Pick Your Own!

Pat and I were out and about on Saturday. We didn't have much to do and not knowing the area we thought we might find something in Stamford.

While at lunch I took Pat's phone to try to find a website that I had seen listing all the different things to do in Fairfield County. I didn't find the website I was looking for but I stumbled upon one that was all about the farms and orchards around where you can go pick your own stuff.

We first started at a veggie farm. I am not sure of the name of the farm though. We had to go check in at the garage of the farm house where they showed us on a map where the ripe stuff was.

There were rows and rows of sunflowers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, beans, and cucumbers. It was so much fun.

We couldn't just stop at veggies so we went on to Blue Jay Orchards to pick apples. This place was cool.  

 Row after row after row of apple trees. And tons of different varities. I read somewhere online that this orchard has 500 acres of farmland. They open different sections at different times when the apples are ripe. You pay for whatever size of bag that you want and are directed to the section of ripe apples. Pat and I had to try a few to figure out what we wanted. We picked Gala apples that were a little bit on the small side but they taste so good!

Blue Jay Orchards also has a store where you can buy all things apples but also fresh and local products from other farms around. We got CT honey that is delicious.

I can't wait until the fall really starts to get here so we can go back. 

Boston, MA

With the extra day off for Labor Day weekend Pat and I decided to venture outside of our state and head up to Boston. There are so many fun things to do in this city. Pat worked in Boston a few summers ago and has talked about going back for a while. I thought it would be a lot farther away but it is only 180 miles from our house. The kicker is that it takes 3 and 1/2 hours to get there. That is how long it takes to get to St. George and it’s twice as far. It was nice to have a fun weekend away. Plus I love this city and its history!

We knew the weather could possibly be a factor since there was a hurricane rolling in. The weather was different every day. We had sun, high winds, and cold gusts. We had humid weather with thick fog.

It was cool to see the fog so low on the city buildings. It made you want to pull on a sweater and get ready for fall - but it was still 75 degrees.

We started off on the Freedom Trail and thought we would wind our way through the city and wonder wherever we felt like it. The only thing we planned out was where we were going to eat. Pat had a few musts for restaurants on his list. I never get bored of the little talks at each stop on the trail. Every time it is different and you learn something new. One stop that is central is the Old State House.

This is where the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony a few days after it was signed. They re-read it each year.

Inside the gift shop you can see just how old this building is. Part of the celling is taken away where you can see one of the oldest parts. There are 10 girders from 1748 that holds up the second story. The narrower joists around the girder were added around 1881. The white stripes are stains from the plaster. But the building seems just as sturdy as if it was built just a few years ago.

We followed the Freedom Trail around to the North End. This is where we took our first detour. Pat worked in the North End which is known for its food. The streets are also so narrow and windy that trucks aren't allowed on them. We walked around in what seemed to me to be circles before we found Dino's - a sandwich shop that has 18" sandwiches. Pat loved this place because he could get lunch and dinner in one stop.

Our next detour was for a treat. Mike's Pastry is a well-known shop in Boston. I have been here a few times at different times of the day and there is always a line out the door and down the block. The best things are their macaroons. They have several flavors but our favorites are the pistachio and original. (Wish I had some right now!)

We took our goodies to Paul Revere's House. I guess Paul was there today to talk to the kiddies so there was crowed waiting to get in. We didn't feel the need to talk to Paul so we moved on.

One of the things Paul was famous for was his night ride to the Old North Church. To send out the signal to let the people of Boston know how the British were coming. We sat in one of the pews for the talk given by one of the patrons of the Old North Church.

I am so glad we don't have pews like that anymore. Just after 20 minutes my back was hurting from sitting up against the wooden wall. People used to buy the pews and decorate them. The closer to the pulpit meant you spent more money to buy the pew. They had high walls so in the winter you could put coals in the bottom and the heat would stay in. So glad I live in modern times!

We also got tickets for the Trolley to ride around and see the sights in good weather. We were trying to figure out what to do for the evening when our Trolley got stuck in traffic coming from the first of two Red Sox games. We were stuck in the middle of it all so we decided to go down around the field and see if we could find stuff to do. We ended up going to the game! It was fun. Our seats were not the greatest but it was fun to see the game even though they lost.

We took a harbor ride to see the skyline. It was such a beautiful day. There were people out on their sailboats going around the harbor.

We ended the weekend with dinner at The Sail Loft. It seems like a dive bar from the outside but inside it is a nice restaurant. There are lots of good things on the menu. Where Pat had a lobster and I had a delicious chicken salad! (Angie is right - the seafood out here is wasted on me!)

Happy Labor Day!

Right after I got home I loaded my small digital camera pictures onto my laptop. The next morning my laptop got a virus and I have been forced to leave everything on it until I can get it fixed. I had ton of pictures to share from all of our adventures - but I guess they will have to wait. (Its also why I only have one of us together and the rest are of Pat)

Mom & Dad's Visit

My parents had to go to Chicago for a conference so they came by for a few nights. We had a fun time exploring Connecticut a little more.

We drove up to Mystic, CT and to the neighboring Stonington. We visited this neat stone lighthouse that had a small collection of history items on whaling (Mystic was the nation’s largest whaling port back in the day). They even had a rib bone and vertebrae of a whale.

The lighthouse was on a really pretty point. There was a grass area called the South Lawn where there were people eating picnic lunches and lounging. We climbed around on the rocks for a little bit and watched boats coming and going into the harbor up the way.

We drove over to Mystic. All the shops had a sidewalk fair going on and there were people everywhere. The town is divided by a drawbridge and it goes up each hour. We got ice cream and walked down by the river to watch the fun.

There were some big sail boats going out for a sunset cruises, but the clouds had just started to roll in so I am sure their view was not as nice had it been earlier in the day.

We found a tons of things to do all around Mystic. It is only an hour and a half away so we will have to come back soon. It was really fun to have my parents here! Thanks Mom & Dad for visiting and for a fun adventure.We love to have visitors!

Before & After

All have you been asking for pictures so I hope you are ready for an overload!



First here are the before pictures from when we signed the lease

Kitchen

Living Room

Laundry

Bedroom

We have a view of the courtyard from our living room and bedroom windows. We have a little patio off the living room and this is what you see

BBQ area

There are 3 grills and a few tables to enjoy the outside.

Swimming Pool

We have really been enjoying both. Pat is a great griller. It has been fun to eat at home most nights and grill. We also have a great Gym, but I don't have any pictures of it.

Here is what our house looked like when the movers had most of our stuff in.

Living Room

Kitchen

(notice our stuff still in the hall - we were like mice with little trails to get anywhere)

Bathroom

We started to unpack and stuff would start to over flow. We didn't have places to put things so things got put on top of more things which made it more of a mess. The movers put our bed together and that was the only place that was flat enough to unpack on too. As they moved stuff in I kept looking at what was coming in so I could find us sheets to sleep on. The first night was a little crazy. When Pat got home we focused on trying to get at least the bed put together. The next day I had to take it on one box at a time. The movers stuff everything with paper. Once I would get an empty box it would get filled back up with the paper. This made for NO PROGRESS!!

Pat was nice enough to get me out of the house in the evenings - well he had to - we didn't have a single inch to spare to cook and we had to eat.

I soon realized that we had no space to put stuff. We had a small amount of closet space and it was almost full. Saturday we set out on a big advenutre to find someway to get more space. We knew that good old Ikea would most likely have the best solution so we headed up. Ikea is about 40 miles away. Not that bad, but when you couple it with the speed limit of 55 mph and everyone breaking all the time makes for a very, very long ride. We happened to really like the first thing we saw when walked in. I made a note of it - but lefy the note somewhere in the store! After walking around the massive store for 3 hours we were ready to be done and the Rouge was stuffed. When we got home we built this

TV & storage unit

Tons of space for all our odds and ends and tv.

Mom was coming in two days and we knew that inorder to get the blow up mattress in the living room we would have to make space. Everything that was unpacked was stuffed into the shelves. Once Mom was here we organized and created this -

Still TV and storage but also a place for fluff and decorations!

Mom was a HUGE help! (Pat was done with me asking for decorating advice) We had a couple of big days but also had some fun too!

Here is are the after pictures!

Lving Room

Living Room

The office is in the corner

Living Room

Under the table behind the couch is most of the holiday decor.

Every space is full!

Our big find! The corner palm

Kitchen

Kitchen Island

Bedroom

Bedroom

Thanks Mom for all your help!!!! We couldn't have gotten it all done without you!

Love, oh Love

I am going to come out and say it.. Our Valentine's could have gone better.

We spent it on the side of the road on the way home from the cabin because Pat's car refused to function. Oh well. Other than that we had a great weekend with the Clark's. I have not seen this much snow in Wyoming forever. It was waist deep and powder for days.

**pictures to come - just as soon as we recover the car and figure out what went wrong**

To my Valentine:

Thank you for sitting by me as I am happy and sad. Thank you for taking care of me when I am sick and making me laugh when I am grumpy. I love you so very much sweet valentine!

Love, me

Resolutions

Resolutions for 2010:

Jennifer:

1. Get healthy - vacation time! Plus you always feel better when you take time for yourself.
2. Take more pictures - I always think I have enough but when it comes time to post I just don't seem to have the right ones. Oh - and this is so we can change out the wedding pictures in the various frames around the house.
3. Keep up with the laundry - don't let it sit for days unfolded.

Patrick:

1. Get healthy
2. Get certified in work stuff
3. Spend more time with wife
4. Keep fish tanks clean (added by Jen)

New Year's 2010

Happy New Year!!!

Try as we might we never really could come up with solid plans. Which was good because it worked out so well. We did dinner at Tepenkaki and rung in the new year at the Cottam's.

Now all we have left to start the new year is to decide on those pesky resolutions.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!