now that it's fall (or autumn as they say in the UK) i can look back and officially say 'yes it's been quite a summer' (in the words of jimmy buffett). have to write a post because all the things i've been wanting to say have been more than 140 characters and too long for twitter.
i imagine we got a taste of what it's like to live in san diego where the sun shines all the time and you never have to worry about rain ruining your plans. if you're not aware new england is in the middle of a crazy drought and it's been literally months since we've seen a substantial amount of rain.
went down to sarasota for labor day to see chris's parents and hurricane hermione (her-MEEN) was threatening to cause all sorts of issues with rain and such. it was such a weird feeling to be worried about not being able to go to the beach because of bad weather. fortunately it blew through and while the beach looked a little worse for the wear the day after it did not prevent us from soaking up the sun the rest of the weekend.
spent a lot of time on the cape this summer - it was too hot to be in boston if one could easily escape to a place where you can swim. i managed to repaint my childhood bedroom that had literally not been painted since we moved in in 1995 and was in DESPERATE need of repainting.
this is what you do when you're 33 and don't have a home of your own - go home and do projects for your parents. why isn't the media covering this angle of millenial lives? (it is now a charming cape cod hydrangea blue with white trim. #adulthood)
spent a fabulous few days on martha's vineyard with my coworkers, as has become the tradition for the last few years. we rented an incredible house outside oak bluffs that is apparently owned by the former manager of lady gaga and was within walking distance of the alpaca farm.
the house had an amazing pool and screened in porch that got a lot of use by me especially. went over to state beach (aka jaws beach) for a beach day and had a lobster bake. stayed up until sunrise one night listening to music and drinking in the hot tub. got to pull an all nighter at least once a year am i right?
had two great trips to maine with christine and vin. we originally planned to go up to bangor for the jimmy buffett concert (christine and my 13th concert together and my 16th concert) and decided to make a weekend out of it. rented a great cabin on a lake in china, me and spent a day floating and drinking and eating lobster and late night celeste 'pizzas with friends'.
went over to camden and rockport for the day on instructions from my grandparents. we saw the andre the seal statue, the beltie oreo cows, the windjammers, the dockside dining and the library which was designed by fredrick olmsted. i found this out after the fact but it all made sense.
we also saw a bald eagle over the lake (nbd) and made a stop in freeport to visit llbean and some retail therapy. all in all it was a great vacation and maine is really becoming a favorite destination.
the second trip was last weekend to my coworkers wedding in new harbor on the pemaquid penninsula. we had heard a lot about this wedding as she planned it and we were excited to meet her family and friends.
we do a lot of work trips so felt very natural to be sharing an air bnb with my coworkers, getting ready together, making friends with randos, dancing our faces off and being the hit of the party (self call). we were joking that the trip reminded us a lot of the summit only with better food (DELICIOUS crab cakes and adult maine blueberry lemonades and vodkas).
we stayed at the hotel pemaquid the hotel was old fashioned in a way that brought to mind agatha christie stories and murders in parlors. j/k - it was adorable and right down the street from the pemaquid point lighthouse - highly recommend. fun note - the pemaquid lighthouse is one of the most photographed in maine!
we also stopped at eventide in portland on our way up to stuff our faces with more lobster. (side note - where is the lobster emoji ios10?)
and of course some big news in that we got engaged on top of moosilauke a few weeks ago. planning had been in the works for awhile but we wanted to do something special to mark the official engagement and both chris and i have spent a lot of time hiking and hanging around the mountain.
i hadn't hiked the beaver brook trail to the top of mt. moosilauke since i led a DOC trip (f 47) my senior year and thought it would be a nice one to do for a change. it is a nice one - the first mile is literally next to waterfalls - but it is also extremely steep, rocky and challenging, especially when it's wet or icy. it's also the AT - can't imagine doing it with a fully loaded thru hikers pack!
despite our hopes and weather forecasting it was not a beautiful day - it was wet, cold and chilly when we got to the top. we were literally in a cloud - we could have been in scotland for all we knew - and the only people at the summit so we had the place to ourselves to declare that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. :) chris pointed out that the white mountains are not known for adhering to forecasting. maybe it will be gorgeous for our pre wedding hike as a trade off. :)
we rented a DOC cabin near lincoln, nh for the night and camped out and then came back to boston to announce the news. it's been an incredible outpouring of love and best wishes from our family and friends and we're so excited to be planning our wedding! :)
chris has been out in utah this weekend running a 100 mile ultra trail run called the bear 100. i have yet to hear all the details but they changed the course twice because the weather was going to be so awful and snow, rain, mud and sleet were all on the menu. i am so proud to say that he finished it - how amazing is this guy of mine? :)
i spent friday night hanging out with mulley - she was in boston on the way to a wedding in maine (so hot right now) and the rest of the weekend up in woodstock, vt visiting my grandparents. they're still doing well even as they get older and i always feel so grateful to spend any time with them that i can - so lucky to still have them in my life.
true to my grandparents they found a dartmouth captain's chair in a thrift store and gave it to us as their wedding gift. it's just how they've always rolled and we're thrilled to have such a unique and special wedding gift to kick off the festivities. :)
just starting to look like fall up in VT/ NH but it was cool temps and sunshine and blue skies. won't be long before we're heading up on the regular for a (hopefully) better ski season than last year.
i am heading to london on wednesday for rowena's wedding. so excited for a london trip that does not involve work and to see some of my former nbc coworkers and her family. i'll also get to see maynard while i'm there.
was saying to row that we first worked together at nbc and here we are all these years later still friends and i'm going to her WEDDING! what a long strange trip it's been. :)
another chilly early fall night - great for sleeping and spiced pumpkin candles. samson is sitting in the window practicing for halloween and chris gets back early tomorrow morning. i have chicken soup from my grandmother and tea calling my name before an early bed time.
ain't life grand? :)
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Sunday, June 19, 2016
december is here before it's june
i know i know i'm a delinquent. per usual have had lots of thoughts about what i would write about various things of late but have not actually sat down to write them or held myself to doing so. as a result it's mid june and half of 2016 has flown by.
a beautiful early summer weekend in boston this weekend. my sister commented that 'you have to earn your [new england] summers and she is so right. winter i don't really mind - there's skiing and i like snow - but spring in new england gets to you. days on end of 45 and raining takes a toll on anyone. i said last year that i would plan a tropical trip in april or may to take the edge off but i did not follow through. i had a lovely weekend out in LA with some cape cod girls which helped but next year i will for sure!
chris's parents are in town this weekend so we've been touring and visiting with them. my parents came up yesterday to meet us for lunch in the north end which was nice of them. last year they attempted to come up in july and turned back because the cape traffic was so bad ('see you in the fall'). this time they made it.
went to spin at bspoke with boxa this morning. i'm happy to say that spinning seems to have been the magic cure for my leg issue - been going 2-3 times per week and it both strengthens my quad and gives me the cardio workout i don't get from running or gym classes anymore. my day to day with my leg is pretty much okay and i was able to dance my face off at work trip a few weeks ago with no residual effects which is such a huge relief! purchased our season passes to killington a few days ago - already looking forward to a more successful ski year than last year.
my work trip to europe was ridiculous - my coworker called it a 'three day international bender' and that's exactly what it was. we flew to geneva and were bussed up to a ski resort called avoriaz in the french alps. this place looks like it would be an amazing ski resort in the winter but in early june it was 45 and raining or foggy the entire time. they really took the 'reaching new heights' metaphor to, well, new heights.
my company is good at retargeting and throwing dance parties, so we boozed, danced, and stayed up all night for three days straight. promptly caught 'summit flu' (v similar to dartmouth flu) and lost my voice.
this was problematic because i had to go to charleston immediately after i got back for my grandfather's funeral and it was hard to talk to family i hadn't seen in 15 years with no voice. my grandfather was 89 and had been ready to go for awhile now so it was more of a celebration than a sad occasion but still strange to know he wasn't at the house we'd been visiting for 30 years as usual. he and my grandmother planned their funerals a few years ago and it was kind of comforting to know we were doing what he wanted on the day of the funeral. made it almost seem like he was there which was nice.
he was buried with military honors as an air force vet of WW2. the ceremony was extremely moving - taps and the folding of the flag which was presented to my grandmother in thanks for his service. he was also a former president of the charleston scottish society so the bag piper was fitting, and a mason so he was buried with masonic rites as well. he was an extraordinary man (full obituary here) and i'm proud to be related to him. my sister is moving to charleston later this summer to work at a k-12 all girls school so hopefully there will be more chances to visit charleston on happier occasions.
let's see what else - day dreaming about 4th of july and hoping this weather pattern continues through then. had to make myself strawberry shortcake and a gin and tonic last week to get me through - only a few more weeks!
heading down to NYC this coming weekend to see the folks and spend sat afternoon on the william wall. a pseudo private yacht club is such a fun way to spend a summer evening.
have laundry to get out of the washing machine and then we're off to dinner at craigie on main with chris's parents. have heard great things about it so we're excited to try it!
i promise to make a better effort to actually write down my thoughts on a more frequent basis - that is assuming people want to read them. for now a happy father's day and almost summer solstice to all. life is pretty good in these parts. :)
a beautiful early summer weekend in boston this weekend. my sister commented that 'you have to earn your [new england] summers and she is so right. winter i don't really mind - there's skiing and i like snow - but spring in new england gets to you. days on end of 45 and raining takes a toll on anyone. i said last year that i would plan a tropical trip in april or may to take the edge off but i did not follow through. i had a lovely weekend out in LA with some cape cod girls which helped but next year i will for sure!
chris's parents are in town this weekend so we've been touring and visiting with them. my parents came up yesterday to meet us for lunch in the north end which was nice of them. last year they attempted to come up in july and turned back because the cape traffic was so bad ('see you in the fall'). this time they made it.
went to spin at bspoke with boxa this morning. i'm happy to say that spinning seems to have been the magic cure for my leg issue - been going 2-3 times per week and it both strengthens my quad and gives me the cardio workout i don't get from running or gym classes anymore. my day to day with my leg is pretty much okay and i was able to dance my face off at work trip a few weeks ago with no residual effects which is such a huge relief! purchased our season passes to killington a few days ago - already looking forward to a more successful ski year than last year.
my work trip to europe was ridiculous - my coworker called it a 'three day international bender' and that's exactly what it was. we flew to geneva and were bussed up to a ski resort called avoriaz in the french alps. this place looks like it would be an amazing ski resort in the winter but in early june it was 45 and raining or foggy the entire time. they really took the 'reaching new heights' metaphor to, well, new heights.
my company is good at retargeting and throwing dance parties, so we boozed, danced, and stayed up all night for three days straight. promptly caught 'summit flu' (v similar to dartmouth flu) and lost my voice.
this was problematic because i had to go to charleston immediately after i got back for my grandfather's funeral and it was hard to talk to family i hadn't seen in 15 years with no voice. my grandfather was 89 and had been ready to go for awhile now so it was more of a celebration than a sad occasion but still strange to know he wasn't at the house we'd been visiting for 30 years as usual. he and my grandmother planned their funerals a few years ago and it was kind of comforting to know we were doing what he wanted on the day of the funeral. made it almost seem like he was there which was nice.
he was buried with military honors as an air force vet of WW2. the ceremony was extremely moving - taps and the folding of the flag which was presented to my grandmother in thanks for his service. he was also a former president of the charleston scottish society so the bag piper was fitting, and a mason so he was buried with masonic rites as well. he was an extraordinary man (full obituary here) and i'm proud to be related to him. my sister is moving to charleston later this summer to work at a k-12 all girls school so hopefully there will be more chances to visit charleston on happier occasions.
let's see what else - day dreaming about 4th of july and hoping this weather pattern continues through then. had to make myself strawberry shortcake and a gin and tonic last week to get me through - only a few more weeks!
heading down to NYC this coming weekend to see the folks and spend sat afternoon on the william wall. a pseudo private yacht club is such a fun way to spend a summer evening.
have laundry to get out of the washing machine and then we're off to dinner at craigie on main with chris's parents. have heard great things about it so we're excited to try it!
i promise to make a better effort to actually write down my thoughts on a more frequent basis - that is assuming people want to read them. for now a happy father's day and almost summer solstice to all. life is pretty good in these parts. :)
Sunday, January 24, 2016
any given sunday
hello hello. watching/distracting myself from the patriots throwing away a trip to the superbowl in denver. i knew it was going to be a tough game but i almost can't watch.
had a crazy busy but good work trip to london last week. we've taken to flying out sat night which puts us in to the UK around 9 am on sunday morning with time to get settled in and do some sight seeing before we have to start working. works out well.
on sunday we walked over to regent's park and went to the london zoo where we saw a kangaroo, tiger, and gorilla! then i went over to see maynard and coley and liam for a quick visit and then over to abbey road area to see rowena. row recently got engaged! and cooked me dinner - so good to catch up!
the work week was super busy - had 15 meetings in 4.5 days, 16 if you count going out with my coworkers one night. it's so so awesome to be in london, especially on an expense account, but btwn mtgs and going out and the time change i don't get much downtime or sleep so it's always a combo of feelings.
we stayed over near tottenham court road so got to know that area and soho and covent garden a bit. my london office was just around the corner and we got to check that out too. they have an awesome roof deck and really cool branded space. while on the trip we learned that we will be having another summit the first weekend in june in the french alps. awesome to know that we're going to europe again!
we also had dinner on the 32nd floor of the shard, a super cool space and neat views. i stopped in to the british museum to see the rosetta stone, popped over to marleybone where vin used to live to go to emma bridgewater and cath kidston - two 'brilliantly british' stores. hit up a couple of cocktail bars including the experimental cocktail club and freud. freud was down in a basement, kind of a cool underground scene.
i also saw robin who was over in london for work, we ended up being on the same flight back to NYC and got to chat for an hour or so on the way home. sd reuning at 30,000 feet!
went straight from london to NYC - had planned to come down over MLK weekend so it just seemed to make more sense. had a great visit with vin who made fondue for dinner on fri night. sat we went over to ceppos and mike's apt to watch the pats game with mulley, cody and phil. went out to do karaoke after the pats game and entertained ourselves for 3.5 hours singing at the top of our lungs. it was such a blast - i do miss private karaoke rooms in boston and of course the fabulous people still in nyc. :)
sunday we spent on a greek marathon - vin had a bunch of seasons on dvd. such a great show - wish they would put it back on netflix for our binge watching pleasure.
drove the escape up to killington for our inaugural road trip in the new to me car. was v pleased with how it drove and so exciting to finally have a car of my own! skiing went well too - VT got none of the snow that walloped the mid-atlantic but it wasn't crowded and the snow was pretty good in a lot of places. my knee felt pretty good and i was able to do some more challenging terrain at speed so i was happy about that. starting to get excited about our steamboat trip in a few weeks. we got about 3 inches in boston - was a good night for cozying up inside and binge watching some burn notice.
i have recently begun snapchatting - at first i was hesitant b/c i didn't need another social media distraction on my phone, but so far i've actually been enjoying it. i love instagram but sometimes it feels too currated, whereas snap chat is more about in the moment, peeks in to your day to day life. the user interface sucks - my brother had to give me some pointers about how to snap chat properly - but i'm liking it so expect more snapchats from me in the near future.
well it's not looking too good for the pats and some dominos cheesy bread just arrived. it's about time for me to start drinking heavily.
had a crazy busy but good work trip to london last week. we've taken to flying out sat night which puts us in to the UK around 9 am on sunday morning with time to get settled in and do some sight seeing before we have to start working. works out well.
on sunday we walked over to regent's park and went to the london zoo where we saw a kangaroo, tiger, and gorilla! then i went over to see maynard and coley and liam for a quick visit and then over to abbey road area to see rowena. row recently got engaged! and cooked me dinner - so good to catch up!
the work week was super busy - had 15 meetings in 4.5 days, 16 if you count going out with my coworkers one night. it's so so awesome to be in london, especially on an expense account, but btwn mtgs and going out and the time change i don't get much downtime or sleep so it's always a combo of feelings.
we stayed over near tottenham court road so got to know that area and soho and covent garden a bit. my london office was just around the corner and we got to check that out too. they have an awesome roof deck and really cool branded space. while on the trip we learned that we will be having another summit the first weekend in june in the french alps. awesome to know that we're going to europe again!
we also had dinner on the 32nd floor of the shard, a super cool space and neat views. i stopped in to the british museum to see the rosetta stone, popped over to marleybone where vin used to live to go to emma bridgewater and cath kidston - two 'brilliantly british' stores. hit up a couple of cocktail bars including the experimental cocktail club and freud. freud was down in a basement, kind of a cool underground scene.
i also saw robin who was over in london for work, we ended up being on the same flight back to NYC and got to chat for an hour or so on the way home. sd reuning at 30,000 feet!
went straight from london to NYC - had planned to come down over MLK weekend so it just seemed to make more sense. had a great visit with vin who made fondue for dinner on fri night. sat we went over to ceppos and mike's apt to watch the pats game with mulley, cody and phil. went out to do karaoke after the pats game and entertained ourselves for 3.5 hours singing at the top of our lungs. it was such a blast - i do miss private karaoke rooms in boston and of course the fabulous people still in nyc. :)
sunday we spent on a greek marathon - vin had a bunch of seasons on dvd. such a great show - wish they would put it back on netflix for our binge watching pleasure.
drove the escape up to killington for our inaugural road trip in the new to me car. was v pleased with how it drove and so exciting to finally have a car of my own! skiing went well too - VT got none of the snow that walloped the mid-atlantic but it wasn't crowded and the snow was pretty good in a lot of places. my knee felt pretty good and i was able to do some more challenging terrain at speed so i was happy about that. starting to get excited about our steamboat trip in a few weeks. we got about 3 inches in boston - was a good night for cozying up inside and binge watching some burn notice.
i have recently begun snapchatting - at first i was hesitant b/c i didn't need another social media distraction on my phone, but so far i've actually been enjoying it. i love instagram but sometimes it feels too currated, whereas snap chat is more about in the moment, peeks in to your day to day life. the user interface sucks - my brother had to give me some pointers about how to snap chat properly - but i'm liking it so expect more snapchats from me in the near future.
well it's not looking too good for the pats and some dominos cheesy bread just arrived. it's about time for me to start drinking heavily.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
2015 year in review
the thing to do this time of year is to write recap posts for the year gone by (or i guess it was the thing to do a few weeks ago. what can i say - i'm slow). i like the quote 'there are the years that ask questions and the years that answer' and i think 2015 was one that answered but here's some of the highlights
january
- spent new years eve with cody and phil at a nice dinner up near killington and started the new year with a ski day
- my first trip down to houston to see my sister and her husband while chris ran his second 100-miler. he was psyched to break 24-hours. :)
- patriots won the superbowl! we watched it in houston after our flight back to boston was cancelled due to snow. cut out from work to go watch the duck boats at city hall plaza during the parade a few days later :)
- work trip to london. met up with rowena for tea at fortnum and mason - yumyum!
- i turned 32 (uneventful)
- ski trip to park city. first time skiing out west - did alta, snowbird and park city. it was a terrible year for snow out west but enjoyed the spring-like temps, the rocky mountain highs, and hijinks with eli and company
- work ski trip to killington. took over the wobbly barn and spent some quality time at the long trail brewery
- ceppos came up for st patrick's day
- april is a terrible month in new england where nothing much happens besides christine's bday. did get to experience my first patriot's day as an adult and drink/cheer during the boston marathon
- we retraced paul revere's ride on our bikes when we rode from boston to lexington and concord
- i did whatever it is i've done to my knee the last weekend in may. ugh. the mystery continues
- my mom had her appendix out which led to a few crazy days of boston/cape travel while sorting everything out. special thanks to boxa for her help throughout that crazy process.
- we adopted our sweet kitty!
- work trip to paris with a few days in rome with vin and rowena beforehand. hadn't been to rome in almost 20 years - it was lovely to be back! so much gelato and sightseeing.
- vin and i got to wander around paris for a day or so. with vin playing tour guide and revising her favorites from her study abroad it really felt like we got to see most of the city
- work trip to the amalfi coast. that trip was so incredible it doesn't feel real. so blessed
- chris's five year reunion in hanover. i remember my first five year reunion ;-)
- party bus to provincetown with my coworkers for 4th of july
- US soccer game at gilette with ceppos and mike - lots of fun
- second trip to gillette to see taylor swift with christine (great seats!)
- i became an aunt when my sister had a baby boy (nate)
- vin came to visit and we bummed around boston
- trip to seattle and portland to see laurak, jess and attend karla's wedding. enjoyed the hospitality of the PNW
- kevin came to visit for a night on his way to VT
- jimmy buffett number 16 at great woods. the girls show
- work trip to MV. amazing beach weather to close out a great summer
- non-work or bachelorette trip to las vegas with vin! pool parties!
- my first trip to the jersey shore with chris and his parents. wasn't beach weather but it was a good intro to avalon. next year.
- my sis and her bro came up to the cape so we could meet nate!
- third annual mt moosilauke ridge run. one of my favorite fall traditions as of late
- aida came to boston! had a crazy night out before she went down to the cape for a wedding
october
- lulu came to boston for the weekend! had a great night out in back bay
- dartmouth girls in town for the head of the charles regatta. took our first trip to cheers to watch the patriots. i'd go back.
- dartmouth/harvard football game at harvard. best d football game i've been to yet. maybe harvard/yale next year?
- quality time on the cape in falmouth with my sister and grandparents
- officially acquired a MA license
- exeter/andover in NH with my parents and sister
- thanksgiving on the cape
december
- holiday pops with my parents
- christmas in florida with chris
- new years in NH/VT
- i bought a car!
year filled with friendship laughter and love. here's to more of the same in 2016 :)
Winter Snapshots
Merry New Year! Spent NYE at the Class of 66 Cabin in Etna, NH - a few miles outside Hanover. The lodge sleeps 40 so the 28 of us in attendance fit nicely. It's also a .5 mile hike from the road to the trail. Fortunately it has snowed a few inches earlier in the week so my brother could sled in a keg. Not that we needed it with the amount of booze we had on hand.
The cabin had a table so we could play pong which led to the below entry in the log book. Also included a shot of the exterior of the lodge. It's pretty neat - would highly recommend.
It's been super cold in Boston over the last few days. No real snow but cold cold cold air so I finally put my new LL Bean flannel sheets on our bed. The whale pillow is also from LL Bean and a gift from my sister in our Christmas gift exchange. :) Now we're cozy like bears. :)
Monday, December 28, 2015
Write That Down
'Penetrating so many secrets, we cease to believe in the unknowable. But there it sits, nevertheless, calmly licking its chops' - H L Mecken via 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'
Sunday, December 27, 2015
christmas round up
chilling on the couch with samson watching what has been a rather uninspiring patriots game while chris is out for a long run. we got back from FL yesterday afternoon and are having a gray raw day in new england today that's pretty good for being cozy inside and 'short winter's naps'.
had a great time in florida for christmas - it was hot hot hot down there, even for florida. we drove down to naples from sarasota to visit my grandparents and cousins that were visiting for christmas. it was a whirlwind quick trip but we did get to have drinks at sunset at the beach and spend a few hours there the next day. my cousin's kids are five and two and at first they weren't sure what to make of 'cousin kate' but by the time we left we were fast friends. sent them 'around the cape from a to z' to thank them for sharing their FL christmas with us.
we also went to see my old coworker from one of my companies in NYC at cigar city brewing in tampa. CCB is a craft brewery that's getting some good recognition for their beer in the south, though you can find it as far north as NYC. my coworker was the finance guy for the company in NYC and is now the finance guy for the brewery so we learned a lot about the financial and business side of running a brewery in addition to enjoying some fresh-off-the-packaging-line jai alai beer and their 12% ABV winter warmer beer that basically put me out of commission for the rest of the afternoon.
he also gave us a bottle of CCB's 2015 friends and family brew 'cheers'. the tasting notes were a '50/50 blend of Bourbon Barrel-aged Big Sound that has been in barrels for over 2 years and a California Brandy Barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout'. chris is a pretty big fan of CCB so it was super nice of my old coworker to hook us up - thanks albert!
had my first experience flying spirit airlines - for some reason it wasn't really on my radar when i was flying in/out of NYC so i never even considered flying it in the past. it's a bit of a controversial airline as they offer super low fares but don't include many of the things that other airlines (think carry on bags, on-board entertainment and printing your boarding pass) offer for free. i thought a lot about it and on the whole i didn't really have a problem with what spirit is doing - it's common to pay for food/drink on planes these days, i can bring my own entertainment and if the fare is cheaper with a checked bag then it's a no-brainer - but we were delayed on both ends going down to FL and they do cram more seats in to each airplane because it brings the cost down so it was slightly more cramped than usual. it's not for everyone, and if you are going to fly spirit make sure you read the fine print and maybe even a 'spirit advice' article like this one so you know what you're getting in to. with spirit if you're dumb you'll have to pay - literally and figuratively.
went to look at a used 2006 ford escape that a friend of a friend is selling this morning and have decided to go ahead and buy it. it's old but has decent mileage and will be a good option for driving up to VT and trips to the cape. excited to finally own a car at age 32!
we're heading up to NH for new year's - renting a dartmouth outing club cabin with some friends for the holiday. the cabin is heated by woodstove, sleeps 30 and is about a half a mile hike from the road. word is there may actually be some snow by the time we get up there thought prob not as much in years past. hoping to give skiing a shot for the first time this ski season over the weekend - very different season from last year so far!
had a great time in florida for christmas - it was hot hot hot down there, even for florida. we drove down to naples from sarasota to visit my grandparents and cousins that were visiting for christmas. it was a whirlwind quick trip but we did get to have drinks at sunset at the beach and spend a few hours there the next day. my cousin's kids are five and two and at first they weren't sure what to make of 'cousin kate' but by the time we left we were fast friends. sent them 'around the cape from a to z' to thank them for sharing their FL christmas with us.
we also went to see my old coworker from one of my companies in NYC at cigar city brewing in tampa. CCB is a craft brewery that's getting some good recognition for their beer in the south, though you can find it as far north as NYC. my coworker was the finance guy for the company in NYC and is now the finance guy for the brewery so we learned a lot about the financial and business side of running a brewery in addition to enjoying some fresh-off-the-packaging-line jai alai beer and their 12% ABV winter warmer beer that basically put me out of commission for the rest of the afternoon.
he also gave us a bottle of CCB's 2015 friends and family brew 'cheers'. the tasting notes were a '50/50 blend of Bourbon Barrel-aged Big Sound that has been in barrels for over 2 years and a California Brandy Barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout'. chris is a pretty big fan of CCB so it was super nice of my old coworker to hook us up - thanks albert!
had my first experience flying spirit airlines - for some reason it wasn't really on my radar when i was flying in/out of NYC so i never even considered flying it in the past. it's a bit of a controversial airline as they offer super low fares but don't include many of the things that other airlines (think carry on bags, on-board entertainment and printing your boarding pass) offer for free. i thought a lot about it and on the whole i didn't really have a problem with what spirit is doing - it's common to pay for food/drink on planes these days, i can bring my own entertainment and if the fare is cheaper with a checked bag then it's a no-brainer - but we were delayed on both ends going down to FL and they do cram more seats in to each airplane because it brings the cost down so it was slightly more cramped than usual. it's not for everyone, and if you are going to fly spirit make sure you read the fine print and maybe even a 'spirit advice' article like this one so you know what you're getting in to. with spirit if you're dumb you'll have to pay - literally and figuratively.
went to look at a used 2006 ford escape that a friend of a friend is selling this morning and have decided to go ahead and buy it. it's old but has decent mileage and will be a good option for driving up to VT and trips to the cape. excited to finally own a car at age 32!
we're heading up to NH for new year's - renting a dartmouth outing club cabin with some friends for the holiday. the cabin is heated by woodstove, sleeps 30 and is about a half a mile hike from the road. word is there may actually be some snow by the time we get up there thought prob not as much in years past. hoping to give skiing a shot for the first time this ski season over the weekend - very different season from last year so far!
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