I have a special love affair with Boston. It is a city I could visit day after day and never get bored. Never stop staring at the brownstones and the harbor. Never get tired of wandering around its streets. And one regret I have in life is never actually living there.. although, hubby and I have talked about buying a condo in the city when we retire one day. The charm that fills Boston is unbeatable and it becomes magical during the holidays.

We are so lucky to live a short hour away from because there are so many things to do this time of year. At the beginning of December, hubby and I decided to spend an afternoon and evening wandering around admiring Christmas lights, hitting up a local holiday market (which was incredible busy) and grabbing a cozy dinner in the North End (where you’ll find the most amazing Italian food).

We started with a glass of wine and charcuterie board at Eataly.. I’m pretty sure if I lived nearby I’d spend a fortune in this store/restaurant on a weekly basis. Their selection of meats, cheeses, chocolate, fresh pasta, wine and so many other goodies is amazing. On the way out, we grabbed a macchiato and some chocolates to share (because we both have an incredible sweet tooth).After snacks, we made our way to Sowa’s winter market.. thank God we arrived early because this place became a mad house with a line that was impossible to find the end of. And while there were so many local vendors with lots of unique gifts and treats, it most definitely would not have been worth a line around Boston to get in.We had a little time before our dinner reservations to explore Quincy Market and Christopher Columbus Park and ooh and ahh (well I ooh’ed and ahh’ed) over the Christmas lights.Dinner at Fiore did not disappoint.. and neither did cookies from Modern bakery.. as you can tell, cookies make me really happy.

The following night, we headed back into the city for a brewery tour to celebrate our friend’s 30th birthday. The four of us piled into a van (with a bunch of strangers) that took us to 3 different breweries and a restaurant for dinner. We had so much fun.. and so much beer.. we (by we I mean Erica and I.. the guys were too cool) even created our own dance party.

And, most recently, Hubby and I spent another afternoon in Boston before we had to pick up my aunt from the airport.. I will gladly sit in 2 hours of traffic during rush hour to get home under a few circumstances: 1. Hubby drives. 2. I have good company. and 3. I’m not commuting from work. I have absolutely no idea how some people make the commute to and from Boston everyday. I hate traffic with a passion.

So anyways, this day was so much fun and the traffic didn’t suck completely because all of my “circumstances” were met. We started with lunch at Pizzeria Regina in the North End (the best pizza ever) and then made our way over to Beacon Hill for some street wandering and picture taking. Beacon Hill at Christmas is the most charming place ever, in my opinion.. it could be the setting for any Hallmark Christmas movie.

We stopped at Acorn Street because it’s beautiful and I needed a picture and then did some window shopping on Charles street. When we were getting pretty freezing, we went to Tatte to warm up with a hot cappuccino and then walked through the Boston Common to check out the Frog Pond ice skating rink before heading to the airport.My favorite kind of dates are the ones where we don’t really have any plans and just meander around arm-in-arm. This day was perfect.