August 2012 - Homemade Ice Cream

After a summer of eating ice cream and sorbetto all over New England, we made the decision to purchase an ice cream maker for our mixer.  I loved the idea of controlling what we were putting in there and saving some money by making it at home.  We love icey cold treats for summer desserts so this seemed like a fun way to experiment.

First up was Lemon Sorbet...

 

Next up was Pioneer Woman's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream kicked up with some dark chocolate chips.

We, then, tried another recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream.  I am not sure where this one came from.  I would be willing to bet that the printed copy landed on my desk and has disappeared. Once upon a time I was organized; but in the famous words of Sweet Brown.  "Ain't nobody got time for that!"  Anyway, it was delicious and our favorite vanilla recipe so I need to find it before summer for sure.  When I find it, I will pass it along.

Last, but definitely not least, was one of my very favorites of the summer.  Cookies and Cream.  This recipe is courtesy of the fabulous Jenn at Jenn's Food Journey.  You can find her recipe here.  I loved, loved, loved this one and will definitely be making it again this coming summer.

August 2012 - Cornish Fair

The warm days and the cool nights of August welcome "fair season" to New England.  This year I visited the Cornish Fair  for the first time. 

It was a beautiful Saturday to get out and

 enjoy the weather and take in this fun country fair.

 

with animals...

 

and antique tractors...

and lumberjack events...

local agricultural products...

and artwork by local artists...

and no fair is complete with french fries...

and vinegar.

You can't forget the vinegar.

 

They are quintessentially New England.

August - Love Your Lakes and Antique Boats

I'll take any excuse to hang out in Sunapee Harbor.  Love Your Lakes Day is an annual event and always a fun time.

Old Chris Craft boats are awesome and this has to be one of the coolest ones that I've seen.  This would be a great way to cruise around the lake, don't you think?

I love the details on the boats.

They have such beautiful wood.  

They are so much prettier than the fiberglass boats of today.

This year we were treated to a concert by local legend, Carey Rush.  Carey is an amazing musician and always puts on a great show.  Anytime that we get to see him perform is always a treat.

July 2012 - Star Island Cruise

Vacation week continues with a cruise.  We have always been intrigued by the islands off the coast of New England so a cruise to explore one of them was another item to be marked off the bucket list.

The vehicle of choice was the "Uncle Oscar" which leaves out of Rye Harbor and the destination of choice was Star Island.

The day started sunny; but in true New England fashion, the clouds settled in quickly.  It has been said that if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute.  That is so true.

By the time that we made it to the Island, it was less cloudy with bursts of sunshine now and again.  The overcast skies provided perfect light for taking photos.  The anchor of Star Island is a historic Victorian hotel that is a now a religious retreat.   I am a lover of architecture...historical architecture, in particular...and this was an exciting part of the trip for me.  I love the era of the grand hotels such as this one and it was so much fun to walk around inside and imagine it in its heyday.

We didn't take advantage of the lunch portion of the trip that was offered, preferring to set out on our own and explore the island.  From what I understand from those that did take advantage of it, we made the right decision. 

There was quite a bit of activity on the Island that day as there was a retreat in session.  Because we arrived around lunch time, we were able to explore the Island without too much interruption.  Most of the campers were dining.

The Island is full of old buildings which have been lovingly kept in good condition.  I love the stone work that was used.

There is an old cemetery that overlooks the Atlantic.  New England is full of old cemeteries and there is something very interesting about them, I think. 

This was a beautiful final resting spot for the people buried here.  Seeing the old headstones always make me ponder who these people were and what their lives were like.  I can imagine visiting the grand hotels of the day; but, I cannot imagine what it was like to live in a place like this during that time period.

We really enjoyed our time exploring the Island, taking photos and enjoying the views.  

I'm quite sure that this is not a pleasant place to be when a Nor'Easter blows through; but on the day that we visited, it was peaceful and quite beautiful.  I could definitely see myself living there....in this time period...on a day like that.

This was another day of making memories for us.

The gnarly wind beaten trees and shrubs were expected on the Island; but I did not expect to find such beautiful, green foliage and these delicate little flowers.  It was a welcome shot of color.

Some things really never change.  As this wide front porch was, I'm sure, a wonderful place to hang out in days gone by, the rocking chairs still provide a place to rest and reflect on the beauty of the New England coast.

It was one of my favorite places of the day.

July 2012 - Burlington, Vermont and Lake Champlain

Moving on from the Ben and Jerry factory, we took a very scenic route up to Burlington, Vermont.   It is hard to take pictures from a moving vehicle so I was not able to get photos on the way up.  There is something to be said for putting the camera down and just enjoying what you see with your eyes only.  I've been doing a lot of that this past year.

Burlington sits on the banks of beautiful Lake Champlain in the northwest corner of the state of Vermont.   A vibrant college town, Burlington is full of things to see and do.   I have been wanting to take in Burlington for years.   When we first moved to New England, Burlington was actually one of the places where we considered putting down roots.   David and I love the culture that urban areas provide and Burlington is full of it.    When we considered why we moved up here and after we had spent a whole winter being close to family, we came to the conclusion that the urban areas of New England were closer to family than we were in Louisiana; but they still were not close enough.   We needed to be right here in the midst of them.   It was a good decision.

Church Street is a busy marketplace area of the city which is closed off to automobile traffic.  It is lined with shops and restaurants, some with outdoor seating.  It is beautiful and clean and alive with energy.  We loved it!

We tried to grab dinner at one of the restaurants in that area; but, we chose badly.  We were ushered inside one of them and seated in a corner and promptly forgotten.   After about fifteen minutes of not seeing a waitress with a menu or a glass of water, we got up and left....completely unnoticed...and moved along.   Yelp came through once again with the suggestion of American Flatbread Company which was a short walk from Church Street.

We love pizza, as you well know, and wood fired pizza is the best of the best.  I'm a huge fan of the thin crust variety.  American Flatbread's interesting menu uses locally sourced ingredients which makes their pizzas even more special.  Vermont's farm to table movement is second to none.  I absolutely love dining in that state.

 

Another casualty of not blogging this right away is that the items that we chose were specials written on the blackboard.  You can't find them on their menu anywhere. 

This terrible IPhone photo was the amazing salad that we shared.  It doesn't look very wonderful in this photo but trust me....it was.  I remember local greens and fennel and nuts and goat cheese and some incredibly delicious dressing.  Salads like this are so earthy and fresh.  We love them!

Again, I have no idea what was on this pizza other than the tomatoes  and spinach that I can see.  As David said, this was THE finest pizza that he's ever had.  It was really amazing.

As you can see, he was pretty happy his dinner selection.

So happy with this selection that there were no leftovers....

After a meal like that, it begs to be walked off and Burlington is a fantastic place to do that.  We caught a glimpse of Lake Champlain and headed that direction to get a better view.  Isn't it gorgeous?

The walk down to Lake Champlain was worth it.  There were bands and musicians playing outside of restaurants and coffee shops along the way and the energy of this city was intoxicating.  We absolutely fell in love with Burlington.   The beauty of Lake Champlain is indescribable.  These pictures definitely do not do it justice.

When we made it back up to the Church Street marketplace, it was even busier than when we left it.  Street musicians and performers were out and we had a blast just hanging out for a time in this area.

Even though we were going to take a more straight route home instead of the winding scenic route that took most of the day, it is still quite a drive back home.   As much as we love Burlington, it is painfully clear that it is way too far from the family.

Before our drive home, we headed over to

 Uncommon Grounds for a beverage and dessert.

a cappuccino for David...

an iced chai tea latte for me....

and we shared a yummy peanut butter cookie...

It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day.  

Burlington, we love you and we can't to see you again.