Day Trippin'

Living in Northern Virginia is great, there is always something going on in the DC area, plenty to see and do. However, every once in awhile it is wonderful to escape the city and explore some of the great a places surrounding the DC metro area.  This past summer I treated S2H to a "day date" in Saint Michaels, MD.  St.Michaels is a gorgeous historic town on the Eastern Shores of Maryland.  On a good day it takes about two and a half hours to drive there, we won't talk about the summer traffic and the battle that is getting over the Bay Bridge!

I knew S2H would love this little town.  You can walk to a brewery, winery, and some awesome seafood restaurants all in a matter of minutes!  We started off our afternoon day date at St.Michaels winery.  The winery was super cute and rustic. I loved it!  We sat at the bar and each had the "staff favorites" wine sampler.  It was really fun chatting with the staff and hearing about how the winery was started and all the awards they have won.  The guy started the winery pretty much on a whim.  He was burnt out from his DC job (uuhh, I know the feeling) and loved St.Michaels and thought a winery would do well there.  Lucky for him it has been a huge success and become very popular!  All the wines were pretty tasty, and kept getting better with every sip! ;)  I'm not much of a wine expert so I'll just talk about the most unique wine they had.  They make a chocolate wine!  No joke, it is infused with dark chocolate...right up my ally.  This Chocolate Zinfandel is pretty sweet but I was sold when the wine lady told me it makes an awesome raspberry chocolate sauce...in the bag it went!  I can't wait to make a little creation to go on top of vanilla ice cream!

The whole day date was a surprise for S2H and the main part of the surprise was a massage at the Linden Spa of The Inn at Perry Cabin.  The Inn is gorgeous; set right on a little point on the shore with beautiful views and Adirondack chairs covering the lawn.  I left S2H at the spa for the "athlete's relief" massage and hung out at the Inn watching the sail boats go by...it was such a relaxing two hours!  S2H came out of the spa happy as a clam and ready to hit the brewery!

The Eastern Shore Brewing Company visit was a great way to end the day.  The brewery had a rustic/cozy tasting room and a crazy, eccentric bartender to boot.  Bartender Rusty had been pretty buzzed all day... I think since the night before as he told us he had gone to a huge rager.  We were the last customers of the day so Rusty decided he would drink with us.  He and S2H even shared the "Rusty Rocket."  A lovely shot of pale ale and hot sauce...yikes!  Needless to say Rusty provided some great entertainment and S2H left with the dream of running his own brewery!

We spent the rest of the day window shopping and I picked up a Christmas Ornament as a trip souvenir. I found a little sailboat ornament at an all things Christmas Shop...I could have spent hours in there!  You can tell by the pictures that we had a cloudy day which was perfect for walking around. The rain came just as we stopped for dinner...perfect timing!  Our seafood dinner was so so, definitely didn't leave an impression since I have no food photos!  Next time we will definitely have to search for a better dinner spot.   All in all it was a perfect day trip, I would highly recommend St.Michaels to anyone who can make the trip!

Etsy Halloween Finds

Not sure what I am really loving-this little cutie or the stripped leggings and tutu!  Got a little one or can't resist buying this for a friend? Click here.

I just couldn't help myself!  A little ode to my hometown - Charlotte, NC! Y'all interested? Find it here. I think I may head to the craft store and try and make my own!

You can find the best inspiration on Etsy.  This Halloween garland would be perfect for a play room or party.  I don't have a sewing machine but I think this is totally do-able if you have one.  For my fellow friends lacking the sewing skill click here.

If I had a kiddo in the tutu costume I would have to have a party to show off the adorableness.  I love these paper invites.  They kind of remind me of Charlie Brown!  Definitely need to figure out when It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown comes on :).  Click here.

Hopin', Wishin' & Prayin'

...for FRIDAY! Oh man people, this has been a rough week. Rough as in I am currently eating mac & cheese out of a box and biscuits with butter and I DO NOT CARE! To boot I have taken over the tv and am catching up on all my Bravo reality shows, Flipping Out seems very appropriate right now. I know I am wallowing, but plan to let it go after tonight. I want to enjoy the fun weekend S2H and I have planned, so once I finish this biscuit I am forgetting about work and the events of this week! The weekend agenda includes date night, tailgate party, and lots of time in the kitchen. We plan to see The Town. Has anyone seen it, yay/nay?

To help take my mind off things I have been perusing the webs for a little bit of cheer.  In case you are in my boat-praying for Friday to come, here is a little distraction to help get you through the work day!

how cool is this water bottle? genius! i wish i would have thought of this!


after eating 1,000 calories tonight maybe i'll cut back this weekend and sip on these.


this brought back cozy childhood memories!  my family used to vacation in maine every summer.  my parents actually met in maine in their teens during a family vacation! not sure i remember ME being particularly aromatic though...

i'll be making these pumpkin cookies for the tailgating party, yum! for sunday steelers i'll be treating S2H to chili!


digging the photo above?  check out the rest of stephanie rausser's work here.  very fresh.


if only i could wear these leggings and a hoodie to work tomorrow...might make the day bearable.  i think a pumpkin spice latte will have to do.


these two girls are inspiring!  i might just have to start a thursday girls night!


That's all for now sweetsies!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Sunshiny Sweet Takes Penn State...Mac Clan Style

This past weekend S2H and I headed to the great tailgating land known as Penn State!  It was perfect weather for a football game, sunny and a crisp 70 degrees (much more pleasant than my previous PSU game).  We loaded up the mini-van with chili, buffalo chicken dip, apple crisp, and as many Mac Family football fans as we could fit and took off for Happy Valley!  Once in Happy Valley we met up with S2H's brother and sister-in-law (also PSU grads) and their two girls.  All in all it was a good showing of Macs, including S2H's mom and dad, Aunt Nancy & Uncle Jim.

{check out that yummy spread, color coordinated of course!  how cute is little em?! and yes, jen and i have such good taste that we went for the same white-out t-shirt for the game (had to do a wardrobe change as i was originally in blue).}

We tailgated before the 3:30pm kick-off and had fun catching up and tossing around the football.  We also talked about the revival of my blog, which Uncle Jim fondly referred to as "Sunshiny Sweet!" Hahaha...I knew I was going to have to use that for the blog post title! :)

{the whole gang!}

Penn State played Temple this weekend and it was a pretty close game in the beginning, but Penn State had some big plays in the end and won 22-13 .  I can't really say that I was paying too much attention to the game though.  We were sitting right next to the student section and their was plenty of action in the stands to keep me entertained.

{joepa taking his rightful place on the field, nittany crowd surfing, best student section ever}

We couldn't have asked for a better Fall day or tailgating crew!  For the next game we are off to the "Alexandria, VA" PSU Campus for a little local tailgating action.  Any food ideas for me?  I'm thinking of making football cupcakes or something pumpkin!  Let me know if you have any suggestions.  Cheers to Football Season!