My Summer In The Rearview

Hello, dear friends!

It is so wonderful to be back.  Did you have a good Summer?  Mine was fan-tabulous!  It was a lot quieter than the past two Summers, which was fine with me. 

Let me start with the BEST news of the Summer... 

Two of my favorite people moved to NYC!  NYC - as in a three-hour Amtrak ride from her Mama.  I am so excited.  

Adorable Jonathon was offered an outstanding career opportunity a couple of months ago.  Both #1 and Adorable Jonathon loved their jobs and lifestyle in Dallas so as exciting as this opportunity was, it was a bittersweet decision.  

My #1 began interviewing, and before we knew it, our girl was offered her dream job with a Marketing firm.  

Adorable Jonathon and #1 ended up renting an apartment in the same building as their dearest friends, Miss Julia and Sir Tim, who recently became engaged over Labor Day weekend.  

Is it just me, or does it remind you of another foursome that lived in NYC in the same apartment building? 

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Our #2 accepted a new exciting position with her last company.  She will remain in Big D, and it looks like there will be a lot of travel in her future (hopefully to Beantown).

This pic was taken the day before our New Yorkers left for their new home. 

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Here are a few highlights of my Summer.

Day Trippin'

In June, I met Sista at the Pequot Library for the Southport Garden Tour in Connecticut.  The lovely lady in the middle is our dear friend, Caroline, and the brains and brawn behind the beauty of the magnificent tour.  I don't know how she did it in all of six weeks. 
I've been to a few of these garden tours in my day, and I must say that this one was the best one I have ever attended.

Random Fact:  I used to babysit for Caroline and her sibs.  
That's probably why she turned out so great.
FYI... I started my babysitting career when I was three-and-a-half years old.
I was very ambitious and responsible for my age.

Sista clowning around, asking me for the secret password.

I can't take Sista anywhere.

A blog post is in the works detailing this delightful day.

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One weekend, the Mister got us a suite at the St. Regis in NYC to celebrate our anniversary. 

Stay tuned for a blog post.


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This is the year that the Mister and I decided to make a big decision about our lives. 

Drum roll, please...

We have decided to come to an agreement as to where our second to last stop will be.  

As in retirement.

I don't think I have to explain where our last stop will be.

We are pictured here at The Grill at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida.  (hint, hint).

More info in an upcoming blog post.


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The Mister and I attended the Downton Abbey exhibit.
Don't worry... I took lots of pics.
An upcoming post is in the works.

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Guess which one of us inherited the tanning gene.

A few weekends ago, the Mister and I headed to Connecticut to spend time with Sista and her family. 

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I got some serious lunching and shopping in with my neighbor and partner-in-crime, Kathy.

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Remember Caroline from the Southport Garden Tour?
This is Ann, her Mom, who was in town visiting her DIL.

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MOB Notes

Do I look happy, or what?  
This was the day that I found my MOB dress.  
The Mister took me out to lunch to celebrate.

Another blog post is in the works.

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Make New Friends...


I had the pleasure of meeting two lovely readers over the Summer. 

The Mister and I were strolling down 5th Avenue when the lovely lady in the middle, Marguerite came right up to me to tell me that she reads my blog.  She and her Mom, Margo were enjoying a Mother/Daughter weekend in NYC while the menfolk were battening down the hatches in preparation for a hurricane which was on its way to their hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

We must have chatted it up with them for a half-hour or so. What a fun duo.  They even recommended a restaurant to us for dinner, which was mind-blowing.

Look for my blog post on my weekend in NYC for all the deets.


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This is Dell from New Hampshire.  She came up and introduced herself to me at one of the lovely author luncheons that I attended on the Cape hosted by Where The Sidewalk Ends.  Dell told me that she read about the lunches on my blog.  She and her friends drove all the way down from New Hampshire. She is such a sweetheart!

As a side note, Dell is the aunt of one of my (and the Mister's) favorite authors, Marie Benedict.

As an additional side note... I can't tell you how thrilled I get to meet a reader.  Everyone I have met is such a delight.  I wish they all lived in Boston so we could all hang out!

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Annie was my partner-in-crime at that luncheon.  
As always, we had a great time.

More good news:  I bought two autographed books for a giveaway in next week's blog post!  Annie told me that she read Carnegie Hill and loved it.

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I also attended an author luncheon at the beginning of the Summer with my friend Anne. I got to sit next to Sarah Blake, the author of The Guest Book.  Lucky her! You can read my review here.


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As I've mentioned before, I belong to two wonderful book clubs.  Annie and I usually meet for dinner at the darling Red Lion Inn before our Buttonwood Book Club meeting.  This night we were on our way to the meeting only to find out when we got there that we were a day early.  That was fine with us - we met twenty-four hours later at the same place and ordered the same thing on the menu.
New wardrobe though.

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From left: Lauren, head of the BC, Kathy, owner of Buttonwood, Moi, Lisa Duffy, and Annie.

The next evening, the actual book club meeting night, the author of our chosen book, Lisa Duffy joined us.  She has written a couple of books that I've enjoyed, This is Home and The Salt House. It is really fun to have the author right there to answer questions.

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During my hiatus, I taught myself to make groovy charts like this one.  I also read and listened to many wonderful books.  

I have a blog post coming up with reviews, and also I name my top five favorite books of the Summer.

Also, my #1 taught me how to do Instastories.
Prepare to be inundated.

When you are not tech-savvy, such as myself, learning can be a very humbling experience.  Especially when your kid is your teacher.

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A Doubly-Good Day

I loved hearing from several readers over the Summer.  
Many inquired about my Weight Watchers journey.

I am happy to report that I hit my goal weight on August 7th, which also happens to be Preppy Empty Nester's 7th Blogiversary.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment with my dentist to get my jaw wired to make sure I don't gain it back.

More words on Weight Watchers in an upcoming post.

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Our bedroom re-do is done!

Stay tuned for a blog post.

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We closed out the Summer with our New Yorkers.  

Our friends, Annie and Bob joined us for dinner.

The Mister made mouth-watering appetizers.

I talked him into sharing the recipes.

He also served delicious swordfish with yummy Summer tomatoes.

Stay tuned for a blog post.

But the star of the evening was the most incredible meringue dessert, which was my absolute favorite.

Lucky you can eat anything on WW!

It's Oprah approved.

Or at least I think it is.

Annie and Bob brought a beautiful bottle of wine to toast the bride and groom.

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In the meantime, we played a lot of ball.

And spent an inordinate amount of time looking for the ball. 

The Mister did some light cooking.

We caught up on our meditating.

And polishing up our manners.

And last but not least, I did plenty of deadheading, cleaning up after the hooligans, and watering, which I consider my daily cardio.

Drop me a comment and tell me about your Summer. 

Until next time...

Thanks for stopping by!

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