Month: August 2016

Backyard Footwear and other canvas sneakers!

On By careofmonIn Fashion6 Comments

Living in New England means a lot of different footwear depending on the season and the weather. I love it because you can never get bored with your wardrobe, just when you think you can’t bear to put those boots on again, its time to take out your Palm Beach Sandals! A hole in my wardrobe recently has been a nice pair of casual canvas sneakers. There are a lot of choices out there, but I got these Backyard Footwear sneakers that I found on @dave_money3‘s insta. I didn’t want to do white because I KNOW I would get them so dirty, but these gray ones were perfect for me. The sizing is European as they are from Denmark, and I am a size 8 which translates to a 38. They were a little snug so I sent them back for a 39. They were $60 with free shipping and they can also be purchased on Amazon! They are gray canvas with little  blue suede inner toe patches and the rubber soles are molded up around the toe, so the rubber isn’t glued on.

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These are some of the other options out there that I checked out before purchasing my Backyard sneaks. Let me know if I forgot any!

LLBean sells Superga sneakers here. They are $65, free shipping, and come in some nice colors. My problem with these is I like a rounded toe to my sneaks and these have more like a square/trapezoid shaped toe I guess? They look like fabulous sneakers though.

FullSizeRender-6 Sperry has some beautiful canvas sneakers too here in many colors for $60 with free shipping. I really liked these because they have the traditional topsider laces, but they have a similar toe box to the Superga sneakers AND I felt like I saw these everywhere this past spring and summer, so I wanted to find something a little different. I have a friend who has them in navy and said they are wicked comfortable.

FullSizeRender-5J. Crew sells a couple different canvas sneakers. There are the SeaVees for $78 and then the TreTorn sneakers for $68. I sort of crossed these off my list because they were more expensive and some of the colors are backordered.

Of course, there are Keds which are the classic canvas sneaker. Here is a link to the canvas sneaker page because honestly its pretty cool to see the whole collection. They have so many colors!! The sneakers run from $45-60 for the most part. I had Keds growing up, and loved them…but I kicked the crap out of them ha. I remember retiring many pairs of Keds with holes in them and the rubber around the sides coming off. The quality might be much better now…hopefully it is because they are more expensive now than I remember…but I guess I have those memories and wanted something more sturdy.

FullSizeRender-2Converse Chuck Taylors are also a nice classic canvas sneaker for a great price at $50. My sister has a pair of these and loves them. I like them and have a pair of the taller Chuck Taylors in green.

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I am looking forward to wearing my Copenhagens on days when I don’t want to wear sandals, am not ready for boots, my neon blue/green running sneakers would be a little overkill.  They are handmade in the same factory in Europe since 1972 in an eco-friendly way and they are cushioned for wear all day. Lets be honest, I kinda want them in every color.

The Superga, Tretorn, and Sperry sneakers all sort of flare out to the toe. I like the Seavees, Keds, Chucks, and of course the Backyard sneakers because they taper to the toe. I suppose its personal preference.

What is your go to sneaker??

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Carter Dome hike to finish the Carter’s!

On By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

A while back we hiked Middle & South Carter in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire but couldn’t do Carter Dome because my pup hurt her little paw pads. This past weekend we took a break from house stuff to finish the Carters. I now only have five mountains left to finish the 48 4000 footers in the Whites!! Woo! I have to hike the Bonds which is 3 peaks, Isolation, and Owls Head to finish up.

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Mizpah playing in the 19 Mile Brook
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The main building at the Carter Notch Hut
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Carter Pond…check out that cloud creeping up
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Another Carter Pond shot
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Looking down into the notch at the Carter Notch Hut. Those rocks down there look small, but they are the size of buildings!
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Looking out into the Wild River Wilderness from a view before the summit
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Mizpah ascending into the cloud

We went up 19 Mile Brook Trail to the Carter-Moriah Trail which has some steep parts to the summit. The Carter Notch Hut is off the Carter-Moriah Trail. This particular hut has different buildings for the bathroom, bunks, and dining area whereas a hut like the Mizpah Spring Hut has everything in just one building. The summit has the remnants of a tower which is cool even though it doesn’t have great views. We were in a cloud the day I hiked though so there were no views no matter what.

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We thought this was a geocache in the rocks of this cairn near the summit, but the note inside was actually a very sweet memorial tribute 🙂
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My trusty La Sportiva Pamirs….these are my zombie apocalypse footwear….yes we have discussed what footwear we would grab for a zombie apocalypse.
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Summit!
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In a cloud on the summit!
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Mizpah investigating one of the old anchors for the tower that is no longer up there

We took the Carter Dome Trail back down to the 19 Mile Brook Trail which is a little longer, but not as steep. I would MUCH rather go up something steep and come down something more gradual for my knees’s sake. It’s better for Mizpah’s joints too!!

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Yep, we handfeed Mizpah her food out on the trail. She never eats breakfast before we leave for a hike, so anytime we take a break, we offer her food to keep up her energy!
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Mizpah lounging trailside
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Love the scenery on the 19 Mile Brook Trail!

It was a really great hike to do after taking a little time off. We even ran into one of my favorite instagrammers out on the trail- @munjoyboy. He was coming down Carter-Moriah as we were heading up. He has AMAZING photos of many of my favorite places.

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Lazy Days at Lake Winnipesaukee

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

Good afternoon! I just went back to work yesterday after a lovely summer off. As part of my move to NH, I am also teaching biology and chemistry at a new school up here. We are in the midst of orientation which has been really fun. The other new teachers I have met are awesome and I am really liking my new school district! Last week, I was invited up to my friends’s house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire for a few days which was a perfect getaway before going back to work!

We had zero plans, which was awesome because we really got to relax. We had a couple floats that we took out to hang out in the water, and we took out my friends’s boat. There was wake boarding, swimming, and stops to get some delicious food.

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The view from the house is beautiful. I love the views of the mountains in the Belknap Range and the wooded areas around the lake.

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The mailboat!

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We had great weather to be out on the lake. The water is really warm right now, and it was perfect because we were warm when the boat stopped but once you picked up again the breeze was so refreshing.

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So here is the Naswa Beach Bar & Grill. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the food here, but the atmosphere is fun so its a great place to dock for a drink and an app to hang out. It feels a little more Floridian/Caribbean I guess with the be achy outdoor seating. The colorful painted buildings are so pretty too.

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The Town Docks in Meredith NH is actually our favorite place for food on the lake. The sky looks a little scary here huh? There is a lot of space on the docks for everyone to come on in, but be aware, the line for seating at the restaurant can be long. They have seafood, grilled stuff, salads, drinks, and bonus….they have really good ice cream! Chocolate frappe and lobster roll with fries? Check and check.

As I get ready for the next school year, I always try to remember that we still have nice weather for a while- summer isn’t over just yet thankfully.  Speaking of the end of summer, how’d everyone do with the Lilly After Party Sale?? I couldn’t shop until the afternoon and I snagged a few tops in some nice prints! I got this one, two, and three. Usually I go for dresses during the sale, but I found that what I actually needed were some casual tshirts, and I just loved the three prints. Who else got some good deals!?

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The Move to New Hampshire!

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Hello all! My humblest apologies for being missing so long on here. My husband and I bought a house in an adorable town in southeastern New Hampshire and have been crazy people unpacking and setting up and doing work on the house and yard. Every time I thought about sitting down to blog, I almost felt guilty because I knew there were like, ten other things I should have been doing. Anyone else out there ever feel like that?

Anyway, our house is a small split level, two bedrooms upstairs but a third one will end up in the finished lower level when we need it. Its on a great piece of land, almost 2 acres, that we are in the process of fencing ourselves for our little pup Mizpah. It also has a huge three car garage which is amazing for us because between hiking, biking, camping, kayaking, and fishing, we have a lot of gear to store!

Top left is one of our rock walls! I love the rock walls left behind from colonial farm boundaries in New England. We have one to the front of our house, in the back , and to the right as boundaries between us and neighbor lots. Bottom left is our very own graveyard!! The graveyard is for a family that dates back to 1788 and then into the mid 1800s. On the right is a pic from some trails at the end of our road. Yes…we have off leash trails to run on with Mizpah just down the street! High five!

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We are off a main road in a very country setting, but many stores and restaurants are just 5 minutes away. Above are some pics from my lovely rural neighborhood 🙂  There is a horse farm just across the street that I have to check out for riding and we are close to some nice rowing clubs which I might check out for next summer.

There is a lot to do- we are ripping up carpets to do hardwoods, finishing the lower level and adding a bathroom down there, painting walls- the list is never-ending. The town we are in is great and we are just a half hour from Portsmouth NH, Kittery ME, and the beaches in Hampton/Rye NH. We are also much closer to some of the mountains that we love so much, so hopefully we will get out there to hike as some of the bigger projects finish up.

My sister came up to visit for a couple days last week and we went out into Portsmouth and Kittery. It felt like a jailbreak after being in doing house stuff for so long. Both places are along the Piscataqua River which opens up to the Atlantic. So beautiful. We hit up Portsmouth Brewery for a little snack and a drink and then made our way down to Lazy Jacks to check out the beautiful waterscape on the decks, and then grabbed something sweet at Izzy’s on our way out. I got a cappuccino shake with chocolate syrup- so good.

The lobster roll on the right with those amazing curly fries is from Rudder’s in Kittery Foreside. Kittery ME has amazing outlets- all the ones you normally think of, but definitely try When Pigs Fly. There are restaurants right there amidst the outlets, but we wanted to get out of the crowded areas and go somewhere new. That is the small lobster roll and it was mostly claw meat which is my favorite, and the dressing was light and flavorful. So good. It was a smaller place, and the staff was awesome. Watching Gevvie Stone kill her semifinal in Rio was nice too that afternoon! Who has been bingewatching the Olympics!? Rowing, equestrian, swimming, gymnastics….so many exciting finishes and competition!!

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