Day Trip to Salem, MA

This past weekend, Boston had some of the most beautiful weather we've seen in a while.  It's not often we get a Saturday in November with the high in the mid 60's!  We knew we had to get outside, so we called up our friends Emily and Jason and decided to head to Salem, MA for a day trip.

Four years ago, we ended up going to Salem 3-4 times within a relatively short period of time.  Needless to say, I needed a little break from the land of the witches, but I'd finally had enough time apart and was ready to go back.

We spent a lot of time going in all the shops downtown and had some lunch downtown at a the Front Street Coffee House.  Everything was delicious and the inside was really unique.  They had some of the coolest lamps hanging from the ceiling.  We were having such a good time I totally forgot to take pictures!  I promise I'll take some next time we go.  :)

Here's some of what I did manage to document with photos.  Some of these are courtesy of Emily.  Once you're finished looking at these pictures, you should go check out her blog.  :)

The common

Jason, me, and Travis.  There's a pretty silly gif Emily made from a whole series of these photos...check it out here!

House of the Seven Gables

If it was our last hurrah for the fall, it was a good one.  :)

Bachelorette Party at Plymouth, MA - wine tasting, food and fun

Happy Labor Day!  We spent the weekend at a wedding in upstate New York.  I thought it was only fitting to tell you about the bachelorette party for the bride of the weekend - our friend Jenn!

The daytime activities included a trip to Plymouth, MA for some wine tasting, food, and fun.  It was an awesome group - none of us knew each other (besides Jenn knowing everyone obviously) before the day began.  I actually love it when that happens - it's funny to see how "friends of friends" always seem to get along really well.  Everyone was really nice!

We decided to start at the Plymouth Bay Winery.  Plymouth Bay Winery is owned and managed by a husband/wife team, and all their wines are produced from native grapes and berries.  I'm not a wine fan (I know, I know...howwww!), but I had a good time watching everyone taste away.

I did enjoy tasting some of their jellies (made from their wines), and came home with a jar of their Widow's Walk.  I thought it was such a great idea that I also bought a bottle of Widows Walk wine as well, to make a marinade for a pork tenderloin (recipe coming soon)!  They were also nice enough to let us keep all of our purchases there at the store while we walked around town.  Then we were off!

While there, we realized there was a huge festival going on.  TONS of people everywhere, and Water Street was lined with white tents full of handmade crafts. Most of the group hadn't seen Plymouth Rock, so we thought it would be fun to explore some of the booths and make our way to the rock.

By this time it was mid afternoon and we were hungry.  The Blue-Eyed Crab had an appealing patio, so we decided to stop there for a late lunch.  The food was very good, but the service was very slow (especially since it was 3pm).  I had a small crab cake for an appetizer that had the most fantastic cream cheese sauce.  I also had the fish and chips - my FIRST fish and chips EVER.  I know...crazy huh?  I don't know how this compares to others, but this one was very good!  I'll be ordering it again.  I also took a picture of Jenn's meal because it looked so good.  She had a giant lobster roll and fried plantains.  YUM.

Once we finished eating, we had just enough time to hit one last winery before heading home.  The Plymouth Winery was just next door to the restaurant, and almost all of their wines have won multiple awards.  I'm not sure if it was the fact that everyone was tired, but most of the group weren't fans of these wines.  Oh well.  :)  My favorite part of this stop was the sweet chocolate lab that greeted everyone with a large lick on your feet.  I imagine he spent most of his time in the blue chair by the window, where you'll see him in a moment.

Before heading home, we stopped at a cute cupcake shop to get a little sugar kick.  I split a yummy vanilla cupcake with a strawberry filling.  The icing was sweet, light, and fluffy - perfect.  If I go back, I'll be getting their Boston Cream Pie Cupcake - omg...

Such a fun day celebrating our sweet friend Jenn - so happy for her!

Interested in what else there is to do in Plymouth?  Check out our last trip to the beautiful town.

Paint Bar Boston - Everyone's an Artist

Thursday night, the girls from work (who live in Boston) took a field trip to The Paint Bar.  We were sad that Bailey (who lives in Vancouver) and Arielle (who just moved to Pennsylvania) weren't able to come...it's just the nature of an internet company I guess - everyone doesn't have to work from the same office!  Ann and Laura are the other two girls in Boston.  It's so nice to work with your friends...it truly is the number 1 perk of working where I do.  :)

There are two Paint Bar locations in Boston - one in Newton (down the street from my apartment), and one on Newbury Street in Boston.  We chose the Newton location so we didn't have to fight for parking - it's free after 6pm.

The inside of this location is super cute - bright colors on the walls, tables with easels and canvases just waiting for eager painters, and a mini gallery displaying all of the paintings they do each month.  Laura was also in love with the giant giraffe painting hanging in the purple and yellow bathroom.

In addition to the painting you'll do, there's also the "bar" half.  They sell wine by the glass, soda, water, chips and candy for you to enjoy while you hang out.  All the makings for a great evening!

When we arrived, we were shown to our seats (so nice there was assigned seating so you don't need to worry about getting there at a certain time so your group can sit together) and told to head to the back to get ready.  We grabbed our aprons and headed to the paint area, which had instructions about how many 'squirts' of each color we needed to complete that evening's panting.  So easy.  

Then we met our teacher for the evening (Jackie), who actually started Paint Bar with her mother!  Jackie is hilarious, talented, and GOOD at what she does.  She managed to strike a balance between clear instruction and funny banter that made for a fantastic few hours.

Our instructor for the evening, Jackie!

Laura was soooo excited to get her paint!  

She walked us through every part of the painting together - everyone's turned out perfectly!

It was such a fun night - I can't WAIT to go back!

Kimball Farms - Mini-Golf, Ice Cream & Air Hockey, Oh My!!

In the last month, we've made two trips to Kimball Farms.  Our next door neighbors first told us about this magical place a few months ago, and we couldn't wait to go.  What is Kimball Farms, you might ask?  It's acres of fun...that's what it is!  We went to their Westford location (about 50 minutes outside of Boston), which has 2 mini-golf courses, bumper boats, an arcade, petting zoo, batting cages, a par 3 course (they call it "pitch and putt"), a "grill", and massive amounts of homemade ice cream!

The first time we went to Kimball Farms was with our friends Dave and Kirstin.  Their website said everything was open until 10pm, so we decided we had plenty of time to eat dinner at their house before heading to Westford.  When we got there, we saw a sign saying ice cream actually closed at 8:30 that night, so we decided to do that first.  The ice cream servings are HUGE and delicious!  This is a small serving...needless to say, I wasn't able to finish it (but came close!!!).  :)

After eating ice cream, we made our way to the mini-golf counter.  We were met by a few teens who told us they'd stopped letting people play for the evening.  When I asked why, the girl said "We're already not going to leave on time tonight...there are a lot of people playing, so no one else can play."  Since their website didn't say anything about a "last round", and it was just before 9pm (plenty of time for four 30 year olds to play a round of mini-golf), I asked if she'd make an exception and let us play.  We certainly wouldn't be the ones holding things up (can't you tell we're fantastic mini-golfers?).  She just said "No.  We're already going to have to stay late tonight."

Ugh.  I wasn't happy (since we'd driven almost an hour to play mini-golf), but we decided to make the best of it and head to the arcade.  They've got a great arcade with all the classic games we were looking for.  After some ski ball, we decided to pay some two-on-two air hockey.  Everyone left happy, as Trav and Dave won one game, and Kirstin and I won another.  :)

This past Friday, Travis and I went back to Kimball Farms to continue our mini-golf saga, and left REALLY early to make sure we'd have plenty of time.  We had dinner by the farm animals (burgers, fries, and watermelon...perfect for a summer night) and had a great time watching the goats.  Most goats I've seen aren't too keen on being petted all the time - they usually suffer through the petting with the hopes of a "french fry thank you", but these goats LOVED being petted!  Every time someone walked up to the fence, the goats came running and would put their heads up to the fence to graciously accept the happy rubs.  It was very cute.  We even watched one dad pick his kids up by the ankles and dangle them headfirst over the fence so they could pet the goats' heads.  So funny.

After dinner we DID get to play mini-golf, and it was great.  The holes are interesting and well kept, and there are lots of fun things to look at as you go!  I won't tell you who won (since it wasn't me), but we had a fantastic time!

I managed to hit my ball off a rock, over the walkway, and into the woods. Maybe this is why I didn't win. At least it found a friend!

We'll be back soon for more fun.  Kimball Farms was quite a fantastic surprise...I just wish they'd update their hourly information online to reflect what actually occurs.  :)