Susan Branch book signing- Sandwich, Massachusetts

The main reason I chose to visit Sandwich, Massachusetts in August was because Susan Branch was doing a book signing there. Susan had tweeted that she was going to be signing her new book, A Fine Romance, on Martha's Vineyard August 15th and 17th.  As much as I wanted to go to the Vineyard for one of the signings, I knew I couldn't. The 15th is/was my Sister's birthday and the 17th was the date of a big birthday party I was throwing for her. So those dates were out.

I am a follower of Susan on Twitter so I tweeted to her asking if she had any other signings scheduled for Massachusetts. Susan tweeted back to me that she was going to be at Titcomb's Bookstore on August 19th. I googled Titcomb's and found out it was in Sandwich. The next day I made a call to Titcomb's and purchased two tickets. Vicky (the owner) told me the tickets she was putting aside for me had a low number, meaning we would be one of the first people to meet Susan. The excitement began to build. I made our reservations for the Belfry Inne and waited anxiously for the day to arrive.

The event was held at the Sandwich Town Hall, a beautiful and historic building. Inside, it looked like every seat was filled. Susan has many fans in the New England, after all she lives on Martha's Vineyard.

My sister and I got in line to purchase books and calendars.  That is where we met Wendy. Wendy had come alone to the book signing and I started chatting with her. She wasn't as familiar with Susan Branch as I was so I started to fill her in. She was excited to meet Susan too. I snapped this photo of Wendy and my sister.

I invited Wendy to sit with us as we had seats in the front row. We got there early and I wanted the best spot for taking photos. So we chose seats at the end of the first row.

As you can see, the Town Hall was filled with Susan's fans or girlfriends as she calls them.

Susan arrived on time and quickly engaged her audience. She decided to read some excerpts from her book. She showed us Petey, a toy her husband received as a boy.

Susan kept a journal of her trip and this journal turned into her newest book, A Fine Romance. She gave us a sneak peek. 

She wrote in her journal every day and she also added photos and drawings to it. The real journal looked like the printed book right down to the handwriting. Yes, the book is beautifully handwritten!

 

She held the journal up for everyone to see. I wished I had been sitting right in front of her instead of to the side.

 

 

Susan took questions as well. She was as sweet as she looks. Not at all impressed with herself.

 

She did not limit the number of items she would sign for each person. I was hoping she would sign three for me. A book, a calendar for my friend Kim and my Autumn cookbook.

 

Here she is signing the cookbook. She was interested in each person and she chatted with everyone. Amazing really.

 

She signed a few items for my sister too. I think one might be a gift for someone.

Susan's book contained recipes of course and the refreshments were made of Susan's recipes.

The cookies were absolutely delicious. I thought this was a nice touch.

While we all enjoyed refreshments, Susan was still signing books. She made sure everyone got their time with her.

She even posed for photos with some of her adoring fans, young and old.

I spied Joe (Susan's husband) taking photos from the balcony during Susan's talk. Then he came downstairs. I saw he had the journal in his hands so I asked if I could see it.

He flipped through the pages and let me snap some photos. He likes to stay in the background he told me.

I'm so glad I called for tickets earlier in the month. I would have been very disappointed to see a sold out sign.

It was time for an early dinner after the book signing. I asked my sister if she minded if I invited Wendy to dine with us. She thought it was a great idea. Wendy accepted the invitation and we decided to walk to the Daniel Webster Inn. We passed a small home with a beautiful garden. I wanted to live there.

This house was pink on the front and was also quite charming. The houses on Main Street were a nice manageable and unfussy size.

The weather was fantastic for outside dining. Not too hot or too cool. We practically had the patio to ourselves.

We all ordered the same thing. Pan seared scallops, half order. None of us wanted leftovers because where do you put leftovers when you are on vacation?

I do believe my meal is smiling at me. I loved the presentation. Compliments to the chef.

Here's the menu. You can read about our pan bronzed scallops if you like.

We all had the petite treats desserts. Wendy and I chose mudpies and my sister had a chai
tea crème brulee. She said it was the best she ever had.

I was in my happy place by the end of the day. A book signing and meeting with someone I admire, making a new friend in Wendy, and ending the day with a delicious dinner. And this was the first day of vacation. It was perfect!

The Painted Lady of Sandwich

In the last post, I mentioned I would tell you about the Painted Lady, one of three buildings that comprise the Belfry Inne property.

We stayed at the Painted Lady and we were not disappointed.  This was my room.

I woke up in a light filled gorgeous room to a glorious morning. I loved my little stained glass window. The Abbey was not the only building with wonderful stained glass windows.

I actually booked this room because of two features. One was a stained glass window, the second was because of the private patio.

The outside is so appealing if I were driving by I would have to make note of the place.

The flowers were colorful and plentiful. I could not stop taking photos of them.

Were the flowers carefully chosen to match the colors of  the Inne? Perhaps.

This is the path outside my patio. Charming, just charming. Made me want to just stay in my room and watch the bees and the flowers.

The bath towels were folded like fans. I took this photo for reference in case I want to try it at home.

I got to read my new book on the patio and I liked to spend my mornings out there too. The book is A Fine Romance by Susan Branch and we went to her book signing at the Sandwich Town Hall. I will tell you all about it in the next post.

Speaking of mornings, this was my breakfast on the second day. I think this looks like the Sydney Opera House don't you? We got to eat breakfast in the Abbey, the converted church. I would rate the food A+ and so was the service and the ambience.

Back to the Painted Lady, yes there really were bats in the Belfry Inne. This was painted on the walls of the tower. Such a cute sitting area.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual stay at the Belfry Inne. Next, I will take you to the Susan Branch book signing.

The Belfry Inne- Cape Cod

When I read about the Belfry Inne of Sandwich, Massachusetts in Yankee Magazine in 2012 I knew I just had to stay there at some point in my life. So it went on the secret bucket list.

This Summer, I found out that Susan Branch was doing a book signing at the Sandwich Town Hall this August. I immediately booked rooms at the Belfry for my sister and myself.

Here's what Yankee Magazine said about the Belfry Inne:

BEST NEO-VICTORIAN B&B
Belfry Inne & Bistro, Sandwich
A restored Victorian manse and a pleasingly formal Federal-era house are part of this bustling B&B complex, but the most dramatic rooms are found in “the Abbey,” a converted Catholic church on the edge of Sandwich village. A few even have stained-glass windows depicting archangels Michael and Gabriel, and most have church-pew beds. The bistro occupies the Abbey’s ground level. Rates: from $179, including full breakfast. 8 Jarves St. 800-844-4542, 508-888-8550; belfryinn.com

After reading that description you want to go now too, don't you? I must say it did not disappoint.

The patio outside the bistro was lovely and perfect for a relaxing lunch. We had breakfast each morning in the converted church. (It was included). We actually stayed in the Painted Lady as the Abbey rooms were more pricey.

Another view of the pretty patio. I snapped a few shots before they opened for the day.

The flowers were plentiful and huge! I noticed this all over the Town of Sandwich, flowers everywhere.

Tricia, the desk clerk and breakfast server, was kind enough to show us rooms in the Abbey. This is the Tuesday room, one of the most requested rooms in the Inne.

The bathrooms were modern and spa-like.   One of them actually had a spa in it!

Here's an overview of the bar and restaurant. The beams are still intact and spectacular.

I'm not sure if this was the choir loft or not. As you can see, the Inne is the perfect blend of old world charm and modern amenities.

All the rooms we saw had the most fantastic stained glass windows. I loved the colors used in each room as well.

How relaxing would a soak in this tub be? I could use this at the condo after a hard day at work.

The room decor was tasteful and lovingly furnished. I can attest that the beds were extremely comfortable.

Some rooms had balconies and patios. Fireplaces were in many of the rooms too. Wouldn't that be nice in the Fall?

Another shot of the many details from the original church which was built in 1901.

Here's the Painted Lady, this is where we stayed. Come back for my next post and I will have a little show and tell about it.

I need to apologize for my unintended blogging break. My computer crashed a few weeks ago so no blogging for me. I just got it fixed and I have lots to blog about so I hope you will come back to read about my end of Summer activities.

Breakfast with the koalas

I can cross one more item off my Summer Bucket list. Today I went with my sister for Breakfast with the Koalas at the Stone Zoo. The koalas are only in town for the Summer.

When I saw the event listed online I hesitated before signing up. I thought it was probably a kid's event. I am glad I took the chance.

We had a continental breakfast with bagels, muffins and donuts and fruit plus OJ, water and coffee.

Then we learned about the two koalas on loan from the San Diego Zoo, Meet Milo and Thackory, the traveling koalas. They get along with each other when they are enjoying the fresh air outside but they have to be separated when they are inside the Zoo. They might fight. So they each have their own space.

Nancy, an employee at Zoo New England, told us that koala bears sleep up to 20 hours a day and their diet consists of one thing, eucalyptus leaves.

My sister made a koala bear out of her breakfast. She is never off duty as an artist!

And I got crafty too. I joined the kids in making a koala mask. I have no idea why this photo has stripes. I assure you I did not put stripes on my koala.

We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast at the Zoo. And I overheard that there is going to be a reindeer breakfast later in the year!

My Royal Baby

Percy says that Prince George's got nothin' on me!