Monday, May 16, 2011

April showers bring May flowers

Hello peeps! Hope everyone is doing well. Joshua and I are doing great- loving life and loving the spring! It's been so nice. There's a nice even mix of rainy to sunny days. Pleasant mild temperatures ~from the mid 50's to the high 70's. Perfect weather for us. The green is back and it seems like every day is a new day! A newborn baby birdie is opening its eyes for the first time and quickly learning to chirp away! We have a nest right outside our bedroom window- must be Nightingales or Mockingbirds. They love to sing to us at night! :-) A new tree, bush or flower is in bloom while the early blooms are losing their petals and again rejuvenating into something new and beautiful. Spring really is a remarkable season. It makes me think a lot about my mom. I think she would especially love this time of year here and I wish I could share so many of these moments with her. Well I guess that is why I write this blog... I hope for this short time my mom and you feel like you're taking a quick trip back east to visit with the Sims ~  :)

Purple trees! 

Pink trees!

Geese

He was my buddy for an afternoon... hehe

Green leaves

Not a great pic... but wildflowers coming in here.

White trees!


Seafood shack on a rainy day

Rainy country road

My parking space view... 

Pink flowers just bloomed...


Last weekend we took a trip to this cute little restaurant called Pickity Place down in Mason, NH (40 mins SW of us). It was a nice relaxing drive on an overcast May day. I've been so anxious to make a trip to this spot as the quaint cottage and the rural surroundings were the inspiration for the illustrations in the book Little Red Riding Hood. It was such a neat place- all decorated in the theme of  the book- even featured Grandma the wolf... :) On site there were some lovely gardens, a gift shop and a greenhouse. The way it works is they prepare a 5 course meal, have 3 seatings a day and change their menu monthly. It was so earthy and fresh and FLAVORFUL! We enjoyed our May meal very much and will def be making a trip back!

Nutting Hill is where it all took place

  

Built in 1786- neat!

Why Grandma, what big eyes you have... yeah, this part was a bit creepy :)

The Gardens


I LOVE these weeping cherry trees... they are all over out here.

Cutest gift shop EVER


Back of the cottage

White daffodils


  
Dinner time!!!!! :-))

So I managed to get a pic of every course except the first course- the french onion dip. We were starved and it was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

I've never had such a refreshing and flavorful soup before in my life. It was amazing!

Mango orange tea

Yum salad

Yummy bread

Now this didn't look that great but man, it was fantastic!

Lemon mouse

He liked it :)

Me too, me too!




  
Perfect day
 
And the river runs through it...

Overcast skies

Skippin' rocks on the river by the railroad tracks...

 
Last but not least we've been wanting to get new iPhones forever! Well now that life's back to normal and we have stability again we were finally able to make the plunge! Woohoo! Check us out with our new gadgets. Oh, and we also said buh-bye to those CA area codes once and for all... :))

Hugs! xoxo

Friday, May 13, 2011

We love our state!





New Hampshire Is Once Again Named 'Most Livable State'





CONCORD – Governor John Lynch announced today that New Hampshire has been named the "Most Livable State" in the nation.
In its annual report, CQ Press listed New Hampshire as No. 1 in its most livable state rankings, which take into account a broad range of economic, educational, health, public safety and environmental statistics.
"Here in New Hampshire we have a winning economic strategy that is clearly working, and we must be careful not to stray from the successful strategy that has led to our state being name the most livable. We must remained focused on ensuring New Hampshire continues to be a leader in economic recovery with good-paying jobs for our people, a high-quality of education for our children, greater access to higher education, providing a safety net for our most vulnerable citizens and protecting the public's safety," Governor Lynch said. "We must keep moving New Hampshire forward and maintain our position as a national leader."
The 'Most Livable State' rankings are based on 44 factors that reflect a state's quality of life, including median household income, crime rate, state business tax climate, employment and several educational factors.

http://www.governor.nh.gov/media/news/2011/051111-most-livable-state.htm

Til next time...

Til next time...