Marriage Week 44

September 10 - September 16

Visited Mystic, Connecticut

When I told Kamil that I wanted to go to Connecticut, he said there wasn’t anything worthwhile there and we should just continue through to Rhode Island. Well, I was bound and determined to find someplace cute to stop, and my research led me to the water town of Mystic! While we were there, he even said he was surprised and said it was a good spot to stop. First we stopped and got some ice cream from a little shop along the water and sat on a bench and watched the boats go by. The rest of the afternoon we popped into all the little shops and boutiques including a Polish pottery shop. We ended our afternoon getting a cocktail and snack at Red 36.

A Weekend in Newport, Rhode Island

After our little pit stop in Connecticut, we drove to Rhode Island where we spent the next two days in Newport. It’s everything I thought it would be - the preppy water life, yachts, sailboats, tons of seafood and of course the jaw-dropping Newport Mansions were just incredible. We walked along the cobblestone streets and went into the shops, including a wonderful glass blown studio where we picked up an adorable glass pumpkin to remember our trip by! For lunch on the first day we dined outside on the rooftop of Midtown Oyster Bar with wonderful views and delicious food…plus it was enchanting inside! To wrap up our first day in Newport we went to none other than The Breakers, one of the most iconic mansions on the island and another jaw-dropping Vanderbilt property. Words can’t express how fantastic it was inside.

Our second day in Newport was supposed to begin with a scenic sailboat cruise around Newport but sadly the weather did not cooperate; a bit too windy conditions means our sail was cancelled. Instead we grabbed a coffee at (the insanely overpriced but fantastic views) Coffee Grinder and took in the sites for a bit, and then headed over to the Cliff Walk. After our walk we popped into the Marble House, another Vanderbilt property, and again was left breathless by the exquisite architecture, design and views.

Next Stop: Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The last state in my New England bucket list was New Hampshire, so off to Portsmouth we went. We were only able to spend about 24-hours here but I really enjoyed what we did see. We stayed right in downtown by the port so that made it super easy to walk to everything. While Kamil went to go visit a customer during the day, I went out and explored the town. I stopped into a funky coffee shop and enjoyed a maple vanilla latte (when in Rome right?!), browsed through a natural skincare and beauty store, and bought a wonderful wintery candle from Farm + Sea that was grapefruit + fir. Kamil returned from his customer and we enjoyed a late lunch of popovers!! Oh my goodness these were to-die for…and I haven’t ever had a #glutenfree popover ever so that was exciting.

Final Stop: Maine

The whole reason for this impromptu road trip was actually to get to Portland Maine where I had a work event for the remainder of the week. I first visited Maine back in 2019 when Kamil and I were dating long distance. We both flew up here for a long weekend visit combined with a work trip and it became one of our favorite destinations during our dating years. Being by the water is always refreshing and relaxing, but Portland also has an epic food scene (especially if you enjoy seafood) which we adore. During the first few days in Portland we definitely enjoyed the sites and tastes of the town… visited Holy Donuts (my favorite #glutenfree donut spot ever), stopped by the Maine Head Lighthouse, had a lobster roll at Bite Into Maine, went back to Street & Co. for their fabulous mussels, and killed some butternut squash, cranberry, ricotta Otto pizza.

Surprise! We’re Pregnant!

Maine has always held a special place in our heart, but now it holds an even MORE special place because while we were in Portland (on Wednesday the 15th) we found out that we’re pregnant!!! We were totally shocked and not expecting this little blessing quite this soon, but we have been praying that when it was God’s timing, He would bless us with a family. So here we are - totally shocked, excited, nervous and overwhelmed for this next season in our life.