Sarah & John's Wedding

After exploring Burlington & Lake Champlain, we packed up our stuff and headed down to Vergennes, VT. The wedding location was the Basin Harbor Club, which was a beautiful setting.



Father & Daughter - walking down the aisle



Groomsmen

Bridesmaids

Married!

The Leeuw's!


After the wedding, there was a happy hour by the water. It was perfect weather & so pretty!

After happy hour, we went inside for the reception. She had ammmmmazing food that was local and wonderful. We chose from dips, salads, pasta bar, and turkey or fish. So good!

Bride & Groom dancing

Me & Sammi, the Brides Sister

Me, Jeff, & Kristine. We all grew up in Milford and Kristine and I went to HS together!

Kimmy, MIssy, Me

After the reception, there was an after party at the bar on the property. It was fun to dance and get crazy like old times.

In the AM, we had breakfast and then we departed back for MA.

Posing in front of the main lodge


We drove back to MA and saw a ton of farms & cows! VT is very pretty

Once we got back to MA, we stopped for a much needed pizza lunch. Then, we relaxed before my flight. After getting to the airport, my flight was delayed and I did not get home until 1230am!! I flew Jet Blue for the first time though & it was great. You get FREE drinks AND snacks!!

Anyway, I was soooo excited to see Erik & Evie. I really missed our little family being spread apart for so long.

Here they are at around 130am, after we got home & ready for bed.

Lake Champlain

Before heading the wedding, Kimmy & I did some more exploration of Burlington. We took a stroll down to Lake Champlain and also the Farmer's Market. The wedding was at 430 so we left around 2pm to head out to the wedding location.







We strolled down by the lake & on the bike path. There was a 5K walk going on plus a Fishing Derby.

More cows!

Cute Farmer's Market with everything from vegetables to photos to handmade soap

We had a local apple which was delish.


While I always end up reflecting on everything when I visit home, I realized something this trip. We all do the same stuff, no matter where we live. We all go to work - some of us bike there, some drive, some take the bus. We all go for a run - I can run past the GG Bridge, Someone else runs past the Lincoln Monument, someone else runs thru the woods or past a beach. I guess where you live just has to do with options - I have a TON of places to choose from to eat here in SF but in a small suburb, you are limited. But, really, we are all the same. We all do the same stuff in every town & city - it just looks different depending where you are.

CT to MA to VT

On Friday, I took the train from New Haven to Boston. Kimmy picked me up and we drove out to Burlington, VT. My friend Sarah got married on Saturday and we stayed with Kimmy's friend, Jen, on Friday. We got to stroll Church St. and meet up with another friend, Greta, for dinner. It was a great day but LOTS of driving! It was 2 hr train ride to MA, then a 3 hr ride to VT. It was a pretty ride though.





Church St is a cute, downtown area. There are a lot of restaurants & shops. There was a little band playing live music & everyone is just outside milling around.



Cute cow parade was all throughout the town!



We went to this great restaurant, The Farm House

They had a lot of local cheese on the menu which was delish

They had a TON of beers including beers in a bottle the size of a wine bottle

I had a Hefewizen from the oldest brewery in the world!

Kimmy & Jenn

Me & Greta

For dinner, we had the cheese to start. Then, we tried the friend green beans - which were a disappointment. They were not very good! For dinner, I had a turkey burger with cheese, arugula, & apple. So good.

After dinner, we went to a bonfire at the location of the Wedding. It was a comedy of errors trying to find the bonfire. We went to the lodge to ask where it was & the woman at the desk basically told us to cross over the lake to get there. We couldn't see the fire from where we were standing. We started to walk to the fire area but realized we didn't know where we were going. We went back to the lodge and asked to be driven over there. So, we arrived via golf cart at the bonfire. haha. It was funny & great to see Sarah before the big wedding day!

More Labor Day Weekend

In addition to the US Open and picnic, I had a lot of time to spend with family & friends. We had a little get together at Erik's parents house. We had yummy Rice, Beans, Yucca, and more.

Enjoying Dinner

Erik & his Uncle Freddy

Erik, playing with his cousins


We went to my favorite place for wings - Archie's

Khai & his mom, Eva

After Erik flew back to CA and Kimmy went back to MA, I hung out with my Mom during the week. I walked the dog down to the beach & remembered how pretty it is in CT.


I also got to see my friends Gwyn & Steve for dinner, play tennis with Tara, & get my nails done with Mom.


We also joined my Grandparents for lunch one day.

My Dad also took a day off & we went to lunch with him at On The Border. Another place I love & are scarce in CA. On Thursday, I went out for a drink with Marla and said my goodbyes. It is always hard to say goodbye when I leave for CA.

The next day, I took the train up to Boston!

Labor Day Picnic

On Sunday, we had a Labor Day picnic at my parents house! It was great to have our family & friends all come to one central location so we could hang out.

Marla, Me, Soukie & Eva

Me & my buddy, Khai

What a beautiful family!! These little girls - Aubrey & Riley are super smart and well mannered.

Me with Grandma & Grandpa

Kimmy & Me - I think my hair still looks red!

Me with Tara & Erik

The Buffone family. Little Natalie is only 2 and is talking so well.

Aunts & Uncles

Natalie with her doll, Maggie. So cute!

We had yummy food - salads, dips, burgers, fish, and of course, lots of beer! It was a pretty chill party. Last year, we got a little crazy but this year, it was more relaxed. At the end of the night, we sat around the new fire pit my Dad has. It was nice to just chill and be with our friends.

US Open

Kimmy, my Uncle & I went down to the US Open for the day on Friday, 9/3. We LOVE going and spend the entire day down there. We were literally there from 11am-9pm. I love seeing so many matches throughout the day & getting to be up close to all of the players. We spent most of the day in Armstrong stadium to see the matches.

Stephanie Stosur from Australia

6'9" John Isner. He has a monster serve & huge wingspan

We watched the Isner match until it started to rain a little. We just stayed in the stands with our umbrella until it was over. Then, we went to get lunch and caught part of the Harrison match on the big screen. This guy is only 18 and from the US. Watch for him - he will be big. He went 5 sets with a seeded player and lost in a tie-break.

Ryan Harrison - 18 yr old US player

We really were having fun. It was just hot there!

We went to Ashe stadium to watch the end of the Andy Murray match. 

 

 

Me & Uncle Earl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sky threatening rain

One thing I noticed this year at the Open is the increase in liquor companies there pushing their drinks. There is a Grey Goose tent that was selling martini's and other drinks. I felt like half of the people at the Open were there to buy shirts & drink. They didn't know the etiquette of the game(when to sit/not walk) and were yapping all through the matches.


We finished the day around 9pm. So exhausted. We went home and probably to bed within an hour. Great day!!

Me & Uncle Earl, nearing the end of the day. I was TIRED

Trip to Connecticut

Milford, CT

Erik & I left for CT on Thursday, 9/2. We were on different flights, since he decided at the last minute to go to CT. Sooooo, I got picked up by Super Shuttle at 330am (UGH) and was on a 6am flight to Hartford. He dropped Evie off at camp and was on a 9am flight to Hartford. Kimmy picked me up at the airport which is always great.

We drove down to my parents house and got my absolute favorite pizza, Papa's. The pizza is brick oven pizza and just soooo delicious. We also stopped by my Grandparents house to say hello. It was great. I don't think I know what Jet Lag is because I was ready for bed at 9pm which was really 6pm PST.

The next day, we headed down to my favorite sporting event....US OPEN!!

Hey Hey

Hey Everyone - I am back from my tour de New England. Have lots to post & pics to share.

You will notice that blog is public again, too. Yippee!!! I did some archiving, deleting, & feel good about having this public again.

More to come!!

Our CT Trip

Our trip to CT has been great so far. We got here on Thursday. I got home & had my favorite pizza. On Friday, I spent the ENTIRE day at the US Open with my sister & Uncle. The Hurricane was threatening the East Coast but never hit. We got about 10 min of rain delay at the open but that was it! Saturday, we just relaxed & then had a great dinner at Erik's house. We also saw our friends' new home which is beautiful. Sunday, we had a Labor Day picnic at my Parents. Today, we just relaxed and then went to Happy Hour at my favorite bar & more pizza!!

I'm here all week and then leaving for Boston/VT on Friday for the weekend. Hoping to just relax & see some more friends.

Crazies

This week is FULL of seeing Crazies.

1. The Healer w/ his bag of Crystals
2. Saw a guy with antenna on his head like a bug, wearing a cape
3. Saw a guy on the train sniffing his medicinal marijuana and lining it up on his lap

Always something!

Ready to Go

Wow- today is out of control busy. You would think I was dying tomorrow instead of going away. I am getting a ton of emails, questions, etc. before leaving for CT tomorrow. After work, I have a short list of things to do include get a manicure and cuddle with the May. I will miss her sooooooo much while I am gone. The Super Shuttle is picking me up tomorrow at 330am. BLAH! My flight is at 6am and I get into Hartford at 5pm.

Now, let's talk about a little visitor I was not expecting to see in CT - Earl. Hurricane Earl. He is expected to soak us on Friday - the day I have my US Open tickets for. :-( I am going to think positive that he will go out to sea and leave us alone!

Last night, Evie and I drove to get dog food. Then, we walked from the store down to Dolores Park. We visited this park a few weeks ago but just quickly. This time, we ran all around and Evie had fun. Her tongue was hanging out as we ran back to the car. She loooooves exploring new places.

Well, I'm leaving soon to go pack, and get ready for the flight tomorrow!