62. November 27th, 2010 Picture.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning for my appointment at the White Elephant Spa for a massage.  Since our Rue La La package included a $25 spa credit, I quickly made an appointment at the nicest spa on the island for a 60 minute deep tissue massage - such a tough life I lead. Although, paying the bill, even with the $25 credit, which was a drop in a very, very deep bucket, was a slightly tougher pill to swallow.  I love living the life, but rarely enjoying paying for it.

Ratty and I grabbed a quick bite at our Inn, completely with coffee to go, and made the 5 minute trip to the White Elephant.  We had to walk right along the shore, which literally caused my eyes to tear and then promptly caused the tears to freeze to my face.  I would naturally blame it on the fact that we were walking right on the water, but when you're on a 14 mile island, I am pretty sure that everywhere is 'right on the water'.  After finally reaching our destination, after what seemed like the most epic battle since Shackleton explored the South Pole, I said goodbye to Ratty who headed back towards town to find a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

I was quickly ushered into a bright, sunny room, with 3 chaise lounges, a fireplace and french doors leading to a small patio.  I sipped my coffee, laid back in the chair, and pretended to hear the crackling of the fire.  It was electric, not that I'm complaining in the slightest, I just like the crackling, so I imagined it.  After a few minutes of waiting, although with this scenery I would have waited forever, it was time for my massage.  It was really great, nice and relaxing with an extremely hot room that made me feel as I was working out AND getting a massage.  Being honest though, it wasn't the best massage I've ever had.  I have extremely tense shoulders, like you'll break your hand it you try to massage them, type shoulders, so I love deep tissue massages that almost make me cry and leave me feeling as if I have black and blues all over my back for days after.  What?  That's totally normal, right? 

After slowly pulling myself away from the spa, I walked back to the Bed and Breakfast to meet up with Ratty.  He'd gone out and had a second breakfast, so he was caffeinated up and totally full.  Boo to that because I was starving again already.  I quickly showered [there is zero point to even trying to get ready before a massage because once they start massaging your face and your head and your hair gets all oily, it's a lost cause.]  We decided to walk around, pick up a few souvenirs [as if we really need more] before finding a place to have lunch. 

Each time I've been to Nantucket, I hone in on something I really want and spend the entire trip searching for the perfect one.  The first year I desperately needed a sweatshirt, so I combed all the shops before buying the absolute best one ever.  No seriously, I've never seen another one like it and I get compliments on it all the time.  The second time I went, with my dearest Erin Rowe, I bought my sweatshirt blanket which is the greatest blanket on the face of the planet.  The last time Ratty and I went I wanted a really nice long sleeved shirt, which I bought and then promptly spilt coffee all over.  It had a great 4 day run.  This trip however I wanted a few things.  I was always keeping an eye out for maritime flags for my car, the perfect bumper sticker, and a hat.  

While I never found my hat, and I did buy a bumper sticker, and FINALLY found my maritime flags!  There are 26 different ones, each standing for a different letter of the alphabet.  They are made of thick, hard plastic and stick right to the back of your car, or anywhere else you'd like to put them, really.  My friend Maura had some that she got as a gift and I'd been looking for them ever since.  I found them at the Sunken Ship, a random shop with a mix of souvenirs, diving equipment and clothing - a totally random mix, but came in clutch in the end.  I bought the flags that represent an A, C and D to spell out my initials and plan on adding them to my bumper stat!

After grabbing lunch at the nice and warm Fog Island Cafe, we made our way back to the Inn to freshen up.  Of course I fell straight on the bed, after our lunch of soup and sandwiches I was warm and fuzzy and in the need of a rest.  What is it about Nantucket?!  

After a few zzz's we once again freshened up and made the exciting trek to the Cisco Brewery for our long awaited reunion.  From those who frequent my blog, you KNOW how much I love this place.  Knowing it would be a complete 180 from our trip in July, Ratty and I went in with reasonable expectations, all of which were exceeded.  First off, we thought it would be pretty dead.  We heard it shut down around 7pm in the winter and only inhabited one of the small cottages, instead of 3, so we assumed it would be pretty mellow.  We're we wrong.  The place was absolutely mobbed, with every seat at the bar taken, people sitting outside, dogs running through our legs and so much talking, laughing, yelling we immediately thought we crashed a private party.  So THIS is where everyone was hiding!  

When at Cisco I never know what to order.  Do I order the awesome Lady of the Woods, which is my favorite Grey Lady beer soaked in Chardonnay casks for 10 months or do I get a mixed drink, made with their deliciously flavored vodka?  Hm, such tough questions.  I opted for a mixed drink, combining blueberry vodka, soda and lime to made a fabulously yummy AND strong beverage.  

{Ahh, home sweet home.}

{Back where we belong.}

We spent a much longer time at the brewery than we thought we would.  We were under the impression it shut down around 7pm, but 7pm came and went without the slightest hint of last call.  We found 2 seats at a huge communal table, where we started making friends with the most adorablist little dog who was scurrying around.  We stocked up on merchandise, my brothers will thank me when they get their custom beer orders straight from the brewery, and decided that our future little puppy will be named Cisco and will wear a little Cisco Brewery bandana around his neck.

We peeled ourselves away, literally peeled since the place wasn't closing and we didn't want to leave, but we had dinner reservations to get to.  We called the cab who'd dropped us off earlier in the day and stood outside, staring at the stars, imagining what it would be like to someday live [at least part time] on Nantucket.

{As if people weren't sure which way the bar was.}

Once back at the hotel, we tapped into a few beers we'd bought earlier in the day at the package store, and slowly got ready before our dinner reservations at Lola 41.  Ratty and I absolutely LOVE that restaurant, and have had zero trouble getting a reservation, even on the busiest of nights.  Granted we have no problem eating at 9:30pm, so that frees up a lot of options.

{A few of my favorite Grey's Lady before dinner.}

We made the short walk over to Lola a little early so that we could have a few drinks at the bar and enjoy the atmosphere.  This place is seriously amazing, with some of the best food I've ever had in my entire life.  Every time we've gone, we've been treated like royalty, which is pretty amazing on an island where it's all about who you know and how much you're worth.  This time was no exception, and the owner sat us at the bar before our table was ready.  Seats at this place are coveted, so the fact that was willing to give up 4 seats for us on a Saturday night was pretty fantastic.

We got one of our favorite high top tables in the bar area, and went to ordering all our old favorites, as well as some new ones.  We first put in an order of edamame and a spicy shrimp tempura roll before even looking at the dinner menu.  We like to take our time and enjoy every bite...and sip.

{Before.}

{Crushed.}

{SO good!}

{Nah, I don't think we liked it.}

For our main course, we both just happened to order the gnocchi bolognese, and let me tell you, it was the most out of the world thing I've ever tasted.  The gnocchi were light and fluffy and the sauce was so delicious I wanted to take a bath in it.  There were plenty of parmesan ribbons that I wasn't forced to ration out the cheese from the start, I hate rationing.  I feel like this is what judging Top Chef must be like.  I seriously dream of this at night.  Hell, I'm dreaming of it right now!  It is the standard to which I hold all gnocchi and sauce, and cheese for that matter, and nothing has yet to measure up.  If given one last meal, I may in fact choose this.  Yes, that good.

The day was full of all our favorite things. 

32. Collect All the Nantucket Nectar Caps.

Keeping with the Nantucket theme, I thought I'd provide an update on my very random yet very interesting goal of collecting Nantucket Nectars caps.  Since starting my blog, I've been busy drinking bottle after bottle of Nantucket Nectars juice to continue to chip away at my cap collection.  I've bought juice when I didn't feel like it, drank it even when I was sure water would be better for my waist line, and hunted for a missing cap after clearing a table after lunch [it was sitting right on top of the trash, and you know what?  I took it.]  Since my last post, I've added 44 caps to my jar, with only 2 or 3 repeats.  Some facts I already knew, like that in 1692 Nantucket was sold for 30 pounds and 2 beaver hats, what a steal!  But there are many instances where I learned something new and useful, like that there are buses, but no fixed bus route on Nantucket.  I'm still not totally sure how that makes sense, but it's good to know!  I've YET to find my elusive Chicken Box cap [I don't even know if it's still in circulation] but I am never giving up hope.  Looks like I'll keep chugging away, literally.

Here are the caps I've added to my collection:

-The end of Broad Street by the Steamship Authority is know as 'the strip' on Nantucket.

-The island of Nantucket has three zip codes.

-There are two historical districts on Nantucket: the Old Historic and the Sconset.

-Shell Street in Siasconset is too narrow for cars and bikes.

-The Nantucket Island Fair features fierce competitions in knitting and needlepoint.

-The Old Mill on Nantucket was built in 1746 and still produces coarse-ground cornmeal.

-Nantucketers moving to the mainland in the 18th Century often disassembled their island homes and took them along off island.

-The teen classic movie, 'One Crazy Summer', takes place on Nantucket.

-The Nantucket flag is called a burgee, a distinctively-shaped flag normally used on ships.

-A native of Nantucket is called a Nantucketer.

-The 'Turkey Terrific' sandwich from Provisions on Nantucket has become an island tradition for lunch.

-Cranberries were first cultivated on nantucket in 1857.

-36% of Nantucket is protected from building development.

-The oldest home on Nantucket is the Jethro Coffin House, built in 1686.

-The island of Nantucket is approximately 14 miles long.

-There are no traffic lights on Nantucket.

-There are buses, but no fixed bus route on Nantucket.

-The highest point on Nantucket is Folger Hill.  It is 109 feet above sea level.

-Nantucket was initially incorporated not as an island, but as a town.

-Nantucket was the 3rd town in America to have a Historical District Commission.

-Nantucket's Opera House Cup began in 1973 and is among the greatest classic wooden boat regattas in the world.

-There are about 12,000 full-time residents of Nantucket.

-When looking for a place to live, or anything else on Nantucket, the bulletin board at the Hub might be your best bet.

-The first steamboat crossed Nantucket Sound to the island in 1818.

-Hundreds of whales live around the island of Nantucket.

-In 1692, Nantucket was purchased for 30 English pounds and two beaver hats.

-Nantucket is home to the Nantucket Film Festival, an annual event.

-Nantucket is not a part of Kentucky.

-Cars were not allowed on Nantucket until 1918.

-According to the 2000 Census, Nantucket was Massachusetts' fastest growing county.

-The oldest living Nantucket resident is given the Boston Post Cane, an award they hold until their passing.

-Islanders gathered in the Great Hall of the Atheneum for the first long distance call to the mainland on August 29, 1916.

-The total land area of Nantucket makes up about 0.6% of the total land area of Massachusetts.

-Nantucket is world-known for its sports fishing of stripers, bluefish, bonito and false albacore.

-Nantucket's first two public schools were established in 1827.

-Nantucket has one of the largest winter concentrations of oldsquaw, a type of diving duck.

-Nantucket Lighthouse baskets were first made on the island over 150 years ago.

-Commercial flights started for Nantucket in 1927.

-Nantucket's whaling dominance was part of the literary classic, 'Moby Dick'.

-Based on areas of similar size, Nantucket has the greatest variety of vegetation in the U.S.

-On March 7th, 1970, a total solar eclipse on Nantucket last 2 minutes and 6 seconds.  The temperature dropped 10 degrees.

-In 1968, a new steeple was lowered by helicopter onto The Congregational Church on Nantucket.

Hope you all find them as interesting as I do!

November 26th, 2010 Picture.

Friday morning Ratty and I were getting an extremely early start on our trip to Nantucket.  I am pretty sure I've shared this story about 10 times, but we got the greatest deal off Rue La La at the end of the summer.  They had multiple fall weekends available at either the White Elephant Hotel or the Jarred Coffin House at really great prices.  We scooped up the weekend of Thanksgiving for $200 total - TOTAL!  That included 2 nights at a charming Inn right in the center of town, plus a voucher to the White Elephant Spa, a discount at the hotel's restaurant AND two free tickets to the Whaling Museum.  You could not beat this deal with a stick and I was beyond excited to check out my favorite place during the fall.  I've only ever been in the summer, one weekend being Figawi, which is sheer madness, so I was curious to see just how much the crowds thinned in the off season.

I picked Ratty up early, really early, like punishingly early and we were on the road by 7:30am.  Now, it was no secret that I was not feeling up to snuff, and I am pretty sure Ratty wanted to murder me.  I wasn't my normal, bubbly self, I was moaning and saying things like 'gah, why is the sun so bright, huh?  And this music, it's so loud!  What do people see in rappers anyway?  They should pull their pants up.'  Yes, apparently when I am hungover I rapidly age and become mouthy.  I stopped multiple times for coffee and food, drinking Ratty's entire McDonald's fountain coke and eating 4 greasy, yet so unbelievably awesome hash browns.

We didn't cut the ferry quite as close as the last time, I wasn't on the verge of tears, wanting to put over on the side of the road and throw myself into oncoming traffic, but we weren't exactly early either.  It was raining, which again goes to show you just how under the weather I was since I was complaining about the SUN, and we once again ran for the ferry.  We snatched up our tickets and boarded the boat with about 5 minutes to spare.  To add insult to injury, I forgot Dramamine, so I was feeling awful the entire boat ride.  Have you ever been tired, hungover AND seasick at the same exact time?  Let me tell you, it is not pretty.  I made a make shift bed and laid down to try and feel better.  I feel asleep for about a half hour and woke up feeling like a million bucks!  Ratty liked me much better after that.

We docked around 11:30am and we made our way to the Inn to drop our stuff off and walk around.  We couldn't check in until 3pm, so we stopped off and got lunch at the Rose and Crown.  It is your pretty typical dive-ish place, that serves burgers and shows ESPN on the big screen by day and by night turns into a crazy dance party and/or karaoke scene.  The walls are decorated with old store front signs, all from places that used to exist on Nantucket but have since closed.  

Rumor had it that Joe Biden was on Nantucket the same weekend as us.  Okay, it wasn't a rumor, it was a fact, as he spends every Thanksgiving on Nantucket.  So we kept our eyes peeled for Secret Service or a glimpse of the VP as we walked around town.  We caught sight of a fleet of SVU's lined up on one of the side streets, with DC plates, so we knew he was close.  The Eagle has landed.  Or Vice Eagle, rather.

As we were walking up Main Street, we noticed an unusually large crowd gathering in front of us.  Who could it be?!  Who is it?!  I think I know, so I got my camera ready...

 YES!  There he is, Mr. Vice President himself!  Looking quite dapper if I do say so myself.  Although his jeans kind of tapered at the bottom and he was wearing loafers.  Hm, I guess I'll let it slide for the VP.

There were masses of small children asking for photos, but you could tell that the poor guy just wanted to drink his coffee and get to wherever he was going.  We decided not to muscle our way in for a photo op and just admired him from afar.

At this point, had I know what was going to happen next, I would have moved further down the street to capture it on film.  Ratty shook the VP's hand.  He said 'Mr. Vice President, nice to meet you, sir.'  And that was that.  I wish I'd known, because it would have made for a really awesome picture.  Maybe next year....

After walking around town for a while to come down from our celebrity sighting high, we went back to the Inn to check in and freshen up.  We both laid down for a while, I'm not at all sure what about Nantucket makes us nap so much, maybe it's the salt air, laid back lifestyle, or the excitement and energy we burn while on vacation, but I've never napped nearly as much in real life as I have on Nantucket.

We got up, got ready and made it down the street JUST in time to see the Annual Christmas Tree lighting in front of Town Hall.  There were so many people lining the street, sipping on hot chocolate, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The chorus from Nantucket High School performed on the steps of City Hall, singing lots of Christmas carols, complete with matching Santa Hats.

After a dramatic count down, the massive tree was lit, and everyone cheered.  Can you believe that the tree lighting ceremony started at 5pm?!  It was pitch black outside!  Gah, I definitely don't miss that part of winter!

Next Ratty and I decided to walk around and see what places were open for dinner.  We assumed that most of the restaurants right in town would be packed with people attending the lighting, so we wandered down to the wharfs to see what might be open during the off season.

And absolutely nothing was open.  All our haunts from the summer, Slip 14, the Ropewalk, boarded up with signs saying 'See You Next Season!'  It was like a literal ghost town, with no other souls in sight.

Here's Ratty taking a picture of The Ropewalk, so nostalgic. 

There weren't even any boats docked!  The absolute complete opposite of when we were there in July.  And you know what, I didn't totally hate it.  It was a different, much calmer vibe, very relaxing, as oppose to the crazy busy hustle and bustle of the summer.  Both have their pluses and minuses, but I have to say I like all seasons on Nantucket.  It's hard not to love everything about it, deserted or not.

We decided to grab a drink and dinner at a little tavern called The Brotherhood of Thieves, which I'd never been to before.  The tavern part is in the basement of the restaurant, and it's dark and cozy, with dark wooden benches, exposed brick walls, and a wood burning stove.  I have no idea why I'd never even see this place before, because it quickly became one of my favorite spots on the island.

It was pretty busy when we grabbed a drink at the bar, but by the time we were ready to sit down for dinner, the crowd had thinned out.  It was a Friday night around 10pm and we were probably one of 6 people still left in the bar.  Again, a far cry from our trip in July.

For dinner I opted for the Lobster Tacos, which were really an appetizer, but I'm not really a rule follower anyway.  They were teeny and yummy, filled with fresh lobster meat, salsa, guacamole and a spicy cream.  I could have eaten 2 more orders of them, but obviously I restrained myself.

For dessert we split the bread pudding, which didn't live up to the butterscotch bread pudding from Eastern Standard - the bread pudding that I hold all other bread puddings to.  It would have been really yummy if it wasn't filled with apples.  I don't like big chunks of apple, only paper thin slices, like communion.  Which is exactly what I used to say to my mom when I was little, 'Mom, can you cut my apples really thin, like communion?'  Where did I come up with these things?!

Although I wasn't the biggest fan of the bread pudding, Ratty sure liked it!

Like I mentioned, we were pretty much the only people in the bar, besides another small table and the piano player.  He came in as we were finishing dinner and absolutely blew our socks off.  He would ask us to suggest songs, and he would just start playing them, learning as he went.  He knew the words to almost every single song we requested, and for the ones he didn't, he made me and Ratty sing them.  It was pretty awesome, it was like our own private concert.

{A shot of a very empty, yet still very awesome bar.}

After he finished his 1 hour set, we started chatting and we swapped email addresses.  He knew we loved Nantucket, and told us to contact him if we were ever looking to rent a house or apartment for a week, he had lots of connections on the island.

After doing a quick Google search, thinking he was a realtor, I found out he's actually a Grammy winning composer from LA!  He wrote scores for movies, commercials and TV shows, eventually giving up the LA life and moving to Nantucket.  Isn't that insane?!  No wonder he could pick up and play any song we requested, hi he's an Emmy AND Grammy winner!

We wrapped up at Brotherhood and called it a night, it was only our first day on Nantucket and we had lots more to see and do, so we needed our rest!

62. November 25th, 2010 Picture.

I love Thanksgiving.  I love it almost as much as Christmas, but maybe even more because there is no pressure of giving gifts.  You can just eat, drink and be merry, all while enjoying time with your family.  Now that is my kind of holiday.

Keeping in line with my previous post, my mother goes above and beyond when it comes to holidays.  There is always so much food that we pile it on our plates and have to come back for seconds just to sample everything.  Not that anyone is really twisting our arms to come back for seconds, we do so willingly.  It's no shock that eating copious amounts of food and drinking  glasses and glasses of wine can make everyone a teeny bit sleepy.  Inevitably, deep in the throws of a Turkey coma, one of us will crawl on the living room floor and lay down.  Here is where our infamous holiday tradition comes in.  We will see our sibling, in a moment of weakness, and will literally jump on their backs and initiate a pig pile.  This has been going on for as long as I can remember and I have no intentions of letting it end soon.  I have pictures of me as a little kid, stuck on the bottom with my three grown siblings laying on top of me.  Nowadays, my nieces will fight over who gets to be on the bottom, little do they know it's only a matter of time before they are big enough that we'll actually become dead weight instead of bracing ourselves, like we do now.

Now would have been a really good time to show a picture of this years' pig pile, but I don't have one.  I do however have a picture of the stellar, borderline perfect cheese platter I made.  I think cheese is pretty much the greatest thing ever.  I've heard people say that you are either a chocolate or cheese person, and hands down I would rather give up chocolate forever than give up cheese for a week.  Nay A DAY.  When asked to bring something to a friends house, or to a party, or bring something for Thanksgiving, I always opt for cheese.

I got a little mozzarella and tomato salad, sharp cheddar (my absolute favorite), two types of goat cheese, apple chutney, almonds, cranberries and grape leaves.  I could have most definitely eaten this entire platter by myself, but thankfully or not thankfully, depending on how you look at it, my family came just in time to share.  I am sure that my cholesterol thanks you.

{You can see my mom's favorite napkins next to the cheese tray.  They are one of those Anne Taintor designs, and it's of a very prim blond woman, hugging a tall, dark and handsome man, with the caption 'I feel a sin coming on'.  Yes, these are my mother's favorite.}

Christine's friends live in the house next door, she actually lived there 12 years ago, and that is how her and my brother Eddie met.  We spent a good amount of time hanging outside, chatting and watching the kids run in the street.  Kidding, they were mostly in the driveway.  Here is a shot of me and Miss Abby.  She is 4, how does she even know what a peace sign is?  She is already a much better poser than I'll ever be.

The celebrating went into the wee hours when more neighbors came over for a visit.  The wine and champagne were still flowing, which would prove deadly for my head the next morning.  And my stomach, and just my general well being.  We wrapped up the kibitzing and I tucked myself into bed, maybe my mother tucked me in, I'm not really sure.  I had my alarm set bright and early for the next morning and I needed my beauty sleep.  What a great day!

62. November 24th, 2010 Picture.

My mother is pretty much the best cook ever.  Everything she makes becomes an instant classic, sending people's expectations so high, nothing ever compares.  We all have our favorite signature dishes, mine being delmonico potatoes and cucumber and onion, which is an amazing Polish side dish that my grandmother used to make.  I once saw the Barefoot Contessa make something kind of similar except she used greek yogurt and dill, and honestly, that was the one moment when I said to myself, 'so she is human, she can make a mistake', because dill is just gross.


The point of my story, and I promise there is one, is that my mom has so many signature dishes that we love, that my family has become high maintenance.  She cooks the corn for me, turnip for Eddie, the brussel sprouts for Eddie, green beans for me, and then a little side of French's Fried Onions, not on anything, just cooked alone, for me too.  I like to add them to my potatoes for some crunch.  Now that I look at it, it's really just me and and Eddie that are demanding, figures, the two babies of the family.  


Anyway, again, the point of my ramblings, is that the one thing everyone in my family loves, especially my nephew Cameron, are my mom's pecan rolls.  They are warm and cinnamony and gooey, and they are just oh so amazing.  We have to hide a small batch on holidays because if we didn't there would be none left over to have with your coffee the next morning, or for a midnight snack or to eat with your leftovers.  Yes, they are that good, they just need to be consumed all the time.


Even though they are in high demand and everyone's favorite, I get the impression from my mother that they are absolutely the biggest pain ever to make.  Like prepping days in advance and slaving over caramel sauce type pain.  They have to be mixed, kneaded, filled, rolled, then left to rest and rise overnight.  There is homemade caramel sauce and pecans poured into each individual muffin tin before the dough is added, then each pecan roll is brushed with butter.  Then we must wait.

And then wait a little more, until the rolls look like they might explode out of the muffin tin.

Only THEN can we cook them!  Phew.  My mom and I spent the entire night before Thanksgiving making pecan rolls.  Okay, more like my mom made them, and I added the pecans to the muffin tins, and drank champagne.  Like I said, it's extremely labor intensive.   They are totally worth the effort though because they are always the star of the day.  Even though we're all mostly grown ups now, except for me, I am and most likely always will be a 'big kid', we consider these a treat.  We don't have them all the time, so it makes us appreciate those days when we do get to have them!

62. November 23rd, 2010 Picture.

The countdown to Nantucket is on!  The plan is leave BRIGHT and early the morning after Thanksgiving (think 9:15am ferry) for our long weekend on the island.  As some of you might recall, Ratty and I got the most amazing deal from Rue La La, that offered us 2 nights at the Jared Coffin House, literally right in town, for $200 total.  That’s only $100 a night.  As soon as I saw the offer I scooped it up, and have been looking forward to it ever since.

So, we’re going for 3 days, one FULL day if you really break it down on a granular level (but who wants to get THAT detailed, over the details).  Since the weather has it looking a bit chilly, I’ve packed LOTS of layers.  What happens if it’s nice during the day, but we decide to go back to the room and change before heading out.  This past summer when we were on Nantucket, our B&B was a good 15 minute walk from town, so we typically found ourselves leaving in the morning and not going back to our room for the rest of the day.  Since we were staying so close this time around, it seemed obvious that we would pop back to the room occasionally to freshen up, relax, maybe take a nap or 4, which meant that I needed lots of fresh outfits.

That brings me to the monster of a suitcase that packed.  I had 1 bag to go home for Thanksgiving, and then a completely separate bag for Nantucket, that would save me the hassle of packing multiple times, and I’d be able to scoot out the door at 6:30am on Friday morning to make the ferry.

{No one has ever called me a light packer.  Ever.}

62. November 22nd, 2010 Picture.

I feel like I’ve been writing about Gamma Phi a lot, but I guess it’s great because I just love it so much!  November 22nd was a Monday night and I headed down to Bridgewater to help out with Elections – an advisors work is never done.  November 22nd also happens be our local Founders Day, the day that Epsilon Eta became an official chapter. 

Our badge was designed by Tiffany & Co., and has been voted the most desirable badge amongst all sorority pins.  It is pretty beautiful, if you ask me, don't ya think?  Did you know that the term 'sorority' was coined for Gamma Phi Beta?  It was created for us by Dr. Frank Smalley and we are considered the very first sorority.  Even now, most people equate sororities with female organizations, but that isn't always true.  There are a lot of female organizations that really female fraternities, PLUS you can have coed fraternities.  Try and wrap your head around that one.  

Our badge design hasn't changed very much since 1874, it’s a black enamel crescent moon, our symbol, cradling our letters.  There is just something really special about knowing that only a select few women will ever be able to own and wear this badge proudly. It was designed with our founders and sisters in mind and symbolizes our legacy as a sorority.   It’s 137 years of history that I am pretty proud to be apart of.  I feel very lucky to have found Gamma Phi Beta, given the choice to pick any organization, there is no doubt in my mind I would have chosen Gamma Phi a million times over.   Sometimes I can't believe they picked me too. 

62. November 21st, 2010 Picture.

One my favorite places to eat is the S&S Deli in Inman Square in Cambridge.  I’ve been going there since I was little and hardly ever change my order, I am that loyal.  I always get the turkey club without tomatoes on white toast.  Sometimes, if we go for Sunday brunch, I’ll venture out and get Eggs Benedict, but that's where I draw the line, I go no further.  I had been raving about this place to Ratty for years, YEARS and he had yet to experience it correctly.  I say correctly because he'd eaten there only once before, he sat at the bar and ordered a less than stellar beer, followed by an okay dinner.  He obviously didn’t have a seasoned S&S fan with him, because I would have made his first experience SO much better. 

Ratty had gotten my mom a gift card to the S&S (originally the Es & Es which is Yiddish for eat and eat, and we do, don’t worry), so she insisted on taking me and Ratty to brunch.  There was no complaining or feet dragging from us, since it's common knowledge that we LOVE brunch.  As expected the restaurant was very busy, so we took a number and waited a few minutes for our table.  No matter what time of day you go, the S&S is always crowded, always.  I've been on non-holiday Wednesday afternoon and there are people at every table - don't people work?!  


Our first order of business was ordering drinks - I got a strawberry mimosa, while Ratty got a traditional mimosa and my mom got a Bloody Mary.  I really wish I liked Bloody Mary’s, they look amazing, and people rave about them.  I come from a long line of Bloody Mary drinkers, we have secret family recipes that are made by the gallon for parties, but I just can't bring myself to like them.  Le sigh.

We poured over the menu, well, Ratty poured, while my mom and I knew exactly what we were going to order, we get the same things every time!  We started off with an order of boneless S&S wings, which are delicious and more sweet than spicy.  I followed up with the Eggs Benedict, my mom got knockwurst and beans (this place is a straight up Yiddish Deli, for sure), and Ratty got the Petit Filet, which came with poached eggs and potato pancakes.  All the food was absolutely amazing, I would expect nothing less, obviously.  Ratty could not stop gushing about how good his brunch was, which made me proud since I'd been plugging the place for 5 years.  It was an amazing brunch and we walked out of there so full we were swearing off food forever.  That did not last long, as I'm sure I was hungry again a mere 3 hours later.  Typical.

62. November 20th, 2010 Picture.

How does one write about the greatest day of their life?  How can you possibly sum up all the feelings, thoughts and sights into words?  That is how I feel as I write this post, there is no way that I could ever do it justice, but I am going to try.

So what happened on said 'Greatest Day of My Life' you ask?  Only the best thing ever, I went to the Yankee Candle flagship store in South Deerfield MA.

Ratty and I decided to take a road trip out to western Mass (aka I decided but promised him beer and food for his cooperation) to visit the Mecca of Candles.  Part of the draw of heading to Western Mass for the day was to also see my friend Kerrie, who moved out there after college to be closer to her now husband, Joe.  We made plans to meet them for lunch at the Northampton Brewery, which is nestled in the cutest, most quintessential New England town ever. Ratty and I made fantastic time, it took us about an hour and a half to get there, so we got to the restaurant right at noon.  We grabbed 2 seats at the bar, ordered a few beers and waited for Kerrie and Joe to arrive.  Fittingly, Ratty ordered the Redheaded Stepchild and I ordered the Golden Child - the two most perfect beverage titles that sum up our personalities and birth order hilariously.  

Kerrie and Joe arrived a few minutes later, so we took our beers upstairs to grab a table.  The brewery is in a really cool building, with floor to ceilings windows, allowing in lots of my personal favorite, natural light.

I love Kerrie and Joe, but since they live so far away, we don't get to see them as much as we would like.  I think the last time Ratty had seen them was their wedding, which was a year and a half ago!  So yea, a visit was definitely overdue.  It was really great to hang out, catch up and spend some quality time together over beers.  Kerrie even managed a slight drunk dial to our other high school friend Maura, telling her how much we missed her and that we needed to work on plans for us all to get together.  Between the food, beers and great company, it was hard to pull ourselves away.  We finally managed to say goodbye around 3pm, realizing that we still had an entire outing, the main event of our road trip, to get to.  We said goodbye to Kerrie and Joe, and then walked around the town a little bit, popping into a used book store and a coffee shop.  We got back on the road to drive the 20 minutes to South Deerfield.  I was beyond giddy.

In the parking lot before we even made it outside.  I was jumping out of my skin with excitement.  This place is no joke, there were school buses, vans and tour buses filling the parking lot and employees with orange vests and flags directing cars to free spots.  

The FIRST Storm Watch display I stumbled on, looks like I am not the only one that loves it!

The place is huge, absolutely huge.  Ratty and I walked in and immediately were overwhelmed.  Right as we walked through the door, a woman handed us a map, a MAP, and we did our best to get our bearings.  There seemed to be endless amounts of rooms and attractions, I wasn't sure we'd ever get to see it all.  We planned our route, making sure to stop at the food court mid-way through, in order to rest and reboot for the second leg of our exploration.

After walking through the country store section, which was already about 7 times the size of a normal Yankee Candle store, we were lead into a  huge, white room, filled with every candle Yankee Candle makes.  They had the yet to be released new releases, plus a few rare and/or retired scents.  I quickly began filling my hand basket with votives and accessories, and eventually had to swap in my basket for a cart, because well, let's face it, I needed to buy a lot of things and those candles are heavy!  One of the displays I kept coming back to was the votive display that reached from one wall to another.  There were baskets filled with every scent Yankee Candle makes and I spent a good amount of time smelling, considering and mulling over which votives I'd add to my mounting collection.  Even Ratty got in on the action, buying is first votive (Fresh Water) and a little glass holder.  I am definitely rubbing off on him.  Although I bought 3 holders (2 for presents) and 20 votives, so Ratty isn't up to my level yet, but honestly, who is?!

Only the greatest candle ever!  I bought 4.  Only 4!

In one section of the room, they had a fragrance perscentality section, oh you read that right, where you could figure out what scents you liked  the best.  Each little door had a different theme, like elegant, creative or optimistic, and you were supposed to open the door and see what scent corresponded with that mood/trait.  I slightly modified this and made it a game, because everything is better when you're being competitive.  I would close my eyes, open the door, and try to guess the type of candle I was smelling.  I got almost every single one right.  Ratty could not believe it, although, he shouldn't have been THAT surprised.

Next we made our way to the Christmas area, complete with a candy store, toys, Lego Land, and...

SANTA!  Yes, it is Christmas EVERYDAY at Yankee Candle!

Yankee Candle has a signature scent that they ONLY sell at their Flagship stores.  You can't buy it online or in regular stores, which meant I needed to own it immediately.  What made it even MORE perfect (as if such a thing could exist) was that it was called Edelweiss, which as most people should know, is one of the stars songs in the Sound of Music.  Sigh, whenever Christopher Plummer sings it after all the children fall into the river I absolutely swoon.  If there was any candle out there that screams Amy, it is this one.  It was MADE for me.  So I bought it, obvi.  Just one though, I didn't want to go crazy.  Plus I'll need a reason to go back to the flagship store in the near future to buy more!

Ratty needed a time out from the Bavarian Village.

Once you walked through the Christmas shop, you were taken to a Castle, which lead to the Bavarian Village.  The walkways were lined with cobble stones, small shop windows lined the streets, and there was even a moat that ran under the drawbridge.  How authentic.  This place is seriously like an amusement park, minus the rides and instead of games and prizes, it's filled with thousands of scented candles.  YES PLEASE!

They even had barrels of glass pickle Christmas ornaments.  Every one in my family has a pickle ornament, stemming from a game that my brothers and sister got when they were little.  It was a jar filled with plastic pickles, and the trick was once you got them all out, you'd never be able to get them all back in, there would always be one left.  So, my family decided to make that extra one an ornament and it's been on our tree every year since.  The original plastic pickle is on my brother Ronny's tree, but we all have a glass pickle to keep the tradition alive.  The original German tradition is that parents are supposed to hide the pickle on the tree someplace, and the first child that finds it on Christmas morning gets a special gift.  Why a pickle?  Who knows.

Once you crossed the drawbridge you were lead into an evergreen forest, where it snows every 4 minutes.  No seriously, each and every day, even in the summer, it snows.  I told you, this place is no joke!

After dragging Ratty through half of the flagship store, we stopped off in the food court for a break and some snacks.  I bought him an ice cream, because he had been such a good boy all day!  I got a coffee and some popcorn and we just rested our feet, looking over our purchases, and listening to the mechanical animal jug band that was playing next to us.  No seriously, they were robot animals singing twangy songs about candles.  Had Ratty not gotten ice cream, this may have been a tipping point in a negative direction, but he was a good sport and we began our trek through the second half of the store.

Way in the back of the store, we found a sports memorabillia section, filled with shirts, pennants, hats, framed pictures complete with a TV and leather couches.  Had Ratty seen this earlier I'm pretty sure I would have been exploring the place by myself.  We joked that the store should really have a bar where all the men can go hang out while the women shop - everyone wins!

The last section we explored was the museum, which chronicled the history of Yankee Candle, from the beginning to where it is today.  The founder, Michael Kittredge, started the company in his basement, and sold it about 10 years ago for $650 million dollars.  IMAGINE?!  No, I can't, it's insane!  He has since started a rival candle company in the same area, hiring most of his original staff from the flagship store.  I talked with the attendant in the museum about this and was completely fascinated, I wanted to know everything, but Ratty's eyes started to glass over, so I politely said goodbye and we made our way out.

Along with the history of Yankee Candle, the museum also showed the different ways candles had been made throughout history, entertaining AND educational.

4 hours, 3 tumblers, 20 votives, 3 candle holders, 1 coffee, 1 ice cream, 1 bag of popcorn and partridge in a pair tree later, we had seen the entire store.  It was, like I said earlier, the greatest day ever!