Vacationland.

 What a whirlwind summer! Here we are treading into August, and Autumn is just around the corner. While we still have a firm grasp on the Summer, I wanted to share some photos of our last weekend adventure to Vacationland, though some of you probably recognize it better as Maine. ;)

Maine, especially coastal Maine, is a wonderful place filled with wonderful people. Though summertime is definitely the peak season to run into outtah statahs, you will still find the coastal Mainers present, and as rough and friendly as ever. The Sunday we found ourselves in midcoast Maine, it was a cool, balmy day (we had to wear jackets in July!), but the low-lying clouds, the occasional rain,  and fog could not keep us at bay. We didn't have time for a weekend excursion, so we loaded up the SUV early in the morning (including the dogs!), and headed East. Luckily for us, all other traffic was headed South to return home, which allowed for a smooth, leisurely drive. 

This guy hung out while we ate our picnic lunch, and since he was so kind and kept a safe distance, we shared some fresh farm tomatoes with him. 

Finnegan loves Maine too, and wanted to pose for a photo. 

If you've never been to coastal Maine, or to New England, really, there truly is no place quite like it. The people are friendly, the food is wonderful, and the views, well, that goes without saying.

xoxo 

Tim

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, dear friends! Is anyone out there? Please forgive me for my continued absence here, and believe me when I say that I have tried to write, but this has been the worst case of writer's block that I have ever seen. So here I am to attempt to write again.

As I write, the winds are howling and we have "battened down the hatches" to prepare for this Blizzard sweeping the East Coast. But my goodness, does New England know how to do Winter? In case you didn't know, the answer is YES! I simply adore the Winters (well, all seasons, truly), and take great enjoyment of sitting by the fire, covered in a wool blanket, and listening and watching the storm unfold. My Winter days are filled with roaring fires, blankets, cozy sweaters, warm socks, cuddly animals, a book or two, and comfort food!

Allow me to catch you up a bit on what you've missed. I won't go back in time to my last post (we need to save some for later), so I'll go back to Christmastime, and work my way forward to today.

We decked the halls around our home...

Wreath details.

The front door dressed for the holidays.

Back door.

But let's stop by the town gazebo before going inside.

Isn't it lovely?

It's awfully cold...shall we warm up by the fire?

There's nothing like a cozy fire on a cold winter's day.

I know it's the New Year, but let's have one last glimpse of Christmas.

A small tree, perfectly cozy in the kitchen.

Our fresh cut tree from our neighbor's farm.

This tree displays some of my favorite red and white ornaments.

Details.

Gifts to spread some Christmas cheer.

There's always room for garland, right? But please ignore the angle, the garland looked much better than my photography skills.

It wouldn't be cozy without Finnegan and Amy.

Stopped by our town beach at the lake, just before it froze.

Chilly, but beautiful!

Took a day trip to Maine. Cold, but stunning!

Which brings us to today. Weathering the storm, staying cozy, and looking forward to settling in for a long winter's nap.

xoxo

Tim

Summer.

It is hard to believe that we are already in the middle of July. New England summers (especially in New Hampshire and Maine) tend to be short lived, so the goal of every summer is to fit in as many summer activities as possible. Swimming at the lake, grilling on the patio, trips to the ice cream shacks, displays of fireworks, gardening (though yard work is much more descriptive of what we do), and, well, any other fun things one finds to do this time of year.

The front of the house for Memorial Day and Independence Day.

Here's a bit of what my summer has looked like, with more to come.

 Time spent at the lake.

 Twilight through the budding trees (early June).

 Day trips to favorite places, such as Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts.

 Late blooming lilacs.

 Finding hidden treasures in the barn, just asking to be saved.

 Attending a work conference in the beautiful Boston Harbor.

 Attending summer festivals, such as the American Independence Festival in Exeter, New Hampshire.

 Capturing beautiful moments that happen by.

 Enjoying the peace of a summer morning.

A little bit of antiquing.

Enjoying these short-lived summer moments.

xoxo
Tim

Where has the time gone??

Well, hello again!! I am terribly sorry for my absence. I'd try to explain, but the whirlwind that has been my life over the past few months, it's not even possible to put into words. Although, when I tell you what has been going on, you may be able to understand what I've been doing.

Now..where to begin? For starters, that home I was so excited to tell you about in the last post is not ours. :( Someone made an offer while we were getting our financing all in order and the offer made the seller so angry that she pulled the house off of the market and rented it out the very next day. So, we said our goodbye to our dream of owning that home (at least for now) and had been looking at houses almost every weekend. Let me tell you, this has been no easy feat. So for the time being, our house search is on hold and we are doing the noble thing (which we were advised to do all along) and saving up a larger down payment so that we can get exactly the house we want the first time around!

I also realized that I never showed you an updated picture of our rental house (other than Christmas) after some changes (cheap and simple) that we made.

The rental house with a freshly painted glossy black door and stained front porch taken last fall.

Along with cleaning up the front, I painted the other two exterior doors the same black, made a walkway with gravel and cobblestones to the driveway and painted much of the interior trim, as well as repainting the entire mudroom.

So far this summer, I've stayed busy as well with work and family visiting. Actually, my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces are coming up next week, as well! So, I've been cleaning, cooking and playing tour guide quite a bit this summer.

I'll start off in May, when Shaun's parents visited. They came up to celebrate Memorial Day with us, so of course, we had to have some very bizarre weather. In most of the state it rained, but at our house it....

SNOWED!

This picture was taken on May 25th, and we couldn't believe our eyes. While it was most unwelcome and gone by the next afternoon, it was quite beautiful and spectacular to behold!

Here are some pictures to show the rest of of the summer thus far.

A beautiful tree on campus where I work.

Our freshly mown backyard.

Down the street.

At the lake.

At the lake.

A new friend? No. He was kind of angry because I wasn't allowed to share my snacks.

 Nubble Lighthouse, York, Maine.

 York, Maine.

York, Maine.

This is about all the pretty New England life that I've got to experience lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm still incredibly happy to be living here! But this summer has been kicking my butt, and I'm definitely excited to be spending some more quality time with my family.

I think that I've gotten you pretty much up to speed, except for the last bit of news that I'm pretty sad to be writing about. The house that we currently live in (which I mentioned was for sale in my first post about the house) has finally sold. 

Damnit. I knew I made it look too great!

Anyway, so we are on the hunt for a new place to live. We haven't been given a definite move out date, but trying to stay ahead of the game is the only way that I feel I have some control over this situation. I'm a little bummed, except for the house we found. Swoon. 

No details yet. I'm doing my best not to interfere with fate. The new house to rent is not promised to us yet, but we are very hopeful. I should have some details within the week and I DO PROMISE to never be gone that long again!

Here's hoping!

xoxo

Tim