boston black friday

christmas tree in the north end

diana and i

klaudia being a model, as usual.

       Last night, my parents took Diana, Klaudia, and I into Boston to see the tree lighting at Macy's and to do some shopping. The previous day, on Thanksgiving, after a morning football game (which Newburyport won!), a family walk in Maudslay State Park, and, of course, a turkey dinner, some friends came over to relax before we left at 11:30 to begin Black Friday shopping.
       My goal for the night/morning was to get a Kindle at Target, so we went there first and waited outside in 34 degree weather for two hours, and stood in line for another hour once we got inside. It was entertaining at first, when friendly employees in red shirts passed out energy bars and Klaudia and I listened to all of the crazed shoppers' conversations, but it got old pretty quickly and I was visibly upset by the time I made it to the check-out.
       After finishing our shopping, we drove home, slept for six hours, and then trekked into Boston. I was really tired, but I absolutely love Boston, especially during the holidays. The weather was surprisingly nice--all of us were freezing that morning, but the evening in the city was beautiful. We shopped for a few hours before having a lackluster dinner at a Mexican restaurant and strolling through the North End, festively lit with holiday lights, probably left over from a feast. Thanksgiving this year was a lot of fun, and aside from the stress of purchasing my Kindle, it was a welcome break from college applications and homework. And now the countdown to Christmas begins.

craft fair

some of my greeting cards

diana and klaudia

diana's earrings--the buttons are my favorite!

sparkle invitations

Last weekend, my sister's class at our school had a craft fair for one of their fundraisers. Klaudia, Diana, and I split the $25 table fee three ways, and had several frenzied crafting afternoons producing inventory. Klaudia and I always say that if everything we've planned about our lives fails, we are going to open a card and soap store, which she has already christened "Suds and Salutations." (My genius best friend also thought of the name for my blog!) In our business, I make the cards and she makes the soap, but in preparing for the fair, everything we did was a joint effort. I have been making cards for various occasions for friends and family for a long time, but neither of us had ever made soap before. For two people who had no idea what we were doing, the soap turned out pretty good, and we are going to continue improving our recipe. Diana was selling beautiful earrings, infinity scarves, and handbags, all of which she made. Although we weren't as profitable as we had hoped, it was a good first selling experience and a fun way to spend the afternoon with friends.

fall wedding

Yesterday, my friend's mom got married at the beautiful Hale Memorial Park, in Newburyport. The park is right next to their house and across the street from the seawall, so there was an amazing view of the ocean during the ceremony. For October in New England, it wasn't completely freezing, but there was a little bit of a breeze. The park was still in bloom and the fountain was running, and even the sun decided to make an appearance. As we were gathering outside waiting for the ceremony to begin and taking pictures, it started raining, so we all ran back to the house for sparkling cider and cheese. The rain stopped a little while later, so we proceeded back to the park for the ceremony.
After, everyone headed over to Ten Center Street for dinner. I was excited to see a cheese table, not only because I was hungry, but because cheese is one of my favorite foods. We ate crab cakes, spinach and goat cheese phyllo, salad, and ridiculously delicious bread before our actual meals came. And then we remembered the sundae bar and cake that were for dessert. Needless to say, nobody could move after dinner, so we continued talking and listening to the music. It was a beautiful wedding, and an enjoyable way to welcome Fall (other than school).

fryeburg fair

       In good spirits, my whole family + Klaudia left Newburyport just before 8:00 am (one hour later than planned) to begin the two and a half drive to Fryeburg, Maine. Although the Topsfield Fair is much closer, it is mostly comprised of fried food stands, shaky thrill rides, and some 4-H club displays. Several years ago on a weekend trip to Maine, we stopped by the fair in Fryeburg and found it to be much more authentic. Greasy food and cheap games were, of course, abundant, but more traditional activities like horse pulling and harness racing were also extremely popular.

       This year, everyone in my family decided to skip the Topsfield Fair and collectively devoted an entire Saturday to the Fryeburg Fair, since we'd had so much fun the first time. Diana, Klaudia, and I walked through all of the vendors, shared a box of clam strips and a bowl of apple crisp, and met up with my parents at the horse pulling event. We didn't stay for the whole thing, opting to walk over to the race track instead. When we went to harness racing three years ago, my dad wouldn't let me bid any money, but told me to pick a horse anyway, just for fun. Obviously, the horse I chose won. This year, I bet $2 on a horse called Circles Sassylassy who came in first, and I won $10. (My dad bet $2 on another horse in a different race, and didn't win anything.)

       Although Fryeburg is far away, I do love spending time in Maine, as I mentioned here. It was nice to have a sort of mini-vacation during this last long weekend, and now the countdown to Thanksgiving begins!

fresh, local maple syrup + whoopie pies

my new friend, the tin man!