Seaside dining, in a lighthouse!

Almost a year ago, I bought a Living Social deal for lunch in a lighthouse in Newburyport. I love Newburyport, there are lots of wonderful shops and eateries and oh yeah, the ocean. There are beautiful historic homes and churches in the town. It's a great place for a day trip.

I bought two lunches actually, one for two people and one for four people. I procrastinated and didn't use the coupons right away. I finally called and tried to make a lunch reservation for four people. The only dates left were during the week. Of course, most of my friends work during the day including the two who were supposed to have a lighthouse lunch as their Christmas gift. My sister and I chipped in to buy the Christmas gift so my sister and I ended up dining at the lighthouse last night.

Jay at the lighthouse was very sweet.  He not only agreed to do one dinner instead of lunch but he said I could extend the other lunch coupon until the end of March.  It was supposed to expire in mid March. I am so pleased that I have more time to make arrangements with my friends.

Back to the lighthouse... we arrived in time to see a spectacular sunset. I was hoping we would make it in time to see it.

The dining area is five flights and one 6 foot step ladder up. The coupon mentioned that you must be physically capable of climbing the stairs and the ladder. Once you reach the top of the ladder you need to go through a hatch and then you are there.

The climb was not bad at all.  I expected far worse. And once we got to the hatch...

Jay was waiting for us.  He helped us through the hatch and greeted us with a smile.

Yay, I was so excited to see the sunset from the top of the lighthouse.

This photo was shot from the walkway of the lighthouse.  It is very narrow and last night the wind was really gusting. I don't want to know what the wind chill was but it was mighty cold.

If you want to go out to the walkway, you must crawl through a little doorway from the lighthouse. My sister demonstrates the technique.

There's the ocean! And to the right is the coast guard station. Despite the wind, it was a beautiful night.

It was clear and starry.

 

The space is 8 x 8 so it's really small. The ceiling is high. There is heat for the winter and a/c in the summer so the lighthouse is open for dining year round. I took this from the walkway outside the lighthouse.

Here's a closer look at the space. All set for dinner. Such a sweet little space to enjoy a meal.

Another shot of the sunset and the cool steeple. This photo does not do it justice. Actually none of the photos really depict the beauty of the experience.

Another shot from the walkway. I was getting mighty cold at this point. The wind was going right through me. See how I suffer for my art!

Back inside the lighthouse, we cranked the heat. Jay came up to take our order and then we listened to a lovely CD called American Lighthouses. Look at the table, the candle is flameless.  Understandably, no fire is allowed inside the lighthouse.

Jay proclaimed us official lighthouse keepers for the evening.  We had the place from 5-11PM. He also told us about the history of the lighthouse and pointed out some landmarks.

He gave us our menus so we could make our selections. The menu is from the restaurant next door. Jay would climb all those stairs and the ladder with each course.  Quite the workout! He says he sleeps well.

Both my sister and I ordered clam chowder and the fried shrimp with baked potato. She had strawberry shortcake and I had key lime pie. It was all delicious.

I really was fascinated with the chandelier.  It added a touch of elegance to the space.

Dinner arrived and we were not disappointed. We could not imagine carrying hot food up all those steps! Jay didn't spill a drop.

We decided to check out the keeper's log. I especially liked this entry with the sketch and the
comment. "We came, we ate, we loved".

I loved reading all the entries in the keeper's long.  Lots of marriage proposals, birthday celebrations and anniversaries. This entry by Rachel was written on her 10th anniversary.  Her husband surprised her with a carriage ride by the church where they were married, then dinner in the lighthouse, and fireworks by the ocean. So romantic!  Sweet memories for everyone who wrote in the book.

I would love a chandelier like this for my home. So much bling! Fantastic!

This is the small door leading to the outside walkway. You can see why I said you need to crawl out to the walkway.

More flameless candles on the wall.  They were scattered around the lighthouse.

My sister enjoyed her strawberry shortcake. And we both enjoyed the evening. A unique dining experience with time to relax between courses. I can cross this off the bucket list.

I highly recommend dinner at the Newburyport lighthouse on Water St. For reservations, check out the info on their website, www.lighthousepreservation.org.

Creating a Life List

After reading a few blogger's life lists recently, I decided to create one of my own.
Wow, it's not easy when there's a world of possibilities. I doubt I will get to all of them
but it is fun to dream.

I am putting some things on the list that are definitely doable and some that aren't. I'm enjoying just thinking about it.

I am not ready to post the complete life list yet because it is not finished. Here are a few of the items on my list:

A stay at the Ice Hotel in Sweden. I just watched a documentary about this and it was fascinating.

 

Everything is made of ice. The walls, the beds, all the furniture.

Doesn't that look dreamy?  It is supposed to be very warm under the bedding.

I have never been to Sweden or any of the Scandinavian countries. This would be a trip of a lifetime. So of course it goes on the bucket list.

I have to say most of the items on the list are travel related.  Here's another one:

Photographing snow monkeys in Japan.

Another item on the list?  Dinner in a lighthouse. And after tomorrow night I can cross this off my list.
I'll blog about my experience later in the week.

Anyone want to create a life list/bucket list and share it with me?

I like words

At my Christmas party last year a friend said to me, "You like words, huh?" As I looked around the condo I noticed he was right.

There's Eat Drink and Be Merry gracing the dining room wall leading to the hallway.

And keep calm and carry on in the hallway leading to the dining room.  My sister said it is placed well because if I burn dinner I can always look at the poster and remind myself to keep calm.

Over the french doors leading to the living room there is a ski which instructs you to enter with a Christmas heart.

Again in the corner of the dining room more words. Inspired by London.

In the kitchen,  French words on the Steinlein print with the woman and her cats and dogs.

In the living room, the angel is made of newsprint. Lots and lots of words there.

All is calm all is bright above the doorway leading to the dining room.

And even the tray on display above the refrigerator has a menu written on it.

More words on the Chat Noir poster in the hallway, a gift from my friend Pauline.  I love it!

Yeah, I guess I like words.  Do you?

Percy is a TV star!

Percy was featured on the Boston television show Chronicle a week ago today. The TV station posted on their website that they were doing a show about Cats and they wanted viewer photos. I entered a photo of Percy and it was one of over five hundred entries.

I wasn't sure if I would be home the night the show aired so I DVR'd it. At the end of the show, I saw my photo. They picked my shot of Percy!

Percy doesn't seem to be too excited about his TV star status. I really hope he'll be discovered soon. It could be the start of a wonderful modeling career.

Here's the link to the website:

Percy the cool cat - Stoneham,MA, TheBostonChannel's u local Photo - u local, Your Boston Photos & Videos

Love is in the air

So it's Valentine's Day, a day for romance, for chocolates and flowers and mushy cards.  No Valentine for me this year.

But instead of being upset, I am thankful. I started thinking about all the people I have in my life . People who care about me as much as I care about them. It's not romantic love but the love of family and friendship. I am a lucky girl.

So Happy Valentine's Day to all of those special people who are in my life today and every day. I love you all!

Daytripping in Rhode Island

 I took a vacation day on Friday so I had a three day weekend.  This was very exciting to me. I feel like all I've been doing lately is work!

It all started when my friend Pauline sent me an email about the Kirk's Folly jewelry sale in Cranston, Rhode Island. She wanted to know if I wanted to go. Kirk's Folly had not held a warehouse sale in five years! Our friend Lori Lee was invited too.

Lori Lee and I had been to the sale a few times in the past.  We'd go to the sale and then to lunch in Providence.  We always lunched at the Union Station Brewery.

So Pauline, Lori Lee, and I headed to Cranston Friday morning. First, we made a stop at Starbucks and I am so glad we did because it would be a long time until we ate lunch.

Kirk's Folly is known for their jewelry but they also make frames, ornate boxes, candlesticks, clothing, hats, and scarves.

Their items are very unique. They are known for their crystal embellished jewelry. Angels and fairies are common themes in their pins, necklaces, and bracelets.

There's a little box with an angel. Valentine's gifts anyone?

There were more trays of pins than you could count. This sale ran like clockwork.  It was very well staffed. We were greeted at the door and given an angel pin and a plastic bag to put our treasures in. Staffers were available to answer questions and the checkout process was easy.

The clothes were made of the most beautiful fabrics.  I bought a scarf and 2 little capelets.

This is Jennifer Kirk, one of the company's founders. Her brother and sisters are also involved in this family business.  You may recognize Jennifer from her appearances on QVC.

I spoke with Jennifer and asked permission to take photos and blog about the sale.  She said, "Of course".

Another view of the beautiful glass items for sale. As items are sold, they are replaced with fresh merchandise.

This was just one small section of all the necklaces on display. They were arranged by color, all the blues together, then the greens, etc.

I could have used a fascinator for the royal wedding tea I hosted last year.

When we arrived the sale was not too crowded but it became more so the longer we were there.

Don't worry I will show you what I bought in a future post.

After lunch at the Union Station Brewery, we headed to Pastiche, a cafe/bakery located in the historic Federal Hill section of Providence. The reviews for this cafe/bakery were fantastic on the web.

I loved the decor at Pastiche.  There was a fireplace and a mural on the wall. The place is quite small but cozy.

We had coffee and split a vanilla bean cheesecake three ways. The cheesecake was phenomenal and I loved the graham cracker crust.  All of us took desserts home with us too.  I shared my rustic cranberry apple tart with my Dad and sister.  I served it warm with a creme anglaise and it was phenomenal. I will definitely return to Providence and Pastiche. It is only an hour away!