Making Maple Syrup

We are back in Vermont after spending a fun weekend with family in New York. We stayed with Owen's parents, who make a ton of maple syrup every year that they give out as (very welcome) gifts. Its the first time I've gotten a chance to see how they do it, and it was so fun to see the process! My mom, along with Owen's sister and family, came over for the afternoon as well. Even though it was pretty chilly, it was toasty by the fire, and everyone had a great time hanging out watching the sap boil, drinking beer and roasting hot dogs. Now that I am back in snowy Vermont and looking at these photos I have spring fever! Hope your weekend was just as fun.

boiling sap

keeping the fire burning

holding a nice warm Hannah : )

frozen sap dripping out of the tree

happy with grammy!

my mom, home from California for a bit : ) miss ya mom!

swinging

cheesin

adding more sap

sap buckets // climbing on her pop

enjoying the fire

happy to be back in the nice warm house! (and eating her puffs)

a tired dog // finishing the syrup on the wood stove 

clean jars ready for maple syrup

The Arctic Tundra

Yesterday Owen and I headed down to the lake at sunset dressed in every piece of warm clothing possible, since it was the windiest, coldest day ever, but also really beautiful out. And for this reason you won't see my face in any of the photos because I was NOT about to take off my gator for a photo. Yes, the struggle was real. On a side not how cute is my gator? My sister made us all one for Christmas because she's superwoman and finds time to sew after spending long days being a chiropractor. Impressed.

Anyways, we had just had a long day of driving in the car, stuck behind snowplows, so it was nice to get outside in the fresh air. We had a couple very ungraceful slips on the ice, and then an icy wave splashed water onto our camera lens, but other than that it was all good. Haha. 

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, and I am happy to say after a bit of a hiatus I am back at this whole blogging thing, and happy to be doing so! Thanks for checking in with me : )

Puffball! ^^^

A Photoshoot Date

Yesterday Owen and I drove around and took a few photos of the OldSchoolSwank bandanas I've been making for my website. It was such a sunny, crisp fall day and it felt great to get outside and enjoy October. A butterfly even landed on one of the bandanas while we were taking photos of it! Lots of new things ahead for the website that I'm excited to share with you soon, hope everyone is enjoying their week : )

Exploring : LaPlatte River

Owen and I spent part of this afternoon relaxing at LaPlatte Nature Park in Shelburne, Vermont. He brought along his birthday present he received last week, a new filter for our camera which allows him to take longer exposure shots. He has been experimenting with moving water this week, and the flowing river at the park with its many small waterfalls was a perfect place to test it out. I figured I'd share a few of the photos as I think they turned out pretty awesome. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Around Here Lately

Around here lately we have been:

Boat riding

Dock hanging

Bike riding

Barbecue having

Ladderball playing

Vintage hunting

Office organizing

Game of Thrones watching

Inspiration board making

How about you? Hope your weekend was great : )

Weekend Recap : A Wedding and A Cloudy Beach Day

This weekend Owen and I attended a wedding of two of his friends from college. It was held at an awesome old barn turned into an event space in Charlotte,VT that is just beautiful and in the middle of all these green fields and farmland. The whole ceremony and the reception were so relaxed and welcoming, which matched the bride and groom's personalities perfectly. It was a blast to catch up with friends, eat delicious food and dance our butts off. 

Other than the wedding, I spent the weekend going to see Pitch Perfect 2 (so good, it will knock your socks off! seriously though), garage-saleing in a hunt for vintage, working on the shop, and waitressing one night. We also hit the beach again for a bit with Kelly and her fiance which is becoming a Sunday tradition. Even when its cloudy and you might be a little cold its awesome : ) Hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend!

More photos after the jump>

Lawn Games Roundup

Both my family and Owen's are way into games, and lawn games are some of our favorites. We actually played croquet outside at Thanksgiving this year wearing winter coats and gloves. And we had three cornhole games going at our wedding reception. And if you read my weekend recap you saw our ladderball set. Yep, we love games. With the temperatures rising it really is great to have a few lawn games on hand when you have people over for a barbecue or drinks, because its fun to both play or just sit and watch and chat with everyone. I gathered a few of our favorites here : )

1. wacky washers

2. ladderball (we actually own this set, and its really great quality)

3. cornhole

4. croquet (vintage!)

5. bocce ball

6. kubb

Weekend Recap : Restaurants, Ladderball & Family

This weekend was another busy one, but full of awesomeness. My younger brother was in town training for his summer job, and in between shifts at the restaurant we had a lot of fun barbecuing, playing board games and hanging at the beach playing ladderball. Since my sister and her fiance are chiropractors, and just opened their office this week, we all also took a trip over there to check out the space and get adjusted. This girl is feeling much better after a sore shoulder that's been bothering me all week got worked on. If you're in the Burlington area and looking for a great chiropractor, be sure to check out Summit Chiropractic Center.

On Saturday morning we had our first trip of the year to the Burlington farmer's market, a summer tradition of ours (I have a little Farmer's Market post comin' atcha later this week) Since it was UVM graduation this weekend, that place was hopping and I swear the food gets better every year. So fun!

Hope your weekend was great and you are feeling refreshed and ready to go on this beautiful Monday : )

More photos after the jump>

A Sunset Picnic

Last night Owen and I packed up some dinner, picked up a bottle of wine and biked down to Oak Ledge, a park near our house with great views of Lake Champlain. It was such a beautiful, clear night, a little chilly but warm in the sun. We laid out a blanket and just hung out with our sandwiches and wine watching the bikers and runners go by. You can catch some interesting parts of people's conversations when they walk by you and think you can't hear, hah. We also had quite a show when a woman decided to take a break from biking and put on a full dance routine by herself on the rock stage down the lawn from us. Pretty good moves, too. Oh, Burlington, we love you. 

More photos after the jump>

Weekend Recap : Bikes Rides & Warm Weather

Flip flop season has begun

This weekend was pretty busy but pretty great. I worked a shift at the restaurant every evening, and spent the days relaxing in the warm weather. There was a quick visit from my mom, yoga and brunch with some girlies, reading my book on the lawn, a little thrifting, and a bike ride to town this morning to grab coffee with Owen. Now I'm energized and ready to get to work on the shop today, mixed in with a little beach time this afternoon since its going to be 80 degrees : ) Happy Monday everyone!

More photos after the jump >

First Hike Of The Season

Owen, Kelly, Grizzly Jack and I took our first hike of the season yesterday. It was the perfect day outside, and we discovered a new hike around a small lake in Essex. The fresh air and the smell of the trees is just what I needed after a day spent inside. Definitely looking forward to lots of hikes this summer : )

More photos after the jump >

Oldies but Goodies

My mother-in-law recently sent us some photos she took over Thanksgiving, and although I already wrote about our time in Plymouth here, I had to post a couple more because she's just so darn good! I love how she can capture moments when people are relaxed and not so posed. We are having a sunny day in Vermont (freezing cold, but sunny) so I'm happy to be sitting in my window filled office with a busy day ahead of me : ) Hope everyone has a great day!