😭🥇 Boston brought home the GOLD

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👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

We’re *this* close to 6 p.m. sunset territory. So we whipped up your monthly dose of good news to keep your spirits high through the final push.

Here are the feel-good stories you might’ve missed:

🥇 Local hockey stars won TWO gold medals for Team USA. Talk about a miracle on ice: The U.S. men’s AND women’s hockey teams clinched gold … in overtime … over Canada this weekend *squeals*. Boston Fleet captain Megan Keller dangled her way to gold with this nasty game-winning goal, and former UMass Lowell hockey star Connor Hellebuyck held it down in the net for the men, delivering the team their first gold in 40+ years. Alexa, play “Free Bird.” 

🤩 Asian restauranteurs are getting their flowers. If you ever doubted Boston’s Asian food scene, read this: 10 of the 26 restaurants in Boston’s inaugural Michelin Guide are Asian-owned and/or serve Asian food, including 311 Omakase, which received the only star. Compare that with Philly, where just two of their 33 Michelin restaurants serve Asian cuisine. Bonus: Laurence Louie, chef-owner of Quincy’s Rubato, is competing on this season of “Top Chef.” BOOM.

🧵 This local needlepoint shop is feeling the Ann Michael Maye effect. Real ones know that Ann Michael loves a good “WIP Wednesday,” so when she shared this gifted “I Love Drake Maye” canvas on IG from Greenhouse Needlepoint, a Norwell needlepoint shop, their business POPPED off. And that’s not the only LNS Ann Michael’s been loving … She’s also been spotted at Stitch Boutique in Boston. (We visited the other week and are equally obsessed.) 

⛷️ A Mass. woman made history in Antarctica. On Jan. 25, Monet Eliastam became the first American woman to ski to the South Pole solo and unsupported after nearly three years of training (see: her dragging giant tires across North Shore beaches). Eliastam’s journey spanned 57 days and 700 miles across ice and snow, hauling ~250 pounds of food and equipment. Along the way, she raked up nearly 50,000 followers. Warning: This clip might make you cry.

🧊 This ice man keeps local businesses out of the cold. When most of us hunker down during a major snowstorm (like today), Marc Savenor hits the road with ice in tow, making deliveries to medical and food service businesses. During big winter storms, Savenor is on call 24/7, often through the night, making sure that if a business loses power, they can keep products cool, avoiding major losses to their bottom line — and sometimes, even saving lives.

❄️ Buckle up for a blockbuster nor’easter. Look outside, B-Siders: New England is getting pummeled by a MONSTER snowstorm, handing Boston its first blizzard warning in four years. Gov. Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu officially announced a snow emergency, as we’re expected to get anywhere from 18-24 inches (!), with whipping winds, white-out conditions, coastal flooding, and potential widespread power outages in the forecast. Heads up: MBTA service will be impacted, so check your line here. Our advice? What this lady says. 

🚌 Good news: The MBTA’s free bus program is here to stay (for now). Routes 23, 28, and 29 — which go through Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury — will be fare-free through the end of June. Boston had a little extra cash from federal pandemic relief funds to keep the city’s fare-free pilot afloat. But after that? TBD. Mayor Wu hoped the pilot’s success would nudge the T to expand fare-free service, but as we know, they have their own money problems. As of now, it’s unclear if/when long-term funding for the bus program will come through. 

🏆 And Boston’s winning 2026 participatory budgeting proposals are … An Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, a Neighborhood Fresh Food Access Initiative, and six others! ICYMI: Boston residents submitted ideas for how the city should allocate $2.2 million, and after a public voting period, they picked these eight projects to receive a chunk of said cash starting this spring. An interesting (and lowkey disappointing) nugget: Only 4,841 votes were collected from residents across the city this cycle. We can do way better, people!

🍦 Wacky ice cream and buzz-worthy coffee are coming to the Seaport! And we’re literally drooling. Beloved ice cream shop Salt & Straw is slated to arrive sometime this summer, bringing their inventive flavors to the neighborhood. Think: Salty doughnut, guava, and cheese, and strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper. And word on the street is that the very aesthetic Ralph’s Coffee (technically owned by Ralph Lauren) will make its Seaport debut, but the timing is still TBD.

🪴 Become the plant mom you wish you had. Learn the basics of caring for your green babies at Emerald City Plant Shop’s Plant Parenthood 101 class (lol) at the Brighton BPL branch on Feb. 24.

❣️ Pretend it’s still Galentine’s Day. Grab your girlies for a chill night of watercolor painting, floral arranging, and mocktails at this Galentine’s watercolor night on Feb. 24.

⚔️ Play “Traitors” IRL. You’ll be pitted against your fellow attendees in a game of deceit and murder at this real life “Traitors” game at the Huntington Theatre on Feb. 25. 

🤔 Go deep on the dating apps. By “go deep,” we mean this “Love in the Digital Age” talk on Feb. 26, where you’ll unpack the highs and lows of modern courtship with a former in-house researcher for Tinder and Bumble. 

🤠 Swing your partner ‘round and ‘round. Specifically at Sweet Cheeks Q’s Boot Scootin' BBQ Line Dancing Bash on Feb. 27. Your ticket comes with a dance lesson and BBQ buffet!

👑 Get dressed for the Bridgerton ball. You are cordially invited to an evening of live music, dancing, watch parties, and a costume contest at The Greatest Bar’s Bridgerton-inspired ball on Feb. 27. 

🤑 Skip dinner at home. And instead, pick from one of Dine Out Boston’s discounted pre-fixe menus. This $38 three-course dinner at Bar ‘Cino is calling our name. 

💪 Squat and pulse till your booty burns. A ~$13 workout class with goodies and new pals? Sign us up for this Fit Scene pop-up class at barre3 on Feb. 27 plz and thx.

Meet Boston’s hottest new influencer: 95-year-old Rosalie Julian. Let’s back up.

Rosalie’s rise to internet fame was very unintended. Her daughter Suzanne Schineller started this IG account (@riskyandthegiantpeach) back in 2022 as a way to post her two adorable golden retrievers, Risky and Peach. But the star of the show quickly became Suzanne’s equally adorable 95-year-old mother, Rosalie.

Suzanne started recording Rosalie’s very wholesome interactions with the pups where she’d talk to them directly (like people). Imagine: Her calling them “darling” and “sweetheart” with her Boston accent peeping through. Ugh. 

And it seems like the internet desperately needed a granny like Rosalie. This viral video of her giving Risky kisses got comments like, “I wish Grandma could hug and kiss me too,” and “this granny could heal depression just by existing.” Truly. 

Perhaps the best part of the story? Rosalie doesn’t quite grasp the account’s reach. A sign of a true star, if you ask us.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

😭 Thanks for reading! We would die for Rosalie (and Risky … and Peach). 

🏂 The results are in: And nearly 52% of readers passed our pop quiz! A “cork” in snowboarding is a spinning off-axis flip. One reader flexed: “Olympics kinda made me an expert now, jk!” Don’t JK us! You crushed that!

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].