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!

Cousin Time....

At the end of May, is Micah and my's anniversary! This year, was a big one, but I'll share more on that later. However, so that we could celebrate properly, Anne & crew came up to hang out with the boys and dogs! 

I think they squeezed in everything from basketball, to pickle ball, to golf, pizza, snow cones and they even hopped on the kayak! Fun times were had by all!

Summer Kick-Off...

As soon as that last dismal bell rang, these boys were jet skiing, tubing and swimming!! And I can't think of a better way to kickoff summer!

Complete with Uncrustables and popcorn, spa-side!

Last Day of School 2026....

I can't really figure out where this school year went, but somehow, I now have a sophomore and a junior! This mama is nowhere near ready to have an upperclassman!

Somehow Remi ended up wearing the same shirt on the last day as he did the first, and I think it's safe to say both of these stinkers have GROWN!!

Lake Days & Pizza Nights...

Right before school let out (yes, I'm way behind on blogging), the boys had their first lake day, followed by a pizza night, and topped off with some star gazing! Being able to hop on a jet ski with your girlfriend and swim the afternoon away with your buddies at the lake beach, is hard to beat!! At this point, summer was so close, we were already jumping in!

Happy Birthday, Roen!!!

Once Remi got home from school (remember Roen played hooky for the afternoon), we let the birthday boy open all his presents! Lots of clothes, cologne and some new golf shoes! It is of the upmost importance to Roen to look good and smell good.... clothes and cologne always make this boy a happy camper!

After presents, he and Micah set off for some afternoon golf! Followed by the traditional birthday dirt cake and tacos for dinner (Roen's request). It was a pretty fantastic Tuesday celebrating the baby of the family! 

It's not hard to make this boy happy, and he was all smiles, all day!