Latest Concoctions

So, I was on a cooking spree this week and made a Danish pastry, roast Turkey, and doughnuts!
Let me tell you, these doughnuts are rivals with Dunkin Donuts..they were awesome! These aren't the cakey kind..they are the chewy, melt-in-your mouth kind!
Williams Sonoma came out with a new donut cutter and it does a great job!
Recipe: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/glazed-doughnuts.html

These new pajamas were made by my 14 yr old sister in law! She did a great job!

Bringin home the bacon!

Anyone ever done bacon like this? A farmers market by us sells fresh and cured bacon and its sooo much cheaper and tastier then the packaged stuff!

Check out Tolis' new shoes! His first pair of sneakers :)

Our Trip to Cape Ann

I would recommend Cape Ann, and especially the little towns of Gloucester and Rockport, to anyone who doesn't like commercialized, touristy, and busy areas. I've heard even Cape Cod is getting that way. This is a beautiful fishing community and its so cool to see all the bearded fishermen walking around, chatting over lunch, and coming in with their boats around dusk. Its also a huge lobster area too! The seafood in the local restaurants is fresh and fished right off the shore there! The people are small town, friendly people and you will most definitely relax and forget about the outside world for a few days! We've been back three times and can't wait to go again!


picture above... sunrise over the Tappen Zee bridge
below...Tolis in the car

Gloucester harbor

Some of the art galleries in Rocky Neck

Our wonderful hosts at the bed&breakfast, Debbie and Nick

Handmade silver jewelry right in this shop!! Great prices and beautiful jewelry

We went here for dinner on Saturday night and the food was phenomenal to say the least, especially for the price you pay!

fishing boats at night..I'm not sure what is happening

Motif #1..most photographed building in the US

Fishermen's boats...these guys make a living off of this

view of Rockport Harbor

lobster buoys

the side of Motif #1

We drove through Newburyport on our way home...its an old colonial town with a lot of British influence still to this day!

The Inn where we stayed..I recommend to anyone who wants to go to Rockport as the BEST bed&breakfast you will find in town! You will make new friends and unforgettable memories!

Bearskin neck..

the best clam chowder I've ever had..along with a beautiful view of the water!

Vote with your dollar...

My husband took me and the baby to the small towns of Rockport and Gloucester, MA this weekend. It's a place where there's still a lot of old American industry...fishermen still make a living off of fishing and catching lobsters, there's a silversmith who makes fantastic jewelry, and lots of potters and artists who sell their work. I want to encourage all of us to shop at our small local stores unless it's absolutely necessary to shop at a big chain store. For the sake of convenience we are filling the pockets of very rich people and letting our neighbors and friends go bankrupt. Even though it's sometimes more expensive, its worth it to have fewer things and keep our American industry and integrity alive. Walmart and Bed, Bath, and Beyond don't need your money. But the little country collectibles shop down the road does. You like fish and lobster? Go to the fisherman and buy it from him...the restaurant has bought it cheaply from him and tripled the price. The government is making it harder and harder for these fisherman to continue doing what they do..but if we vote with our dollars and keep the little stores around us running, maybe things can turn around. It just made me so sad to see that these fishermen can barely pay their mortgages...its another industry dying.

What do you all think about this?

Whats new...

Tolis and his workbench and barn set

The day it snowed..here's a view from our livingroom :)

Our new (used) furniture!! Its a bad picture but you get the idea!