Category: Lifestyle

REI’s Opt Outside Campaign

On By careofmonIn Hiking, Lifestyle1 Comment

I think it was Monday night that I got the email from REI that they were closing on black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. REI is a coop company where once you join the coop, any purchases get chronicled, and you get money back each year on your purchases. I have gotten camping & hiking stuff at REI in the past. Black Friday has become a day of American consumerism like nothing else. The time for stores to open has pushed all the way to basically after dinner on Thanksgiving Thursday. The first year I headed up to NH to be with my fiancé’s family after Thanksgiving lunch with my family, there was traffic. I was shocked, how could there be traffic going through his town? It was because of the Walmart. I was driving to get to dessert with those I love, and got stuck in traffic with people going to get the best deal on a new flatscreen.

REI’s campaign asks us to go outside on Friday after Thanksgiving- get out of the stores, get off our computers, and do something outside. They created the hashtag “opt outside” for all of us to showcase our non consumer driven activities. Its fine with me because we were already planning to hike in NH. I still have to do the Tripyramids, Hancocks, and Cabot this fall/winter.

Will REI reach a new group of people to be customers? I don’t know, its a pretty specific audience that goes to REI. Maybe the campaign will inspire people to go buy new outdoorsy items for their #optoutside adventures. Maybe REI will even toss us some sales beforehand to help us get outfitted for the day. Will other companies join REI in closing on Black Friday? I don’t know. Think about everyone being able to spend all of Thursday & all of Friday with their families. REI’s 143 stores will be closed on that Friday and every employee will get paid to go do something outside! Can someone start paying me to play outside?! Here are the little YouTube videos they have created for the #optoutside campaign:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flH5ReMsZ-M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOVaEawGNMM

Opting outside will cost me gas money, and maybe a parking fee depending on which mountain we go to. Sooooo much cheaper than whatever I would ever buy on black Friday. Go outside more, spend less.

c/o Mon

Fruitlands Morning Walk

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

This past weekend, my fiancé Jon, Mizpah my pup, and myself headed to the Fruitlands trails in Harvard MA. The Fruitlands was the site of a failed utopian society in 1843. Bronson Alcott, a transcendentalist, and father of Louisa May Alcott, moved his family to the site and sadly, the experiment failed in its first winter. They along with others were trying to live off the fruits of the land, hence the name Fruitlands. Clara Endicott Sears moved to the land in 1910 long after it had been abandoned to build herself a summer home. She restored the Fruitlands Farmhouse and started the museum. There is a museum store, a cafe, an art gallery, a visitor’s center, and a Native American heritage museum on the land. We just went to walk the trails. It was beautiful.

Fruitlands Farmhouse where the Alcott family lived in 1843
Fruitlands Farmhouse where the Alcott family lived in 1843

First stop was the farmhouse. I believe the house is a Georgian style home. The roof has very little overhang, the winnows are symmetrical with a front door in the middle, but it has two floors, and is two rooms deep. I know that old houses are a lot of work to own, but I would love to own a historic home.

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This is the Willard Farm site. The farm dates back to the early 1700s, and the Alcotts lived here in 1844. Everyone bailed on the community during the winter of 1843, and eventually sometime in 1844 the Alcotts moved back to Concord. From what I have read, Bronson was very depressed when the Fruitlands didn’t work out and his wife, Abby, actually took their 4 daughters to a cottage in a village nearby. They eventually convinced Bronson to leave the Fruitlands and go back to Concord. The house on this site burned down in 1852 and was never rebuilt.

Loved this red and yellow foliage!
Loved this red and yellow foliage!

The land where we walked also had a brick factory in the late nineteenth century. The railroad was right there going through Harvard which made transport easy. The clay & sand in the area from the glacial beach left after the last ice age gave them plenty of materials. There were bricks and foundations left behind in the area.

Remnants of brick structure
Remnants of brick structure
Foundation from the brick workers dorm
Foundation from the brick workers dorm
Foundation from the home of the brick factory owner, J.C. Richmond, 120 years ago
Foundation from the home of the brick factory owner, J.C. Richmond, 120 years ago

It was an absolutely beautiful place. I love finding these abandoned settlements and spots in New England. It feels like if you let your imagination go for a moment, you can almost hear the crackling of an outdoor fire and the clanging of pots and mugs as workers gathered to share a meal. Hitting the trails at Fruitlands costs $6 a person, and that money goes back into the site. The trails were very well marked and so were the sites along the way. Here are some more pics from the day!

It was not a cold morning, but it was overcast. I wore my Barbour over a sweater & flannel, and my Toggis were huge for keeping ticks off of me! This was my first site on my list that I created, can’t wait to check more off the list!

$6….and I got to spend the morning with my fiancé, my dog, and some history outside….priceless.

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Weekend Eats: Park Plaza Hotel & The Bancroft

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

This past weekend I went out to dinner on both Friday & Saturday night! Many of you know from reading that I am trying to save money these days, but it couldn’t be helped. Friday night, I went out for a friend’s birthday to Off the Common, the lobby restaurant in the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The Park Plaza Hotel was built in 1925 and actually used to be beachfront property before the bay was filled in to make Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Crazy. There are so many restaurants in that area; we chose Off the Common because we had a room in the hotel and it was really easy for meeting up with people right in the lobby. We had wine and ordered mussels, lobster mac & cheese, buffalo chicken pops, the charcuterie plate, and a chicken & mushroom flatbread to share. From there we went out to Whisky Saigon and had a great time dancing with friends. There was an interesting crowd there, college age all the way up. The music was great and it was really easy to get a bartender, which is a huge plus in Boston. Only thing I didn’t like was the only water they gave you was bottled for $5….oh well.

Here are a couple pics I took off the Park Plaza Hotel website….its a gorgeous older hotel, definitely in a great location too!

Currently they are doing some work to this part of the hotel, this pic is better than mine!
Currently they are doing some work to this part of the hotel, this pic is better than mine!
Here is the Off the Common restaurant. Very casual and lounge-like, I really liked it!
Here is the Off the Common restaurant. Very casual and lounge-like, I really liked it!

Saturday night my fiancé, Jon, and I went to The Bancroft in Burlington, MA. We had a gift card and had a birthday party to go to at Kings afterwards. The Bancroft is the latest restaurant from the Webber Restaurant Group, who also own the Gibbet Hill Grill at Gibbet Hill Farm in Groton and the Scarlet Oak Tavern in Hingham. The Webber family bought the Gibbet Hill Farm back in 2000 and their mission is provide a quality dining experience using sustainable & local food sources. Most of the produce for the restaurants comes from Gibbet Hill Farm and I believe most of the meat comes from Blood Farm in Groton.

The food was so good. I ordered the Reissdorf Koelsch, a delicious German beer, and the seared Ahi tuna with carrot puree. My fiancé got the Kurobuta pig chop with truffle polenta fries. We also got the yukon gold mashed potatoes to share, and their chocolate cake  for dessert. The cake came with their homemade vanilla gelato and was filled with a chocolate espresso sauce. If my wallet/body could handle eating like that every night, I would haha. The bread came in the most adorable little cast iron tray, and the beer came in the correct glass for a koelsch…everything was really just perfect. I don’t usually take pictures of my food, but maybe I should start huh?

A couple of the drinks on the cocktail menu cracked me up. One was “What would Bill Murray Do?” and another was “It’s a baby whale, bro”. Now, the second one is only funny if you have seen the youtube video of two guys with wicked Boston accents talking about a sun bathing sunfish. Totally normal behavior for a sunfish after its been on a deep swim.  I will link it here, but he drops a lot of F-bombs, so beware the setting that you watch it….it is really funny though.

Saturday morning, we went and checked out the Fruitlands in Harvard MA, it was so fun. It was a perfect activity to do with the pup on a nice fall day, I will post it tomorrow! First thing off my list of 50 places to see in MA!

Now as I said, I don’t usually go out to eat this much because eating out is expensive, but Friday was a birthday dinner for a friend, and we all split starters to keep out tab down because we are all saving money for one thing or another. Saturday night was lovely because we had a gift card from my fiancé’s boss for our engagement.

What did you do this weekend? Any good restaurants or outings? I hope so!

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Fun Finds for a Friday

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Ohhh the alliteration! Today I am just sharing a few things that have cracked me up from my facebook newsfeed. Buzzfeed lists are hilarious. You can literally lose hours of your life going through them. This one is making the rounds on my facebook feed because for myself and many of my friends, every single one of these is true.

18 Red Flags That You Learned to Drink in Boston

Probably the only one that wasn’t me directly was the hazards of walking on cobblestone because I don’t wear heels BUT I can tell you I have been the support team for many friends struggling down the cutest little obstacle courses in Boston. #13, #15, and #18….oh man. Since I graduated from college, I have done 2 St. Patrick’s Days out of Boston- one was in Mt. Holyoke which was crazy, and one in Manchester NH which was ok, but I def missed Boston.

Another gem that I found on Facebook through my very funny friends is Matt Bellassai and his Whine About It Wednesday videos. They are so funny and usually spot on with what everybody’s REALLY thinking about a topic. He was supposed to take a break this week, but I just heard he posted a surprise video!! I haven’t been able to watch it yet. Here’s his Whine About It for the worst things about fall…..soo good. This is another rabbit hole you can lose a few hours of your life haha. I think there are some swears though FYI…I usually wait until I get home from work to watch them 😉

I have created a new page on my blog: 50 Things I want to See in MA. I am getting started tomorrow, and I can’t wait. There are so many beautiful historic spots and homes in Massachusetts. I can’t wait to see them all and share them with you. Some of the places I actually have been before, but I am looking forward to going again to document the experience!

Hope you all have great plans for the weekend, happy Friday!

c/o Mon

Brand new to me: Equestrianista

On By careofmonIn Fashion, Lifestyle4 Comments

This week instead of investigating the latest prep craze to buzz across my social media, I am introducing a brand that I have been checking out. The brand is Equestrianista. The woman that started the company, Julie Frykman, is an equestrian who worked in high fashion in NYC, returned to Chicago to settle down with a family, got herself a beautiful OTTB (off track thoroughbred), and turned her love for fashion and horses into Equestrianista.

Sadly,  I don’t know if they have made it out my way for any horse events. I think they are hanging more in the midwest, and they do have a setup for Rolex in Kentucky every year. Girlfriends should come on out to Equine Affaire in MA! This would be a hot booth there!

Here are my personal favorites…..with the disclaimer that due the nature of a smaller company, items and sizes do sell out. If you fall for something that is out of your size, contact them, they will probably be able to tell you if more are coming! They also have some items for girls on the site, and some saddle pads/ear net bonnets for the horse in your life.

Snaffle Bit Blouse for $75.00

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Fox Hunt Sweater for $110.00- This is such a cute sweater with the foxhunter jumping over your shoulder to find the elusive fox on the back! This piece is a little out of my price range, but might be nice for a gift, a splurge item, or to watch if it goes on sale!

Tartan Plaid Poncho for $45.00- This item has already sold out at least once this fall!!

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Riding Boot Sweatshirt for $60.00- This looks like such a comfy piece to wear over your show shirt to keep it clean or just around the barn/town!

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Navy Herringbone Scarf for $25.00- I get so used to really only seeing black/gray herringbone, its so nice to see it in navy!

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Check Wrap for $45.00

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Riding Sport Black Shirt for $52.00, final sale

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Stock Pin for $18.00- I love this! It would make such a nice addition to your own wardrobe, but also an awesome gift for someone too!

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Equestrian fashion is not just for equestrians anymore. The popularity of many equestrian themed items has some out there saying that many are living a lie. I say wear what you like, like what you wear, and honestly I think the only item in my list that is really more for the sport than the style is the Riding Sport long sleeve. Its going to be 70 today in Mass, so I am hanging on to summer in my sperrys, sockless…..oh and Sterling stepped on me so hard last night, my sperrys are really the only shoes I could put on this morning. #horseprobs.

Which items above would you consider for yourselves or a friend?

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Head of the Charles Recap from Sunday

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, Trips1 Comment

In my experience, fall head racing is full of amazing rows in gorgeous scenery AND some really cold windy days. I started rowing the summer before my senior year of high school, and rowed in the Head of the Charles my junior and senior year of college. I volunteered at the regatta 4 years, three before the year I rowed in it, and one the year after I graduated from college. The swag for the volunteers has really improved. When I was volunteering, Charles Schwab was the big sponsor and we got long sleeve shirts, and then Nautica took over and we had fleece zip ups. Now that BNY Mellon & Brooks Brothers runs the show, the volunteer jackets are awesome soft shell fleeces. I gotta volunteer next year.

We had a bunch of former and current WPI rowers to watch. There were alumni in the master’s singles races, the Director Challenge quad races, an alumni mens 8, and then the current varsity mens in the collegiate 8. The women’s team didn’t send a boat…..I guess they are going through some restructuring, getting back to basics, and are just focusing on the spring. Kinda sad though because I remember how big a deal the Charles was. I would have been bummed to miss out.

It was really cold and windy on Sunday. My essentials for survival are below:

Barbour Jacket, crew fleece ear warmers,LLBean Flannel & Boot Socks, Woolover cashmere/cotton crewneck sweater, bean boots, & LLBean thermos
Barbour Jacket, crew fleece ear warmers,LLBean Flannel & Boot Socks, Woolover cashmere/cotton crewneck sweater, bean boots, & LLBean thermos

My Barbour was amazing at protecting me from the wind, and we filled that thermos with tomato soup, which was a life saver. It also saved us from buying clam chowder for $10, eek!

I did stop by the Brooks Brothers tent to check it out. The KJP team was there hand painting your choice of oar blade design on leather bracelets. They were cute, but I really want a painted oar bracelet custom made with the oar blade design. It might be possible, I will probably be looking into this for a Christmas/bday gift 🙂 They were all super nice just in case you follow them on instagram and have always wondered what they were like IRL. They also loved Mizpah, who doesn’t though?

In front of the Brooks Brothers tent with Mizpah. Nice single behind me huh? One of a kind!
In front of the Brooks Brothers tent with Mizpah. Nice single behind me huh? One of a kind!

Going to rowing events make me miss rowing so much. The excitement of rowing to the start, the togetherness of the struggle through the race to the finish, and then the camaraderie after the race. Its just something you can’t replicate. We hung out with some of our former coaches, got to see some alumni, and blasted the heat in the car pretty much all the way home to warm up! Here are some more pics from the day!

Harvard's Newell Boathouse...we tried to stop here once for a bathroom break and their sprinklers to keep the geese away turned on!!
Harvard’s Weld Boathouse…we tried to stop either here or the Newell once for a bathroom break and their sprinklers to keep the geese away turned on!!
Me and Miz hangin out
Me and Miz hangin out
View of Northeastern's Henderson boathouse
View of Northeastern’s Henderson boathouse, pretty much at the finish.
Henderson Boathouse, where I learned to row in 2001, and where WPI has the privilege of launching every year
Henderson Boathouse, where I learned to row in 2001, and where WPI has the privilege of launching every year
LLBean everywhere....and Miz chewing a bully stick
LLBean everywhere….and Miz chewing a bully stick
view of the Eliot Bridge, last bridge before the finish...lots of collisions here
view of the Eliot Bridge, last bridge before the finish…lots of collisions here

We did end up paying $20 to park in the Harvard Stadium lot. Without the dog, we would have parked at Alewife and taken the T in, but I don’t know how Mizpah would do with that. We brought sandwiches, water, and the tomato soup in the thermos, so we didn’t buy any food, which was awesome. It was awesome to go support alums, reminisce about past years, and hang out with some awesome crew people. If you are ever in the Boston area for this weekend, I can’t recommend coming out to the river enough. Layers though….warm layers ha. The two years I got to row in it were both choppy, cold days. One year it was so bad, they shortened the course to stay out of the choppy basin. My fiancé asked me if I would have wanted to row in the cold yesterday, and I think the answer is yes, with the cold weather and all. I hope everyone got to do some fun fall activities wherever they were this past weekend!

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Down the Cape: Wellfleet Oysterfest 2015

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

I love Cape Cod and get down there every chance I can get! During the summer, I wouldn’t really ever do a day trip because of the traffic, so I am super fortunate to have some friends with houses down there. In October though? No traffic. Saturday we breezed on into Dennis, and carpooled with friends over to Wellfleet. We were really lucky and got a free parking spot with this view……

View from our parking spot #capecodlove
View from our parking spot #capecodlove

….and then we caught a shuttle to the action!! It was warm for October on Saturday, high 50s and sunny. I wore my J Crew Factory navy vest, a Woolovers cashmere/merino cable sweater, and a button down with jeans and sperrys. My best friend wore a cream Irish knit sweater and an Emily Bond Barbour jacket. It has a beautiful equestrian scene like wallpaper on the lining. Her friend got it in the UK for really cheap, some girls have all the luck 😉 She also wore her Dubarry Galways in walnut. This two outfits basically encompass what everyone wore to this!! It was really funny, so many quilted vests and Barbours.

Cheesin in front of Winslows
Cheesin in front of Winslows

This festival is put together every year by SPAT, an organization that promotes sustainable enjoyment of Wellfleet’s aquaculture. There were definitely some craft/jewelry tents there, but for many of us, it was all about the food and drink! We had clam chowder, lobster bisque, fried dough, french fries for food…..and then we had beer, wine, and hard root beer from the alcohol tent. There was seafood, sausages with peppers, pulled pork, chewers and bisques, lobster rolls….just everything. OH and there were oysters ha. The line for oysters was kinda crazy so unfortunately we filled up on other stuff while we were waiting for it to die down, oops! We did get oysters later at Chapins though, one of my faves in Dennis. It was so dead there compared to the summer, it was like being in a different restaurant ha.

The whole day there was an oyster shucking tournament going on up on a stage set up, some really fast shuckers!!! It was such a fun day, but very crowded. You have to go in there with the mindset that finding people is hard, waiting in lines in a given, and you will more than once turn around and start talking to someone who isn’t friend because the crowd is nuts haha.

All in all, it was an amazing day! They don’t allow dogs at the festival, so we left around 6 to get home to Mizpah and get ready for the Head of the Charles on Sunday. I would have loved to have stayed over the night, I am sure the crowd at the Woodshed was crazy!!

We definitely spent some dollars on food and beers, but it wasn’t too bad. Tickets for entry to the festival are $5 which goes to SPAT, and then we got free parking. Gas of course has to figure in, but we drive just as far to go hike for a day as we did to get to the cape and back, so its not crazy for us at all. Tomorrow I will post about my lovely but cold Sunday at the HOCR!!! Made it through Monday everyone, woo!

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Hiking the 7th Presidential…Mt. Jefferson & Nat’l Dessert Day!!

On By careofmonIn Hiking, Lifestyle1 Comment

My fiancé doesn’t normally get Columbus Day Monday off, but he took it off this year and we are so happy he did. We hiked Mt. Jefferson in probably the best weather you can ask for on the Presidentials for this time of year. We started up the Jewell Trail at the Cog Railway Base Station. Oh my goodness, it was so crazy. I wonder how many people took the train or drove up Mt. Washington this past weekend.

The trail is beautiful, just roots, some rocks but not too bad. The trail eventually pops you out above the trees though and you are exposed with the most beautiful views for the rest of the hike. There were some rocky sections above treeline. It was in the 50s, and a little windy above treeline. It was really sunny, which I love, but you have to be careful with sunscreen up there because there’s nothing shielding you. It was a beautiful hike, definitely a long day after hiking the Osceolas just a couple days before. Jefferson was the last mountain of the Presidential Range that I had to hike, #35 over all of the NH48. The colors in the mountains were beautiful on Monday, I think that was the official peak of colors for foliage in the Whites.

Chocurua Lake- I couldn't resist stopping to snap this on the drive up to the trail head
Chocurua Lake- I couldn’t resist stopping to snap this on the drive up to the trail head
Love fall in New England
Love fall in New England
View on the way up the trail
View on the way up the trail
View from the top looking down over the base station and past that, Mt. Washington Hotel
View from the top looking down over the base station and past that, Mt. Washington Hotel
View from the top
View from the top
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Looking over to Mt. Washington, see the observatory station on top?
Mizpah chillin in the alpine meadow
Mizpah chillin in the alpine meadow

It will be a few weeks before we can head back up to hike again, probably not until November. In other news, today, October 14th is National Dessert Day!!! I swung by my favorite local bakery in my area, Bliss Bakery, to grab a couple dessert items to celebrate the occasion. If I am going to spend money on bakery items, meaning I am not just making it myself, I would always rather go to a nice local bakery. This past Easter, I had a lot of family over for lunch and we got a lemon custard tart topped with berries and a macaron assortment from Bliss. Here are some of the beautiful Easter egg macarons:

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It’s Wednesday, just two more work days until the weekend AND you have an excuse to go get a little treat. Another reason why I like getting my treats at a cute local bakery is that I like to look at the selection and pick something. It’s fun! It’s also good for my diet though because one special cookie is better than buying a whole bag of cookies that I wouldn’t enjoy as much. Happy National Dessert Day! Hopefully you have had a sweet day!

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Volunteering at my barn’s last three phase of the year

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

The barn that I ride at has 3-4 schooling shows a year. There is usually one in April that is just a two-phase, dressage & stadium jumping. The cross country field is usually not ready in April. Then there might be one in June, then a three phase in August, and then in the past they have done a three phase or a cross country derby in October.

I don’t own a horse, and I don’t have a lease currently, so I am happy to volunteer at the shows. The clientele at our shows are usually middle school to college age, and then people in their forties/fifties who are financially secure, have kids that are older. Riders in the middle like myself are usually trying to save money for other things and can’t own or show a horse OR they are showing at a higher level. Volunteering is so much fun, and its an awesome way to learn more about how shows and judging works.

In the past I have scribed for the dressage judge (which is so cool), judged at xc jumps, timed for xc, and been the ring steward for stadium. I always learn a ton and have a lot of fun with everyone. Scribing for the dressage judge is hard work but you learn a lot about what they look for. Cross country is exhilarating and beautiful to watch. Watching horse and rider gallop through fields, and through water, (hopefully) effortlessly leaping over coops and walls is breathtaking. Stadium jumping is great too, sometimes I realize I am actually holding my breath while one of the girls who I have watched from pony camp to now jumping 2’6″ zoom around the course.

The dressage arena- a square/rectangle space marked with letters around the perimeter where riders do a series of movements called a dressage test
The dressage arena- a square/rectangle space marked with letters around the perimeter where riders do a series of movements called a dressage test
Autumn decor at C in the dressage arena
Autumn decor at C in the dressage arena
Stadium jumping
Stadium jumping 

I think I will probably make the cross country fields its own post, there are so many fun things to photograph out there, from the jumps to the water feature.

Volunteering at horse shows is an awesome way to get involved in the horse world. I used to volunteer for MSPCA’s Nevins Farm in Methuen MA. I mucked stalls, filled waters, and volunteered at events like Groton House Farm Trials and the Fidelity Jumper Classic (now held in NH) in Hamilton, MA. Definitely a cool way to be present and involved without necessarily having a horse. Plus you are donating your time to others to help, which always feels good!

I just recently started jumping again after doing just dressage for a year or so. I was at the point where I was out jumping in the xc field and doing in that 2′ area in the ring. Here is what I was jumping recently, this beautiful little cross rail haha! I will get back there eventually….

Oh hai cross rail!
Oh hai cross rail!

I love Monday holidays because it means only a four day work week! I am really looking forward to this weekend already, Oyster Fest on the Cape Saturday, Head of the Charles Sunday…..we just need this rain forecast for Sunday to change!

Hope you all had a lovely day!!

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Fall apple picking & Wachusett Brewery visit

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

This past Saturday, one of my fiancé and I’s friends came out to visit from Boston. He got a zip car and everything, so awesome. The weather could have been better, but it wasn’t raining thank goodness. We took Mizpah, our pup, to an off leash trail area nearby which was such a nice start to the day. Mizpah is so happy running through the woods, and its so beautiful & peaceful there.

Then we headed to one of the many apple orchards in central MA. This particular one is just pick your own apples, some have cider and apple cider donuts, some have full country stores. In the area that I live there is literally an apple orchard every 5 miles or so. We like to check out all the different orchards, but this year we hit up Doe Orchards in Harvard MA because it allows dogs on a leash! Our favorite apples are cortlands, and we got some honey crisps for my sister. We eat an apple a day, and I only like to get my apples from local orchards in my area. I have been burned getting apples at the grocery store. Nothing sadder than biting into a bad apple. Cortlands are awesome for eating & baking, can’t wait to make apple crisp!

Color coded key for all the apple varieties & pumpkins 🙂
Picking my fave apples, cortlands for life!
Younger cortland apple tree
Part of an older cortland tree

After apple picking, we grabbed some lunch, and then headed to Wachusett Brewery in Westminster MA. Wachusett was founded by three WPI graduates, and their brews are served all over Worcester, and really all over New England now. They have a beer honoring the Red Sox, Bruins, Larry Bird of the Celtics, and so many more. We brought our two growlers to fill up with Nut Brown Ale and Black Shack Porter and in the meantime we sampled some beers! So good. Don’t get me wrong, I love a glass of wine or champagne just as much as the next girl, but I also love good beer. Going to school at WPI, we often went to The Boynton Restaurant and one of the cool things they did was put actual blueberries in the Wachusett Blueberry. Its the only blueberry beer I will drink 🙂

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Apple picking is a very affordable fall activity. We got a huge bag of apples for $13 and we know that money is going right to the people that run the orchard. Doing growlers at your local brewery can be huge for savings. At Wachusett I believe we paid $25 for a growler and then refills are $7. Good deal for a half gallon of beer right from the tap at the brewery! Love finding affordable fun things to do on the weekend 🙂

Cheers to getting through Monday!!

c/o Mon