Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! Fellow Americans, I hope you celebrate our freedom by relaxing and spending time with loved ones. I'll be doing the same, but with some pulled pork, bison burgers, and s'mores added in there. :)

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day fellow Americans! I hope you are able to get outdoors and celebrate our nations greatness with some friends and family... and grilled/fried meats and your favorite beers. :) I'll be laid up in a pool side lounge chair for most of the day.

Check back this afternoon for a second post! My first Art to Inspiration.

Essentials for the long haul

necklace, dress, bag, sunglasses, popcorn, gummies, M&Ms, Garmin, sandals

Not only did I enjoy a country drive with Gman last weekend but a few of my girlfriends are taking a road trip from Florida up to see me in D.C. then head up to Boston for the Fourth of July festivities (remember when I went a few years ago?). So I got to thinking about car ride essentials, things for entertainment and nourishment. Here's a list of my long haul necessities:

A comfy dress for hours of sitting with accessories and sandals that are either easily removed or easily napped in (baggy pants would work too).

Candy and salty snacks for a special treat (am I the only one who gets the munchies in the car?) and lots of water to wash it down.

Sunglasses to combat the glare on the road.

Music! Gman and I love listening to satellite radio on long drives. We switch between music, listening to sports (I don't know why I like doing that, sounds boring right?), and the comedy stations.

A Garmin because you will get lost and your phone will die.

Are you taking a trip by car this summer? What are your essentials?

Weekend Recap: Fireworks and S'mores



delicious, savory food from the farmer's market



Iwo Jima Memorial

Hello after a long weekend! I have been very busy getting acclimated to DC and visiting with new friends. How nice it has been to move to a new city and already have a few friends to show us around. It's even nicer that we like their friends too. Yay, parties for everyone.

Highlights from this weekend included: a quiet night at home with Gman on Friday, lovely get together on Saturday out in Alexandria, farmer's market on Sunday (so bountiful! Our fridge smells amazing), crazy thunderstorms that blew down trees (the thunder gets loud in this basement apartment), and of course grilling on Monday afternoon. My attempts at laying out were fruitless but we did make s'mores. I ate them too quickly to take a picture (I know, you're dissapointed). Later, we watched the fireworks from beneath the Iwo Jima memorial. The view was fantastic! And it felt so patriotic. I liked the fireworks but I must say the fireworks in Boston last year were the best ever.

I have also entered week two of my new job. It usually takes me a few weeks to get into new habits so my apologies for delayed posts! It's hard to balance it all sometimes, you know?

Happy 4th of July weekend!

What will you be doing this lovely holiday weekend? Will you be traveling? Will you be in Boston, like we were last year? Or out boating or on an island sipping cocktails? Will you be sightseeing or taking it easy in your backyard? Does all this make you wish you were eating a hot dog from Bark?

We are going to a few parties, relaxing in the garden, and attempting to be out by the pool as much as possible!

Destination: Nantucket

First stop on our road trip: Nantucket.

We drove to Hyannis where we parked our car and took the Steamship Authority Ferry to Nantucket. After two hours we arrived in the late afternoon on our first day. The weather was absolutely beautiful, clear skies, breezy, and in the low 70’s. We were immediately charmed by the architecture and cobbled stoned streets and could see why so many of our fellow New Yorker’s came here to revive themselves.

One of those fellow New Yorkers is one of my dear friends. Her family has stayed at the Ship’s Inn Bed & Breakfast for generations, so we took their advice and stayed there as well. The restaurant was delicious and we ended up eating there for dinner some nights too! If you don't plan ahead of time, not to worry. The owners and staff of the Ship's Inn will kindly help you plan your day.

We spent much of our time walking around gawking at the architecture, riding bikes, laying at the beach, reading, eating, drinking, and napping. Many of our friends rent homes here for the summer and we imagined that it would be a fun place to spend time with a group of friends!

 

While in Nantucket, take a day trip out to S’conset by bike. The trail is about 17 miles long, which sounds like a lot but you get to see the much of the island and can stop along the way. Biking into S’conset was like entering Disney World. The houses so perfectly built and on a small scale (small for multi-million dollar homes on the water). The gardens was in full bloom and the salty sea air felt nurturing to my skin. It felt so quaint, safe, and free. Walking through the streets enabled us to finally unwind from our crazy work and life in Manhattan.

Recommended restaurants in Nantucket include: Brotherhood of Thieves for burgers, Black Eyed Susan’s for bakery goods and coffee, Fog Island for clam chowder lunch, and at The Pearl you must have lobster and the passion fruit margarita (reservations recommended).

It was July 3rd when we were visiting. Even the doggies were festive!

 

Our favorite memory from the trip was going to a Mexican restaurant (sorry I forgot to write down the name and can’t find it now!) for dinner. We couldn’t help but eavesdrop as a group of people came in to be seated. We quickly realized that the couple had just gotten engaged and were at dinner with their families to celebrate. As we were still recovering from that emotionally draining experience we could feel their anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. And judging from the stressed but smiling look in the bride-to-be’s face their wedding was going to be a shit show.

So in order to honor our own experience and get them started off on the right foot – we ordered a round of tequila shots for everyone. They appreciated and watching their family dynamic made us feel insanely nostalgic for our nuptuals. It was fun despite the stress of putting it all together. It also made us glad we don’t have to do it again. :)

Destination: Boston, MA

I'm standing in an open square, sweat dripping down my back and forehead as I listen to drums and flutes re-play the tunes of 18th century Revolutionary America. Dispite the heat, I feel terribly patriotic and somewhat moved.

Perhaps it was the combination of Federalist architecture and old cobbeled streets that have soaked the city's history into their bricks. As I walked along the red painted road, history is literally written on the bricks: a placard conveniently notes that this is where the Boston Massacre took place or this is where Paul Revere lived. As I follow the Freedom Trail it shows me spots of great American history. But something else was stiring my patriotism. Perhaps it is was that this day was the 4th of July?

Here's our challenge: see the whole city of Boston in one day. Oh and its 90 degrees outside. Not my usual pace or preferential temperature (I hate sweating) for a vacation but my husband and I wanted to be in Boston on the 4th of July to see the famous fireworks over the Charles River Basin and hear the Boston Pops play. We brilliantly decided to only plan on being in Boston for 48 hours, so we had to arrange a tight schedule.

Day one: We arrived to town just in time for dinner and met up with one of our friends who lives there. His friends had an amazing fireworks viewing spot directly on the river in the Charles River Reservation which they had steaked out the night before at 2am. The crowds were overwelming and everyone was decked out in their best red, white, and blue outfits (or worst in some cases, especially as the night wore on). We all happily tailgated together as we listened to the music and waited for the sun to go down. The fireworks were absolutely the best I have ever seen. The finale gave me goosebumps!

Day two: The Freedom Trail. As if the fireworks weren't enough to get us in the patrotic mood, we decided the best way to cover the most ground would be to walk the ENTIRE Freedom Trail. If you aren't familiar with it, its a line painted on the street which you follow along at your own pace. It leads you through almost the entire city. As you walk, historical points of interest are brought to your attention, sometimes with people in period costumes or special tours. If you don't have much time in Boston, this is a great way to see many of the sights.

We stopped for lunch at the Bell in Hand Tavern which is near the Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall Marketplace. I loved going to the Markets as it brough back childhood memories of when I was there 15 years ago. Then it was special father daughter weekend and this trip was my Honeymoon. Otherwise, it's a tourist trap. Lunch was refreshing and although a bar, the menu was surprisingly varied and tasty. I had a salad and a tall, cold Boston Ale.

We walked along and saw many other historical sights (I don't want to give it all away, you must go see for yourself!) and ended with the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides". It is important to our Navy's and nations' history. In fact, it was built in the early 1800's, served in the War of 1812, and is still an active duty vessel.  However, if you want to see it I recommend going first thing instead of at the end of the day. I did not appreciate it. By the time we got there, the sweat and tiredness were wearing me thin and I didn't care about waiting in line to see a boat (you had to pay extra for a tour, I'm not sure it was worth it.) My husband bought me ice cream as a consilation and we took the metro back to our hotel. The metro in Boston is clean and easy to use. It reminded me of the metro in Paris.

After a bit of resting, we headed out to dinner at Stephanie's on Newbury. I heard rave reviews from friends and colleagues who live in Boston and it did not dissapoint. They describe their menu as "sophisticated comfort food" and that is exactly what we needed after a long day of walking in the hot summer sun. It was difficult deciding what to eat but I settled on the Porcini Mushroom and Three Cheese Ravioli as I'm a sucker for anything with Truffles in it. I washed it down with some Prosecco, my drink of choice on a hot summer night.

We stayed at the Taj Boston. It is centrally located and their hospitality exceeded my expectations. The staff was friendly, polite, and helpful. The room featured views of the Boston Commons and one could order a specialty bath to be drawn upon returning in the evening (yes please!). They also sprinkled rose petals on our bed as we mentioned it was our Honeymoon. It was a thoughtful gesture that I loved!

The Taj recommended a great spot for brunch, The Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro. We grabbed brunch there on our way out of town the next morning. The rustic, charming decor set a nice background for the food which ranged from simple to complex and from sweet to savory. We got eggs and pancakes (nom nom!). And I ordered American coffee to celebrate the end of our patriotic tour of Boston.