Snow Days

We've gotten a few snow days this year, the biggest being last weekend where we got about 9 inches of snow with sleet on top.  That snow has now turned to ice on top- with no melting in sight!  Our temperatures haven't been above freezing in well over a week and in fact they've been some of the lowest temperatures we've had while living here.

We don't mind the winter, most likely because we usually get a nice middle of the road winter, enough snow and cold to be happy but not extreme!  We try to take advantage of the snow when we can and have some fun in it!

The woods are so pretty after a snow, especially one this big!  It's been fun to watch the creek slowly freeze over!

It's almost time to start seeds but I can't get to the greenhouse yet and the soil will be completely frozen!

I love how the snow makes the little barn look like it has scalloped trim!

Of course, the real bummer about snow days is the clearing of the snow.  Bryce is always so thorough and careful in doing so.

Also, we made homemade pop tarts for a snow day breakfast.  It's a great way to use up some jam that's open!

Boston Weekend

Last weekend, Grace and I took a quick trip to Boston.  It was purely for fun, with no set agenda.  We walked a lot, ate great food and enjoyed two nights in an absolutely lovely hotel.

Was a major impetus for the trip my desire to visit Beacon Hill Books and Cafe?  Yes, yes it was.  This has to be the most beautiful bookstore in all the land!  We enjoyed browsing and then a delicious dessert in their adorable cafe.  The only negative?  Instagram has made the store very, very popular so it was sooo very crowded (the crowds got better later in the day)!  

We also visited the Boston Public Library, which was very beautiful.

In the Public Garden we had a real life make way for ducklings moment.  

Our last evening we walked to dinner in the snow and it kept going all night.  Boston looked beautiful in the snow.  

P.S.  See the bag Grace is carrying?  I got that Vera Bradley bag for her, in a pattern I thought was a classic, when she was a toddler and she's still using it!  

Bemelmans Bar and Sequins Too

Years ago, when the children were little, I really wanted to take them to Bemelmans Bar in NYC.  It's an iconic NYC bar tucked into The Carlyle Hotel.  The walls of the bar are lined with murals drawn by none other than Ludwig Bemelmans, the author and illustrator of the children's books, Madeline.

We read lots of Madeline while the children were little and I just thought they would love seeing the illustrations on the wall and, of course, I wanted to go as well.  Of course, I never could work out if children were allowed in the bar (I think they had a high tea?!) and the timing just didn't work out, but I've always held on to wanting to go and take the children with us.  So as my birthday approached we did just that as both children are now 21!

I've given a lot of thought about how much effort it took to get on the train, go into the city, subway or cab up to the bar and hope that we could get in (not to mention expense).  There was a moment or two where I thought we should just not go, it surely wouldn't be worth the effort.  But as I go into my 53rd year, that's simply not who I want to be.  I want to make the effort.  I want to seek out new experiences.  I want to go out of my way.  I think perhaps we've all gotten much to comfortable being comfortable.  

It was most certainly worth it.  I LOVED experiencing it with my children and Bryce.  We had delicious drinks, admired the art and then headed to a yummy dinner (we joked we were doing a high/low evening).  

Also, I wore sequins because that is also how I want to go into my 53rd year.

 

Candle Display

As he usually does, Harris made my Christmas gift this year and I love it!  He, with Bryce's help, made a pegged hanger for my collection of candles.  He painted it to match the cabinetry in the butlers pantry and it fits perfectly on the side without jutting into the door opening.

I like to have candles that coordinate with my different dishes.  Also, I love how they look with all of our cake paintings as well.

A Home Gym

Back in 2021 Bryce decided to make the loft of the little barn into a home gym.   It had been used for something similar as it had been previously drywalled so it really only needed fresh paint and a new floor covering.  

I was inspired by this little article in Martha Stewart Living because it seemed a tiny bit like our space!  All of these years later, I started reading her magazines/books in high school, I'm still a fan.  Is there anything that woman cannot do?

Once we got it painted and a matted floor put in, Bryce stocked it full of used gym equipment that he collected through Facebook market place!  He already had a rowing machine that was a gift from his previous company!

The gym has evolved of course, we added a small AC unit for the summer and a heating unit for the winter as the gym is an unconditioned space that is horribly hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter.  Both additions have been useful.  We also added an elliptical that friends gave us when they moved and didn't have a place for it.  My favorite addition has been Kermit as he makes me chuckle every time I look at him.  

We also have a spot with an old computer monitor that I can hook up my computer to if I'm doing a class or workout online.  

Right outside the gym, we've also go a very DIY cold plunge (in the form of a tub that was here when we purchased the property) and a sauna that was gifted to us when dear friends moved and couldn't use it any longer.  Frankly, neither one is super effective but I guess it's better than nothing!  We now jokingly call the little barn "The Wellness Center!"

2026

Happy New Year!  We celebrated with friends but came home before midnight so that we could watch the finale of Stranger Things with the children.  We've watched it together for 10 years so there was no way we weren't going to watch the finale together!  Those 80's throw backs sure did bring on the nostalgia.  

 I haven't really made a list of New Year's resolutions this year.  I did write down some farm goals, which I do every year, but other than that I just have a lot of different things swirling around in my brain without any specific way to resolve them or change them.  I do know that I want to get off my phone, gather more, get out and do more interesting things and to appreciate the little things and details.  Here's to a beautiful year!