The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

October first is here, so I think it is safe to say that the summer of 2020 has come to an end. The leaves are changing colors, sweatshirts are making their way out of drawers, pumpkin is being consumed in every way possible and Halloween costumes are a regular topic of dinner conversation. For us, our children are also back in school, but for all of us, a pandemic rages on, leaving sickness and sorrow in its path. A mixed bag, if there ever was one. I love, love, love the fall in New England, but it continues to be hard to enjoy it, or anything, to the fullest in a world full of so much anxiety, the unknown, constantly in the back of my mind. We had a really lovely summer. It makes me feel guilty to say, and I am fully aware that this summer's joy was not there for many others. Working from home gave us a flexibility we have never had as a family, we could meet our work obligations from anywhere, so we did. Cape Cod, Maine, New Hampshire - New England was our oyster and our bubble...

Although I try really hard not to complain about the weather (this is New England, after all) I just CANNOT with it anymore. It is like the 312th day of winter over here. Marathon Monday - I mean, are you KIDDING me? I just want anything over 50 degrees (okay, what I really want is like 70 but I am willing to negotiate). For someone who loves being outside and spends a lot of time walking as a commute, I am so over it. Do you hear me, nature? OVER IT. But anyways. Here is a bit else going on in life: Reading I just finished T he Paris Wife , which is an historical fiction novel written from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway's first wife. I love me some Hemingway and he also has a special place in my heart because of my high school English teacher who not only looked like him but also loved him and was the first person to have me read For Whom the Bell Tolls , along with so many other classics that I probably would not have read without his urging. Oh, and the book was real...

Even though this weekend went from bare legs outside on Saturday to an extra couple of layers this morning, I am completely dreaming of summertime. We got a few new pieces of furniture pieces for the back porch and took the entire grill and lounge set up for a test drive this weekend and I want MORE. The other night I thought it would be fun to go around the dinner table and let everyone choose a couple of items for our summer bucket list since I am usually the one who makes/hijacks all the planning fun. Here is what we came up with: Maddie chose the roller coaster park (Six Flags, which my uncle awesomely got us season passes to so this will be happening quite a few times) and water slides (also something that Six Flags has, so two birds - one stone!). Matt wants beach, beach and more beach which will be fulfilled by a week in Maine with my AIL at The Cottages near Wells and hopefully many weekend trips to our local favorite beaches. Mama chose a weekend in Mystic, CT to g...

These 'Currently' posts are one of my favorites to do but somehow I haven't done one since October...oh holidays/life/ridiculous New England winter blizzard chaos. Good thing there is so much fun stuff to catch up on...so here we go! Reading I just finished one of Damien Echol's books, Life After Death , and it was so, so good. If you aren't familiar with him, Echols is 1/3 of the West Memphis Three, a group of young men convicted of murdering three young boys in West Memphis Arkansas then sentenced to life (and death row for Echols) with absolutely no evidence outside of the WM3 being into metal and wearing black. I started following the case in high school after hearing Jello Biafra speak about them and eventually wrote my undergrad thesis on them, which included an interview that I managed to do with Eddie Spaghetti from the Supersuckers (another huge supporter of theirs). When I was pregnant with Madeleine they were finally set free through a screwy method us...

Last weekend while out running errands we decided to avoid the highway and cut through the Blue Hills to get home, as we often do when we are trying to lull a certain toddler into a weekend car nap. Maddie wasn't really falling for it, and it was super gorgeous outside, so Matty had the great idea to take a spontaneous little hike on one of the easy trails. It turned out to be the best random idea of the day and provided us with a much less cranky toddler after all that fresh air. One of the many things I love about living in Boston is the close proximity to some pretty amazing outdoor spots that always seem to amaze me with the way you feel so out of the city (but really it is just right there!). The Blue Hills is one of those spots; hike to the top of the Great Blue Hill lookout point and you get a great view of Boston and beyond. It is seriously just a few miles outside of city limits, but it feels like you are in the middle of a wonderful, quiet nowhere.  Maddie is in...

One (of many) unfortunate side effects of this home buying roller coaster has been feeling a little like we are stressing away our summer and spending a lot of time and energy on things other than the beach and sunshine. Of course I know that in the long run it will be more than worth it, but I really can't wait to just be in our new  home and get back to summer time and the livin's easy instead of INSANITY . It does look like we will be on track to close on July 31st, which happens to be the day before we go to Newport Jazz Fest, but those boxes will be there waiting for us when we get back, right? Right.  I cannot help but laugh at the way things happen, but at least it looks like it is happening so no complaints over here. If there is one thing I love, it's a time management challenge! This weekend we did manage to have a whole lot of fun despite the stress of everything living in the back of our minds. We started Friday afternoon visiting our fav...