At home with the kitties

It was so nice to have a 3 day weekend! I did not do a heck of a lot but I did get to relax. I did some cleaning and a couple loads of laundry today but mostly I relaxed with the kitties.

In fact, I did not go out at all except for tonight when I went to see my Mom at the nursing home. It was great to catch up on my reading,

It's funny, whenever I am in the living room I sit on the sofa. So Molly found it extremely strange that I was sitting in the chair by the window. She had to walk behind and look over my shoulder.

Perhaps placing this lamp by the chair was not the best idea I ever had. How long will it take her to pull all the trim off the lamp? She certainly seems intrigued.

 

Hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend. Looking forward to the next one in February.

The Colony Hotel, Kennebunkport, Maine

I've been meaning to blog about my weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine but work got really busy and I've been spending my nights thinking about mortgage applications and not blogging. I have so much to share I am going to do a few posts about the weekend. We arrived late Friday afternoon and left Sunday morning but still I have lots to show you! This post is strictly about the hotel we stayed at.

The hotel is very old and is in the Historic Hotels of America book.  It has an ideal location just minutes from the center of Kennebunkport and it's on the same road as the Bush compound. The oceanviews from the property are spectacular!

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It was a beautiful Fall weekend, actually quite cool and windy but still beautiful.

The hotel is pet friendly which was not a problem for me because as you know I love animals! I did mind when the little yippy dog in the room next door barked every time someone walked by his/her door. Luckily, the room was at the end of the hall so not too much traffic going on there.

The entrance was lovely and decorated for Fall with cornstalks and colorful Mums.

This walkway led straight to the ocean and there was a pool on the other side of the stairs.

We actually started our weekend in Maine late on Friday afternoon. We got there in time to see a beautiful sunset.  This photos shows the back of the hotel.

Another walkway leading to the ocean. On the left, the hotel's restaurant.  We ate there and watched the sunset.  My dinner? Seafood, of course! I ordered baked sea scallops served with an apple cider cream sauce and spinach.

I made a reservation for a deluxe oceanview room for myself and my sister got a garden view from her room. I had a panoramic view of the ocean. It was breathtaking.

 Here's another view. Patterned wallpaper and rug.  In person, it did not look as busy as in the photo and the room's decor was very nice.  It was decorated in the traditional style.

I just kept snapping photos of the view from my room. I was definitely in relaxation mode the minute I saw the space.

I used my wide angle lens to capture the vastness of the room.  My sister said she would have been happy sleeping on a cot in this room!

As you can see, this was a lot of space for one person. I had a wonderful night's sleep here (once the yippy dog decided to go to sleep too!).

The bathroom was very nice too! It had an oceanview as well and a nice hot shower!

I had a walkin closet, something I don't even have at home! 

After dinner, we sat by a cozy fire in the living room/ lobby. The lobby was tastefully decorated.

My sister checked out the tourist news to look for things to do. We already had a few things in mind including a daytrip to Portland the next day and a trip to Old House Parts in Kennebunk.

I think the lobby and living room had a wonderful old New England feel. Conservative yet cozy.

 

The doors led to a porch on the back of the hotel.  You can sit and watch the ocean from the porch, I am sure it is lovely in the Summer. It was too cold and dark to sit there on Friday night.

 

 Here's the dining room. The windows on the right have ocean views and there is a rotunda at the end of the dining room with 360 degree views. We had dinner here the first night and breakfast in this room every morning.

After relaxing by the fire and planning the rest of the weekend, we retired to our respective rooms and had a wonderful night's sleep.

Weekend R&R

So this weekend was a long weekend and I had three days of R&R. Sweet!

I planned to stay home Saturday night and watch the Patriots- Broncos game by myself. Such a fan am I that I like to watch the game without distraction in the comfort of my own home. I guess I am a football snob.  I was invited to a playoff party at my friends Deborah and Roger's home. I accepted the invite and so I went to the party with my friends Kim and John.

We had a wonderful time at this small gathering. Great food and great company. They made sure I got a front row seat and I was in heaven. I had a fireplace with a roaring fire on my left, sandwiches and snacks on the coffee table in front of me, and a large screen TV with the game playing right in front of me. Football viewing perfection!

I just had to take a picture of Nathan's Tshirt. He is the youngest son of Roger and Deborah, Nathan made an appearance as Santa at my Christmas Soiree. I think his picture is on that post.

Kim and I were admiring the sleigh in the living room and Deborah told us the story of how they acquired it. Roger and Nathan thought they should get a sleigh for the front yard for the holidays. They looked at  a number of antique ones but this one is new and it can actually function as a real sleigh. The price was comparable to the antiques. It was made by the Amish and they only make 12 each year. It is magnificent!

On Sunday, still euphoric from the Patriots win, I decided to have a couple people over for coffee and dessert. I made an apple crisp and my sister made a lemon cheesecake out of lemon curd.

The four of us also had chocolate pizzelles and cornmeal ginger cookies. It was a nice

laid back evening.

I was excited to use my new lantern purchased after Christmas at Pier One. It gives off a nice warm glow.

I used the recipe from one of my Susan Branch cookbooks for the apple crisp. It is super easy and takes no time at all. I decided to rest it on my silver cakestand with the crystal drops. You can't go wrong with crystals and candlelight for simple elegance.

We drank tea and coffee out of little bird mugs. You can see them in the photos above. I love black and white toile. Each mug has a cover for keeping the beverage warm and a saucer to limit spillage. I don't  have many of the mugs so I can't use them with large groups. 

I had a nice relaxing weekend. How about you? What were your plans?

What I like...

What I like:

Rediscovering a favorite coffeehouse.

Snuggling into my new featherbed and down blanket on a cold winter's night.

Making plans to reconnect with old friends in the New Year.

Not being so busy at work and leaving for the day at a normal hour.

Finding well loved clothes in the back of my closet that still fit me.

Blasting my music knowing there's no one upstairs to complain.

Discovering interesting movies on Netflix.

A long weekend.