Sailing, Sailing

Right before I left for the Hamptons, Patrick and I decided to spend the entire day, just relaxing and hanging out.

We had tickets for a sailboat cruise out of New Haven and we scheduled to be on the brunch cruise that day. It was a gorgeous day to set sail, the sun was shining, and the breeze was perfect. The tickets said that it was a 2 hour cruise, but we were all on the boat for about 2 hours and 45 minutes, and not a single person was upset about the added time. It was amazing to be on a large sailboat (it was 100' in length including the beams that extend to support the sails). It was beautiful with all four of the sails up and just enjoying the brunch and the company of the other people on the boat.



I even got some knitting done!


Someday I will learn how to sail and save for a tiny boat (that's all I'll be able to afford) but it really only needs to hold 2 people. I find being out on the water so relaxing and peaceful. I love it!

After our sail that day, we went to the beach and relaxed for a while, and then made our way back to my place so I could pack. We ordered take-out from a local Mexican place (one of my favorite types of cuisine), and streamed some movies on netflix.

All in all it was the perfect low key day spent with Patrick. It was great to get to spend the whole day together in our busy schedules just hanging out before I left. I am leaving Sag Harbor tomorrow and hopping on another boat (the ferry) to cross the sound and have some downtime for the weekend! I cannot wait! It is much needed. It is so beautiful here, and I do enjoy the opportunity to be here in this gorgeous place. But there is nothing like an entire day off or sleeping in your own bed!

Anyone have any fabulous plans for the weekend?

Baby Projects

A good warm weather project for any baby that is sitting up on their own is to let them paint. I put Jinx outside for a little tactile and color amusement. It's a very simple project.. Lay out a large piece or several large pieces of paper put a glob of each of the primary colors on... you can work with just one when they are younger, but as they age, it is fun to play with the primaries and see how they swirl, mingle, and mix together to become new colors. I let her sit in just a diaper and paint with her whole body to feel it and make what ever she wanted. The clean up is a breeze too! The baby goes in the tub.. the art stays out to dry, and the patio hoses right off!

You could probably apply this project to your dogs too if you needed some good paw prints, you could put down a tray of a color that coordinates with your decor, and then walk them through the trey and onto the paper... cut out a good looking series of prints or one that looks great and frame them up solo or in a cluster.

Your dogs may freak out by the project, but Jinx sure had fun!

North Haven Knits

North Haven is the name of the village of the Hampton's that we are technically staying in this year. It is 5 minutes from downtown Sag Harbor, and I love the vibe! It is not overly ritzy like the area we were in last year, but it is still amazingly gorgeous!

So last year I got a little carried away with bringing projects to the Hampton's to work on... but this year I think I did a more practical job of packing knits.

From Last year.. Remember Stella? This year She will be completed!


Also ready to be finished is The Queen's Christmas 2010 Present! I know, I know, it has taken way more than it's share of time.. and I have gotten sick of it, and started and finished other things in the meantime... but it is time to finish it once and for all! I want to mail it out by the end of the month! And for the record, I only have about 15% left to finish anyway.


Recently cast on is a knit along cardigan. The pattern "Corinne" is a knitty pattern, that my LYS chose for a knit-along. I decided to do it because it seems like a quick mindless cardi, that is knit in a different way. So far it is coming right along, with the Left front completed, and half of the Left sleeve short rows done! I'm hoping to have it completed by Mid September..depending on how much knitting time I actually get here...



And the final craft the got to come along is my drop-spindle. I got this a few years ago at the CT Sheep and Wool fest... I tried it out a couple of times when I first got it, but hadn't really used it consistently at all... but it is very portable, and easy to get the hang of. It is also very soothing and almost entrancing. Needless to say, it joined the bag of crafts, and I am excited to keep practicing with it!

So that's it for the fiber crafts... for other entertainment, I brought whichever Melanie Travis Mystery I am currently on, my Nook, and have already purchased a knitting mag at the local bookstore. I shall be plenty busy crafting while I'm not busy working.

Any fun August projects or summer finishing going on?

August means The Hampton's

We are here again for the month.

Last year we were staying in Amaganset, which is a little area that from my understanding is a part of East Hampton. Everything last year was very lavish, and chic. The scenery was amazing! Here is a photo recap of last year:







It's Lovely isn't it. Last year, we had a lot of fun soaking in the sun and building memories. This year should be just as much fun! It's day four and we are already living it up! Looking forward to the rest of August :)

Memorial Day in Maine

Another awesome trip, and it is about time I posted about it!


Patrick had never been camping and I wanted to show him how much fun it can be. So we invested in a ton of camping gear and booked a site on the coast of Maine in Cape Neddick. We stayed at Dixon's Campground, which I highly recommend. The grounds were lovely, they had great facilities, and were well maintained.



We arrived in Maine on the Wednesday night leading into Memorial Day weekend. We had to pitch our new tent in the dark, with only the moon, and our headlights illuminating the site. Then we ate a late dinner of grilled chicken breasts, that had been marinating for 24 hours, and we were early to bed!



The following morning we awoke refreshed and ready for the Maine experience. After making breakfast, we ventured out to Ogunquit beach (Pictured at the top). It was breathtaking. The beach was sandy, with huge sand dunes separating the ocean from the Ogunquit River. It was sunny, yet windy, but the scenes were gorgeous, and the fresh Maine ocean air was the best! After walking and exploring there for an hour or so, we traveled north to Kennebunkport. What an adorable little town! Here is a picture of the back of all the little stores.. I loved how close together they all were, and how they backed up to the waterway! This was my favorite town of the trip. It was just the right size of quaintness, yet not desertedly small. There were things to do and places to go, and we soaked it up. We made our way through Kennebunk on our way back to the campground later in the day and just hung out. We had another good couple of meals on our awesome little camp stove, and roasted marshmallows on sticks over the fire that night.


Friday morning we decided to check out Portsmouth, NH, as we were just a short jog over the ME, NH line.
We wandered around there for the better part of the day. It was a nice town as well. Lovely views, and fun shops. We made a pit stop at york beach on our way back, and then ventured back out again a little later for a Maine Date night, of mini golf, and sundaes! Patrick may have won mini golf, but I got 2 hole-in-ones! Making Grandpa proud!
We made our way back and made another fire until we were too tired from all that fresh air, and called it a night.

Saturday, we spend the morning packing up. On our way out we stopped and bought some live Lobsters...eek! (They were to bring to his parent's house for their anniversary.) Then we had some lobster rolls overlooking the ocean on York Beach. It was everything I could have expected from that lunch and more! I have never tasted lobster so fresh and delicious!

We then drove down the east coast from Maine to New Jersey. (We saw a double rainbow on the drive, which I have never seen before, but I only managed to capture a single rainbow!) We made it to Patrick's parent's in time for their anniversary dinner, including the live lobsters... which I did not cook...don't worry.. but I did eat and they were fabulous! 2 meals of lobster in one day! I'm living the life! We also celebrated Patrick's birthday.


Sunday everyone took me to Princeton to show me around the town. It was a nice little town. Very collegiate. After some quality time with his family we got back in the car and drove home to Connecticut.

Monday became a much needed veg day after a lot of weekend fun!

Mid-Summer Mystery Shawl

About a month ago, I participated in a mystery knit-along. I did it with my mom, Channon, and a few gals from the LYS. It was really great to be doing it with so many friends. What a wonderful bonding experience!

I knit mine in linen by EuroFlax, So that it would be nice and light for a humid summer evening. I have even had a few opportunities to wear it! I love it. And I should since I knit it 3 times before I was finished. I added an extra repeat to the body to make it larger... and although I don't have any photos of it blocked, it became even larger and even more lovely.



I love the color, and although the texture of the yarn took some getting used to, I quite like how it feels after soaking.

Happy knitting!

Boston with the Boy

In late April, Patrick took me to Boston for an overnight. We went to a Mariners v Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Stayed at an awesome hotel, and toured the city.

We arrived Saturday evening around 5, checked into our hotel, and then navigated the T to Fenway Park. The game was fantastic! I love baseball, especially going to games, and this is the first Mariners game I have been in attendance to since I was at the game that I got my cross-country moving job offer. It was a fabulous game. It moved quickly and there was some team drama with Milton Bradley.. I believe at this point he is not even on the team anymore... I should really blog more often! Anyhow the M's won! I convinced Patrick to hang around and watch the team exit the stadium.. but ya know without their uniforms, it is pretty darn hard to recognize any of them. Nonetheless it was a thrilling event. We stopped for ice cream on the way back and then called it a night.

The next day we ventured back downtown, and took the "Ride the Ducks Boston" tour. It was awesome! I have taken the duck tour in Seattle with Bora Bora, and ever since then I have wanted to do it in every town that has them! I was so happy when Patrick agreed to go. It is such a fun way to see all of the important sites in a town in one shot. I even got to drive the duck in the Boston Harbor!! So cool!

On our way out of town, we stopped for a nice seafood dinner. It was a relaxing end to a nice trip.