Oh, Cambridge. Our sweet brainy neighbor across the river is home to some of my favorite people and favorite things.

Somerville, Somerville. What a lovely place. Home to backyard chicken coops and the venerable Davis Square, delicious Brazilian food and the shadow of Tufts University. I'm still getting to know this wild, cool little sister of Cambridge, but so far I like what I see.

One of my favorite things about Boston is how distinctly different each neighborhood identity is. From the architecture to community newspapers and events, this city is truly a patchwork quilt of proud neighborhoods. This map, originally created by hand entirely out of cut paper, is a whimsical tribute to the communities that make up this great city.

the green line is so efficient and convenient! 

SAID NO ONE, EVER. 

#orangelinesilverlineforlyfe #orjustbike

Ahh, the Citgo Sign. Boston has truly adopted (co-opted?) this huge neon sign in the shadow of Fenway Park as its own. Day or night, this sign is a way of orienting yourself in the city whether you're a tourist, a dyed in the wool Bostonian, or somewhere in between. Some think it's corporate. Some think it's ugly. I think it's perfect. 
 

I have lived in Boston for over eight years now, and I have truly fallen in love with the South End community. This neighborhood is full block upon beautiful block of brownstones, tiny squares, community gardens, restaurants, and cafes, all hectically stitched together with decaying brick seams. I both live and work in this vibrant, complex, tight-knit community, and have come to truly love its architecture, its history, its diversity, and above all its children and families. This map, created with watercolor, gouache and pen, is a little ode to my connection to this place.

M is for Massachusetts Ave

We start out at Dudley 
and hop on the 1
riding down Mass Ave 
is just so much fun!

Go over the river 
and look - there's the Red Line!
Through Cambridge and then 
we're at Harvard in no time. 

Part of an illustrated series exploring the city through children's eyes - the Boston ABCs. 

M is devoted to Massachusetts Ave - a major street that runs North/South from Dorchester to Cambridge and beyond. The wonderful 1 bus is my neighborhood's gateway to Cambridge, and I've spent many hours traveling down Mass Ave on this line.

Ah, Jamaica Plain. From the Pond to the SW Corridor, from the little shops on Centre to delicious Cuban and Dominican food near Jackson, this diverse neighborhood of artists and families and hipsters and free spirits is among my favorite in the city.

A South End Summer is something I have been lucky enough to experience personally, professionally, and artistically for the past 5 years. More than any other aspect of this lovely neighborhood where I live and work, it leaves a deep imprint on me that nourishes me through long winters.

A South End Summer is a lazy sunday, a magazine and an iced coffee, an afternoon at SoWa.  It's sun-dappled brownstone stoops. It's bike rides and exploring the neighborhood with children, snatches of reggaeton and ice cream truck music driving by. It's field trips and messy hands and echoing voices off courtyard walls. It's hot un-airconditioned nights and laying spread-eagle in front of the fan. It's drinks after work on tiny sidewalk tables. It's mason jar mojitos and epic searches for festina peche beer. It's late night bodega trips and festivals and parades. It's late sunsets and open windows that let car alarms and babies crying and the cool breeze and the neighborhood inside. It's the urge to walk slower, to notice more, to soak it up and store it away carefully for that February morning where you really need it.

I sell prints of this design in my Etsy shop.

I sure do - don't you?

I have lived in Boston for over eight years now, and as much as Minneapolis will always be home, I have truly fallen in love with the South End/Lower Roxbury community. This neighborhood is full block upon beautiful block of brownstones, tiny squares, community gardens, restaurants, and cafes, all hectically stitched together with decaying brick seams. I both live and work in this vibrant, complex, tight-knit community, and have come to truly love its architecture, its history, its diversity, and above all its children and families. This map, created with acrylic, watercolor, and pen, is a little ode to my connection to this place.
 

My growing ode to each and every Boston neighborhood, starting with some of my favorites. Pick your favorite, or collect 'em all.

Ah, Massachusetts. from its funny little cape arm to the little tagalong islands, the shape of my state has always struck me as deeply charming. Here it is filled with shape and pattern, perfect for showing off your wicked pride. 
 

Every time I take Beacon Street on my bike, this sign shines as a sort of beacon in its own right, letting me know that I'm almost there - Mass Ave's not that far away. The iconic Citgo sign situated on the edge of the Fenway neighborhood is a sort of reference point within the Boston skyline, guiding residents and tourists alike with its bold graphic lights.