looking back — july
and now it’s august? daaamn summer is flying by. you’ve probably noticed posts have slowed down a little lately — i honestly don’t know how people handle remodels while working full time jobs, because it really is a full time job. i’m not even doing any labor, but between coordinating and planning and sourcing, along with my other jobs — it’s a lot. i’m super glad we’re almost done with it (and then onto the next… haha)
the backyard
july was an insanely productive month for the backyard! we had the concrete poured, the plants planted, the DG laid down, and the pergola build. the pergola isn’t done for another week (i hope), but once it is we’re pretty much finished! we can then start finally moving all the furniture we’ve purchased out of our garage and actually into the yard.
gid and i had lived in three apartments in five years together, and we’ve never had a backyard — so we’re starting to flip out about the idea of it. we have a bbq grill (still in the box) and we’re so stoked to start entertaining and eating and drinking coffee and just sitting out there. let’s hope we actually do.
just a few little things left to do, we have to hang string lights, hang our hammock, install our speakers, get some more rocks because it turns out rocks are the best way to fill space in a desert scape. i love them so much and highly recommend getting so many rocks. plus they help people know where to not trample your succulents.
we also overlooked installing some additional lighting and are noticing how dark it is. i don’t want to pay to have anything else installed at this point, so now i’m on the hunt for attractive battery operated lights, like the ones on the ground that light up the bottom of trees. do you guys know of any???
our birthdays
july is always a sort of a birthday extravaganza because gid and i share a birthday week. this year we decided to go away for it, so we had some celebrating to do with family the following week. after four birthday dinners i am very full.
palm springs
we went to palm springs for the birthday celebration, because i decided to take a chance and book the korakia since we’ve always wanted to stay there and it’s usually always booked up. but in july when no one would want to go there and suffer? totally open! we had a great mellow weekend trying not to melt, but i’ll do a post with more photos because that hotel is breathtaking.
hip hop class
we’ve been taking a hip hop class with my brother and sister in law at our local rec center — and when we started it was fun and all, but it’s now becoming my favorite weekly activity. particularly watching my brother dance. i highly recommend doing a dance class with family or friends if you can, we’re totally loving it.
we booked a vacation
we’re pretty non-committal when it comes to booking a trip, but we wanted to go on one this year and went back and forth on a road trip around the southwest, a european trip, a trip to asia — but they all sounded like so much money and planning. so we came up with the idea to do a maine road trip because we’ve both always wanted to (and we both love maine) and it was the first trip we just both agreed on immediately.
we’re going in september and we’re so excited. this is a trip we can’t take with kids so easily, so we think it’s a good “sewing wild oats” kind of vacation. also we’re going to eat lobster rolls all day everyday. you may already know that i am mildly obsessed with lobster rolls, making this the perfect trip. if you happen to have a tip for an amazing town, we have one night unplanned so far (we’re planning on boston > rockland > bar harbor > portland ) but we are wondering where we should spend the extra night.
this week i’m on hiatus from work for the next few weeks, so i’m going to have time to finish up the yard, plan for our belated housewarming party, and start plans for our kitchen renovation (because i’m a crazy person and now have this ridiculous idea that if we had the kitchen done by christmas we could host it)
What a great life you are living. You are inspiring
your life is my goals. seriously, molly. i love reading your posts and hearing your voice through your writing! thank you for sharing your life with us meager plebs.
sounds like a great month 🙂
Erin | Little Bateaux
I just saw the picture of the lobster rolls and read that you were coming to Maine and got so excited! Yay! I assume you will visit Camden while you are in the Rockland area so in addition to your choices (great selections btw), here are a few worth considering: Belfast, Boothbay Harbor, Bristol/Pemaquid Point, Phippsburg/Popham Beach or you could visit one of the islands like: Monhegan, North Haven/Vinalhaven, Isle au Haut, Peaks Island. Peaks is fun and easy. It’s also the least remote and quickest boat ride from the mainland. You can rent bikes and bike the whole island in an hour or so then snag a nice view of the Portland skyline on the ferry ride back. Francine Bistro in Camden and Fore Street in Portland are my absolute top 2 recommendations for dinner. Tandem Coffee and the Holy Donut for breakfast. You have to get poutine at Duckfat! And there is a little shop in Kittery that you might like, it is called Folk and their aesthetic reminds me of yours. Grab lunch at Anju Noodle Bar right next door. Sorry for the extra long comment! Can’t wait to hear about it, have the best time in my home state 🙂
Last thing (sorry), three good lobster roll spots: Bite Into Maine, a food truck that is normally parked at Fort Williams/Portland Head Light, The Lobster Shack at Two Lights and Red’s Eats in Wiscasset all have good lobster rolls. Everyone claims to have the best but those are my recommendations resulting from living here 12+ years.
Your backyard is coming together so beautifully! All that hard work is paying off. I can’t wait to see the final reveal! So jealous that you are planning a road trip! Boston is amazing and their lobster rolls are super tasty!
http://www.thebeautydojo.com
I live in Seattle now, but moved here from Portland, Maine just over a year ago! I would second Jody on either Belfast or Peaks Island. Camden is suuuuper cute too. I’m sure you’re already planning on it, but Primo in Rockland is a must. In Portland you have to check out Pai Men Miyake (the Pork Buns will change your life). Central Provisions, Boda, and Eventide are also amazing! You’ll also want to do yourself a favor and head on over to South Portland and hit up Willard Scoops for ice cream and take a walk to the beach. Then grab a bagel at Scratch Baking Co; get there early though if it’s a weekend as those babies sell out fast! If you guys are into beer, go to Allagash Brewing Company (<- I worked there for 3 years before moving to Seattle!), Foundation Brewing Company which is right across the street, Rising Tide, and Oxbow Brewing. I could go on for ages, but that's probably overkill already. Have so much fun!
My grandparents had us stay the night in Old Orchard Beach Maine, and we went to Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse. It was gorgeous, and felt like a truly New England experience. The boardwalk at Old Orchard Beach is also a fun throwback. Enjoy!
have you looked in to solar powered lights? you can get quite nice ones that stick right in to the ground and have their wee solar panels right on top, but you can also get beautiful solar powered string lights. i prefer them over battery powered because they light up as soon as they detect the sun going down and no need to worry about protecting any battery packs or replacing batteries.
It sounds like you’ve been a good kind of busy! I hope you and your family have a great road trip to Maine, it’s absolutely beautiful!
Maine! It’s so great! I highly recommend checking out Portsmouth, NH (between Boston and Portland). Also, Wildsam just released their New England guide and it’s full of a lot of great recommendations (http://wildsam.com/product/new-england/)
There’s a blog I love called Deuce Cities Henhouse and she did a post back in the spring about DIY lighting for her yard. Check it out here:
http://www.deucecitieshenhouse.com/2016/05/simple-landscape-lighting.html
Hope that helps!