Favorite Christmas Tree Ornaments

I am going to keep my writing brief because I definitely fell off my horse tonight into the wall of the indoor. We had just done a jump perfectly after many tries and he bucked while I was leaning forward and off I went. I’m sore, but ok. Got back on for a little while so no one starts to think that bucking me off is a good way to end a ride, but I will be rocking some IB profen, a heating pad, and lots of hot cocoa tonight to recover. I have a red line on my back from where I made contact with the bottom of the wall….I will be fine haha.

This post is about some of my favorite ornaments. I hope that you enjoy them!!

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An older ornament from my parents, the swan boats in the common
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Santa in his workshop, one of my favorites from my childhood
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One of my favorites from my Breyer’s ornament collection
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My Barbie ballerina for Nutcracker season
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Another great one from my Breyer’s collection, how many little girls have asked for a pony for Christmas? 🙂
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This one is a gift from my mom, love it
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Rowing on the Charles in Cambridge ornament, perfect for a tree belonging to two rowers!
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I have the whole set of Rudolph characters, the Bumble, Hermey, Yukon, Rudolph, and Santa.

I hope everyone’s holiday preparations are going well. I had a big food shopping trip tonight for the weekend into next week….it was painful and slow moving. Of course I ran into a student while I was limping through the supermarket still covered in dirt haha, oh well. Happy Friday everyone, one week til Christmas!!

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A Book Review on Jane Austen’s Birthday

Today is Jane Austen’s birthday!!! Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors.  Jane, Emily, Charlotte, and Louisa….they are the OGs of my bookshelves. My favorite Jane Austen novels are Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility in that order. Emma is the best in my opinion, Mr. Knightley definitely > Mr. Darcy. Here’s my review of “How to start a fire”!

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I just finished “How to start a fire” by Lisa Lutz last night. Usually, if I get through a book, it means I liked it….but this was another tough one for me. I started this book, had to table it, and then picked back up again. Not easy with a book that chronicles the lives of 3 college friends in that style that jumps around between events of different years. I had to really focus to keep what was going on from basically 1998 to 2013 in the book. I have read a few books now where the chapters jump back and forth between the past and present and it can be tough to follow.

Perhaps another reason why I struggled was I didn’t really relate to any of the main characters. The three girls, George, Kate, and Anna would probably not have been girls I would have befriended. I thought more than once in the book that the reason why they stayed friends was because they really didn’t make any new friends and only had each other. I suppose I appreciate George’s love for nature, and the way that camping calms & centers her. I love how Kate is kinda sheltered but has this inner strength and can be content with what she has at that moment, not always wanting more. Anna was probably the most dramatic, tumultuous character. You don’t really learn her or Kate full story until the last 100 pages or so. I have a few women in my life that remind me of Anna. One has made her way out of the woods, and one is still a little lost.

J. Courtney Sullivan wrote a book called “Commencement” that was again about a group of friends from college and how their lives intertwined afterwards. I might like Commencement better than How to start a fire. It has been so warm in Massachusetts. Yesterday, the pup and I went for a walk in the woods sans jacket! Looks like we might have a green Christmas up here!

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We all took Monday off from exercise after the hike on Sunday, so girlfriend was pretty amped up to run around yesterday. It was hard to get her to stay still for a picture hahaha. As usual, my book was from the library. Not sure what I will read next, but utilizing the library saves me a lot of money on books. Save the pennies my friends.

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Red Bows & Hiking the Hancocks

Wow, last week was crazy! My goal is to do at least 3 posts a week, and I failed terribly last week. Good news is I finished my grad class for the fall semester, and just about finished my Christmas shopping! Woo! High fives all around!

Two holiday/Christmas parties, an awesome charity 5k run, and hiking South and North Hancock sums up my weekend. I am definitely feeling a little worn out today.  The Hancocks are #36 and #37 of the New Hampshire 48 4000footers for me, so I just have 11 left! It has been an amazing journey, and honestly once I finish, its not really an ending. Hiking in all seasons here in New England has become a very happy and healthy part of my life, I love it, its right up there with horseback riding 🙂

This hike is a lollipop hike. You go walk a pretty flat trail down the Hancock Notch Trail to the Cedar Brook Trail to the Hancock Loop Trail. Then you start to climb and can choose to head toward North or South first. We went to North first because that trail is rougher terrain which is easier to climb up. We went up and over North which has nice views, over to the tree covered South summit, and then back down to the stick of the lollipop.

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Summit of Mt. Hancock, the North peak
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View from the outlook on North, almost right at the horizon you can see Lake Winnipesaukee in the middle
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Another view from the outlook, over to the right you can see the ski trails on Loon Mountain

It was such an unseasonably warm day, no jacket needed. I did wear my microspikes for 2 sections.

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Summit of Mt. Hancock, the North peak
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Arrowhead Slide on North Hancock
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Back of the Franconia Ridge
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New rerouted trail away from the brook, really pretty
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These trees will grow, even if they have to grow out of a rock 🙂

The red bows on the summits of both peaks were a surprise. I enjoyed them, BUT they do violate the Leave No Trace policy we all try to hike by. Its tough, most hikers that consider themselves stewards of these ranges don’t approve of anything that could become litter or could disrupt the existence of the animals/plants living there. The fact that this little decoration is in support of the holiday season also ticks some off, nature is neutral I was told. I hope that whoever put them up will come back to dispose of them, but I don’t see harm in the intent behind them. I am a holiday romantic, what can I say??

And on that note, yesterday was National Hot Cocoa Day! I celebrated with a mug that I painted at Clay Time in Shrewsbury MA. I used really cool silk screens to decorate my mug, it was so fun!

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Hope you all had a good weekend! I will be better this week about posting, promise!

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Holiday Weekend Finds

I hiked on Black Friday…..but I did purchase a few things over the weekend 🙂 I got something from Lilly Pulitzer for my mom and got some free gifts for purchasing over the weekend…might just give her the free gifts too though because it’s all nice and wrapped up right now in tissue paper. I don’t want to disrupt by messing with the free gifts. Not going to put what I got her on here just in case she looks, but lets just say, my Floridian mama has fabulous taste in Lilly- she likes Elsa tops and the tshirt dresses!

I did some other online shopping for family and did grab a couple little items for myself….

  1. This lovely bracelet from Kiel James Patrick- Anchor Bracelet. KJP was 25% off this past weekend, love it. This bracelet will go with a lot of my clothing as it has the lighter leather AND darker leather. Can’t wait to see it. IMG_2270
  2. This beautiful scarf from Equestrianista- Tartan Plaid Infinity Scarf. Equestrianista also did a sale this past weekend and I have been eyeing this scarf! I love the mixed plaid patterns and the color scheme will hopefully compliment my red hair!Tartan_Plaid_Infinity_Scarf_grande
  3. These flats from Talbots- Georgina Suede Embroidered Flats. I love these because smoking slippers are so expensive at some places but these were 40% off!! I got the car/indigo flats that have a super cute scene with the woodie/tree on top driving on a white path. Only snag here, even though its in the name of the flats, I was looking at all the different ones and it kinda didn’t register that they were suede. Some of their other Georgina flats are in wool….which is more what I would want. Suede is not so great for Massachusetts. These might go back, we shall see. Sorry the image isn’t great- got it from the website! IMG_2271

There were some great sales this past weekend. Lilly girls are all really waiting for their big sale in January, but the gifts can be fun. Honestly it can be hard with all these deals to corral the spending, but we are saving for our wedding and a house in the very near future. It was interesting that these sales really started last week like before Thursday and some have continued through tonight! The emails from some companies were pretty much daily. Did anyone else feel like it was a little much this year? I don’t know.

Anyways, I hope you all got some deals this past weekend through yesterday…or today…speaking of today…..today was Giving Tuesday! My cousin was recently diagnosed with DCIS (type of breast cancer), and has undergone a lumpectomy and has been traveling from where she lives out in Wyoming to Sloane Kettering Memorial in NY for treatment. Her sister set up a Go Fund Me for her to help with expenses and so that will be my donation for Giving Tuesday. Their mom, one of my mom’s first cousins, died from breast cancer when she was just 44, so her daughters are not messing around with treatment, thank god. She is doing well but has a long road ahead!

Anyone find anything good over the long weekend in the midst of these sales? Hear about any good Giving Tuesday stories? Share in comments!

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Presenting in my grad class

There are only two weeks left this semester at Umass Lowell. Then I will have a break where my weeknights are returned back to me before my last semester begins in January. I am certified to teach both biology & biotechnology in the commonwealth, and while I got my Master’s in Education back in 2009, I just can’t stay out of school! I started my Master’s in Science for Biological Sciences back in 2012 and have just been plugging away. I love the courses, I have loved all my professors in many different ways, and I will be sad to see it end in May. I’m getting a non thesis master’s, just coursework. It’s sort of a neutered degree, I know, but I am not getting it to do research! I enjoy taking classes, and saw I could get a degree from it, and figured why not? I’m a huge nerd, I love reading journal articles, I love googling all the words I don’t know, jumping around latin roots and comparing graphs…..judging images of fluorescence and bands in Western blots…..oh no, I’m losing you huh?

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My favorite building at Umass Lowell, the old alumni memorial hall

Anyway, this week was my turn to present in my class. It was a little nerve-racking because this is only grade in the class really. I guess he is going to count our attendance & class participation, but most of the grade is on this presentation. My paper was fabulous. An amazing new gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Did you know that the reason why its so hard to just come up with a gene therapy already is because the dysfunctional protein, dystrophin, is one of the largest proteins in the body so it has tons of opportunities for mutations!? Fascinating.

Powerpoint was done three weeks ago. Over the weeks I edited, added, deleted, and nurtured my little powerpoint like it was a finicky plant. I secured one of those little remotes with the USB thing that lets you click through your slides without having to walk over to the computer and has a laser pointer so you don’t have to stand IN the projector light to point at stuff on the screen all the while being covered in your own powerpoint. Then came the outfit. I like the dress nicer than usual for a presentation. Whatever I normally wear, I like to go a step up. Not everyone in my class feels this way. I think its nice to get up in front of your classmates and professor and acknowledge in your appearance that you are honored to present for them.

I wore an old tartan skirt from J. Crew Factory, navy tights, my cognac Seychelles riding boots that I got from Rue La La last year, light blue knockoff Ralph Lauren oxford when I lived in Thailand that I got for 199 baht (5 bucks folks haha), Daniel Wellington watch, KJP bracelet, AND a navy wool cardigan from Polo Ralph Lauren, vintage, that I got for $27.99.

The cardigan is comfortable, so warm, and I am just a little in love with it? Hunting for vintage Ralph Lauren is a fun little hobby of mine- I try to find sweaters from the past for under $40. Etsy & Ebay are the best places online to look, and then of course upscale consignment shops.

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My coteacher took this pic in my lovely classroom 🙂

I love putting together an outfit for something specific that makes me feel confident for that occasion without breaking the bank. Finding this cardigan came from a search for a navy blazer, and I think I lucked out because the cardigan is a little more casual and I will be able to wear it more I think. I like to imagine that the woman who owned this cardigan before me was a fabulous professor with a closet full of wool and tweed who gave away all her winter clothes when she bought a small horse farm on her last sabbatical someplace warm like Brazil, fell in love, and decided to stay.

I have today off which is so nice before Thanksgiving. I have some errands to run and then obviously a trail run this afternoon with the sweetest spotted pup who is currently curled up in the sun next to me. Happy Wednesday! I hope many of you are off and heading to see family and friends or at least you are getting out early today!!!

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Weekend Recap: Polo, trails, & sushi

Friday night, I had an awesome jumping lesson with Dutch, a very forward horse. We rocked around a course of gates and cross rails at the canter which is a huge step up for me. It was so fun. I still have a lot to work on though, more bend at the hip over the jump, better release of the reins on the horse’s mouth, and we have to get better at picking up the right lead to the next jump.

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Saturday morning I went back to Stage Hill Polo for another lesson. We played a little 2 on 2 scrimmage, and it was so fun. My teammate Lydia got a goal, and I got a goal…..and then I sadly got a goal for the other team. I was trying to hit it back away from the goal, but my own backswing hit it in the goal. Steve told me this happens all the time hahaha. This is it for me though, I will maybe go back in the spring/summer to play some more polo. Stage Hill Polo does take part in a winter arena league that  I was invited to play in but I have three afternoons of class this spring so its just not going to work out right now. I am going to be lucky to get a practice ride in on a day that I don’t have class at my own barn. This is Salsa even though I actually got to ride Jet, one of Steve Rudolph’s horses. Most of these horses are heading down to Palm Beach for the winter this week- lucky huh?

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Saturday afternoon I took the pup for a trail run, a nice 4 miler, and it was just beautiful out. Then Saturday evening, the fiancé and I headed out with a couple friends for all you can eat sushi up in Nashua NH. It…was…amazing. I love good sushi and we definitely got our money’s worth. My favorites are the spicy tuna roll, spider maki with the fried soft-shell crab, and any of those specialty rolls with the crab meat on top. I had a nice light Sapporo with my delicious sushi while a couple others shared a scorpion bowl- doesn’t taste like alcohol at all, super dangerous 🙂

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Mizpah out on the trail
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Don’t shoot the dalmatian! #notadeer
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So much sushi….arm party from KJP and Charming Charlie’s 🙂

Sunday was a rainy & cold day here in Massachusetts. We made bacon and eggs for breakfast and then later on made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, so good!!!

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I have a very short work week this week- just Monday & Tuesday. I am so looking forward to seeing friends & family for Thanksgiving. What kind of trouble did you all get up to this past weekend? Anyone have any good black Friday sales they are planning to hit up? I will be opting outside Friday with REI hiking with family and the pup, but I might have to take a peak at some online sales 😉

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Prep Craze: Time to talk about watches

Like my punny title for this timely post!? 🙂 Ok, all jokes aside, a nice watch can really add to your outfit, wrist party, and your life. I wear a watch everyday to work because I like being able to tell the time quickly. I feel like its more professional to look at your watch instead of always grabbing your phone. It’s been especially important while my school has been under construction for the past three years. Correct time on the clocks hasn’t been priority at all times.

Watches can get expensive. I remember a few years back being on vacation and a couple honeymooning at the resort told me they were buying matching Breightling watches….I remember smiling in the sunshine saying how nice that was. Then I looked at those same watches out of curiosity at the boutique in the resort and they were selling for thousands of dollars depending on which one you picked! They might have bought watches for the same amount of money they spent on the honeymoon….

Your girl doesn’t have the money for all of that, but I have collected some watches over the years that are nicely priced, and I have my eye on some others.

First up, Daniel Wellington. This brand has a couple different face styles and sizes for women. This is a very common preppy watch. I see them all over instagram and other bloggers. I have very small wrists, so I purchased the 26 mm face. That face has little crystals as the 12 hour marks. My watch is older, the Classy St. Andrews found here on the Bloomingdale’s website. The watch most like it on the current DW page is the Classy St. Mawes. Sometimes there are great deals on these watches through Amazon, I think I got mine for ~$80. Definitely worth checking out.

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Next, Michael Kors. I have the two tone chronograph watch with rhinestones around the face. I got it at the Michael Kors outlet down in Florida when I was visiting my parents, so I got a great deal. I paid $110 for mine. It’s an awesome watch, like a tank, but pretty….a pretty tank.

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My other two watches are from Macy’s and they are both from Tommy Hilfiger. They are old and not on the current site, but here’s a pic of them. I have a black leather band with a gold rectangle face thats very small and feminine, and a bigger white and silver chronograph with a white silicone band that I wear mostly in the summer. I don’t wear the black one as much because I just don’t wear that much black. It’s also reversible to white, but if you reversed to white the keeper is still black? Definitely a design flaw. I just keep it black.

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When it comes to watches, I try to go very classic….a lot of graphics on a watch face seem more trendy to me…something I might not want to wear in 20 years? Kate Spade for example has some lovely classic watches, and then others with sayings on them that might not be relevant to me someday. Oh and Kate Spade watches are expensive, so if you get one, I imagine you would want it to last a while in your rotation.

I have a brown leather band, a black leather band, a metallic two tone, and a white watch….so I am really covered for just about any outfit. I like the navy and white band for the DW watches, but I can live without it and spend less on a navy and white bracelet from say, Kiel James Patrick. Then I am making my outfit/wrist party a little more interesting while saving money.

Here are some watches that I am looking to check out from Timex because they have some classy bands at a very nice price. The Timex Weekender has a very classic look to the face, in both gold and silver tones.

Here’s one with a fabulous tweed band Weekender Tweed for $42

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And another with a plaid band Weekender Plaid for $42 as well.

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And another thats similar to the navy and white DW watch Weekender Varsity Row for $36.

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Now,  the face is big, 38 mm…..so that might be too big for some ladies. Honestly, just poking around the women’s section of the Timex website, there are quite a few nice watches for $60 and under. The Easton Avenue collection has some very nice watches that are $44-52. Might be an option for anyone looking for a nice classy watch for a good price. Here’s my favorite Easton Avenue with a black leather band, and a mother of pearl dial face, so pretty for $44. It has a more mature look to it IMO, but would be nice for work for sure.

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Anyway, outlet shopping is definitely the way to get a Michael Kors watch, and Amazon is a great way to get an affordable Daniel Wellington. I hope mine last for many years to come. Don’t be too good to hit up department stores for good watches. I love my two Tommy watches. There were some awesome Sperry watches in the past too.  Get a few nice basic watches. You can always dress up that wrist with bracelets or cuffs. Watches are a part of our professional dress. If you have the dollars to buy some extra fun watches with graphics or sayings, or you have a more casual work environment, then do it up, but remember, they all tell time, which is their primary function. We like having multiple watches to match our outfits, but when it comes down to it, we only need one.

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Polo lessons with Stage Hill Polo

As I sit here watching Love at the Christmas Table on Lifetime snuggled up with my pup and some hot chocolate, its tough to remember just how cold I was Saturday morning up at Stage Hill Polo! Mizpah (the pup) is actually a bit damp right now because I had to bathe girlfriend after she got into something on the trails today…traildogprobs.

Anyway, I might be in love with polo. I don’t think I have aspirations of playing the crazy upper level polo, but I had so much fun Saturday! We just worked on hitting an arena polo ball at nothing more than a walk. Next time I am hoping for a trot. We’ll see. The groupon deal for these lessons was crazy affordable so I can actually afford to keep riding at my barn too while I take a few more polo lessons.

Not having a horse, finding opportunities like this to spend time with horses is amazing. Stage Hill Polo is run by Peter Poor and they compete at Myopia Polo’s tournaments. His father Joseph Poor and him are both polo legends. I mean, the arena at Myopia is named after Joseph Poor. Peter’s two daughters Amanda & Alyson are also amazing polo players.  I watched Stage Hill Polo play at Myopia recently actually (see the post here!). Dan Keating of Newport Polo learned how to play polo with Stage Hill. Here are some pics from the morning thanks to my amazing fiancé. I rode a horse named Salsa, owned by the Poor family, and her photo hangs at the Polo Museum Hall of Fame. The horses were all in awesome condition, you can tell they are truly loved and taken care of at Stage Hill.

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I think that there is a movement right now to make polo more accessible to the masses….instead of 3 amazing polo players and one rich guy which is what we often see in the higher level polo world, Stage Hill Polo is trying to create a polo community….where many moderately committed horse people pay bits of money to participate in the great sport of polo. Making polo less exclusive is profitable. Maybe one person for ever five that shows up for a lesson actually sticks with it, but the more people into the sport, bringing money into these barns, the better for everyone. More teams, more tournaments, more players….sounds good for Myopia. Now I am not saying that there isn’t some serious high quality polo going on at Myopia, because there is, but developing this community will create a feeder system, of younger athletes. We might not be socialites or royalty, BUT we just want to pay a fee to learn and use your horses. We aren’t at a place in our lives where we want our own barn of polo ponies to take care of, but we will contribute to yours in exchange. Stage Hill Polo doesn’t want to hide polo, or hold it up above our heads. Peter Poor wants to bring people in to the world of polo, not keep people out. Do as much as you can do or want to do.

Steve Rudolph was our instructor for this lovely lesson, and he was great. Everyone at Stage Hill was great, it was an awesome experience. The price thanks to Groupon was just right too 😉

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Some historic homes in Newbury/Newburyport & beer sampling!

This past weekend I played some beginner polo at Stage Hill Polo in Newbury, MA and afterwards did a bit of driving around/wandering admiring all the beautiful historic homes. There are so many gorgeous federal style homes in the area.

One really amazing home that was on my list of places to see was the Spencer-Pierce-Little farm in Newbury. It was built in 1690 which makes it 325 years old. If walls could talk huh? The building is actually a seventeenth century manor house with a farmhouse attached.  A family actually lived in the farmhouse through the 20th century. The manor house is really a remnant of a time when Newburyport was home to very wealthy merchants that profited from the trade coming in and out of the area. Now, it is a national landmark that does tours and educational outreach. They also have goats, donkeys, pigs, and I think I saw some sheep and a horse too. The animals are all from the MSPCA at Nevins Farm which is awesome. You don’t really get to see this style of home very often in Massachusetts, it struck me as something out of the English countryside, something out of one of my favorite Jane Austen novels.

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Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm
The 17th century manor portion
The 17th century manor portion
Farmhouse attached
Farmhouse attached
Front door of the manor portion of the building
Front door of the manor portion of the building

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The other home that I stopped at was the Caleb Cushing house in Newburyport built in 1808. It’s a gorgeous 4 story brick federal style mansion. So pretty, it has 4 chimneys for the multiple hearths/fireplaces we see in federal style homes. The windows are arranged symmetrically and there is a very nice little fanlight above the main entrance. The home once belonged to Caleb Cushing, a US Congressman from MA and the Attorney General under Franklin Pierce. Now the Historical Society of Old Newbury is housed in the beautiful mansion. Sadly, there’s power or phone lines right on the corner of the street that the house is on…..couldn’t they have considered the aesthetic of the future views of the home when they wired the area? 🙂 Anyway, this checks off a couple places on my list. I probably could have spent a couple days wandering around these two towns admiring all the homes.

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From there, my fiance, Jon, and I headed over to Nashua/Amherst NH area to shop for wedding bands and grab some food & drinks at Martha’s Exchange (careful hashtagging this one as it can look like Martha Sex Change). We tried all 8 of the beers that they offer, and they were all really good. My favorite was the Volstead. We swung up to Able Ebenezer’s ale room (no food) after and tried their beers…..I’ll be honest, Martha’s had better beers in my opinion. Martha’s also had awesome food and a candy/sweets counter to visit on your way out, delicious truffles.

Sampler at Martha's Exchange
Sampler at Martha’s Exchange
Sampler at Able Ebenezer's, my favorite was the Auburn, all the way to the left
Sampler at Able Ebenezer’s, my favorite was the Auburn, all the way to the left

My fiance and I are getting married this spring and then we will be house hunting. Part of me wants the old historic home because I admire them so much, but I also know they are a ton of work! More posts to come on Stage Hill Polo & my lovely Sunday at Equine Affaire out in Springfield! Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

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Luckiest Girl Alive by J. Knoll: Glad I kept reading….

This week I finished reading Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. My feeling about the book now that I am done is positive, but it was a rough start. In the beginning, our main character, TifAni, is downright caustic…even a little vulgar. I found myself wondering if I was reading about a sociopath hiding in society behind a nice job, nice clothes, and a nice fiance. I forced myself to push on.

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Yep, another library book from a library in my area, free books. Love it.

As the book continues and you begin to learn about the secrets in her past that are alluded to throughout the beginning of the book, you start to learn why she is like that. Her personality starts to soften as you learn about the things that Ani went through at her private preppy high school, The Bradley School. By the end of the book, I was totally on Ani’s side and I started rooting for her to make the right decisions as the book comes to a close.

The writing itself was tough in some spots. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present, and sometimes, I had to use context to figure out where we were. The way that the author described sequential events was tough for me too…I guess I like more detail than she provided sort of taking you through an event from beginning to end and her writing was a little more choppy. Her description of an event was almost like snap shots as opposed a movie, not as continuous as I like.

Being a high school teacher & spending my days with adolescents, a lot of this book was familiar to me. The struggle for acceptance that doesn’t actually end after high school (we just don’t care as much) is very visible in my students. Even the way some of my students act like they don’t care about being accepted….they are actually gaining acceptance by others like them. Clothes, sneakers, backpacks, phones, earbuds, jewelry, lunch bags, hair style/color…..these are all badges they wear to present to their peers. They search for others that have the same badges. Sometimes they search for peers that have better badges, badges that they envy and want. High school is tough for many teens, thankfully it only lasts 4 years. From this book though, even though she was an extreme case that went through some traumatic things, our main character was still being plagued by things that happened in high school even in her late twenties.

Now, this is probably the 3rd book that I have read since the summer where the main female character had a dysfunctional relationship with an overbearing status-obsessed mother.

What’s up with that?

Can’t we write a fun, interesting, book with a female character that has a strong bond with her mother? Is that just not interesting? Is that not typical in the “preppy” world where many of the books I like are based? The Nanny Diaries that I read this past summer showed a nice relationship with parents with Nanny….but obviously Mr. & Mrs. X were not model parents. The Secret Life of Violet Grant, Everybody Rise, and now Luckiest Girl Alive all had weird family dynamics with the main characters. Elin Hildebrand’s books which I love in the summer usually have some good mother daughter relationships. I usually read one of her lovely Nantucket based books each summer, so perfect for the beach!

I hope that you all have great weekends ahead. After an awesome riding lesson last night, I am setting off into a horse filled weekend. I am working on my jumping skills and last night took a very forward, borderline impossible to stop, horse over cross rails. So fun. Happy Friday! TGIF!

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