And Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming…

I’m back! I know, it’s been a while, but turns out 2015 is a busy year! Who knew?

To catch you up, my holidays looked pretty much like this…

We decorated and had a holiday party! It centered on cocktails. It went well.

There were many pretty lights…

…and some incredible gingerbread houses.

All sorts of celebrating…

…and mischievous pups.

I traveled all over the East Coast. My train ride had some particularly spectacular views.

We even managed to escape to Vermont for the New Year.

A demonstration (and tasting!) at Laughing Moon Chocolates in Stowe, VT.

We stayed at the Green Mountain Inn, which was lovely.

(That’s a cider press, by the way.)

Yeah, like I was NOT gonna visit Ben & Jerry’s. Though it turns out they weren’t making ice cream that day…who knew they don’t make ice cream every day?

I even learned to cross-country ski. That’s The Boy’s little red hat…

Hope you all had wonderful holidays and a great January, too!

Much Ocean, No Moose

As promised, below is a selection of the five million pictures I took when the Boy and I drove up the Eastern coast of Maine and Canada to Prince Edward Island (PEI for the locals) and then back down again to Massachusetts. It was truly gorgeous, and though I didn’t catch a glimpse of the moose I was hoping for, we truly had a fabulous time.

The Boy flirting with danger before our first lobster roll at Red’s.

A friendly rooster on the door of the first bed and breakfast we stayed at, in Camden.

On the nearly-mile-long breakwater leading to the Rockland Harbor Breakwater Light.

We made it! The Rockland Harbor Breakwater Light itself. You can’t go inside, but the walk to get there is a lovely adventure.

Cairns on the (very steep) trail we climbed from Camden to the top of Mt. Battie.

0.5 miles can’t be that bad, we thought. Well, it was 0.5 miles straight up. This was towards the top of the mountain, where we were rewarded with a gorgeous coastal view.

A hidden trove of mushrooms. Don’t worry, we didn’t eat any…

But I did force the Boy to pull over to a roadside stand on one of our drives so I could purchase some wild Maine blueberries. When in Rome, right?

Visiting the sea caves in St. Martins – all red rock and moss. You had to walk out when the tide was low so you didn’t get trapped inside.

Speaking of moss…

The beautiful New Brunswick coastline as seen from a lookout on the Fundy Trail. A wonderful little national-park-like area which was driveable, hikeable, and had a number of interesting stopovers. We were a bit rushed as we were heading to PEI that day, but I for one certainly could have spent more time there.

An old sea captains’ graveyard discovered on a small windy path on the Fundy Trail.

A suspension bridge on the Fundy Trail. It shook when we walked across. Awesome. (But actually.)

The bridge to PEI.

Adirondack chairs on the coast near our incredible B&B.

A hidden lighthouse discovered during a day spent exploring PEI.

A view of the beach on the other side of the lighthouse. Can you spot it way off in the distance?

PEI is the proud home to three tremendous windmill generators. I find them rather beautiful.

Murray, the resident cat of the Johnson Shore Inn.

Gorgeous blossoms.

The Boy admiring the view in Acadia National Park. Doesn’t that distant building look like the lair of an evil genius?

Jordan Pond. We stopped at the Jordan Pond House for lunch, mainly to get their famous popovers. Other than popovers and lemonade, I’m not sure I’d recommend it…but it is a beautiful place. Beware the parking!

Some velvety-looking berries in the Park. Again, don’t worry, we didn’t eat them (though we did pick some wild blueberries and raspberries though at various points during the trip).

Atop Cadillac Mountain on our last day – the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard.

And finally, a stop for dinner in Portland – a vibrant city with a lot of good eating. Here, a lock wall near the water…thanks for sharing the trip!

Eating Out (in Maine): Maine Beer Company & Red’s Eats

We took a trip! It was a multipart trip – the Boy’s brother got married, which was the impetus, and then we rented a car and drove up the coast of Maine and Eastern Canada to Prince Edward Island. It was beautiful, and I’ll be sure to post a non-food-related roundup of photos once I get my nonsense organized, but for now a teaser with a couple of our more palatable outings from the first day of the trip.

First up was Maine Beer Company, where we stopped for “The All In” – a tasting of all eight beers they had on tap. To my recollection, this included: Tiny Beautiful Something (pale ale), Lunch (IPA), Another One (IPA), Mo (pale ale), Peeper (ale), Zoe (hoppy amber), Red Wheelbarrow (hoppy red), and Mean Old Tom (Stout).

Their beers, we discovered too late, tended very strongly towards the hoppy side of things (both the Boy and I are slightly beer-wimpy about hops). We could tell they were good hoppy beers, for the most part, but still not particularly to our taste. Mean Old Tom, the stout, was our favorite, with Red Wheelbarrow coming in last (that one might have actually just not been very good). We nevertheless declared it an excellent stop!

Next up, and more to my personal taste, was Red’s Eats, maker of a famed lobster roll.

At $18 (the same cost as our eight-beer tasting), we were skeptical, but apparently we were just lucky not to have to wait an hour to try the thing (our line was mercifully short). The roll IS stuffed full of an entire lobster (two claws right on top), pretty much bare bones, and served with mayo and butter. You actually had to start eating by picking off bits of lobster to dip, since it was too big to bite. (The Boy, who is not the biggest lobster fan, had a little trouble with this.)

Once you did bite, the roll was deliciously buttery, and I appreciated the large amount of lobster. It seemed a good, pure way to start our lobster roll experiences. Was it worth $18? Eh, maybe…but you sure can’t beat the view.

And here’s the info so when you go to Maine, you can form your own opinions about hoppy beer and $18 lobster rolls:

Maine Beer Company
525 US Route 1
Freeport, ME 04032

Red’s Eats
41 Main Street
Wiscasset, ME 04578

Hey There, 2013

I’m back! I seem to always fall away from the posting as the holidays rush in and make everything, well, crazy – hopefully I’ll be better with that this year. Maybe I’ll even make it a New Year’s resolution?

Anyway, lots has changed since we last spoke. I’m 24 (yikes), I live in an entirely new apartment (more on that later), and it’s 2013. Of course, a lot has stayed the same. Nessie is still an adorable demon, I’m still in L.A., and I still love all things food. Not that we expected that to change.

Anyway, since I’ve been gone a while, I figured I’d give you a quick look at my holidays.

The annual Perron family Christmas football game – a tie between parents and kids. I scored a touchdown! (Trust me, that’s an accomplishment.)

Delicious Christmas dinner at Grandma’s – Dad’s got skillz.

My grandmother’s 1980 Trivial Pursuit – needless to say, the parents came out waaaay on top on this one.

My aunt Diane’s beautiful Christmas decorations.

Glorious berries at Christmas brunch with my Mom’s family.

One of my aunt Libby’s and uncle Steve’s adorable new puppies. How can you resist that face?  

Happy New Year from Boston! The Boy surprised me with a hotel room in the city for the night – an excellent way to kick off 2013.

Anyway, a marathon of Say Yes to the Dress is on, so I’ve gotta run…

Some things never change.