L and I snuck up to one of our favorite places earlier this month to enjoy New England's gorgeous fall foliage and festivities. It probably comes as no surprise that that place was the infamous Okemo. Okemo is like a second home for my entire family which always makes every trip up there extra special. The last time we were there was in February for a fun ski week with family!

We swung by Market Basket and picked up every fall themed food that we laid our eyes on! Pumpkin spice life, pumpkin bars, cider, caramel donuts, apple pie... you name it!

Early Saturday morning we bought tickets to take the sunburst six up to the summit house to get a little fall foliage tour from above. I was hoping that the summit house would be open so that we could indulge in some hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie, but I suppose that will have to wait until our next trip up when there is some snow!

We explored a little more and hiked up to the fire tower for some one of a kind views of gorgeous Vermont!

There is something eerie about a snowless ski mountain.

After our lift ride up and down the mountain, we found ourselves at Jackson Gore for their fall into winter festival. They had a band, ski gear sales, beer, and their outdoor adventure courses and the timber ripper was open!

Nothing tops of a trip to Okemo without a visit to the waffle cabin for a sweet and delicious chocolate covered waffle on a chilly fall day! Looking forward to our next trip up when there is some snow!!

14 Hours in VEGAS!

I mentioned in my May recap post that my friend had surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas as a graduation gift to celebrate the end of my undergrad career! I hadn't been there since I was a tyke and we both had intentions of visiting sometime during our adult life. The timing of the trip could not have been more perfect, and we lucked out with beautiful weather! We flew out of Boston at 6am stayed for 14 hours, and then took a red-eye back. I have never taken a quick trip like that before, but am now inclined to take more exactly like it!
I've enjoyed making fun, recap videos and posting them on my youtube channel, and am glad that I snapped some videos of our 14 hour experience to help document the trip! I've been finding that little videos of any adventures are more fun to look back on then pictures, so sit back and enjoy! 

Let me preface this post by letting you know that we barely made it on the plane in Boston. When you watch movies of people running through the airport trying to make their flight, that was us... in dresses. We were running a little behind and when we got in the long line for security, we wanted to cry. Thankfully, the angels that work at Boston Logan were MORE than accommodating, by calling the gate, bringing us to the front of the line, and ushering us through the security protocol. We then started sprinting like mad women to our gate, where we were the last to board and actually ended up scoring an entire row for ourselves in the back of the plane. I have so much love for Jet Blue! Our 6 hour flight over was filled with lots of candy eating, tv watching, and a little bit of sleeping.

We had a handful of things that we absolutely wanted to make sure we saw/did while there and then played the rest by ear. One of those being noshing at the infamous Giada Restaurant. Our food (Strawberry Polenta Waffle and Lemon Pesto Grilled Cheese) was amazing, and the view of the strip was even better. This was a great place to relax, refresh, and recharge after the plane ride. From there, we walked around a little, shopped, and had some tea at Sambalatte to wake us up!

Another attraction on our list that we wanted to visit was The Mob Museum. This fascinating museum gave us some insight into how the organized crime effected Las Vegas by displaying multiple stories, artifacts, and movies to help us better understand. The museum is pretty large and is very engaging for all age groups. It was interesting to learn more about this, especially after the release of Black Mass. 

We did pass through the "Fremont Street Experience" in search for a little cocktail bar, but that was it. This is where you will find grown men dressed as babies and nearly naked women. My favorite part of the day was seeing Cirque Du Soleil's Ka show. We ate at Wolfgang Puck's prior to the show, which is also located in MGM Grand. Ka was indescribably amazing. I literally cannot put into words how talented the acrobats were and the quality of music, lights, direction and stages that were used. Imagine the acrobats climbing vertical walls, swinging across the audience, and running on top of a huge hamster wheel and jump roping while it is also spinning... because that's what they did. I would go and see this over and over again if I could. It was worth every penny and then some.

By the time Ka finished, it was dark out, so we ubered our way over to the Bellagio to catch a fountain show. As expected, this was perfect as well. I think they do their fountain show ever 15 minutes at night which made it convenient to watch. We decided to try our hands at a few of the slots afterwards where we had no luck. Actually, I had no luck. I believe Kristina ended up breaking even and then some. By then it was time to make our way back to the airport where we sat at the gate with sleepy eyes waiting for our plane. The plane ride back didn't seem very long, as sleeping and eating helped to pass the time. I am so happy and glad that we were able to zip up for a couple hours to experience the infamous sin city. It was everything I imagined it to be and so much fun! 
...and guess what!? That's another thing that I can cross off my 30 by 30 list!

Okemo Ski Trip Recap Video & a Free Printable!

One of my recent favorite things to do is to record little clips from trips that we take and compile them into a fun little mini video. 
I made our first one back in August that recapped our trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and have slowly been adding little videos to my youtube channel since. There's been the Myrtle Beach trip, Macy Cat's Purina Muse ad, and most recently the Sister Dance! Going into our annual ski trip at Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vermont I knew that I wanted to put together another video to capture all of the good times and fun memories with the family!
While the quality of these are less than perfect, it's the best I can get out of my handy iPhone 5, and I'm okay with that!

 

In addition to this video, I wanted to share with you a printable that I designed to help make sure I packed everything for our last ski trip.   

Follow this link to google docs to print a copy for yourself (: I'm thinking about designing an adventure kit for my Etsy shop, this would be included in it as well as other vacation-y printables.

I hope wherever you are you're getting lots of snow and gearing up for a fun and snowy trip!! (:

Myrtle Beach - Year 4

L's family makes a trip down to beautiful South Carolina every year, where we get our yearly dose of Myrtle Beach fun in the sun. This year was no exception, as we once again stayed oceanside at the Sandy Beach Resort and spoiled ourselves silly. While we are always looking for fun little city get aways, this is usually one of our bigger trips that we look forward to all year round. There is something about palm trees and sinking your feet in the sand with a Carolina Quench in your hand.
We arrived in Charleston a few days earlier and invested some time in learning about the area (potential new home? maybe?). In addition, we also spent a few days with my grandparents playing on and exploring the plantation that they recently moved to. We ended up kayaking all over the lake and achieved our ultimate goal of spotting a baby alligator hanging by the brushes. L and I made the mistake of exposing our city skin to those Carolina rays leaving us with many kisses from the sun. I haven't burnt myself like that since I was a lifeguard, and am paying for it now... peeling like a snake! 

Dress

We headed up to Myrtle Beach after a few days where we spent every single day toasting in the sun and getting our salty water fix in. Needless to say, after L's sister took a pretty nasty sting from a jellyfish, we opted to spend the rest of the time in the pools. L and I were in need of some beach towels, so I went ahead and picked up two of these Land's End Rugby Towels before our trip, which are still on sale for $20 if you're in the market. They're over six feet long, and extremely comfortable to lay on. 

We had a few sand castle competitions and without a doubt, the girls castle lasted the longest against the incoming tide. Our method: build up! Eventually, it did come crashing down. Not without a fight though! 
Side note: If you're looking for a bathing suit top that stays on in the ocean, I am sold on Lululemon's salty swim top. It's equivalent to a sports bra, is reversible and drys extremely quickly. That is because there is no support. Definitely not something I would wear in the cold New England ocean, however in the sunny and warm South. I was all set, no issues here! The bottoms however did not work at all for me. I like something with a little more coverage, and unfortunately the options that they offered just didn't do it. 

We all had a little fun at both of the outlets, and I ended up coming home with a new wristlet, wallet, dress, sports bra and shirt, not to mention it was tax free weekend so I can kind of justify it. I ran out of clothes, and by the end of the week I started wearing my purchases!
We ate out every night and had some pretty delicious feasts, if I do say so myself. A few of these places included, Hominy Grille (Charleston), Duffy's Tavern (Boardwalk), Pier 2, Goodfellas (NMB), Abuelo's, Outback, The Liberty (Broadway at the Beach), Sticky Fingers, and we can't forget the dozens of donuts from Krispy Kreme that we inhaled for breakfast! Just typing those places out make me want to eat lunch again, so delicious! 
I really wish I would've snapped some more photos from our trip, but I was all concerned about taking video clips that it slipped my mind. Be sure to check out the video below that I put together that encapsulates all of the fun and memories from our week!

We're already dreaming about next years trip!

 Myrtle Beach 2013

Mountains and Snow

North Conway is one my favorite places to reset when looking for a nearby weekend (or week) getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. I recently wrote about our AMAZING ski day on Wildcat back in December, and I'm sure that I've mentioned it here and there as well on the blog. We usually head to North Conway to ski the handful of mountains there, and in the summer it's a great place to float down the Saco River or hike! 

  We stayed at the North Conway Grand which is equipped with two pools and hot tubs (inside and outside), it's located a stones throw from the Settlers Green Outlets, AND they serve hot cocoa and cookies everyday from 4-6 in the front lobby. Heck to the yes.
The first day we had hopes of getting a lot of good skiing in, however the mountain was a little too congested for me and I didn't think it was worth the ticket. SO! Dad and I traded in our lift tickets for vouchers, and packed up our gear for the next adventure. Luckily, Pinkham Notch is 10 steps down the road so we parked it there and decided to hike it up Tuckerman's Ravine! Amateur Hour! We did not have appropriate gear with us to hike the side of Mount Washington, at all.. in fact I went up in loosely tied bean boots. No spikes, no cleats, ice picks... nothing. We were cruisin' though and made okay time to the caretakers house. We were about halfway to the bowl which is where the extreme adventurist hike up with skis and ski down. Afterwards we ran, and I mean RAN down the mountain like idiots because it was fun. Our knees will thank us later. Next time, we're springing sleds!! Do you want to do what the truley depressing part was? When we got back to the hotel, all of the cookies and hot cocoa has been eaten :( Saturdays are just too busy for me.  

The second day we skied Attitash in the AM and Wildcat in the PM, and were extremely happy with the conditions! It was less busy, and there was good snow coverage! Afterwards, we DID get to treat ourselves to cookies and hot cocoa! And then of course we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Delaney's Hole in the Wall.   

  Monday was kind of random, nothing crazy. We invested some time and money in at the Outlets and I'm proud to say I only bought what I needed and nothing more! Except for a pair of shorts from J. Crew (They were so cute!), and I cashed in a gift card at L.L. Bean for a boat and tote. My new weekend bag!
We had aspirations of hiking Diane's Bath, however with all of the ice and snow there was a decent chance we might fall through and hurt ourselves so we decided not to. We did however hop on a little nature trail right outside of L.L. Bean which took us for a little spin around a pond of some sort. Pretty, pretty!
We wrapped the day up on York Beach in Maine where we snow walked shoed around the Nubble lighthouse area and checked everything out. We may or may not have popped our heads into a beautiful ocean side house that they were building. We ate dinner in Portsmouth and then walked it off around Downtown Portsmouth. What a day! What a weekend!

 

   Back to the grind tomorrow!

Mountain Time

Happy Valentine's Day (yester-yesterday), friends!
As stated in my last post, I took last week off to spend some much needed mountain time with my wonderful family on our favorite mountain in New England. We have been coming to Okemo way before I can even remember to get our ski fix in and relax in one of Vermont's quaintest towns! 

We arrived midday on Saturday so instead of buying a half day ticket, we broke out our snowshoes and hiked our butts halfway up the mountain. I guess I underestimated how exhausting snow shoeing up a mountain would be because I was shedding layers left and right. There was definitely some tripping, slipping and falling business going on, but we made it back down the mountain and were able to take a mandatory picture in front of the ski lion!

In November, Okemo installed a new ski lift, the Sunburst Six, that seats six, has heated seats AND a bright orange shield that protects you from the elements. It is SO comfortable! I'm especially loving the bright orange pop of color that it brings to the white mountain. A couple of the rides up the shield was completely frosted over from the never ending wind and snow making it impossible to see out, you had to make your best judgement as to when you thought the shield would go up (automatically... fancy stuff, people) and you would be at the top. 

The conditions on the mountain were like none other last weekend. Day 1 was freezing cold. I was thankful for the Summit Lodge and the hot cocoa/ cookie break that day because my toes were breaking off one by one. It was really busy (as expected, hello Sunday!) but we were lucky to get a ton of great runs in. We got a big ole pile of snow Sunday night (and Monday) which left us with fresh, fluffy, powdery snow for us to shred up. We stuck to the South face of the mountain (a personal favorite) for a majority of the day and then wondered over to Jackson Gore for the rest of the day. Tuesday was groomed a little, however they did leave a little powder for people to play on, and I managed to make it to the waffle cabin to nosh on a chocolate covered waffle to wrap up the trip. SO GOOD.

 AND what's an Okemo trip without a squinty eyed chocolate covered waffle cabin picture!?

I would say staying slope side, inhaling chocolate covered waffles, getting a great leg workout from all of the powder snow, skiing with 17 other family members from all over the country, eating great food, and getting tons of snow made for another great ski trip for the books! I'm already counting down the days until next years trip!

Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh this year celebrating the 50th year of marriage of my mom's parents, and it was wonderful!  (In August, we celebrated my dad's parents 50th anniversary as well in Bar Harbor!)
We had family from Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Massachusetts all gather for a delicious meal, good company, and a great time!
Here's a quick wrap of our weekend with two pictures because apparently I hardly took any. Fail. 
+My family ran a turkey trot Thursday AM, while mom and I dragged our out of shape behinds on a one mile walk (that I barely survived). 
+Dinner was AMAZEballs complete with home made everything. I think it's safe to say that I had the best cheesecake of my life freshly made from the Carolina Cheesecake Company. 
+Friday morning we had some "cousin" pictures taken for my grandparents, and then found ourselves wondering around the hills emptying our wallets. I'm pretty proud to say that I'm about 80% done with Christmas shopping. 
+Saturday we woke up early to begin our 10 hour drive back into Boston.

 Happy faces from our sibling shopping spree! Oh, how I love these three!

If there is one thing you need to know about my family father, it is his spontaneity! You really have to give yourself a day or two before a planned trip to prepare yourself for his last minute change of plan side trips. As I type this, I'm snuggled on the couch at our ski house in VERMONT chillin' like a villain. Vermont!? That wasn't exactly part of the the PITTSBURGH game plan, but on our drive home back to Boston, a big bright light bulb went off in his head, and he picked up the NY thruway and detoured into the mountains for a night. Being here is one of my most favorite places in the country. Surrounded by mountains, snow and being slope side with a fireplace and a warm bed is definitely worth a small detour, I only wish I had my gear so that I can make a few runs tomorrow. 

via
I hope that everyone had an amazing and blessed Thanksgiving filled with good food and great company!