Away Again

Alas, work travel is here again. This time I am jetting off to Montreal.

Hope to post new projects when I get back on Tuesday!

Home Sweet Home

I walked in the door of my house a few hours ago after a long travel day. I just spent my fourth year at the annual international book fair in Frankfurt, and boy am I exhausted! But it feels amazing to be home and sometimes it is good to be forced away from home, as it helps me not take my cozy and nearly perfect life for granted.

I was able to get to a few projects while I was away and look forward to posting some pictures of my journey and projects later this week. But for now, I am going to catch up on my television shows that I missed last week, watch some football and baseball, and spend some quality time with my husband and cats.

Take Me Away!

In a few hours, I will be on the plane headed to Frankfurt, Germany, for the annual book fair. This is my fourth trip over to Frankfurt, so I know the routine well. While it seems like traveling to a foreign country (especially in Europe) would be a blast, I often find myself counting the days left since I am by myself and without my husband and cats.

However, the work portion of my trip is somewhat exciting and this year I have thought long and hard about what projects to bring on the trip to occupy my time. I am packing several knitting projects, books, DVDs, and magazines. Plus, I’ll have my computer when I am over there so I’ll be able to blog regularly. Hopefully I can even upload some pictures while I am there!

A Week of Distractions

Today marks my last day of vacation, although Steve and I returned from our cruise Thursday. Since returning from the official vacay, we’ve enjoyed the leisure life around home. It’s been fun to enjoy three days of “staycation.” We’ve walked around a neighborhood not close to ours to shop and eat, we went to a movie, and we read and slept like we never went on vacation.

I have also started sewing the “Truest Triangle Table Runner” from Amy Butler’s Electric Quilt Company patterns, and I hope to finish it soon. So far, I have really enjoyed putting the project together and can’t wait to show it off on my dining room table.

Before I forget about how relaxed I have been in the last week, I wanted to share some pics of our great 2009 vacation:

The Atlantic

Our View Leaving New York

Lady Liberty

St. John’s Reversing Falls

Beautiful Flowers from St. John

A Cool Three-dimensional Sculpture in St. John

Lobster in Halifax

Halifax Brewery

Halifax Public Gardens

Flowers at the Public Garden

Can You See the Swan?

The View in Halifax

And now that real life is looming ahead, I better go enjoy this last day of vacation!

We’re Home

Happy Memorial Day!

After a wonderful weekend in beautifully sunny, temperate Minneapolis, Steve and I returned to full-on summer in Philadelphia, with temperatures in the 80s and with a hint of humidity. We had a great time in the Midwest city. Though I had been in the Mpls airport many times for layovers, this weekend marked my first time visiting the city. Between an attractive skyline, lots of lakes, and extremely nice people, this is a city I would like to visit many times again.

The weekend involved lots of catching up with friends and family, eating, drinking, touring, and all of the great things that a vacation involves. We visited downtown Mpls, and I have included some pictures of our trip. I also had the chance to go to a few really cool craft stores, which I’ll talk about more later in the week.

What a great unofficial kick off to summer.

Two of Our Hosts for the Weekend, Sophie and Maddie

A Famous Work of Art in Mpls

The View from the Old Gold Medal Flour Factory

The Gold Medal Flour Sign

Finnish Pastries at the Farmers’ Market

The Guthrie

A Twins Game

Off to . . .

The month of fun continues! Tomorrow Steve and I leave for Minneapolis for the holiday weekend.

Looking forward to good times with friends and family . . . and good pictures!

More Napkins . . . This Time as a Thank-you Gift

Taking it Easy

After an amazing day in New York, which included a great brunch at the Cornelia Cafe in the West Village, a browse through Purl and Purl Patchwork in Soho, and a walk over the Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn to visit the Brooklyn Brewery and a beer garden, Steve and I came home pretty tired. Thanks to all who made our brief visit memorable!

This week we’ll try to take it easy to rest up for our upcoming trip to Minneapolis. Can’t wait to explore a new place!

Ithaca Finds

As you know, Steve and I just got back from a short getaway. We visited Ithaca, New York, where we went to college. While we were up there I had the opportunity to do a little bit of shopping on the Commons and at our favorite beer store. I am excited to use my new wallet and display my new cat. I am also looking forward to enjoying my mix-six pack of fruit beers.

Steve also bought some fancy schmantzy beers but from what I’ve observed so far, they smell like horse blankets! I’ll take the light and fruity beers any day. (I know Steve, I just don’t get it!)

Driving Trip: Middlebury, Burlington, Clinton, Hamilton, and Ithaca

A DORM at Middlebury College!

Middlebury, Vermont

Hamilton College

In just three days, Steve, Joe, and I traveled to several beautiful locales in the Northeast to visit small liberal arts colleges, as Joe is a junior in high school and his college adventure is not far away! This trip was particularly exciting for me because I got to visit Vermont for the first time ever, see one of my best friends from college, and spend a day in my college town, Ithaca. We covered 1,000 miles and the weather for our trip was perfect! We had a few overcast skies on Thursday as we trekked to Vermont, but Friday and Saturday were spectacular.

I can’t believe how picturesque Middlebury College, Hamilton College, and Colgate University are. They are all in small towns but their charm is irresistable. While touring these colleges I almost wanted to go back in time, but, alas, I am pretty happy where I am in life right now.

In addition to the college tours, highlights of our trip included: yummy meals (we had fried squash blossoms filled with garlic and drizzled with honey in Burlington, black and white cookies in Hamilton, and black rice pudding at Moosewood in Ithaca), lots of walking excursions, and a trip to our favorite beer store where we made mix-six packs. I’ll post more on my exciting finds on the trip later this week.

Hitting the Road

Steve and I are hitting the road tomorrow morning with his little brother. I am excited to get out of town, visit a new state, eat some tasty meals, and take some pictures.

I am also excited to get away from work, graduate school, and the computer.

I’ll be back soon!