Summer's end

Now that my vacation has come and gone, it really feels like summer is ending. I can't believe that it's almost September and while fall is usually my favorite season, this year I'm not as enthusiastic as I have been in the past. I think it mostly has to do with my lack of full-time degree-related employment. I hate that it still dictates how I feel and I'm really going to try and focus on all the other wonderful things in my life. I'm going to approach fall as a fresh start. Crisp leaves, sweaters, and cool evenings are definitely welcome, especially after this steamy summer here in NYC.

Vacation was WONDERFUL. My sweetie and I spent 10 days in Southern Maine. His family has a little cottage there that his grandfather built in the 1950s and they've gone almost every summer since he was a kid. His uncle recently bought a house across the street so we got to spend some time with more family. We overlapped our trip with my sweetie's brother and his girlfriend, then had the house to ourselves for a week. I absolutely loooooove the beach and while that was certainly the focus of our trip, we did lots of other fun stuff too. Maine weather is certainly cooler but we still had many sunny, warm days (though the water was never warm enough for me to go in - I'm spoiled by years of Caribbean vacations and 80 degree ocean temps). I'm super freckled now and am sporting a pretty silly bathing suit tan!

Each morning we'd take Louie to the beach (dogs are allowed before 10 am and after 5 pm). This was his first time going to the beach and he loved it (though like his mom, didn't want to go in the water!). This was also the first time that we took him off his leash without any sort of enclosure or fence outside. He was great and with the exception of a few times (a flying seagull, a giggling child...) he stayed near us and bounded along the beach, making lots of friends. We'd take him back to the cottage and then go back to the beach ourselves. We usually spent the afternoon at the beach, then came back to shower, read some more, and get some dinner. It was so simple and relaxing! My sweetie and I read a lot and didn't turn on the TV once (and I didn't miss it!) The cottage is adorable with a small, screened in porch, walls made from knotty pine, and cute rustic touches like old quilts (yay!) and funky vintage cookware. We slept A TON, going to bed before 10:30 many nights and waking up early. There were lobster rolls, ice cream breaks, and many other vacation food adventures. Our last night there we had steamed lobsters. Mmmm!

Besides the beach, we also spent an afternoon in Portland (about 40 minutes away) and rode a ferry around to some of the small islands near the harbor. We also played miniature golf (always a vacation fave), went kayaking in the salt marshes (so cool - we saw a turtle and tons of birds), and made s'mores on the grill.

While I love living here in busy NYC, it was so nice to get away to a simpler, quieter retreat. I spent some time working embroidery projects and reading a lot. It truly was an escape for me and my sweetie and I'm so glad that we got to spend all that time together, away from the stress of real life. I definitely feel refreshed and recharged and ready to keep up my energy for the job search. I've gotten a few leads recently so hopefully, I'll hear some positive news about my job search soon - cross your fingers for me as this could be the start of something really cool... We have lots of fun stuff coming up this fall including a few weddings, a trip back upstate to see our families, and visitors.

Now it's back to reality. We're both back to work tomorrow and have spent the day hanging around, unpacking and settling back in. Sundays are always dreary, especially rainy ones after vacation is over.

For pics of my Maine adventure, check out my Flickr photostream here.

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer! I'll be back blogging about crafty stuff soon.