VIEW THROUGH MY LENS: JUNE

I started posting these "view through my lens posts" to help recap each month through my iPhone shots to keep random snapshots saved and easy to find. They are, by far, my favorite posts to write and look back on, as I am able to relive each and every memory from the month. 

Sorry for the radio silence for the past couple weeks after we announced our move to New Hampshire! Even though we gave ourselves a month of overlap between our lease in Boston and our lease in New Hampshire, we are still finding ourselves a bit frazzled. Moving to a different state is fun, yet extremely chaotic at the same time. We have a never ending to do list that continues to get longer by the day and we are finding it more and more difficult to tackle as our schedules are still very full. To put it into perspective, I left the DMV crying this morning. But hey, June was still a ton of fun nonetheless, so let's get crackin'!
I dropped the ball in May by publishing my "view through the lens post" four days late, but kept my word by getting posts up regarding my very fun and impromptu 14 hour trip to vegas (video), graduation (video), and family road trip to Ohio and back. Score!
Thanks to the convenience of the city, where we worked, and where we lived, L and I haven't needed a vehicle to cruise around in for the past three years. Now that we no longer live within walking distance to anything (except for a swanky pool), L and I found it necessary to invest in a good, reliable, four-wheel drive car. While we still have good old faithful from high school, it will be nice having some newer, bigger, and a little more reliable.

Right after we moved into our new house, we ran off to play in the North Conway and Bar Harbor areas. L and I hiked up to Cathedral Ledge where we got engaged three months prior and found the tree that we carved in. You can barely read it!

While in Bar Harbor, we met up with my sister and found our way to the Beehive trail, a crowd favorite! We had to introduce L and his brother to the hiking "rungs and ladder" experience... they enjoyed!! I think the pictures below literally speak miles for the beauty that is Acadia National Park, so I won't go into too much detail. It is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, read my review of my trip to Bar Harbor and Acadia a couple summers ago, here!

The following weekend, we scooted over to Freeport Maine to play in L.L. Bean's many stores! We started out at Wolfe's Neck Woods State park and then worked our way over to the shopping.

House Goals. Naturally, it's the L.L. Bean Outdoor Center.

What a view!

We ALWAYS have to take an obligatory photo in front of the infamous boot. I believe this one was snapped right after the kind lady at L.L. Bean scolded the big kid sitting in the front (my father) for climbing it. ...and he was the first one to climb the boot all day, at 7pm... 

We didn't go too crazy in the shopping department, however we did tire the guys out when we hit the home store. When L.L. Bean designed this store, they clearly had the #boysclub in mind.

L started his first day of work the following Monday. This is such a different lifestyle for us. Our jobs in Boston, prior to the move, were very close to home making it easy to scoot home for a long lunch or to eat out. We are now grocery shopping and packing lunches! Exciting! But really, we love it! (:

I went back into Boston for a couple days where I was graciously blessed with a feast of a goodbye party by the kind ladies that I worked with. The picture below is JUST the dessert spread! JUST the desserts, people! I left very happy and very full. Can we take a second to talk about that delicious carrot cake. It is by far the best carrot cake I HAVE EVER HAD. I encourage everyone who is in the Boston area to buy a little slice of heaven from Modern Pastry located on Hanover Street in the North End. I will severely miss eating this cake 2 to 3 times a week! :(

While in Boston, I also worked my last couple shifts at the bar that I have worked at for the past three years. It was my first and last job in the city. As much as I may have huffed and puffed about it in the past (as all people in the industry do), I truly will miss it. When in season (Bruins and Celtics), it's a crazy, fast paced microbrew with an exciting vibe! It has always kept me grounded, and has always helped me make ends meet financially. The people that I worked with were very friendly, and the schedule was flexible. I know that I will secretly miss it. Thank you BBW! (:

We moved two vehicles full of our stuff out of the North End on Sunday, what fun that was. I cried a little. I will miss our beautiful home here so very much. We were so fortunate to have such a great apartment, a great location, and a phenomenal landlord. I feel as though I will always compare future homes to our wonderful, tiny house here.

Our new house is wonderful as well! It is an old ski chalet that comes with all of the charm. I feel as though I'm on vacation every time I'm there. I'm sure that will wear off after I start my new job tomorrow, start doing my household chores, and get into a daily grind. As mentioned above, we are desperately trying to get our lives back to ABC after our move, but we are hitting roadblocks every step of the way. The only "thing" we have really been able to get done thus far (in two weeks) is set up our electric. That's it. We have electric and that is all. Because of our new, and very remove location, we had to switch internet providers which has been a trip. Hopefully, that will be set up next week and I will no longer need to camp out in the library. We aren't completely sure which route we're going to take regarding the trash and recycling pickup which is another little "thing" we need to address... it's starting to build up. Because we just purchased a vehicle, we are looking to register it in NH, however, we need NH licenses to do so. We drove over a half hour to the DMV today with all of the required paperwork only to be turned away because they didn't like the format of the lease we signed and didn't want to use it for residency verification. I cried. I'm becoming frustrated over little things like that not getting done. We bought ourselves a little gift on the way back to make it worth the trip. After all, we will need it to help clean up the yard and were actively shopping for one. The list of things to get done continues to grown and not having internet makes it very difficult. Dang internet. I'm so excited to get settled though and enjoy our new space. It is truly a very unique place and will be a wonderful area to live.

Our view out the back is all trees. It's beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and nothing like Boston. I will miss the city noises at night, but also appreciate the silence that our new home has to offer. The shingle siding is my favorite part, along with the massive deck that wraps around two sides of the house. When we get more settled, I will be sure to share pictures. It is truly one of a kind!

 I'm happy to see that this little lady is enjoying the new house! We have slowly been letting Macy Cat out to explore and I don't think I like it. She likes to stay out anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour and a half, so imagine the worry wort that I become! She has been an indoor city cat for the past three years and has absolutely no street cred! 

I'm off to head home, my mom is visiting for the day and is only 15 minutes away! SO MUCH FUN! Maybe we'll bake cookies and hike? Enjoy your last day in June!

Looking forward to what July has in store for us!

January // February // March // April // May