Venetian Masquerade

Whisked the night away at this elegant ball and fully embraced the "joie de vivre" of Italian Renaissance culture. It was a whimsical evening of music, dance, and masked mystery at one of Boston's plush hotels - The Colonnade.

 

The venue was elegantly decorated and a dim purple lighting made the whole evening very enchanting. Canapes were served and before long the DJ had the majority of Northeastern students up dancing under the glistening chandeliers. 

Providence

Providence is the capital and most populous city in Rhode Island. Its was also one of the first cities established in the USA so Matt Guiry and I decided to take a little day trip and see some of the finest urban strolling this side of the Connecticut River.

Wall of hope - 9/11 Memorial

According to reviews Providence is one of the 'yuppie' headquarters for people commuting by train to Boston and I can see why it would be such an appealing spot to settle in. Particularly during summer, much of downtown Providence transforms into a carnivalesque festival thanks to an exceedingly popular public art installation called WaterFire. At this event, 100 flaming braziers anchored into the city's rivers illuminate the water, viewed by thousands of pedestrians strolling on bridges and finely landscaped riverside parks.

 

Despite the dreary weather we managed to see some of the sites and soaked up the Providence charm.

 

 

Our day started at Providence Place Mall which was very cosmopolitan and fresh with the typical 21st century glass windows and open spaces, contrasting Federal Hill were we headed next. This section of the city is home to petite art galleries, bakeries and dinky restaurants. 

La Pigna sculpture, a traditional symbol of welcome, abundance and quality, hangs at the entrance to Federal Hill.


Rick's Roadhouse for Lunch! This restaurant duplicated the great regional meals served by family owned restaurants to hungry travelers along route 66 from Chicago to California. It was tasty grub.

Dave and Buster's Arcade was just like you see in the movies!

Valentines Day

I don't believe I am bitter and heartless at all. I just see valentines is a genius marketing scam and the companies selling have truly got the Americans hooked on a day of love and tremendous spending.


The shops are laden with heart shaped treats and stores are glowing a powerful red and pink color of passion. 
 
Flower shops have lines of romantic chaps that are following tradition to get their lovely ladies roses and exotic flowers. 

Chocolate shops are drizzling temptations into their selection boxes. 

Restaurants are booked up and cramming as many cuddled up couples in as possible. 

But to me it seems like madness, showing embellished affection for one single day of the year!

Nicole and I figured it was an excuse to treat ourselves to some TLC and pampering. After work we grabbed some Starbucks coffee to lounge on the couches and call up hair salons. As true Business Majors, looking for a bargain, trying to strike a reasonable deal and avoid paying a hefty fee proved to be a tricky aim but eventually we discovered Micheal's.

My frazzled curly locks were limp and lifeless. The harsh water and busy lifestyle really takes its toll on my frizzy mop and I was convinced it would take a miracle to make any improvement. Oh how wrong I was. A quick consultation was followed by a thorough scrub and some deep conditioning. She snipped and blethered in true hair stylist fashion before blow drying. It was volumised and bouncy and I felt like a Stepford Wife. Nicole had a stylish fringe cut in and it shaped around her face. Definitely going back!

Headed to Applebee's for food...

Mardi Gras

Celebrations! FAT TUESDAY.

 A jazzy band trumpeted us into the venue which was organized chaos and glittering with decorations - gold, green and purple themed. By the time we were swiped in the staff had loaded us up with numerous beads, masks, feather boas, hats and jingly bracelets... All students were laden with carnival props putting everyone in the mood for a circus type episode.

 

Food Glorious Food...

Red Velvet Cupcakes, Butter icing, Sprinkles, Cookies and shortbread, find a plastic baby in the cake competition, Syrup coated bananas with ice cream, An assortment of subs, Stewed meat and veg, Risotto, Pastas, Waffles with sweet sauces, Donuts dipped in icing sugar, Pancake flipping, cereal eating competition AND MUCH much more!! 

Feeling sufficiently stuffed Nicole and I NEEDED to burn off all the extra weight so decided to run to Boston college and back. Slippy streets but a good workout! Didn't feel quite so guilty about the binge afterwards. 

BEANPOT Final

Huskies advanced to the Beanpot championship game for the third time in the past five years. Could this be the year Northeastern ends its drought and captures the treasured trophy for the first time since 1988? Go huskies!!

Nicole and I attended the pre-game with Michelle and JP at West End Johnnies for a spirited pregame gathering with fellow Huskies. Meatballs, toasties, spring rolls and other appetizers were served.

Fantastic opportunity to experience the atmosphere of TD Garden. It is a phenomenal venue, with a colossal seating capacity of 17,565. The very steep steps made my tummy turn as we climbed to the dog house. The die-hard fans were unstoppable with enthusiastic chanting.


Lets go huskies, lets go

Sieve sieve sieve (shouted at the goalie)

LETS GO DOGS.

BC: safety school safety school
NU: Sunday school Sunday school...
where's your pope?

Photographed with President Auoun!

Hockey is such a fast paced game and can be rough at times. I am always super impressed by the skating ability, a bounty of talent to be seen on the rink. 

Unfortunately the game was a bit scrappy, NU lost 6-3 which was embarrassing towards the end because they had so many opportunities to score.

Ice Carving

The 18th Annual International Ice Carving Competition was held on campus at Northeastern today. 

Read, set, CHISEL!

Students were encouraged to harness their cultural creativity as they transform a block of ice into works of art. The teams were competing to produce chilling representatives of some of the most iconic landmarks on earth. The possibilities were endless but my personal favorite was this one! 

Peace.

Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year is among Asia’s most widely celebrated holidays. Spanning China, Korea, and Vietnam, this was a festival we certainly wouldn't want to miss. Northeastern students are diverse in cultures and this was an opportunity for them all to enjoy exquisite cuisine, fun activities, and outstanding performances to rejoice in the Lunar New Year!

•  Raffle
• Lanterns
• Chinese Food
• Photo booth
• Famous Dragon Dancing 
• Martial Arts 
• Singers & Dancers