A Wedding on the Lake

They say that rain and sunshine both bring luck to wedding, each in their own way, and if it's true, then my friend Elaine and her new hubby Mike are doubly lucky...

It was pouring less than an hour before their wedding, as I arrived at our motel. The rain stopped on our drive over to the winery, leaving a looming gray sky. But amazingly, the sun came out with brilliance during their vows. No one was expecting that just an hour earlier! Much later, the night turned damp and dark with lightning strikes dotting the distance.


The venue itself, Glenora Winery in the finger lakes, was really lovely. The ceremony was beautifully set under a tent on a gently sloping hill with a view of Seneca Lake. The reception was held at the vineyard's restaurant with tables inside and cocktails and dancing outside on the covered deck.


Elaine's mother put together the flower arrangements, and Elaine participated in a bike ride to win the bouquets for herself and her bridesmaid Meredith.




I had never before seen my friends looking so elegant!





They wrote their own vows as testaments to their love for each other, which made everyone teary eyed.





The reception tables were simple and lovely, with little jars of flowers and pine trees to take home as favors. (I planted mine and then put it in a corner of the deck the dogs couldn't get at...and then forgot about it, so I'm not sure it's going to survive...)


I'm such a crybaby that I cried twice! Their slideshow was especially moving and sweet - photos of their families and friends growing up - recognizing the community that raised and supports them and had gathered for their wedding, followed by photos of the couple's milestones together, which I appreciated having not seen Elaine much over the past several years.


The bouquet toss was hilarious - no one wanted to catch it so we all just watched the bouquet sail over our hands and plop on the floor!

We got drunk on Glenora wine, relived old dance moves and huddles on the dance floor, had fun into the night, and planned on bringing a bottle of wine to the dock back at the motel but everyone fell asleep instead.


I only wish I got to see these girls more often.


Congratulations again and the best of luck to Elaine and Mike!

Girls Getaway in Ithaca

It's become a yearly tradition that I get together with a few high school friends in Ithaca, as a halfway point between our various homes across New York State. The first year was the summer of Elaine's bachelorette and wedding (technically we were in Syracuse and Seneca Lake that year). The second, we went cabin camping with Elaine's puppy. The third, we stayed in a hotel to accommodate Elaine's pregnant belly, and this year we rented a house, now that she has a nine month old baby. 

Renting a house was a good choice, as it allowed us to relax comfortably while the baby crawled around and we cooked meals at home. This was my first time renting from Airbnb, so I was a little anxious about it, but the house delivered on our expectations of cleanliness and size and amenities (a deck for mosquito-free lounging and grilling! a swing for making babies smile!). Hopefully we'll stay there again next summer, and maybe we can do more hiking and camping in another few years once little Emma's older.

We always try to hit up the Ithaca Farmers Market, which is huge and is housed in a wonderful permanent wooden structure. We cooked black bean tacos the first night, and then supplemented it with vegetables from the farmers market to transform our leftovers into black bean burgers and salad the next day.

This annual gathering is a great way to catch up on our changing lives each year. As Meredith put it: "It's nice to spend time with people that you've known for a really long time! Even if we are not all in the same places in our lives right now, I think its good for us to see what each other are up to and how we all made different choices and have different ideas."

Also, I couldn't help capturing that great graffiti trying to alert the populace to the perils of fracking. Just say no...

Bachelorette at the Casino

As you read this, I'm currently in a car on a 5-6 hour drive upstate for my friend Elaine's wedding at a fingerlakes winery. I just got an SLR camera so hopefully I will have some amazing photos to share when I return. In the meantime, here are some photos from her fabulous bachelorette weekend last month.

Originally we had planned on a winery tour in the Ithaca area for her bachelorette, but our plans changed and we ended up at a casino outside Syracuse instead. It was kinda ironic because none of us are wild party n gambling types. In fact we tried to gamble for the heck of it but couldn't even figure out how to work the slot machines (which are now computerized) so we got our money back and moved on to other activities. aka gambling FAIL


It seems like just yesterday we were BFFs in high school, but somehow 10 years have gone by since those days we went by the name "The Hefs" (we're not heifers we just eat a lot)


We brought way more snacks and drink for the hotel than the four of us could actually ingest.


Getting ready for our night out



Our dinner out was a long, enjoyable, and memorable meal at the resort's nicest restaurant. Excellent service and pretty excellent food, with some strange twists in there that had us laughing our a**es off. For example, here we have Elaine grimacing at the dessert amuse bouche "chocolate surprise" which turned out to contain pop rocks!


Our last stop of the night was Club Lava, which tries to be hip and trendy, with bottle service and soap flake confetti falling from the ceiling, but they played music from our high school era.


We had fun dancing anyway. Leave it to Caitlin to start a dance off!



It was a great weekend with great friends!

Gorges Camping

I have a lot to catch up from the month of May, like the trip to the Caribbean, but first let me tell you about my weekend. It was such a welcome and refreshing experience last summer when I reunited with my high school friends from our respective homes scattered around the state for a bachelorette weekend that I decided we should make it an annual occasion, irregardless of weddings. This time we stayed at a camping cabin near Ithaca, which is a bit more our style than a night of gambling and clubbing at a casino, and cheaper than a hotel.


It was camping-lite, with beds, lights, and a full-size refrigerator in the cabin, appropriate for Meredith, our first-time, hesitant camper. She was vexed on the first night when a chipmunk stole a fork and they were unable to build a fire, but things got better from there.


Elaine brought her nine week old puppy Milly, an adorable Brittany Collie mix. She sleeps like a babe and nips like a pup. I spent some time passing on sage dog rearing advice (ie. how to not make my same mistakes) and my friends got a kick out of hearing my singsongy sweet dog-baby training voice. It's strange to think that next time I see Milly she will likely be a full grown dog!


The area is home to state parks brimming with gorges and waterfalls, as well as Cayuga Lake waterfront, making for daily easy hikes with beautiful views.

We ate simple meals heated over Elaine's charcoal grill, at a picnic table adorned with wildflowers.



There were s'mores for dessert, once we procured enough wood to get good glowing fires going. And light boombox music, fireside chats, and board games before bed.


Being in one room when the lights went out was akin to sleepovers of our teenage years, except with real beds instead of an uncomfortable floor.


We also treated ourselves to a dinner out at Moosewood, Ithaca's legendary vegetarian restaurant, for healthy fare that was for the most part delicious, except for some well-intentioned but poorly executed shrimp...and what is shrimp doing at a vegetarian restaurant anyway?


Now I've got the itch to camp again this weekend, but few sites are available for Memorial Day weekend...the late bird must travel far to find a worm.

My First Etsy Purchases

I've been an occasional browser of etsy and I see lots of pretty things on there, but I am what you might call an anti-shopaholic, so it requires a lot of deliberating and motivation for me to take the plunge and buy something. Which is why I'd never bought anything from etsy before until now - because I finally had the perfect reason.


After my friend Elaine's wedding, I really wanted to give her something handcrafted for her home, something made with love that would last a long time and be an heirloom in the making. She requested a wooden fruit bowl, considering her "current lack of fruit display options" so I scoured etsy for something just right and finally decided on this bowl, turned from reclaimed Georgia wood and finished with natural tung oil by MyTurningShop.


I wanted to give her a little something else too, and when I spotted this adorable lovebirdie vase, I knew I had to get it, since Elaine's invitations featured birds. The redhotpottery shop has some really awesome ceramics for sale, including heart-shaped ramekins, so check it out!

Wedding Inspiration Board: Pink and Blue Birds

Don't worry, I'm not the one getting married. One of my oldest friends, Elaine, just got engaged, and I thought it would be fun to try to put together an inspiration board for her, inspired by all the pretty pictures over at Snippet & Ink. I felt a theme of pale pinks and blues with sweet lovebirds would be fitting for Elaine, my petite, kind,and funny friend. I wanted to show that even though she's probably going to have a fall wedding, the decor doesn't have to be the staid orange and red and brown route that so many fall flower arrangements and events seem to go.

Click the photo for a full size image



1. Birds Nest decor, via Once Wed
2. Hairpiece, by the Tijusai Etsy shop
3. Ring pillow, designed by Debbie Notis, photo by Corbin Gurkin via Once Wed
4. Invitation, by The Paper Door Etsy shop
5. Pink champagne, photo by Joel Flory via Snippet & Ink
6. Cupcakes with bird toppers, from Maple Sugar via Snippet and Ink
7. Designate the bride and groom's seats with pretty ribbon, photo by Billy Winters via Snippet & Ink
8. Mason jars with big pink flowers, photo by Heather Forsythe via Snippet & Ink
9. Blue shirts for the men, photo by Jose Villa via Snippet & Ink
10. Fall foliage, via Once Wed
11. Necklace, by Lisa Leonard
12. Guests can drop kind notes into this birdcage, photo by Allison Garrett via Snippet & Ink
13. Seating cards photo by Still Weddings, via Snippet & Ink
14. Ribbon wands for guests to wave during the ceremony, from Blogger Brides
15. Flowers arranged in rustic pitchers (though the peonies would have to be replaced by another pink flower more in season for the fall), from Peonies and Polaroids
16. Pink bridesmaid dresses, by Ann Taylor Loft, photo by Sandra Coan via The Knot
17. Table number cards by eeBoo
18. Flowy feminine wedding dress, by Kim Grayz via Snippet & Ink
19. Cake by Rebecca Thuss
20. Simple table settings with pink and blue ribbon wrapped around napkins, from Peonies and Polaroids
21. Vintage blue vases with single buds, styled by Molly FitzSimons via Snippet & Ink
22. A bouquet of white, pink, and blue wildflowers, from Martha Stewart Weddings

The Long Ride Back

The ride up to Elaine's wedding was just under five hours, but I took my time coming home the next day - more than eight hours - involving several stops along the way.


Had a burger and beer for lunch in Watkins Glen, a cute little country village at the foot of Seneca Lake. I also stopped in an antique store there to pick up a spice rack and vintage sugar canisters for our new apartment.



Followed signs for the Delaware Delicacies Smokehouse several miles off the highway deep into the Catskills woods. We joked that we would be the ones getting smoked, but we actually found ourselves at a legitimate business. The guy catches eels in the river behind his property and smokes it along with other fish and meat onsite. We picked up some smoked salmon, cornish hens, and even an eel, although I still haven't tried the eel because I'm a little afraid.


The next stop was Beaver-Del Campground, of this wedding's fame. I wanted to check it out because Beaver Del sounded like it would be awesome place to camp - right on the river with excellent fishing and a bar/restaurant onsite. Unfortunately the sites aren't private enough for our standards, just in an open field, and it's close enough to the highway to hear the white noise of cars zooming by. But the property is really bucolic and they have an awesome log cabin beer hall, so I can see how it would be a great venue for big camping parties.





Then it was my turn to drive, so I followed a back road along the winding river for a fun while, until the road abruptly came to an end...on the highway! I don't do highway driving anymore because I have a phobia of merging. But there I was, on the highway ramp and I had to drive forward and it turned out okay.


I drove all the way from Liberty to...Monticello...in other words not very far, but it was my first time on the highway in three years! Maybe someday I'll be a real driver again. Afterward we treated ourselves to Stewart's ice cream. And then we continued on our way, with another couple hours to go and some more traffic to get stuck in.