Cape Cod Adventure

Wednesday was a picture perfect day. It really was one of the best days weatherwise in the year.

I had planned to have a play date with my friend Lori Lee and when my sister found out about it she wanted in too.

Lori Lee and I wanted to visit the Cape Cod Lavender Farm in Harwich and visit Horsefeather Antiques and the Dunbar Tea Shop in Sandwich. My sister loved the idea.

First we went to Horsefeathers. Lori Lee said we should call first to make sure Jean, the owner, was in the shop when we arrived. So when we were about an hour away, Sheila gave the shop a call. She called the number and said, "Hello, Horsefeathers?". The person said no. Evidently I had written down the wrong number. Luckily, Lori Lee had printed the number from online and Sheila called it and made contact. They were open all day. We laughed every time we thought of Sheila calling a person "Horsefeathers".

After two hours on the road, we arrived in Sandwich and then headed to Horsefeathers. The photo of the birdbath with roses was taken in the garden at Horsefeathers. Jean, the owner, had gorgeous electric blue hydrangeas. My photo of the flower is so embarrassingly bad I can not even post it! But believe me those hydrangeas were electric blue or as Sheila said, neon!



The sun was so bright it washed out most of my photos of the day. This photo does not do the beautiful garden justice.

Lori Lee and I both made purchases at Horsefeathers Antiques. I will post later about my goodies. Of course, it involved some lovely china. Jean had an amazing inventory of fabulous items. I wanted to take photos of the shop but Jean had a bad experience with someone who had taken photos and then came back with friends to shoplift. I respected her wishes and only took the photos outside.

Jean had the shop decorated with lanterns from her personal collection. They were all very old and there was one with a Japanese looking ship printed on it. It was spectacular. I wish it had been for sale. She also had a tablecloth which was embroidered with lanterns. I wanted to take it home but I already committed to the dishes. So I resisted. Now I am kicking myself!



Next stop, the Dunbar Tea Shop in Sandwich Center.I'd been there before but not since they renovated. We sat in a breezy, sun drenched room, a perfect setting for a cuppa.



I had the Earl Grey in a pot all to myself!



We all got the afternoon tea. Yum!



Now take a closeup look of the sandwiches.



And the desserts! Decadent.



Do I spy buttercream frosting?




We waddled out of the tea room and into the gift shop. I am kidding, we actually had leftovers. Lori Lee smartly brought a big cooler packed with ice.

Where was this teapot last week when I joined the Mad Hatter Tea party? It would have been perfect!




Here's the outside of the gift shop. Quintessential Cape Cod!



A copper teapot weathervane.



A dreamy hammock.




Oops, it's private behind there.




Entrance to the tea shop parking lot.




Across the street from the tearoom. A pretty scene.

We also visited Chatham and Orleans on Wednesday. I will post more photos in a few days.

Happy Fourth!

An original

"You've gotta be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?" Bernadette Peters


Tomorrow, I'm off to Cape Cod for a daytrip. I'll tell you all about it in a few days.

Mad Tea Party

It's Time!!! Don't be late for this very important date!



Time for the Mad Hatter Tea Party hosted by Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist. This is my first Mad Hatter Tea.



The Cheshire Cat will be there.



He's brought a date too. She is never late for a meal.



There will be boatloads of tea.



And some will be very showy!



We'll eat dessert first, an unbirthday cake.



More tea.



And sweet little sandwiches.



After tea, perhaps a game of croquet.



You can attend other parties by clicking here.

Open House at Corinthian Hall

Last night I attended an open house at Corinthian Hall in Melrose.



The building was renovated and will now serve as an elegant function hall.



A harpist and a violinist took center stage and provided lovely background music.



Delicious hors d'oeuvres were served by the waitstaff.



A wall of mirrors behind the bar. I love that wall color.



Costumed ladies greeted and said goodbye to everyone. You can visit the Corinthian Hall website here.

Boston Love Song

Boston Love Song from Claude von Roesgen on Vimeo.

My sister's friend Dan Margarita penned A Boston Love Song and put it to music. Another friend, Debbie Angelosanto, stars in the video with Dan.

Enjoy!

Father's Day

I hope you all had a nice Father's Day. Here's my Dad when he was in the Navy.



We had a nice day, my dad, my sister and I. My sister bought us breakfast. We went to our usual spot Frannie's. Then my dad watched the US Open on television, my sister visited my mom, and I did a little grocery shopping and prepared for dinner. I was hosting Father's Day at my condo.



We had greek salad, baked haddock, roasted potatoes, and broccolini with garlic.




And for dessert, we had strawberry shortcake with whipped cream. There were a few presents too. And both my sister and I tried to find what we call mushy Father's Day cards but there were none to be had. My dad usually gives us mushy cards so we wanted to reciprocate. I like mushy cards don't you? They let you say the things you want to say but sometimes you just can't. Especially if you're not the mushy type. I am not the mushy type and either is my sister.

It was great spending time together today.

My Place by the Sea in Rockport

If you read my last post, you know that I went to Rockport on Tuesday to celebrate my birthday. I had dinner with my friend Debbi and we dined at Brackett's Oceanview. Then on Thursday night, I went back to Rockport with my sister and our friends Mary and Don.



Mary and Don have been married for 30 years so Sheila and I took them out to celebrate. Mary wanted to go to Rockport. We decided to go to My Place by the Sea which is a restaurant located at the tip of Bearskin Neck. It is as close to the ocean as you can get.

This is my dinner, Lobster Quesadillas. It's actually an appetizer but I ate it as a dinner. Well, I split it with my sister and she split her dinner with me.



She had the panko crusted cod. So did Don. Both dishes were delicious.



Mary went with the Roasted Salmon. We had the best bread, you really didn't need butter, it was that good. But the butter was an herb butter so we ate it.



Here's a shot of my sister with a cool iron grate in the background.



The inside of the restaurant as seen from our table. The decor was clean and simple and really lovely. The curtains were made of linen and tied up with raffia. Neutral colors were used throughout. What color do you really need when you gave the big blue ocean right outside your window? The striped awning you see is outside on the patio.




Mary and Don clinked their dessert spoons to celebrate 30 years of marriage. We split a dessert of warm apple crunch with cinnamon ice cream and a caramel drizzle. Yum!



The deck was not used because it was windy and a bit cool out. It had rained earlier in the day. We thought the night might be a washout but we were wrong.




Before we headed out, I just had to take a photo of this fun hat display.



Sometime, I would love to return and dine on this patio. It is so pretty when it is illuminated at night.



As you can see, the sun was trying to come out. Would I get the pinky sky I was hoping for?



This is Jodi, out for her evening walk. We met her outside the restaurant.




Look the sky is getting pink!




We looked in the window at Helmut's Streudel shop. Closed again! Are they ever open? We wanted to take home a box of streudel.




The Motif No 1 was looking good as always.




So was the harbor.




The sunset was beautiful, the cloudiness had cleared and we took a few shots of the gorgeous scene and then we headed home. We had a wonderful evening that felt more like a mini vacation.