In this cold cruel world, which is going to get colder verrrrrrry soon, we all could use some reminders about how to stay warm in the next few months.
Warm your buns:
The private dining room at Bina Osteria has heated seats, despite being an indoor restaurant.
Stephanie’s on Newbury may be the place to lounge outside in the summer with an iced tea, but wintertime, lounge with a chicken pot pie for comfort food by the fire.
On a diet? Climb the stairs to Emerge’s fourth floor hearth. “It’s as attractive to many people as the spa,” says Emerge owner Joyce Hampers.
Of course, Emerge and almost every spa along Newbury Street and Boylston features sauna, hot rocks, and other heat treatments that go skin-deep. Also be sure to sign up your muscles for a little yoga at one of the many fine Back Bay studios.

Warm your soul:
Bring some canned food to your church’s food pantry, and ask how you can help other families hit hard by the economy.

Warm your heart:
o Whole Foods, at Cambridge Street and Symphony, have a number of items that give back: buying one FEED 100 bag provides food to a Rwandan child for 100 days.

Warm your brain: Head over to Borders in-between bar hopping. Perhaps a guide to the Bahamas will help you to think warm. Also try something heartwarming, such as former Bostonian Dolley Carlson’s happy little “Christmas Gifts from the Heart,” which overflows with thoughtful, joyful, heartfelt ideas for Christmas giving.

Warm your body: at home, wrap yourself in a luxury hotel robe from Frette (at the Mandarin Orientale), made of cotton velour with two two-side pockets. Best of Scotland Cashmere Outlet on Newbury Street will also insulate your wallet with dollars. Want to be warm but not bulky? Think layers at Patagonia, 346 Newbury Street, with Capilene and Wool Baselayers for toasty tops and bottoms. Top it with an Anthropologie bright red Idra Count-The-Stars Jacket, a cinched-waist wool melton jacket lined with polka dots and topped with a detachable hood.
$178.00
Warm Your Toes: Yes, there are always Uggs, but for style that meets warm AND comfy, try the boots with Nike Air soles at Cole Haan, at109 Newbury St. Don’t forget the socks. Nothing beats Smartwool socks, which can be picked up at Eastern Mountain Sports, 855 Boylston St.
A warm bed:
Down To Basics at 249 Newbury St. swears by “Our Very Best Siberian Down Comforter in a Swiss Batiste shell” featuring a Winter Diagon Patented Design.

Drink and Bowl:
Follow a round of bowling with the spiked Butterscotch Eggnog at Kings Lanes.
Warm liquids:
Check out Bauer Wines and spirits at 330 Newbury Street, for an 18-year-old Macallan Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, or a Warre’s Vintage Port. Feeling a bit pinched? Pop in Saturday for a free wine tasting.
Since childhood, we’ve known the magic that only hot cocoa can conjure. At Aroma, try a sake bottleful of Vosges “haut chocolate,” made from milk chocolate and vanilla bean. Its rich, thick liquid tastes like a candy bar, down to the tasty dregs at the bottom of your cup. Aroma manager Emily Fortin also recommends the white chocolate with lavender flowers and the red-fire ancho chile chocolate, although she prefers the unsweetened Perengotti dutched cocoa, to which she adds peppermint and sugar. Try to get in early, because the café has a lot of seats that get filled quickly.
Or travel up to the third floor and take home a box of Winter Spice Chai from Timeless Teas, which buys its black tea from Sri Lanka, where the business’ family is from.
Warm your dog: Oftentimes, a dog's natural coat just isn't enough to keep warm in Boston's below-zero temperatures. Pawsh Dog Boutique at 31 Gloucester Street carries fleece, shearling, and faux fur-trimmed hooded parkas to keep Fido toasty warm.

Last month, an electrical short circuit sparked a fire that caused more than a million dollars in damages and shut down Atlantic Fish restaurant and Crate and Barrel on Boylston Street.
Crate and Barrel opened its doors on Black Friday, but so far, Atlantic Fish still has no opening date, said spokesperson Amy Daniels. “We’ve been hard at work getting the restaurant back in shape for mid-January,” she said.
However, Daniels noted that they were able to relocate the majority of the Atlantic Fish staff to other areas around the Back Bay Restaurant Group. Chef Tim Partridge is working at Abe & Louie’s. “One of our hostesses is working in the support center in payroll and marketing projects,” added Daniels. “We have our staff working all over so they can still collect pay around the holidays.”
In the meantime, holiday parties and other scheduled dinners were also relocated to the chain’s other area restaurants: Abe & Louie's, Atlantic Fish, Coach Grill, Bouchee, Papa Razzi, Joe's American Bar and Grill and Charley's.
“It was an unfortunate time of the year for this to happen, but like everything in life, Back Bay Restaurant Group has made the best of it, and we’ve really done a good job looking out for our employees,” she said.
And while they’re rebuilding the restaurant, Atlantic Fish owners decided that, design wise, “We decided not to change a thing.”

Last week, the Boston Public Health Commission unanimously voted to shut down cigar bars in 10 years, banned cigarette sales at drugstores and on college campuses in the city and eliminated smoking at outdoor areas of restaurants and bars, rules that will go into effect in 60 days.
For cigar bars, it's not a huge hit. They have 10 years to find another livelihood, unless by then they're granted another 10-year extension. Boston has a handful of spots where patrons can enjoy a cigar or even a hookah, or tobacco pipe. Many opponents to the ban blame the hookah for drawing such attention, since it attracts youth primarily.
Since the vote on Thursday, it drew more attention, and perhaps more business, to the likes of Stanza del Sigari under Caffe Vittoria and Filippo Restaurant on Causeway, in the North End; Cigar Masters on Boylston Street, the one at the Bostonian Hotel; Tangierino in Charlestown, and Tufts Smoke Shop on Bennington Street in East Boston. Patrons can try a hookah at places like Tantric India Bistro on Stuart Street and Kashmir Indian Restaurant on Newbury Street.
Boston has six cigar bars and five hookah lounges, which are safe for years. However, no new such lounges will be permitted to open in the future.
City Councilor Salvatore LaMattina is a bit torn on the matter. He's a nonsmoker who was formerly a bartender, and he wishes the cigarette ban had occurred back then. "I love the strict no-smoking rules," he said.
But he also believes people have the right to choose where they work and whether to light up a cigar.
"The cigar bars we have right now should have been grandfathered in," he said. "When you're 21 years old, you make the decision to smoke. I'm a nonsmoker. I personally don't like smoking, but there are people who enjoy having a cigar. If smoke bothers you, you aren't going to work for the cigar bar."
As for the pharmacies losing the right to sell cigarettes, LaMattina said the real key is enforcement, not banning certain institutions from selling products. "The city loves to have strict tobacco laws, but the mission should be to make sure it's impossible for teenagers to have access. So you have special shops where they're carding people. On the smoking laws, Boston is taking the lead in Massachusetts," he said.
Many cigar and hookah bars closed shop when the cigarette ban occurred years ago. State disease trackers recently found that the four-year-old statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars seems to have helped to dramatically reduce deaths from heart attacks.
Pharmacy chains and tobacco companies had argued that smokers will just go outside the city to buy their tobacco, and will take some of their non-cigarette purchases with them. This law will affect about 75 pharmacies and a few campus convenience stores. Starting immediately, smoking won't be permitted on the patios of restaurants and bars that have outdoor service.
"Boston has taken another step that puts it in the forefront in the United States in protecting people against secondhand smoke," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an antismoking group based in Washington, D.C. "Boston rules are now as tough or tougher than [those in] any other city in the country."

The Boston Ballet’s 41st annual performance of The Nutcracker, selects 244 children, including 30 local dancers, to perform as dolls, cavalry, reinder, lambs, mice, and the role of Clara.
Fiona, 9, and Nicola Henderson, 11, of Marlborough Street, were soldiers this year. Veterans of the Boston Ballet School since they were 3 years old, their mom, Laura Henderson, first enrolled them “for coordination and posture. They decided they wanted to continue,” she said.
About five years ago, they tried out for “The Nutcracker,” and were thrilled when they were selected. “A lot try out, a lot make it, a lot don’t,” said Henderson. “It’s luck, height, how you fit into the costumes. It’s a great experience for kids to be a part of.”
They were soldiers last year, too, and before that, angels. Last week, the girls performed for the mayor, whose wife and granddaughter brought them flowers.
The rehearsals begin in October, on top of ballet classes. It’s six ballet days a week for the Henderson girls, whose 6-year-old sister plans to try out in two years. They don’t perform in all 35 shows, however. The child dancers are split into three groups, so each performs in about 12 shows.
“It’s a commitment on every parent’s part,” said Henderson, who socializes with the other Nutcracker parents, and serves on the Boston Ballet’s board of overseers. “It’s an honor for every parent. The first time is always special. This time, they know the drill. They love being in it. It’s such great exercise.”
For boy dancers, it’s a little more physical. “I have to keep fit, so I have to do push-ups and sit-ups and also run,” said Jefferson Payne, 13, of Taylor Street, who plays Fritz. “Before class, you have to stretch and be prepared. Every step in ballet class is another step you get better in. It’s very inspiring. I really love it.”
Jefferson has been with Boston Ballet for 10 years, and is in his sixth year with “The Nutcracker”. His debut was as a baby mouse, and he loved it, so he went on to being a party boy for two years, and has been Fritz for the past three years. “Each year, you learn something new,” he said. “There are other Fritzes you get inspired by. It’s actually really different than last year, even though I have the same part. You have different people performing, and different sub-casts. There are problems on stage that you have to fix.”
Jefferson is in eighth grade at the Josiah Quincy School, where he also performs in school productions. He also plays the piano and guitar and is learning how to tap dance and do flamenco.
“I really love expressing myself,” said Jefferson, who wants to be a professional dancer someday. “I love to perform and love showing the audience what I can do.”
He advises anyone, including boys interested in dancing, to try ballet. “It’s very good in that whatever happens, if you get let down, you learn to keep on trying and never give up. Someday your dream will come true,” he said.
The annual holiday tradition of Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker, this year back at the restored Opera House, runs through December 28. The Nutcracker, a classical ballet based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, follows the journey of young Clara, who receives a nutcracker as a gift at a Christmas Eve party. Her nutcracker is ultimately transformed into a handsome young prince, who leads her through an enchanted forest and on to the Palace of Sweets, where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy. Among the ballet’s most famous and memorable moments are a battle between toy soldiers and overgrown mice, a Christmas tree that grows to huge heights, the pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and a shimmering snow scene. It’s a must-see for many Boston families, and for many kids an introduction to the performing arts.
Tickets to “The Nutcracker” can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 617-931-2787, by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or in person at Boston Ballet, 19 Clarendon Street, Boston, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5p.m.
Locke-Ober is offering free dessert to all children who dine with their families at the restaurant before or after a performance of the Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” this holiday season. To qualify, the child must be 15 and under, and must present their theater ticket stub. “I can still recall my first meal at Locke-Ober as a young child,” said chef Lydia Shire. “My eyes were wide as saucers and just in awe of this beautiful building.”

How about a transit bill?

News that the T is nearly broke and may reach a point of bankruptcy or insolvency does little to calm our nerves during this holiday season. Most of us who live in the city have come to rely upon rapid transit, not to mention the positive effects rapid transit has on turning this city green.
T executives are saying that services may be cut in order to correct the imbalance.
About the last thing we need in our neighborhoods are more automobiles, more exhaust fumes, more parking woes and more street traffic.
Governor Deval Patrick is apparently preparing a transit bill that will correct the money imbalances at the T and at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, another agency preparing to go broke because it is unable to meet the interest requirements of the money it has borrowed or for which it is responsible.
We urge the State Senate and House to work closely with the governor to correct the problems at the T and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
And this just might be the right moment to scrap the $1 billion Silver Line initiative.
Cutbacks of rapid transit service and $7 tunnel tolls and higher roadway tolls are not the way to go – not when the economy is heading south.
The state should renegotiate its debt the way everyone else in the financial meltdown is managing to do.

Billie Lawrence

The city has lost one of its quintessentially caring residents with the death at 74 of Beacon Hill resident and activist Billie Lawrence.
Since she came to Boston and fell in love with the city 27 years ago, and with Beacon Hill especially, she has been a leading activist for historic preservation.
She was a fighter of the first order for the limited income people being pushed out of the Hill, and most recently, she opposed a restaurant on Boston Common. Her fights against the proliferation of liquor licenses in the neighborhood were well known.
She was a child prodigy pianist, an anti-war activist, a faculty assistant at Harvard Business School.
She was also the founder of the Upper Beacon Hill Civic Association and led the fight to have Suffolk University scale back the university’s 20 Somerset Street project.
Ms. Lawrence made her mark in Boston on Beacon Hill.
It is a mark that won’t shortly be forgotten by those who knew her and who respected what she stood for.