Mattapoisett

Mattapoisett, Massachusetts is one of my favorite places in the world.  In the past, it was an important shipbuilding center and later a popular vacation spot for summering Boston residents, including Oliver Wendell Holmes.  The name Mattapoisett is from a Wompanoag word meaning place of rest.

Things I love about Mattapoisett:

My father's house on North Street

Mattapoisett is an important place for my family. My father grew up going to his family's house in Mattapoisett every summer and then moved there full time right before high school.  When we were growing up, he would tell me and my brothers stories about sailing, swimming across the cove and being one of the small group of local families staying past the summer season. It's also where my parents met while in high school!

Me and my brothers  outside our Mattapoisett house

Childhood memories. When I was little my parents owned a summer house in Harbor Beach.  I have such strong, happy memories of summers at the house, walking down to the beach and reading in my sunny yellow bedroom.  My brothers and I would bike around and around the neighborhood, passing our home, the little house my grandmother still owned, the beach where my father and his siblings swam and played as kids, the house where he had lived and the homes of their close friends.  It was safe and wonderful and it felt like the whole neighborhood was ours.

Mattapoisett's famous seahorse! The 38 foot tall landmark was built in the 1950s to attract tourists to a gift shop on the property.  The gift shop building has since been removed, but supporters raised money to restore and preserve the seahorse in 2000. 

Cannon Street, Mattapoisett 

My grandmother's paintings. My grandmother Trudy painted several scenes of Mattapoisett and I think the setting had a strong influence on her art.

Harbor Beach

"Our Cape Cod Cottage in Mattapoisett"

Ned's Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1838 and originally included an attached lighthouse keeper's house.  The house was moved to Bourne on a barge across Buzzard's Bay in 1923, apparently with the final lighthouse keeper inside cooking breakfast.

It was purchased by the town of Mattapoisett in 1958 and has become a pretty park. 

The Oxford Creamery! Classic New England seafood and ice cream.

My dream meal (that's a coffee frappe)!

A Mattapoisett souvenir given to me by my grandmother
 (with a sneak peak of some of my favorite middle grade books) 

One of my favorites!

(Lots of) Exciting Things

Movie trailers!

                                    Pitch Perfect (special appearance by Flula!)- May 15, 2015

Into the Woods- Christmas Day, 2014

(Live-Action!) Cinderella- March, 2015

Insurgent- Spring 2015

William and Kate are coming to New York December 7th-9th!

Their schedule includes a trip to the 9/11 Museum, a visit to the MET and a Brooklyn Nets game. I wish I could go see them!

William, Kate, George and Lupo at Kensington Palace in 2014

Elizabeth and Charles at Balmoral Castle in 1952

Cute pictures from usmagazine.com

Also, Kate and William Funny Pictures

Gilmore Girls Reunion!

Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel and Amy Sherman-Palladino are reuniting at a panel at the ATX Television Festival in Austin in 2015.  I really hope the video ends up online!

Also, Emoji Gilmore Girls!

And finally, another classic teen show reunion!

Tower Poppies

In honor of Veteran's Day, I thought it would be appropriate the share this really cool memorial at the Tower of London marking the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.

The art installation is officially called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red and is made up of 888,246 handmade ceramic poppies.  Each poppy represents a British life lost during World War I. 

A Tower of London Beefeater planting the first poppy

Kate and William visiting the installation earlier this summer.

Poppies in a field in Flanders

Poppies became the symbol of remembrance following World War I because they grew all over the ravaged battlefields of Flanders.  The striking image of pretty blood red flowers (technically weeds) growing despite the death and destruction of war was immortalized by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae in this poem.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

A thirteen year old Army cadet placing the final poppy in a ceremony today.

I think the best and worst part of this memorial is the sheer number of poppies filling the dry moat of the Tower of London.  Knowing they each represent a British service member who died is staggering, especially considering that the total number of lives lost in World War I is over 5 million.

The poppies were originally supposed to be removed starting tomorrow as they were sold as part of a veteran's fundraising campaign.  The poppies have been extremely popular and drawing huge crowds, so many are petitioning to keep the installation in place longer.  I wish I was in London to see it!

Sources and more information about the poppies:
http://poppies.hrp.org.uk
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30000333
http://www.thetimes.co.uk
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Mount Washington Hotel

The Mount Washington Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in the world.  It's a beautiful, old-fashioned grand hotel and a New England classic.  It was opened in the summer of 1902 and later hosted the Bretton Woods International Monetary Conference in 1944, which established the World Bank and the IMF!

Things I love about the Mount Washington:

The lobby.  Seriously, it's a really pretty lobby. 

Especially when it's decorated for Christmas with a giant gingerbread house!

The porch.  This porch is the best.  It's wide and peaceful with a beautiful view and they bring you drinks and cheese!  When I'm there, I spend most of the time reading in the wicker lounge chairs and justifying ordering more drinks and cheese.

The canopy tour.  This is actually a love/hate thing.  I'm glad I did it and the actual zipping was really thrilling and fun.  

The whole standing on tiny wooden platforms 50 feet high in swaying trees thing, not so much.

My brother Michael mid-zip.

Breakfast in the main dining room.  So good, so pretty.  My mother, sister-in-law and I also love tea in the princess room. 

The Spa. This was the first spa I've been to, not that I've been to that many, but it's still my favorite. The first time there, my sister-in-law and I took three showers just because it was so nice and we loved the spa's signature body products.  The spa employees thought we were crazy, but it was worth it for those relaxing pine scented showers!

The cave. A prohibition era speak-easy.  Plus there's bar shuffleboard!

The atmosphere. My favorite part of the hotel is the atmosphere.  It's one of those places where every detail is done well.  There are monograms on all the napkins, a little newspaper with daily events for hotel guests, cute gift shops and a post office on the street on the lower level, help yourself croquet on the lawn and a table left empty every night in the main dining room for the wife of a past owner who supposedly haunts the third floor.  I can't wait to go back!

Pictures are mine or from http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington.

First Post!

This blog is basically a way to remember and organize random things I like or found interesting. Maybe you will like some of these things too!

Here are some things I liked this week:

I knew there was a good reason I don't like this game.  Creepy real life Monopoly

 Sisters over time

I hope this is good!  Series of Unfortunate Events coming to Netflix

Anne of Green Gables Wedding! Pretty!

This great book is going to be made into a movie!  I can't wait to hear how they say capaill uisce because I have no freaking clue. Scorpio Races Movie