Fall in the Berkshires

A week overdue, 

but better late than never.

The hubs and I had our last little weekend getaway before the babe arrives.

We spent Columbus Day weekend in the tiny historic town of Lenox, Massachusetts.

We stayed at the Birchwood Inn, a small bed and breakfast perched on a little hill.

We were greeted by the inn's two dogs, Quinn and Piper...

Enjoyed a delicious home cooked breakfast each morning,
And pretty much took in the best of this season in the mountains.

I tried to narrow down the hundreds of pictures we took,

but the town and the weekend were so beautiful, it was hard. 

I'll just let the photos do most of the talking.

These blue skies greeted us each morning, and stuck around all day.
Gotta love the October sun in New England.
On the right, the appropriately named Church on the Hill, across from our B&B.

Day 1: After exploring some antique shops that were definitely a bust,
we ended up at Bash Bish Falls State Park.
Apparently home to the largest waterfall in Mass.
Not too impressive compared to others I've seen, but the hike was pretty, nonetheless.

 

 We ended the day with dinner downtown, and some heart to heart talks
about what the future holds for our little family.

Our morning hike on Day 2: Kennedy Park
What is now Kennedy Park used to be the grounds of the historic Aspinwall Hotel.
The hotel burned down in 1931, but remnants can still be found if you wander off the beaten path.
The park is full of trails...you could get lost in there, but it's worth it.
The views were gorgeous.

After our hike and an afternoon nap, we headed to Bartlett's Orchard for some apple picking.

On the way, we pulled to the side of the road at a lookout and this was what we saw.
Some nice man even offered to take our picture.

I've been to a number of orchards in my years

and I promise you, I'm not exaggerating when I say this was the best.
The hot cider and warm, fresh out of the oven cinnamon donuts alone
probably would have been enough to win this pregnant girl over.

But the scenery? And the apples?
It was all so good.

Talk about rolling hills of apple trees. Perfection I tell ya.

Climbing apple trees whilst 7 months pregnant? Sure, why not?

I told you it was hard to narrow it down.
Needless to say, we had a great weekend.

You really can't beat fall in New England.

cape cod weekend.

We spent this past weekend on a little getaway to the Cape.

Even though it's only a short drive from Rhode Island,
this was my first time there and I pretty much fell in love. 

Every little town epitomizes all that New England has to offer.

We stayed at a little B&B in Chatham, on the southeast corner of Cape Cod.

The whole town was beyond gorgeous. 

It's surrounded on three sides by water.

Shingled houses, hydrangea everywhere, and quaint little downtown

complete with ice cream shops, penny candy counters, and one of a kind boutiques.

We lucked out with picture perfect weather all weekend.

And I took this opportunity to break out my Cannon again. Felt good.
We started out the weekend driving to Provincetown, at the very tip of the cape.

main street P-town. cute little shops.

isn't he handsome?

pilgrim on a bike, yep.

gorgeous.

pretty roses. the beach behind main street.

 We spent the day exploring the shops and interesting folk that make up P-town.

Then made our way back toward Chatham to check into our abode for the next few days.

the captain's inn.

breakfast on the patio each morning.

downtown Chatham.

beautiful beach.

we took a hike that lead to that little light house.

15 weeks on Nantucket sound!

before dinner.

the full moon rising over the bay.

a pretty ending to the night.

Sorry for the photo overload, but I did try to narrow it down.
I guess it's safe to say our first trip to the Cape was a success,
and we can't wait to return.

The husband and I love taking little mini trips like this.
I know they won't be quite as easy once we have a little one in tow,
So we're really soaking it all up!
We have another little getaway planned for the fall,
a babymoon of sorts :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

fancy friday: summer concert style

It's been quite a while since I linked up with my blogging & real life buddy {av}

for Friday's Fancies...and I've missed it! This week I'm back in action. 

Today, the hubs and I are dropping the pups off at Grandma & Grandpa's
and headed on a road trip five and half hours south to Atlantic City, NJ
for the DMB Caravan Tour music festival.

I've been looking forward to this weekend since we purchased our tickets months ago.
We will be attending two of three days of the festival which includes about eight hours
of live music each day, ending each evening with a full three hours of DMB themselves.
Live music+Husband+Vitamin D=a perfect summer weekend!

Before this summer, I had a slight fear of the maxi dress. Now, being pregnant and all, I've embraced them.
I have purchased two so far, one of them being the J.Crew summerstock maxi pictured above.
Hopefully it will be a good pick for a full afternoon and evening of music on Saturday!

Have a great weekend friends!

Hello November

November already? All the pretty leaves are starting to fall, and the air is turning much more crisp. Winter is right around the corner I'm sure. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready for it yet.

We had a great day trip to Salem on Friday. My suspicions were right, this place was very different all decked out for Halloween. It was a chilly day, and the sky was a little eerie looking which made the whole experience that much better. The streets of downtown were crowded with people. Some were like hubs and I, just there checking out the sights, but some people were serious! I'm talking witches dressed to the nines, on their way to get some potions for the spells they were about to perform that evening. And believe me, Salem is not lacking in the stores that sell potions, if that's what you're in to.

We spent the day exploring, browsing the shops, enjoying a pumpkin martini (for me anyway) and hot apple cider, but mostly just checking out the scene.

Some highlights: The biggest dog I've ever seen in my life. And a black cat that followed us for a bit. Bad luck? I hope not. Of all the weeks, we need some luck this week! (More on that later!) And a seriously haunted looking house, right next to the graveyard.

Saturday was a low key day. I broke out our new crock pot and made a delicious dinner while the hubs was working and we spent the night in, which was just perfect.

Sunday, we headed over to my sister in law's to see our little nieces and nephews all dressed up! I finally tried Lilly's pumpkin costume on her yesterday afternoon and it was too big! I tried to find a replacement last minute, but the pickings were slim. I managed to get the last medium dog costume I could find...a princess! More appropriate than a pumpkin anyway...

Let me tell you, getting 3 kids and a dog to cooperate for a picture is no easy task. It's a bit blurry, but this was the best I could do!

Road Trip

Tomorrow, hubby took the day off and we are headed north for a day trip. Where you ask? Salem, Massachusetts. A little New England seaside town known as America's "bewitching seaport."

You may remember from history class back in the day. Salem is best known for the witch trials of 1692. A lot of the tourism today centers around this history. There are witch museums, ghost tours, haunted houses, you name it.

We have been to Salem once before, a few summers ago, but I suspect the atmosphere will be a bit different there on Halloween weekend.

We're planning to have dinner at a jail-turned-restaurant, the Great Escape.

And taking a walking ghost tour around the town and exploring the rest of the "haunted happenings" Salem has to offer. Should be a great time!

Pictures to follow, I'm sure. Have a great weekend!