Liquid Art House
The MFA may be a world-class marvel, but not for a nightcap. At gallery/restaurant Liquid Art House, striking visuals—starting with an enormous, scorpionlike Murano chandelier—complement boundary-pushing cocktails at the circular marble bar in the center of the art-bedecked atrium. Drink one or two. Or three. Say, were those paintings always so blurry? 100 Arlington St., Boston, MA 02116, liquidarthouse.com.
Harvard Art Museums
Take your guests on a grand tour at the Harvard Art Museums, where European allure and venue options are in no short supply. Swap vows in the ivy-adorned courtyard of Adolphus Busch Hall, then head to the museum’s galleries to peruse paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts, including masterpieces from the Impressionist era, during cocktail hour. Afterward, you’ll make your official debut in Calderwood Courtyard, the museum’s Renzo Piano–designed atrium. Its glass roof suspends a massive mobile composed of oversize musical triangles—a harmonious backdrop for a dance floor. 32 Quincy St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, harvardartmuseums.org.
The Loft Salon and Day Spa
Michael Albor approached our box-dyed, peppered-with-gray mop with a single question: What was your hair's hue in grade school? Three hours later, this miracle worker had restored our locks to their former luster, accented with honey-brown highlights and champagne notes we hadn't seen in decades. 253 Newbury St. #2, Boston, MA 2116, theloftsalonanddayspa.com.
The Laundry-Galleria
Lillian Bloom's North End hybrid features brand-new machines (Maytag, fifty cents), free coffee and tea, twenty-four-hour drop-off service, and inexpensive art on the walls. There's usually an artist in residence too. Buy a painting, and perhaps he'll fold your undies. 256 North St., Boston, MA .
Dick Umile and Ralph Deldon
Dick Umile (273-1279) and Ralph Deldon (272-2767) are schoolteachers who moonlight. They've been painting homes for five years, and as far as we can tell, they can do no wrong. They stick to interiors and smaller houses and prefer to work in the summer or on weekends. "We first started doing it for other teachers, and the word spread," Umile says. "We're probably more dependable than a bunch of college kids, as we've been around longer." 617-273-1279 (Umile), 272-2767 (Deldon).
Jennifer Racioppi, Salon Luiz
There are three secrets to truly great straightening: patience, persistence, and—the deciding factor for many—convenience. What good is a perfect styling when you have to waste precious hours schlepping around town for it? Jennifer Racioppi—seasoned hair goddess who cut her teeth at the beloved but erstwhile Solus—wields her giant round brush to render hair flawless every time and regularly makes house (and office) calls to do it. It's like having your very own expert stylist. 115 Newbury St., Suite 302, Boston, MA salonluiz.com.
The Maids
The initial cleaning fee might jar you more than the dust bunnies that have colonized your closet, but trust us—it's worth it. For $140 an hour, a team of professionals from this Newton-based maid service will wrestle your home into cleanliness, wiping down window sills, straightening stray objects, and mopping floors until they gleam. They'll even take out the trash. Carpet cleaning is available for an additional fee. When you come home to a sparkling, fresh-smelling house, the $75 charge for weekly visits will seem like a bargain. 73 Lexington St., Newton, MA .
The Maids
We aren't ones to cry over spilt milk, as our floors can attest; our couch has more hair on it than our cat. Without a speck of judgment, the Maids clean up our act month after month, dusting baseboards, degriming showers, and all but eliminating any traces of pet (except for, of course, the pet itself). They're quick, well priced, and unobtrusive: Aside from the preternatural sparkle and neatly triangled toilet paper, you'd never know they'd been there. maids.com.
Tremendous Maid
Few things are more intimate than hiring someone to clean your home. Tremendous Maid, thankfully, is all business: Fill out an Internet request form with your square footage and home layout, and you'll quickly hear back about scheduling options. The actual cleaning was both impressive and a bit guilt-inducing, as the team scrubbed items we willfully ignore: baseboards, toaster oven, mini blinds. By the time they were done, our house was as pristine as the day it was built. 270 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA tremendousmaid.com.
The Maids
Amid a flurry of cleaning services catering to on-the-go urbanites, the Jamaica Plain outpost of this national operation shows an unbeatable blend of polish and professionalism. After setting the appointment and sending an e-mail confirmation, your cleaning team will arrive armed with grime-busting equipment and a dozen sprays, as well as a rigorous 22-step plan for restoring your home's sparkle. The Maids will even pick up and drop off your keys at work—another excellent reason to fork over the $159 fee, which is lowered if you book monthly follow-ups. 179 Boylston St., Jamaica Plain, MA 2130, .
Crystal Clean Boston
You know what they say about cleanliness and godliness. Which must be why visits from Crystal Clean always leave your home so divine. A four-person team buffs and shines down to the hard-to-reach spots and tops it all off with finishing touches—dusted reading glasses, triangle-folded toilet paper—that other services often skip. Boston, MA 2116, crystalcleanboston.com.
Michael's on the Waterfront
1982 Sauvage Sauvignon. 85 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA .
<em>Joe Turner's Come and Gone</em> and <em>I'm Not Rappaport</em>
You didn't have to be black or Jewish to admire either August Wilson's stirring Joe Turner's Come and Gone at the Huntington or Herb Gardner's heartwarming I'm Not Rappaport at the Colonial.
The Innovation Trail
Only in Cambridge can you take a scenic 10-minute stroll from the birthplace of a COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna’s headquarters) to a candy factory that supplies the world with Junior Mints. The area’s combined legacy as innovation hub and pedestrian paradise inspired Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner and Framingham State professor Robert Krim to connect such points of interest and create the Innovation Trail. Launched in 2022 and spanning from Downtown Crossing to Kendall Square, the walking tour visits more than 20 sites where seismic breakthroughs in science and technology took place. Follow along independently, or book a seasonal guide and prepare to be awed. theinnovationtrail.org.
EcoClean
Clean home, meet clean conscience. When you summon the grime busters of Somerville-based EcoClean, they come bearing only the greenest equipment and supplies: environmentally friendly microfiber cloths, nontoxic cleansers, and HEPA-filter vacuums. And that, along with an endless reserve of elbow grease, is all they need to quickly transform your unkempt abode into a model of good housekeeping. ecocleanboston.com.