#6 - go to the beach

labor day on long beach, ny

number six on the list was to go to the beach.  i grew up on a lovely, lovely lake in the midwest and also not too far away from some great sand dunes on lake michigan.  i only ever went to the beach on occasional family trips to florida or south carolina.  as much as i love the lake, i do love walking in the sand, the smell of the salty air and the soothing sounds of the waves crashing.

i've lived on the east coast for almost five years, and aside from a wonderful destination wedding on captiva island and a couple of non-beachy trips to coney island, i still haven't been to the beach.  if you look on the map, you will see that new york city is very, very close to the ocean.  however, this does not mean that it is easy to get to the ocean.  or so one would think.  most options involve taking a 2 hour subway ride, renting a car and sitting in traffic, or taking a train and then hailing a taxi.  but i came across the perfect beach getaway from the city.  long beach.

a direct express train from penn station had us at the long beach train station in just under an hour.  after that, it was a few short blocks from the station to the beach.  you do have to pay for a beach pass here, but i think it is totally worth it. the beach is clean and wonderful, and there isn't a touristy boardwalk.  it is very, very relaxing (if you can block out the sound of some of the louder new yorkers in the mix).  i can hardly wait to go back next summer!

p.s.  in an attempt to work on #15 on the list (shoot more film), i took an underwater disposble camera to long beach.  haven't quite finished the roll yet, though.  luckily, i took a snap with the iPhone!!

+++++++

soaking up the last bits of summer in maine

less than a week later, i found myself enjoying the final days of summer in old orchard beach, maine.  it was so wonderful!!  a bit of a trek to get up there, but it was so great to hang out with kristin and her family and visit their fantastic beach.  there were lots of great "fair food" type places (fried dough, candy apples . . . even a dairy queen!), but i was on a no-sugar diet (great timing, i know) and didn't get to enjoy any tasty treats.  i did however, get to play skeeball there!

so, after a long drought of no beach time, i had a double dose this summer!

here's hoping to a long weekend at the jersey shore next summer, more trips to maine and lots of visits to long beach!

protecting a sand fort from the entire ocean

i heart orla

have you heard the news?  orla kiely is publishing a book!  i have seen a few mentions of it on the orla kiely newsletter, but today, holly over at decor8 put up a post about the copy she received in the mail.  so wonderful!  i can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy.

 

available for pre-order on amazon.
(also, on my wish list.)

oh, orla, you make such pretty, pretty things.  xo

#20 - play skeeball

i wasn't sure how easy #20 on my list would be, so i ended up buying this awesome iphone app, just in case.

but when i went up to maine to visit kristin, we walked right by the arcade and saw in big letters, "SKEEBALL." yes!!!



while going to the county fair didn't quite live up to my childhood memories, playing skeeball totally surpassed them! (probably because i am much better at skeeball at age 33 than i was at age 10.) it was super fun and we got lots of tickets, so kristin's kids were able to get a decent prize. i snagged a tiny bouncy ball for myself, just to have something to show for my efforts. =)



so many tickets!!! playing skeeball as a grown-up is awesome!

#25 - go to a county fair

cross another one off of the list!

finding a county fair near manhattan proved to be a little tricky. but the dutchess county fair in rhinebeck sounded promising, so i asked some friends if they could go. elizabeth took the bait and we drove up to rhinebeck on sunday, august 29th.

i don't think this fair quite lived up to my expectations, but that could be because i haven't been to a fair in quite a few years and i always went to them in indiana. where, you know, people are more in to farming and stuff.



a lot of the games booths were the same all over the fair, but this one stood out to me (probably because it was so photogenic). we didn't play any games (mostly because the prizes weren't that exciting), but elizabeth's boyfriend tried to sink the creepy clown in the dunking booth. he hit the target, but was *just* outside of the inner circle. i think we were all sorry that he wasn't successful!



it was super hot, but we did manage to find some shady spots here and there. elizabeth and i both fell in love with these rainbow umbrellas.



we saw some sweet newborn farm animals and watched some dogs in the dock diving competition, which was really fun.



soaked up the sights and sounds, saw a mini parade, and even managed to walk by chuck schumer several times!



and i had an elephant ear!!! it was SO good. that one did live up to my expectations. mmm, i'm totally craving another one right now.

all in all, it was a good day. if we go again next year, though, i think we'll hit up a fair in new jersey. ;)

olioboard

i came across olioboard over on decor8. then, holly mentioned there was a contest going on, so i decided to check it out. the challenge was to take at least three items from grandin road and put together a room. the items i chose are the metal side table, the blue side table, the bulldog and the black dresser. i really like how it came out. i love the little pops of orange and blue and the repeating curves from the metal table in the wallpaper and clock.

if you like it, maybe you will head over and vote for me? pretty please?


and now? i am completely addicted to olioboard! what a fun way to put together a mood board! so much easier than tearing things our of magazines and catalogs, don't you think?