors here. But for now, it’s a nice new place to go.

Single Minded

16 Aug

I won’t lie: I’d like to be in a relationship right now. But the reality is that I’m not, and I’m fine with it. Actually, it’s quite nice.

Case in point: last weekend I had an unfortunate cooking incident involving pancakes (don’t ask), so this morning when I woke up, I decided I didn’t want to mess around with imperfection. I got in my car and drove to a place where I knew I could have good griddle cakes: IHOP. In Harvard Square, of all places. I took a magazine with me, and I sat there at my table, alone, eating my breakfast. And I was happy. (It wasn’t the first time I’ve dined by myself, either.) Spur of the moment idea, instant activity. No one to convince, no one to stop me. And sure enough, the pancakes were tasty and I was content. With no other place to be, I walked off my meal by wandering around the Square, popping into one store or another, stopping to browse a magazine or two at the Out-of-Town newsstand. I even hung out at a farmer’s market. And when I was ready, I left.

Yesterday, I had a similar kind of day. I needed an activity, so because the weather was so nice, I decided to go on a drive — all the way to the Stoughton Triangle, my name for the intersection where you’ll find IKEA, Costco, and Jordan’s Furniture all next-door to each other. Yes, the last time I went to IKEA, I was let down, but so what? Even if all I did was have lunch, it would still have been something to do. So I got in my car, rolled down the windows, turned up the radio and went. Thankfully, I found what I needed (and then some), and I had a tasty lunch as well. Then I had a tasty “snack” at Costco, and after buying a thing or two, I meandered my way back to the city. Mission accomplished.

When you’re single and unattached, with no obligations, you can do such things. You keep your own schedule, going where you want to go, doing what you want to do, and doing it when you want to do it. And sure, maybe I’m a little too used to it at this point — it’s probably not such a good thing to be so comfortable hanging out solo at age 35 — but do you see me complaining?

2.5 Years and 3 Hours Later

20 Jun

I remember the first time I learned about the iPhone. It was January 2007 and I was in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show in the press room. Details about the new Apple device, which was not actually on display there in Vegas, spread like wildfire, and just like that, everything else at CES was rendered insignificant.

But as much as I wanted an iPhone when they hit stores that summer, I knew I should wait for the second version. Continue reading →

I’m Gonna Go to Friendly’s

3 Jun

What better way to spend my upcoming birthday weekend (psssst … the big day is Sunday) than by enjoying some free ice cream at Friendly’s? Woo hoo! So consider this your heads up. From noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Friendly’s is giving out free scoops of ice cream. I’ll be there. Will you?

The Remix Gets Iced

2 Jun

I’m not one to complain about getting something for free, especially when it comes to ice cream. In fact, there are few things I get excited for more than free ice cream. So you have to assume that when the good folks at Cold Stone Creamery emailed me Sunday with a coupon for a free ice cream in honor of my birthday (which, ahem, is this Sunday), I was quite excited. That is, I was excited until I saw the coupon itself: good for a free small size original creation of my choice, i.e.: ice cream and one mix-in. One. You’d think that Cold Stone, which features a Signature Creation called Birthday Cake Remix (yum), would offer you a free cup or cone of that flavor — or at least a creation with enough mix-ins so you can make it yourself — on your birthday. Nope. Not that this is going to stop me from claiming my gift between now and June 14, when the coupon expires, but I just thought it deserved a comment.

Same People, Different Week

24 May

I was going to post something here about the people who are always in the Chestnut Hill Finagle a Bagel on Saturdays and Sundays for lunch, and how amusing it is that like clockwork, you can always count on seeing them. Because it’s true: There are a handful of people who are always there midday on the weekends. And I might have made fun of these people’s quirks or remarked about the endearing qualities of one particular couple, or commented on how these customers know the folks behind the counter so well. And then it occurred to me … The only reason I know who goes to Finagle at the same time every week is because I go to Finagle at the same time every week. How lame is that? Jeeeez. I’ve really gotta find a new lunch place.

Spacey

24 May

I went to the Wrentham Outlets yesterday to do some summer clothes shopping, and while it was a pain in the arse finding a parking spot, it was totally worth it. There were great deals all over, and I gave my credit card a good workout buying new pants, shirts, shoes, and other stuff.

But parking was a challenge and it reminded me of two long-held thoughts I’ve had about parking lots. Continue reading →

Sweeter on Sweet

22 May

It took three or four loops around Harvard Square Thursday night before I finally found a parking spot, and I must not have been paying any attention to where I was driving. I was there to have dinner at Border Cafe with Amy, Amy’s mom, and AmyMac, and as good as the margaritas were (especially on such a hot day), you can only imagine how excited I was when AmyMac mentioned that a new cupcake place had opened in the Square. What was funny is that I had driven right by it those four times and didn’t even notice. How could I have been so blind?

Well anyway, this was no “new” cupcake place. It was a new, second location for Sweet, the Back Bay store that didn’t really blow me away when I tried it last year. And I have to say, I don’t know if it was the company I was with or the cake itself, but I certainly enjoyed my Sweet Cake with chocolate buttercream frosting more last night than the one I had exactly one year ago today. There was a very strong vanilla flavor, the icing was, well, sweet, and while the cupcake was small, it was definitely an ideal size given how full I was from dinner.

What I also missed while driving around: Tory Row had opened in the space formerly occupied by the Greenhouse. Next time I’m driving around Harvard Square looking for parking, I’m going to have to be better about looking around and seeing where I am. I can only imagine what other tasty treats I may have missed.

I Scream

20 Apr

Wanted to give you a heads up that tomorrow is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s. This annual, well, holiday is one of the most exciting days of the year, and I’m already looking forward to my free scoop of Phish Food. Or will it be Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough? Or Chocolate Therapy? The choices are almost overwhelming. I may have to go back twice. Or three times.

Of course, Ben & Jerry’s isn’t the only place giving out ice cream in the next few days. Next Wednesday, April 29, Baskin-Robbins is having its annual 31-cent Scoop Night, where you can get yourself some yummy ice cream for almost nothing, and support a good cause too (all the proceeds go to the National Volunteer Fire Council National Junior Firefighter Program).

So … start saving your appetite, get your spoon ready, and save me a place in line!

An Old Joke

28 Mar

Manischewitz has added a logo to its boxes of Passover cake mixes, matzahs, and other products this year that says “Over 120 years!” I’m not sure if that’s how long the company has been in existence or how long the boxes have been sitting on the store shelves. (Insert laughter here.) After all, some of that stuff sits on the shelf for a very, very, very long time, and it tastes just about the same on day one as it does weeks and months later.

Ah, Passover food. So bad, and yet, so necessary. I had my annual round of thoughts about this subject today when I went to Stop & Shop to do some shopping for the holiday (it starts on April 8). $4 for 12oz of grape jelly. $5 for two cans of tuna fish. $5 for a box of cookies. It’s crazy, especially because I only need the stuff for eight days (less, actually, considering I’ll be out of town for the first three days). That’s why I always save my receipts — so I can return all my extra food and stick it to the man.

What made my shopping trip today a little more amusing was a (slightly weird) young woman who started to chat me up about how it looked like I was going to be doing some cooking (based on what? Two cans of tuna, a bottle of Coke, some cake mix, some cookies, and some mayonaise?) and wasn’t Passover such a great holiday, and blah blah blah. When I replied that I wasn’t such a big fan of Passover, she started to list out all the things that are apparently “so good” about it, like herring (yuck), chopped liver (yuck), fried matzah (not bad), and gefilte fish (alright, that one I like, but as I told her, it’s a food I can and do eat year round). And then she started raving about how great peanut butter and jelly on matzah was, and I said it’s fine for a week, but I’d rather have it on bread. Quite frankly, the only Passover-specific food I genuinely enjoy is the Manischewitz Coffee Cake, which is actually quite good.

But anyway … at that point, because she wasn’t getting the hint, I excused myself and walked off to shop in another aisle. If this woman was trying to change how I feel about Passover — or, more likely, trying to get me to ask her on a date — she failed. I may not be an expert on how to pick up members of the opposite sex, but I can say this: using Passover as your “in” definitely doesn’t work. At least not with me.

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