Wish List Wednesday

This week I've been watching the Ken Burn's Documentary about the National Parks. I've never been so in love with this country that we live in. My list for today is comprised of the top 5 National Parks that I want to visit someday...the sooner the better:) Enjoy!

Acadia National Park, Maine


Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado


Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona


Denali National Park, Alaska


Yosemite National Park, California


*All pictures taken from www.pbs.org/nationalparks/parks

Project Wedding Photos: 3

I now have 103 scanned in and all of the pics are organized by number in the album! Only 147 left!!! Here's my favorites of the day....

The ceremony

The Kiss!

*Credit: Aartvark Studios

Mountains

When Adam and I went to New Hampshire a few weeks ago I attempted to climb a Mountain. It was a very hard hike and I only made it half way. In my defense: my shoes were causing me serious pain, and the mountain was difficult and more for seasoned climbers...ie-Not Me. I was pretty bummed about it, and even though Adam said he wasn't, I know he was disappointed that he didn't get to go to the top...it was one of the Presidential's that he hadn't climbed yet. So I made a decision that day that I would give myself a year to prepare for that mountain, as well as others in the Presidential Range. I knew that I needed to start small and work my way up...jumping right in wasn't a good idea and we both agreed. Adam, because he's the best husband in the world, has agreed to start from the beginning with me and work with me every step of the way:)

So this weekend we hiked Mount Wachusett in Princeton, MA.. Saturday was a beautiful day and we knew we'd have great views on the top. You can see New Hampshire and Boston from the top of this Mountain. The elevation change is only 750 feet, but you start the hike pretty high up. The Mountain stands 2006 feet above the surrounding forest. We took the Harrington Trail which is about 1.5 miles. This distance was not difficult for me, and the trail was well maintained and the incline only became rocky and steep for the the last few hundred feet. When I finally made it to the top the view was amazing! There were people everywhere, bird watching, picnicking, enjoying the beautiful weather. It made me yearn for another hike! I can't wait for the next adventure to come:)

Adam and the girls on The Harrington Trail

A very happy tree log! (can you see the face?)


Maggie and I at the top.

The view from the top. You can just make out the Boston skyline in the horizon.

Question of the day:

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?



I would start my own event planning company, and become a photographer.
How about you?

Project Wedding Photos: 2

So far today I've scanned 30 more photos bringing the grand total to 50. Which means I still have 200 or so to go....YIKES! I'm taking a break now, making some banana bread, cleaning the bathrooms, lounging with the dogs and then I'll start up again. Here's my favorite from this batch:)

*Credit: Aartvark Studios

I support local artists...

and I'm proud of it!!

I try very hard to especially support those artisans in and around Worcester, as well as the New England Region. And honestly, I like to think that local these days is anything that is made in the USA. Whenever I go to Target and find something I like, I right away look at the tag and it's almost never made in the US. It's always Vietnam, Thailand, and/or China. Sometimes this deters me from buying it....sometimes it doesn't. If it's something I can get one of a kind or handmade on Etsy or at an artisans Market, then I do that. But sometimes I just can't...like when shopping for shoes, or undergarments. And I think that's sad because I know that a different time in this country there was pride in buying American and that you could find things made in America, even if it was mass produced, it was done so somewhere in the 50 states.

So, in honor of local artisans and those who brave this economy and continue to create with their hands and sell their crafts, I would like to share my finds this weekend at stART in Worcester, and from my Etsy adventures. Enjoy:)

This is my current purse/carry all bag. I bought it on Etsy from a designer out of New York City. While it may not be New England local, I did live there once and i know how hard it is, so I will gladly support an artisan trying to make it in the Big Apple. If you click on the picture you will be taken to her shop.

How cute are these!!! These are obviously not for me, but for my adorable little (nephew) man Sam! I just bought these from a local art festival here in Worcester called stART. These soft soled baby shoes/slippers are handmade in Brookline, MA by Kaya's Kloset.

I have blogged about Bostonhandmade before, and I finally purchased something from one of their artisans. This adorable hair pin is made by Elizabeth Brennick designs. She creates so many gorgeous things, from hair accessories to baby clothes to felted money holders. It was also fun to meet the person behind the work. It's a feeling you don't get when you buy something at a big box store like GAP or JCrew.

Modeling my new pin...I love it!!

It's going to be an interesting day of College Football at my house. I am a proud alumni of the University of Toledo. They were the best years of my life, some easy, some not, but I love Toledo and always will. On the other hand, I grew up and spent the first 24 years of my life in the state of Ohio and like most, I was raised an Ohio State Buckeyes fan. I've always rooted for OSU and Toledo in football, and always will. Today, however, they are playing eachother! This doesn't happen very often, thank God! So on one hand I would love to see my little Rockets from the MAC knock off a big school like OSU, but then again, I don't want to see my Buckeyes fall for a second week, especially against a little MAC team. The dilema is happening to a lot of good friends and this is what someone came up with: Go Buck-ets! I refuse to root for one against the other, so I am cheering for them both. I know someone has to lose, but I don't have to like it!

GO BUCK-ETS!

Project Wedding Photos

When we signed up for Charter Cable we got a $150 gift card to a store of our choosing based on a list they provided. We had been talking about getting some extra storage for our computer or a wireless printer so we chose Best Buy. After waiting a few weeks, it finally came and we purchased a wireless photo printer/scanner/copier by HP. So far I'm quite happy with our choice! With the new scanner I've decided to scan ALL of our wedding photos (250+) onto the computer, upload them to Snapfish, and then burn them to a CD. It's my worst fear that we will someday encounter a fire, a hard drive crash, or the like and I will lose all of my photos!

This actually happened to us shortly after we got our new camera and tried using it. We also have a fire proof safe, and many of our photos are on CD and in there....but not our wedding photos. While we were promised a CD of our photog's work, we were not given one after we signed the agreement with him. He was a prick and I hate him...the only thing I would change about my wedding...that and the bee sting incident!!:) But that's another blog for a different day!!!

So I started scanning today. I have only done 20 or so, not much I know, but I'm doing them between laundry, the dogs, and TV. I plan on doing a little bit every night if I can, or at least busting out as many as possible on my Monday's off. I'll leave you with one of my favs:) I'm getting ready and my sister is helping me put on my garter. The photog assistant got these shots...probably why I like it so much, she was good!

*Credit: Aartvark Studios

life and decisions: a sad little ditty..

Sometimes I wonder if we made the right decision when we moved away from the Midwest. I think about this every now and then when things are happening back home. Our very good friends were married just a few hours ago and we obviously are not there. We missed 2 other weddings this summer one in lower MI and one in Idaho, both for Adam's cousins. Come to think of it, we've missed a lot of weddings/births/parties since 2007 when we moved away. I have dear friends with children I have never met...and what's worse, I have a nephew that I haven't seen since he was 4 weeks old...he's now almost 9 months. I haven't seen my parents or brother in a year, and Adam's in 9 months. Traveling is expensive and taking time off from a job you just started doesn't look good...no matter how badly you want to see your family and friends. And it's the same story for all of them...few friends/family have come to visit us for the same reason we haven't gone to visit them: Life.

As I stated in my earlier post: "life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." When the invites and the announcements come in the mail the excitement sets in and you want to go so bad and in your head you say yes and then a few weeks/months later the questions come. You want to go but what will we do with the dogs? who will we stay with? how will we get there? how much time will we take off of work? oh shit, how much is this going to cost? And then the reality sets in...life takes over and you have to start making decisions that you hate and will regret later. And then as the parties/births/weddings are taking place you sit on your couch and cry because you've missed it...again.

Then you start your work week (mine doesn't start until Tuesday:) and you realize that you did this for the job, the opportunity, for your life. You did this because these opportunities weren't available in the midwest, at least not when you needed them. And one day you will be able to say yes to all of the invites, if they still come, and will be able to travel when and where you want because you've established yourself, paid your dues, made the sacrifices when you had to.

Unless of course Life has other plans for you....

Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine, Naked Juice: Your Favorite Brands? Take Another Look

Good article with an interesting debate: sell out and impact the masses, or stay true and impact a few??? What do you think??

Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine, Naked Juice: Your Favorite Brands? Take Another Look

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New Hampshire Camping Trip

Adam and I took the pups and went for a LONG weekend (5 days, 4 nights!) camping trip in Northern New Hampshire. The weather was gorgeous and the hiking was great. My boots gave out on me about day 2 leaving me with very large blisters on top of blisters...quite painful. But a dip in the river near our campsite helped immensely!! The drive was only 3 hours on the way, and about 4 on the return trip (Labor Day holiday traffic) so it's a place we will be visiting again soon....and next time I will have new and better boots and I will climb a Mountain:) Oh, and no Moose sightings, but it was warm...if I were a Moose I would have been up in the Mountains were it was cool. Here are the details of our recent Adventures:

Our Campsite at Dolly Copp Campgrounds. The place was packed!

The Peabody River which ran very close to our campsite. I loved falling asleep each night to the sound of it:) We took the girls every day so we could play in the freezing water. A beer, the bright sun, the cool water, and the girls chasing sticks...it was heaven:)

We hiked to Ripley Falls and rested on the rocks over looking the 100 ft. rushing water. It was beautiful! Here Adam and Libbey enjoy the sun and the scenery.

Here we are with Mount Washington in the background. We stopped at the Auto Road to take pics....not to drive to the top...been there, done that, and I hated it!!! It's my goal to hike it and others in the Presidential Range sometime next summer:)

This is the AMC's Pinkham Notch. They provide services for hikers and visitors to the White Mountain Region. They have coin operated showers (which I used because I was cold and bit stinky:), a cafeteria, huts for overnight stays, a shop, and much more. Adam worked here for a summer while in College.

9-9-09

"Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans." -John Lennon lyrics from Beautiful Boy

Camping Hiatus

The hubby and I (and the girls of course!!) are off to New Hampshire for a 5 day camping trip! This is the longest I've ever gone camping and I am so excited! The weather is supposed to beautiful and in the mid to upper 70's with the lows dropping down between 46-50 degrees at night. We'll be camping at Dolly Copp Campgrounds in the White Mountains...and I am going to climb one of those Mountains...probably a little one:) There's also a little outlet village just south of us, and the Moat Mountain Brewing Company. I'll be back on Monday with tons of stories and pictures to post! And if I'm lucky, maybe I'll see one of these....just not too close:)

A moose from our Maine honeymoon camping trip:)

Wish List Wednesday - Pottery Barn Edition

Adam and I are ready to be done with apartment living! Ok...so mentally we're ready to be done, but not financially. Let's just say we are better spenders than savers! But that is all going to change this year! In a perfect Wish List Wednesday world I would decorate my home with these beautiful ideas/pieces all from Pottery Barn.

What are your wishes this week?

Snuggies

I have 2 questions for the makers and marketing dept. behind Snuggies. 1. Why do dogs need a snuggie?? They have fur to keep them warm!! And 2. Why are the people in the commercials dancing and raising the roof?? One should not be that excited about an ugly blanket with arms.