Amherst

My husband spent all last week taking a really great Master Class on painting at Amherst College. His last day was on Sunday, so I went up a day early to check out the town and campus.
I visited all the cute little shops on the main drag (got this awesome wooden bracelet - I'll have to get a picture of it), had a yummy breakfast at one of the cafes, treated myself to some very nice Riesling at a restaurant called La Tabella, and saw a movie at their tiny little theatre (I saw And Then She Found Me, which was not what I expected and totally depressing - you've been warned).

The campus is absolutely breathtaking. There are mountains in the distance, beautiful green fields, ridiculously gorgeous architecture, and even a perfect sledding hill! That weekend was also the Taste of Amherst festival. I had some pork and leek dumplings which were amazing. I also wanted to get on this cool trampoline meets bungee jumping contraption, but we got rained out! (You can see the ominous clouds in the above picture). I was so bummed!

It's definitely a place I want to go back to for a day trip. I'd love to go hiking while I'm there too. If you have any suggestions on things to do in Amherst, let me know!

Isn't this the coolest table?

Whale watching

My work is going on an outing. Last year they went on a scavenger hunt. I love scavenger hunts, but I wasn't working there last year. This year, for my luck, we're going whale watching. Don't get me wrong, I have always wanted to go whale watching, and I am sort of looking forward to it, but I get horribly seasick. I'm going to start taking Dramamine about 3 days before the actual outing just so it's in my system. I'm also going to take plenty of crystallized ginger with me, which settles the stomach. I really hope I don't puke in front of my colleagues, though! It's not for another month and I'm already nervous about it! Any advice?

Rockport

We went to Rockport, Mass, this past Saturday. It was nice. I liked Newburyport better, but it was still very pretty. The weather was spectacular too! There were tons of people sailing, (although this picture doesn't show it!) kayaking, and taking in the beautiful view. This is by far my favorite picture. The breeze passing through this outdoor hallway between two houses was unbelievable. It's the picture of serenity, isn't it?
Here are some other shots I took. A wrought iron gate at the cemetery.
A brook from these falls that eventually leads to the sea.A gorgeous pond...
next to this gorgeous field.
All in all a fun weekend.

Project-wise, I'm currently working on two books for a wedding. We're in the process of working out the details, but as soon as I start picking out paper and book cloth, you guys will get your first glimpse. :)

Maine

Kurt and I went up to Portland to visit Kristen, my sister-in-law, this past Saturday. We had a great time! We left Portland at around noon, stopped in Freeport, then headed on up to Booth Bay. Magellan was too cute to leave at home, so here he is in quite an action-shot out the window.
Maine's waters are full of lobster traps and, as a result, yummy fresh lobsters.
Random shot of a church, but it looked so pretty against the blue sky!
We had dinner at the Lobsterman's Co-Op (I had steamers and corn on the cob-MMM; Kurt had a lobster roll sandwich and Kristen had scallops). We sat with our legs hanging off the edge of the pier, while keeping our eye on those sneaky sea gulls, who are just waiting to steal your food.
The nature in Maine is spectacular. Sometimes we felt like we were the only ones out there.

Speaking of nature, my next few blog entries will be of just flowers. Flowers, whose beauty I tried to capture with my little camera. Stay tuned.

Guest Quarters

I'd like to thank you all for your enthusiasm over the book! I'm glad you all liked it. To answer a question on how I did the gold stamping, I actually had to go over to the bookbinding studio near my house for that. They have a machine that looks similar to this one that heat and gold stamps books. I would love one of my own, but they are very very expensive. Maybe in the future!

Last weekend, my husband and I were up in Boston again. This time we stayed at a friend's house and they have THE MOST AWESOME GUEST ROOM ON.....probably THE PLANET! Everything was so gorgeous!

The lamps!The tables!The napping, I mean, reading nook!The embroidered cushions!
The fabric hanging from the walls!!!

And most extraordinary of all...the bed!!!!!!!They really know how to make their guests feel like they've died and gone to heaven in that room!

They also have two adorable Bulldogs, Bumper and Angelina. CUTIES! They never stood still for a photo they were so excited! :)

Boston

Sorry for my temporary absence on the blog. We were in Boston last weekend, taking in the sights, meeting friends, and eating amazing Italian food. We stayed at this very cute hotel called the Kendall Hotel. It was gorgeous!!

The bed was comfortable (practically unheard of these days) and the entire hotel was decorated very tastefully in the country style. I loved it.

The bed had a pretty quilt and diamond waffle blanket. Under the diamond waffle blanket was ANOTHER waffle blanket. Now, let me just tell you, I LOVE waffle blankets. LOVE THEM. My best naps have been on a waffle blanket. I love how it feels and how you can snuggle up with it and how nice and toasty it gets. If I could have an entire set of sheets made out of the stuff, I would. Although that would probably leave nasty marks on your face in the morning, wouldn't it?

It'd still be worth it I think. I was ecstatic!!

And how ecstatic was I? I went to bed at 8:00pm one night and didn't wake up until 8:00am the following morning. IT WAS AWESOME! :)