Mountain Air and Maple Lattes…

Good Morning and Happy Hump Day, everyone! With Labor Day and my taking this coming Friday off to jump start a long-overdue “Girls Only” weekend with my mom- I’ve been more than a little busy at work with trying to get everything done and wrapped up neatly since it’s a pretty short week for me at the office.

This past weekend was completely relaxing and maybe a little indulgent, however. My best friend Sean and I headed a couple hours North of the city to stay at the White House Inn overlooking the absolutely picturesque and rustic Wilmington, Vermont for an evening. Built in 1915 as a Summer home to a lumber baron- the house was spacious, beautifully furnished, and had breathtaking views of the Green Mountains (when it wasn’t pouring rain or foggy outside, of course!) It also had a hidden staircase (you can watch my video of it HERE on my Instagram!), a wine cellar and an old vault that was available to view. When Sean and I weren’t outside taking in nature- we were roaming every inch of the house we had access to.

My room!

The inn is associated with a ski resort a few miles away that offered a spa and fitness center for guests. Although Sean and I dropped by to utilize the facilities and take a look around (another beautiful building, by the way! I don’t ski but I’d love to see it in the Winter!)– any hard work put into achieving or maintaining fitness goals was thrown right out the window by the amount of food we ate during our stay!

We had headed into the small and quaint Main Street area of Wilmington a couple of times- including one stop on Sunday evening to have an early dinner at Dot’s Restaurant– but most of our face-stuffing took place back at the inn. Not only did I have one of the best breakfast sandwiches of my life on Monday morning before we headed back into town and then eventually returned to Boston- but Sean and I split two desserts (since we couldn’t make up our minds!) late Sunday evening that blew my mind. Tempura chocolate cake AND lemon & lavender pavlova. Absolute heaven. I’ve been looking for the recipes online on and off since we got back!

To close out the weekend, Sean had wanted to go antiquing to find some items for his bedroom that he’s currently updating/remodeling. With maple lattes in hand- we hit up a couple of spots in downtown Wilmington to browse some of the local goods and see if we could find anything with a cool history behind it.

Sean ended up walking away with a pretty nice picture frame he plans on fixing up and putting on display after he’s found an appropriate replacement painting for the one that had originally been inside the frame- and I found a book of poetry from 1886 that I plan on giving to my mom since she’s an even bigger fan of antiques than I am. I know she’ll find a good spot to show it off to her guests.

Overall, I had such an amazing time- and even though I ate way too much- I returned home feeling refreshed and relaxed and ready to get back to work. I am head over heels in love with the White House Inn- and with Wilmington, really- and I’m hoping to return again later on this Fall to take a longer look around and maybe stay a couple more nights since no ghosts or ghouls surprised me while I was trying to sleep. I’m sure the views of the mountains are even more gorgeous when the leaves start to change colors!

And now, I’ve got to dive right into my cases for the day.

Have a good Wednesday, everybody!

xx

– Ashley –

All You Need Is Love…

I’m a straight woman who was fortunate enough to be raised and currently reside in Massachusetts. I say fortunate because Massachusetts- and most of New England, really- is one of the more liberal and progressive areas in the country. Our impressive list of schools and businesses bring in so many different people from all races, religions, cultures and orientations that my state is like a big mixing pot of never-ending educational and growing possibilities. If you spend any significant amount of time in any of the neighborhoods around Boston- you get to know some of the most incredible individuals and can learn so much from them at the same time.

So when Boston has it’s annual Pride celebration for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, you know it’s going to be a fun time and that all are welcome with open arms- no matter what- compared to other areas of the country where homosexuality/bisexuality or being transgender is either not properly understood, accepted- or both. I’m grateful I get to be in a city that celebrates the variety of life instead of trying to suppress it or refuse to acknowledge it’s existence. People say a lot of things about Boston- some good and some not so good- but you can’t deny that we are a city that takes care of our residents and look out for one another.

I have a wonderful group of longtime friends from the LGBTQ community, and every year I like to meet up with them while they hop to and from multiple events around the city for the celebration. While I missed the parade this year due to a prior commitment- I was able to head down to Back Bay for a huge block party with plenty of drinks and dancing. The weather was absolutely perfect- so much that when our group eventually dispersed from the party, we were able to enjoy a delicious outdoor dinner in the shade at nearby TICO.

If you stop by, be sure to try their truffle guacamole and watermelon margaritas. You won’t regret it (and yes- that’s a side dish of macaroni and cheese. A girl has to get her carbs when she’s having a little bit of alcohol in the sunshine!) TICO is a bit on the pricier side for tapas- but it’s worth the splurge every now and then. I certainly don’t have any regrets- and the view from their outdoor patio where we were seated was pretty spectacular.

The party eventually made it’s way- and winded down- at Dillon’s on Boylston Street where we once again found ourselves lounging on an outdoor patio and sipping refreshing, chilled (and fairly strong) cocktails under the sunset. When more of our friends arrived from their own dinner reservations elsewhere around the city- we all started to head in different directions. Some friends went to a drag show in Cambridge, others went to a different bar, and I headed home to get some much needed rest after a busy day and an even busier work-week.

Exciting, I know- but I had a lot of stuff to get done and errands to run around Downtown Crossing on Sunday!

Speaking of getting things done- I’m headed off to the office for the day. Have a good Hump Day, everyone!

xx

– Ashley –