Newburyport, MA

Weeks of hectic days were starting to take their toll, so our first real weekend here we wanted a nice relaxing day strolling around. So we headed to Newburyport, on the coast. Apparently we're not the only ones to think this place is pretty great, the NYtimes definitely got to it first. But they are really onto something! The town really is picture perfect and the beaches on nearby Plum Island are beautiful!

Travels, Part 2

Moving further up the river to Dubuque Iowa! I was just driving through Dubuque but did stop for a couple of photos and a coffee at Jitterz, which it turns out has the best customer service of any coffeeshop I've ever been to. The barista was so great and I swear she knew everyone by name. Except for the out of towners like me.

My final destination was Galena, IL. For those of you unfamiliar with Galena, it is in one of the prettiest areas of Illinois, in the northwest corner near the Mississippi River. If you visit, bring your bike so you can really appreciate the scenery. Just make sure it isn't a fixed gear, because wow are there some crazy hills. Galena also certainly has no shortage of antique stores and icecream shops, because really isn't that what vacation is all about? Yum.







And to top it off, a hot air balloon show!

Travels, Part 1

I've been traveling a bit lately and one of my recent trips was to Davenport Iowa. It's a very cute town on the banks of the Mississippi River, which, by the way, is filled with Pelicans?! So cool!



If you do find yourself in Davenport, be sure to stop by the Figge Art Museum, housed in a beautiful building designed by David Chipperfield. The exhibits were lovely, these pieces by Nicole Pietrantoni were some of my favorites.









What I cannot recommend is driving through this on your way out of Davenport.

Where have I been?

Boston! Sorry for my accidental blog hiatus, I was in Boston for a long weekend and though I meant to post before leaving...well, that didn't pan out. I hope some photos and highlights from my trip will earn me forgiveness?


I spent a lot of time walking around exploring the different neighborhoods of Boston. These apartment buildings were in Mission Hill. During one of my walks, I was lucky enough to happen upon a student art sale here and purchased a couple of things.


One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It was an incredible experience, unlike any other museum I've visited.




The view from inside the Institute for Contemporary Art was beautiful, even in the pouring rain.



Lobster roll at The Barking Crab!


Paul Revere walked here. I love how much history there is everywhere you look in Boston. Following the Freedom Trail through the North End is a nice introduction to some of Boston's past. And you can actually walk around Paul Revere's house? Amazing.




Ofcourse, there had to be a stop at Harvard in Cambridge. What a great town that is!


Mini cupcakes from Sweet, the cutest cupcake shop ever.


The interior of the historic Boston Library building is breathtaking. How great are all of those green bankers style lights?


And the view from the hotel room window was also pretty neat.