Date Night with the Hubs

Now that we're married, we don't get out as often. Date night becomes a big deal. We decided to get dolled up, take some pictures, and have a good ole' fashioned date. We went to the "Cheesecake Bistro" as my hubby calls it, and then made out like teenagers on the edge of a fountain. It was fantastic.

And then we bought me a bike helmet. I was so excited to try it that I wore it the whole car ride home. Safety never takes a holiday.

Flower Power

The bumblebees seem to get a kick out of the Zinnias. At night, they curl up and sleep inside the petals. What a life, to sleep on a flower petal, roll over and wake up in the morning and slurp a yummy ole' nectar breakfast.

The flowers were meant to be "multi-colored." There were multiple shades of pink, at least!

Zinnias in a vase are absolutely classic and elegant. I suppose we should plan on planting some for next year ourselves!

Good food with good friends

We had friends over the other day for lunch and enjoyed a delicious spread of sandwiches, tomato & basil salad, tabouli, spinach salad, and lebanese bread with hummus...

My husband's summertime favorite may very well be fried plantains. He cooks on low heat with vegetable oil. Unlike bananas, plantains tend to stay quite firm even when extremely ripe. As they cook, they become sweeter and sweeter, until they are like candy with a crispy golden outer shell.

Speaking of candy. Okay, okay, this was a different occasion, but I liked the picture. On our way home from CT, we had dinner at Crocker Barrel. Now I can say I've been there once and can cross it off the list. My arteries rejoice.

Weekend at the Shore, Madison, CT

My husband and I actually had our second date here at the Shore when he came up to visit for the day. See how we're awash in golden, glowing light? And, of course, a beautiful sunset we couldn't resist.

The wooden dock behind Home Comfort cuts through the salt marshes...

Boats docked on the Neck River...

Beautiful.

Classic old truck next to the barn, just across from the Cottage.

Blubes, Blubes, and more Blubes

We spent the weekend on the shore in Madison, CT, and arrived at the peak of 6 blueberry bushes ready to be picked and screaming my name.

My job is the self-appointed title of "Head Blueberry Picker," a very important position which could only be compromised by my core competency of "blueberry taster." The only thing more pleasurable than picking Blubes from the bushes is eating Blubes you just picked.

Despite the hundreds of Blubes sacrificed and eaten along the way, we picked about 4 cups in 15 minutes. I truly believe that blueberries are the world's most perfect fruit. The blueberry pie we later enjoyed from these babies was also positively delectable.

Our New Hampshire Hike took us to Maine

We intended to go hiking somewhere in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. However, I missed my exit, and miles and miles later, realized we were heading a different direction. Our GPS search of "nearby hiking points of interest" took us to Vaughan Woods State Park in Maine. Some rich fellow lived here long ago. They advertised free ice cream at the little cottage near these gardens, but nobody was even there...

The hiking trail was along the Salmon Falls River, which straddles the NH/ ME border. At one point, the reflection of the trees on the water made us question whether we were looking at actual water, or gazing uphill at the horizon and blue sky.

After the hike and picnic, we followed the signs to ice cream and wound up at Brown's Old Fashioned Ice Cream in York, Maine. With full bellies, we walked down to Sohier Park and caught the ocean breeze...

With full bellies, we walked down to Sohier Park and caught the ocean breeze...

...And, of course, snapped our own pictures of Nubble Lighthouse, one of the most photographed light houses in the country. I know they must say that about every lighthouse, but it was lovely and scenic.

Honeymoon Day 2- South Dakota

We paid our respects to our stone-faced Presidents...

...And then went to see the world's largest log rocking chair...

...Before passing by the Sugar Shack, close cousin of the Love Shack.

We learned South Dakota has dinosaurs, and in fact, boasts the T-Rex capital of the world.

Finally, we enjoyed miles and miles of driving next to Lake Oahe. Seems like too many vowels to us too. Our goal for ending destination was to cross the border into North Dakota.

Imagine kayaking in YOUR backyard

First of all, I think every public lawn should have a ready-to-go kayak pool, like this one I spotted at the Boulder Creek Festival over Memorial Day weekend in Boulder.

Also, I'd really like to see more adult-sized bouncy castles. It is so unfortunate that all of them seem to have height and weight restrictions.

They don't sell jeans like these at the Gap

I caught this storefront while driving through the Bronx earlier this year on my way up to Boston. Note the "J" is a little bit hidden by the No Parking sign.

How could I resist the opportunity to fully enjoy the lengthy traffic light?

Snazzy Kicks

Over the past few years, I've been lucky to be involved with a running club in New York called Run NYC. It was sponsored by Nike, and 3 runs a week were hosted out of the Niketown store. Through this, I accumulated a hefty collection of Nike socks, gloves, and other giveaways, and discovered my obsession with Nike Tempo running shorts. Please don't ask me how many I own... let's just say I don't need to do laundry weekly.

Anyway, at one point I became involved in an ongoing focus group, called Nike Pack, where we did various running activities. I tested products, completed surveys, and merged two of my passions- writing and running. One assignment was to give my running shoes a job review, as if they were a company employee, or to write a personal ad to meet "the ones." Another particularly fun task was to design a pair of Nike ID shoes (and then complete a survey about the ease of the online design tool).

Either my design, my survey answers, or my general enthusiasm impressed the marketing gurus enough to send me the shoes I designed. The unfortunate thing is that they are too cool to actually wear running (I blow through 4-5 pairs a year, so I wouldn't want to wear these out so quickly!).

You can design your own shoes here

These are Nike Lunarlites.