Island Ride

 

Even though I had just ventured home a few weeks earlier, I felt that I needed one more small getaway to tide me over until my next school break. I needed just a little more nature. Luckily, when I arrived back at my parents house, the two had already planned a day trip to Vinalhaven. We boarded the ferry early the next morning with road bikes and backpacks for a short island adventure.

I couldn't believe how many raspberries and blackberries we saw during our ride! Of course, I had to stop and try a few each time we spotted a patch. Before we hopped on our bikes, we stopped for a quick brunch at Vinalhaven's best breakfast spot. The ARC, Vinalhaven's arts and recreations community center that just so happens to be an excellent breakfast and lunch nook, boasts local produce, farm fresh eggs, and a breakfast sandwich on a homemade biscuit that will make you yearn for your childhood Sunday morning.

We just couldn't believe how perfect the weather was. We welcomed the breeze off the Maine coast as we chugged up the island hills and as we soared down the other side.

a fruity afternoon treat

 

Summer isn't summer without sangria. After weeks of discussing the tasty beverage, my girlfriends and I finally decided it was time to concoct our own version of the summertime special. We headed to Trader Joe's for some inexpensive fruit, and grabbed some cheap wine on the way home and set up shop in my tiny kitchen. Unfortunately, we realized when we got home that I didn't have a pitcher, and neither did  Gracie or Haley. With some quick thinking, we grabbed my yellow Le Creuset soup pot instead!

Summertime Sangria:

1 bottle red wine

1 cup raspberry vodka

20 ounces of your favorite sparkling fruit juice (something citrus-y would be best)

1 cup blueberries

4 cups sliced strawberries

3 cups thinly sliced watermelon

3 cups chopped mango

Mix alcohol, juice, and fruit into a pitcher (or soup pot). Serve in chilled glass with plenty of ice. Add bendy straw and slurp for summery effect.

It was the perfect way to welcome the last month of summer before we all head back to the grind of the school year. Yummy! Sluuuuuurp.

a little trip home

The city during the summer becomes a muggy, mushy, and simply uninviting sauna of full to the brim with tacky tourists and frustrated locals. I needed to get out. The hottest week the city has seen in over 50 years happily coinscided with my weekend off. I jumped at the chance to hop on the Downeaster, and visit my parents in Maine. Upon my arrival, lunch time, a craving for seaside dining and fried fish beckoned us to Shaw's Wharf, in New Harbor. I got my childhood classic; fried haddock dinner. With every buttery bite, nostalgia for my hometown grew. 

My travel outfit is a mix of borrowed (thanks, Gracie!) and the sale rack at Urban Outfitters. Perhaps not the smartest choice for swabbing the deck... My mom insisted that I take a photo in the lobster head, despite the roll of my eyes. She reminisced about my first trip to the wharf. Apparently, my infant self was toted around all day in a baby backpack. Those were the days... 

 

When we arrived at my parents place, the coastal weather cooled my hurried Boston thoughts and I spent the afternoon relaxing on my screen porch drinking ice tea and catching up with Sage, my best childhood friend. My mom's garden's looked stunning and I ran around the backyard (11 acres!) and snapped some shots. She had so much beautiful and fragrant lavender! Of course I'm partial to those photos...

Hello, again!

What a whirl wind life has been the past couple of months!

First of all, apologies that I haven't updated in quite sometime. The end of semester was absolutely insane, and all of my time and energy went into acing my finals and singing well on my jury (both of which went very well!). Summer is in full swing, and I'm finally getting into some sort of a rhythm with working full time and spending as much time outside as possible. I'M BACK!

Here's a little taste of what summer has been like for me... Regular posts have returned.

And besides, who wants to be in front of a computer when summer weather beckons?