Sunset at Vineyard Haven Yacht Club

I took this picture in July. It was a perfect evening, and I watched as the sky turned from daytime blue to pink to deep blue.

I'll be visiting the Vineyard again soon, but not this weekend. Even though I wish I was there, I'm looking forward to a weekend full of apple picking and applesauce making.

Happy Friday, everybody! What are your weekend plans? If you're looking for some eye candy, check out my boards on pinterest.

A note: So sorry for the long breaks between posts. I'm still figuring out work/life balance, and I'm working on getting this blog back into the routine. I miss writing here and I miss taking pictures regularly.

Spring Break {Part 2}

Saturday we went for a short hike in the woods. The great thing about hikes on the Vineyard is that the goal is always a beautiful beach. As we approached the sand we saw a few rock sculptures. This one really seemed to defy gravity.

After spending some time exploring the water's edge, we continued our hike. We climbed up a small hill and looked out over the ocean. The trees are all bent from the sea breeze.

After the hike, we went back to the house and we all read/napped on the beach for a while. The weather was just amazing; I still can't believe how beautiful it was. In the evening we headed to The Net Result to pick up some lobsters and oysters for dinner (I had fried clams and coleslaw since I'm not a huge fan of lobster fan or oysters).

While we waited for the lobsters to be steamed we walked around Gannon & Benjamin's looking at the boats they're working on. It was so cool! The tools they use look like they've been around for a really long time.

Eric's grandfather joined us for our decadent dinner. He's an amazing guy, and he told us some really interesting stories. Eric and Mike ending up talking to him for long time after dinner while Brooke and I cleaned up and played some games.

Sunday, I woke up to watch the sunrise. Everything was so quiet and peaceful. I spent a few hours sitting in a sunny spot on the couch reading and enjoying my last morning of vacation.

After everybody else got up and ate breakfast, we cleaned up the house and spent some time in downtown Vineyard Haven. Most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday + the off season, but I did manage to get a gift for a friend (I had something specific in mind and her birthday was soooo long ago). After lunch it was time to say good-bye. It was hard to leave! It was warm enough to spend the ferry ride outside, which is always the best.

Eric and I will be back soon enough (I hope!). See more pictures of our trip on my flickr.

*It's Thursday, so head on over to the ELM blog for some sunny inspiration.

St Patrick's Day Celebration In Newport, RI

Saturday, Eric and I made our way (in a downpour) to Newport, RI. Our friends invited us to watch a St Patrick's Day parade and hang out for the day. The rain was coming down harder the closer we got, so we weren't sure if they'd even have the parade. But it was a rain or shine event and the 9 of us walked downtown (1 - 1.5 miles) to check it out. (I didn't bring the camera because the weather was so bad.) One of our friends' umbrellas fell victim to the storm after only 5 minutes outside, and we were all completely soaked by the time we got to the parade route. We watched the parade for about 5 minutes before deciding it was idiotic to stand around getting wetter, and we headed to a bar.

It was my first time at a St Patrick's Day celebration of any sort, and as soon as we walked in I whispered to Eric that I was out of my element. I did have a good time, and it was funny to watch everybody. There was green everywhere I looked and the type of dancing that usually happens only under the cover of darkness (it was about noon). We stayed at the bar for about 3 hours and then risked the elements again for the trek back to our friends' apartment and tons of delicious food.

Eric and I actually ended up staying the night, which was great. Sunday morning the rain stopped momentarily and I took these pictures as we headed back to Boston. It was sooooo windy I could barely hold the camera steady (the weird focus in the picture below is evidence). It started up again almost as soon as we hopped back in the car, and it got worse the longer we drove! This rain is just unbelievable (yes, it's still going).

Last night we discovered water leaking into our apartment around the window frames in our bedroom. There's a water stain on the ceiling above the windows and the towel we put on the windowsill is completely saturated. This morning I realized the same thing's happening in our kitchen, and we've got some bowls catching the drips in there. The landlord said 1) he's been living in Boston for 44 years and he's never seen rain like this and 2) they're replacing the entire back wall of our building soon so this problem will be taken care of. I'm not sure how that's going to work!

How was your weekend? Soaking wet, like ours?

Waking Up In Newport, RI

Friday night we went to Newport, RI to visit friends from college. It was great! They cooked a delicious meal for us, we lit the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah, and we talked and laughed late into the night. We brought pajamas and pillows and camped out on the surprisingly comfortable fold-out couch.

In the morning we all headed to breakfast and then went for a drive along the ocean.

Newport is really beautiful, and filled with history; we really need to spend more time there and really walk around and see the town.

Happy Hanukkah!