Strolling Boston and trying new things.

The day began rainy and we had tentative plans for Boston. Everything was lining up, Steve had some time, and I really wanted to make it happen. I love getting into the city as often as I can, which isn’t often enough. With every change of seasons, there’s a new allure to it, a new energy in the air. Boston on any day is one of my favorite places, but in late September? It’s pretty near perfect. So when the rain stopped, we decided to go for it.  We had an errand to run in Back Bay so when we passed the new Digg Inn on Boylston, took a gander at what everyone who was sitting outside was eating (do you guys do that too?), and determined it looked great, we stopped there for lunch. It was so good. Steve kept saying how his chicken was cooked perfectly, and the whole concept was really fun too. You order a grain as your base (brown rice, farro with butternut squash, that type of thing. I chose farro.), then you pick two sides like kale, or a lemon marinated zucchini, or mac and cheese, or roasted sweet potato, or roasted cauliflower. Then you choose your protein–charred boneless chicken thigh, steak, chicken breast. Then some dressing on top and all in this awesome bowl. It’s cooked and seasoned to perfection and is the most delicious mix of flavors and textures. I can’t wait to go back. Steve is always teaching, always reading plaques, always explaining statues. I love that about him. In this particular picture he’s explaining George Washington. After lunch we walked Beacon Hill. Walking Beacon Hill is never a bad idea.  These shoes remain one of my favorite pairs of the summer and it’s going to be a sad day when I have to put them away for the winter (and that day is fast approaching).Louisburg Square has got to be one of the most beautiful city blocks in the world. I’d give my right arm (slight exaggeration) to get a tour of so many of the Beacon Hill homes. Afterwards, I shot a text to my friend Rachael who happened to be out for bus pickup. We managed to get the kids together for a bit before we met up with my other friend Jenny. They chased squirrels at the Garden and had a grand time doing that. (These city squirrels let you get so much closer to them than our country squirrels do further north. Parker thought that was pretty cool.) After we left the Garden, we started walking to the South End with my friend and her boys–they took the train into the city to meet us. Part of the purpose of our whole visit was to have dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant we’ve been talking about. She’s been with her kids, but we haven’t, nor have we ever had Ethiopian food. We went to Addis Red Sea. It was so much fun and such a different experience from our typical restaurant visits. Jenny, who’s been to Ethiopia, said it’s pretty authentic too. We tried a lot of different things–different meats and vegetables and lentil samosas–all wrapped up in injera. Injera is a sort of sourdough, flat, spongy bread and instead of utensils, you wrap your food up in it to eat it. Parker and his buds. I was so impressed with the kids, trying everything, and having a ball. The beef wrapped in injera was delicious. I love living in such close proximity to Boston where we can try new things–and expose the kids to it too. What a good day it was.

outfit details: top from marshalls, these jeans (wearing them every day lately!), shoes, necklace. parker’s pants, top from gap, and converse hi tops. steve’s shoes which he says he’s going to wear for 10+ years and re-sole (his second pair of red wings and he loves them). anders’ cardigan from american apparel, gap jeans, and sneaks.