Fall in Vermont

I took a short weekend break to Vermont this past weekend, inspired by a friend's request for a ride. It was good inspiration, as the weather was beautiful and the tree color at its peak.

We went to TWO wineries and TWO breweries to taste lots of beer and wine! This is Brentan sitting outside the Shelburne Winery. They had really, really, ridiculously good ice wine. We were dumb and didn't buy any. We also went to Magic Hat brewery (which was essentially a grungy bar in a warehouse- fantastic!, Otter Creek brewery, and another winery I can't remember the name of)

Me among grape vines

GRAPES!

Fire Hydrant FAIL!

Hiking up Mt. Indepence, the site across the lake from Fort Ticonderoga. Very important in the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War, for you history buffs!

This is right before I slipped and almost fell into Lake Champlain. I just got really muddy instead.

The view from Mt. Independence, overlooking Lake Champlain

Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Economy

Jezebel's Fine Lines column last week wrote about Laura Ingalls Wilder's book The Long Winter, and it compares the Wilder family's hard winter to the current economic crisis. Interestingly, it is very appropriate. Oh, the economy.

Fall in MA

It is fall in New England, one of the prettiest times of year. Though I don't have any pictures of colorful trees, I do have a few pictures from the last few weeks of life.
The new Sel de la Terre kitchen in the new Mandarin Oriental hotel complex. The window opens up to a hallway that will have some pretty swanky shops in it eventually.

Classic Boston shot on the bridge in the public garden. Brentan doesn't look so happy, probably since we always make fun of people taking pictures here!
A wedding party moving from the Taj to the public garden, most likely to take some wedding pictures. I love how everyone is looking at the bride as if she is a celebrity. A bride should be a celebrity on her wedding day. I loved the bridesmaids dresses. They had these giant bows in the back.
I made cupcakes with Sarah the other night. They were so cute, and VERY delicious.

Topsfield Fair!

I went to the Topsfield Fair, the oldest fair in the US, this past weekend. And it sure was a fair. Fairs are just a celebration of American abundance (gluttony?), and this was no exception.

I saw:

• Animals. Many. (Turkeys, bees, an elephant, pigs, roosters, birds of prey, sheep, cows, horses, and even a kangaroo)
  
• Giant produce.
• Miniature plants.
• The midway.
• Racing pigs.
• Art.
• Live infomercials.
  

I ate:

• Cider donuts.
• Hamburger.
• Ice cream.
  
• Pulled pork sandwich.

I should have had some kettle corn and cotton candy and a corn dog to really make it a fair.

Beautiful peppers!

Multitudes of corn!
The larges pumpkin in New England (over 1,400 pounds).
The midway!
Haunted house with equally creepy guy outside of it.

I should have taken a picture of the racing pigs, but forgot to. That was by far the worst, most uninteresting thing at the fair.

Liveblogging the Second Presidential Debate

As you can probably tell by the time stamp, I am not, in fact, LIVEblogging the presidential debate. I am, in fact, writing this the morning after the presidential debate because my internet continues to not work at home. I wanted to write this during the debate. Not to worry though! Brentan called Verizon and we are having our own internet installed next week. Hooray!

Back to the future president...
I have heard all that the candidates have to say. They are not saying anything new, and I don't need to listen until there is a big news event happening that they can comment on. Obviously, I know whom I am voting for.

The Great Schlep

The Times had an article yesterday about Sarah Silverman's "The Great Schlep", which I had originally heard about from my uncle. Now, I'm not a huge Sarah Silverman fan, mostly because she is too crude for me (that's the lady in me :o ), but this was great. The article describes the great schlep as a "mix of sarcasm and sincerity," which is a really good description.

The project basically encourages young Jews to tell their grandparents in Florida that they will not come and visit them unless they will vote for Obama. It describes all of the ways to convince grandparents that Obama is a great candidate, namely:

• Obama hearts Israel and so do you!
• His love for the United States is similar to that of the Jewish immigrants, who loved America for giving them an opportunity to succeed if they worked hard enough.
• Obama opposes privitizing Social Security.
  

Presidential Debate

Presidential debate #2 tonight!
I'll be there. Will you?

Style Icon- Pushing Daisies

After watching the season premier of my FAVORITE show last night, Pushing Daisies, I decided the Chuck (aka Anna Friel) is my new style icon. I just want to be in the show, or be her, or both. Is that weird that I want to be fictional, and semi-dead?

Her style is so stylized, like the show. Last night, it was so cute, she was wearing a little bee pin that worked as a microphone so she could infiltrate a honey cosmetics company. Chuck also always wears these 50's silhouettes, full skirts, tight, tailored tops, and cardigans. Its so vintage and feminine.

(As Eloise would say)
Oooooooh, I just absolutely love her!
Can we just have some miniature tea parties wearing our pastel heels in a pink room full of bubblegum and pastries?

Plus, she's French.


(So instead of my own content, I'm just posting someone else's pictures. I'm adding to the conversation though! I promise!)

Boring and Exciting

Life has been a little slow...as soon as I got really excited about writing in my blog last week and this past weekend, things slowed down and I didn't really feel like writing or posting. I haven't even come across any interesting web sites.

However, I have been reading a very good book, called The History of Love, and spending my nights reading it. Its about writing, and living, and loving life so far, in a fictional story spun from Jewish immigrants.

Other than that, there is some exciting news in my life that is not to be shared in a place that is so public like the internet.