1. Kicking back on the barn porch on a summer evening after a long day of mowing and trimming the lawn?
Wonderful.
Margarita in a can?
Not so much.
But it’s alcohol.. with a view.
So I like.
2. With a shout out to Mona at Wayward Sparkles who introduced me to this marvelous piece of mechanical engineering)
I read her blog and thought, damn…. I have to have one.
And then I thought, gifts!
So I had to have 2 more.
Are you all here?
Good.
Viola!
A bell you can ring to summon the elixir of the Gods.
In pink no less!
I believe this little darling will be getting quite a work out at Casa River.
If only I could order the hot cabana boy to go with it…
I like.
And finally, ladies…
Do you have old, dry wood?
No, I’m not talking about your husbands.
We have stained wood moulding, doors, window frames and sills, and built in stained bookcases etc. basically every piece of trim is unpainted wood. They’re original to the house and tend to dry out/fade from sunlight and winter heating.
So I found this on Amazon –
Half a bottle did 12 doors and frames, 5 windows and frames and 2 large tables.
It’s good stuff. Witness the before and after…
Brings back the shine and feeds your thirsty wood with very little effort.
Saturday we had tickets to an afternoon festival promoting local beer and food. It was called The Taste of Summer and was being held on the old Navy base. The band were friends of friends and we were looking forward to it. Until the heavens opened up on the way over….
It was raining, thunder was booming and people were standing on line wearing trash bags.
We sat in the car for a while, thinking it would pass… which is when it started to hail and festival goers ran for cover.
Seeing that trash bags aren’t a good look for me, and I generally prefer to do my drinking while dry…. we left and headed for Boothbay Harbor.
Which is always a good idea.
Boothbay is one of our favorite places to walk…
To sight see…
To eat…
And yes, to drink.
(Don’t be shocked, it’s been know to happen on occasion.)
First stop… The Boathouse Bistro.
Best damn food in Boothbay Harbor.
Appetizers were Coconut Lime Ginger Mussels for the husband and my friend.
Those babies were huge!
Cajun Shrimp and Cheesy Grits for me.
I hate grits. I love these.
Enough said…
A Harborside Lemonade and a Summer Bliss later, I dove into Pan Seared Scallops on Parmesan Mushroom Risotto with Citrus Wilted Arugula. You could have killed me right then and there… and I’d have died happy.
Husband had a deconstructed Beef Wellington with split lobster tail and goat cheese mushroom compote.
Girlfriend had 2 rum punches and a Bourbon Brown Sugar Glazed Ribeye with rosemary fingerling potatoes and broccolini.
We were happy campers.
But onward.
Technically it already had, we were two cocktails in… but the bar hopping portion of our afternoon/evening will now commence.
Trust me when I say a good time was had by all.
Second stop… The World is Mine Oyster. A bit of a dive, but keep walking… through the hallway, up the winding stairs, thru the restaurant and out on the deck?
One of the best views of the harbor.
And 2 sea green margaritas.
Life is good.
Third stop… The Harborside Tavern.
This was a place we’d never been before and though we sat at the bar instead of enjoying the view….
One extremely strong bourbon filled Perfect Storm later?
I didn’t much care. The bartender was so heavy handed she either loved us.. or hated us. I still don’t know which.
Fourth and final stop…. The Boothbay Harbor Inn, where things got interesting.
Needless to say we were feeling no pain by then.
This is across the harbor from where we started and has a beautiful view as well.
Our bartender was an adorable little exchange student from Romania named Meihi.
With whom my soon to be divorced friend was instantly smitten.
Of course Happy Hour Blueberry Mules may have had something to do with that.
At this point it started to pour again….
So what else could we do but stay and drink?
We drank. And made friends with a group that was staying at the inn.
We drank. And watched the cute bartender play bar games.
We drank. Until the sun started to set and I figured we shouldn’t drink anymore.
For this…
My cheeky friend flipped me off.
Sunset.
In Boothbay Harbor…
Is a beautiful thing.
My girlfriend trying to pole dance on the parking meter?
Not so much.
Clearly some of us had a better time than others….
We love trying new restaurants and supporting small local businesses, so when Urban Element opened?
We were all in.
Do you love me?
Am I supposed to love you?
I just walked in…
Stop trying so hard.
The new trend in restaurant decor in Maine seems to be minimalist rustic. While I’m fine with barn boards and a lack of clutter….
The chairs that are popping up everywhere seriously make me want to scream.
They’re metal, with small seats and side bars that painfully pin you in place. Definitely not for the amply hipped who walk amongst us.
If the plan is to get you in and out quickly?
These rustic torture devices do the trick.
It was Sunday afternoon at 2:00. And a couple of Happy Time Fizz cocktails made me quite happy indeed….
But here’s another trend that continues to tick me off.
Brunch.
I understand, it’s the weekend. You don’t get up early, and you want to eat breakfast late. Fine.
But it’s 2:00pm people! If you just recently rolled out of bed? You’re a teenage stoner sleeping one off and can’t afford these prices anyway.
To me, 2:00pm means lunch…even on Sunday. I had eaten breakfast 7 hours ago and didn’t feel the need to repeat the process.
The specials? All breakfast. The menu? 99% breakfast with one exception. The fried haddock sandwich.
Great.
Bring it…
They brought it..
But damn.
I’ve had thicker fish sandwiches at McDonalds and I wasn’t even sure that was fish.
Mentally tallying up the reasons we weren’t apt to go back to this restaurant, I did what any normal (still rather hungry from lack of fish) girl would do.
I drowned my sorrows in flourless chocolate torte.
Our last meal in Sedona was a late lunch and of course, it turned out to be the best restaurant we found during our two week trip.
Yes Martin, this is a food filled post.
You’re welcome.
Perched on top of a hill, the Mariposa Grille had some great views. (Of rocks.)
Mariposa means butterfly in Spanish, and they featured prominently in the decor at this Latin themed beauty.
Views (And rocks! Did you see the rocks?) aside..
It was a large…
And rather impressive place.
I mean hey, check out that door.
It’s made of rocks!
There was live music with a Spanish guitar, and more beautiful views.
(Of rocks!)
I ordered a few Caipirinhas… the national drink of Brazil.
Just to get in the proper mood and spirit of the place.
And then on the advice of the waiter, we tried the Yuca fries.
Not to be confused with Yucca… which apparently tastes like soap… the Yuca were too die for!
To be honest, I had no idea what they were at that point.
But had I Googled this Yuca meme beforehand?
I most assuredly would have passed.
Lunch for me was the Funghi Sublime. And sublime it was.
Scottsdale Burger Battle Judges’s Choice Winner 2018 ~ Smothered in sauteed Mushrooms, finished with imported Truffle Cheese and Truffle Dijonnaise
That burger positively melted in my mouth and was expertly cooked.
My husband ordered the Senor Fish, and was not disappointed either.
Pan-Fried and Seasoned with their House Rub, Lemon-Caper Aioli, and Shredded Romaine, on a Whole Grain Bun accompanied by 3 Seed Coleslaw.
This was an upscale South American restaurant with Latin inspired cuisine, and everything was served on the most wonderful plates. (Rocks! They were made from rocks!) I wish we’d found it sooner and been able to go back for a full dinner. I’m sure it would have been marvelous.
How upscale you ask?
There was some interesting artwork hanging on the walls…
After our trip to the Chapel, the husband headed up Hwy 179 …
Through more canyons…
And an infinite number of roundabouts, some decorated with rather nice metal sculptures.
We turned up 89A and drove through the usually busy, but too wet to shop that day part of Sedona known as uptown. Sedona is large and spread out into separate sections. Oak Creek Village, where we were staying… was quiet and felt like a community. West Sedona was a long main drag of restaurants and strip malls. Uptown was attractive, bustling, and filled with all the expensive tourist shops you expect to see. But continue on 89A for just a mile or two…
And you’re in a different world.
The rocks go from red to brown…
And you find yourself in a pine forest…
On a twisty, turning mountain road….
In the snow!
Of all the things I expected to see in Arizona?
Snow was not one of them…
But we were headed to Flagstaff and apparently it’s a whole different world up there. Kids were playing, sliding, sledding and building miniature snowmen. We saw a pick up truck owner fill his bed with the cold white stuff to haul back to Phoenix. Hoards of cars were pulled over on the side of the highway just so the passengers could get out and romp in the snow. Police were everywhere trying to keep them out of the roads.. it was nuts!
Of course a little snow doesn’t bother us, we’re Mainers!
Although the high elevation, switchback road got interesting in 5% visibility.
As did Arizona snowplows who were literally all over the road.
50 feet? No problem… I’ll give you a hundred.
But there was a Prickly Pear Mule with my name on it….
And nothing can keep me from that.
Mother of God! I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this was the best mule I HAVE EVER HAD! (and that’s saying something) I swore to myself I would find Canyon Diablo Prickly Pear Vodka before I left Arizona and smuggle numerous bottles home in my suitcase… Homeland Security be damned.
I have to be honest and tell you I don’t even remember the name of the restaurant, or where in Flagstaff it was. I was in mule heaven and totally oblivious to my surroundings…
But you could tell by the shooter list the place had a sense of humor.
5 points to the first person who can tell me….
The male equivalent of Camel Toe without looking it up…
Go!
It was Sunday, the place had a big screen tv, and brother… get a load of this.
Brilliant bar marketing, but a person could get seriously sloshed just watching the game!
Oh, and yes.
There was lunch…
A spicy southwestern cheeseburger with awesome hot dill potato salad for me…. and a roast beef melt on rye with Spanish beans for the husband. What’s a Spanish bean? I have no idea… and after 2 mules I couldn’t have cared less.
As we were leaving, this little darling was packing a snowball and had that “let’s hit the tourist lady” look in his eye.
To be honest, I doubt I could have cared less about that either. Take your best shot junior, the drinks were strong and the tourist lady won’t feel a thing.
Prickly pear vodka…… oh yes.
Yes, please!!
The ride back?
Looked something like this.
I think… I was still savoring the vodka and not paying any particular attention.
In my original WordPress wanderings, while I was actively searching for a tribe… (Btw, that’s you bunch sorry though you may be of kindred souls.) I stumbled on this –
A hidden gem tucked away on the second floor of a nondescript building.
If a friend of mine hadn’t raved about it, I would have driven right by.
I started here with the Starbuck…
Which was pretty, pink and potent. Everything a girl wants in a drink.
I had 4. (They were small, don’t judge.)
The home baked rye bread was wonderful.
But my ravioli crisp appetizer? OMG… to die for! With sauteed shallots, garlic, toasted walnuts tossed with spinach, creme fraiche and lemon. Ooh La La!
The husband and my girlfriend had the mussels, sauteed with pancetta, plum tomatoes, garlic, basil, lemon and white wine. They didn’t last long.
The entree menu was small, but the husband chose the Marsala pear chicken…
While I had the special….sea scallops baked in a phylo bowl with some sort of heavenly citrus sauce. Light, flaky and utterly and fabulous.
Naturally we had dessert.
Lavender creme brulee for our friend, chocolate stout cake for me.
We rolled out of there with full bellies and empty wallets.
River's world..... 