Red, White & Blue Daiquiris

Make a batch of each color daiquiri ahead of time and have them ready in your freezer in plastic containers. Your guests can choose one flavor or layer all three in a glass.

Make all three cocktails from the same base recipe with slight variations.

1 - 6-oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate (2/3 c.)
1/2 of a 6-oz. can frozen limeade concentrate (1/3c.)
1 juice can light rum (2/3 c.)
1/4 to 1/3 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)
3 c. ice cubes
Garnish (see 'tips' below)

White Daiquiris ~
In a blender combine lemonade and limeade concentrates, rum and powdered sugar. Cover and blend until smooth. Add ice blending until slushy.
Makes 6 ~ 5-oz. servings.

Red Daiquiris ~Prepare as for white daiquiris, except use one 6-oz. can of frozen lemonade or limeade concentrate. Add 2 cups frozen unsweetened strawberries or slightly sweetened red raspberries to the blender with the concentrate, rum and sugar mixture.
Makes 6 ~ 6oz. servings.

Blue Daiquiris ~
Prepare as for white daiquiris, except add 1/4 c. blue curacao along with the frozen lemonade and limeade concentrates, rum and powdered sugar.
Makes 6 ~ 6oz. servings.

Non-Alcoholic Red Daiquiris ~ Substitute pineapple juice or water for the rum.

Tips:

The drinks can also be pre-poured into glasses and left in the freezer.
This will save even more time during a party and frost the glass.

If drinks are kept in the freezer, the alcohol in the drinks will keep the mixture from freezing solid and will retain a perfect slushy texture. If your drink is non-alcoholic, the mixture will freeze solid but will thaw pretty quickly.

The non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri recipe makes a great icy dessert that can be spooned into a dish.

Garnishes can be white chocolate dipped strawberries sprinkled with confections, cut star fruit or lime wheels. All can be prepared ahead of time and added to the glass rim just before serving.

Cheers!

My Coco Mademoiselle Give-Away ends tonight!
Click HERE to enter! :)

More 4th of July Party Decorations

I found some fast and simple 4th of July decorations from Kate's Paperie.

Utensil Holder

Starry Streamers

Now why didn't I think of this? ;)

Kate Spade's 'Twirl' Fragrance

"Kate, you had me at 'Twirl'."

I'm thoroughly captivated by this description ~

"Twirl opens with pink watermelon, blackberry and red currant; enhanced with a hint of fresh flowers including orange blossom, star jasmine, tiare flower and sweet magnolia, and finishes with luminous musk and a touch of French macaroon (straight from the patisserie, of course)."

Ah, how scrumptious does this sound?

'Twirl' is the new Kate Spade fragrance and is available by pre-order for delivery
July 10.
Free ground shipping. $18 eau de parfum rollerball.

I cannot wait until it arrives!

A reminder ~
My give-away ~

"The Gospel According To Coco Chanel"
and
Coco Mademoiselle Fresh Body Satin Spray
ends on Wednesday, June 30th at midnight.
Enter here!

Also, I received the Keratin hair treatment on Friday and later this afternoon I can finally wash it!! Like the Japanese straightening, I have to wait 72 hours. Ugh. I have not been out of my house all weekend. Pros and cons to this procedure. I'm anxious to see how it compares to the Brazilian Blowout that I wrote about here. I could tell immediately the Keratin treatment did not make my hair as sleek as the B.Blowout although it does take away any frizziness. When I came out of the salon, I preferred the texture over the B.Blowout, at least for my hair which is fine.
We shall see what the afternoon brings! I'll let you know! :)

Happy Birthday, Dad.

He was a historian. A story teller. A voracious reader. He valued his wife, children, siblings, friends, higher education, his Scottish heritage and Masonic affiliation. He was a dapper gentleman who I never saw unshaven or unkempt and waxed the tips of his mustache. He gave this little girl a red heart box filled with chocolates every Valentine's Day.

Time with you was too short, for all of us. I wish I could have known you as an adult, that you could have seen me graduate from college, walked me down the aisle, held your grandsons to your shoulder while rocking and humming an operatic tune as I remember being comforted by you.
You are the missing piece in my life.

*Patriotic *Party *Paraphernalia

I always begin planning a party with the decorations and these will be so much fun!

You twist the bottom to make them pop. No pulling the string on these babies.
I'm hoping they are more than the impressive packaging and not a dud.
Probably filled with little pieces of confetti that we will be finding all summer long. :)
Pier 1 $1.00/each.

Next, I think about what can I add to the food or serving pieces to bring in my theme.
I have picks of every size and straws to look like fireworks.

"Bang"!


Then I can't help myself to work backwards and begin with desserts!

At Macy's I spied the Martha line's cute mini cupcake liners all ready for the 4th. She also had cupcake boxes in stars and stripe patterns that hold 4 cupcakes which I thought would make cute favors if I already didn't have something else in mind. I couldn't find the actual boxes online to show you the patterns but here are the boxes in another pattern.
Tied up with some ribbon and a tag? Perfect!


I'm making decorated cookies this weekend which I'll share in detail next week. Americana shapes and The Statue of Liberty will be my party favors along with the note cards I posted about 2 days ago but we'll need sweet instant gratification while the party is going on.

Home made ice cream? Check.

Strawberry shortcake with star-shaped shortbread?

Maybe. But I've made this before.

Star-spangled cupcakes? You betcha!

Another colorful addition to the table would be these burger baskets. They were on sale at Sur la Table for $1.50 and sell online for a set of 6 for $6.96. I wouldn't be surprised if I could find them even less at a restaurant supply store or Smart & Final but then I remembered I have red enamelware plates I use.


I did find these metal burger baskets at Crate & Barrel that are a bit larger. I thought they would be perfect for chips or rolls.


Instead of the checked liners I chose the striped ones from Crate & Barrel.
On sale for $2.95 for a set of 24.
(Thanks to son1 whose panini I momentarily confiscated.)

I liked how they are grease proof because I have another idea for their use.
What about using a liner paper to wrap up a big chocolate chip cookie and tying it with baker's twine and a star tag?

Now it's time to think about the main course, hang the carnival lights, assemble the paper lanterns and decorate the cookies this weekend.

I've got a lot to do!

Have a fantastic weekend, friends! :)

Red, White & Blue "Cocktail Of The Month"

Today is cocktail day!
The things I do for my readers! (Thank you!!)

In planning for our July 4th party I came across this cranberry martini recipe that uses Pop Rocks for the garnish around the rim.

What a fun idea ~ fireworks in your mouth!

Boston Pops Martini

Lime Wedge
Package of Cherry Pop Rocks Candy
2 1/2 oz. Cranberry Vodka
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
Splash of Lemon-Lime Soda

Take the lime wedge or Rose's Lime Juice and run it around the glass rim.

Place the Pop Rocks in a dish and press the glass rim into the candy.


Fill a shaker with ice and add vodka and curacao. Shake and strain while carefully pouring into the center of the glass. Adding a splash of lemon-lime soda is optional.


I added 3 cherries to the pick for counterweight. Fresh cranberries would be nice too if you can find them this time of year and more 'New England' and in spirit with the cranberry vodka.

I found the picks at my local party supply store.

I also found some patriotic cocktail napkins that I had to add to my party.
Yes. I do have a tiny-weeny problema lovin' these so much! :)

Find these at Sur la Table.
Pattern: "Snap, bang, boom!" Love it!


Find at Williams-Sonoma.


Find at Crate & Barrel.
Pattern: "Blue Fireworks"


Soon I'll be sharing my recipes and styling of red, white and blue daiquiris that you can make a few days ahead of your party.

Visit me tomorrow for some fun patriotic finds!

Cheers, friends!

Preamble to a 4th of July Party

I love the 4th of July!

In the past we've been in parades riding our vintage bicycles and even cruised the main drag in a purple Prowler.

We've clapped rhythmically to Sousa marches at the Hollywood Bowl.

We've watched the spectacular Rose Bowl fireworks from a turn-of-the-century Pasadena villa eating more than our fair share of homemade ice cream.

But having a party at home is my favorite thing to do and this week I'm doing a lot of the prep work before my usual last minute rush.

When we were in Boston a couple weeks ago I fell in love with this shop's window and the stationery inside.

Shop on Charles Street, Beacon Hill, Boston

It took every ounce of strength I had not to buy the star tiara!
I was also inspired by all the printable invitations to have a party.

I found these blank cards that said 'party' to me so I printed them on my printer with a saying that gives our family a giggle ...

Benjamin Franklin is quoted ~
"We must all hang together or assuredly, we shall all hang separately".

When son1 first heard this as a middle schooler he thought the word 'hang' meant to hang out and be sociable, then he learned what context this word was used but we always thought this was rather funny. Ben must have seemed pretty cool and way ahead of his time and of course, he was.

One of the party favors I'll be giving to each lady patriot attending will be personalized note cards. If they look familiar it's because I featured them last week in my post about the Boatman Geller tent sale. I used my own printer. Easy! I've decided to order the lobster cards too. Whimsy and elegance should make a nice little package.

I'll wrap up a dozen personalized cards in a cello bag and tie it with fabulously festive ribbon and a tag . :)

I can't wait to show you next time what I found around town for the party.
Beside it being really fun to share with you, it helps me to get organized too!

Have wonderful Tuesday!

Recipes from Table 24, Rutland, VT

Happy first day of summer!

I'm hosting a give-away with Coco Mademoiselle with my pass along give-away read so click HERE and leave a comment if you'd like.

I've got lots of things planned this week ~ 4th of July party planning, some killer cocktails to post but before I move ahead I want to thank everyone who left me a comment for my birthday. Your wishes meant a great deal to me, were so sweet and added to the general well-being and happiness I felt the entire day so thank you so much once again! :)

Well, the Lakers won and it was a nail biter!
Our sons prepared for us a gourmet dinner that was truly one of the best I've had from this kitchen. The recipe I mentioned briefly in another post just happened to come in that morning from the chef of Table 24 in Rutland, VT so my guys set out to duplicate it.


I was not only impressed with chef and owner, Stephen Sawyer's professional generosity but with his generous spirit in being so available to answer my questions. He even invited me to call him with questions, which I did, and he continued to offer his time during the cooking process should we have any further questions.
A very giving person. Thank you, Stephen!

The main course was accompanied by roasted broccoli with garlic and Parmesan shavings and

The Best Chocolate Cake & Icing Ever.

So without any further adieu, I am happy to share with you the recipes for the most delicious pork tenderloin I have ever had. Sorry, I did not take any pictures. We were eating while watching the game and I didn't even stop to think about it! I am blaming this oversight on temporary Lakers Fever.

Maple Marinated Pork Tenderloins ~

This recipe is for 4 tenderloins. We halved the recipe and made 2 tenderloins. It worked out well and there was plenty of BBQ sauce left over.

Marinade:

Apple cider				2	QT
Garlic, minced				1	T
Bay leaves				3
Molasses				1/4	C
Honey				1/2	C
Guldens Mustard				1/2	C
Salt				3	T
Maple syrup				1/2	C
Lemon juice				1	t

Mix all ingredients together. Pour the marinade over tenderloins and marinate an hour or so. At the end of this time do not throw out the marinade. Remove the meat and in a roasting pan transfer 2 cups of the marinade and set the pork on a screen or slotted insert (broiling pan will work) so it is suspended over the cooking liquid. Cover tightly with foil. Roast at 325* 30-40 minutes until the meat is medium-rare or reaches 130* internal temp. This is step 1 of the cooking process.

Remove the pork (which is hot from the oven but not thoroughly cooked) and submerge* it back into the reserved marinade. The meat is to cool completely while it the marinade. This is what gives it such a good flavor as the meat absorbs the flavors while it is hot. You can make the recipe to this point ahead of time and refrigerate after it has cooled as it will finish cooking on the grill.

* do try to really submerge the meat either in large gallon ziplock or rectangle-type container.

Remove the tenderloins from the marinade when cooled and grill to your specifications while basting constantly with the Raspberry BBQ Sauce.

Raspberry BBQ Sauce ~

Ketchup				3	C
Apple Cider				2	C
Cider Vinegar				1/2	C
Frozen Raspberries				1	C
Tamari Soy				1/2	C
Honey				1	C
Turbinado Sugar				1	C
Black Pepper				1	t
Cinnamon Gr.				1,2	T,t
Cayenne Pepper				1	t

Set aside 1/2 c. of apple cider and add 2 Tbls. of arrowroot or corn starch.

(Ground cinnamon amount is 1 Tbls + 2 tsps.)

Combine all ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Add the arrowroot mixture and return to a boil.

This BBQ sauce would be killer on ribs, don't you think?

To plate ~ Cut the tenderloin into medallions and line them up with edges slightly over lapping. Place a strip of raspberry sauce over the meat down the middle. Dot with extra sauce around the meat. Serve extra sauce on the side if you wish.

Don't forget the chocolate cake! ;)

As always, please feel free to email me if you have any questions! :)

Coco Mademoiselle Give-Away!

Hello summer!

I'm pairing a great pool-side summer read with the fresh and floral scent of
Coco Mademoiselle.

To accompany my Pass-Along Give-Away (my previously read book),

"The Gospel According To Coco Chanel" ...

I thought a natural compliment would be one of her memorable fragrances.

I chose the soft and light Fresh Body Satin Spray with aloe vera and chamomile extract that spritz' on after a bath or shower and makes your skin feel so refreshed. And the scent of Coco Mademoiselle ~ if you are not familiar with it, to me, it softly announces summer has arrived while whispering 'remember me'.

To enter this Give-Away ~

1 Entry ~
Be or Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment.

1 Extra Entry ~
Write a post on your blog about this give-away with a link back.

1 Extra Entry ~
Place the photo from this post or my blog button (found on my sidebar) on your sidebar with a link back to this give-away.

1 Extra Entry ~
Tweet with a link to the give-away.

All entries must be separate.

The winner will be chosen at random.

Give-Away ends June 30th at midnight Pacific Time

Bonne Chance! :)

My Birthday vs. The Lakers

Today is my birthday.
Tonight is the final NBA game with the Lakers playing.
Thus lies the dilemma.

Before game 6, I was offered my favorite restaurant to dine at tonight ~
Studio at the Montage Resort.
In Laguna Beach.
On top of a cliff.
At sunset.

But when it was realized "The Game" would be played on Thursday night I could sense the minds of three guys switching gears wondering which sports bar might be the nicest to take mom to.


(If they ever want to see a warm chocolate chip cookie again) .... :)

I'm still feeling that 'vacation high' from my wonderful 10 day trip a couple weeks ago so I don't have that need to be treated to something particularly special or to be worshiped for the day.

As for a birthday wish list, for once, I almost could go for the new frig I've been looking at in lue of a trinket. I said almost. A new double convection oven with shiny cobalt blue interiors was installed yesterday along with a new 42 decibel dishwasher installed two days before that. I know, really, it's just a matter of time and promotion until the frig joins its kitchen comrades without the need to squander a wish on an appliance. I once told Mr. P.M. never to give me anything for Mother's Day or my birthday that needs to be plugged in. It was more of a warning then, but this year I'll probably rescind that threat and play the appliance card since there's nothing I crave, long for or lust after worthy of any birthday gift or wish.

I have to say though, it's a nice feeling and yet kind of strange not to have anything on my mental splurge list but it's because this birthday I'm complacent, content, satisfied. Warm.
All my key players are in the clubhouse today and for the next 2 months.
A roster I haven't seen for the last 4 years.
This is truly the best gift and what I want to celebrate so I'm inviting Kobe and his team to my party so we can all be together tonight.


On Sunday with the basketball season over we'll be changing sports
and going to The Montage for a double header ~
Birthday and Father's Day.
Afterall, who better to share the pitching mound with than my co-manager.

Signing off early to warm up! ~ Have a wonderful weekend, BF's! :)

Thought For The Day

Why is it you can hit every red light in town but when you're planning on putting lipstick on while you're stopped you hit every green one?

Kate Spade's Picnic Baskets On Sale

This bicycle basket may have to be my new indoor mail catcher.

On sale at the Kate Spade Sample Sale (knew it would be!) Yay!

From $325 to $162

I also love her big sister handbag for summer ~

From $275 to $137

Love Kate! :)

4th of July Printable Downloads * FREE*!

Just when I was wondering how I was going to make my own printables for a 4th of July party, I found Brandi's at Tweedle Dee Designs! If you are planning a celebration you have to head over to her blog. Brandi is a very talented designer who is sharing her entire July 4th collection with us!
Thank you Brandi!

Her free downloads take you from Invitation ~
(Who could resist a party when it looks this fun & inviting?)


~ to Toppers ~
(The firework 'party punchables' is just a celebration waiting to happen!)


How festive and original is this star-spangled banner?
I salute you!


In this free collection are bottle wrappers, stickers, small notes and flags to wrap around straws.

It is all incredible and so generous and easy to download!

Brandi has an Etsy shop too.

~ And speaking of fabulous free printables, Laurie Turk, a.k.a. The Tip Junkie is featuring free printables every day on her other blog Executive Homemaker.

Have a fabulous Monday!

Sweet Sunday

The attentive and proud grandparents in the booth behind us took their young granddaughter to lunch. She was talking a mile a minute and would bring up the cutest things to talk about, non of which were related, of course.

For dessert they ordered a tall fluff of cotton candy.

It was blue and sitting at least 18" high on the plate.

Her knees made a slight indentation in the softness of the booth's cushion as she reached for the the top of the colored cloud. A few whisps were pulled off and offered to grandma and grandpa. When grandpa politely refused, she stopped chatting for a second. Clearly she was confused by his refusal. Then her thoughts became known ~

"But Grandpa, it's your favorite color"!

~Witnessed at Circus Cafe, Saratoga Springs, NY

Stay Tuned....

Driving up the coast today with son1 to pick up son2 from his first year of college. How the time has flown! Don't forget to leave a comment for my Audrey book (see sidebar). I will be giving away The Gospel According to Coco Channel soon and have a Birthday give-away planned too!

I am working on some free printables but this is coming together more slowly than I would like as I learn the Elements program, but when I figure it out this will be my new hobby to share with you. Lots of fun things planned for the summer!

Have a terrific weekend. See you next week!

Boatman Geller Tent Sale

Boatman Gellar is having a HUGE tent sale online.

These cards are definitely speaking to me!

Packs of 50 cards/50 envelopes reduced from $70 to $14.

Some of my favs ~

The lobsters were a tad more ~ selling by the pound? :) $20.

Happy Hunting!

"What Would Audrey Do" Pass-Along Book Give-Away

A truly delightful little read.


One of my favorite Audrey quotes when asked about how she attained her star status~

"I worked my ass off"!

Oh, Audrey. Only you could make this sound classy. :)

If you are new to my 'pass-along book give-aways', I like to pass along books that I have personally read and enjoyed to one of my followers.
My copy.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

And in true Audrey spirit with her absolute love of animals, please see my previous post to do your part in helping to put an end to bull fighting. It is a world wide effort and may seem insurmountable from this continent but we can make a difference!

The book give-away ends this Sunday, just leave a comment if you are a follower or become one and let me know! :)

Have a great day!

Please Help Stop Bull Fighting

'Time to say enough is enough'.

Please go HERE and add your name to the list for the Catalonia Parliament to ban bull fighting.

Here is some information from the website:

This is a historic moment. We have a chance to end the blood sport of bullfighting in one of Spain’s largest regions: Catalonia.

And you can do your bit to help.

After a huge anti-cruelty campaign by the Catalonian public, the regional parliament will vote this summer on whether to ban bullfighting for good. We want the MPs to know there are thousands of people all around the world who care which way they vote and are hoping to see them put an end to this cruel ‘sport’.

Now more than ever, you can make a difference.

Add your name to our petition, so that together we can encourage the Catalonian Parliament to vote in favour of a ban.Thank you.

Ricky Gervais.

A Heaping of Graduation With A Side of New England Road Trip

"He did it"!

We had a great 10 day trip but first things first ~

Graduation was wonderful!

College Boy1 was also awarded the Robert T. Haslam Cup in the department of Chemical Engineering for showing 'the most professional promise'. This is a huge honor to be selected by his professors for this recognition and fellows and he didn't even tell us about it until we inquired about the cup that was sitting on his bookshelf!!
(He is very humble so I tend to over compensate but that's what being a mother is for.)
;)


This is the department chair, Dr. Jansen, with the original cup from the 50's which apparently one cannot touch.
Our son received a smaller brass replica and his name will be added to a plaque that is displayed at MIT for all to see. :)

He was in class during the official department award ceremonies but was fortunate to get a picture at a later time. I had to google this one myself!
That darn kid!

The Side of New England ~We arrived in Boston a week before commencement, rented a car and had planned to pick up College Boy1 for a side trip of New England away from the area. Before heading over to his dorm the morning after we arrived, (we were really waiting for him to wake up), we went over to our favorite sandwich shop on Charles St. in Beacon Hill and were drawn to this carpet of lavender in the distance looking over at the Commons.


I couldn't imagine what flowers made such a display.
On closer inspection it was a poignant display of American flags each one representing a fallen soldier of Massachusetts. It was one of the most thoughtful displays I have ever seen. There was a hush around the hill as everyone who came across it was taken back by its scope and meaning.


We soon rallied our son from the coolest college dorm ever built...

... and headed up the North Shore to Salem and
toured The House of Seven Gables.


We learned Nathaniel Hawthorne never saw the house with seven gables, only three. The original seven gables were taken down by a sea captain owner before Nathaniel's lifetime then added back on by restoration much later. It never had a penny shop as depicted in the story nor was it part of the under ground railroad as we were told on our first tour 27 years ago. :(

Oh well, still a beautiful location and wonderfully historical. :)

We continued north to Newburyport for the evening and ate at Mike's on the Merrimack river with a stop at Friendly's for a cone. The next day we hugged the coast of Maine...


... stopping for a lobster roll in Kennebunkport at this cute place ~


We then drove the breathtaking White Mountains of New Hampshire to Hanover to visit Dartmouth (I love college towns and have been here before).


Being a Greek, I am always interested in seeing how 'the row' is at other colleges.
Thanks to Sarah Ida Shaw, I can always call Tri-Delta my home. :)


The Sig Eps had the best view. When a few of the guys saw I was taking their picture, they said, 'Hey someone's taking our picture". Brilliant. I responded, "I'm sending them to your mother"!
It just came out. I should have added "so, put the red plastic cups down".


School was still in session but it was hard to tell since it was so peaceful and quiet. We saw a lot of students dressed up. I asked someone what was going on and apparently this was the night many formal parties were taking place for clubs, frats/sororities and team sports. We came across one on a back road. It could not have been in a lovelier setting.


Next we drove into Rutland, VT to spend the night and had dinner at a surprisingly great place with the best roasted pork tenderloin marinated in maple syrup with a spicy raspberry sauce. I wish I had gotten my own instead of mooching off my men's. The recipe is forthcoming and I will be sure to share with you! :)

The next morning we crossed into New York just like Ethan Allan and his Green Mountain Boys up to Fort Ticonderoga ...


... and Lake Placid (having the best sandwich at a Main St. deli), thoroughly enjoying the drive through the Adirondacks to the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake ...


... then headed over to our former summer home where we rendezvoused with my brother and sister-in-love to explore familiar haunts and visit with friends. They would join us again in Cambridge for the graduation .


This is where we stayed during our visit.


I have always loved this country club on the lake's edge.
*sigh*


The night before a warm thunder storm rolled in and caught the 5 of us huddled under the eves of a roadside ice cream stand in the glow of yellow neon lights. It doesn't get better than this, my friends. Our ice cream cones were smoking and we were smiling so much it was difficult to eat. I will remember this simple pleasure for a very long time.

With our memories lovingly revisited but with a slight disappointment in not being able to find the old country cemetery to visit my grandmother and great-aunt and uncle it was time to make our way back towards Boston. We had lunch in Saratoga Springs and detoured through the Green Mountains of VT. Manchester Village was one of our honeymoon stops so we had to visit again.

Two reasons I could pack up and move here in a minute ~

Porches ~


and more porches. :)


I am happy to see it is as charming as it was so long ago.

We stayed one night in Williamstown, MA where I do believe Williams College is the most quaint and sleepy little college town if there ever was one.


It gives Dartmouth a run for its money.

We followed the Mohawk Trail into Concord and visited 'the bridge' and listened to a re-enactor recount the events (all a gross misunderstanding from both sides who had never faced a line of fire before) and made our way through the rush hour traffic of Concord ending up in Cambridge again with 2 days to spare before graduation.


The night before graduation began with a wonderful dinner in the North End on Hanover St. at Bricco. We were sitting with the window panels open to soak in the Little Italy atmosphere when a very loud thunder storm blew through.
It was wonderful!


After dinner we had a few minutes to wait for the valet and walked the street going into Mike's Pastry and Modern Pastry for a non-caloric look-see.

The rest of the evening was spent with the Boston Pops and Keith Lockhart where it was exclusively "MIT Night at The Pops".


The Boston Symphony Hall is old (1900), ornate and incredibly amazing. We were seated in the first balcony near the stage. They were the best seats I've ever had at a concert. Adding to the atmosphere of the evening were a sea of red jackets noting 50 years or more of MIT alumni status.


Homage was paid to the alumni of The Class of 1960 as they returned for their reunion. My husband leaned over to me to tell our son that when he has his red jacket and returns for his reunion to think of this night and remember us. This thought made me so emotional I couldn't get the words out so he had to lean over me to tell him. I wonder what our son thought.

Leave it to the Pops to weave a spell of talent that takes your breath away and whimsy with a sing-a-long of Beatles Rock Band on the screen. The encore tune was Stars and Stripes Forever where balloons in the school's colors were dropped on the audience of red jackets and the popping of them mimicked fireworks going off.


'Magical' is the only word that can describe it.

The graduation ceremony was beautifully organized and executed and very long in the hot and humid sun but we made it too! Every graduating student, both undergrad and advanced degrees (over 2000) received their printed diplomas during the ceremony! I don't know how they did it but they did. We were surrounded by foreign languages. Italian, behind us, an Indian dialect in front of us, Chinese to our right. There was an incredible international atmosphere.

I was fascinated with some of the robes the dignitaries wore ~

A pink gown!?!



It's obvious her PhD is in 'Good Taste'.

Flying in from Hogwarts, no doubt.


Basic black. Always a classic.

After graduation and a departmental reception ...


... where we were able to meet son1's professors as he said his good-bye's to friends. We walked around school a bit then got ready for our dinner at Grill 23 in downtown Boston. I love a dining experience that has the best of both worlds going for it - impeccable service and good food.

Grill 23 ~ Wood floors and brass railings, the wait staff in white jackets who knew which side to serve and which side to take away from, a water glass that never saw the bottom but you don't recall being served, a basket of various breads of texture and form, regional cocktails (my first Dark and Stormy), the energy of an open kitchen, lively conversations in the air but none you can follow and crumbs from the table quickly whisked away before dessert.

The experience ~ perfection.

(Yes, you can tell where we ate was a big part of our vacation experience.)


I am particularly fond of this picture. I think my brother took it by mistake while he was lining up the real shot. It's me. I love it. Who says not every picture is a good one! :)

The next day, after graduation, we were to fly out in the evening ending our 10 day trip so we finalized the cleaning of the dorm room and finish packing. Since we had time to spare we went to see The King's Chapel ...


... and Granary Cemetery where Ben Franklin's parents, Paul Revere and other notables are buried.


The stones in the cemetery have been moved twice so they do not mark the exact spot of the burial sites but the stones are old and many are still readable and artistic.

We had lunch at Emmets Pub ...


... and then walked over to Charles St. in Beacon Hill and around the various streets. We always end our trips to Boston with a visit to Nino's on Charles for an Italian sub for the plane. It has become a tradition and of course we had to go one more time but this is the only time our son had been with us. Seemed fitting to end his tenure here with a trip to Beacon Hill with all the charm a city could muster and the best Italian sub ever!