Paint Bar Boston - Everyone's an Artist

Thursday night, the girls from work (who live in Boston) took a field trip to The Paint Bar.  We were sad that Bailey (who lives in Vancouver) and Arielle (who just moved to Pennsylvania) weren't able to come...it's just the nature of an internet company I guess - everyone doesn't have to work from the same office!  Ann and Laura are the other two girls in Boston.  It's so nice to work with your friends...it truly is the number 1 perk of working where I do.  :)

There are two Paint Bar locations in Boston - one in Newton (down the street from my apartment), and one on Newbury Street in Boston.  We chose the Newton location so we didn't have to fight for parking - it's free after 6pm.

The inside of this location is super cute - bright colors on the walls, tables with easels and canvases just waiting for eager painters, and a mini gallery displaying all of the paintings they do each month.  Laura was also in love with the giant giraffe painting hanging in the purple and yellow bathroom.

In addition to the painting you'll do, there's also the "bar" half.  They sell wine by the glass, soda, water, chips and candy for you to enjoy while you hang out.  All the makings for a great evening!

When we arrived, we were shown to our seats (so nice there was assigned seating so you don't need to worry about getting there at a certain time so your group can sit together) and told to head to the back to get ready.  We grabbed our aprons and headed to the paint area, which had instructions about how many 'squirts' of each color we needed to complete that evening's panting.  So easy.  

Then we met our teacher for the evening (Jackie), who actually started Paint Bar with her mother!  Jackie is hilarious, talented, and GOOD at what she does.  She managed to strike a balance between clear instruction and funny banter that made for a fantastic few hours.

Our instructor for the evening, Jackie!

Laura was soooo excited to get her paint!  

She walked us through every part of the painting together - everyone's turned out perfectly!

It was such a fun night - I can't WAIT to go back!

Travis' Dissertation Concert & Celebrating at 51 Lincoln

Time sure does fly.  I planned on telling you about our dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants, 51 Lincoln, weeks ago...but am just now getting to it!  (Bad blogger.)  We love an excuse to go out for a nice dinner, so the fact that Travis finished his dissertation piece was no stretch of the rule - it was time to celebrate!  This time, our friends Ann, Terence, and Allyn came with us for a roaring good time!

51 Lincoln is in Newton, MA, just a few minutes down the road from us.  The restaurant is cozy and sophisticated and plastered with fantastic art!  The first time we ate there, we were mentioning to our waiter how much we liked the art, and we learned that the chef is both a culinary artist AND a visual artist!  I guess it should be no surprise that the two talents overlap - after all  cooking IS art.  (Here's a blog the chef wrote about his art if you're interested.)

When we all arrived it was time for appetizers.  Ann and Terence split a cheese and pâté plate, Allyn enjoyed the Pan Seared  Watermelon Steak (which I'd never seen before...it was interesting!), and Travis ordered his favorite - the Polenta Fries with Truffle Parmesan Dip.  The polenta fries are to die for, fluffy, and unassumingly heavy.  They're meant to be a side, so if you order them as an app, make sure you share or you won't want your dinner!  51 Lincoln also has the best corn bread and bread dip.  I don't know what it is made of exactly, but it's tomatoey, sweetish,...it's fantastic.  (You don't dip the cornbread.)  :)

For dinner, I had the Chicken Under a Brick.  The first time we visited 51 Lincoln this is what Travis got, and he couldn't stop talking about it for weeks.  Everywhere we went it was, "OMG CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK!,"  "Where can we get bricks," or "Let me tell you about the most amazing chicken ever!"  I decided to have it this time, and it was equally enjoyable as the last.  The only strange thing was a unidentifyable purple vegetable on my plate.  I took one bite and knew it wasn't for me.  After dinner, Ann wanted to give it a try (she's notably more brave about her food choices than I am) and she agreed...it was bad.  Note to self - radicchio is gross.

Travis ordered the bolognese, and has since taken up his regular "OMG 51 LINCOLN'S PASTA!!," "We need to learn how to do that!," "Let me tell you about the most amazing pasta" routine.  To his credit, it really was fantastic.  They make all of their pasta in-house and difference is obvious.

For dessert, the table split the chocolate lava cake (topped with hazelnuts and bourbon caramel) and their banana ice cream.  The perfect way to end an evening.

We had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back.

A few days later Travis had the premiere of his piece at Brandeis University!  Remember the Berry Basket Cake from last week?  It made its appearance at the reception.  Take a look & listen!