Thank You!

As I'm sure most of you watch the news, you've already heard about the lockdown in the Cambridge/Boston area. I live and work in Cambridge, so I'm unexpectedly working from home today. 

Recently Emily at My Vintage Visions awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award, and I wanted to say thank you!

In order to accept the award, I must:
     - thank the person who nominated you;
     - add the "One Lovely Blog Award" image to your post;
     - share seven things about yourself;
     - pass the award on to seven nominees;
     - include this set of rules; and
     - inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs.

The seven blogs I would like to nominate in turn (and I encourage you to go check them out!) are:

1. Quinn at The Quintessential Clothes Pen

2. Barbara at Recreating the 19th century Ballroom

3. Julia P. at Not So Geek, Not So Chic

4. Fleur at Diary of a Vintage Girl

5. Augustintyar at Before the Automobile

6. Audrey at Visually Stunning

7. Jamie at Suitcase Words

But I'm going to forgo talking about myself, and instead continue my Love Letter to New England. So instead of seven things about me, here are my seven favorite parts of home...in no particular order.

1. Farm stand ice cream: the area surrounding Boston is full of delicious, seasonal ice cream stands. And because this is MA, we wait in snow boots and winter coats to eat ice cream on opening weekend. (pictured: Kimball Farms in Westford, MA on their opening weekend this March)

2. Boston Common and the Boston Public Gardens, and beautiful, historic natural places in the heart of Boston. I love hanging out there in the summer and seeing the trees lit in the winter. In the summer, many music students from nearby Berkeley School of Music busk, so as you lounge you often hear things like the Pirates of the Caribbean theme for harmonizing violins. (Pictured: picnicking by the swan boat pond in the BPG in 2011) 

3. Fall foliage. I knew that it was pretty, but I never realized how wonderful and special it was until I moved away for college. The leaves really are just brighter here. (Pictured: Newton Historical Society performance, 2012)

4. How our history is such a part of our present--the Freedom Trail is a cobblestone/brick inlay that leads visitors (and locals!) to Revolutionary War sites throughout Boston. There are tons of ways to customize it, too--I've done both the Civil War walking tour and the Women's History tour. (Pictured: feet belonging to two of my friends, who were visiting from Europe this summer) 

5. Relatedly, we don't need a Tardis to time travel--even if you don't run around adventuring in period clothes (like I do), you'll run into someone from the 18th or 19th centuries at some point. (Pictured: reenactors--or potentially Park Service historians--in Faneuil Hall this summer)

6. The changing seasons. Even though about half-way through summer, when it's 110 and humid as all hell, and half-way through winter when I can't feel my nose, I'm ready to move on, I wouldn't want to give up any of the seasons. (Pictured: the BPG after a blizzard this December)

It was hard to stop, but finally...

7. The intellectual culture--research universities, tech companies, museums...the area is full of science, art, and music. I never get sick of going to museums and there are always talks, festivals, and discoveries. (Pictured: the triceratops at the Museum of Science, Boston from a visit at Thanksgiving)