A trip to Waterfire

On Saturday, my sister and I and our friend Debbi drove down to Providence, Rhode Island. We went to see the spectacular event, Waterfire. It was Debbi's first time at Waterfire.

Before we walked down to the river for the festivities, we decided to have an early dinner. We stopped at Union Station Brewery. The meal was delicious. We relaxed a bit knowing we would be on our feet all evening. We decided to forego dessert until later.

I discovered the night portrait mode on my camera. It's only been two years since I bought the camera! It seemed to give me better results on some of my shots.

You can smell the smoke from the fires but it is not overwhelming. It does not dry out your eyes either. It can be mesmerizing watching the fires burn. I could watch them burn all night, in fact I did!

Paper stars were lit along the bridges crossing the river. They are part of a fundraising effort to keep the fires burning at Waterfire.

My Boston Strong Duck made the trip with us. The story of the Boston Strong Duck is for another post.

Saturday night's event was a full lighting. Sometimes only half  the river is lit. We were fortunate to make the trip this night.

These luminarias are lit in memory of loved ones who have passed. This is my sister's dedication to her friend Lori. My co-worker friend Michelle died of cancer last month so I bought a lantern in her memory. Debbi bought one as well. We placed them at the river's edge.

It turned out to be a lovely evening, not too hot or cold. Earlier we had downpours but by afternoon the rains had passed. We had a terrible commute through gridlocked traffic. It took us much longer to get there than expected. Glad we left quite early so we could have time for a leisurely dinner.

After we saw the fire performer, we left to have the long overdue dessert. It was after 10:00 but we didn't care. We drove to Pastiche, a bakery/cafe that I suggested. It's a small place located at the Federal Hill section of Providence. It was packed and we had to wait to be seated. At 11:00 we were ordering and at 11:30 they were closing. I appreciated that they did not push us to finish quickly. The staff was very nice and efficient. A pleasant experience all around and a lovely ending to a perfect evening!

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!