Recap: A Visit To Massachusetts
Well, hello there friends and fam of mine!
How are you guys?!
It’s been a minute since I’ve written on the blog and I was due for a check in, so here I am. I can’t believe it’s June! In just a week, I’ll be celebrating my 1st wedding anniversary in Laguna Beach.
We absolutely love it down there. It’s only about an hour south of LA but when you’re there, you feel so far from the city noise and extra relaxed. The color of the water is so blue, the cliffs are breathtaking, and just the overall vibe is extremely zen. We treated ourselves with 2 nights right on the beach, since that’s really why we’re there anyway. Usually, we stay somewhere a bit further out, but we convinced ourselves to pay more and just enjoy ourselves. 😉 That’s hard for me to do sometimes… I’m super practical. Lol!
Anyway, that’s next weekend.
Let’s talk about my trip back to my home state of MA last week, shall we?
Ahhh, Massachusetts…
There’s just a whole lot of beauty there. Whenever I go back (2-3 times/year), I really do settle into a quieter, more chill head space. It’s hard not to. There are WAY more trees (so green!), open roads, and tons of cute little restaurants and shops.
I always enjoy going back.
This past visit, Sam and I were heading back for two really important reasons.
1) Surprising my best friend, Rebecca, at her bridal shower.
She was surprised (yay!), but she made me giggle when she said, “I had a weird feeling you were maybe in town because I hadn’t heard from you at all that day and was like hmmmmm.” Haha.
Is that best friend ESP, or what?
2) Attending our friends, Steve and Julie’s, wedding! (Sam was the best man.)
The wedding was awesome. It was held in Hanson, MA at Camp Kinawee, which is a gorgeous campground along a lake. (We even camped there overnight in our own cabin and it was fun to be out there in the wilderness. And for someone who has never camped before – *gasp!* – it was a nice introduction to sleeping outside. I need to camp more, huh?)
I loved the rustic style of their wedding, their heartfelt outdoor ceremony, and all the little touches during the reception (like the bluegrass band, yummy whiskey drinks, video message area, and BBQ buffet). Great job, guys and congrats again!
It was awesome that we could make both events during the same visit. 🙂
Okay, now onto more highlights from the trip… I don’t even know where to start because we jam-packed so much into 10 days.
In no particular order…
– Quality family time. My family is everything and I love them SO much!
– A belated bday lunch for Sam at The Vin Bin (we know the owners!) in Marlborough with my parents!
– A mother-daughter day with my Mom. Legit, we were out all day, 10-6! We did some of our favorite things – shopping, movies (The Book Club), lunch-ing (Evviva Cucina).
– Sam and I got to indulge in our 1 year anniversary cake. Since we were in the area, we called the bakery we used for our wedding and they said they could bake it for us! So…. we celebrated 1 year with a slice (or two) or cake!
– Bonding with my besties, Julia and Rebecca (and their amazing families!) I spent a few days seeing these girls and it was seriously so heartwarming and special for me. It had been years since we really hung out like that… hours laughing, eating, catching up on just about everything.
– Coffee/breakfast with one of my bests, Caitie, on Shrewsbury St. in Worcester! Plus, I got to see her new (to me) apartment and catch up on life stuff.
– Seeing Sam’s family and hanging out a bunch at their home.
– Fitting in a workout class at my fave, Kate’s Powerhouse. I took her Yogalates class and let me tell you, my body FELT it the few days after. WOW! Killer workout and amazing community there.
– Lunch date with my brother at The Old Mill in Westminster. Our outing also included a hike at Trout Pond and singing in the car for a good hour!
– Spending hours in my family’s beautiful porch. How serene….
– Lunch at one of my fave restaurants ever – Ciao Bella in Worcester. We had their salad, wraps and delicious bread with marinara dipping sauce.
– Seeing my Aunt Mary ❤ She’s my godmother, too!
Another great trip for the books!
Thanks to everyone who made it extra great for Sam and I.
Lots of love,
Ari
