Farewell, Faraway Land...

So, I still had one last little thing on my Nantucket bucket list!

Nantucket has a little pastry shop called Wicked Island Bakery, famous for their morning buns... and boy, oh boy, are they a hot commodity on the island! They are made small-batch, from scratch, and take 45 minutes to bake. I had been well informed that even arriving at opening time (6 AM) I should still expect a lengthy line and that they typically sellout, meaning you are waiting in that line until the next batch. But there was no way I was leaving Nantucket without having a morning bun! 

So, Micah sweetly went along with my plan, and though we didn't get up for the opening, we did have every intention of waiting at least an hour for these coveted pastries. Thankfully, I love to visit and chitchat with just about anyone who will listen, and ended up spilling our whole morning bun plan to Ben at the front desk. 

You will seriously not even believe it, I mean, it's not like this trip could have gotten any better, but oh, just wait! Apparently, there is only one account on the entire island that is allowed a pickup order every single morning... and, you guessed it!! It is Cliffside and those taste of heaven, melt in your mouth, best thing I've ever eaten buns, had been on the tiered pastry tray every single morning, right next to the tea box and coffee, right in our very own hotel lounge!

I did not dwell on all the missed buns, but I did go ahed and eat two. And I may have gotten so overly excited, that Ben insisted on bagging all the rest of the morning buns up to take home with me! So yes, I got to bring a little piece of Nantucket back home to Texas, and so, the next day, I very much enjoyed a bun for breakfast, for lunch, and as an afternoon snack. Yep, all three... in one day! I survived without  self-inducing diabetes, and lets be honest, no one would have really appreciated those buns like I did!

Best part, with all our extra time, I was able to brew a cup of tea and enjoy my breakfast on the patio with ocean views and a bun on a dainty little saucer! Swoon!! Oh, and while wearing my new sweatshirt and pearls... it's the little things!

Farewell, Nantucket! I'll be back, I can promise you that!

Sunshine in Nantucket...

Since our second day was also our last day on the island, we had to make sure we got all our 'have-to' boxes checked! We had to bookend this little getaway right between graduation (Micah has to help host as board president) and an All American golf tournament for Roen, so we didn't really have time to waste!

First things first, Micah LOVES pizza, so he checked in with the One Bite Pizza Guy, Dave Portnoy, for the top pizza recommendations. We made plans the night before to sleep in just a bit, skip breakfast and lunch early at Pi Pizzeria! It was cozy, delicious, and we, of course, ordered way too much food. But I had spied the Island Kitchen Ice Cream Shop on our stroll before lunch, so I had already decided, I was saving room. And my gracious, am I glad, because you will never believe it, but they had Captain Crunch ice cream! I LOVE cereal, I LOVE Captain Crunch, and the ice cream was divine!! 

After lunch, we checked in with Ben at our front desk to get some information about the lighthouses, because I was determined to visit one of the three on Nantucket. Brant Point was just up the road from Cliffside, and ended up being the most perfect 10 minute afternoon walk. The weather was sunny perfection and I loved getting to stroll through the neighborhood and really see Nantucket from a more local point of view! The lighthouse was magnificent! Right on the sandy shore, the most charming shade of sherbet mint green coated the door gable, and the American flag hanging from the wooden shake siding... it was like a historic slice of American pie all bundled up into one weathered and charming little lighthouse! I stayed much longer than Micah really wanted to, but I could have stayed there all day long! I think next time I'll bring a picnic lunch and my watercolors along!

From Brant Point, we walked down to the Main Street area and over to the harbor to check out all the little shops in that area. I loved Main Street, but I looooooved the harbor area! One of my most favorite stops of the day was a teeny tiny art and jewelry studio. This little mom and pop was full of handmade jewelry, strands of pearls and watercolor paintings by GS Hills. I fell in love with the pearls, and I am delighted to say, I brought home the most beautiful strand of imperfect Nantucket pearls! I also got to take a peek upstairs which housed a shoebox sized art studio! The ceiling was pitched, barely enough room to stand up, and the room was topped off with a tiny little window overlooking the harbor! My little art heart was in absolute bliss!

After I just about had Micah shopped out, we landed at the O Bar patio for an afternoon drink. We were tucked away in a sunny little spot, just perfect for an afternoon break and people watching. We ended up ordering a little ceviche and sushi snack from Bar Yoshi which happened to be just a door over and the restaurant portion of bar we were at.... so we didn't even have to give up our seats!

We strolled a bit more, before moseying our way back to Cliffside.  I grabbed a hot tea from the lounge and found me a quiet spot to watch the water. This led to us going back over to the Galley where we were able to first get a patio seat and then were offered lounge sitting, fireside, right on the sand. And so we ended our last day, eating oysters & chowder, sipping champagne, toasting to us, and feeling like somehow we managed to save the best for last! The golden sunset was nothing short of magical and as I watch our perfect day set over the waves, I knew I had officially fallen in love with Nantucket!

A Rainy Day in Nantucket...

Our first full day in Nantucket was cold and rainy. But there was absolutely no raining on this gal's fun or parade! After visiting with some locals and consulting my Blue Book we came up with a plan for the day! 

We started off with a scrumptious breakfast at the bustling Island Kitchen. I went with a green monster smoothie and the ACK Omelette which was rich, buttery and basically melted in my mouth... complete of course, with lobster and cream cheese! Oh, and topped with hollandaise sauce! Making a mental note, on my next trip, I will be snagging one of their absolutely adorable mugs.... sadly enough, they were all sold out at the moment. 

From here we visited the Nantucket Whaling Museum, which was smack dab in the heart of downtown. I was just a smidge fearful this outing would prove to be a repeat of the time I drug Micah to the tea gardens in Charleston.... leaving much to be desired in his book! But, it ended up being so historically fascinating, that we both enjoyed ourselves very much! We watched the 30 minute film which explained how Nantucket came to be, we spiraled up to Tucker's Roofwalk for the most glorious views of the harbor, and we even got to see a life-size sperm whale skeleton-  this was of upmost interest to me, because of my current reading selection. The walls were covered in beautiful art, historical signs hung from the ceilings, we toured the whale oil and candle factory, and to top it all off, I found the most beautiful scrimshaw bookmark in the gift shop!

Thankfully, the rain let up off and on throughout the day, so we were still able to go into all the shops and stroll without getting sopping wet! As you will see, I did stop and admire all of the colorful window boxes and flowers- there were so many, that at one point I asked Micah if he thought all the flowers were real! Just in case you're wondering, they are, I went ahead and checked!

Some of my favorite stops of the day included Nantucket Bookworks, Mitchell's Book Corner which has it's very own Elin Hilderbrand section and also where she does book signings every Wednesday, and Murray's Toggery Shop where I got my very own Nantucket Reds cap! 

For dinner, we were able to get reservations (thanks to our incredible host, Ben) at the famous Cru! Though everything on the menu looked amazing, I went with what the locals suggested and got the lobster roll and the Crucumber martini.... words cannot describe, so I won't even try! It is also worth mentioning that the oysters were the best I've ever had! Hands down, this was the best food of the trip! We strolled back over to the Crown & Rose before turning in for the night! Our first day may not have had me in my swimsuit on the beach, but it sure was perfect all in it's own way!

*There were so many people who stopped me to tell me they liked my "Y'all" cap! In fact, I got so many complements, I wore the next day too!

20 years...

It's quite unbelievable that is has been 20 years since I was just a fresh out-of-college graduate, full of big dreams, a lifetime ahead of me, with a sparkly new diamond on my left hand. But those two ACU babies, rode off into the sunset and went and made a pretty sweet little life for themselves.... and they certainly aren't babies anymore! In fact, we are both sprouting gray, sporting all those coveted fine lines, and we both depend heavily on our own pillows and bed for a good night's sleep!

With May being such a busy time of year, we decided to squeeze in a little getaway to commemorate these past two decades! This past year, Micah had been bringing up the idea of taking me to Nantucket for our anniversary, as this has been at the top of my bucket list since my very first Jane Green novel (way back in 2007)!

So, we finally figured out how to get to this charming little island, booked the tickets, and I packed my suitcase with all things, navy, white and coastal!

Upon arrival, we were shown our room, which gave us a front row seat to the New England coastline! Without further ado, we dropped our bags, and popped next door to The Galley bar for an unwind and refreshment! I used my Blue Book as my most trusted travel companion on this trip,  and it led us to all the must eats & sees, including The Galley for cocktails! 

We got ready for dinner just a bit early, so that we could browse the shops of Main Street. Most of them had already closed for the evening, but I was dying to explore, so there was no waiting for this gal! In our pre-dinner stroll, I spotted the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, which was super exciting since I had just finished reading Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand (this was a major location in the book)! 

Dinner was at Or, The Whale, which if you are a reader of classic American literature, you know is the subtitle to Moby Dick.... which I had actually just started reading specifically in preparation for this trip. If you are currently thinking to yourself that I may overthink the books I read, I, in fact, do!

After dinner, we had a little nightcap at The Rose and Crown, before calling our resort driver... who just happened to be one of Elin Hilderbrand's good friends! If it all sounds a little too magical to be true, well, rest assured, this little island it just that perfect!