throwback thursday to...

...back when i hung with 8 year olds every day!

lobster friends

i began my second day on the cape with my very first kayak adventure!

we kayaked around the bay they live on, talked about the houses & history of osterville.

it was early in the morning, and the quiet time on the water is one of the best ways to start ones day...can't wait to get in a kayak again! 

once everyone else was up ( i was the early bird of the bunch )

we loaded up the boat for another relaxing spin

their dock!

sunset over the bay

two firsts in one day! i enjoyed my first (that i can remember) lobster dinner! you know, where the whole dang lobster stares you in the face as you carefully take it apart to get to the meat

it was delicious, but i needed a decent amount of help to get to the meat haha

my lobster friend

highlights of cape life are definitely the amazing, fresh seafood and all the time you can spend on the water or beaches.

hopefully i'll be making a return trip in september!

bises

xo

america's cape

the cape

a place that, as a midwesterner, tends to just hold a nice spot in ones imagination. that, until i moved to connecticut, i definitely didn't think i'd get to. it's out of the way, there are other wonderful beaches on the east coast, etc etc

so. happy. i. went.

first of all, it's a beautiful place full of beautiful people and beautiful boats and bays. i mean, what's not to love about waking up to this view?!

i stayed in osterville, which is a part of barnstable, ma. it's known for oystering, lots of wealthy folks & stunning houses...and i'm sure a lot more.

for the 4th a few of us hopped in a whaler with some snacks, a corn hole set, drinks, towels & sunscreen - and sped off to a sandbar. yup, a sandbar. turns out it's a lot cooler than it sounds - only people with boats can get out to it, there's an ice cream boat, and tons of people hanging out along about half a mile (?) of beach.

view down the sandbar...and our epic corn hole set

lucky find!

america.

perfect day ~ clear skies, balmy 90 degrees, a secluded swimming hole swim, a sneaky jaunt across the sand bar to the ocean

yes, of course we got some

boats on boats

american perfection.

happy (belated) 4th!

bises xo

d.c. & the maryland shore

my sejour in DC was wonderfully full of family & denison, as usual. 

visited the zoo, which was recently redone, and spent lots of time with the elephants, pandas, big cats & seals. the walking paths in the new part of the zoo are fantastic, and i can easily see myself running there early morn/late at night if i lived nearby. 

twins & i :)

after two great nights in our nations capital, i hopped in my car & continued east over the chesapeake.

spent a fantastic few days in st. michaels with new friends, canceling things back home in CT so that i could extend my stay (oops). although the waters were chock-full of jellyfish, we managed to carefully hop on a jetski and go for a spin around the bay, falling off only twice :) 

i would have loved to explore the town more, it's a quintessentially cute seaside town, full of small cafés, shops and the occasional bar draped in a huge american flag...

all in all, a wonderful jaunt down south ~ only missing the famous maryland blue shell crab (next time)

bises xo

sails on the sound

no editing, no filter...i could look at this lighthouse all day

another particular highlight of summer in fairfield county - getting out on the sound!

thanks to a friend from denison, i've been able to get out on long island sound several times now. 

words to describe it? relaxing. calming. rejuvenating. beautiful. lighthearted. 

new canaan itself isn't on the sound, but it's easy to get down to stamford or darien or norwalk for some solid waterfront. maybe one day i'll hop on a boat & actually step foot on long island? 

i've always loved living on or near water ~ whether it's lake michigan, the mediterranean, long island sound....or wherever else i end up in life. water has a refreshing, calming effect...often needed nowadays.

sidenote - looking forward to a long weekend in DC & maryland this coming week! then a day or so back in CT before heading up to Cape Cod :)
expect lots of lighthouses and beaches and boats and adventures!

bises xo

boatyard cocktails @ the sunset grille, norwalk

everyone should have cocktails in a boatyard at least once. 

i, for one, will be at this particular boatyard a ridiculous number of times this summer until they close.

http://sunsetgrille.net/

denison in the real world

As a Midwesterner on the East Coast, I tend to notice & adore nouns that are part of everyday life for the average friend or acquaintance here. A sunset in a marina, a bowl of fresh mussels, the occasional whiff of the sea, cheap oysters, & the relatively close proximity of…everything. 

One place that immediately captured my heart is this restaurant called Sunset Grille in Norwalk. It’s seasonal, has fantastically fresh seafood, good drinks (I loved the Nantucket Lemonade) and – this is the best part – is smack dab in the middle of a marina. I must have driven around the whole of Calf Pasture Beach before figuring out I had to drive through a boatyard. It’s been busy each time I’ve gone, which doesn’t surprise me. We sat there for a few hours, right through a beautiful sunset. Seriously – boats, sunsets, seafood & outdoors? This has got to be the gem of Norwalk. 

Well, now I just want to go there. 1pm drinks anyone?

bisous xo

& let summer begin

summer

a word that, for a teacher, can still mean everything it did when we were younger. beaches, books, travel, friends, getting reorganized, adventures, painting & doing all of those things we don't have time for when school's in session.

finished with the kiddos last tuesday & meetings on friday! i got so many wonderful, thoughtful cards from both kids & parents ~ although i was more than ready for summer, i will definitely miss my 18 3rd graders.

one particularly sweet letter :)

my gift from the whole class - each child gave a word/phrase

but...on to bigger and older kids! in late august i'll start in 5th grade. this means a few things: coaching soccer, longer books, deeper conversations, and hopefully less repeating myself? i'm also hoping this year can give me more direction, career-wise. perhaps teaching will work it's way back into #1 career choice. i'm incredibly excited to coach soccer, just getting back into the sport overall is sure to be a highlight of the year.

i'm getting ahead of myself - there are two and a half months of travel bliss ahead of me! here's what you can look forward to reading about:
         ~ cape cod
         ~ road trips to & from chicago (definite stops in pittsburgh & cleveland, hoping to stop in michigan, maybe rhode island, and perhaps a park or two on the way)
         ~ 3 weeks in the Loop, a block from the Art Institute
         ~ several days in the "countryside" of chicago - barrington. my familiar home away from home. my family retreat.
         ~ the western coast of michigan, assuming a kappa reunion gets off the ground
         ~ & hopefully some more jaunts around connecticut and new york city!

bisous! (& more to come soon!)