Dear Cape Cod, You Are My Soulmate (Residentially Speaking).

Last weekend, Mr. S. and I packed up my new car (the ridiculously adorable Kia Soul) and hit the road for Massachusetts. My large extended Portuguese family was gathering for a family reunion, and I couldn't wait to see everyone. I have to admit though, I was excited for other reasons. 

For years, Mr. S. and I have talked about taking a long road trip along the New England coast, but it just hasn't happened yet. Since we bought a house and a new car this year, an extended vacay is just not in the cards. So, we used this reunion as an opportunity for a mini retreat and squeezed in quite a bit of sightseeing in just one day. I begged and pleaded like a whiny little girl suggested that we head toward Cape Cod because our hotel wasn't far from the Cape and I knew there would be plenty of photo ops (and I'm a sucker for a good photograph). 

We began our mini road trip with a short visit to a natural history museum. It did help pass some time, but we were pretty disappointed with how small this place actually was. Still, we got to see some cool things. Next, we searched for a place to grab lunch, and found a place called Brewster Fish House. It looked promising, so we gave it a whirl. I ordered the fried calamari and Mr. S. decided on the fried crab cake sandwich. While I enjoyed my lunch, sadly, Mr. S. was disappointed. His crab cake sandwich was...different (a nice way of saying not good). Being Cape Cod and all, you would think that a crab cake would be a signature dish here, but they just missed the mark with that. Oh well.

After lunch, we decided to drive all the way to Provincetown which is at the very tip of Cape Cod (and the entire state of MA). Unless you bring a couple of mountain bikes with you or are up for some major hiking, I don't recommend going this far. The beaches are ridiculously crowded (duh, right?) and if you bring a vehicle, you'll need to park it in one of the lots that are close to the beach. No big deal, right? Well sure, if you don't mind paying fifteen bucks just to park your car (regardless of how long you are there, FYI). 

The upside to all of this was getting to see the absurdly adorable shops, boutiques, restaurants and houses that lined the well-manicured streets and sidewalks of Cape Cod. Everything from the gray shingle-siding to the white carriage-style garage doors to the endless hydrangeas sucked me right in. If someone were to ask me what my dream home looked like, I would tell them to just go to Cape Cod and pick one out! Actually, all of Cape Cod is just so charming that I could definitely see myself living there (without the winters, though). 

While the sightseeing trip that I had fantasized for years about didn't quite turn out the way I had expected, overall it was memorable. And I'd do it all over again if it meant spending quality time with Mr. S. 

I Think I'm Gonna Like This Place...

Last week, I embarked on my very first antiquing trip with my cousin Kara, and I really cannot believe I waited so long! 

There's something truly special about browsing through hundreds of random objects that once belonged to other people, and experiencing the history behind these objects is enchanting (not to mention all of the wonderful photo ops)!

  

Tell me this isn't the cutest post office ever.

This was a staged dining room inside an antique store. Isn't it gorg? With prices rivaling Pottery Barn, though, we didn't purchase anything here- just browsed.

My dear friend/cousin Kara accompanied me on this trip, and I couldn't have asked for better company! We're two peas in a pod who appreciate the finer things in life (for a bargain, of course). I must say, the whole experience was quite productive. 

I picked up a beautiful French charcoal drawing of a mother and child, as well as a pair of vintage bird prints for a steal. Gotta love vintage artwork that's cheap!

 

Not only did I find some new/old treasures, but I also picked up a bunch of decor ideas and stored them in my memory bank for future reference. In fact, I see many more antiquing excursions in my future. Just don't tell Mr. S.  ;-)