Stroll around historic Portsmouth NH

On June 13, 2016June 13, 2016 By careofmonIn Lifestyle, Trips4 Comments

This past weekend we were up in NH for a cookout Saturday. It was in honor of two of the cutest kids in the world, a little boy who turns six this coming Saturday, and his little sister who turned three in May. My husband’s friends in NH are friends that he has had since high school. They are a really tight knit crew and its always fun getting everyone together for something. It poured on Saturday but Sunday was all sun! We decided to walk around Portsmouth a little bit on Sunday to just enjoy the sunshine and give Mizpah some exercise. We walked down by the Strawberry Banke which is one of my favorite areas of Portsmouth and walked around Market Square. Portsmouth is on the Piscataqua River that separates New Hampshire and Maine and empties out into the Atlantic. Portsmouth isn’t actually on the ocean, Rye and New Castle NH to it’s east have that coastal privilege. I snapped some pics of some of my favorite historic houses and a little bit of the lovely Piscataqua!

The Governor John Langdon House, a Georgian mansion built in 1784…the portico, the balustrades, the dormers, I don’t even know what I love the most.

The Oracle House, built around 1702 it is one of the oldest houses in New England. It was the home of the first daily newspaper in New Hampshire, The Oracle of the Day, in the 18th century

The Goodwin House, built in 1811 and owned by Ichabod Goodwin, the governor of NH during the Civil War. This house is right near the Strawberry Banke museum.

Adorable tea setting in the gardens of the Goodwin House.

The Treadwell Jenness House, 1818. I love the eagle above the front door.

The Liberty Pole, standing tall right near Prescott Park in Portsmouth. Again, the gold eagle that sits atop the pole is perfect.

Nice little spot to see the Piscataqua near Old Ferry Landing. Mizpah got a lot of love from kids and adults hangin out here!

My anchor tshirt is an oldie from J Crew Factory, jean shorts are from American Eagle, Sperry Topsiders, and my very first KJP bracelet!

The Jacob Wendell House, 1789, he was a merchant ship owner and insurance agent. The carving above the door is a whale oil lamp. I love the gabled dormers.

So this house may not have a plaque announcing its historical significance, but I just love it! It has a cute little backyard/garden and the size is a little understated but the Georgian door! I don’t know, its a favorite for me 🙂

Portsmouth is a really dog friendly city. There is an awesome dog park, Pierce Island has an off leash area, and dogs are allowed in many of the outdoor seating areas for restaurants/cafes. Dogs are not allowed in Prescott Park which is a really pretty park on the Piscataqua, and I don’t think they are allowed in the Strawberry Banke historic area. There are so many beautiful old houses in Portsmouth, it was a perfect day to walk with my husband and pup. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

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Higgins House & Gardens at WPI

On March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Last week I got to go back to my alma mater to chaperone my students at the Worcester Regional Science & Engineering Fair. The fair was in the campus center, so during my lunch, I took a couple minutes to admire Higgins House. Aldus C. Higgins was the owner of the home, and his father Milton Higgins was the founder of Norton Company in Worcester. The house was built in 1921 by Grosvenor Atterbury. The tudor style three story home was donated to WPI in 1971 after the passing of Aldus, and the home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. I have so many great memories of events at Higgins House. I was thinking about it, and honestly I am shocked that none of my friends ended up getting married there. I snapped some photos of the garden side of the house. Its so beautiful, makes you feel like you have stepped through some sort of time warp to an old English countryside home and garden.

Love the flowers just starting to grow in their beds 🙂

That little balcony, so cute. I also love the brick pattern and that chimney!

Joining of the stone and brick sections of the house

FullSizeRender-43 — This little door is where you enter the Higgins gardens and lawn from the rest of campus.

I will be back at WPI in June, so I will head back to snap some pics with the beautiful flowers and vines that grow in the gardens. I didn’t walk around to the other side of the house, but this picture from the WPI website shows the beautiful stone tower on the other side.

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I loved my four years at WPI. My fiancé was my friend, teammate, and co-captain at WPI, and I still have many girlfriends from WPI. A lot of us will be together for my wedding in a few short weeks. I was so proud of my students at the science fair, and getting to walk around my old stomping grounds a little was just icing on the cake!

Where did/do you go to college? Does your campus have a big old beautiful building for events that you just want to move into? 🙂

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Bridal Shower at Gov. Rolland Spaulding Estate

On March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

This past Saturday, my mother and future mother-in-law hosted my bridal shower at the Rolland Spaulding Estate, now a part of the Governors Inn Hotel. There were 27 ladies in attendance, and we had the best afternoon. The estate and inn were built back in 1920. Brothers Huntley and Rolland Spaulding lived in the two buildings and both of them were governors of NH! The Spaulding children actually grew up in Townsend MA, went to Lawrence Academy in Groton and then Philips Exeter Academy in NH when they moved up to NH. Their father, Jonas, and their uncle Waldo started Spaulding Brothers in Townsend, a leatherboard manufacturing mill. They expanded into millwork in Rochester NH making fiberboard and thats where the estate and inn are!

We had a fabulous luncheon, bridal shower bingo, so many amazing gifts, and then read through some wedding advice. Some of the gifts included a Kitchen Aid Mixer (so excited) and a Ninja blender (also so excited). Jon and I are so blessed to have such generous family and friends. For the occasion I wore a cerise cashmere & merino crew neck sweater for $36 (I think its down to $34 now!) and an older Lilly Pulitzer crab embroidered skirt that I got from Ebay for $36 with navy tights and riding boots. The Lilly skirt is white label….but its not “The Lilly”, so its probably from the early 2000s, not exactly vintage, but its one of my favorites 🙂

One of my lovely bridesmaids Alex, also in her Lilly 🙂

I loved the rich green upholstery of this chair with the carpets. It was a great occasion to wear my J Crew Factory bracelets! I love them but usually feel they are too dressy for everyday life.

Can you believe my future MIL made this cake? Talented lady, and it was delicious too!!!

Fireplace in the parlor room #fireplacegoals

Loved all the fox hunting prints in the estate

View out the windows of the oval dining room where the food was set up. They do weddings out on this lawn in nicer weather….the snow is just about gone!

Oval dining room where our food was set up

There are guest rooms in the inn and the estate. Presidential candidates and dignitaries traveling through NH often stay here because of the historical significance of the property and its founders.

With the other half out on the sun porch after he lugged all our gifts out 🙂

Jon and I actually went to a wedding at the Governors Inn Hotel this past summer, and I fell in love with the place. Now I have a whole new set of memories at the property which makes it so special.

I hope that you all had a great weekend! It was so nice today in the 50s here in MA, what do we think? Is it officially spring or do we think winter will have one big storm left??

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Fun Finds for a Friday

On October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 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

New England Classic Beauty

Tag: historichomes

Stroll around historic Portsmouth NH

Higgins House & Gardens at WPI

Bridal Shower at Gov. Rolland Spaulding Estate

Fun Finds for a Friday

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