my friends may keep me out too late on a school night, but they keep me sane.

chief, smitty and ace at great scott, 9/12

so the lovely and talented ryan rose weaver (who's not only an established, dedicated foodie but now also our Tastes guru over at TeaParty Boston) wrote this on her blog last night and it makes me feel all kinds of wonderful:

What this means is that instead of working on service pieces, guides, features, etc. in a strictly technical sense, my hope is that this fall, me and my people are going to make some art together. We are going to riff. We are going to ad lib. We are going to graffiti our words across the Internet and hope that someone wanders along and likes what they see. We will do it because we are compelled to point out the genius of the people who are creating things in this city in the same way that bees are compelled to make honey, that birds are compelled to sing, that Jessica Simpson is compelled to soldier on doing whatever it is that she does despite all those "mom jeans" comments. We do it because we must create -- not because we must create something we can "monetize."

ryan, you're not in the picture above, which is silly, but you're so great. and everyone involved with TPB is so great. and everything that ryan just wrote is the complete and articulate and better-phrased summary of everything i love about my friends and what i do.

thanks, ryan. you just made a gloomy morning severely lacking in the caffeine department so much better.

the happy list, "i'm up way too early on a saturday morning and i love it!" edition.

1) the whole wheat special scones and the cappuccinos over at the biscuit. they change on a daily basis, but today it's a whole wheat brown sugar peach scone and i can think of nothing better for breakfast... especially on an overcast, dreary morning like today. i thought i'd be beating the crowd by getting here around 9 and i was sorely mistaken - there's a line around the block and most of the tables are full. [and, oh hey! i wrote a blurb on this very scone this week over at 3 Buck Bites. you can find the expression of my undying love and affection for this breakfast pastry here.]

2) paychecks... because i'm finally getting one again. after 4 months going without, your darling hil can finally look at her ATM receipts again because she has found a JOB. it's at a great company with great people and the only hang-up is that the commute is a biiiitch.it's kind of funny, because after i got the "real" job offer i was offered a bartending gig at bukowski, which would've kiiiind of been a dream come true... but yeah. i went with the desk job and now have a cubicle. but hey, whatever man, i'm employed. i'd be lying if i said i didn't slightly miss my funemployment a bit, but it's so, so, so so so so nice to be productive and have "real" responsibilities again. and oh yeah. being able to pay rent is pretty sweet, too, especially because this means i can sign my lease again and stay in my lovely little apartment :)

3) jessie's moving to this side of the river this weekend! j-rog is making the move to inman square from allston. this means that all of my best friends now live within a 15 minute drive of my apartment. well, except for marcy. marcy's still over in the land of yuppies, toddlers who wear more expensive shoes than i do and the best kosher brunches known to man [aka: brookline.]

4) in 6 days a bunch of my friends and i are heading up to my aunt's lakehouse and I. AM. SO. EX. CI. TED. a weekend full of barbeques, night swimming, bonfires, nearly forgotten '50s style diners and barnyard antique fairs? sign. me. up. the place is on long lake and is about an hour outside of portland, and i haven't been up there in about three summers or so. to say i'm looking forward to it would be understatement of the year. hopefully we won't burn down the place/get hit by a moose/OD on s'mores, and keep your fingers crossed that we don't have any of this weather while we're up there.

5) i picked up the latest Rolling Stone and nearly squealed when i saw the cover. frankly, i don't care that lady gaga's on there wearing bubbles and looking like herself. (i can't stand gaga, in case you were wondering. if she and katy perry were to be thrown into the boxing ring i would 110% gun for perry and i have no doubt that i'd walk out of that match a rich woman.) i was super excited because david lachappelle shot the cover and i love his work. he's the man responsible for that britney spears cover with the teletubby that everyone freaked about, and he shot pretty much every other fantastical, imaginative image that's graced the cover of the magazine for the past 15 years or so. maybe it's a sign that rolling stone is gonna make a comeback? maybe? c'mahn, jann.

6) talks with mariska hargitay and christopher meloni were successful and law & order: svu will see an 11th season. the fact that i am adding this to a happy list at all makes me hate myself a little bit but i cannot deny my inexplicable obsession with that tv show.

7) things are actually happening with tea party boston. i don't want to say too much too soon, but we're going to be bringing you exclusive, intimate interviews, some of the silliest/coolest photos you've ever seen and quirky features you won't find anywhere else right out of the gate. if you're sick of your arts & entertainment scene in boston going unnoticed, we're going to fix that, so keep an eye on us. [and we have business cards now. i guess that really makes us legit.]

8) i just realized that since i'm at the biscuit i can pick up a fresh loaf of homemade multigrain bread instead of spending $7.99 at shaw's for the iggy's pullman's loaf. one check off the grocery list, sweeeet. [and yes. i get that excited about bread.]

9) this is shaping up to be a summer chock full o' fantastic concerts. in the next two months, i'm going to be seeing passion pit, thick as thieves [edit: i met them. they're adorable. i want to be best friends with this band and you should too because they are great.] the harlem shakes, magic magic, the low anthem, lake street dive, taxpayer, casiotone for the painfully alone, mcalister drive, and obviously, the sea monsters. i live within a stone's throw of the lizard lounge, the middle east, tt the bear's place, precinct, toad, and the paradise rock club: could a pop culture/all-things-music junky be any luckier?

10) i also realized that this summer has the potential to be the best summer yet, i think. i was walking down beacon street to the biscuit this morning and passed a house that has a sprawling rose bush crawling up its front walls and porch banisters. these roses were bright red, vibrant, and unapologetically open, and when this massive grin spread over my sleepy face i took these flowers to be some kind of omen that there's only beauty ahead, however fleeting it may be, and that it's so important to recognize good when you've got it going for you. that rosebush was the best wake up call a person could ever get.

happy saturday, guys. go out and spend the day hanging out with your favorite people and doing what you love. that's exactly what i'll be doing.

the happy list, "i f*cking love my life" edition.

1) i have a scorching sunburn and look like quite a lobster, but i spent hours lounging on harvard yard lunching on delicious food with a group of my absolute favorite people.  avocado bruschetta, mango salsa, red cabbage and raisin cole slaw, pavlovas, brie, sparkling cider and more tortilla chips than we knew what to do with? so. so. so. goooood.

2) i spent the majority of my weekend playing outside with my friends, be it romping around davis square on a tequila buzz or getting blisters on my hands from the monkey bars at the playground up the street.  this weekend felt like SUMMER.

3) i cannot stop listening to the shout out louds and the love language.  the love language are getting a post of their own because jessie took some amazing, amazing photographs at their show the other night, but in the meantime, i will blast their "lalita" along with the SOL's "very loud" on repeat and dance around my apartment while i clean up the remnants of weekend debauchery.

4) i found my sunglasses, my camera and my missing favorite earring.  scoooore.

5) my thao tickets came in the mail, along with the latest issue of paste magazine! so excited. i've been meaning to pick up paste for awhile.  this is going to be a pretty heavy week on the ear drums: i'm going to go to tt's tomorrow night for the sounds' show with jessie, the bodega girls are playing harper's ferry on friday, and i'm hopefully going to be writing some new reviews/features for chicks with guns in the near future.  

6) the city is in such an incredible mood.  the sox have trounced the yankees SO FAR in their three game series, but it's only the start of the seventh inning of the third game and i don't want to jinx it.  i love watching baseball on my couch.  my daddy would be so proud.  haha.

7) it's nice to finally recognize myself in the mirror again.  i was heartbroken in january, furious in february, bewildered in march and hopeful in april, and now i finally, FINALLY feel rested and refreshed and able to take control of my life again.  i wake up every day EXCITED, man.  i'm optimistic and  i'm no longer wasting time on wishful thinking and coulda-shoulda-wouldas.  i've tried to right my wrongs and it may be too late to salvage friendships and feelings and all that from previous offenses, but i would like to think that the universe'll get me back for that one.  it's cathartic, admitting you're wrong, and i swallowed my pride and apologized in the only way i could.  i don't know what to expect, but for the first time in four months i'm not dwelling on it and worrying about it.  what's done is done, you know?  my hurt and my heartbreak are no longer controlling my outlook and my feelings and that's something to be ecstatic about.  i feel like me again.  it took a little longer than i liked for me to get back here, but that's worth noting all the same.