OKAY! Well it has been FAR TOO LONG since my last blog post! I have been much busier since the weather has cooled. Which speaking of- New England has been much more beautiful and enjoyable since the temperatures have gone down. I don't even think that the temperatures out here got too high about 80 degrees but combined with the humidity it was BRUTAL. Needless to say, I'm grateful for Fall for many reasons.
Let's back up to the beginning of October. Rich and I were told by a few friends that we ought to go check out "The Great Jack-o-Lantern Blaze" in NY near Sleepy Hollow. So we did! It was super fun and Halloweeny! I took about a thousand pictures, which of course didn't do justice to the real thing. Here are a few pics anyway.
These pumpkins are actually white - if you look closely you can tell.
The even takes place in Croton-On-Hudson (which is the name of a town, believe it or not) which is about 15 minutes away from Sleepy Hollow - which actually used to be named Tarrytown (they changed the name to Sleepy Hollow for town profit). We actually did drive through Sleepy Hollow, but it was like 11 at night and it wasn't that cool- kind of like driving through any other old town. We did pass the Sleepy Hollow cemetary but it wasn't anything special and we couldn't see much because it was pretty dark. Anyway- There's just THOUSANDS of hand carved pumpkins making up all kinds of designs and decoration. They had a giant pumpkin spiderweb and several pumpkin spiders. I think I read on a sign that they start the growing and preparation of the pumpkins in June every year. A lot of the pumpkins were artificial, but a lot of them were real. They do it all month long (though October) and as the real pumpkins rot they must replace them with new ones...there were signs all over explaining how much work goes into the event. Rich and I thought it was pretty cool and a fun way to kick-off the Halloween season!
October really FLEW by for me and Rich. October is the first month in the "holiday season" and his work really started to pick up them and has just been snowballing since. With my job, Fork Knife Spoon offers "Halloween House" classes at the different elementary schools throughout Wilton and Westport (a town about 15 minutes away from Wilton on the water). The beginning part of the month I helped Maria (my boss) gather all kinds of Halloween candy and goodies to assemble and get ready for the classes while still teaching our other cooking classes. They turn out to be really fun, although they can be quite a lot of work. By the week of Halloween, we were getting pretty burned out from having so many houses to make (we made over 200 this year and they all had to be hot glued together and cut out because they are made from cardboard). But like I said, they end up being a lot of fun for the kids and for the parents - they're a huge hit!
This is what they looked like. They cover the entire cardboard base with chocolate frosting (each kid got one tub- so for 200 houses that was 200 chocolate frostings!!) and then decorate them with various Halloween candies and treats. And those jelly pumpkins were very tantalizing!! I've been helping Maria get ready for the "Winter" houses by collecting lots of white frosting and Christmasy candies. I'll make sure to post a picture of someone's winter house too. Wilton and Westport both do the winter houses but the Westport ones have to be a little less Christmassy because apparently there's a lot of people who are Jewish in Westport who don't appreciate Santa-shaped candies and Christmas trees- they'll end up getting lots more "wintery" candies.
Anyway...so a few weeks after we went to Croton-On-Hudson for the Blaze, we took our trip up the coast with Rich's family. They had planned a "leaf peeping" trip for his sister Beth's birthday trip. We probably wouldn't have been able to go on the trip if we didn't live right where they were heading - so it was kind of a fun, special little thing that we felt privileged to join them on. We drove up through New Hampshire and into Maine, doing lots of sight seeing (and colorful leaf appreciating) on the way.
**crudeness below- view at your own risk**
We being absolute hooligans and 12-yr-old-boy-sense-of-humor souls that we are had to take some ridiculous pics at the Shaker Village old-timey crapper.
I took other pictures at the Shaker village but I think most of them were deleted (iphone con- NEVER enough photo space!) In case you don't know what or who Shakers are - they were a people/religion who practiced celibacy - hence the reason why there are only 3 existing Shakers left in the religion. They had funny rules - like boys and girls had to stand 3 feet apart when talking...and of course since they were all celibate, the religion kind of died out. But they have an entire community still left in New Hampshire which is now a really beautiful museum where we learned about them.
So because Rich's siblings and parents have a bit more money than us (lol) they were able to stay at a very lovely, beautiful grande hotel resort! Not us- we're poor newlyweds lol. But their grande hotel was really nice (the elevators were even old fashioned)! We met up with the family at their hotel for this Axe throwing competition the hotel does annually or monthly or daily or something. Naturally, several of the husbands were interested in doing that (mine included, see video below). The hotel was big and grande and it reminded me a lot of the Titanic haha. And kinda' the hotel in The Shining.
I took this picture at the top lookout point of the hotel, which has a spa at the very top. Not pictured: the elegant and insanely romantic Jacuzzi tub!! If Rich and I end up staying out east, or for our anniversary- I'd love to have it here at this resort/spa. It was SO beautiful and romantic!! We really enjoyed New Hampshire!
They say Virginia is for lovers.....I disagree. New Hampshire is.
This is a video of Rich killing it at throwing an ax at that far target over yonder. He didn't win the competition though, unfortunately. Everybody had 3 practice throws and then they all went against each other. This was the only target he hit in the competition- and I was lucky enough to get it on film! (it's harder than it looks) All of the women who participated didn't even hit a target!
Later that day after doing some driving we came to this really cool mountain. We took a tram ride to the top- we thought about hiking it but it would have taken WAY TOO LONG and the tram was only like 5 minutes! It was kind of fun to take it up to the top of the mountain and see the terrain change below us the higher we got.
I took this when we got off at the top. Everything was covered in heavy frost - particularly if it was in the shade. Some areas were frostier than others.
Frosty the tree.
We took a small hike/walk to the tippy top of the mountain (it was a very chilly walk) where this tower stood. You could see pretty far at the top! The tower at the top was also covered in snowy frosty stuff and the wind was blowing FIERCELY so I didn't stay there long!!
So the mountain we visited was called "Old Man of the Mountain". Up until May of 2003, the silhouette of an old man made of delicate rocks brought tourists and hikers to see- if you look close at the pic above of a postcard, you can kind of see the silhouette. It collapsed in 2003, so the man no longer "lives"- but there's still plenty of tourism because they have a "memorial" and the tram and let's be honest - New Hampshire is one of the most beautiful states in the USA. I took a picture of it because I really liked the quote!
We were waiting for the rest of our carpool to arrive at a hike at some point and there was this incredibly friendly squirrel who got SO CLOSE!!! He didn't seem scared at all!! I had to snap a pic because I love animals more than most normal people.
I saw a picture on the internet of someone who had made a much better leaf-rainbow than this one and it inspired me to try to make my own. So there it is! I've never seen anything like the bright, vivid colors of the leaves like I did in New Hampshire. Seriously, I think a part of my is still up there in that beautiful part of the world.
Here's a classic, New-Englandy covered bridge. We drove through a few while we were driving through and they were all only one-way, so you had be pretty careful and alert! They're probably one way because they used to be used for much smaller cars/ horse and buggies when New England was first settled. But those changing leaves in the background!!!!!!! ah! so pretty!!
We ended up visiting Maine and a town called Kennebunkport (again, a REAL name of a town even though it sounds ridiculous - try saying that 10 times fast). It was right on the coast, quite beautiful. The Bush's have a summer home there and their "backyard" is literally the sea.
This is the Bush Estate (I think...there were a few others that looked like the Bush's). You can kind of see a reflection because I was taking it from a tour bus.
While we were there in Kenebunkport, we went to a seafood restaurant called Mabel's Lobster Claw where I had my first real "sea food"- I got brave (and I was starving) so I tried some crab cakes. Rich had a lobster roll. I learned that seafood is not my favorite (still)! I'll take a burger any day over crab. Although- I have grown to really like Mahi Mahi - mostly because it doesn't taste at all fishy! Anyway...here's a few more pictures of Maine,
We went to another town with a weird name called Ogonquit (Rich continuously annoys be by repeating the name, literally to be annoying). Those gorgeous windows FACE the ocean. Super pretty.
This is a video of the ocean that the house faces. There was a nice trail along the coast where tourists and joggers were leisurely enjoying their time.
We visited this light house at low tide, otherwise it would have been totally separated like an island. You'll notice that there are not roads or cars - the only way you can get to it is at low tide or by boat. This was the last thing we saw in Maine before heading back to good old Wilton.
Here's a pic of me and my amazing and DELICIOUS Aragog cake that my neighbor Lynn made for me for my birthday. She is hands down one of the sweetest people I know! Me and Rich will always remember her and think of her fondly when our time here in CT is through. She insisted on making me a cake and I'm glad she did! It tasted incredible!!! It was chocolate with buttercream frosting and basically tasted just like our wedding cake!
Here's pics from the Lion King - which we saw ON my bday, October 25th. That last pic is one that I sneaked of Mufasa after of the show. We really loved it! It was amazing how they were able to portray things from the movie that I thought might be pretty tricky or impossible to do live on stage! It's always fun to visit the city at night!
I can't remember now, but sometime in October I did some dog sitting for some little fluffs that live pretty close to where I do in a complex called The Avalon. I slept there for 3 nights (I think). The dogs slept on the bed with me or else I would have gotten lonely and cold!
This little guy is Mac. Mac wears a diaper. Mac's diaper is literally a maxi-pad. Don't own a tiny dog. Own a real dog that you can actually potty train. Other than the fact that Mac wears a diaper, he's a good boy! He was much less annoying than the other little fluff.
Here's the two of them snuggling with me before going to bed. I was watching a little TV and they just automatically lay on or near me for warmth.
Rich came over one night and fell slightly in like. (one does not easily fall in "love" with a tiny dog: aka not a real dog)
There he is with little Jovie - she's a puppy- only about 8 months old. She's actually pretty cute. She was really soft and it seemed like she only weighed like 2 lbs. She is much skinnier than her fluff leads you to believe.
Jovie being cute begging for cuddles. The problem with Jovie is that she, like Mac, isn't properly potty trained. Literally EVERY TIME I put the leash on her, or I first greeted her upon coming inside -she piddled. I tried to make sure she was in the kitchen every time when I put her leash on or said hello but she didn't always make it (the rest of their house was carpeted). She'd peed all over the house by the time I was done. I went through an entire roll of paper towels cleaning up the best I could after her. Yes she was cute, pretty dang cute. But I was happy to come home to my sweet boy who knows how and where to pee.
Speaking of my sweet dog...he's not always sweet. Last week I took him to Maria's house to introduce her to her dogs (she has 4- it can feel pretty crazy at her house sometimes). He got along great and just fine with the dogs - they had a good old time together playing. But Maria also has a coop with like 12 chickens in it. And she also has a swamp towards the back end of her backyard where her dogs can't go because they have invisible fence collars. Well...one of the chickens must have been just as curious about Bilbo as Bilbo was of it and before I knew what was happening....I heard a bunch of loud clucking and Bilbo was barking and chasing this chicken into the swamp and brambles!! I immediately started screaming at him to come back but before long he had chased the chicken to a place where he couldn't go and he got stuck up to his shoulders is nasty, swampy mud water! He eventually came back to me, when I scolded him but not before he shook off...resulting in.....
I know that doesn't look like much...but he was covered and he was SO STINKY!!! Maria was very nice about it and actually kind of laughed about it (she's the BEST BOSS EVER). She lent me a grubby towel to try to dry off my dog before putting him in the car to go home and get clean.
He had a bath right away which also double as punishment for his wrong doing. (he HATES baths more than anything in life)
Since then, all has been forgiven.
Our Black Friday purchase turned out to be getting Bilbo a dog bed. He spends so much time cuddling and snuggling with us on the couch, we decided that we better get him is own soft and snuggly bed. It was originally supposed to be his Christmas present...but because we are both the biggest suckers for him, he got his gift a whole month early. And as you can see, he LOVES it.
My boss Maria and her husband Raz alongside their food/catering business (Fork Knife Spoon) also do dog walking/check ins. So I have had the privilege of checking up on this little guy the past few weeks.
His name is Bandit. And for a little fluffer- he's pretty cute. And by cute, I mean he's a lot cuter than Jovie and Mac and he doesn't pee where he's not supposed to. I actually do like this guy, as opposed to most other fluffer dogs.
Rich and I ended up having a nice little Thanksgiving on our own. We had originally planned to go out to eat on Thanksgiving with hopes to find a nicer restaurant that served a hot Thanksgiving plate. We did find such restaurants- but they ended up costing about $50 a plate so we no sooner bagged that idea. We instead went out to eat on Thanksgiving Eve and had a min-feast of chicken, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, stuffing and homemade Texas Roadhouse Rolls. We'll be eating leftovers for days since I made full size recipes of everything! It was delicious. Maria had invited us to come for dessert at her place, so that's what we did. I shared a pecan pie with her and her family and we had a nice long chat with her family and cuddled with her four dogs and 2 dogs who were boarding.
Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is in FULL SWING over here.
I made this Christmas advent banner a week or so ago when I was feeling Christmas-crafty. Each little envelope has a card inside that tells you how many days are left until Christmas. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!
The Nutcracker collection grows every year. One of these things is not like the other...can you tell who's new? Hint- he really doesn't belong! lol
It's pretty magical and Christmassy around here!
I've been helping Lynn clean out/organize her storage units and she gave me this candle. It had been stored away but since it was a Christmas thing she dug it out and insisted that I have it. Mix the smell of evergreens and the nectar of the Gods and you have the scent of this candle! It's called Noel by Annick Goutal (a french person...the candle literally came from Paris). She told me it's pretty hard to find and that the brand is pretty expensive. I looked it up and this thing is worth 70 euros! It seriously is one of the most divine things my nostrils have ever encountered though.
Robert (our purely evil downstairs neighbor) called the police on us AGAIN (4th time, the 2nd time within a week and a half) towards the beginning of November. I dropped my phone and he told the police who told us that it sounds like an "AK47" down there. So, to cater to this poor unfortunate souls needs- I now have to call the police if I drop something or if something loud happens past 9 pm. That is the life that I live. *rolls eyes and sighs*
Sorry this blog is insanely long. I hope all the faithful readers (if any) have thoroughly enjoyed it! At the rate that I am updating my blogs, the next time I will, my sister Paige will be married! Hopefully I'll remember to update before then lol.
Love you all.
Happy Holidays.
Best.
The Wilton Wilkins.
one more because I'm a goofball.
-ta
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