heather & olive

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As much as I've been loving summer, fall is fast approaching. We had some significantly cooler temps in New England at the beginning or the week and I have to admit, I didn't hate it. There was a nice breeze and crisp air and it made for perfect sleeping weather with windows wide open.

The taste of fall coincided with the arrival of the September J.Crew catalog, and I am seriously loving so many things. I think what I appreciate most is that they're bringing back classics each season and my closet will only need a few updates to recreate the outfits above. I have my eye on this white skirt, this purse and this sweater blazer. Happy weekend!

Friday night sushi.

Bedside table carnations (sidenote: I don't know why these get such a bad rap--I love them and they last forever).

Yet another western Mass. lunch at my favorite place.

I had a pretty solid weekend--I ran a bunch of errands Saturday morning (which included picking up cotton candy grapes--so weird but good), had lunch with my sister and then made crabcakes for dinner. On Sunday I went to my grandparents' house to help with sorting through my grandmother's things--it was tough at times, but it was great to bring back memories and share stories with everyone. I'm hoping this week goes fast--work has been rather stressful lately and I'm seriously counting down the days until Labor Day weekend.

My dear, sweet Nana passed away on Tuesday morning from ovarian cancer. She was the most elegant person I've ever known--she was a world traveler, a selfless volunteer and had an incredibly sharp wit. I'm so grateful that I had the past 34 years to get to know her, and being able to spend time with her these last couple of months was especially great.

I will miss her very much.

I had a really great long weekend in Maine. Olive and I headed up on Thursday morning (I had been planning on leaving Wednesday evening but I couldn't seem to get organized, so Thursday it was). Our dear family friends have the place next to us, and they invited me to dinner at the Reading Room. I was so psyched to finally be able to go.




It was pretty hot (in the 90s which is crazy for Maine) but there was  nice breeze coming off the water which made everything much more bearable.



I had the vegetarian dish--it was puff pastry with wilted spinach and sautéed onions and mushrooms in a mushroom cream sauce, and it was heavenly. It was seriously such a great way to kick off my mini vacation.

I had originally thought that I'd have some company this weekend but it work out and I ended up flying solo--at first I wondered if I should just bail on the entire weekend because I was all by myself, but it ended up being great. I did my own thing and brought books with me to restaurants and really just enjoyed having a little "me" time--five years ago I never would have done that, but now I'm pretty comfortable doing things/going places alone.



I went to my usual places and had great meals (including the eggplant pesto ricotta pizza above) and plenty of wine.




I also treated myself to these earrings at Serendipity in Portsmouth--I had been looking for delicate gold studs for a while, and these were a steal at $14.



Olive thoroughly enjoyed herself--she loves going for walks around our neighborhood and checking out the beach (I had to pick her up a couple of times to bring her back to the house--she wanted to keep going and going).

To cap everything off, I played in a charity golf tournament on Monday. It was so much fun, but now I'm wiped and super crispy thanks to a lack of sunscreen. Here's hoping my relaxing weekend acts as a motivator at work!

After some careful contemplation regarding my professed desire for summertime joie de vivre, I decided to head up to Maine for a long weekend. This summer has been a complete 180 from last year's, and while I've so appreciated the special focus on family, I've also missed my time in my favorite place. I think a few days away will be a much needed refresh. See you next week!

The most delicious post-run Iggy's bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese, heirloom tomato slices and a bite taken out of it. (I couldn't wait).

This weekend was essentially a repeat of the previous weekend--I went out to western Massachusetts with my sister to visit with my grandmother and mom (which was great) and then I returned to have dinner with my dad (also great).

I went for a run on Sunday morning and it was super hot, although I'm pretty pleased with myself for consistently going for runs all last week. It hasn't been pretty, but I've been telling myself that the more I do it, the easier it will get (and that one good run amidst all of the crappy ones makes it worthwhile).

I've also been on a bit of a homemade ice cream kick: after perfecting the lavender honey combo, I branched out on Sunday and made s'mores ice cream with gluten free graham crackers (I made it gluten free so my dad and my sister could eat it and I wouldn't be stuck with three pints of ice cream calling my name every time I opened my freezer). The end result was delicious, and I'm already brainstorming my next batch.

This week is a short one for me--I'm taking Thursday and Friday off. I was originally planning on going to Maine but I might just do a staycation here...regardless, I will be very happy with a few days sans work.