Author: Nichole S.

I watched some geese over at Endicott College for a moment yesterday. As they waddled off into the water, this is what they left behind.

The pan fried sole at the Gloucester House is one of my favorite dishes on Cape Ann. They’ll be closing for a few weeks for some renovations so you should get yourself into that back dining room:bar while you can.

I work most often on my computer at work and my laptop at home, but there is something super satisfying about pen to paper and I find that is how I still need to most often organize my thoughts and notes and lists. At work I have a notebook for different jobs and responsibilities and they recently have all become shabby and torn. If how excited I was to unpack these crisp new notebooks yesterday is wrong, I don’t want to be right. New year, new notebooks…. let’s go.

I dragged my boys to Market Basket at about 7:00 last night, but after a long day we didn’t feel like going home, unpacking groceries, and making dinner. When I asked the boys if they wanted to go sit down for a quick dinner there was no hesitation about where they wanted to go and what they wanted to eat. Minglewood sushi for the win. They always get tuna avocado Maki rolls, but I got the sushi special, the Harborside Roll (shrimp tempura, avocado & spicy tuna topped with sashimi, mango & pineapple-sweet chili sauce). DELICIOUS! The boys also shared a cobb salad….likewise pretty fantastic.

My son was adamant that he catch a fish on Christmas day. Success. With the low temperatures for much of the week he was able to go ice fishing several days in a row….starting Christmas morning.

Yesterday I asked if anyone knew what the cute little knitted shark and octopus “caps” were that I posted. Lots of great guesses, but the few who guessed “Banana Caps” were correct. Evidently….as seen on shark tank. Nana Hats are designed to prolong the life of bananas, “It works by inhibiting the ethylene gas naturally emitted by fruits causing them to ripen. Nana Hats slow down the ripening process.” Sometimes we go through a ton of bananas because we make a lot of smoothies in my house. Other times, when we get off schedule or are extra busy….we don’t…and then our bananas go bad.

You can check them out here: https://nanahats.com/

Who knows what these are? Guesses please. Answer will be posted at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Finn and I drive by Northern Lights Farm in Ipswich several times per week. We finally made it a point to stop in last Sunday. I’m so glad we did. We obviously loved seeing the donkeys, goats, Francesca the pig, rabbits, and all sorts of birds…..but we also bought a beautiful wreath, some baked goods, and honey. Check it out if you drive by for sure!

More often than not, when I reach out to my older son and ask where he is or what he is up to, he will send me a photo. This was his response the other day.

Peek-a-boo. Finn and I met a couple of super cute donkeys over the weekend. This one was extra friendly and definitely wanted to play.

Nacho Stack. This is the way to make nachos. Shared these with a friend at Post in Hamilton (formerly the Black Cow). If you’ve ever shared nachos with someone and felt weird about trying to find a chip with the right combination of fixings on it, you’ll love these. Made layer by layer…. Each chip was exactly the same. It’s the little things.

PLEASE share your favorite holiday/winter activities. I’m hoping to make the most of this holiday season this year by doing some of the fun and simple things that we never seem to save time for.

I spend a lot of time at Governor’s Academy these days as Finn practices at their rink. I adore this little red schoolhouse that sits on their property.

A few of us met to catch up over drinks and dinner last night. We chose Oliver’s Harbor on Main Street and I’m glad we did. We shared the best calamari I’ve ever had (for real) and a couple of beet salads (beets, sweet potatoes, eggplant, goat cheese, and zinfandel vinaigrette dressing). The photo below is of the stacked beets salad and it was also delicious.

Home

Just outside our hotel in Montreal was Place du Canada. It was there that they gathered to celebrate the first in-person Remembrance Day since pre-COVID. It was an elaborate and special event and I was happy to have been able to attend while up there for a hockey tournament.

The Blue Marlin Grille warm pretzels. I met a couple of friends for a precious hour in between all of the obligations we each had one night last week. Pumpkin beer and some yummy warm pretzels did the trick.

https://www.bluemarlingrille.com/

The calendar said November 5th, but the line in front of Woodman’s better resembled August 5th. This weekend’s weather was gorgeous. It was so nice to see so many people out and about!

I attended Joey’s pretty sweet birthday livestream at the Castle Manor Inn. I took this photo while parking my car. Don’t forget that they are having a Thanksgiving Buffet Menu. Check them out HERE

I’ve never seen cows like these. I really wish it was a better photo. When I first passed by the field they were close to the road, but I couldn’t stop. On my way home I made a point to find a safe spot to pull over and watch them for a bit. They had moved to the back of the field. I love their three bold “stripes”….I’ll have to do some research as to what type of cow they are. Unless anyone of you know!