Cute explosion

A few weeks ago, we spent a lovely Sunday with J-School friends in Cutetown, USA. Actually, we were in Hanover, Mass., but it might as well have been the headquarters of adorable. Not only did we spend time with a sweet newborn, but we also played with a puppy. A baby and a puppy!

The get-together was the NEU crew's first introduction to little Mr. Teddy! And he is one good baby. We all took turn snuggling with him and he didn't even fuss. (I will admit that I was kind of a baby hog, but I couldn't resist!) Teddy made the funniest little faces all afternoon. I just couldn't get over how expressive he is and he is just one month old!



And just when we thought the afternoon couldn't get better, Korri told us that her family brought home a golden wheaten terrier puppy right before Teddy was born and they named him Casey. Yay!



Casey couldn't look any more like a Muppet if he tried and Teddy couldn't get any more lovable if he tried. And although Teddy's mommy is taking some AMAZING photos of him, I couldn't resist taking a few of my own. They're slightly blurry because I didn't want to use a flash right in Teddy's face, but little Teddybear is still very photogenic--even when he is upset like the photo below!


It was a great afternoon and I can't wait until we get together again! (And try and top the ultimate sweetness of the day.)

My Favorite Holiday

It's the Friday before July 4th and I couldn't be more excited for the long weekend.

I've been looking forward to July 4th for weeks and a new blog post from my friends at Sand Pail List have inspired me to share some of my thoughts on my family's traditions for the Fourth.

The main reason why July 4th is so special in my fam is because it's my grandmother's birthday. This year, my hilarious and lovable Nana will be turning 89. We always celebrate with a big cookout at my aunt's house featuring plenty of food like hamburgers, hot dogs, lobsters and my mom's trademark dish: Renee's chicken. (The recipe for which actually came from loyal blog reader Auntie Lisa!) Growing up, I looked forward to the big cookout to see my cousins, eat lots of food and hope that someone brought along some illegal sparklers.

The Fourth also marked the official start of the summer for me-- I knew the weather would now be consistently nice and the beach would be crowded with tourists and visitors. I could also look forward to seeing summer friends again and plan on family members coming to visit.

Now that I'm older, the Fourth still holds special meaning for me. I get excited to go to our big family cookout and see friends on the Cape during July 4th weekend. And to get a little corny, the Fourth is a time to count my blessings-- I get to be on the Cape, my favorite place, and see so many of my favorite people.

I hope celebrating our Nation's (and my Nana's) birthday holds special meaning to you too!

(P.S.-The Fourth is also the birthday of my cousin Mike and a few friends, including Korri. :) It may also be the b'day of Korri's soon-to-arrive son, Teddy! Yay! )

Some of the family at the 2008 Cookout

Congrats KLC!

My very talented friend Korri Leigh Crowley was named Boston.com's Photographer of the Week on Monday. It's a well-deserved honor! Korri is creative, professional and her passion for her photography is evident to anyone who meets her. Be sure to check out her website and her self portraits featured online. Congratulations Korri!

KLC hard at work, Oct. 2009.

Birthday Thanks

I've been pretty busy the past few weeks (hence the absence from the blog) and one of the things keeping me busy was my 27th birthday.

I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to this birthday. I would officially be in my late--not mid--twenties and I think any birthday is tough to face when one is an aspiring writer and stuck in job limbo. Hence my non-enthusiasm about the day.

But I soon changed my tune on the big day thanks to the wonderful phone calls, cards, emails and texts that came in last week. I even received multiple voicemail serenades sung by some of my favorite kiddos. I truly felt lucky to have such great people in my life reaching out to wish me a happy birthday.

I don't often get sappy on My Own Audience, but my birthday was a strong reminder that I have a lot to be thankful for--even if I am a would-be writer hoping for my 'big break.'

Thanks to everyone for making my day so wonderful! Now back to regularly-schedule blogging...

(Full Disclosure: Those gifts in the photo are not mine. They're actually not even gifts for a birthday, but I needed a photo for this post. Artistic license at work!)

Fun Spring Weekend

What's better than spending time with a friend you haven't seen in a year? Spending time with that friend the same weekend that you also go to an awesome concert.

Lucky for me, these were my exact plans a few weeks ago.

Lesley, my friend from DC, was in town visiting and we had a great little Friday afternoon. I hadn't seen Lesley in almost year (since my last visit to DC), but we used to spend every day together. We started work within a few months of each other and navigated the waters of the 9-to-5 world together. The 40-hour work week and real world was a tough adjustment, but we had a lot of fun, too.

She happened to visit Beantown two weekends ago, so she thankfully missed the floodfest that was this weekend. We spent the sunny afternoon wandering around Newbury Street and Boston Common. (True confession: my sense of direction around Boston is definitely still lacking, but I knew enough to show Lesley the sites.) She loved Beantown and we had a blast just catching up and joking around.

Big Papi says: Come back to Boston soon, Lesley, and I'll come back for a visit to DC.

After a fun Friday with Lesley, Rick and I went to see Jamie Cullum at the House of Blues on Saturday with a group of friends. The House of Blues is a very cool venue and Jamie Cullum is very entertaining. It was the first time I've seen him live and he was energetic and funny.

I also love his new album, The Pursuit. It's tough to sum up his style in a few words, but Cullum plays the piano, so his music tends to be slightly jazzy. He's a little pop, a little jazz and he also does great covers. My favorite song on the album is probably his cover of Rhianna's "Don't Stop the Music." It's fun and an original take on the tune.


I would definitely recommend checking him out live if you get the chance.

Photo Fun

I had a great Sunday afternoon taking pictures and posing with my talented friends, Korri and Clarice in Cambridge.

I'm definitely the least experienced shutterbug of the group, but these lovely ladies are great people to learn from!