Weekend away, a birthday, and Tony Bennet ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

I'm just back from the most wonderful weekend away visiting our dear friends in PA.  As always, we had the best time with them! This is the gorgeous view from their deck!  I could get used to living on the lake!  

We were only there for a few days, but in that short time we made every minute count.  We ate delicious food, drank coffee (did we ever!:), played games, watched movies, talked & solved all life's problems, went out for a yummy lunch, and the kids had a blast out on the boat.  It's hard living 8 hrs away from your friends, but sometimes I think it only makes our time together that much better.  

We spend our time apart looking forward to our next visit.

 

BJ and her family even spoiled me with a birthday surprise.  We had a delicious Red Lobster seafood meal, homemade desserts, and presents.  I don't know how I got so lucky, but boy am I grateful! 

I wish you all had a friend like BJ.  Not only will she spoil you rotten with all your favorite things, she and her family will treat you as one of their own. You'll talk for hours, she'll give you the best advice, and make you laugh too.  I miss her already! ♥

We didn't take that many pictures this time.  We were too busy living in the moment.  Here's one of my favorites from a few years ago.  Nothing has changed : ) 

You probably already know this, but you can visit BJ on her beautiful blog right HERE.....

We said our goodbyes Sunday morning and off we went on our journey home.  Monday we all had the day off which was awesome. It gave us time to unpack and rest from the car trip.  It also happened to be my birthday! I spend the entire day in my most comfy clothes.  We watched a movie and even though Rob offered to take me out to dinner all I really wanted to do was order in and not have to go out.  I decided on Panera Bread.  

I ordered my favorite meal in the entire world....a grilled cheese sandwich and creamy tomato soup! YES I DID! It was the absolute best and I have zero regrets! 

You know I love my comfort food : )

So do my folks, who joined us for our Panera feast. My mom happens to love their strawberry poppy seed salad and French onion soup, so she was happy too! :) 

For dessert they treated me to a delicious cake! I made a wish and blew out the candles.  

49. I can hardly believe it.  The countdown to 50 has begun.  Yikes! 

 I take my wishes very seriously as you can see! LOL 

On a different note, while we were away I got the news report that Tony Bennet had passed away.  I was very saddened by this.  I have loved Tony and his music for as long as I can remember.  I grew up listening to "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and "Rags to Riches" so often they are ingrained in my memories.  I held Tony Bennet on the same pedestal as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.  All the great singers of that time.  I had the pleasure and honor of seeing Tony sing live, one lovely night several years ago.  He was coming to Boston and Rob surprised me with tickets for my birthday.  It was a night to remember.  He preformed at an outdoor pavilion on Boston Harbor. All the men were dressed  in suits and the ladies in theirs prettiest cocktail dresses.  I knew every song and when he sang "Fly Me to the Moon" tears streamed down my face.  I remember feeling so honored to be in his presence.  Not just because of how great he was (and he was great!) but because I knew for me this was my connection to a time period that I never got to experience.  And there I was experiencing it.  There's a word, and it's escaping me right now, but it means having nostalgia for a time you never experienced.  That's what I felt.  It was an amazing night and I'll never forget it.  

Rest in peace Tony Bennet.  I love you! 

Today I am back to work and if I'm being truthful, I'm not too happy about it.  Those of you who've worked in an office know the joy of coming back to a stack of paperwork after you've been off for a few days.  FUN! But I'll survive. I just need coffee and something in my earbuds and I'll get through it.  Hopefully if the rain holds off John and I will be keeping our Wednesday evening date at the beach.  Last night it stormed so fingers crossed we'll have clear skies tonight. 

Happy Wednesday, friends! Thank you for catching up with me and stopping by today.  

I'll be back soon! xoxox 

Ocean City, Maryland ♥

Hello Lovely Friends! ♥

Happy Monday! I have a vacation hangover this morning.  We are just back from an amazing vacation in beautiful Ocean City, Maryland.  My friend BJ and her family hosted us for a whole week in their beachfront condo.  Look at this view. 

  Not a bad way to start the day : ) 

We spent the week talking, laughing, playing games, eating delicious food, watching movies, and breathing in the incredible salty air right outside our window.  

It's really hard having friends that live so far away, but the good thing is that it makes our reunions all the more fun and special.  

We had a great week together :) 

Our condo was absolutely gorgeous! I'll take you on a little tour. 

I was in love with the blue and white color scheme! ♥

The bed was so comfy too! ♥

♥

It was a bit chilly but we had sunshine everyday! 

Some of us enjoyed walks on the beach and some of us just sat with our toes in the sand.  

I won't say who's who... :) 

Breakfasts at the beach are my favorite! ♥

One day we visited the cutest town called Berlin. We had an amazing lunch at the historic Atlantic Hotel (built in 1895).  Afterwards we strolled the square, visited antique stores, the bakery, and got an ice cream. 

It was such a lovely day! 

This was a Hallmark movie moment for sure ♥

Feeling grateful and blessed with this bunch! ♥

**also my lunch was incredible - I must recreate that pasta salad somehow**

Antiquing makes me happy! ♥

This antique store had a whole set of Blue Onion dishes! We had these when I was growing up! I only have one left (for nostalgia sake).   And I've never seen those bowls before.

They are so pretty! 

I've been on the hunt for an old fashioned phone (to accompany my typewriter).  I thought I'd found one here but she was $85! I decided to make one more trip to search the attic before I actually buy one.  

Cherry Vanilla! LOOOOOVE! ♥

These two are the best of friends! 

The Boardwalk in Ocean City is a special place.  We were able to stroll it a few times.  Once we went early in the morning.  There were folks there flying kites and riding bikes.  It felt very vintage, like I stepped back in time.  I wanted to get salt water taffy because that seemed appropriate,  but they weren't open yet.  Next time for sure! 

We also got in our share of dog snuggles this week.  Some more than others : ) 

Ice cream and more fun pics on our last night ♥

On our last night BJ and I stayed in the condo while everyone else went out to dinner.  When I suggested we stay in, she quickly agreed.  We are so alike! 

 We spent the time in our PJ's, eating leftovers, and solving all the worlds problems.  It was my favorite night of the trip.  The next morning we loaded up the car, said our goodbyes, and off we went...back home to Boston, taking all our new memories with us. 

♥

 

I can't think of a better way to spend our spring break! It was so much fun and I can't wait till the next time we see our friends!

But, as always, all good things come to an end.  Today we are back to reality. Back to work and school.  I have laundry going downstairs and I'm thawing chicken for dinner.  It's raining today and smells like Spring outside.  It's hard to believe next week is MAY! 

Have a wonderful day friends.  I hope your Monday is off to a great start. I have about 1000 emails to go through so I better pour another cup of coffee and get at it.  

Stay cozy! ♥

xoxox

Thoughts on Blogs...♥

My dear friend BJ at Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea did a post the other day on "getting to know your blog friends" and she listed 10 facts about herself.  She invited her readers to list facts about themselves in the comments.  It was so much fun to read the responses! I love posts like that because they are so relatable.  Although we are all different, living in different locations, dealing with different life circumstances, and even in different stages of our lives, in some ways we are the same.  

I guess that's what brings us together and we share our lives here because of it. It's a hard thing to explain to people who don't understand blogs (I get it...the internet can be scary), but if you're reading this then I know you get me! We are more alike that you think : ) 

Anyway back to BJ....we met through our blogs. The funny thing is by the time we met in person (in Disney World in 2018) we had already been talking and sharing our lives with each other for years prior. Kind of like pen pals, but better. I felt like I already knew her family and she knew mine.  We clicked instantly and have been besties ever since.  I love reading friendship stories like mine and BJ's.  There are so many. How lucky we all are.  And had it not been for our little old blogs, we never would have known each other.  How wonderful is that?! 

I always say it's the little things in life that mean the most.  I'm grateful for this little blog and all the friends I've made here.  It breaks my heart a little that people don't blog as much as they used to. I hope it comes back into fashion again someday.  I'm sure I'll still be here, rambling on about this or that. When the world gets too much and I just can't stand the news anymore, it brings me peace to know you are all out there and I can catch up with you. We can talk recipes, family, decorating, movies, weather, anything at all.  I have never once regretting time spent reading blogs.  I love seeing your lives and sharing your days. The good, the bad, and sometimes (although not too often) the ugly.  It happens. 

If you've been here a while I'll bet you know I love Lucy, coffee, comfy slippers, and desserts. Whenever John catches me snapping a picture of my breakfast he says "mom, does anyone even care what your bagel looks like?" and I proudly say "yes they do!" 

So anyway, I just want to say thanks for being here ♥

Stay cozy friends and have a wonderful day!  

xoxox

Fourth of July Week! ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

I hope you all had a happy and fun holiday week!  I am so glad to be back here on this space. I've missed you! I took the week off for vacation and I can't wait to tell you all about it.  

We were invited to spend the week with our most dearest and wonderful friends in Pennsylvania. Every moment was amazing and I'm missing them already!  We were greeted Saturday night with a spectacular fireworks display over the lake.

My friend BJ lives in a charming and picturesque home right on the lake. Many nights we sat right here on this deck with our families talking and laughing. 

I'm smiling right now just thinking about it : ) 

We took boat rides and the kids went tubing! John LOVED it! I loved the beautiful lake views. 

 Lake life is something I could get used to : ) 

 

And here she is! My BFF!  We met right here on this blogspace, although I feel as if I've known BJ all my life.  We are two peas in a pod! We love home, cozy, coffee, family, gameshows, books, scary movies, and a million other things.  I'm so grateful to her and her amazing family.  They welcomed us as if we were part of the family.  And it sure felt that way ♥

One of my favorite days was lunch at the Strawberry Tea shop.  It's the most darling place, and the food....OH MY WORD. 

If I see grilled cheese on a menu of course I have to order it...with tomato soup!  

This was an "adult grilled cheese" made with three chesses and an onion & bacon marmalade in the middle.  

YUM!  ♥

For dessert we shared three different kinds of pie.  My favorite was the strawberry cream.  

To.die.for. ♥

But the best moments were just sitting on her beautiful deck, overlooking the lake.  

With a cup of coffee and a puppy close by.  It's the best! 

More fun on the boat! ♥

A fourth of July feast! 

One night we had a pizza party! So much fun! 

(clearly John is taking it too seriously! LOL)

They were all delicious! 

I wanted to take this little guy home with me ♥

John and Mocha have a complicate relationship! 

But I think they secretly love each other  ♥

One night is was my pleasure to make dinner for everyone.  I decided on chicken picatta and thankfully everyone enjoyed it!  I had so much fun cooking in BJ's kitchen! She even played Frank Sinatra for me! 

Here's Steve & Rob cooking breakfast on the grill! 

It was soooo gooood! ♥

A gorgeous view from the couch looking out onto the lake.  

BJ's home is so cozy.  I feel so at home in her space ♥

At night we played games, had milkshakes, watched movies, told stories, and made smores.  

All my favorite things! 

The week flew by so fast and they graciously invited us back next month to do it all over again! We were chatting about it and before we knew it we were marking the dates in our calendars.  

We are beyond excited!! ♥

Friends like this come along once is lifetime.  I feel so blessed to have BJ and her family in our lives. We are blog friends, that turned into real life friends, that have turned into family. 

♥

We would never have met if it not for the internet.  Life if so funny, isn't it?! 

You can visit BJ's beautiful blog here.  And you can also visit her daughter Madison's blog here or shop her bridal & dress boutique online here.  FYI I've been to the real life store and it's GORGEOUS!!! 

Thank you for visiting me today ♥   

I hope your July is off to a great start.  Now it's back to reality for me.  Work, laundry, dinner, chores, repeat.  It's ok though.  I now have something to look forward to! 

Happy Summertime!!! Have a great day! xoxo