You love your snookums - you really, really do - but those holiday bills are coming due, income tax season is starting, and there's a hint of recession in the cold winds blowing from the Federal Reserve. So for now, you may need to smother your shmoopie with affection, not affluence.
Begin your Friday with a complimentary wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. at Brix Wine Shop. The shop, which does tastings every Friday and Saturday, will be pouring French wines from importer Maisons Marques & Domaines, a niche importer of family-owned producers. Regional cheese will accompany the wine selections. Free. 1284 Washington St., 617-542-2749, brixwineshop.com.
Then it's on to the hard stuff. Music that is, namely a contemporary chamber music series at the Boston Conservatory called "The Hard Stuff." This week, the focus is on the "fiercer and spikier music of the post-war European avant-garde, including music rarely heard in Boston," according to organizers. On Friday, Sarah Brady (on flute), Yukiko Takagi (on piano), and Gretchen Peery (on piano) will perform works by Claude Debussy, Edgar Varese, Pierre Boulez, and Jean Barraque. 8 p.m. Free. Seully Hall, 8 The Fenway, 617-912-9240, bostonconservatory.edu.
Afterward, with your tummies grumbling, "So where's my stuff?," head over to the Trident Booksellers and Cafe for dinner. Favorite entrees include the ever-so-comforting mac and cheese ($12.95) and momos, traditional Tibetan dumplings made with baby spinach, scallions, Parmesan cheese, and garlic served with teriyaki and peanut dipping sauces ($13.95). The Trident serves breakfast all day, so you could even try the lemon ricotta-stuffed French toast with blueberry sauce ($9.95) if you want to. Dinner orders taken until 11:30 p.m. 338 Newbury St., 617-267-8688, tridentbookscafe.com.
By the end of the evening, you should be ready to head home and take stock of each other's portfolio.
