Sensory overload is the only way I can describe how I felt as we made our way down the gravel driveway towards the cottage for the first time. Swoon. It was love at first sight. The cottage was so charming; it’s as if it was plucked directly from a painting. Waiting for us in the kitchen was a welcome basket, from Kathleen & Tony, that was filled with Irish brown bread (we learned later), butter, jam, tea, and wine. It…
After flying across the Atlantic all we wanted to do was hit the road & head to the cottage. Ballydehob, which I lovingly refer to as “The Shire” (doesn’t it sound like a place straight out of Lord of the Rings?!), is a four hour drive southwest of Dublin. Our plan was to take our time getting there, so we could take in the sights and stop along the way. Well, you know what they say about plans: you make them…
Thanks to mid-day construction on Staten Island, the 2 hour drive from Philly to the JFK airport turned into 4 hours. I was freaking out on the inside that we weren’t going to make our flight. To make matters worse, there was a little mishap at security, which left us with just enough time to catch our breath, grab some snacks, jailbreak a cell phone, and check into FB before boarding the plane. The flight to Dublin was incredibly smooth.…
Oh, Honey(s), I’m home! The girls & I have been home for eight days now, but rejoining the real world has been difficult for me, to say the least. Do you ever get the post-vacation blues? Well, if not, it’s a real sickness; and I’ve got a bad case of it. I’m so happy to be home with Jay & Reesie but, I miss… – the clean, fresh air – driving through narrow, tree-lined streets – 10PM sunsets – hanging…
Three weeks ago, Julien & I celebrated FIVE YEARS of wedded bliss! A happy, healthy marriage takes work and ours is no exception, but it shouldn’t have to feel like work. I’m beyond blessed that being with Jay never, ever does. He may drive me bonkers with his inability to close a cabinet; or turn off the light upon leaving a room; or refusing to put his dirty clothes in the hamper…but he shows his thoughtfulness in other ways. Like, waking up a little…
Welcome to our new home! Yes, we went with option #2! In the end, the price tag was worth the accessibility to the freeway, grocery stores, etc.; and it is within a 15-minute drive to Jay’s work, as well as, to my school/ clinic. While it would have been great to live closer (option #3), it wasn’t worth our peace of mind knowing we were harboring a fugitive (Reesie). Unlike option #3, our new place is very pet-friendly which made…
At the end of every winter, little sugar shacks all over New England begin tapping their maple trees. Many of the shacks offer a tour of their facilities and a tasting of maple products. After sifting through hundreds of listings, we finally settled on Ben’s Sugar Shack in New Hampshire; and back in March, we finally got our maple sampling on! The drive was an hour and a half, but it passed quickly, and it was well worth it. Usually,…
Now that the proverbially cat is out of the bag, I can finally tell you all about our house hunting adventure in Philadelphia! The first and only time we rented a place site-unseen was when we first moved to Massachusetts – the house was terrific, but it was also smacked down across the street from a park where drug deals frequently went down. Gotta love the sketchiness that is Dot Ave. I digress. Last month, Jay and I with Reesie…
Living in Boston was temporary – we knew that from the moment we decided to pack up our lives and move East. What we didn’t count on was just how much we would love living in New England. Jay & I have shared a lot of “firsts” here in Boston — making our first home together, celebrating our first anniversary, adopting our first furbaby — it was our first real adventure. So, while it’s not a total surprise that we’ll…
There’s nothing like being startled out of a deep slumber at 3 o’clock in the morning in the dead of winter. Luckily, my pajamas are more modest in the winter & I wasn’t fumbling to get dressed before ducking outside. I am pretty impressed with Jay & I because we dressed, got Reesie ready, and grabbed the emergency binder with all of our important documents, with lightning speed before fleeing the building. All of our neighbors were relatively cheery despite…