Day 323 – Christmas Movies

For today’s intention I decided to say goodbye to November 2015 by getting a jump start on my Christmas Movie watching. Usually it’s December that is packed full of the fun, cheerful and sometimes corny holiday classics. But it was cold outside and in the 30’s when I woke up this morning and when I got home this evening too and you know what??? It’s a perfect evening to snuggle in and watch a movie.

To take it one step further (you know I had too!), I printed out a sheet of paper with a Christmas border. Then I wrote in the center a list of the movies I want to see this holiday season. Most I have seen, but this year I added a few to the list. I asked Vinny for his input and he listed a couple he wants to see as well.

So after dinner, I made some popcorn- we turned off all the lights except all the holiday illumination around the house and watched “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. This is by far one of my favorites! The singing, dancing and lovely story line make for a holiday movie trifecta!! One of my favorite lines is when they say in a song “If you are worried and cannot sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep and you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.” (simply beautiful) These old-time movies are my favorite- with their corny but classic misunderstandings all to be worked out so perfectly in the end, all the while with song and dance somewhere in the middle.

I am happy to have kicked off our Christmas movie watching today. November was good to me- Cheers to December being ever more! #HGAL #goodbyeNovemberhelloDecember

Day 322 – Deck the Halls

Today after an amazing family breakfast and Sunday services, my son Micah and I went to do some shopping and put the finishing touches on our projects from day 301 at Clayground. It was such a great afternoon just having some time to hang out a bit, talk and shop. Afterwards Vinny and I decided for my intention to decorate the house for the holidays (deck the halls- lol).

We turned on Christmas music, put on our Santa hats and got to work. In total it was about 4 hours of decorative creations. We had such a great time unpacking the old and some new items and arranging them. Last year I did the house in all turquoise and silver so this year I went with sparkly gold and red. There are a few other pops of color but mostly these.

This is such a fun and festive time of year and this is one of my favorite, cherished days of the year…setting up for the holidays. It’s so different now that the kids are older and aren’t decorating the tree with us and singing and dancing around in their holiday PJs like years of past, but I surely have the memories and enjoy making the new ones we make every year.

Tomorrow I will decorate the boys rooms downstairs and we still have to hang our outside lights but today was a full and wonderful day in every way and everyone is super happy with the outcome. #HGAL #weekendsgotofast

Day 321 – Marble House

After beginning our morning slow and easy with coffee and a nice big family breakfast, we made our way to another mansion. Until the end of the year, all mansion tours are free for Newport residents so I intend to take full advantage. So, for my intention today, I wanted to tour the Marble House. The tour lasted about an hour and was so amazing. Today was rainy but fairly warm considering and every mansion was packed with people. With all the holiday décor and Christmas lights up at all the mansions- it makes them even that much more desirable to see.

After our tour, we wandered the grounds and went out back to the stand alone Chinese Tea House in the back yard. This mansion was very different from the Breakers in that it felt more like “home” inside. Each room had a distinct theme but they were vastly unique from one room to the next. Although each room had stark contrast- in my eyes, somehow it still worked. The rooms went from French Chic directly to Gothic- traditional to posh, etc. The entire inside was very fittingly all marble with grand chandeliers, statues, ceilings, walls and more. Built in 1892, this house was considered at that time to be the number one residence in the United States. Just a few years later, the Breakers was built and the Newport mansion building war was on! Everyone started building mansions and trying to out-do each other. Actually these two mansions were owned by the Vanderbilt brothers, which is just a fun fact. So much to learn and awe about in this grand gilded age and this lovely town I now call home.

It was another amazing tour, very informative and quite interesting and I was happy to have this as my intention today. Afterwards as we were driving and passed the beach, we noticed that there were so many surfers out (at least 30). I asked Vinny to pull over and we walked the beach listening to the large waves crash and it was sprinkling just a bit. Even though, you can simply never go wrong with spending time at the beach! #HappySaturday #HGAL

Day 320 – Holiday Boat Parade & Block Party

For my intention today I went to the Holiday Boat Parade with Vinny this evening just blocks from our home. Last year we just stood on our deck and watched but this year I wanted to be up close and personal. So glad I did because this year there was a block party as well! There were literally thousands of people throughout the town, at the Wharf, docks, piers and more. There was live music to set the scene. All the trees and streets are lit up at this time and you feel instantly in the holiday spirit. We got lucky because the weather was beautiful!! It was 55 degrees and a bit windy but still so nice.

We wandered the area and then found a nice spot on one of the piers to relax and watch the parade. People were in every nook and cranny…every dock, restaurant balcony, pier and bay. The parade was colorful, lively and festive. There were boats illuminated with Christmas trees, Santa’s, reindeer, and more. They were blowing their horns, singing and getting the crowds to sing Christmas songs and even firing the cannons!!

As we stood there I found myself thinking just how much I love it here. They have so many unique festivities and I am glad to take part in so many of them and eagerly look forward to the upcoming events of the season.

After the parade was over, we walked around a bit then made our walk back home as the temperature began to drop. This was a beautiful evening and fun intention for sure!! #Cheers #HGAL  

Day 319 – Thanksgiving Turkey Snack

Happy Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!! Today was an awesome day. The only thing that could have made this day any better is for my oldest son to have been here as well. I’m glad he has so many friends in NC that bring him in for Thanksgiving with their families.

Meanwhile, here we went to our family’s house in Massachusetts as we did last year. Vinny’s brothers wife, Yan- cooks a feast that is amazing every single holiday. She is the most gracious hostess and the food is always perfection. This year she cooked a 36 lb turkey! 36 pounds!! I don’t think I have EVER seen a turkey that big- and it was cooked to perfection.

For my intention, I wanted to bring something that was fun, festive and still yummy. So other than bringing soda and Sangria I decided to make a turkey shaped appetizer with cheese, crackers and salami. Vinny was right there slices cheese and helping any way he could. We were both so excited when we saw it come together just right!! And sure enough when we got to their house- everyone was super excited to see it and it got eaten right away.

Today had everything Thanksgiving was meant to have….Family, friends, food, football and time to reflect on the things that matter most. I am so grateful for my faith, family, friends, good health, true happiness and this blog! I am grateful for all of you who read this blog faithfully and thank you for your continued support. I hope everyone had a fabulous, fun, safe and yummy Thanksgiving Day!! #Cheers #HGAL

 

Day 318 – Thanksgiving Trivia

Today was a very good day! The sun was so bright and glorious and even though the weather peeked at only about 49 degrees, it was wonderful. As the family came together this evening, after dinner we sat down to complete a little Thanksgiving trivia I had printed out for us to do.

Even though it was only 10 questions, we had fun doing it! As I called off the answers at the end, it was fun laughing and talking about why we picked the answers we did. Funny thing is- I notice with my family that if I just give us an activity, everyone always has so much fun. Sometimes the kids will kind of look at me like “ok mom” but they always participate and admit that it is always so much fun.

Anyhow, Vinny and Elijah both got 5 correct answers. Micah and I both got 3 right. But it wasn’t about who won. The point was to come together as a family and hang out for a bit. This was a perfect intention to end a truly good day!

Afterwards, I read aloud all the blessings/gratitude in the box from Day 295. Some were heart warming, others funny, some simple and some complex. But every single one was positive and lovely and this was an intention worth doing over and over again every single year! #Cheers #HGAL

Answers: 1. A, 2. C, 3. C, 4. B, 5. C, 6. B, 7. D, 8. A, 9. D, 10. B

 

Day 317 – Hip Hop Class

There is a really cool place I have been meaning to get to for an intention here. It’s called Bellevue Barre and it’s literally a Ballet inspired studio offering barre workouts. They offer many various classes and I just thought it was the coolest idea for a studio ever! I have been invited to go quite a few times but my schedule has not allowed for it….until today. One of the girls I met recently Amber, invited me to her hip hop class that she was teaching this evening at this studio.

Truth be told….hip hop dancing is not really my forte, so I was a little nervous. But at the same time I was excited to learn something new, hang out with the girls and get a bit of a workout too. I LOVE to dance but have never really been that good at hip hop in particular - so at least I figured I could pick up a few current moves (maybe?!?!) lol.

As soon as I got there, Amber welcomed me in. Instantly I was so glad I was there. The studio was absolutely darling, with high and low wall to wall barre’s and mirrors. She prepped us to learn a choreographed dance. She showed us the moves slow at first, then kicked up the music and we went for it.

Okay, so actually I didn’t do THAT bad. I poked a little fun at myself- joking around with the girls and we were all laughing and having a really great time. This was definitely a great intention and I surely plan to go back to another class for sure. Amber was a fabulous and fun instructor, the studio was amazing and it was nice seeing the girls again. #HGAL #embracenewthings

Day 316 – Mansion Tour

Today is Vinny’s birthday!! We met up for a nice lunch at one of our favorite beachside restaurants. I decided I wanted to take him to one of the mansions for his birthday for a tour. There are so many mansions here that were owned by the Kennedy’s, Vanderbilt’s and so many other prominent members of the “gilded age”. I guess living here, we just get used to driving by these massive mansions every day but Vinny and I had yet to tour one. I went to the Marble House for an event over the summer and have been on the grounds of Rosecliff and others but have not actually gone on a formal tour. It was actually the perfect time to visit because they just completed putting up all of the mansions Christmas decorations just this past weekend.

So today was the perfect day. We decided to tour The Breakers. This was a summer house for the Vanderbilt’s, major railroad tycoons. To even think of this being a home, much less a “summer home” boggles the mind. Just standing in front of it takes your breath away, not to mention the grand entrance, 70 rooms including rooms with platinum walls, massive chandeliers, fireplaces well over 6 feet tall in most rooms, marble, alabaster fixtures, wrought iron, Tiffany’s fixtures, statues, fountains, bathrooms with solid marble tubs, unique furniture pieces – not to mention the detailed art work on the ceilings, walls and so much more.

When we entered the house we were greeted with headphones and remotes. It is a self-guided tour that takes you into each room and offers information about the architecture, history and family background. Every single room offered its own theme and personality. Unfortunately, they requested no pictures to be taken inside the home. However they did take a picture of Vinny and I in front of the massive Christmas tree in the grand foyer but that’s all that was allowed. All in all, we were there about 2 hours that went by so fast.

Afterwards, we wandered around the grounds, checking out the vast ocean views, gardens and such- and just chatted about what we thought life must have been like living in that age. I love Newport but can only imagine how insanely awesome it was then when all of these mansions were being built by all of America’s highest society, all the parties and events- it must have really been something!

This was an awesome experience and Vinny and I both agreed it was a wonderful intention for his birthday. #Cheers #HappyBirthdayVinny #HGAL

Day 315 – Pajama Day

Today was a rainy, cold, wet, grey and nasty kind of day. We had a lazy start to the day and sipped our coffee in our PJ’s on the couch and I enjoyed just bundling up in my fluffy blanket and hanging out with the family. After breakfast, I found myself returning to the couch and everyone was just hanging out together talking and relaxing. A bit later, I snuggled in with my book. I looked at Vinny and declared about half way through the day that I thought for my intention today I would just stay in my PJ’s all day- he agreed and did the same.

Every time it rains and is bitter and cold out, I usually say how much it would be the perfect kind of stay at home in PJ’s all day. But I can’t remember the last time I actually did it. If there was ever a perfect day for it, this was it. It rained all day and all night long. It was windy and I could literally hear the howl of the wind and beating of the rain throughout the day. We all stayed in eating, chatting, reading and for a few hours we had a TV show marathon of a show we are watching on Netflix. After dinner, we sipped on hot chocolate and stayed snuggled in for the most enjoyable ending to a wonderfully, restful, snuggly, family day. #HGAL #pajamaday

Day 314 – Plymouth, Massachusetts

During this festive, Thanksgiving season- I wanted to be sure to make a day trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts. It’s such a fitting place to be this time of year - obviously it is the place that the Mayflower landed and is considered the birthplace of our country. It houses Plymouth Rock as well as a very well preserved Plymouth Plantation, which is a living history museum. We visited there before with the kids and it was educational and fun. We also went on the Mayflower II which is an exact replica of the Mayflower that brought the pilgrims over.

Our original plan today was to go back to those places. Vinny, my mom and I were ready for a tourist kind of day (the boys had plans). However, when we got there- traffic was stopped and being detoured. We went with the flow and parked on a side street. As we walked we saw the thousands of people and realized there was a Thanksgiving parade in full swing! We made our way down just as it was getting over. It really was perfect timing though because they parked all the floats on the main road for a while and let people tour. Santa was there for the kids, the Patriots mascot was there and many people dressed in full garb i.e. Indians, Pilgrims, British Military and so much more!

There was also a huge food festival going on just past the monument where Plymouth Rock is housed. Confetti was everywhere, people smiling and walking about and I just loved every second of wandering around, taking pictures, exploring statues, floats and monuments as well as the Mayflower and more. I just love this beautiful town. The history is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Although it’s old in years, the buildings, homes and streets are clean and properly maintained.

We all had an amazing time. It was a bit of a blustery and cool day but the sun was out completely which made it a perfect fall day. Now we are off to a night in Providence with friends. #Cheers #touristsfortheday #HGAL