A Magical Place in Westbrook

Sandy introduced me to The Pink Sleigh many years ago and it's our tradition to make a stop there whenever I visit her. We both love Christmas things, and The Pink Sleigh truly is a magical place.

These freshly painted sleds caught our attention before we even stepped foot in the door.  Darn, I only took one photo of Sandy and I'm pretty sure her eyes are closed--we're such good friends that I hope she won't mind me posting it anyway.

 

Definitely some great ideas on how I could paint the little antique sleds that are hanging in our garage--project # 10,001 on my "to-do" list!  I really like the Swedish/Christmas feel of these.

 

Of course I bought a couple of ornaments to add to my ever-growing collection--you'll just have to visit our home around Christmas to see them on the tree!

A New Bakery in Avon

Dorine has introduced me to a magical little shop in Avon called Taste by Spellbound.

It's located in one of the old stone Ensign-Bickford buildings right off of Route 44, and the inside is magical indeed.

 

It's like stepping into a fairytale!  You can find photos of the delicious desserts on their website, and it's a perfect place to relax with a cup of tea and a sweet on a cool autumn day.  Everything is handmade right in this location too--definitely worth a visit!

Local Fun

Mark took a couple of vacation days last week to finish up some indoor and outdoor greenhouse painting before the weather turns cold and all the plants have to be moved back inside. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, we had some fun too.

We went to Riverdale Farms shopping area in nearby Avon to have breakfast at Avon Country Deli.  Mark enjoys their homemade hash and I love that they serve breakfast all day.  One of their specials was apple cinnamon pancakes and they were delicious!  The apples were just the way I like them--a little firm yet cooked. 

We're starting to see some nice color in our area now even though there is still a lot of green.

After a leisurely breakfast, it was time to leave Riverdale Farms and head home to paint. I just love these clear autumn days with pumpkins and apples everywhere.

Fall in New England--my favorite time of year! 

Saturday Travels

On Saturday morning we got up bright and early to headed to Boston to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Museum of Science.  It was fascinating to see examples of written language from 5,000 years ago. But the one item that really spoke to me from the whole exhibit was the pair of leather soles from sandals that were 2,000 years old--complete with impressions of the wearer's feet.  There was also a fabric remnant from Masada where the dark blue and tan threads were woven in a very distinct and still recognizable pattern. Somehow the fact that these items were worn by people so long ago made them very precious to me.

From the museum we went to visit Ross and Malima's new apartment, arriving in time to see Ross pull into the driveway. He's just taken off his helmet in this photo.

 

After the apartment tour, which took awhile since their new place is quite spacious, Malima's sister joined us for a walk to Sei Bar where we had a delicious lunch.  Mark had noticed an ice cream place and we stopped there for dessert on our way back to the apartment. I was favorably impressed by the size of their regular sundaes!

We were lucky to have good weather for our trip to Boston and even saw the beginnings of good fall foliage along the highway.  Even with a minor traffic jam in Hartford, we arrived back home by six. I'm glad we had an early start to the day and were able to see the Dead Sea scrolls before the museum became too crowded--a good plan to remember for next time.

A Fabulous Friday

As a continuation of her special birthday plans for me, Dorine picked me up this morning and we headed to Mozzicato's in Plainville for coffee and a sweet.

There are just so many delicious things in the display cases that it's hard to choose!  What I really want to say is, "Gimme one of each!"

So I went with an old Italian favorite, a cannoli with ricotta filling--and it was delicious.  Well, there was some cappuccino left in my cup so I had to get a couple of biscotti to go with it.  I must admit it made for a very interesting brunch.

 

Then we went to The Pottery Piazza, which is also in Plainville, to pick up the platters we decorated during Ladies' Night last Thursday.  First Dorine had surprised me with dinner at First and Last Tavern where we enjoyed the eggplant pizza, and she presented me with the lovely vintage rhinestone pin that I'm wearing on a ribbon necklace in the photo above.  But the best surprise was our trip to The Pottery Piazza!  We had so much fun gabbing and decorating our platters, and then we had to go back to pick up the fired pieces today.  Dorine used the symbol of her business as The Collegeologist to decorate her platter, and I decided to paint autumn leaves.  It's quite a painstaking process--3 1/2 hours of applying the glazes and waiting for them to dry between coats before the platters were ready for the kiln.  Definitely worth the wait--and I'm looking forward to making something else next time!

Thank you, Dorine, for finding the perfect birthday surprise for your crafty friend!