Labor Day Weekend

Three day weekends are both the best and worst things ever. On the one hand - three days off! On the other hand - not enough. This Labor Day weekend was surprisingly jam-packed, now that I'm looking back on it.

Friday night Boyfriend and I went out for fondue. He'd never had it before and I don't pass up the opportunity to eat melted cheese and chocolate.

Saturday was a much needed day of cleaning and shopping. The shopping was a reward for all the cleaning I did, ha.

Then Sunday Boyfriend and I had big plans to go skydiving. The skydiving place we were going to is about an hour away so we got up early and stopped for breakfast on the way out there. And it was the best. Breakfast. Ever. Oh my lord.

I don't normally eat eggs - I don't even LIKE eggs, but for some reason I felt like ordering eggs. So I did. And they were delicious.

We ended up not skydiving due to heavy cloud
cover, so we had to re-schedule our jump. The good news about having to drive back out there is getting breakfast again. ;)

 We did manage to take a bunch of pictures while we were waiting to find out if we could jump:

... first time he sneezed in the middle.

Then he blinked.

Nailed it.

 Today was spent doing MORE shopping with mom (really just accompanying her on her errands) and then hanging out with Mia, who is being a geisha girl for Halloween:

All in all a successful weekend!

The time I waited in line for two hours for tofu

So a couple weekends ago Boyfriend and I went up to Portland, ME for the Mumford & Sons concert. I'd originally bought the tickets for a friend and I but she bailed and boyfriend graciously came instead, even though he doesn't like Mumford & Sons.

I was pretty excited for the show. It was outdoors on the Eastern Promenade and it was supposed to be a beautiful day. The show information said there would be a bunch of bands playing, food trucks would be present and Gritty's was providing the beer. Sign me up, right?!

So we left around noon on Saturday to make the hour and a half-ish trek to Portland.

And got stuck in three hours worth of traffic on 95.

At this point we're starving, having not eaten since breakfast. We make it to Portland, find parking and walk a million years uphill to the Prom. It's decorated adorably, we have our blanket and we're ready to settle in. We take note of the massive amounts of people and find a spot on the grass.

I bought a tshirt and then Boyfriend and I decided to brave the food line since we were ravenous.

We headed to the food trucks and got in line. For what, we didn't know. There was no rhyme or reason. All we knew was we were hungry, the line was long, and whatever was at the em is what we were eating.

We waited. And waited. We heard reports of some food starting to run out. We waited an hour. Found out we were in the line for wraps. Waited another half hour. A girl holding a slice of pizza comes over to talk to her friends in line behind us and she tells them she got the last slice of pizza and everyone in line behind her threw a fit. They'd all been in line for two hours.

We waited another half hour, hit the two hour mark and I said "I'm not having fun and I'm starving.
Let's just go get dinner and go home." So we did. There were 15,000 people there and like, six small food trucks.

This is why I don't like concerts. Especially disorganized ones.

We went to Sebago Brew, had a great dinner and went the hell home. Didn't even see the concert and I'm totally ok with that.

A few pictures I took before things turned sour:

That Time I Went Camping, or When There's a Thunderstorm You Die

I've never been camping. In my life. Ever.

I have no desire to sleep outside, in the dirt, under trees, with bugs and creatures. Camping also usually involves lakes, which I do not do.

I don't understand why we worked so hard, as humans, to evolve and build sophisticated and comfortable homes to live in just to turn around and sleep outside. Our ancestors would be appalled.

But last week all my friends were going camping. I knew they would be having fun and making memories without me. WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE. No joy or happiness is allowed without me.

So I put on my big girl pants and I went camping.

And I had fun.

I only stayed for one night, because hello, I have always assumed I'd hate camping. I didn't want to be miserable and ruin everyone's trip. I'm so courteous.

But really, it wasn't bad, for the one night. The best part was my BFF Helen is the one who goes camping every year with her family and childhood friends. I have been graciously adopted into the group. Which means that Helen's supremely awesome mother made sure we were well fed. We just had to show up with a travel mug for camp coffee.

I was provided with a tent and air mattress, since due to the fact I have a ROOF and a BED I've never needed them.

Basically I was fairly pampered. I've heard the rest of the week was just as pampering, so next year I'm thinking I'll stay a few more nights.

But not the whole week, I'm not that delusional.

some of my chucklehead camping buddies

the tent had a doggie door!

 

 

before and after. you don't need this much stuff to stay in a hotel.

surveying the unpacking chaos

the neighbors had some interesting outfits

koala-ing is required

Girl's Weekend

Sometimes, you just need to drive two hours in the pouring rain, stay in a haunted mansion, and have a girl's weekend. Sometimes, you just need to spend some time with people who will listen to your crazy stories and either tell you you're not crazy at all or tell you that you're certifiably insane and you need to knock it off. Sometimes, you just need to go out and let all that crazy out with people who won't judge you for it the next morning. And naturally you take lots of grainy front-cam-iPhone pics in the bathroom to remember it by.

Despite the crappy weather, this past weekend was much needed and I am so thankful for all the amazing ladies I have in my life, both old friends and new, from near and far! Here's to many, many more girl's nights!

weekend warrior

This past weekend was all kinds of amazing. On Saturday I went snowboarding for the second time ever, and I didn't hate it! I'll do a separate post all about it once I get the pictures of me (snowboarding!) from Boyfriend.

On Sunday I purged almost my entire closet. I pulled out all my clothes and weeded through them, trying everything on and getting rid of things that didn't fit right or that I didn't love. There were so many things that were too big for me! Best feeling ever. Bags and bags of stuff are going to Goodwill and I still have to go through all my pants and sweaters. I'm trying to really simplify things and not use this as an excuse to fill my closet to bursting again!

I know I'll be moving in a few months, and I really don't want to shlep all this clutter with me, so I'm trying to go through all my stuff and be really strict about what stays and what goes. It isn't easy, that's for sure!

And right on cue my mom just came into my room and handed me some brand new hot pink hanging file folders! I'm off to file things!

Jacket: Forever 21
Sweatshirt: Madewell
Jeans: Gap
Boots: Marshall's (similar)
Necklace: Spike the Punch
Sunnies: Ray Ban

over the weekend

Sorry for the silence around here the past few days. I've been on a writing kick lately and thoughts of anything else have basically flown out the window. I was away this past weekend, in Portland ME, so I didn't have a chance to get up my usual Healthy Sundays post, but rest assured it will be back next week. Since I'm still on a writing binge I just wanted to pop by with a quick post. Here's what my weekend looked like:

clockwise: view from our hotel room // sweet potato tater tots // sunset // old port

clockwise: occupy Portland // salted caramel cupcake // navy & brown // gritty's

clockwise: living area // bedroom // simple waffle // old port at night

You're probably looking at these pictures and saying, "Look at all that food! She totally binged!" My short answer would be: yes, yes I did. My long answer will come next Sunday. ;)

I am so in love with this hotel and I would move in if I could. It was our second time there (we go in the winter, we can't afford it in the summer). I apprently booked us some kind of mini suite this time, since we had a living area, bathroom with a HUGE tub and a bedroom. All I kept thinking was it's a perfect spot for a writing retreat. I can so see myself holed up in there for a week, writing away. Ah well, maybe someday!

How was your weekend? Where's your favorite weekend retreat spot?

sunday stories: doing nothing

This weekend was perfect. I didn't do anything.

Inevitably, every Monday at lunch brings the same routine question: "What did everyone do this weekend?" I always feel kind of lame saying nothing, but sometimes that's exactly what I did. To be honest, doing nothing is one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend.

All week long, we're hurried, harried, rushed, busy. Wake up for work, "What am I going to wear?", work all day, run errands, cook dinner, squeeze in a workout, do chores, go to bed, repeat. It's exhausting. Some weeks I don't even have a moment to think, let alone relax. After those kinds of weeks, a weekend filled with nothing is exactly what I need.

Nothing doesn't mean I sat and stared at the walls all day, drooling on myself. Nothing means I slept late and treated myself to something delicious for breakfast. It means I didn't put on real pants for two days. I finished one book and started another. Caught up on my favorite TV shows. I spent all of Sunday afternoon making a delicious dinner to share with my mom. I organized my desk, because when my desk is organized I truly believe I am 45% more productive. Instead of going out on Saturday night, I stayed in. Had a bubble bath, put on a face mask and painted my toes. I spent the weekend with myself, and I am, and always will be my favorite person to hang out with.

So it may feel a bit lame saying I did nothing over the weekend, but I don't really care. People may judge those of us who do nothing with pride, but I think they're just jealous. Jealous that they had plans and obligations and things to do that they really didn't even want to do on their day off. They're just upset that they didn't have two whole days of blissfully doing nothing. Pity them. They don't realize they are giving up one of life's greatest luxuries, and it's a free luxury at that: time. Time to relax and do whatever inspires us. Stay or go as the mood strikes us. I, for one, take advantage of that luxury every chance I can. And I don't feel guilty or lame about it one bit.

weekend

via weheartit

The forecast in Massachusetts this weekend is calling for cold, sleety, snowy disgusting weather. My plans for the weekend? Stay snuggled up inside and work on my to-do list that has gotten way out of hand. I see lots of tea, blankets, and fuzzy slippers in my future!

Have a good weekend!

portland, maine: part 2

This is the outfit post portion of the Portland trip. I have so many pictures to catch up on! I should be able to get back into my posting groove this week. I also hope to have another Things My Boyfriend Does up later this week as well. Remember those?

[Sweatshirt: J.Crew/Necklace - Target/Jeans - Forever 21/Shoes - Aldo/Bracelets - Tiffany, J.Crew, gifts from mom]

This is what I wore during the day to walk around and hang out. I like the casual outfit with the sparkly accessories. My favorite thing is to mix casual pieces with more glamorous ones. Why save your good stuff for special occasions? Every day is a special occasion! I got these jeans at Forever 21 for $9.50. Nine dollars and fifty cents! And they're my favorite jeans right now. They're super comfortable and the perfect length. Can't beat that!

Can you tell how cold and windy it was? The wind was freezing! We'd been walking around for awhile by the time we took these, which is why my face is so pink. It was a very raw and blustery day. That's been the norm for weather lately. It makes it hard to do anything outside, even though I'm craving outdoor time!

[Blazer - The Limited (similar), from mom/Jewelry - Fossil watch (similar),  Express bangles, H&M rings/Clutch - Target/T-Shirt - Old Navy]

I didn't get many pictures of what I changed into for dinner because it was dark out. But I really loved this look. I think I'll probably repeat this or versions of it a lot from now on. It's a good go-to night out look. Holy moly, I just checked looked at that blazer and they are expensive. I checked with mom, who gave it to me since it didn't fit her right anymore, and she says she thinks they were on sale and she had a coupon. Because I couldn't imagine her spending that much on a blazer. Well. I guess I could. ;)

We had a great weekend and we're already coming up with new adventures to take this summer!

portland, maine: part 1

This past weekend Boyfriend and I escaped back up to Portland, ME for a night away. Since we don't live together anymore it's nice to be able to get away from it all and stay in a hotel, even if it's just for one night. I highly recommend Jetsetter for finding a luxe place for less!

It's now become our ritual that if we're going to Maine, we're going to Flo's, regardless of how out of the way it is. Boyfriend just recently introduced me to this gem and it is amazing. That's Boyfriend waiting in line for our hotdogs! I stayed in the nice warm car until the line made it inside. ;) Yes, there is a line. It's just the tiniest hot dog shack. Boyfriend's head hits the ceiling inside! If you happen to make it - get the House Special. Delicious!

We stayed at the Portland Harbor Hotel, which was perfectly located. We were right in the heart of Old Port and a mere steps away from Gritty's, which is where we hung out most of our last stay in Portland. We were also right next door to the restaurant we wanted to eat at. Paciarino was booked solid last time we went up to Portland, so we made sure to make reservations ahead of time.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Portland. We stopped for a beer, where I was too short for the table, and got some popcorn from the Coastal Maine Popcorn Co. and just wandered around taking pictures.

We stopped in at Bull Moose, a cool record store they have in New Hampshire and Maine. Very similar to Newbury Comics around Boston. Only somehow way better. We each bought a few CDs. Boyfriend replaced some old favorites, and I bought 21 by Adele and a copy of Tapestry by Carole King, which I was forbidden from listening to in the car by Captain Grouchy Pants. I happen to like Carole King.

 

After that we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. Dinner was so, so good. I recommend you try out this place if you're ever in Portland and like homemade pasta and delicious Italian food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

We had originally planned on going out for drinks after dinner, but since we're a couple of old farts we collapsed right into bed! We were beat. The hotel ended up being super loud all night. Boyfriend slept through it, but I kept waking up to people talking and laughing and music. I think there may have been a party or something going on, and the walls were not soundproof in the least. It's an old building, so I suppose that is to be expected. But hey! The bed was comfy! 

The next day was supposed to be rainy, but it ended up being beautiful! Perfect weather for browsing the outlets in Kittery on the way home, which is exactly what I made Boyfriend do. :)

What are your favorite places for a weekend getaway? Any cool places in New England we should check out? We're trying to plan a New England day trips vacation for this summer!