Martha's Vineyard Memories

I have so many memories to write about and so many photos I could post! It's hard to narrow it down but I'll try. This post is about a walk we took around the park and area near the beach at Oak Bluffs.



I would live in any one of these homes. Each one was beautiful and unique. This one had a lovely garden out front.



I am not that fond of yellow but I don't mind it on this home. Maybe the green helps.



The flowers were unbelievable.



We turned the corner and there was this beautiful gate, yard, and garden.



A pagoda in the yard! Gorgeous!



And the front of the house was not too shabby either. Wow, was all I could say.



Looks like they're having a party. He's setting up the bar. How can I get myself invited?
I would love to sit on this porch all night.

We later found out from our innkeeper that this is the home of Peter Norton of Norton Anti Virus fame. And yes that is him in the photo.

The home was destroyed by fire and rebuilt to it's original grandeur.



And here was my second favorite, it's called Cinderella Cottage. Our innkeeper told us that this is the ex Mrs Norton's home.



Again, lovely landscaping.




And very ornate. I love that bump out, don't you?



This blue and white home also bordered the park.




Another pretty house overlooking the park.



I love weathervanes and this one was especially decorative and perfect for it's location overlooking the Atlantic at Oak Bluffs.

This is the first in a series of posts about my mini vacation. Please come back and travel to the Vineyard with me.

I'm Back!

I'm back from the Vineyard and I have oodles of photos to go through before I post them. We had a great time and there's lots to tell but not just yet.

Stay tuned and have a great weekend!

A Little Rest and Relaxation

A little R&R is in order for the next few days. Will post again at the end of the week.

Enjoy your week!

A Birthday and a long awaited vacation

We celebrated my Sister's birthday with cake from Cake. I ordered it on Wednesday for today's family party. This cake was listed as The Minuteman on Cake's.menu. This was perfect since my Sister belongs to the Lincoln Minutemen, a fife and drum corps.



The woman on the phone said custom cake orders needed to be placed two weeks in advance but she could do a simple birthday cake with some flowers and a message. Does this look simple to you? I was quite impressed.




Everyone enjoyed the cake and we also had my Sister's favorite tea, Harrod's No. 42. As you can see, Sheila was pleased.

Tomorrow I have to get ready for our mini vacation to Martha's Vineyard. I have some packing to do and I already coordinated schedules with the cat sitter. Just a few things left to do before we leave.

I am so looking forward to this vacation. Work has been super stressful and I often don't even know what day of the week it is. I am hoping for some R&R before I have to go back to work in a week.

Hope you all have a great week.

Cake.

I am such a foodie! I love to find new places to try for desserts.

Last weekend I was going to a cookout and I decided to bring cupcakes. My friend Pauline served cupcakes from Cake. in Lexington, Massachusetts at one of her teas and they were delish. So I thought I would give Cake a try.



Cake. is located in a house, perhaps it was once a multi family home. The building was charming right down to the plants and the bistro set on the porch.



And look at the delivery van. Too cute!



I love the red colored walls. The interior was really nicely done.




I am guessing Ethan is really going to enjoy his first birthday cake. And the women picking up the cake were nice to let me photograph it.

Well the lemon loco cupcakes I had purchased were wonderful. And I placed an order with Cake. for my Sister's birthday cake. Sunday is her birthday.

Cake. is located at 1628 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, Massachusetts. Click here to visit their website.

Lovely Gifts

Yay! I won a blog giveaway for the first time ever. The always wonderful Kay Ellen of Kay Ellen Design chose my name as the recipient of a copy of Somerset Life, a bird's nest and egg and a treasure from Kay Ellen's recent weekend trip. I thought I would look at this fabulous magazine with a cup of tea.



Oh yes, aren't you observant? That is a new tea strainer for me. My first gold one but that's for another post.

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Kay Ellen's nesting tablescape was featured in the magazine. I thought I would try to recreate it using the nest from Kay Ellen and my own things. Her photo in the magazine is on the left and my results are on the right. Kay Ellen has such a talent for creating beautiful and innovative tablescapes. She is an inspiration to me.



Here's a close up of my tablescape.



The third item in the box was a surprise treasure from Kay Ellen's weekend trip to Manhattan Beach. It was a beautiful seashell bracelet. I decided to use it as a napkin holder here. I changed up the tablescape to portray more colors of the ocean and the beach to go with my new bracelet.

I do plan to pack the bracelet for my trip to Martha's Vineyard later in the month.



It is the weekend so I broke out the Weekend Waterford!




I just love these cups. I used them for my illumination night tea years ago and I only have this stack left.



Oops, I almost forgot! The seashell bracelet came in an ice blue organza bag. That's it wrapped around the Pellegrino bottle.

If you look at Kay Ellen's blog, you will see gorgeous photos of her husband and children, her pets, her trips, her design work and her fabulous tablescapes. I must confess I've stolen an idea or two from her. Her blog is a must read, so go check it out!

And enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Quote of the Day

The Summer night is like a perfection of thought- Wallace Stevens