Dana

So I know this is super last minute, but I Nick and I were wondering if anyone would be interested in little barbeque potluck at our place before heading over to ArtBeat for some music and such on Friday night. 7ish perhaps?
We're at 338 Summer Street, apartment #1. Our doorbell doesn't work, so just head down the driveway and we'll be out in the backyard.
Just shoot me a note if you're planning to stop by :)

Ok- so thanks to everyone for all of the wedding advice, particularly about the cake. The consensus seems to be that I would be crazy to make my own cake. I'm still clinging to threads of hope over this idea, but maybe I should give it up. I just really wanted to cook something for my wedding and the cake is literally the only thing we're allowed to bring from outside. Pretty sad about that, as there's nothing I love more than cooking for my friends.
Any other helpful pointers? Dos and don'ts? We couldn't really afford a wedding planner so we're out on our own in this and I feel a bit adrift. I have this fear that everyone will show up and I will have forgotten something essential, like chairs. Oh, and where does one buy shoes for a wedding? Help! My brain is being sapped by a wedding monster and it's only July!

Does anyone know anything about wedding cakes and/or quilting? I am in the process of trying to see if I can make my own wedding cake and any advice that anyone might have to offer would be much appreciated. The practicing stage has not gone at the clip I had hoped for.
I'm also wondering about where to get quilting squares and how much they cost. Are there places that will cut them up for you if you know how many squares you would like for a quilt? I'm concocting a plan, but I need some quilting expertise.

I'm back!! Nick and I got in late on Friday and we're all set up in Davis. I'm afraid that our proximity to JP Licks may be disastrous for my health, but I'm not fighting it.
We're planning to head down to Mem Drive to have a picnic and watch the fireworks on Friday. Let us know if anyone wants to come along so we can plan a meeting place :)

4 more days...

Eleven days until we head home to Boston! We're driving up after work on Friday the 27th, so it'll probobly be late when we get in, but what are people up to that weekend? I can't wait to see everyone!
Also, a question. My family is thinking of renting a place on the cape for a week this summer, but we don't know where to go. We ususually go to Nantucket, so that's the general feel we were looking for. Any suggestions? Towns that people love? Let me know!

25 more days until i move to boston....

I fell off a horse and broke my hand. Now I have a crazy robot arm. Any suggestions on one-handed dissertation writing?
On a brighter note- the countdown to boston has begun. We'll be back on Friday June 27th!! We found a great place on summer street near davis and I am so excited! Hpefully the robot hand will be healed by then...

Ok, so two things. First, it looks like I am going to be without roommates starting in August. If anyone is moving to new york, or knows of someone else who is, please let me know. The apartment is lovely; it has 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big living room, separate kitchen and lots of natural light. Rent is $916 a month, which is pretty cheap by manhattan standards :)
Second, I'm coming to town this weekend! We've got some apartment hunting, photographer meeting to do, but I'd love to get together if anyone is up for hanging out. It is possible that I might be particularly interested in hanging out near the vicinity of jp licks...

Ok, so I have a small problem. It looks like the photographer that we were going to have for our wedding isn't going to be able to do the pictures. The pics are pretty important to us, as the traditional, stand line lines with different permutations of family and wedding party makes me start to break out in hives. We really want some nice, photo-journalistic shots of the day. Any suggestions? It's not easy trying to plan all of this from the far away isle of Manhattan, any advice/ideas people might have would be much appreciated.

I just got notice that my "six page paper" was approved by the review committee in my department! This is like, the proposal for the proposal so it's not that huge, but it's the first official paper that I've submitted that is considered part of my completion of my doctorate, and they didn't even give me edits. I'm actually on my way to being Dr. Dana. Now I just have to write/read for roughly 2.5 more years. Fun.

Hey all- happy valentine's day! I know I've been incommunicado for about 3 months, but I was just missing Boston and everyone there and I wanted to say hello. I've spent the day concocting dairy free chocolate cake and buttercream icing sans butter. It was quite a feat, but actually tastes pretty good. Needless to say, the kids are now totally out of control. I think that buttercream may be a little like crack...
Anyway, hope that everyone is having a lovely valentine's, and if you get a chance, wish some snow in my direction. I'm wasting away for it. Now to go try to scrape some of the buttercream off of my students before their parents start arriving...

So- it seems that some people had an interest in getting dinner tomorrow night. I'm thinking Border Cafe at 7:30ish. If you're interested in joining us, let me know so I can get some idea of the number in our party. Also, if that time/place poses a big problem for anyone, let me know and we'll try to adjust. Can't wait to see you and Happy New Year!

Ok, so after a semester of being totally consumed by work/school with a bit of wedding planning on the side, I'm finally getting a break. Nick and I will be heading back to my favorite city in the world on the 31st, and will hopefully make it back in town for the night's festivities. We've had pretty horrible luck with air travel this vacation, but we're scheduled to arrive at Logan at 7pm on the 31st, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

Anyway, we'll be home until Thursday and I would love to see people, hang out, catch up on all I've missed, and consume as much JP Licks as possible. Internet access is patchy right now as I'm stranded in Missouri with nothing but a dial-up connection, but drop me a line or send me a text and I'll eventually get it. Hope all is well and I can't wait to see everyone!!!

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that Albus and I made it to New York in one piece. There are boxes everywhere, but I've got the kitchen unpacked, and that's the really important part :) Anyway, I'm working like crazy getting ready for my new students and I think I start classes or something next week. I miss you all so much and I've created a little homage to my hometown on my wall. Hope all is well with everyone, and also, to all of you who helped us fill up our giant uhaul, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Having you all around made the whole process so much easier. We had professional movers meet us in New York, but they were a poor substitute for our Boston crew. Hope all is well back home, and make sure to eat plenty of JP Licks for me. I'm missing it

So, I am going offline for the day. It's my school's big Family Fun Day at Hopkinton State Park so I am piling into a caravan of yellow school buses with 300 screaming kids and heading off to the woods for the day.
To all of you who have said you'll join us tonight for the moving, Redbones, JP Licks, and maybe Johnny D's extravaganza, thank you, thank you, thank you! And if there's anyone else who thinks they might be able to make it, we definitely need all of the help we can get! We're meeting up at our house at about 6pm and there will be plenty of snacks and beverages (both alchoholic and non). We're at 69 Cedar Street at the corner of Cedar and Summer Streets in Somerville. It's the little blue house on the corner and we're #1. Then it's off to New York Saturday morning. Thanks so much everyone and I'll see you tonight!

Dear friends in Boston:

As you may know, Nick and I are hitting the road for New York/Philly on Saturday morning and, as you probably could have guessed, our house is a total disaster right now. Basically, we have two main objectives over the next few days: get everything moved out, and clean out the rest of the beer and food that remains in our kitchen.

So this is where we ask you for your help. The end of the summer is coming and we'd really love to have your company for one last huzzah. This Friday, if you come by our place at around 6pm, we will gladly exchange all of this excess alcohol for a bit of help getting our lives packed into a 14' UHaul van. I promise it will all be in easily portable boxes by then.

So please let us know if you think you can come by. And save room too, cuz we're thinking of hitting up Redbones once everything is packed.

Thank you so so much!

Ok, so Friday was a good day, but one of the unexpected engagement gifts was our new hamster!!! His name is Albus and he is furry, chubby, super soft, and missing one ear. He also has beautiful dark blue eyes. While he can never take the place of Escamillo, he is a wonderful addition no our rather unconventional family.
Also, I wanted to tell everyone that we have entered the final countdown of days in Boston. Sadly, we are heading south on Saturday, me to NYC and Nick to Philadelphia. I can't believe that the summer flew by so fast. Our apartment is already in shambles with the mania of packing. Ah well, we will be back soon. Just can't seem to stay away.

So, I'm getting married. Have already begun to practice shrieking "It's my special day!!" like wild harridan. Anything else I need to know, or does that about cover it?

Caitlin and Gilly are going to help distract me from the empty cage in my room with a trip to Somerville Theatre tonight. We're going to the 9:30 showing of No Reservations. Anyone interested in joining us?