Summer Pedi

there are so many things i love about summer. however, most of them you can still enjoy in the spring and fall. one thing that is just not the same in cooler weather is a cold water pedicure which happens to be one of my favorite things to do with my mother. my mother is awesome. she's fun, helpful and likes a lot of the same things i do. keith works on saturdays so i spend a few a month with mom. we shop, we bake, we garden and sometimes we just hangout sharing thoughts about how our week went and upcoming plans. on hot saturdays sometimes my mom will come over early and help me in my gardens. once the heat of the day really hits we call it quits and treat ourselves to cold water pedicures under the shade of my front porch. the cool water on our hot feet feels so soothing after working in the sun all morning. 

what we used:
pumice stones my mother found on one of her many travels
any old nail brush and file
Bath & Body Works lava story scrub, grapefruit oil, and heel of approval moisturizer (semi-annual sale purchases)
LUSH LEMONY FLUTTER
Elemis Exotic Frangipani Monoi oil

mom's feet soaking in the cold water with a little oil

 

iced cappuccinos 

pretty painted toes

~beth-ann

End of Summer Sunday

keith woke up sunday morning and really, really wanted GOOD eggs for breakfast. we started eating local fresh eggs several years back when one of my husbands co-workers gave him a dozen from his flock. now we are hooked and the store bought just does not compare. over the years we have evolved into egg snobs. lol. i only use store bought for baking. the fresh locals eggs have big yellow orange yummy yokes that make for the best egg sandwiches. keith enticed me out of bed by promising to make me "the portuguese" for breakfast. the portuguese is an egg and cheese with chourico (portuguese sausage) on a sweet bread mini roll. it's not very healthy, but hey... it is sunday. so we rolled out of bed, got the pups in the car and took a drive to the country about 20 minutes away. we bought eggs from the side of the road and sweet bread from one of our local portuguese bakeries. after breakfast we went for a much needed walk on the beach.

what beauties! 

the portuguese

our once sandy beach has been left rocky and eroded by Irene

u.d. chased the birds and dora swam

u.d. taunting dora

u.d. will only go in up to his knees so dora escapes him by going further in 

the last of the narragansett summer, striper keith caught last week with pineapple salsa, spanish rice and cucumber drizzled with balsamic for dinner

i love fall, but i always hate to see summer end. Doesn't it always feel like it went by way too fast? I'm not quite ready for the nights and morning to be cool again.

~beth-ann 

Stone House

i have been dying to visit the newly renovated Stone House Inn since they have created a historically green environment for this gem. the inn is located on the rhode island coast and has been renovated top to bottom preserving it's historic charm while infused modern green technology and sustainable development. i will only share one impressive feature with you here so not to bore you with all the green details the estate has to offer. the inn utilizes Earth Heat (yeah.)  a geothermal HVAC system (yes, i am a geek.) like the sun, the earth's core naturally creates heat, consistent temperatures can be found 75-500 ft. down.  the inn has several 100 foot vertical bore holes which provide heat to pumps in the building. the pumps do the rest of the work by either sourcing or sinking the energy. pretty cool right? now if i could only get keith to dig a 100 ft hole in our backyard ;)

we made it before dark

hello full moom 

okay maybe almost full

this is the dress i wore for our engagement shoot 

i could not believe how nicely they preserved this landmark

we cozied up by the fire pit before dinner

keith ordered buttermilk fried natural chicken breast with bourbon-shallot gravy that was out of this world

i had the seared scallops with thinly sliced stacked potato, butternut squash, and cheesey goodness. wow is was so yummy!  

i have been working even more than usual lately, even though i promised i would cut back a little. my sweet husband is very supportive and wanted to surprise me with a dinner reservation at the inn's Tap Room a few weeks back. unfortunately miss Hurricane Irene had other plans for us and keith had to reschedule for a few weeks later. it was totally worth the wait. we both rushed home from work last saturday, quickly changed and jumped in the car to head east. keith was hoping to get me there before dark so i could take photos outside. we arrived right after sunset, enjoyed the grounds, cocktails at the bar and an amazing dinner. the radio even had some decent music playing for the ride home. i could not have asked for a better night.

~beth-ann

E.T. in the Park

one of our neighborhood association hosted a movie night in the park. keith, i and the pups went for a short walk around the grounds before settling into a spot in the back. we packed a picnic for the humans and natural filled bones for the k-9s. the cool night made for perfect weather for the event. the association decided to play E.T. which i thought was a fitting choice. the pups were on their best behavior even with other dogs and children running back and forth. it was a great way to enjoy a beautiful evening. sorry for the picture quality i forgot my camera at home so i had to use my phone.

baby bear some how ended up with most of the blanket and her and u.d.'s treats

beach chairs, pineapple juice and feta tomato pies 

cucumber, mozzarella, tomato basil salad

the movie started as the sun set and night sky filled with plump clouds reflecting various shades of blue. the setting could not have been a better.

it was quite a dreamy setting

drew barrymore was absolutely an adorable kid

a full moon topped off the perfect night

~beth-Ann

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First September Swim

late afternoon we drove down to the beach for a swim with friends and a gathering. it was not a floating around kind of day. the wind was blowing, the current strong, the waves were plenty and Irene left the ocean floor quite uneven and rocky. just how we like it, except for the rocks maybe.   

the rest of our night was spent with good company, conversation and food. the end of summer is always bitter sweet but i do love swimming in september.