books

Lazy Local Weekend

I tend to be a planner. I book my weekends up to maximize the time I have free… which sort of takes away from the idea of “free” time, if I think about it.

Just the same, I walked into this weekend with only a tiny bit of plans… and I didn’t even leave the city limits after I got home on Friday. Unheard of!

Friday night after work, I went to my very first Tutu Making Party. Yep, you heard me right… we were TUTU MAKING! We’re just a few weeks away from Jodi’s Race for Awareness, and my team “Team Bev” has opted to wear fabulous teal tutus this year.

We did what any awesome team does… we found a Youtube video, ordered some tulle, and met up to get our tutu on! I have never spent so much time with tulle in my life!

Not everyone could make the event, so we made as many as we could for those who weren’t there. I took home one to finish, but definitely had the technique down by the time I left. SO EASY!

After getting home kind of late, I woke up the next morning to realize I was exhausted. My 11 days away and hectic work week had caught up with me. So, instead of being productive… I laid in my bed reading a book for a long time, getting up only to head to get a manicure and pedicure. Seriously lazy… but at least the book was good!

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After my mani-pedi, I was hungry for lunch so I headed into Old Town to try a new taco place that a co-worker had been raving about! They told me that it was better than Cafe Rio… which to me seemed impossible.

I ordered the small Chicken Fajita salad, sans cheese with avocado ranch dressing on the side. It was really good, and I’ll definitely be back. I’m not prepared to say I like it better than Cafe Rio though…

Right next door to Fuzzy’s is a little Olive Oil shop I’ve been meaning to stop into forever. After spending 5 minutes in the store, I couldn’t believe that I’d never been to Kristo’s before! I spent close to 30 minutes in the store tasting and getting to know all of their olive oils and vinegars. I never knew there were so many!!

They had little slices of bread and little tiny cups you could use to sample the offerings. There were so many that were my “favorites” that I really had to be conservative when it was time to check out. Here’s what I ended up with though…. all very delicious!

I chose the Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar, Black Mountain Fig Balsamic Vinegar, Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar, and a Cilantro Onion Infused Olive Oil. The citrusy vinegars were SO delicious and will be making their way to a salad in the near future. As for the other two more savory blends, I can’t wait to come up with something to make with them. The folks at Kristo’s also shared that they offer cooking classes… stay tuned for my review of those! I’m going to have to try one of those soon!

I spent the rest of my weekend running local errands, finishing up tutus, and a craft project I’ve been working on for some time. Add in a little treadmill time and some yoga… and that’s all she wrote.

How was your weekend?

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Just Read: The Beach Club

I can’t believe I’ve read two books in such a short period of time. Usually it’s weeks and weeks in between… or maybe the result of some time at the beach. This time, I credit spring snowstorms. What’s a girl to do besides sink into the tub and get lost in a book, afterall!

A few months ago, I downloaded another Elin Hilderbrand novel… but very shortly after, I got distracted by life in general and never got around to reading it. My sister in law Beth actually borrowed it and read it before I even had a chance to open it!

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand

The Beach Club is the FIFTH Elin Hilderbrand that I’ve read over the past few years, and I continue to be a HUGE fan of her writing. I’ve also read Silver Girl, The Island, Summerland, and Blue Bistro.

This novel was published back in 2004, but having only met Elin 2 years ago… I’ve still got a lot of her older books to catch up on. I absolutely adore the fact that she writes about Nantucket Island. To me, reading is truly an escape and I couldn’t have thought of a more ideal place to visit during the recent snowstorm than the gorgeous beaches of Nantucket.

The Beach Club takes place not only on the island, but also at the islands iconic resort hotel and beach club. The main characters of the book are the staff of the facility, their loved ones, and their honored guests. Eloquently, Hilderbrand makes you feel like a guest of the resort as well… you can almost see the sheen coming off the beautiful wooden desk in the lobby and feel the sand under your feet along the beach.

The story really centers around Mack, the manager of the resort, and everyone he is linked to: his fiance Maribel, his new employee Jem, his best friend Gardner, and his long-time employee Vance. These are only a few of the characters you’ll meet on this trip to Nantucket.

The Beach Club is a story of loyalty, commitment, and love… and a story of how time delivers change when you least expect it. Each and every character has significant decisions to make… choices that will change their future and their surroundings.

Love affairs, family heartbreak, new love, mentorship, and new beginnings are a few of the themes you’ll read about with this book. As you’re reading, you’ll also have a chance to met new friends. I seriously felt like I knew these people by the time the novel came to a close. For that same reason, I had tears streaming down my face as the book came to an end.

It will warm your heart. Try the Beach Club. You won’t be disappointed, but it may leave you craving a beachy vacation…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?

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