A Successful Day Off

Wednesdays are my day off from babysitting. I like to take advantage of them and fit in as many fun things and activities possible.

Yesterday I started the day early, drinking coffee with my mom on the porch. At 9:30, I met my cousin Maria for a Zumba class which completely exhausted both of us and made us feel sadly out of shape.

From there, we drove to Orange to a store called Plato's closet. They buy and sell clothes and I had a suitcase full of clothes I've been wanting to try to sell for months. We dropped off the clothes and headed to the nearest Whole Foods for an early lunch which happened to be one of the yummiest lunches I've had in a while.

I take the girls I babysit to Whole Foods once a week, usually, and I tend to stick to the salad bar because there are so many options, I get overwhelmed and fall back on the familiar. This Whole Foods, though, was a bit more spread out and it was pretty empty so I didn't feel rushed to pick something. We took our time walking around, looking at the options before deciding what to get. Also, this has got be the cleanest and most well kept Whole Foods I've been to. Usually, the hot food bar and salad bar get messy and aren't correctly labeled and such but this store had so many more options than I've seen before and each section was filled and looked fresh.

I gravitated towards the hot food bar and filled my container with a little spring greens salad with walnuts and goat cheese, then I added a piece of herbed chicken along with steamed broccoli, summer squash, and zucchini. On the side, I had to add the grilled pineapple and grilled peaches (something else I've never seen at the Whole Foods closer to me) and it was all delicious! It was a bit pricey for lunch but it kept me very full for a long time and it all tasted great.

We went back to Plato's Closet and the store only took 4 out of my many, many items but they gave me $18. Not much, but better than nothing!

From there, we drove to New Canaan to visit my mom at her volunteer job at the thrift store and we ended up shopping more than we meant to! I got a cute Lilly Pulitzer dress for around $30 among other things. They have such great steals! The sale special for that day was one bag of clothes for $25!

I ended the night at the beach in Norwalk with my mom and some family, looking out at the water and listening to the ABBA tribute band that was performing. The weather was beautiful all day and night, it was perfect for an evening at the beach.

Today, I'm back to babysitting and the Westport Library and Farmers' Market are on our schedule for the day!

Westport Farmers' Market

It was a warm but breezy afternoon yesterday, perfect for strolling through a farmer's market which is just what I did with my babysitting girls. Westport's spring farmer's market is located right in town near a library and with a view of the river. 

Our first stop was to the library, and we took a nice walk around the river to get there. When we got to the library, the girls were more interested in playing on the computers than looking at books, but I suppose that is more of the norm these days!

After spending about an hour in the library, we headed back to the market to grab lunch. The girls got pizzas from Skinny Pines and I got a farro and vegetable salad from The Back Forty Farm. There were so many things we wanted to try and so many stands with fresh produce and organic teas and juices, we'll have to go back to buy more!

When we finished our lunch, we grabbed some sweet pastries from The Sono Baking Company stand for the girls to take home. 

Sometimes I Babysit At The Beach

I've been babysitting for close to 10 years now. I enjoy the job because I find playing with kids to be fun! There's a lot you can do with them and most of the time, it does not feel like work. I'm so lucky that I found a great family to babysit for out here, although, with them we don't call it babysitting. The girls are older, 11 and 9, and don't need a babysitter as much as a play pal and chauffeur, so we call it hanging out. Living and babysitting in a beach town has many perks and yesterday we took advantage of them!

I picked the girls up at their house to take them to breakfast at this cute little bakery on the main road in Westport. I had a delicious fruit cup and the girls got croissants, almond and chocolate. We sat at a table outside for a while and then decided it was time to go to the beach.

We set up camp near the water, covered ourselves in sun screen, and got into the water as quickly as possible. It was freezing, but the girls were brave and ducked their heads under right away and I'd been wanting to get into that salt water for a while now. We played in the water for a good chunk of time and the girls practiced their swimming before we headed back to the towels, laid in the sun, and ate our way through half a bag of baby carrots.

One of my favorite parts of this job is that the girls are so chatty and mature so we can hold long, adult conversations and I really enjoy that. They're smart girls with good, kind, and attentive parents and you can really tell how well they are being raised.

The girls got hungry after a while so we walked to the other end of the beach to the little food place that's there. It is crazy expensive, especially for beach food, but since it's the only place to buy food at the beach, they can charge whatever they want and people will buy it! The girls got fries, ate some, and decided it was time to hit the water again.

We walked all the way down the length of the beach where there were hardly any people because the tide was out and the girls could walk out far and the water was still really shallow and warm. I was on left-over french fry duty, carrying them and protecting them from seagulls. The girls walked through the water all the way back to the other end, where our towels were, and I walked along the shore line, waving at them and watching them have a blast!

I didn't even sneak one fry! We stayed at the beach as long as we could but had to be home in time for their next babysitter to take over watching them. I have so much fun with these girls and I'm glad it's my summer job for the next few weeks until school starts. The back seat of my car is now filled with sand but that's what summer is about!

On Sunday

This Sunday was a lazy one. I don't usually like to make too many plans on a Sunday but this week, I left the day completely blank! I started my Sunday like most, with a good breakfast and the Boston Globe. I always watch CBS Sunday Morning and once that I ends, I start my day.

I drove into Westport to go to Trader Joe's but got distracted and stopped at the library book sale. Surprisingly, I didn't end up buying any books, although I did carry some around to consider buying but changed my mind at the last minute. So off to Trader Joe's I went and got groceries for the week. 

AJ came over after and we had lunch together before falling asleep on the couch for a while. He's always tired from work so he slept longer and I took Bellefleur out on the deck to read for a while. It was such a beautiful day outside, not a cloud in the sky! I wish I had spent more time outside yesterday but I can make up for that today!

The day went by so fast and by dinner time I wasn't in the mood for a big meal so I enjoyed a bowl of Cheerios and blueberries. I ended the night with a long walk on the treadmill while watching Real Housewives of New Jersey, my guilty pleasure!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and I hope you all have a happy Monday!

A Long Week

Wow! Have I really not posted since Monday? That makes me feel bad. But the only thing to do is get back to it so here I go with a little recap of all that happened this week which kept me away from my blog.

—I decided to go with Bellefleur . It's a long, engrossing book and I'm enjoying reading it like crazy!

—I started a more regular babysitting job for the rest of the summer. I'm taking care of 2 girls, 9 and 11, who I've known for a few years now. So far we've done fun things like bake muffins and cover them with chocolate frosting and go to a place called Skyzone to jump on trampolines until we're exhausted. Their father owns a pizza place that uses all organic and locally sourced ingredients. He's kind enough to share some of his fresh produce with me, like the fennel and red onions in the photo above.

—I took my grandmother shopping to get her a grandmother of the bride dress. She's the cutest thing and I was afraid we'd never find something she'd like but we did! She looks lovely in it and I'm so happy we got to have that experience together.

—I had lunch with my cousin Maria at a cute, newish restaurant in Westport called The Granola Bar. Yes, they sell house made granola and parfaits and such. But they also have a bigger menu of breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, and sides. Their lists of teas, coffees, lattes, and smoothies is enough to make your mind go crazy with options! We'll be back because there are more items we'd like to try. The only downside is, the place is tiny and crowded and the person trying to squeeze into the table next to you will spill your salt shaker.

—Last night, AJ and I went to the Queen + Adam Lambert concert in Madison Square Garden. To say it was phenomenal is an understatement. I'm not a concert person but every single video we took from last night captures my screams and shouts of joy! Bohemian Rhapsody, sung by thousands of people in the stadium was reason enough to go. AJ and I both sang our hearts out so I want to apologize to those sitting around us. I'll write more about it tomorrow, though!

So yeah, I was a bit more busy this week than usual but I'll do my best to get back to posting frequently! I'll have more book stuff coming up this week, too. I hope everyone is having a great start to their weekend!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was busier than most and that has left me with no scheduled posts for this week! But no worries. This way I'll be certain to write a bit each day. Plus, the weekend was well worth it!

On Thursday evening, AJ and I headed to the facility where our reception will be held to do a tasting for the menu. We tried a huge variety of hors d'oeuvres, a pasta dish, some appetizers, three entrees, a few wines, and we ended the meal with some desserts and espressos. The food was so delicious and we went a little crazy—our waiter and the general manager kept saying, "You guys are good eaters." You put good Italian food in front of us, it will be eaten. Sorry! Anyway, we both feel confident that if everything else at our wedding goes wrong, at least the food will leave everyone full and happy.

Friday I spent the holiday with AJ and our cousins having a cook out. It was fun, a little messy and rainy, but it was the exact way I like to spend the holidays, with family.

Saturday morning, AJ and I drove to New Canaan and picked up lunch and iced coffees for ourselves and my grandmother, a thank you for watching my little dog over night. We had lunch at my grandmother's house, stole some of her fresh figs, and brought my dog, Tessi, back home. We watched a little soccer before heading to 4 o' clock mass and then came back home where AJ studied a bit and then we watched Dateline, our typical weekend night!

Sunday was a relaxing day. I had a nice, long workout on the treadmill while watching trashy TV because that's the only way to do cardio. In the evening, my mom, my godmother, AJ, and myself picked up salads and drove to the beach and ate dinner and drank wine while sitting in the sand. The waves were pretty big for the Long Island Sound because of the weekend storms and the beach was packed with people who were still enjoying the end of the holiday weekend. Having dinner at the beach is such a treat! It really makes it feel like summer and I'm going to try to keep doing it as often as possible before this beautiful season starts to fade.

Like I said, this week I'm a bit on the thin side for posts but make sure to check back! I have some posts about author interviews planned!

Happy Monday, all!

Keeping Up

No, not with the Kardashians. With myself. I'm really proud of the writing I did in June. I love looking at the listed archives and seeing my number of posts grow each day. I love that I greatly increased the number of posts I published from May to June. The number almost doubled and I'm so proud of that!

That's why I don't want to fall back in July. I want to keep up with June. It reminds me of being college. If I made Dean's List one semester, I felt that I had to make it the following semester and so on because if I didn't, it would mean that I had slacked or failed from past performances. It's not necessarily sane, but it's motivating!

So, that's my goal. To write more than the 27 posts I wrote last month while still keeping up the quality of the content. I imagine that this goal will stick as I continue this blogging journey.

What about you? Do you have any goals—blogging or otherwise—for July? I hope your July is off to a great start!

Hiking at Devil's Den

On Friday, we had beautiful weather. The sun was out but there was a cool breeze. AJ and I have been wanting to go to Devil's Den in Weston to hike for months now and I can't believe we finally got around to it. We had high expectations and planned to walk miles and miles and miles.

We did walk miles, but maybe not as many as we had hoped. The trails themselves were fun and not difficult which is good because we are not experienced hikers. There were rocks to climb over, hills to scale, and fallen tree limbs to dodge. There were also plenty of bridges and logs to walk across small streams and make it feel like a real adventure. 

 We had a lot of fun, but it got hot and buggy fast. This photo was taken at the very beginning and I did not look like that upon the end of our hike. The bugs were relentless and kind of put a damper on the hike. We were not thinking of that and I didn't plan for it so we didn't bring bug spray. We won't make that mistake again.

It was so beautiful and really fun, especially because it's something new for us! We want to do it again but we have to remember buy spray next time. I'm covered in bites! AJ took this photo from a bridge we were on, it reminds me of Pocahontas. 

Here's a photo to prove AJ was there! This, too, was taken early in our walk. By the end, we were gross, sweaty, covered in bugs, and hangry (hungry-angry). I had to ask AJ if we could turn around and head back because the route we were on was too long and I didn't want to deal with more flies. 

We really do want to go back, though! But we have to bring bug spray. I also want to try other hiking trails in Pound Ridge and where ever else we can go!

Once we got home and got a little something in our stomachs, I fell asleep while AJ watched soccer. We continued our day of being outside by getting take-out salads and eating them at Compo Beach. I love taking advantage of the gorgeous weather this summer is giving us. 

A Wedding and Breakfast

June is off to a great start! I spent the last day of May with AJ, celebrating the marriage of our friends, Tyler and Melissa. It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful day.

We danced and shared a delicious meal with their family and friends. It was touching to see such a loving and devoted couple to be surrounded by all of their loved ones. You could truly see how happy everyone is for them and how supportive and hopeful everyone is for their marriage.

They are a lovely couple who have a blessed future ahead of them! We were so fortunate to be able to share the day with them.

The wedding reception was over by 9 (the happy couple had to be up at 3 am for their honeymoon flight!) so AJ and I went to bed early to rise early on June 1st.

We went to 7:30 mass in the morning at a church in Saugatuck that overlooks the water. After church we swung by Dunkin Donuts. I got a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and an iced French Vanilla coffee—black. AJ got a Coolatta and chicken salad on a croissant. The man loves chicken salad.

I love spending time on the beach, it's such a luxury to have the shore and the Long Island Sound just a five minute drive away. It was before 9 o' clock when we got there so it was still quiet.

We ate and talked about the wedding the night before and about our upcoming wedding. It was a wonderful way to start the day and a great way to start June.

It was an ideal example of what I talked about in yesterday's post. If this morning was any inclination of what June and the rest of the summer holds, I can't wait.