hil's social calendar.

i'm just a social lil' butterfly this weekend, aren't i?

friday:

+it was too gorgeous out to go to the gym.  i met up with los for a lovely lunch at crema cafe in harvard square and i had quite possibly the most delicious grilled chicken/cotija/avocado sandwich of my life.  we walked over to utrecht, where i picked up a few canvases and some more paint, because i have presents to make for a couple of boys.  we moseyed back to my place and i got my first sunburn of the season in the process, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon drinkin' beers and listening to lykke li with every single window in my apartment open.   love. ly.

+my mom came down for a visit to drop off my bike (!!!) and we had a nice dinner at the independent.  i just got a cheeseburger, nothin' fancy.  and of course the deviled eggs.  ohhhh the deviled eggs.

+i met up with james in coolidge corner last night and we went to the brookline booksmith, which is something i've been meaning to do for AGES.  a leisurely stroll through the bookshelves made me realize a few things: 1) i have entirely too many books in a stack on my bedside table that i've been meaning to read for ages, including infinite jest [still haven't started gah], crime and punishment, and el coronel no tiene quien le escriba [no one writes to the colonel 2) i have entirely too many books that i want to add to that list, including more stuff by chabon, brautigan and bukowski 3) i cannot be stopped around used books that have anything to do with picasso.  while poking through the booksmith's used section, i stumbled upon portrait of picasso as a young man by NORMAN MAILER.  i love norman mailer. i love picasso.  i had NO IDEA that this book existed until last night. so good.  other used books i've procured regarding pablo picasso are picasso's war by russel martin, picasso on art: a selection of views, edited by dore ashton, and life with picasso, which is a memoir written by francoise gilot, one of picasso's companions and the mother of his two youngest children.  here's a shot of my growing collection.

anyways, after the brookline booksmith, james and i moseyed up beacon street for beers at the publick house, only to shy away from the place because it was PAAACKED.  for a laugh, we continued on a beer at mary ann's, the infamous BC watering hole where my father and his best friend in college got into a massive fight that resulted in 23 paddy wagons hauling up outside the cleveland circle dive.  not much has changed: the place was chock full of BC underclassmen who probably got in with their older brother/sister's expired license so we booked it outta there fast.  eventually, we wound up meeting up with marcy and we settled for beers at the road house before calling it a night.  low key and pretty great evening out, if i do say so myself.

saturday:

+caught up on some reno 911 episodes while scarfing down a delicious breakfast of tomate frito, manchego and french bread.

+going to work on my fitness as soon as i finish this post.

+and, finally, getting all gussied up for the double-header i have in store tonight: wine riot takes place tonight, and after my very first wine tasting, i'm heading back over to my neck of the woods, where mcalister drive is headlining a show at precinct.  my smokin' date tonight is the one and only jessie and we've been counting down to this all week.  no pressure. haha.

sunday:

+brunch with los, jessie and maya at deep ellum

+BIKE RIIIIDES!

+and, duh, the sea monsters at precinct. 

i'm not even gonna touch on what's going down monday because iiiii am too excited.

um.

a couple of things:

#1. anyone else in boston watching "the office" right now?  because they definitely had a commercial for the massachusetts tourism bureau (www.massvacations.com/) playing in ... uh, massachusetts.  what?  that's dumb. they should be playing that shit in florida or texas or somewhere else.  who FROM massachusetts is going to book a vacation TO massachusetts? stupid. [i do understand that this could be a national advertisement, but i highly doubt it. c'mon people.]

#2. i was just pokin' through apartment therapy, which i make a point to browse through every couple of days, and found this:

and promptly swooned.  what i wouldn't GIVE for my apartment walls to just be bookcases filled with books assorted by color.  brilliant.

anyways, that's all.  tomorrow is friday, meaning i've got another three days in store that'll consist of dance parties, fantastic live music and brunch with my three favorite people on saturday.  jessie, los, maya and i, together at laaaast! 

independent love, grand, and a sunday afternoon in pictures.

(photo snapped by yours truly while walking down somerville ave. this morning.)

get ready for some reeeeeeeal local love, right here.

somerville: bear my children.  i love you so very much.  today, heather came and met me at my humble abode and we walked down to union square in hopes of securing a much coveted table at the neighborhood for brunch.  we weren't surprised to see a crowd of at LEAST 15 hopeful brunchers standing outside on the sidewalk waiting for a table at union square's popular breakfast spot, and opted to keep walking in order to find a calmer meal at a less crowded joint.  

enter: the independent.  i was at the indo a couple of nights ago with the fellas, but i had no idea that they offered up a tasty brunch on sunday afternoons.  i mentioned that the drinks were great, heather was sold, and we stepped inside.

i'm just gonna put it out there: the beehive has NOTHIN' on the independent for sunday brunch, and i love the beehive. a lot.  the independent's brunch menu is incredibly affordable, eclectic, and serves up ample portions.  the drinks are exceptional:  i had the earl grey manhattan (jessie, you would've swooned), which consisted of jim beam that's been steeping in earl grey tea, honey liqueur, bitters and a splash of lemon, and heather was enamored with her classic bloody mary.  here's the two concoctions pictured below:

we both ordered the french toast, which was iggy's brioche prepped with orange zest and served up beneath a cloud of whipped cream and legit maple syrup, and we split a side of the frites and garlic aioli.  i'm kind of a french toast freak, and seriously, this was the best french toast of my liiiiiiife. just LOOK at it.

i think it goes without saying that we didn't finish everything, but we left the independent completely, utterly and head over heels in love with the establishment.  somervillains: forget sound bites, the broken yolk, and dare i say it, the neighborhood for sunday morning brunch.  the independent is where it's at if you want fancy schmancy food on the cheap and drinks that taste as good as they look.

on the way back to my apartment we passed by grand, which is my favorite neighborhood shopping stop to date.  i was just planning on look shopping while heather browsed through the witty screen-printed t-shirts and black and white photo prints, but i couldn't resist picking up these beauties before heading home:

they're shellacked lace earrings made by cursive.  i'm a sucker for bright jewelry and these babies match my mood perfectly at present.

leaving grand, i couldn't help but snap a shot of the store's outside wall on the corner of washington street.

reason for this photo:  i need to get to the ICA stat so that i can check out the shepard faerey supply and demand exhibit.  i know, i know, faerey's  now iconic billboard/street propaganda will be on display in town until halfway through august, but i'm totally that cool kid who waits until the last minute to see shows and collections and frequently forget about them until they've long since departed (the ansel adams photo exhibit at the mfa in 2005 being a perfect example of that. le sad.)  the ICA is free on thursdays and the museum is open 'til 9.  who's down?

tonight: dinner in allston rock city with this little one and then off to precinct for my weekly dose of sea monsters and pints of allagash.