Annapolis Maryland!

Good Afternoon,

Two days in a row.. that's basically a record around here lately. Truth be told I am forcing myself to write this post and mostly because this blog started as a way to keep family and friends updated on our life because we are always so far away but also so I have a record of our lives, in print.. so I can go back and remember all the amazing adventures we have had together. No its not all about that around here but somewhat and I don't want to look back one day and wish that I had written about something and didn't. Lets be honest my memory is crap so the odds of me remembering every little thing is extremely unlikely.. so here I am.

Last Friday Jason got off work early and we headed to Annapolis, Maryland which is somewhere we have never been. When you think about Annapolis you probably think about the United States Naval Academy which is located there, but what you probably don't think about is the beautiful cobblestone streets, the old homes and being right on the ocean! This place is BEAUTIFUL and I already cant wait to get back!

We didn't really have a plan in going, we just wanted to tour around, definitely see the Naval Academy and have dinner. Word to the wise, find underground parking, type that into your GPS before heading out and make that your destination. Annapolis is full of super small streets with absolutely no parking, don't bother messing around it with.. honestly!

We toured around for quite some time, taking in all the sites and just enjoying the absolutely beautiful scenery!

 I apologize for the darkness of these pictures, I was having camera issues but as you can see I fixed them after this last pictures and things look a lot better. 

The waterfront here is absolutely beautiful, is is quite expansive with a great boardwalk to enjoy. Walking along the water took us right up to the United States Naval Academy which we were really excited to see. We like to do a lot of historical things and we knew this campus was old and would be absolutely incredible. 

In order to get on the grounds you do have to go through security, it wasn't airport security or anything just show them your picture ID and go through a metal detector. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, the buildings are old and breath taking. You can read more about the campus HERE. I highly recommend taking a look at the information. 

This field was MASSIVE!!!!

The campus is amazing and absolutely worth exploring, it was an amazing fall outing with a history lesson all in one. The campus was bustling with students wearing their "beat army" shirts which was hilarious. I think this would be an amazing place to go to school that's for sure. 

After our tour the wind was really howling and we were all really hungry so we decided to grab dinner. There are many MANY places to choose from when it comes to food and drinks in the area but we decided on The Federal House Bar & Grille which was established in 1830, the place was a fabulous mix of old and historic with new and modern twist! The food was fabulous and very reasonably priced! 

After dinner we were stuffed and decided to head to the truck as it was dark anyways. The drive home was a lot better than the drive there.. city traffic, I tell ya! Overall it was a great place and totally worth visiting, although we saw a lot I definitely cant wait to go back and explore a little more, or just spend a quite afternoon enjoying the scenery! 

If you every get a chance to visit Annapolis Maryland than I highly recommend you do so! 

I am off to make my hubby a big birthday dinner, Jason doesn't care much for eating out and we did a bunch of that this past weekend so I am making all his favorites for dinner and then we are curling up on the couch to watch the CMA's. Were so old, aren't we? 

I hope you are all having a great day, thank you as always for stopping by!!  

Anyone Out There? Want to have Tea?

Good Afternoon,

Its actually been a lot longer than I thought since I had blogged last, for some reason I thought I might have written something last week but I guess not. Honestly I don't know what my problem is, we've actually be doing a lot of things on weekends so I have stuff to write about but I feel like I cant be bothered.

This week it is my intention to update y'all on what we have been up to but in the meantime because I haven't been here awhile I thought I would stop by for tea and fill you in on some random stuff, because I tend to get a lot more covered over tea then typing away and rambling. I am really into tea lately as well, maybe its because its fall and although  I would love to I cant sit around and drink coffee all day.

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I am seemingly not the only blogger who has been on hiatus. I recently reviewed the blogs I follow on Bloglovin' and I would say about 10 of them no longer post. As much as I am sad that they no longer post I obviously get it, sometimes life just happens.

If we were having tea... I would tell you that fall weather here in Maryland is quite interesting. Its only gotten actually cold once and at least every week we have a day or two in the 70s. This Friday its suppose to be 79 degrees which is crazy. What is the weather like where you are?

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I am so thankful that this year we have really gotten to enjoy the fall weather, including today! This morning Lindsey and I and the kiddos headed to Gilbert Run Park and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I have never been before, the lake is absolutely beautiful especially surrounded by all the beautiful fall colors. I got really excited when I saw canoes for rent but sadly that season is closed. In the Spring time Jason and I will definitely be going back and canoeing. Here are a few pictures I took while there.

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I've been obsessed with the Pioneer Woman cooking show and now feel like I need all of her cookbooks. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I actually have a thing for cookbooks all the sudden. I like to cook most of the time but I feel like its easy to get in a rut about what I make and I like to try different things. I was talking to Dave and Lindsey about it awhile ago because they have a ton of cookbooks and Dave said that every year for his birthday and Christmas he asked for a cookbook and now they are happy with their collection.. I think I might need to start my own collection. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I haven't bought one Bath and Body Works candle this year and its an absolute sin. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I was pleasantly awaken this morning by jack hammering in our apartments parking lot, it continued for hours. I don't particularly care for that sound. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that our computer is pretty much junk at this point. You cant unplug it from the wall because the battery is totally shot but we are holding out as long as we can on getting a new one as long as we can because computers are expensive and they don't seem to last as long as they use to. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that Jason and I are really into that new show Blood & Oil with Don Johnson. When fall shows return there are always a bunch of new ones and although I started watching a few the only one I really actually got into was Blood & Oil and each week both Jason and I are anxiously awaiting the newest episode. 

If we were having tea... I would ask how things are with you, and how they have been. Most likely if we are sitting having tea face to face its been awhile since we've done so. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that recently one of my favorite UK bloggers recently released her new book in the US and I am DYING to get to a Barnes & Noble to buy it. Its definitely a girly book but I have followed her for many years and am really looking forward to getting my hands on it. If you are interested you can see it HERE. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that tomorrow is Jason's birthday and he's not really into birthday celebrations. We ate out a lot this weekend and its not really Jason's thing anyways so I am planning on making a big birthday dinner with all of his favorites. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that in order to pull off all of the birthday surprises I have planned I will need to take Jason to work tomorrow and keep the truck. That means getting up and taking him to work at 6am.. I am not looking forward to that. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I am absolutely obsessed with Twinings French Vanilla Chai tea right now, as well as Trader Joe's vanilla and cinnamon black tea.. if you can get your hands on some of that stuff DO IT, it tastes like cake. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that Kohls sent me a happy belated birthday email today with a $10.00 off  anything I want at the store! How nice is that?

If we were having tea... I would tell you that there are 7 more Monday's until Christmas! CRAZY! I have already started my shopping and I feel really good about that. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that I need to make dinner and thanks to the Pioneer woman I know exactly what I am making and I am actually looking forward to it. 

If we were having tea... I would tell you that this past weekend we spent Saturday in Washington, DC and it was absolutely gorgeous out! 

If we were having tea... I would have to excuse myself because as usual when having tea with friends time disappears and before you know it you need to run! 

I plan to be back this week to detail some amazing things we've been up to and share some pictures! I hope you guys are having a great week.. if you are still stopping by to read, thank you! 

Birthday Weekend... DC & Virginia

Good Afternoon!!

I don't know what my issue is and why I am in such a blogging slump lately, even when I have stuff to write about I just don't feel like coming here and writing about it and I just cant figure out why. For now I am going to get here when I feel like it and try not to fall behind on the good stuff going on and see where that gets me. I don't want to stop blogging by any means but again like I said last time I think it will just be a little more sporadic for right now.

I did want to stop by today and tell y'all about last weekend, my birthday was on Saturday and sadly Jason ended up working. Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal, not that it was this year but generally I expect Jason to be working so it is what it is but this year he hasn't worked a weekend on this job so far so we made plans for the day. Obviously that didn't work out as planned and he went from having to work a few hours in the morning to a full day, what can you do! We figured we would just move our plans to Sunday which was just fine with me.

Sunday morning we got up and were on the road early, I was really looking forward to getting out and enjoying the fall weather and the day! Our first stop was Einstein Bros for bagels and coffee, how could we not? I'm sure I've said it before but I'm really not much of a breakfast person so a bagel and cream cheese is perfect! After that we headed into DC, we haven't actually be into the city since we left Alaska, so a couple of years ago.. we tend to drive through it a lot but haven't stopped to explore in quite awhile. Jason planned to go there because for my birthday I had asked for a Gap giftcard and for some odd reason the Gap seems to be really hard to find here.. like there aren't any ANYWHERE! We got there about a half hour before it opened so we did a little exploring!

I tried to snap a few pictures while we toured around but we will be going back to DC over Halloween weekend and really exploring so I am planning to take my camera and get some good pictures. This is the house where President Lincoln died, right across the street from Ford's Theatre where he was shot. The line up to get in here was quite extensive. 

As you can see there was a line to get into Ford's Theatre as well. Jason and I actually just purchased tickets for a December show at Ford's Theatre, we will be seeing A Christmas Story and we are very excited about it! 

The Washington Monument, it really was a beautiful day! 

The White House, no Obama and no Olivia Pope! 

This is the National Christmas tree! Prior to going here on Sunday Jason and I entered the lottery to get tickets to the National Christmas Tree lighting, I'm not going to lie we were pretty disappointed when we got there on Sunday and saw that this was the tree. After spending a few Christmas's in NYC this tree doesn't even come close to comparing to the one they have in Rockefeller Center! 

We didn't hang around in DC for too long, after walking around a little we went back to the Gap. I was in the market for one item in particular and because I was lucky enough to receive two gift certificates for my birthday I was happy to spend the $90.00 the jacket cost.. WELL.. when we got to the cash it was on sale for $29.00!!!!!! WITH TAX! That basically made my day right there!! 

We left DC and headed towards Georgetown, DC, you can read about the history HERE and let me tell you it is worth reading. It is very quaint and cute, lots of history and tons of shops as well, and what do you know there was another Gap! 

We didn't do a ton of exploring here because we plan to go back and spend a full day, Jason planned to go there because he knew there was another Gap there and he is wonderful like that and we wanted to see what it was all about and if it was worth planning a whole day there. I will say if this is on your list of places to visit make sure to allot a good amount of time to find parking because it is not easy. 

While we were there we did manage to visit the Old Stone House which is the oldest unchanged building in Washington DC as well as Washington's last Pre-Revolutionary Colonial Building on its original foundation. Again click HERE to read more about it. Here are a few pictures! 

Inside the house is really neat, there are a lot of little plaques with information about the setups and history that surrounds the house. The tour is completely free and the gardens in the back are beautiful and worth checking out as well. 

We toured around a little more checking out the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (The C & O Canal), The Canal was operated from 1831 to 1924 with the primary function of transporting coal from the Allegheny Mountains. You can read more about this beautiful and historic canal HERE.

We wanted to pass through Alexandria Virginia on the way back to the apartment and grab lunch so after touring around for awhile we headed out again. Truth be told we did so at a really great time because it started to rain a little and only lasted as long as our drive which was great. Alexandria is really cute, I honestly cant say we did too much exploring there because as in Georgetown it was really hard to find parking, but the time we did and visited yet another Gap (this one an outlet) we were starving and decided to grab lunch! 

We stopped in at a little Irish Pub called Murphy's because you can go wrong with a pub! Jason had fish and chips and I had the most amazing Shepherd's pie! The place was really quaint with a big wood fire place, I would definitely go back!! 

What are the odds that I sat right beside this! 

I'm still dreaming about this shepherd's pie.. SO GOOD! 

After eating it was getting late so we headed back to get some stuff done around the apartment and get ready for the Patriots game that night! All in all we had a super great day!! 

Where we are in Maryland we are lucky enough to be close to a lot of wonderful places to explore and we plan to take full advantage of that and I absolutely cant wait!

Thank you all for stopping by and visiting, I greatly appreciate it! I hope you are all extremely well and enjoying this beautiful season!! 

VACANT

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I know there has been a big vacant sign around here lately and for that I really am sorry, it was never my intention to be gone for so long but I swear in the last three months every time I close my eyes I open them back up and a week or more has passed, I just don't know where time is going. I thought I would stop in and fill y'all in on whats been going on over coffee, because hello its fall and its the best way to get out a lot of information. Shall we?

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I have been away from here the last two weeks in large part because I have been really sick with a cold. The Sunday we were at home I started feeling as though I could be getting sick and then Monday on our way back I was sure I was catching something and then it was just miserable. It started in my head and sinus's which is the absolutely WORST and moved its way down to my chest, I still don't feel 100%, I would say maybe 85% because my chest still feels on fire most of the time and I have to take a drink with me where ever I go or I feel like I might burst into flames. This cold has been no joke.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that Jason has also been suffering from a screwed up ankle, we don't know exactly what is going on but thankfully its starting to get better. He's been doing a lot of icing, elevation, heat and so on. Last week he saw the site medic at work and he suggested soaking his foot in epsom salts and it seems to be helping.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that my birthday hasn't even arrived and yet I have been UTTERLY SPOILED this year! I have been loving getting tons of mail for the last two weeks!! If you are one of the thoughtful people who have sent amazing gifts and cards, thank you so much.. it means so much to me!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that the fall weather is still teasing us here.. some days are really chilly and absolutely glorious and some days are 80 and hot. I am so ready for sweater weather, now if mother nature would just follow along!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that in hopes of kicking this cold I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight and I cant wait to curl up tonight in my new pjs (thanks Mom) and watch the Thursday night shows.

If we were having coffee... I would ask how things have been with you? Its been far too long since we sat down and caught up. Really.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I was almost a little sad not to be in Toronto last night with all the Blue Jays fans celebrating the big win! Friends were posting all over Instagram and the news here was even reporting, it was crazy!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that the other day Jason used the sun roof on the truck and had an issue with the track. I took it in yesterday for them to look at it and they had to order a part to fix it and therefore I had to take it back today. I wasn't overly impressed but truth be told I don't venture out a lot on my own here because I am really anxious when I don't know where I am going and because the drivers here are TERRIBLE I work myself up about it. But yesterday and today I didn't have a choice because Jason had to work and it was honestly really great. I often work myself up over things that are absolutely fine but I need to do it in order to feel OK about it, and now I do.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that we are no longer going home over Halloween weekend and I am none too happy about it.

If we were having coffee... I would probably suggest a walk with our coffee because the weather truly is gorgeous.

If we were having coffee... I would definitely inquire about your fall wardrobe staples and new additions to your wardrobe for the season. Even Jason has been improving his fall work wardrobe and the other day he came home from work and I thought... damn you look good! HA! But really.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that this morning Lindsey and I ran to BJ's with Colton and Ava and Ava insisted on the cart with the car on the front so she could "drive". Well it was hilarious, she drove around in that thing waving at everyone like she was the Queen or something, it was fantastic. This is a crumby picture but you have to see it!

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that my parents sent a parcel with butter tarts in it and let me tell you.. I forgot just how much I love those things. I don't miss much anymore in regards to food I cant get here because plain and simple I just cant have it, but getting a treat you cant get here no matter how rare is pretty good! 

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that although I was super sad to get rid of our old truck and I so in love with the new one! I was really at the point of absolutely despising road trips but now they don't seem half bad. Regardless though I don't want to go any further than the house, which is 4 hours. 

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I know there was more I wanted to tell you but now I cant remember and if you know me at all you wouldn't be surprised. 

I think its time I end this coffee date sadly, I love catching up but believe it or not I am running out of things to say. 

I am not going to commit to be back here tomorrow or even the next day, I am just going to blog when I have something to say! I hope you will all stick around and check in. I just don't want to bore you with none sense because I really have nothing to say. I am going to work on some recipe posts and stuff and be back soon! 

I hope you are all doing well, have a great day and thank you so much for stopping in! 

Hello October!

Good Afternoon!!

It is officially October and I can't tell you how happy that makes me! There is something so wonderful about this month every year and I just don't know how to put it into words!

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Although we are currently getting a ton of rain due to a Nor'easter and are in for a weekend of nasty weather thanks to hurricane Joaquin I have to say the air still smells crisp and perfect! I am currently sitting on the couch with a tea in a big sweatshirt with all the windows open enjoying the smell of the fresh air and cool breeze! There is just something about October! 

I am dreaming of hot drinks, scarves and beautiful walks outside in boots! I cant wait to start knocking more items off my fall bucket list because you bet I've already started! This time of year is just magical! 

While I'm here I also thought I would share a few things that have been floating around my phones camera roll that I have been meaning to somehow incorporate into a post but it just hasn't come together so I am sticking them in right here because why not..?

As you know the other night there was a lunar eclipse, I didn't care all that much about it to be honest and I didn't figure we would be able to see it anyways because it was super cloudy here.. none the less the clouds parted and we laid in bed and watched the whole thing! I didn't bust out my camera to take pictures or anything but I snapped this one from my phone in bed just so you could see how clear we could see things and how huge the moon was! 

The Hazel & Olive Boutique posted this on instagram the other night, and I'm pretty sure I need this shirt! 

Jason and I ran out to Walgreens the other night to try and find him another ankle brace because he is still in a lot of pain. While I was waiting for him to catch up I came across these!! I LOVE candy corn and so these totally intrigued me, let me just tell you.. THEY ARE AMAZING! If you can get your hands on a some, do so! 

Speaking of treats has anyone been able to find the pecan pie M&Ms? I have looked literally everywhere and they are no where to be found! You can get them on Amazon but for an OUTRAGEOUS price. I mean seriously, $13.00 a bag? Come on, even I have my limits! 

I hope you are all having a great day! Happy first day of October to each and every one of you! Thank you as always for stopping by!