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I’m married!

Jim and I got married last Saturday in the Syracuse, NY area. Here are a few pictures from the rehearsal dinner, which took place at the Wellington House in Fayetteville.

My husband and me

My siblings and me

Some of us about to eat

 Here are a couple of pics from the ceremony, which took place at Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville:

And some pictures from the reception, which took place at the Lafayette Hills Golf & Country Club in Jamesville, NY.

The wedding was so much fun (at least I had a blast)! I can’t wait to see the professional pics!

This has been a great year

My fiance in our new apartment

One of my college roommates recently told me that 2011 has really been my year. I would say that’s correct, but also that the whole last year has been my year. Since turning 29 in June, I’ve moved in to an awesome apartment, gotten engaged, and become involved with copywriting– a field I truly enjoy. I have written copy for WordStream (a search marketing company) and FlipKey (a vacation rental property website), and last week I started a copywriting position with BzzAgent (a social marketing company). So far I love the new gig! I feel so lucky to have experienced such a great year, and am motivated to spread my good fortune in any way that I can.

A Harvard Square Saturday

Although the weather was pretty bleak, I spent a nice afternoon in Harvard Square on Saturday. I walked there from Porter Square, where I had just gone to the gym.

These photos were taken at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Everett Street, where Harvard University is constructing a new law school building. The building is almost ready, it appears (construction has sure taken awhile!)

Part of the new building

Some of the project crew members

One of the building's arches

As I approached Harvard Square, I spotted a crowd encircling some martial art practitioners/dancers. Here’s a pic:

Listen to the music the martial arts people were moving to by checking out this video:

As I waited for my fiance to finish up an exam at Harvard, I read some of the history displays near Garden Street.

Part of one of the history displays

I learned a bunch of new things about Cambridge, including:

• Cambridge was first called “Newtowne”
• The name was changed to Cambridge when Harvard University was founded. Cambridge is a reference to the university city of Cambridge, England.
• Harvard is named after John Harvard, the university’s first benefactor
• The Puritans founded Cambridge in 1630. It was meant to be their permanent capital, as the location was safe from an attack by sea. It didn’t last as a political capital, though it became an educational one (with the establishment of Harvard).
• The community criticized some of Harvard’s early buildings, saying they were “too gorgeous for a wilderness.”
• In the 18th century wealthy royalists built elaborate mansions and gardens along Brattle Street (the stretch of mansions was called “Tory Row). They had grown  rich from service to the crown and the rum and slavery trade. When the revolution broke, they fled to Canada and England.

Fittingly, on Saturday my fiance and I had lunch at a relatively new restaurant in Harvard Square named Tory Row.

I had some fresh pineapple juice ($2.50) and a grilled marinated chicken breast sandwich with chipotle aioli, mixed greens, and roasted potatoes ($11).

My meal

The roll was nice and soft, the aioli had the perfect kick to it, and the mixed greens and roasted potatoes provided a nice accompaniment to the sandwich.

After lunch, I saw Harvard Square’s newest Starbuck’s. It’s by Citizens Bank and the T.

A sign on the door states the cafe will be opening on May 20 (this Friday). According to comments at the end of this local news post, several business have failed at that location (including an Abercrombie & Fitch).

Harvard Square is such a fun place to walk through. You see guys like this painter, selling their wares.

One of the history displays had mentioned that the country’s first printing press arrived in Cambridge (from England) in the 1630s. I shared this tidbit with my fiance; he told me he knew where the printing press was housed. He took me to Dunster Street, where there’s this plaque.

A little ways down the street we saw this:

What a coincidence! I look forward to trying this place out!

Royal White Laundry in Somerville has new storefront location

Today I saw this sign in front of Royal White Laundry’s longtime 181 Cedar St. location.

I walked to 13 Warwick St., which is just a few steps away. This sign is in front of the business.

This is what the entrance looks like.

Royal White Laundry had been operating its tailoring and dry cleaning storefront out of 181 Cedar St., while 13 Warwick St. appeared to contain all their washers and dryer. Now everything’s been consolidated. The planned community path extension and new Maxwell’s Green (formerly MaxPak) development should provide increased visibility for the Warwick Street location.

Somerville’s Royal White Cleaners improves signage

Royal White Cleaners just put up this sign.

This past weekend Royal White Cleaners, the troubled dry cleaning business on Somerville’s Cedar Street, replaced an outdated “laundromat” sign with one for its tailoring service. You can access this part of the business through the building’s main door.

Royal White Cleaners' main door

The company’s self-service laundromat has been closed since at least August (when I moved to Cedar Street). This signage improvement might be one indication the company’s seriously trying to improve its finances. According to the Somerville Journal, Royal White Cleaners owes the city over $240,000 in unpaid taxes; as a result, the city recently seized the property.

Royal White Cleaners can only reclaim the property if it repays its debts within a year, the article states.

Panera coming to Porter Square in Cambridge

There’s this sign where the old Qdoba was located:

Qdoba closed in June of last year; the storefront was vacant until this display recently went up. I’m not sure when Panera will open, but I’m glad it’s coming. I love their chocolate croissants, free coffee refills, and sandwiches. Plus, they have free wireless Internet (providing an alternative to the somewhat-cramped Bruegger’s across the street and Porter Square Books, which also doesn’t have a ton of space for using your computer).

DeWitt’s ShoppingTown Mall not doing too swell

I was at my parents’ place in the Syracuse, NY area earlier this week to take care of some wedding planning. I needed to get something from Sears, so I stopped by the ShoppingTown Mall in DeWitt. I hadn’t been to the wing near Sears in a couple of years. It’s soooooo crazy what I saw. With the exception of Sears, all the retailers (including Famous Footwear, Old Navy, and Baby Alpaca) were gone. In their place were sports lesson places, a gymnastics place, a teen center, an improv center, and many other service-based businesses. I’m guessing this is a reflection the mall’s not doing so hot. And actually, this article in today’s Post-Standard (Syracuse’s newspaper) blatantly states the mall has struggled in recent years. Here are some pictures showing the types of businesses that have sprung up:

A driving school

A railway historical society

A fencing place

A martial arts place

You can do extreme sports here.

A golfing place

A gym

A teen center

A softball place

A kung fu place

An improv place

A tutoring center

A "family restroom"???

A gymnastics place

A dancing place

A party place

Long-vacant building and shed in Somerville being demolished

I don’t know the exact address of the property. All I can say is it’s adjacent to the Cedar Street bridge (not far from Broadway). Before there was a large parking lot, a main building, and a shed. There’s still a parking lot, but the shed’s been knocked down and half of the main building has been demolished.

I believe the main building once housed a Curves and a Coldwell Banker. Here’s are some pictures of the scene (I took them yesterday):

I’m not sure who owns the property, or if it’s recently been sold.