My Saturday Morning Dates...

Over the last few years, Saturdays have become a cherished routine - a date with Parker & my riding trainer that I look forward to after a stressful week at the office.

It isn't always easy to drag my not-such-a-morning-person butt out of bed at 7 am after a late Friday night… but once I’m at the stables, all seems right again. I’ve been riding for the last fifteen years of my life (wow that statement makes me feel old)… so I think part of it may be the nostalgic feeling I get when I see the lesson kids dragging their pony’s around a miniature sized jump course... or practicing their dressage tests before a show. However, I think the biggest part is how it feels to let go of the bustle of the city for a few hours and forget about “real life”.

Parker in the outdoor dressage ring...

I honestly believe everyone needs an escape like this... something that gets their mind off the stress of a job, school, etc. For me, riding is just that – a welcomed interruption to the 8-5 lifestyle that I have so comfortably slipped into since college graduation. When I'm there, I'm not thinking about anything else. I'm focused. I'm relaxed.

Don’t get me wrong, riding has proven to be just as difficult and frustrating as anything else… and I’ve certainly had some terrifying moments in my riding career (as my mother can surely attest to witnessing)… but that’s exactly what makes it worth every second. It's not about the falls or the tears - and believe me there have been many of both over the years - it's the moment when everything just clicks and the movement that has been practiced over and over is finally perfected.

Plus, how could you not love this face...

Clearly the feeling isn't mutual...

I hope everyone has a very happy & relaxing weekend. Cheers for now...

Vermont Getaway

A few snapshots & stories from my weekend in Vermont with Grace...

As soon as I got to VT on Saturday afternoon, we hopped back into the car and drove up to the Burton flagship store. After about an hour wandering around and trying on all of Burton's new gear, we headed outside for a "Rail Jam". In case you're wondering, Grace and I did not partake in the actual event... just the free hot chocolate. This we followed with Thai food, champagne and a night which made me miss college even more than I already do...

the evolution of the snowboard

After a late night, the 8 am alarm wasn't exactly welcomed; however, we dragged ourselves out of bed anyways and headed to the mountain. No regrets. We spent all day Sunday at Stowe, where we showed off just how "steezy" (style with ease) we are/aren't on the slopes. It always amazes me how awkward I feel at first... compared to how natural it feels to have a snowboard attached to my feet at the end of the day. After a full six hours of shredding (snowboarding term for being awesome), we packed it up and headed back to the apartment. On our way, we swung by the Vermont Cabot store. My weekend discovery: Vermont LOVES giving away free cheese. Which fits in rather nicely with my love for cheese and free things...

Summit of Stowe

Last run of the day

  
Monday, we went on a hiking adventure just outside of Burlington. The trails wrap around a working farm which produces its own bread, pastries, cheese, etc... (more free samples, yum!)

the farm barn

The area was beautiful, despite the freezing temps, and the uphill climb was well worth it for the view of Lake Champlain and the mountains in the backdrop.

hiking trails

Lake Champlain

Overall, it was a perfect weekend... I love spending time with Grace and all the ridiculous situations we get ourselves into along the way. I had little interest in driving the four hours back to Boston this evening... back to real life tomorrow.

Cheers for now.

Happy Valentine's Day

I know there are a lot of people out there that hate this holiday, but I am most certainly not one of them. Yes, I agree the rush of flowers, over-priced menus & hearts splattered everywhere is a bit overdone for my tastes… but what holiday isn’t? What holiday hasn’t been exaggerated and distorted by the hallmark companies? 

Just like Christmas isn’t about the presents, Valentine’s day isn’t about the fancy dinner or box of candy. It’s about love. I guess I just like the idea of an entire day where people are expected to slow down, toss aside their cynical views of the world and show the people in their lives just how much they matter. To be fair... this is probably something we should do every single day, not just when stores start packing heart-shaped candy onto their shelves. Life is busy and schedules get messy, but at the end of the day none of that matters. What matters is the people in your life that make even the smallest moments that much better.

Plus, I would be lying if I said I hated those heart-shaped chocolates everywhere. And nobody likes a liar. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to the greatest man I’ve ever known: My Dad… the doting father of two daughters, and the only man in a house filled with women. He’s put up with a lot over the last twenty-something years, and I wanted to take some time this morning to wish him a very happy birthday.

As Grace and I were growing up, our dad was our hero (not to say he isn't still today). He quickly learned how to comb the knots out of our hair without sparking tears… how to outfit a three year old who refuses to wear anything but cotton dresses in the middle of winter… and how to read to my sister and I every night so that we both could see the pictures. He taught us how to kick a soccer ball… how to ride a bike… and how to build a snow-pile tall enough that you could jump from the deck railing into it without getting hurt. As we got older, he taught us the importance of money with “the bank of dad”, and he taught us how to laugh at ourselves so we don’t sweat the small stuff. To this day Grace and I still laugh at all our own jokes… it might be a problem.

Most importantly, our dad taught us about strength… to stand up for ourselves and to take risks. In fact, he’s part of the reason I even considered moving to Texas. He taught us to speak our minds because our opinions are worth something. He's seen the tuition bills... he knows. He gave us confidence by always believing in everything we’ve ever done. Whether it was graduating from college or learning to back-flip into the pool, it didn’t matter how big or small. In his mind, there wasn’t ever a question of whether we were able. 

So to the man who deserves about a million thank you's... Happy Birthday... and cheers to many, many more!

Oh, and of course... 

Sunday Brunch

Sunday brunch is the best. In college, brunch was an event. It involved multiple coffees, too much food, a "secret" yellow sauce -- which was delightful on everyyything but no one could ever quite describe what it tasted like -- and hours of sitting around and talking about nonsense. It was the part of the weekend where we just sat and laughed. We talked about the ridiculous things we had gotten ourselves into over the last few nights and quite literally occupied the cafeteria for an inappropriate amount of time.  

Brunch is pretty much the same now, except we have to pay for it with real money instead of "hill bucks". We've done the cook-your-own-breakfast option too... and even though I love cooking, nothing beats rolling out of bed and having someone else do all the work. Lindsay -- I hope you love food as much as I do, because I'm going to need to continue this Sunday tradition in Texas...

Live to eat...

Now, since we are in this funny mood... Here are some weekend loves/likes/wants:

Shit Nobody Says -- All of these videos are funny, but this particular one floored me

 Amazing Grace -- My obsession with Phil Vassar grows stronger with this song... 

London Tumbler -- to prepare for our upcoming trip to London/Paris (eff yea)

Super Bowl Cocktails -- clever

I hope everyone had a very relaxing weekend...