Summer Recap - 2013

Summer has flown by. And here I sit, in a beautiful home in Brant Beach, NJ (part of Long Beach Island), reflecting on all I've done in the last few months. I am happy to report that I have accomplished many of my summer goals. While I have MUCH blogging to do in the coming weeks and months, I figured I'd 'check in' and give you an update on my summer bucket list.

1. Readington Balloon Festival
Mom and I woke up one Sunday morning at around 5am to make it to the festival by the time the balloons were due to take off. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get up the morning prior, because the clouds were much more appealing, but we are still glad we went.

2) Peach Festival (NJ)
An annual family tradition includes going to the Annual Peach Festival, held at the Chester Presbyterian Church. It's one of those "you-have-to-be-there" kind of experiences, because while there are peach treats, it's so much more about the "white elephant" they have, where peoples' donated wares are sold. I only took pictures with my iPhone b/c it was rainy, but we went anyway. I was glad to have friends come along, as has become a tradition the past few years.

The ad on the church's website

Dessert tent, complete with peach ice cream, cobbler, sweetened and unsweetened peaches,
and homemade whipped cream

Yummy peach kuchen 

Peaches, ice cream, and whipped cream

A great poetry book I got for $.50

3) Peach Festival (Peddler's Village)
It is with sadness that I report that the Peach Festival in Peddler's Village was very disappointing. I guess I'll just stick to my small-town fun. My dear friend Rikki came to visit for my birthday, which happened to be the weekend of this peach festival. We drove through the countryside to get to Lahaska, PA, and were excited to walk around and enjoy the festivities. While there was a pie eating contest, peach melba, and fresh peaches being sold, we were disappointed to find out there wasn't much more. No ice cream, no pies, no other peach desserts, yet it's advertised to be a Peach Festival. We had a good time nevertheless, and enjoyed a beautiful day in August.

4) Go to the Philadelphia Zoo
While I have not yet gotten to the zoo, I plan to go before fall comes to a close.

5) Go to PA local parks I've not yet been to
I went and did a maternity session at Peace Valley Park. We took photos near the Nature Center, and then drove to another location, close to the lake that runs through the park. I have a photo session in September at Ridley State Park, so I am excited to go there as well. There are still many more parks I'd like to go to, but it's been fun being outside a lot more this past summer.

6) Have a picnic dinner with friends
When my friend Rikki was in town for the weekend of my birthday, we had a modified picnic in a (small) park in town. While we cheated a bit (getting subs from Wawa), we had a great time laughing with one another and enjoying a nice evening. It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday. We left as soon as the mosquitos realized we were their dinner for the evening.

7) Take my nephews on their birthday dates
I regretfully admit I didn't get a chance to do this, BUT we DID have a 'date night' last weekend. We went to Wendy's for dinner, Dairy Queen for dessert, and then went back to their house to watch the movie '42', complete with popcorn. Yes, we had a very healthy evening. :-)

8) Eat as much potato and macaroni salad as possible, and drink sweet tea
All I have to say is this has been been a success. My mom has made numerous batches of her famous potato salad, and what's most ironic about her salad is that it's such a basic potato salad - potatoes, mayo, some slices of hard boiled eggs, and some salt, pepper, and onion powder. I've also had my fair share of iced tea, lemonade, and summer drinks.

9) Get to the NJ beaches at least once
I am VERY happy to say I am AT the beach RIGHT NOW!! I am sitting at the kitchen table of this beautiful home we rented for the week. While I wish I could stay all week, I'll be heading back to PA on Tuesday, as I have to go back to work. But it'll be nice to enjoy at least a few days with my family.
I took some pictures today (day one):

10) Attend a free music night in the park and then get ice cream
I had high hopes of going to Bristol, PA - a town who puts on outdoor concerts, but I didn't make it there. I did, however, eat a lot of ice cream.....haha!!

It was fun keeping a 'bucket list' this summer, and I'm glad I could do so much. It's sad that summer is over, but I am excited to usher in the fall. I can't WAIT to pick apples, enjoy the changing of the leaves, travel to see friends, pick pumpkins, drink caramel apple cider at Starbucks, and start wearing my down vests.

Country Living Online:: published!

Last summer, I took a trip to Massachusetts with my dear friend Rikki. On our way back to Rikki's home in NY state, we went and saw the Vanderbilt Mansion. It was a casual visit. I only took a few pictures, and then we stopped in the gift shop they had.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by someone on staff at Hearst Corporation. They sought out my picture of the Vanderbilt Mansion for an online piece being written by Country Living on the Hudson Valley.

 

(image obtained from countryliving.com)

The article has been published online and my picture is there. It's always exciting seeing your work published, even if in a small way.

Morgan, thanks for contacting me and for publishing my work. The Hudson Valley IS a beautiful place. If you're looking for a fun getaway, check out the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY taking place June 7-9.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NYC adventures:: Day One

This past week I went to NYC twice. You may be asking yourself, why twice? Well, I'd love to tell you. :-) I went in on Wednesday with the G's - to see our friend Caleb. Then I went back in the next day to see friends from photography school. It actually made more sense to go in on two separate days than to figure out the logistics of carrying around luggage all day to spend the night.

Here's the adventures on Day One:

As we're getting ready to leave PA, I catch this little gem...nothing like sharing your love for reading:

Leave PA at 8:30am. Go through the Lincoln Tunnel. Arrive NYC and park in some non-descript parking garage, where the attendants get a thrill revving engines as they whip around the garage fetching cars. Walk many city blocks and avenues to be tourists for a bit. We show the kids St. Patrick's Cathedral, point out Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and some other historic places.

But what's on Meg's mind? Going to the American Girl Place. So we head to our next destination. And she is enthralled. Molly is her favorite.

Then we walked to meet up with Caleb, and he took us to eat at Blockheads, a wonderful New York chain of Mexican food.

After eating, we walked back toward Caleb's building and enjoyed some chocolate chip cookies in this beautiful 'oasis' - an open space between two buildings, complete with little tables, pots of blooming daffodils, vines climbing the walls, and a walled fountain. The kids enjoyed running around and chasing some birds.

After we say our goodbyes to Caleb, we head toward FAO Schwarz, and watch the kids enjoy sensory overload for a bit. As we walk toward the store, we hear dance music coming from this guy's bike....and we deem him the coolest guy in town, amidst all the yellow.

All in all, we had a fabulous day. As soon as we got in the car, the kids fell asleep and we began our journey back to PA. Check back for adventures from Day Two!

Philadelphia:: Mini Historical Tour

I have made it a personal goal for 2013 to get out more. What that means specifically is open for interpretation, but I live near so many cute towns/cities and am only a 1/2 hour from Philadelphia, and I rarely visit. I also got a smart phone in November and have enjoyed taking snippets of life and capturing them with Instagram. It's forced me to be more creative compositionally, and I've begun to follow complete strangers whose work inspires me. So the goal is quite simple: at least once a month, I want to spend at least a few hours out in a town/city that is near me. So far the list includes: New Hope, Peddlers Village, Newtown, Philadelphia, Manayunk (all in PA), and Princeton, Lambertville (both in NJ). I am hoping for my list to expand, but I figure that's a good place to start.

This past weekend, I took a trip into Philly with the family I live with. The weather was supposed to be warmer than usual for a January day, so we drove down, found great parking, and walked around the Historic District of Philly for a few hours. The kids have been learning about Betsy Ross and Benjamin Franklin, and so they were excited to see the sites. Our first stop was to see the Liberty Bell; I hadn't been to see the bell since my 5th grade field trip to Philly. Of course, when you're younger, everything seems larger than life, so when I saw the bell this time, it looked so small to me. But there's nothing like sticking 2 cute kids in front of it. They were a bit shy at first, but the posted guard told them they could get a 'prize' if they had their picture taken. Afterward, he gave them each a souvenir card with history of the bell on it.

Then we walked past the Constitution Center, Independence Hall, and the US Mint, and they posed for some pictures along the way.

We also passed the grave of Benjamin Franklin - contained within the Christ Church Burial Ground. We then made our way to see the Betsy Ross House. The house tour was quite informative; it was great to learn about her flag making from a reenactor. She was great with the kids, and showed them different materials Betsy would have used to fill pillowcases. She also showed them how to quickly make a 5-point star, and gave them a star to remember their visit.

We had a super fun visit, and the kids got really excited about each stop we made. With the exception of the Betsy Ross House, most places are free. Tickets are required at some points, but since it was a January day, not many people were there, and we walked right into the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross House. For more info. on what to see, check out this site. There are plenty of informational sites, but this one gives an overview and links to other pages.