Tag: prep

Engagement Photo Shoot

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle6 Comments

Today, I have the day off for Veteran’s Day. My father is a veteran of the Vietnam War, both of my grandfather’s were in WWII…and on my father’s side, we have fought in every conflict on American soil and overseas for America. My father’s family has been here since 1635 though, so thats pretty common in families that have been kicking around America that long. My dad is now the treasurer for his 82nd Airborne Association club down in FL, and my mom is pretty active in the Daughters of the American Revolution too, so they were both busy today. My dad has been in a golf tournament this week that ended today, and my mom served lunch at a Veteran’s Day assembly. I’m sure wherever I end up settling down with a family will be where I join the DAR. I feel very proud of my family’s military heritage.

It’s been raining here in Massachusetts today, so I have been catching up on laundry, reading (working on Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll), food shopping….I know, so glamorous. The peace and quiet of today has given me a chance to look over my fiancé, Jon, and I’s photos from this past weekend. Our photographer for our wedding offers a complementary photo shoot beforehand. I don’t really think of it as an engagement shoot so much because we have been engaged since August, but I guess thats the best thing to call it!

I was thinking about wearing this adorable gray J. Crew factory fair isle sweater, but when I put it on over my white button down, it just looked boxy!! I made a game time decision to wear my navy Woolover cashmere/cotton blend sweater instead. I wore a very simple outfit, but it was very “me” I think. Jon wore one of his many plaid flannel shirts; pretty much his uniform in the colder months, he’s too cute. The location was dog friendly, which was awesome because it meant Mizpah, our dalmatian, got to be a part of the photos. It was a cold and windy day, but I think our photographer did a great job getting some nice shots!

View More: http://studiolphotographers.pass.us/monica-and-john View More: http://studiolphotographers.pass.us/monica-and-john View More: http://studiolphotographers.pass.us/monica-and-john View More: http://studiolphotographers.pass.us/monica-and-john View More: http://studiolphotographers.pass.us/monica-and-john View More: http://studiolphotographers.pass.us/monica-and-john

These photos brightened my day. I love the one of us in our crew jackets from behind. Jon and I began as friends & teammates at WPI so many years ago. I could have never predicted that we would be here, so happy and getting married in the spring. Life is funny.

Hope you all had a peaceful Veteran’s Day and had a moment to just appreciate the sacrifices service men, women, animals, and their families have made to keep Americans safe.

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Next CEO of LLBean announced last week

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

As readers of my blog know, I love LLBean. I love their products, prices, quality, customer service, and I love Freeport ME. That being said, I will be watching closely to see what kind of changes will occur. The current CEO, Chris McCormick, took over in 2001, and has worked for LLBean since 1983. Mr. McCormick was the first leader of LLBean that wasn’t a member of the family, but he has a long history at the company, including serving the role of chief operating officer before he became CEO.

The man that has been chosen to replace McCormick is Stephen Smith, currently Walmart’s chief marketing and merchandising officer in China. Smith will start in January and McCormick will step down in February, so they will have a one month overlap. Smith did live in Portland ME with his family for 6 years, so its not like he is a total alien to the area. He is also involved in hiking in the White Mountains, cycling, kayaking, swimming, skiing/snowboarding at Sunday River & Sugarloaf, and says he wants to hike Katahdin. Despite all of that, he is the first CEO that is not a member of the family and didn’t come from working at LLBean.

I know that Smith has fantastic experience from working for Hannaford’s and Walmart, but when I heard that part of the reason why they hired him was to deal with the boot backlog AND that he has ties to retail in China, I couldn’t help but to have the worry that manufacturing Bean boots will end up being outsourced to China. I know, that is crazy talk. It won’t happen. He isn’t even involved in manufacturing, he’s a marketing guy. LLBean employs so many people in Maine, and Bean boots have always been handcrafted in Maine, and that’s the way it will always be, right? Right!? Look at these boots, made by human hands right in Maine. Love them.

BRUNSWICK, ME - JULY 31: L.L. Bean Boots after their rubber soles were topstitched to the leather in Brunswick, ME on Friday, July 31, 2015. (Photo by Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer)
 Photo by Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer of Portland Press Herald

Leon Gorman, before he recently passed away, gave his stamp of approval to Smith, saying that Smith was the real deal. I am all about LLBean becoming more and more successful, as long as quality stays the same or increases, prices stay lower than competitors, and customer service stays the same. Here’s the story from the Portland Press Herald.

I love this company & honestly see working at LLBean as a total retirement for fun job. I just sent off my LLBean wish list to family members that asked for Christmas gift ideas, can’t help but wonder how this changing of the guard will affect my beloved brand….I am going to choose to hope for the best though. Stephen Smith, I’m here if you ever need advice!

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Gushing review of Everybody Rise

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle3 Comments

Last night I finished Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford. It was really good, a total page turner especially towards the end. This tale is based on a twenty something living in NYC. She went to the right schools and her mom pushed her to be a connected socialite, but it doesn’t really take until she starts working for a social networking site meant for the young socialites i.e. the prep school kids, the trust fund tennis playing gin and tonic drinkin rowin investment bankin twenty somethings. Our heroine starts to fall down the rabbit hole, trying to “make it” in this group. The luxurious life is fun to read about for sure, but inevitably, the train crashes, and my, it is an interesting train wreck.

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I loved it….because on some level, I get it. Growing up in youth orchestras in Cambridge/Boston, and now in the horse world, I know what its like to be just slightly on the outside. You really have to be comfortable in your skin and strong in what your priorities and values are. Money is a tough thing, people that have a lot of it can spend how they please. They buy a dress for $300, and its nothing to them. You buy a dress for $300 and you can afford it, you have the money in your account, but that price tag impacts you SO much more. Its relative. Honestly, we all struggle with money, when you have more, you just tend to spend more.

There’s always someone that has more than you. Take care of your own grass. Water it, sing to it, love it. When other people’s grass looks greener or sounds more fun, let that push you to focus on your own life. Let jealousy, the sideways glance at someone who seems to have what you want, help you to refocus on your goals, and the REALISTIC steps you are taking to reach them.

This book brings the reader on a journey of a young woman looking for acceptance. I think we can all sympathize with that longing. It was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone. The next two books I am getting at How to Start a Fire and Luckiest Girl Alive. Annnnnd yes, that’s a library book. I love libraries. Free books. I love my librarians too, they are fabulous.

Read free books friends, its good for your wallet, brain, and soul.

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Prep Craze: The Fair Isle Sweater

On By careofmonIn Fashion10 Comments

It has been very warm in Massachusetts this week, but the cold will come. My winter uniform is a sweater over a button down….I wear all the combinations I own until the weather warms up. There is so much variety in sweaters….cable knit, crew neck, fisherman, v-neck, honeycomb, aran, argyle, intarsia, wool, cotton, merino, cashmere……I could go on and on. Today though, we talk about the fair isle sweater.

Fair isle is actually a knitting technique from the Fair Isle of Scotland. The designs that we know as being fair isle are supposed to be in rows that go around the sweater circularly, no more than two colors per row, and really no more than five colors per sweater. There are rules about how many stitches the patterned rows can be too. All that being said, we can probably assume that not all sweaters that we call fair isle are actually fair isle. Popularity of this knitting technique started back in the 1920s when the Prince of Wales, later to be Edward VIII, wore fair isle tank tops.

Here he is in a fair isle v-neck. I love it, this was actually a portrait of him with his dog that was used for this advertisement….the media…even then.

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Anyway, I have jumped on the bandwagon as affordably as I could. Here are my two sweaters from Old Navy, both older…..the navy one on the right is probably not a true fair isle because the stitching is more just around the neck, like a yoke design I guess.

Fair Isle Style Sweaters from Old Navy
Fair Isle Style Sweaters from Old Navy

Currently, I can’t recommend any fair isle sweaters from Old Navy. What they have right now under fair isle looks more like just geometric shapes…..not the classic fair isle. And then here are my two fair isle sweaters from J. Crew factory. The one of the left is old, the one on the right is current. Its on sale too, $34.50. Its very soft, we will see how it holds up.

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So where else can we find deals on fair isle? There are always a few from Vineyard Vines. I remember the photos of Sarah Vickers, Macy Medema, and Devon Mackenzie from the KJP crew all wearing c/o Vineyard Vines fair isle sweaters a few years ago. It was lovely, but those sweaters are hitting you at ~$140 and upwards? The sweaters are really nice looking, but a little pricey for me.

Here it is, I think its from a couple years ago…its kinda preppy perfection with the scenery, vest, Barbour, bean boots, and Hunters.  Fair isle has always been a winter trend, but I remember around this time it became a really hot trend for the preppy crowd.

Devon, Sarah, and Macy in their beautiful fair isle sweaters, C/O

Woolrich has some nice looking ones Mohair Fair Isle Sweaters at $99. I am concerned though because reviews for some of their other motif sweaters have been negative, and there are no reviews on these yet…

Woolovers has a nice crew neck sweater in lambswool, all different colors, and I can speak to the excellent quality of these sweaters: Fair Isle Sweater and these ring in at $48 plus shipping from England haha. The only thing that stinks is returning sweaters to England is expensive, so pay attention to reviews and sizing info. Here is my favorite.

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Talbots always has some nice fair isle options…although they too have some that they are labeling as fair isle even though its just some zig zags and diamonds….here’s my two faves together actually! The one on the left I know is actually a dress but its here for $119 and the sweater on the right is here for $89. Great thing about Talbots though is they have awesome end of the season sales, so get one their email list and wait if those prices are still too high.

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Here is one from Brooks Brothers. The color combination is not for me, but $88 is not a terrible price for a sweater from them. Its kinda a weird one though because the pattern is only on the front and the elbow patches? They have another one for $148….which puts it in the same category as the Vineyard Vines sweaters…..beautiful, but not realistic for me…and probably many of us right now.

And lastly, LLBean….this sweater from the LLBean Signature collection is on my Christmas/birthday list. I love the colors, and I am sure that the merino is very soft. Its $94…..which is out of my price range, but…its a wish list item, something I wouldn’t buy for myself. We can dream right?

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Another amazing place to check out would be Etsy. There are sooooo many vintage sweaters on there from LLBean, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, and others. You have to be careful because some of the Etsy stores don’t accept refunds and sizing has changed over the years but there are some real gems if you have the time to look. Then when people ask where you got it….you can say, oh, its vintage.

My fiancé and I are doing an engagement photo shoot this weekend….which of those J Crew sweaters should I wear? Looking for opinions! Its an outdoor shoot….so there’s either the cream sweater with navy and orange stitching OR the gray with navy, mint, and white stitching….lemme know what you think!!

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American Pharoah Settles in at Ashford Stud

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Yesterday, American Pharoah arrived at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud near Versaille KY. I think it was like, 8 miles down the road from Keeneland in Lexington KY. American Pharoah raced his last race, the Breeder’s Cup, in Keeneland on Saturday. He won decisively. Since he won the Belmont Stakes making him the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, American Pharoah has actually raced three times. Many may have retired him right after that Belmont win, but American Pharoah went on to win the Haskell Invitational, then came in second at the Travers, and then finally won the Breeders. In his short three years of life, he has raced 10 times, winning 8 of those races. American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert, and Ahmed Zayat will be a team that my generation won’t forget. This is the first Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I watched Secretariat the movie on Sunday, a Triple Crown winner from 1973, and got a little misty eyed thinking about all the work that goes into these horses and how amazing it must feel to see that horse race and win.

American Pharoah’s story has brought great press and lots of warm and fuzzies to the horse racing world. A quick google search will tell you that the horse racing world has had it fair share of scandal over the years, so its nice when there can be some positive press there. Unfortunately, because of the amount of money to made or lost in horse racing, there will always be scandal.

American Pharoah was born to do this. His father was Pioneer of the Nile, who came in 2nd in the Kentucky Derby back in 2009. He also has Unbridled as a great grand sire, and Northern Dancer blood on his father’s side. His mother’s side has Native Dancer blood, an almost Triple Crown winner. He settled into his stall at his new home yesterday where he will now be the sire, grandsire, and so on to many babies. Stud fees will likely by in the six figures, but many will pay that hoping that they are creating the next Triple Crown winner. So much careful planning goes into breeding these racehorses. There are people out there that think horse racing is cruel….well I don’t agree but sadly there are cruel people out there. Seeing horses run and play in their paddocks when their young, you just have to know that they love running. Some are just better at it than others.

American Pharoah surrounded by his team arriving to Ashford Stud to his stall which was last used by a horse named Grand Slam, ha
American Pharoah surrounded by his team arriving to Ashford Stud to his stall which was last used by a horse named Grand Slam, ha
A tender moment between Bob Baffert and American Pharoah
A tender moment between Bob Baffert and American Pharoah

There are so many pictures of American Pharoah’s last race. His jockey, Victor Espinoza is the first jockey of Latin descnet to win the Triple Crown, and his trainer Bob Baffert is the oldest trainer at 62 to win the Triple Crown. Remember him racing, the excitement of watching him win. Thank god he is still healthy through these post- Triple Crown races. Also, remember now that its about his legacy. He raced only a couple years, and made history, I can’t wait to see what the first generation of American Pharoah babies will do!

Heres the article from Bloodhorse about American Pharoah’s arrival at Ashford Stud, there are some very nice pictures.

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Halloween Mt. Major Hike

On By careofmonIn Hiking, LifestyleLeave a comment

This past weekend we headed up to NH for a hike and an Oktoberfest/Halloween get together. Its true we are past peak with foliage in NH but its still gorgeous out there. Past peak still means a lot of yellows and rusts and browns. Its still so colorful out there. Mt. Major is a little guy, and there are a couple ways up. There is a steeper & quicker route and then a more windy & gradual route. We had my future inlaws with us so we decided to take the more gradual route. Our pup was staying with them while we headed to the party, so we had to make sure Mizpah was tired and not crazy for her babysitters.

Nice wide trails here
Nice wide trails here
Golden morning
Golden morning
Lake Winnipesaukee, amazing colors
Lake Winnipesaukee, amazing colors
We forgot my LLBean backpack but thankfully Jon had his from elementary school ha
We forgot my LLBean backpack but thankfully Jon had his from elementary school ha
Girls on the summit
Girls on the summit, wearing my LLBean Sweater Fleece pullover, so comfortable and a great top layer for this hike!

I don’t know, I feel like the leaf peepers miss one of the best phases of foliage after Columbus Day weekend. It was so gorgeous Saturday. After the hike my amazing fiancé made homemade soft pretzels for the Oktoberfest/Halloween party. I bought pumpkin bread from my favorite country store and he made homemade perfect pretzels, he’s definitely a better cook haha.

Homemade Oktoberfest Pretzels
Homemade Oktoberfest Pretzels

For the party I wore an old Oktoberfest beer girl costume that I got years ago, and my fiancé Jon wore his waders as waderhosen with a fishing buddy and they both had the German hats with the feathers. It was fabulous.

It was a great weekend. The hike cost us nothing but gas, we didn’t have to buy anything for our costumes, we just bought stuff for the pretzels, the pumpkin bread, and some German beer which was delicious.

I hope you all had a lovely Halloween weekend! The last horse I wrote about was a tragedy. Tomorrow I will write about a horse that is an inspiration, and a triumph, and thankfully has a very happy ending coming to him 🙂

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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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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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Prep Craze: Dubarry Galway boots & alternatives

On By careofmonIn Fashion2 Comments

Ok, so I am just starting to see these make an appearance in the blogger/instagram world. In the world of riding, there are riding boots or paddock boots for riding, and then there are rubber wellies, and finally there are basically leather wellies. People call them country boots sometimes? Some people do actually ride in them, but they usually don’t hold up to that because the leather is softer & easier to damage than riding boot leather.

Dubarry carries the most expensive and most enviable options. I have a few friends from the barn that have the Dubarry Galway because they literally wear them every day in the mud, mucking stalls, walking miles in the ring teaching riding lessons, they pretty much live in them. For that kind of wear, the price tag of $489, I can see. Where I live the best place to get these is Dubarry Galway Boot, but they sell them through Tuckernuck & Dubarry too. I would just choose to support a tack shop if I was going to get them. Here they are, one of my friends has them in black too, really nice.

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Here are the Dubarry Longford Boots, slightly higher price point at $529.

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Dubarry’s are popular among some of the bloggers. Sarah Vickers of Classy Girls Wear Pearls and Rachel Timmerman of Something Delightful have featured them. Alright so now that we have addressed some boots that are a few car payments, let me tell you about some alternatives!

Here are the Dublin River Boots at $189. A lot of women at the barn have these, they are really nice and come in black too.

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Dublin also makes the Dublin Ria Boot for $169.99.

There are also boots from Middleburg, the Middleburg H2O Country Boot for $159.99 but honestly the reviews for Middleburg boots aren’t great, so I can tell you they exist, but I wouldn’t recommend them.

Finally, the boots that I own!! Save the best for last right? I love the dubes, but I knew I couldn’t spend that kind of money on boots, and I wanted something different than the Dublin boots. I found Toggi! Toggi is popular in the UK I believe, but really isn’t seen around here much.

Here are the Toggi Canyon Long Leather Boots for $150. I got the brown ones, and I love them. I wear mine around the barn, when I groom for people at shows, and walking the cross country course with friends before it starts.

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The Canyon Boots in action!

I like these ones too, the Toggi Berkeley Country Boot . They are little more expensive though at $199.00. They look pretty similar to the Dubes huh!?

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Toggi Berkeley Country Boots

I love my Toggi boots, and I do get a sense of satisfaction that they were within my budget, they are great quality, and they are pretty much unknown around here. The Dublin boots are awesome too. If you want to splurge and get the Dubarrys, go for it, they are beautiful, BUT know that they aren’t the only option for a nice waterproof leather country boot. Tack shops like Smartpak & Dover have awesome stuff, and Country and Stable has great stuff too that sometimes hasn’t become popular yet in the US.

Dubarrys are awesome, but they aren’t everything, don’t let someone who got their pair for free tell you different 😉

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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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