Macaron Sweeterie, worth a visit

I drove by this shop many times on my way to Wilson Farms and I always thought it might make a cute tearoom.  It was vacant for a bit but now it has a tenant.

The sign outside made me investigate.  I love macarons!

Nice decor, clean, all of their offerings listed on a menu.  So far so good.

The owner ( I assume she was the owner) smiled and asked if she could help me.

I looked at the menu and then I spied these little pieces of heaven.  So colorful and delightfully diplayed. I contemplated all of the flavors. While I was thinking, a woman and two young boys entered the shop. "This is the best place ever!" exclaimed one of the boys.

Ok, after hearing that proclaimation I went for the six pack of macarons. I stayed with the safe flavors. I am not very adventurous but I don't care. Dark chocolate, espresso, lemon, caramel du sel, and 2 vanillas.

Another view of the showcase. At Macaron Sweeterie, you can also get gelato and cappucinos, mochas,etc.  They even have a macalato which is a macaron shell filled with gelato, your choice.

I opted to save the box of macarons for later and I ordered a mocha.  Not quite a European drinking chocolate but almost as rich and much lighter.  Oh my, I will need to go back for one of those again.

It really was the best I ever had.  The little boy was right! This is the best place ever!

Over the weekend, I enjoyed my macarons and I loved them so much I did not share.  Not a single one!

If you find yourself on  Massachusetts Ave in Lexington, you need to stop in.  You will not be disappointed.

Tonight's Dessert

One of my favorite desserts is apple pie.  Now that Fall is here and apples are in season, I was craving a good pie.

So I called my friend Mary, the best pie baker I know, and she made this beauty for me. It tasted as delicious as it looked.  And with only three people at dinner, there are leftovers! Fantastic!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Every season I try to make a photo mosaic. Then I can look back and see what I did and where I've been.

So here's my Summer 2011 recap:

Top row from left to right-  an evening at Fenway Park, daytrip to Rockport, spending time at the Winchester Farmer's Market, al fresco dining and a delicious gelato

Middle row from left to right:- discovered a new shop Brissonte in North Reading, chilling out with an ice coffee and one of my favorite reads, a second daytrip to Rockport, Miss Marble the kitty we fed most of the summer

Bottom row from left to right- daytrip to Kennebunkport, daytrip to Nubble Light, Melrose Victorian Fair, Percy admiring himself

I didn't take a Summer vacation this year but I have 18 vacation days to take by the end of the year. I see lots of daytrips or long weekends this Fall!

Random acts of kindness- flowers

 On Saturday, I was driving on Main Street in Reading and I passed by a house with this sign out front. Help yourself to the flowers, what a nice invitation!

What a glorious shrub,well, I guess it was a tree really. So lush and filled with the most gorgeous
hydrangea blossoms.

And such beautiful colors on the blossoms. The overexposed photo does not do it justice. There were pinks and greens and peaches woven oh so subtly into each flower.

The house was adorable too!  And I can only imagine really nice people live here. I drove home and got my flower cutting tools and returned to take some of the blooms off the back of the tree.

And here are the results! They look so pretty in the common area of the condo. I placed some on the bistro set .

They brighten up a little corner by the back door . All of my condo mates can see them when they are leaving for work in the morning or coming home at night.

And a second vase full of flowers for the other table in the foyer.  I have since taken the runner off this table. It was competing with the flowers and we can't have that, can we?

So, a simple random act of kindness can really make someone's day.  I plan to drop a note or card in the homeowner's mailbox to thank them.

Trolling Estate and Yard Sales

A forecast of Fall-like temperatures and a rare Saturday off made me decide this morning was a perfect time to go yard saling.  I checked online and set my GPS.  I added a few estate sales in the mix and I was off  to one estate sale and three yard sales in Wakefield and one estate sale and one yard sale in Melrose.

I set up a still life in my side yard to display my finds for you. The hydrangeas have a little story but that's for another post.

The estate sale in Wakefield was pretty good. It started at 9AM and I arrived after 10.  So I think a lot of the really good stuff was gone.  I got the small teapot, tea cup and 2 saucers there. I like to shop estate sales because you can often get a real bargain but they also bother me. I am conflicted.

I was conversing with a woman at the estate sale and I said although I love to go to estate sales I find them unsettling.  Think about it, the occupants of the house have died and throngs of people are walking through their home.Today at the estate sale, people were rifling through drawers and cabinets.  I saw a young man sifting through a woman's closet. I find it kind of creepy. The woman I was speaking to said she thinks of it as giving a second life to the deceased's possessions. I shall try to view it this way.

Here's a closeup of the teacup and one of the saucers.  They don't match but I don't care.

In Melrose, I went to an estate sale, nothing there of interest to me.  And I felt so bad because the granddaughter was there and she was crying.

I then went to a few yard sales in Melrose. At one yard sale, I got three fur pieces.  The first one was a small collar. The inside was satin and it was in excellent condition.

The second piece was a hat.  It's on the small side bur it will fit Vivienne, my dress form perfectly.

Here's the teapot from the estate sale in closeup.

The third piece from the same yard sale.  A fur muff.  If I ever go ice skating again I can use this!

Here's the cool satin lining on the fur collar.  This collar is so elegant.  I think I can probably tack it on to one of my cardigans.

The teacup and saucer don't match as you can see but they look good together.

 This saucer is from the estate sale.  The old keys are from an antique yard sale in Wakefield.

I guess I pretty much covered these chairs with my finds I got them in Melrose at another yard sale. They were a steal. Made by Burrowes, they are in almost pristine condition! They will serve as extra seating and I can also use them as props in photo shoots.  So cute!

Here's a closeup of the seat of the chair. I absolutely love the color of the wood.

I worked up an appetite after all that rummaging.  So I gave my friend Debbi a call and she and one of her friends met me for breakfast at Aroma Cafe in Reading. 

A nice day all around.  How about you? Any interesting weekend plans?

Melrose Victorian Fair 2011

Sunday, the Melrose Chamber of Commerce held it's annual Victorian Fair.

The City of Melrose looks forward to this event every September. This year the fair coincided

with September 11th. Red and blue canopies lined Main Street. More than 10,000

people attended the Fair.

Marcy Holbrook was the emcee for this joyful but also somber event.

The Mayor opened the fair and dedicated it to Ray Rocha, a Melrose

resident who died on 9/11. Ray was working at Cantor Fitzgeraldat the World Trade Center that fateful morning. He was a member of the Melrose High School football team and a 1990 graduate.

A scholarship was created in his name and his parents attended the dedication on Sunday.

Many of the Melrose Dance Schools took center stage during the day.

These Irish step dancers werec wonderful as were all the groups.

A Victorian couple strolled Main Street.

Artisan Marketplace was a special area just for jewelers, photographers,

painters and crafters.

The street became more and more crowded as afternoon approached.

We could not have ordered a more beautiful day.  It was sunny with

mild temperatures.

All the standard fare could be found.  Fried dough, popcorn and cotton candy were plentiful.

My bank sponsored some vintage dancers and while they waited to perform, they had a picnic.

If the dancers had not brought their own refreshments, they could have had a mini lobster roll and cup of chowder from Turner's.

More ladies in Victorian garb.  They made the bonnet the young girl was wearing.

A ballet dancer gets a last minute touchup!

A living statue stopped people in their tracks! How can she stand so still?

I think this is my favorite photo of the day.  Someone had donated a vintage child's fire truck.

The bell did work, I tested it!

And this little angel was part of a group dance.

The police chief found a new friend.  

The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers did two 20 minute sets and they were wonderful.  Their
costumes were simple but perfect for a Victorian Fair.

A tasteful celebration on a somber day. A day of remembrance where the community came together once again.. This time we celebrated all that is good in our American way of life..

Daytrip- York, Maine

On Sunday, my sister and I drove north to York, Maine to visit some friends.  Our friends always rent a cottage across from Nubble Light the last week of August and first week of September.

It was a beautiful day and we spent many hours outside just watching the waves and taking photos.

We of course had our annual group shot taken in front of Nubble Lighthouse.

Don took video and photos. We were happy as long as he didn't turn the cameras on us!

I did a lot of people watching.  This woman had a cool umbrella with daisies all over it.

There were lots of dogs there.

Lovers enjoyed the view.

More dogs walking on the rocks. I am sure they would rather be on the beach.

A lot of people were into hats too.

Could this be the makings of a Christmas Card?

Someone was feeding the gulls so they were hovering all afternoon.

Here's the cottage. I love that deck.  This is the deck where Percy was sitting when my friends arrived at the cottage last year.

And the back of the cottage.  You can see how close it is to the ocean.  Fabulous!

And you can also see how close it is to the lighthouse!

This year we were pleasantly surprised by the renovation of the kitchen.

The cottage looks so much more spacious!

Ooh, I love open shelving.  Everything looked so fresh and clean.

Don't you love the starfish hardware?

The day was ending and I used Don's tripod for this night shot.

I was waiting for the sky to change so I could photograph what I call

Nubble purple  The sky had a bit of pink in it but no Nubble purple.

So disappointing!

I consoled myself with a hot fudge sundae with peppermint stick ice cream from Brown's.  The end to a perfect day!