Blog — "weekend"

This past Thursday was Andrew's birthday. For his birthday this year, he wanted to go camping. On Friday evening we set out to drive a couple hours out to Rocky Gap State Park near Cumberland. A two hour drive turned into three after nearly running out of gas and then aimlessly driving around in the dark trying to find the campground. And that is all you need to know. We shall never speak of such gas incident and driving around in the dark incident again.

Regardless, we arrived at our campsite around 10pm, had to set up in the dark, and proceeded to make a fire so that we could eat some food, drink a clandestine beer (alcohol is banned in the state parks, but we like to be sneaky), and then go to bed. Lilah may or may not have decided that she was going to curl up all 75 pounds of her in between my knees. Yes, that dog is amazing. And by amazing, I mean a jerk. Not really. Well, at least not most of the time.


Saturday morning involved dutch oven egg bake making and lots of delicious French press coffee. After our ridiculously huge breakfast, we set out on a five mile hike around Lake Habeeb. It was a gorgeous trail with plenty of little spots for us to stop and let Lilah swim. Hiking and swimming all day long? Lilah was on cloud nine.







After our long afternoon, we returned to our campsite for some chips and salsa and more clandestine beer. See how sneaky Andrew was being?
 And since this camping trip was only a weekend long, a lot of it revolved around food since we weren't out and about as much as we usually are on bigger trips. So for dinner, we made the most delicious chicken enchiladas ever in our dutch oven. Yum.



We woke up to rain on Sunday morning, so quickly made a pancake and bacon breakfast and then packed our things up to head back home. Despite it being a quick trip, it was great to be able to relax and not have any obligations. Phones were turned off because there was no reception anyway. House projects were put on hold. No errands needed to be run. We could do whatever we wanted to do in the moment. And the best part about today? Lilah has been passed out sleeping in the living room all day. Not a peep. :)

How was your weekend? Did you do anything adventurous?

This weekend, friends of ours invited us to the Maryland winery DeJon Vineyards for wine tasting. After having gone to school in Central New York, we were familiar with the fact that there are vineyards abound there. However, we had no clue that so many vineyards and wineries existed in Maryland. DeJon Vineyard was a smaller vineyard that has been producing wine for about five years. While only a thirty minute drive from the city, it offered a rustic countryside reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the every day life. Places like these sometimes make Andrew and I think about moving to the country, but only for the moment while we get a chance to recharge our energy.



This was my first time going to a vineyard for wine tasting and being the wine lover than I am, I think it'll have to happen again the future. Have you ever gone wine tasting?

This past weekend, Andrew and I drove up to the Pittsburgh area to stay with my aunt and uncle and visit my grandparents. It had been a while since I had been able to spend time with my dad's side of the family. My parents drove from Indiana to meet up with everyone, my great aunt also drove in to visit, and my cousins visited along with their daughters. We spent Saturday afternoon and evening relaxing outside in the backyard and enjoying a delicious lasagna for dinner. No meal would be complete without my uncle's wine. He has his own wine cellar at their house and we were able to enjoy some incredibly tasty chardonnay and Chianti.

Sunday morning was spent on the deck outside, enjoying some of my mom's pastries that she had brought with her from her bakery in Indiana, while my uncle began firing up his outdoor wood-fired oven. For those of you who may remember, my parents have a wood-fired oven in their backyard which inspired my aunt and uncle to do the same. We enjoyed wood-fired pizza for lunch and a relaxing afternoon on the screened in porch before heading back to Baltimore. For those of you that have never tried wood-fired pizza (or wood-fired food for that matter) I highly recommend that you consider building an over like this in your back yard if you have the space. As my dad always says, "You put the food in the oven and it automatically turns out good."

All around, it was a very relaxing weekend. Not only was it great to see family, it was pretty fabulous to have absolutely nothing on the agenda for the entire weekend.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting over the holiday weekend?

On the weekends when the weather is warm, we often try to escape Baltimore for at least one day to enjoy a day of hiking. We pack our Camelbacks with water, granola bars, and of course a camera. This weekend we went to Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace, which is located in the Susquehanna River valley.

On our way, we drove through rain showers that were less than promising for a day outside, but upon our arrival, the weather improved and we were able to get lost in the woods for a few hours amongst the beautiful and lush plant life. We were also able to see some wildlife-- a snake that nearly slithered by my foot, leaving me jumping away in shrieks (snakes are that one thing I just can't stand!) and a baby deer staring us down on our trail while the mother stood nearby (you can spot the baby in one of the photos if you look closely!).

After our hike, we made a few pit stops amongst some historic mill buildings and in a small park in Havre de Grace that had beautiful views along the Susquehanna River and out into the Chesapeake Bay.


I've been trying to take the weekends off recently since I have much more time to get things done during the week. It hasn't been easy. I spent all day Saturday working on a new line of products that will be coming to the shop soon, but then I forced myself to take off Sunday. Getting out of Batimore made Sunday even more enjoyable.

How was your weekend? Did you go on any adventures out and about?

Happy Monday everyone! My weekend passed by quickly, but without much in the way of adventure. We spent a lot of time on the patio and roof deck, went to Andrew's firm's annual company picnic, and continued working on our basement project. On Friday I got some new camera gear, including a new lens that I had been wanting for quite some time. I spent some time playing with it, but have not had enough practice in yet to be perfect. Here's a work in progress.
Aside from the aforementioned, this weekend was really relaxing. It was the first weekend that I didn't work on anything in my shop since I can't even remember when. Weekends are meant to be enjoyed and I'm glad to have finally gotten back to a point where I can do just that.

What did you do during the weekend?