This week was another jammed packed week for us....Tyler was avidly studying for midterms and I had another busy week at work. The only thing getting me through the week was my playdate with my friend Michelle and a housewarming party at my friends, Liz and Yves, place. Tyler needed a relaxing weekend after midterms and just wanted to hang out. So, I headed up Friday afternoon on the bus to Boston for the weekend.

After a long and grueling bus ride (we got stuck in horrible traffic), I finally made it to Boston. Michelle picked me up and we headed to my favorite store....THE CHRISTMAS TREE SHOP :) As many of you know, I inherited the love for The Christmas Tree Shop from my Dad who was notorious for coming back to our house in Maine with tons of stuff from the store. There isn't a Christmas Tree Shop near where we live in NYC, so I decided it was worth going to in Boston. I made sure to pack an extra bag in my suitcases to carry everything home with me :) We had a very successful trip and I stocked up on all kinds of fun goodies for our apartment. Our next stop was the craft store and dinner. Michelle and I have been planning our craft and baking date for weeks and had a whole list of things we wanted to make!

Saturday, we woke up early, dropped her sister off at school, and headed out for a beautiful eight mile run. On our way home we stopped and grabbed breakfast and spent the morning catching up and strategizing about our day. After finalizing our plan, we made one stop to Pier 1 (I was in search for different colors and sized stem ware for Christmas decorations) and picked up a pumpkin and baking supplies at Whole Foods. Then, we spent the entire afternoon baking and crafting and here's what we came up with:

• Pumpkin spiced muffins
• Pumpkin spiced mini-bundt cakes with a maple glaze
• Chocolate cake in the shape of a pumpkin (didn't quite turn out how we anticipated!)
• Salted Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (not in the picture)
• A pumpkin centerpiece for Liz and Yves

After a fun-filled afternoon, we headed to Liz and Yves to see their new place and head out to the bars with everyone. Sunday morning came far too quickly and it was already time for me to leave! We woke up early to finish our caramel shortbread bars and headed for the bus. Thanks Michelle for a wonderful weekend and Liz and Yves for organizing such a fun night!