Welcome to my blog ~ where aesthetics are a passion, details are a priority, and pleasure in simple things is celebrated!
I invite you to share my inspirations for a creative life and a lifetime of adventures.
Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie
Vermont is certainly the quintessential place to observe the beauty of autumn. I was lucky enough to visit during the peak of leaf peeping.
Even though the weather was cloudy during my visit, the beauty of the season was inspiring.
For Friday field trip today, I am sharing some of the beauty of Stowe, Vermont.
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a really wonderful weekend!
Remember to take pleasure in simple things…like enjoying the beauty of the season, Jackie
no comments
A trip to Stowe, Vermont wouldn’t be complete without a tour of Ben & Jerry’s! A recent trip to attend a wedding gave me the perfect opportunity to be a real tourist and check it out! I am sharing today on Friday field trip!
The 30 minute tour started with a short video about how the ice cream phenomenon called Ben & Jerry’s got started and some history on its growth over the decades. Started by two guys in 1978 after they took an ice cream making course at Penn State, the first Ben & Jerry’s shop opened in Burlington, Vermont in a renovated gas station.
My favorite fact? Putting cookie dough in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was started after an anonymous tip was received from a customer in 1984!
Guests to the Ben & Jerry’s facility are asked not to take photos of the actual manufacturing room, so I am sorry I can’t share that part of the tour with you.
From there, the tour took me to the Tasting Lab. A flavor called Caramel Apple was in process for the employee Halloween party…sounds yummy! Fun fact: Employees can take home free pints every day! Of course, some tasting went on in the Tasting Lab…for me, Strawberry Cheesecake!
My favorite flavor has always been Phish Food, so I was surprised to find out the number one seller isn’t Phish Food but Half Baked!
Over time, I switched my Ben & Jerry’s purchases to the yogurt, then Greek yogurt flavors when those became available. Now I may need to decide which non-dairy flavor I like best – there are currently four available.
Surprisingly, the tasting was not my favorite part of my visit. The best part of my visit to Ben & Jerry’s was actually outside the factory – a walk through the Flavor Graveyard looking through the retired ice cream flavors!
I hope I have inspired you to make a visit to Ben & Jerry’s next time you are in Vermont! Or, maybe just to try a new flavor of Ben & Jerry’s from your local market!
Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
I can’t help but share some photos from a visit to a new restaurant; today on Friday field trip.
You know my penchant for a good theme!
Well, The Library Wine Bar and Bistro is housed in the building that was originally a city library, built in 1899 and it totally embraces its roots!
It has been restored back to its classic, architectural beauty by the Gouveia family of Gouveia Vineyards, Wallingford, Connecticut. Yes, the same vineyard I visited and shared on last week’s Friday field trip!
I am totally in love with this place! In my imagination, I have already planned an entire library themed shower in one of the restaurant’s beautiful private rooms!
I hope I have inspired your imagination as well!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
Connecticut may not seem a likely state for vineyards, but we do have them! Today’s photos for Friday field trip prove it!
Recently, I attended a meeting that was held at a vineyard. Although the meeting was held indoors – someone made a bad call there – I took a few moments to sneak outside to check out the view.
A warm summer evening was the perfect time to enjoy the lovely grounds!
I now have Gouveia Vineyards on my list of places to visit. I plan on returning when I have some time to really explore! This could be a perfect leaf peeping location!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a really marvelous weekend! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
Friday field trip today is a simple reminder to enjoy the flowers around you! I am sharing a few photos of the beauty surrounding me.
As the summer gardens are winding down,
I am appreciating all the beauty they have to offer!
Before you know it, I will be harvesting the last of my summer flowers and displaying them in pumpkins!
I hope I have inspired you to take some time to notice summer growing!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend!
And, remember to take pleasure in simple things – like smelling a fresh flower! :) xo Jackie
no comments
I love checking out sandcastle contests at this time of year! One of the great things about living on the coast in Connecticut is that it is easy to find one!
Today for Friday field trip, I am sharing a few of my favorite sand creations from a recent contest. It was not easy to edit my photos to post just a few sand sculptures, but it was easy to pick my favorite!
There were plenty of wonderful creations, but the couch design was my personal fave! Isn’t it great?
The best part of this Christmas in July themed creation was probably the music! The creators played the Hawaiian Christmas Song (Mele Kulilkimaka) during the judging! I had the Christmas classic by Bing Crosby stuck in my head for at least a week after the contest!
Namaste!
Some of the animals looked really great…
And, insects as well!
Maybe I have inspired you to play in the sand a little bit this weekend? I hope so! Have a great one!
Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
I have shared some of my California trip from this past spring in previous Friday field trips. Today, I am sharing the last – but certainly not least – of visited spots during my quick visit to the West Coast.
Today’s Friday field trip is to the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente, California.
Conducting some research on surfing history prior to my trip made the visit particularly interesting. I read the book Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku by David Davis and was fascinated with Hawaiian surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku. To find out that Duke’s boards were part of the center’s collection was exciting!
Duke was the first to be inducted into both the surfing and swimming Halls of Fame and is considered the “father of modern surfing.” Being up close to Duke’s personal collection of surfboards – built in the day of wooden boards – was awesome!
These wooden works of art were magnificent to examine. The Flying “V,” circa early 1920’s, made from a solid redwood plank and signed by the legend was my favorite! It stands 9’ 4” and weighs 76 lbs.
This was one of Duke’s personal surfboards purchased from his estate in 1985 for $3,000. Built in the mid-1930’s, standing 11’ 6” and weighing 80 lbs., it was made from redwood, mahogany and balsa.
Dick Metz, the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center founder, served as our tour guide the day of my visit. A surfer from the age of eight, Dick helped inspire Bruce Brown’s landmark 1964 documentary surfing film The Endless Summer and surfing stories were in no short supply that morning!
If you have any interest in the surfing culture, I strongly recommend the Pulitzer Prize winning book Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan. (I read it on the plane ride home from California!)
Mahalo!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
Join me for Friday field trip as I take you on a little trip up Cliff Drive to Las Brisas – a restaurant with one of the most scenic views in Laguna Beach, California!
Las Brisas provides wonderful meals inspired by Mexico, and served with California freshness; using local ingredients.
The food is wonderful, but coupled with the view from a window table, the experience can not be beat! Of course, a Mexican inspired meal has to begin with a little fresh guacamole!
Even with a wonderful meal, for me, the focus was on the view! And, after the meal, taking in the view outside the restaurant is definitely in order!
Within a few walking steps, a gazebo with a lookout spot provides a clear view of Bird Rock.
A great spot to enjoy a little daydreaming…
And, to do a little bird watching.
Have a wonderful weekend friends! Thanks for stopping by!
Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
I recently made my first visit to Laguna Beach! It may have been a brief encounter, but it was a fabulous one! I am sharing a few photos today on Friday field trip.
I was in awe of this iconic beach and I had to be sure and document my visit with a few photos. I hope they inspire you to take a trip to a beach – no matter how brief – on one of these marvelous summer days!
I didn’t do any shopping that afternoon in Laguna, but I did bring back a valuable memento. Holding the papers on my office desk is a smooth, pale gray, heart shaped stone that I have marked very carefully in white permanent marker with the letters L-A-G-U-N-A.
It is a reminder that I will be back someday!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
no comments
I showed you the fabulous hotel I visited in California recently. But, I didn’t show you the fabulous restaurant I visited IN the fabulous hotel! For today’s Friday field trip, we are visiting Raya!
I almost didn’t make it to Raya (the fabulous restaurant) because I was on a work trip and I didn’t have a speck of free time. But, you know what? When the assignment was completed, I had about an hour to spare while I waited for my transportation to arrive. I decided to use that time to grab a pre-flight snack at the restaurant I had wanted to visit the entire time I was at the hotel!
Poblano, garlic, goat cheese, and white soy – the start of my Zucchini Flower Soup served tableside at Raya in the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel.
I wasn’t even really sure if the food was any good at this restaurant – which I assumed it was based on the rest of my experience at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. But, what I did know about this restaurant was that it had an amazing view! I had walked past it (usually, very much in a hurry) so many times while at the hotel!
I just wanted to sit in Raya at one of the tables with the ocean view! And, that is exactly what I did on my last day at the Ritz, minutes before I was set to leave my new favorite hotel!
You can see more photos of the fabulous Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel by clicking here.
Thanks for stopping by for today’s Friday field trip!
Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
P.S. The food was good and I was also able to share the experience with two great people! Enjoy your weekend!
no comments
