A Dinner party, wedding & sightseeing: Our weekend on the blog!

I will preface with the fact that although I don't always recognize it I have a pretty great schedule, I work three 12's a week which means I have four days off. However I work a rotating schedule so after those three long night shifts I am pretty much useless for a day or two. One of the perks is having the time to do errands that on weekends would be a total nightmare (Target or Trader Joe's on a Saturday morning). Like anything there are pro's and con's to shift work, as I am sure there are for 9-5's. This week I am grateful for the "pro" of having an extra long weekend! :)

Our weekend started Thursday evening at 730 when I left work and met up with my college roommate and her Fiance for drinks in town. They live in NJ so I don't get to see her often, when she called and said she'd be in Boston I was thrilled to get the chance to see them. We had a great time catching up and getting to know her future husband! I snapped this photo of the city on our walk home- I am always in awe of this city's beauty!

Friday was my day to run errands and get ready for a little dinner party we had scheduled with my sweet friend Ashley and her boyfriend. I absolutely love getting together with these two, we always have such a great time! Last time they came up for dinner we had a Mexican themed dinner where we tested out new recipes. We totally appreciated them being taste testers, but this time we went with a signature dish in our house, homemade ravioli with a white wine pesto sauce. For dessert we had a flour less chocolate cake a la mode topped off with a lingue di gatto cookie! It was a such a fun dinner to prepare, and even better to eat!

Saturday morning we got an early start dropping off Clovis to his "grandparents" for the night so we could head North for one of my childhood  friend's wedding. We have known each other since second grade so getting to see her marry the man of her dreams was such a great moment! So happy for those two :) In between the ceremony & reception we were drove by the cutest coffee shop- Backyard Coffee & Eatery and could not resist stopping in. How perfect is this chalkboard sign in the shop?


After a couple of lattes we headed over to the reception. We danced, drank & ate lobster so quite frankly it could not have been better!

We also got to spend time with my cousins who have a place in Maine. They cooked us the most amazing breakfast and we got to enjoy their company. Hours had passed & an entire bottle of Champs before we realized we were still in our PJ's- a pretty perfect Sunday for me! :)

We had such a great time but I was SO happy to come home to our little guy and snuggle up with him on the couch!

I hope your weekend was filled with laughter & love! 

Fall Fun Activities

I sounds like a broken record about things to do/eat/see & wear in the fall,  however it really is such a beautiful time of year that I feel compelled to get out there and enjoy it! Not to mention what follows is several cold, harsh months of being indoors. So here are a list of a few things I think should be on everyone's fall to do list!

1. Apple Picking- two of my favorite places are Honey Pot Hill which is great as a family activity or with friends. I also love Nashoba Valley Winery how can you go wrong when you can apple pick and stop in for a quick wine tasting as well? We are actually headed apple picking on Saturday so keep an eye out for some photos! :)

This was from yesterday we did the Charles River walk- the leaves are starting to turn!

2. Check out the leaves on longer stroll, you can do a day trip for the Newport Cliff walk or check out Castle Island (both of which are great for pets!) Of course no list would be complete without my favorite which is the Charles River walk. My Husband and I will park in Watertown and walk along the river passing by the various city, town and university boat houses, continuing on overlooking Harvard's campus and on from there.


3. Baking is another favorite, I have a few staple recipes, (see my post on pumpkin cookies) apple pie, pecan pie. Keep an eye out for more fall recipes, or check out my "Fall Fun" board on Pinterest! I will be trialing some recipes for our first Thanksgiving hosting the family. We are hosting twelve people for dinner so for my family pretty small- but I can't wait to plan the menu and decorate!

Pecan pie from an impromptu dinner party yesterday!

4. In my mind no fall is complete without a trip to Salem, MA. I am not a big Halloween fan, in fact I hate it. Even as a kid I didn't like getting dressed up (except for the year I went as Belle!) There is just something about the holiday I can't get on board with. However there are many other things to do in Salem other than Halloween things. Including a Walking Tour of the Trees, and  Harvest Day. This year we have friends coming up from DC over Halloween so we will have lots to do that is not Halloween related!  

5. Another favorite activity is heading to a football game. While we were living in DC we went to a fair few Ravens games (not my by choice!) However now that we are back home we plan to head to a Pats game. College games can be really fun as well! Oliver is a Maryland Alum so he's headed down for  a game this season as well- unfourtuantely I am working that weekend so I don't get to partake in the fun.

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Happy Thursday! :)