Guess where I'm sitting right now?

My new bed, in my new apartment!

I'm in the middle of moving, and tonight's the first night I've slept here (it's really close to my mom's house, which makes moving a more relaxed process than usual.)

Yesterday, Dewey and I painted my room gray. Today my dad came and painted all the white trim, since he's good at that stuff. I still need to set everything up (not to mention actually unpack my stuff), but I'm pretty excited about my new gray room in my new apartment with my new roommates. Pictures to come, when everything's looking more picture-worthy.

Merry Christmas!

I hope yours is full of cookies and happiness.

Thank you so much for stopping by here, friends. If I could, I would give everyone who reads this blog a whole sidetable full of presents.

P.S. Sarah, Giovanna, and Neo-TRAD, send me your addresses! abigail.cyr{at}gmail.com

I want to send you presents!

You know those blogs that, when they show up in your reader with a new post, make you say "yay!"?* Kitchen Door is one of those ones for me. Katie lives in Boston, too, although she actually lives in the actual city proper, and she's always doing awesome cooking projects, and she has a CSA membership like a real grownup, and her take on the world is just so fresh, and her posts are so great that I apparently resort to run-on sentences when describing them.

Anyway, Katie, and now I, are** participating in the Pay it Forward Challenge. And now I'm participating in the Pay It Forward Challenge. What does that mean for you? It means that the if you are one of the the first three people to comment here, sometime in the near future (but it's not any more specific than that- it's supposed to be a surprise), I'll send you a present in the mail! You then blog about it, too, so the gift-giving fun can continue.

So, who will be my three?

*And Abbie fails at punctuation.

**And grammar.

Today is my mom's birthday.

She is the best kind of mom there is, and Dewey and I are so lucky we got her as ours.

A few reasons I love my mom so much:

1. She loves children. All of them. And taught me to do the same.

2. She would do anything for Dewey and me. Absolutely anything.

3. She is as no-nonsense as they come, but everything she says comes from a place of love.

4. She is so good at being a skinny minny, Harvard Magazine wrote an article about weight watchers and featured her! (That's the picture, up there).

5. When my mom decides that she is going to do something, she does. There is no way around it. She is the most determined person I know.

6. She knows how to have a good time. My mom does more fun things than anyone I know. Today, she and my sister are going Snowshoeing!

Happy Happy, Mommy!

I'm so glad you were born.

{Image borrowed from Harvard Magazine}

Lunch Dates with besties are the best.

A couple of weeks ago, Emily met me at work for a lunch date.

I love lunch dates.

We went to Blunch, which is my favorite place to eat lunch near my office.

They have really delicious sandwiches and salads, San Pellegrino orange soda (which comes with a little cover that you peel off before you open the can, and is the most charming thing in the world for some reason), and checkered plate liners. I love it.

They also have medical textbooks, since they're right by the BU Medical School. Emily read to me about Gout while we were eating. It was less than appetizing.

I finished the lunch date with a latte. It was pretty good, although there was a little too much foam. I live in a world full of high-class problems, I think.

Thanks for coming on a lunch date with me, Em!

Happy Monday!

I've got big plans for this week:

I'm going to get my learner's permit*, I think.

I need to try to do a least a teeny tiny bit of Christmas shopping, so my friends and family receive thoughtful presents, not the usual last minute junk I pay too much money for and they don't like.

I'm moving next week, so this week I need to start packing and pick out a paint color for my new room. Any suggestions? It gets lots of light in the morning.

How about you? Anything exciting this week?

*No, I don't have a driver's license. I keep meaning to get one, and one summer a couple of years ago, I even took driver's ed, but the actually taking the test has always evaded me. This time, I will do it. I swear.

You guys.

Have you listened to Noah and the Whale yet?

I know, I know, 5 Years Time was in a car commercial, but since I only watch TV on the internet, not on an actual TV, I seem to have missed it. Which is good, because it's car commercial-ness would make it less okay to love this song.

And this is a song worth loving.

I would just like to make it known

that I, Abbie,

ME,

Lover of All Junk Food,

just realized that the snack I really wanted right now, as I attempt to power through my to-do list, was NOT my normal go-to late night winter treat of hot chocolate.

No. No no no.

Tonight, the perfect treat? The one I craved above all others?

Leftover roasted broccoli.

(It was pretty delicious)

Here is what is perfect right now:

An iPod (especially if it's playing Noah and the Whale), a fountain pen, and a coffee shop.

Actually, to me, that's perfect almost always.

How about you?

Tonight I walked into the Coop, resigned to two more sleepless nights until I'm finally free of the grip the Twilight Saga has on me, only to discover they don't have it in paperback yet.

(Twilight may be like a drug to me, but it's not a drug for which I'm willing to pay $24.99 plus sales tax.)

The left me with a free evening. Since my mom wasn't going to be home until 9, I had the house to myself. It was a perfect evening for cooking.

In San Francisco, I cooked dinner several nights a week. Since I've moved back here, I've baked a fair amount, but I've only cooked a couple of times. I didn't realize how much I missed being in the kitchen, listening to music, chopping and stirring and tasting.

It was good to do it again.

So.

So. I have started reading the Twilight books.

I have been completely sucked in.

It's a little terrible. I started last week, and I'm already halfway through Eclipse.

I was avoiding them so well! But then. . .

Oh well. If all goes according to plan, I should be done with Breaking Dawn by the end of the week, and then I can start reading books that engage my brain* again.

*Which is not to say Twilight et al do not engage my brain. But, well, they kind of don't. They're still pretty fun, though. Like junk food. But books.

Here is what I love:

telling the same stories over and over again

drinking much too much two-buck chuck

laughing harder than I have in quite some time

forcing everyone to listen to my new favorite song

spontaneous dance parties

my friends

Today and tomorrow I am grateful for:

kind strangers.

friends who would get teeny tiny tattoos with me.

my awesome, completely unexpected (and maybe undeserved) job.

parents who taught me that the most fun part of thanksgiving is taking in as many strays as we can find.

a sister who, no matter how much we fight, wants me to meet her at the finish line of her road race so we can walk home together.

Man, people are awesome, no?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was a Bad Day.

It's okay, though. I spent twenty-five dollars on magazines, and now I'm going to go get into bed and read them.

Tomorrow will be better.

This much I know is true.

I am not naturally a people-pleaser.

I'm not meek, not in the least, and most of the time, I'm too obsessed with how awkward I feel to worry about giving others what they want.

The one exception to this rule? Cookies. At the first job I ever had, I baked cookies so my coworkers would like me, and much to my surprise, it worked. I did it again last year, and I even started accepting requests. Now that I know everyone at my new job well enough that it's not awkward anymore, I can bring cookies into work again. I like it. Especially on Mondays.

Mondays are hard. Cookies help.

Honest Scrap

Last week, Anna tagged me as an Honest Scrap!

Thanks, Anna! (You should all read her blog- it's so cute, and makes me think that maybe grad school isn't so scary, after all.)

Anyway, Honest Scraps tell you ten honest things about themselves. I talk about myself so much already, I tend to avoid these things, but I love Anna's blog and I was touched that she tagged me (nobody had ever been tagged me before, then she and Rhianne went and did it within 24 hours of each other!), so here goes:

1. I am a crier. I cry when I'm sad, but mostly, I cry when I'm angry. Whenever I argue with someone, before I can get my point across, I usually burst into tears. The loud, dramatic, ugly kind. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that. . .

2. I'm not very articulate. It takes me forever to get to the point, and I usually don't realize exactly what I'm trying to say until a couple sentences in. When I write, I can fix it with editing, but when I talk, it's just awkward.

3. I can be really shy. I have a loud voice and I shout a lot, so people don't believe me, but I developed those habits in part to cover up the fact that I just didn't know what to say or how to talk to new people. It's gotten lots better as I've gotten older, but it still comes out every now and then.

4. I secretly worry that I'm really, really stupid.

5. I am one of the more melodramatic individuals you'll meet. I feel all my feelings in a big way. Sometimes, I feel bad about it. Sometimes, I like that about myself.

I know that's only five, but it's late and I need to get to bed. I'm not going to tag anybody (I'm shy about stuff like that), but please, do play along. It's fun to be an honest scrap!

I love birthdays. I love birthday cake, and presents, and showering people with attention.

I'm just not very good at birthdays when I'm far away. (Sometimes I even forget to call.)

I am trying to change that, though, so when Lisa's birthday rolled around, I got her a little present, tied it up with a pretty bow, and sent it off in the mail. Here's to hoping that this trend continues.

Today I took a baby step.

I had a little free time, so I went to the coop, climbed up their crazy stairs* to the third floor, pulled a book off the shelf, and plopped my little** butt down on the floor, and started to read.

About graduate school.

I'm definitely not ready to apply to clinical psych grad programs this year, but I'm ready to start thinking about going through the process next year. It's a little overwhelming, so starting early seems to make a lot of sense.

I can totally do this. Right?

*It has always seemed inefficient to me that they make you walk through the cafe just to get to the next flight of stairs. Alas.

**My butt and my jaw are the littlest parts of me. Perhaps that's more than you needed to know. Alas.***

***Alas is apparently my word of the night. Alas.

This is Lisa. (Isn't she pretty?)

Lisa is one of my favorite people from Dartmouth, and today is her birthday.

I love Lisa for lots of reasons. Some of them are:

1. She tells it like she sees it. But in the most gentle way possible.

2. She is an excellent planner. Her wedding this summer was the perfect combination of preppy New England and Midwestern charm (and barbecue!)

3. She let me put on a pretty dress and fancy high heals and be her bridesmaid.

4. She knows everyone, and thanks to her mad crazy skills, she is able to remember everything about everyone.

5. She gossips with me.

6. She absolutely wishes the best for all her friends, and will do anything in her power to make sure that they get it.

Happy happy, Lisa!

I am so glad you were born.

{Picture borrowed from facebook}

{Source}

I am starting to think about moving out of my mom's pretty house once again, and I'm getting really excited about how I'll decorate a new apartment. Wouldn't one of these Wooly Pockets full of lush drapey plants look just lovely on a wall full of black and white photos?

{Spotted via Oh Joy!}

I am in love with the weather in Boston this week.

Today, we had lunch outside.

Tomorrow, our boss offered to take us on a picnic.

Come January and February, we'll be up to our eyeballs in snow, and that will be magical, but right now? I'm just enjoying this little bit of spring that we're getting in November.

Outdoor running and picnics all week long! Hooray!

Wise Words

Gchat from November 8th, 11:02 p.m.:

me: I just don't know what to do

whenever I fight with people

I end up feeling like the worst person in the world

Emily: ick

you are NOT the worst person in the world

not even close!

me: hitler's way worse

Emily: exactly

Thanks for cheering me up, Em.

You guys.

I just downloaded poladroid.

It is my favorite internet invention ever. (And really, that's saying a lot.)

{I thetalove gang symbol these girls.}

{Without a doubt, the only thing better than duckling bums is pola duckling bums.}

You should try it out. Really.

P.S. Tomorrow I'm going to a Dartmouth Young Alum event thing. I'm a little nervous, since I'm terrible at things like this. Wish me luck, please?

My massive incompetence surfaced again this morning, when I had to meet my friend at her apartment in Beacon Hill at 8 o'clock to pick up the i.d. that I left there last night, that I needed to even get into the building where I work.

All was okay, though, because it meant that I had an hour to walk from Charles Street to the South End, so I got a latte and took some pictures.

I am kind of in love with my city.

{duckling bums!}

Now I am going watch Castle with a mug of hot cider, and then read The English Patient before bed. (I am loving The English Patient, by the way. It's so good!)

Good night, internet!

Monday

As it turns out, it's hard to blog and work.

Especially when your sick.

Even ignoring the blog, I've been failing at life lately:

This morning, I got up super early to go to the gym. I stumbled out of bed, threw my clothes on, then ran around getting everything I would need and stuffing it into my gym bag.

I had a great workout and a really perfect shower (the water was just the right temperature and my muscles got all relaxed and it was just absolutely excellent), and then, as I was opened my locker, I realized that I'd forgotten half my clothes at home. Oops.

(Needless to say, I was a little bit late for work.)

This weekend was excellent and I made the most perfect halloween costume, and maybe tomorrow I'll actually upload all the pictures. I sewed ten yards of tulle. I was very fluffy. It was fantastic.

Now, though, I'm going to bed.

Sweet dreams, internet!

Oh, my.

When big fancy bloggers talk about how much they love the internet and all the wonderful people out there, I think it sounds like a lovely concept.

When I ask for music advice and I get lists of musicians in the comments, in emails, and on Facebook, I absolutely understand what they're talking about. Thank You.

Now, this is Emily.

Emily and I have been friends since high school, and she is still one of my favorite people in the world. She's a frequent character on this little blog, and now she has a problem. On Saturday, Emily is going to a Halloween party. It has a Superheroes and Supervillains theme (I'm going in the perfect costume, because what bigger hero exists than the tooth fairy, right?), and she can't think of a good costume.

Emily loves the Old West and children's books, so I think she should be Kissin' Kate Barlow from Holes. She's not so sure.

Internet, don't you agree with me? Isn't that the perfect Halloween costume for Em?

I am really embarrassed about my taste in music.

It's not that I have bad taste, it's just that I don't really have any taste.

See, I don't listen to the radio, or even really Pandora, which means that I never learn about any new artists, or I learn about them six months too late (which is sometimes even worse).

That's fine sometimes, but right now, I am so bored of all the music on my iPod.

Internet, help me out.

Who are you listening to now?

What should I download next?

P.S. My favorites are Regina Spektor and Guster and Simon and Garfunkle and sometimes Cat Stevens and Elvis Costello and always always always the most perfect song. And everything I've ever heard by Alexi Murdoch.

It's always a little funny going back to a place that was so important in my life, and this weekend was no exception, but I had a great time seeing everyone, having sleepovers and dancing my butt off to eighties music.

Also, I went to the prettiest college in the world. I'm fairly certain of it.

Now, off to bed to cure this Dartmouth-induced cold!

Guess what guess what guess what!

Tomorrow, I'm going up to Dartmouth!

Bonfire bonfire bonfire!

Have a lovely weekend, everybody!

Lately, I have been obsessed with making Katherine Hepburn's brownies. I've made them so many times in the past couple of weeks, I know the recipe by heart. They're just so simple, and so so delicious, they are the perfect homemade treat.

When my mom told me she was having friends over to work on their various art projects, I knew it was the perfect excuse to get out the chocolate and butter again.

I wrapped the brownies in little paper plates with plastic wrap and a bow, and each lady took a little package home.

One of the ladies who comes to my mother's craft group every month is Mimi, who always brings one of the dolls she's working on. Today I got to see her start a tattooed lady!

My mom's friends make the coolest art.

I make the coolest . . . brownies?

I have found the perfect halloween costume.

I am going to be Abby Cadabby.

She is a tooth fairy in training. She is three.

I think maybe I need to spend more time with children?

Maybe it's my lack of contact with them that's inspiring this costume?

Either way, this is going to be great.

Oh, man.

After waking up early early early* this morning, I am simply too tired to blog tonight.

Will you take this cookie in exchange for a post?

I know it's half-eaten, but it's a homemade oreo from Flour. It is simply too much to expect an exhausted Abbie not to take a bite or three as soon as she buys a treat like this.

I'll see you tomorrow, friends!

*Am I the only one who feels a little bit like Eloise when she says things three times in a row?

Gemma came for a visit this afternoon!

I love it when San Francisco friends come to visit me in Boston.

I miss my San Francisco friends.

Anyway, Gemma and I braved the wintry mix of rain and snow and cold cold wind to go to Bella Vita on Charles street to have some chili. It was pretty good. Then we needed to meet up with my mom for some manicures.

After all that strenuous work, of course we needed to have some hot cider. It's the best thing about fall. (Besides foliage and caramel apples and apple picking.) (And hiking.)

Now I really must go to sleep so I can wake up in four hours to take Gemma to South Station sp she can get to the airport on time.

Thanks for coming, Gemma!

(sorry I had my computer open during hot cider time.)

Happy (almost) Weekend!

Fall is coming! Fall is coming!

It is freezing outside, and for some reason, I couldn't be happier.

Right now it's pouring outside my window, but I'm all curled up in my cozy bed and it is perfect.

(It seems that two down comforters is the way to go if you want a cozy bed.)

This weekend is looking like a good one: on Friday night, I'm going to a concert with my country-music-obsessed friend (I'm a little nervous- I've never been to a country concert before! What if I hate it?), and then on Saturday, I'm getting together with a couple of people to make pasta!

What are your exciting plans for this cold and stormy weekend?

How about tomorrow instead?

A couple of hours ago, I brought some film to the photo shop to be developed.

It was from the Holga.

I am fairly certain that I won't get any pictures out of it, that all the film will be overexposed.

(You see, I was so eager to get started with Holga Olga*, I didn't exactly research the best way to use it. Her? Either way, after a helpful video, now I know how to load film and tape up the camera properly.)

Pictures or no pictures, normal exposure or just a whole bunch of fuzzy white background, I have to wait until Monday to get the film back.

Oh, the injustice.

Can't it just be ready tomorrow?

*Did I mention that the Holga's name is Olga? It is. Or maybe Oksana. I think I like Oksana better.

Remember the List of Things I Want? From the time I first made the list, one of these little houses, or their next door neighbor (which is blue and wooden and just absolutely perfect), has been on it. I love that they're not huge, I love that they look out on a community garden, I love that they're in the South End.

What impractical things do you want?

One of the nice things about my new job is that it is in a part of the city where I don't usually spend a lot of time.

The South End has all these lovely houses, and most importantly, one of the best bakeries around. (You should try their brownies. And their lamb sandwich. Yummy in your tummy, I promise.)

On Friday after work, I went for a little walk on my way to the bus, and I took lots of pictures. It was raining, so a lot of them were kind of blurry, but I like this one.

My new work neighborhood is so pretty!

I love Boston.

Oh, my.

Apple picking yesterday was so much fun. We saw beautiful foliage, gorged ourselves on apples, and then took a little break to make some room in our bellies for huge ice cream sundaes at Kimball's.

Today, I had a mommy day. My mother and I went to Concord, where we walked around Old North Bridge, visited my favorite antique shop (I got some really cool letters for a new project), and, on the way home, got the cutest little brussels sprouts at Wilson Farms. We came home and gardened, and I cooked up a storm.

All in all, I am exhausted. It's the perfect time to curl up with a cup of tea and Inspector Lewis on PBS. I have to store up my energy for tomorrow- there's a whole extra day of weekend ahead of me!

Happy Columbus Day, everyone!

It's the weekend! I forgot how fun those can be when you have a real job.
Last night, I had a laundry slumber party, and today, Emily, Cait and I are going apple picking. I haven't been in years, and I'm so excited!
I'm also bringing the Holga along, so I hope I get some good pictures from our adventures.

How about you? What are your plans for the long weekend?

Warning: Dartmouthy post

{It really does look like this. Prettier, in fact.}

I've been thinking about Dartmouth a lot lately.

First with a new president, and now with homecoming in two weeks, I am missing my alma mater so much.

I can't wait to get on the Dartmouth Coach, I can't wait to watch the freshman run around the bonfire (and maybe to yell "worst class ever!" and lose my voice). I can't wait to go for a walk around campus, I can't wait to go to a tea party at Theta.

"You're talking about Dartmouth like someone who really loved it," my mother observed the other day. I guess maybe I did?

{07 whaat?}

{P.S. All images borrowed from Dartmouth.}

{Cupcakes and Converse!}

When Lisel found out I had never been to Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake, she took me right away.

Honestly, the cupcakes were a little disappointing. But it was okay, because the decor was absolutely adorable. I really liked all the little toy stoves and the lace curtains.

They also gave us a sample of banana pudding that was amaaazing. Next time, I'm getting that.

In the summer of 2006, I lived in New York while I participated in a intensive acting workshop at the Atlantic Theater Company. I lived way high up in the Upper West Side/Morningside Heights area, which was great because it allowed me to discover Silver Moon Bakery.

Silver Moon makes the most delicious chocolate chip brioche (if you're in the mood for a treat) and apricot brioche, and Lisel loves their orange chocolate chip baguette. (I told her about Silver Moon as soon as I heard she was going to live near Columbia, since I just knew she'd love it as much as I do. I was right.)

Really, though, the thing to do is to go there on a Saturday morning (ideally before ten) and get a bowl of granola with organic milk and a latte.

It is the most delicious Saturday morning treat.

{Man oh man, do I love granola at Silver Moon!}

{Lisel wished she had gotten the orange chocolate baguette. That's just because she doesn't appreciate the true deliciousness of the granola.}