Becky's photoblog

Fall is here and I’m working on perfecting my butternut squash risotto. Nailed it!

I helped out at a work event at Fenway Park’s State Street Pavilion. Fenway always promises beautiful views of Boston. We also got to see these shiny trophies 🙂

Mrs. Gardner loved gardens, and in addition to her spectacular indoor courtyard, she included a lovely little outdoor garden just outside of her palace. When the museum’s annex was torn down to make way for the gorgeous new wing, the Monks Garden became a part of the construction site. Now, a year and a half after the new wing opened, the newly redesigned Monks Garden is finished!

The landscape architect created a space for visitors to meander through the greenery much like the way visitors meander through the galleries exploring Mrs. Gardner’s eclectic collection. Similar to the galleries, your experience has everything to do with the lighting conditions.

I visited the new Monks Garden for the first time around 4:30pm. By that hour, the late September sun was hitting the tops of the trees, and the high-walled garden was mostly in the shade. I can’t wait to visit the garden at other times of the day, in other seasons. I’m told that some of the stones in the path come alive in the morning light!

The plants in the garden are from all over the world, just like Mrs. Gardner’s gardens in her own time, and it promises to be an absolutely gorgeous spring when the new plants are in bloom.

I had some time to kill before an evening meeting for the volunteers, so I sat in a comfy chair in the museum’s living room (last 2 photos) and read a book on Venetian Renaissance painters.

After a very long week of working long hours, we took a long walk along the Jamaicaway, past Jamaica Pond (below), had an incredible meal on Centre Street in JP, then walked home. Fall is in the air!

On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, I had the honor of hearing the entire speech read by aloud by the strong voices of the interfaith staff of Boston University’s Marsh Chapel (the spiritual core of the campus). It was an incredibly busy day during an incredibly busy week, but I was able to dash out of my office at noon after a long meeting, walk two blocks in no time flat, and meet my sweetie at Marsh Plaza to hear those incredibly powerful words. In the midday heat, we stood in the shadow of the gorgeous MLK memorial sculpture. We are incredibly proud to be Dr. King’s fellow alumni.

[Not a valid template]I used a handful of vacation days to make long weekends this summer, and in honor of my last official summer vacation day, we used a groupon and went on a sunset cruise on the Charles River (with the Charles Riverboat Company). It was an absolutely gorgeous way to see the city, and I highly recommend it! Very relaxing and pleasant, very beautiful.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing two great friends get married.

I love giving tours of the Gardner Museum to people who have never been before, and this week, I got to do that twice!

Our cousins were passing through Boston on their vacation, and they came to Third Thursdays at the Gardner while I was volunteering. The joint was jumping by the time they got there, and I gave them a whirlwind tour of the whole museum before heading out for a late dinner. It was so great to see them!

I love it when friends have family in town, and they ask me to give their family a tour of the Gardner Museum. I’ve done this a gajillion times, and each time, it’s such a treat to show the museum to a group that has never been before, and to see the museum fresh through their eyes.

Here’s yet another photo of the flowers in the Gardner Museum’s greenhouse:

It was a perfect day in Boston. This morning, I met a friend at a bridal shop on Newbury Street and I got to see her wedding gown. Then, we headed over to the courtyard at the Boston Public Library to celebrate saying yes to the dress over some pastries. She had never been inside the BPL so of course I had to bring her up to see the gorgeous Sargent murals and the Abbey murals.

Then we headed over to the Public Gardens to meet Kathy and Randy, and their friends who are in town for their wedding tomorrow. Nothing is more beautiful than Boston’s Public Gardens on a perfectly breezy late-summer afternoon with good friends.

I love wandering around the Back Bay and seeing all of the beautiful architecture, but I usually only get to view my favorite buildings from the street level. This morning, I met a friend at a bridal shop on Newbury Street, and while she was trying on a dress, I glimpsed a view of the First Baptist Church in Boston from the second floor window.

And then I got to see the lovely bride-to-be in her gorgeous gown!

We spent the weekend in NYC visiting friends of ours who moved abroad three years ago … actually, we spent the entire weekend taking pictures of their adorable son, and their friends and family who were also in town to visit!

The weather was gorgeous on my day off, so I took a nice long walk to explore Back Bay. I walked up Arlington Street, down Berkeley Street, up Clarendon, down Dartmouth, up Exeter, down Fairfield, up Gloucester and down Hereford. Then I had a big smoothie and went home. If you ask me, every inch of Back Bay is fascinating, and I snapped a few pictures of some interesting buildings along the way. Shameless self-promotion: for more of my pictures of Back Bay, please visit my project ‘Architectural Landmarks of Boston’s Back Bay‘. Thank you.

Maureen brought 12-week old Stanley along for a sunset walk around Jamaica Pond, and Stanley made LOTS of new friends!!

Liz and Lee hosted brunch since Jen and the girls are in town. We had a great time playing with the little kids, and it’s always wonderful to get a bunch of old friends together.

It was a real treat to spend some time with a dear old college friend and his wonderful new fiance. These two know how to have fun and eat right! Less than an hour after we landed, we were in their kitchen snacking on delicious home-made food. On Sunday, we brunched right by starting off at Psycho Donuts, a frightening and entertaining sugar fest. We continued our feast with a Cal-Mex brunch complete with adult-mimosas. We walked it off at Campbell’s farmers market, and wandered through a store full of gorgeous lanterns – we left with our heads full of ideas for crafts projects and redecorating!

No visit to Silicon Valley is complete without a lesson in the history of technology, so we went to the Tech Museum of Innovation. This is a great museum with a lot of hands-on exhibits. It’s great for kids, and kids at heart 🙂

When Louisa and I met in college, we would never have guessed that twelve years later, we would cross the country for each other’s weddings barely 18 months apart.

Lou was married at the Stinson Beach Community Center which one arrives at after driving through twenty miles of incredibly curvy windy terrifying yet stunningly gorgeous roads through the Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco. I was absolutely terrified, but I think Brian thought it was the best part of the entire weekend! Check out my post of photos from our drive.

Here’s a few photos from the wedding. I got a few decent shots, and I can’t wait to see the real photos!

You can’t go to a wedding near a gorgeous historic scenic beach without slipping away to see the actual beach! Here’s a few shots before a foggy sunset

We drove from our hotel in Santa Clara to Half Moon Bay for a brief but wonderful visit to this lovely little coastal town. We had an incredible lunch at Fish & Frites, then headed back to the 101. We drove straight through San Francisco and across the foggy Golden Gate Bridge to find clear skies and gorgeous views in Sausalito.

It was great to be back on familiar roads in Marin, where I spent the summer of 2003, and several visits since then! Pretty soon, we found ourselves driving through the gorgeous and terrifying roads in the Muir Woods heading towards the coast, and Stinson Beach. I drove that route with Lou ten years ago, and I had completely forgotten how terrifying those curvy windy roads were, but they are also incredibly gorgeous. All of a sudden, you turn a curve and there’s the most incredible view of the Pacific Ocean at Stinson Beach.

Then, after the wedding, we drove back to Santa Clara by way of a detour to explore San Francisco, and a late-night stop along the Bay for a much needed visit to In and Out Burger!

We spent a long weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area to celebrate my dear friend Louisa’s wedding. While we were in town, we got to spend some time with three dear old friends who all live in/near San Jose.

We landed mid-afternoon on Friday, and headed straight to Sean’s house to meet his brand new fiance and their puppy. They had prepared a delicious feast for us because we knew we would be hungry after crossing the country!

Then, we picked up some wine, picked up Becca, and headed over to Jen’s house – she and her husband hosted a lovely shabbat dinner so that we could get everyone together. It was wonderful to go from a lingering heat wave in Boston to a shady comfortable backyard feast, and it’s a rare treat to begin Shabbat with some of my oldest friends.

Wandering the North End in search of  a good meal and a good view. Mission accomplished!!!

Fountain on Mass Ave in the South End. A little bit of peace on a busy street.

An amazing view, an amazing sunset and amazing fireworks from the Charlestown Navy Yard

We didn’t put up too much of a fight when Brendan and Courtney suggested that we all go see Fitz and the Tantrums. We fell in love with them during the year before our wedding, and we played some of their music at the wedding, including for our first dance. Who cares that the concert was at an enormous hockey arena, and that they were actually just the opening band for Bruno Mars? So we met up with B & C for amazing pizza in the North End, then followed the crowds to the Boston Garden and settled in for an incredible show! Fitz was amazing, and I have to say, I was a little overwhelmed by how much the ladies swoon over Bruno Mars, but he is an absolutely stellar performer.

B & C on our way to the concert. Had to include this one because they got engaged two days before, and because they looked at eachother just as I snapped this shot!

We hosted a potluck dinner to gather some friends to say goodbye to our dear friend who moved far away. Since Brendan and Courtney had gotten engaged a few days before, it was our first chance to toast to the happy couple, so Brian opened a special bottle for the occasion.

When three of your cousins have all moved far away from home, and they’re all home at the same time, it’s a reason to throw a party! We drove out to State College, PA for a weekend filled with family, food, farm animals, fire … and bagels! We also got an architecture tour of Penn State from my cousin, an architect who graduated a few years ago.

Click here for more family photos (password protected)

Alex is learning how to make bagels and she’s gotten really good at it!