Monday, May 23, 2022

Hello Monday and Hello Nantucket!

 


Hi Friends and Happy Monday!  Sarah and I are happy you stopped by!  If you blogged today, grab our graphic above and link back up with us below!




I am coming off an amazing weekend in Nantucket with most of my best friends (missed you Lea!)



I don't take these opportunities for granted...I am grateful for my tribe and the wonderful times we get to spend together...I know it won't last as kids get older and friends start moving around the country but enjoying life in the present and what a wonderful weekend it was!  Here is what it looked like...

 

Friday

 

I was up bright an early...did my devotionals and blogging with my coffee...got a little work down...said goodbye to my little fam and then headed out to pick up Suzy and Beth Ann...we headed straight through Boston and down to the Cape where we met up with Cass, Laurel and Michelle and all grabbed the ferry to NANTUCKET!  Yeah! 


We are on our way!


I was excited because I spotted a doctor I came to know during the pandemic...Dr Todd Ellerin...always on my local channel 5 WCVB...he looked like a movie star in person...I really wanted to go up to him and thank him for always being optimistic and calming during a very scary time...but I chickened out...ha!  Anyway, I digress.


Our ferry ride was quick and we were on the beautiful island of Nantucket in an hour!


We are here!


We grabbed our bags and walked to our hotel which was a little outside of downtown...about 7/10 of a mile...and when we got there, we were so excited that they put us in an adjacent building with connecting suites...it was amazing and so so pretty!  We stayed at "The Beachside"







Once we dropped our bags, we walked back to a little wine shop called Epernay and did a little wine tasting






and then we walked further back into downtown and hit Slip 14 for lunch and their "Berry Sexy" cocktails :)  Rob and I had stopped here during our 10 year anniversary trip in 2014.  You can read about that HERE

 




 then we walked around a little more...went into some of the adorable shops and tasted a glass of Laurel's fave Veuve (side note: also Elin Hilderbrand's fave!)

 


 

 Cute photo op!

 



Then it was time to head back to the hotel to change and freshen up for dinner!


So I am going to share a little story with you.  Laurel's book club had done a trip to Nantucket last year and they made arrangements to have Elin Hilderbrand visit them at the house they were renting.  She joined them for champagne and chatting and book signings and had a ball.  The girls asked if I wanted to reach out to some authors to see if anyone would meet us.


I reached out to our three favorite Nantucket authors- Elin Hilderbrand, Nancy Thayer and Pamela Kelley.


Elin never got back to me.  Pamela did and said she would've loved  to meet us but she was going to be off island this past weekend.  Nancy surprised me and got back to me and said she would LOVE to meet us.  She suggested meeting for a cocktail before our dinner on Friday evening so it was a date!  Then she gave me her cell phone #- I couldn't believe it- we were dying!

 

We had reservations at the restaurant "Breeze" at The Nantucket Hotel and Resort which was a real quick walk from our hotel.  We had agreed to meet at 6 since our dinner reservation was at 7.  They seated us at 6 and had an extra seat for Nancy.  When 10 past 6 rolled around, and she wasn't there, I decided to text her.  Her reply?  "Oh my gosh, I thought it was tomorrow night...jumping in my car right now and will see you in a few..you can order me a glass of chardonnay"  Here is this famous author apologizing to me and making things happen with no notice!  I squealed!

 

At about 20 past six, a door to the patio opened and she came flying in with a Nantucket Red Hat on...trying to stay in cognito and we kinda screamed at excitement....were so happy she came to join us!

 

Friends?  She is LOVELY...we enjoyed hearing how she came to Nantucket 30 years ago and fell in love and then we chatted favorite authors...life in general raising children together...what we do for work...etc...it was like just another friend..chatting with us....she signed some books we brought and we also got an amazing picture with her!

 


 

 (I have already framed it- Exhibit A)




Then it was time for her to go and get back to her husband Charlie who we loved learning about.  Then we ordered dinner and had an amazing meal and so many laughs!  The owner of the hotel, Mark, came over to introduce himself...he was very impressed that Nancy Thayer came to talk with us!  We felt famous for a second ;)






 

Made sure we sang Happy Birthday to our two May Babies

 

 

Love the Nantucket Hotel- it is where Rob and I stayed for our 10 year anniversary too! (Side Note: Elin Hilderbrand's new novel coming out is called "Hotel Nantucket" and it is based on this exact hotel!)

 




After dinner, we walked down to the Rose and Crown for a night cap and lots of dancing- it was so fun!






Beth and I left the earliest and grabbed an Uber since it was pouring out with thunder and lightening...what a great day!


Saturday


We were up bright and early.  BA and I walked downtown to grab coffees and breakfast sandwiches for us all to share..it was already a warmer day...we were excited for our main event!

 

Then we all relaxed and chatted for a bit before getting ready.

 

We took turns showering and all got ready for the main event.

 

Then we walked down to The White Elephant for the Nantucket Wine and Food Festival!

 






 There were so many great wines and ones that were new to me...always excited to find new ones I enjoy and learn how to pair them with different dishes.


Laurel was our ring leader of course and she made sure we hit the best wineries there!








There were some light snacks as well and my favorite BY FAR were the Mini Lobster Canollis with a Lemon Sauce made by The Langham Hotel in Boston....loved them so much that I am going to try and replicate them on Friday Night for Cass's bday get together at our house...wish me luck!  If they work, I will definitely share the recipe I create!





They had smoking cocktails at one booth...very intriguing...


 

One of the booths was The Wine Chips company.  We love their wine chips and they were giving away a new flavor ...so I snagged a container for the weekend...oh yeah and got a crazy pic with this guy who wouldn't leave us alone- HA!

 

LOVE Nantucket and not only because there are Jeeps EVERYWHERE- ha!



After the fest, we walked back to the hotel to freshen up for the night...and antics ensued of course....



Then we walked around a bit more...and had to hit the Lilly store of course...my fave was the Jeep parked outside that had a Lilly wrap...snapped some pics and sent to Rob and told them I needed to do this with my Jeep...I don't think he is having that ;)

 




 

 Getting this book!





Then it was time for our dinner! We had reservations at the famous Club Car



Waiting for our table...

 

Making friends....




 

and then enjoying another amazing meal!




 

Meanwhile...at home...I was getting some cute updates...






After dinner, most of the group was heading to The Chicken Box to dance...although I wanted to partake in more fun, I was toast by this point...so Cass rode an Uber back with me and got be settled and I was in bed by 8:30...just couldn't rally anymore...the rest of the gang hung out at The Chicken Box a bit and then headed back to The Rose and Crown because that is where the most fun was had!


One last selfie before Cass took off...




I crashed hard!




Sunday



Laurel, Michelle and I were up early to get the first ferry back to the Cape...we were on the 7:40 and grateful because we only hit a little traffic!



Once we got home, I dropped the ladies off and then couldn't wait to get back to my little fam....and I got a nice surprise when my brother came to visit too!


We love Uncle Matt!



The rest of the day was organizing and getting ready for another busy week as we head into the end of our school year!



Work is crazy again and I am here for it...I am actually the happiest when it is like this....so work is crazy and I am crazy apparently- ha!


Have a wonderful week friends!  I will be back for What's Up Wednesday!  Also, this Thursday is Monthly Musings with Patty and me and we are talking "Summer Fashion Preview".  See the questions below.  Hope you will join us!









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7 comments:

  1. Looks like an amazing weekend, Holly! The island, the AUTHOR(!), everything looks so incredibly amazing. That's funny about the Jeeps. They are everywhere in our town- impressed we have something in common with Nantucket, lol. The Lily one is too cute. My husband wants a Jeep and I keep saying no, we'll be like everyone here!! I hope you have a great Monday, friend.

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  2. Holly think looks like an absolute blast! I can not believe you met one of your favorite authors. And now I want to read one of her books. Jaclyn

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  3. I’m so jealous of your weekend! That sounds amazing!

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  4. What an awesome weekend! I can't believe you had drinks with Nancy Thayer...so fun!

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  5. What an AMAZING weekend! One of my dream trip ideas is to do the Boston-Cape-Nantucket thing. It all looked beautiful in your post and I cannot BELIEVE y'all had drinks with Nancy Thayer! What a wonderful person and author...this makes me love her even more. I love when authors come alongside you in life...Sally Hepworth is like this too, and follows lots of her fans on Instagram and even comments on occasion. Robin Jones Gunn is also like this and you know about Pamela Kelley, of course. How FUN!

    I don't know how to even have a week after that kind of weekend, but I hope it got started off on the right foot!

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  6. What an amazing trip! I would love to go there!

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  7. Your trip to Nantucket sounds amazing and I really enjoyed reading all about it! What a fantastic bunch of friends you have, you all look so happy and you certainly packed in a whole lot of fun over a few days. What a bonus to meet Nancy Thayer!!

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