Maine

August has been our month for travel and it kicked off in MAY-JAH style. 


I was whiiiisked away and surprised with a short trip to Maine. I've never been, which is bizarre considering my unnatural obsession with New England summers... the Cape, the food, the baseball. I love it all -- especially the lobstah. 


We spent most of our time at the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, the lobster capital of the WORLD (Betcha didn't know that). It was chock full of fabulously delicious decadence <-- try saying that three times fast. We got there early and made a few rounds. Here's the day in photos:

 Rides!

Games!

 The lobster steam house. In, out, on a plate.  

Smoked mussels. The mister is definitely a mussels connoisseur and said these were some of the best he's ever had. Bravo, lobster fest.

I started with an app of lobster knuckles and claws-- working my way up to the main event.

 

 Best. Float. Evah. Homemade ice cream (by the Portland Sea Dogs) and Capt'n Eli's Blueberry Pop.

Fried Kool-aid anyone? It's kind of weird, very tangy, extremely interesting. I won't be having it again-- but at least I can say I've tried it!

Maryland, represent!

After sampling wares and toolin' around for a couple hours, it was time to head back to the lobster tent and get what we came for... (can you hear the theme music playing in my head right now?)

Bibs, check!

 Unnecessary plasticware, check!

 This guy... was damn delicious.

And for dessert: fried dough. How have I not known about this little deep fried piece of heaven? I will never eat funnel cake again. 

Amwilli couldn't resist the greatest "sunday" on earth. So great they had to spell it with a 'y'! 

One last token of remembrance... a Maine lobster roll. These New Englanders sure don't mess around when it comes to seafood. 

Thanks for having us Maine Lobster Festival-- looks like you'll be added to the list of annual events to attend. Only 351 more days til the next one. Who's coming with?

Motivation

My wonderful best friend Miss C (now Mrs. M) got married this past weekend! Congratulations again, my love!

Her oh so fab-u-lous wedding motivated me like nothing ever has to do a few things:

1) Have a professional makeup artist in my phone (you never know when you may need one).

2) Get my body together for once and for all (baby steps).

3) Hop on the shellac manicure bandwagon (these nails have been rock solid with no   

     chipping for five days and counting). 

And the BIG one:

4) Get back to learning about my camera! I've been seriously slacking-- but I saw some 

     photos this past weekend that really made me wish I knew more so I could do a lot more 

     with my canon. 

Back to snap happiness!

Summer Survival Kit

Apologies for the missing-in-actionness as of late. This girl has been busy. But, hark-- I have returned... with a list of goodies getting me through Swelter Fest '11:

The world's most amazing toaster oven-- convection oven, toaster, bake/broiler-- and most importantly keeps us from having to turn on the real oven. Thanks, Papa Willi!

The first of a few things I probably *shouldn't* have. Too bad. I love me some Jones Soda. I stick to the Zilch, because I'm not a big believer in drinking calories (unless of course, there's booze involved).

25 calories of pure bliss. Sugar water at its absolute finest. 

Vine-ripened, and perfect for BLTs (my any season favorite, no fuss, no oven meal). 

These are pretty tasty. I think they may be just a phase-- but they're making the cut for now.

Bible of deliciousness-- and all the eats are within 45 minutes. It's probably unsafe for me to have this so readily available.

Driscoll's. Love them. Planning to throw together some balsamic strawberries later this week. Stay tuned!

I totally buy into the powers of Kombucha... and nowww I feel like a hippy. 

 Grilled peaches are my all-time favorite summer time dessert. Life's a peach, right?

Millions of peaches, peaches for me. <--who remembers that song?

Lazy Bones

How I've been feeling since school ended...

(source)

(source)

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Hence the lack of blogging... I've been reclining, reading, and Wimbledon-watching. It's been GLORIOUS. Admittedly, I need to at least include working out so I don't turn into a can of Crisco. Baby steps. 

Here's the most appropriate song ever to play me out...

Best Scavenger Hunt Everrr.

Today was the last day of school. It's kind of a big deal-- mostly because I've never had a last day of school as a teacher before. It was a pretty spectacular day, and got even better once I got home...

The front door...  

Bedroom door...

 Coffee table...

 Chair at the dining table...

Fridge...

JACKPOT!

Champagne Saturday will be quite the classy affair this weekend... 

Thanks, baby! ♡♥

I can't believe this year is already in the books. Happy summer break to all the teachers out there-- it's hard-earned and well-deserved. CHEERS!

Summer Reading

I went to the bookstore yesterday armed with gift cards from Christmas. I left supremely happy. 


Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth

I eat a lot, so this seemed interesting. It was highly recommended by some friends over on Spark. These lines from the book jacket are what compelled me: "The way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. You relationship with food is an exact mirror of your feelings about love, fear, anger, meaning, transformation and, yes, even God."


Heavy. It's pretty good so far.


Bossypants by Tina Fey

Yeah, I know I'm late on this one-- but my everyday schedule doesn't allow for very much leisurely reading. 


My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

I have the other three, somehow skipped this one. Had to correct this situation. Chelsea Handler is probably the funniest woman alive. 


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

What can I say? Every now and again, I get caught up in trends. They're making a movie-- and even though I don't actually GO to the movies {because I have an issue with being that close to people}, I'm still curious. I also feel like this is something I should have read ages ago. 


OK, so there's the beginning of my summer reading list. What's on your list?