Junior League

I'm really excited because I joined the Junior League here! I went to two meet and greets for potential new members and I had a wonderful time. At the meet and greets everyone was friendly and not in an overwhelming kind of way (I am shy so sometimes friendly people scare me) and I saw more Lilly in one place than I had ever seen in Maine before.

After the two meet and greets, I joined the League. Our first new member meeting was in September but the first really exciting event for new members was last weekend--Super Saturday. We went on a tour of the town and learned about all the things the League had started and helped with. Then we had lunch together and had a toast.

Red Cupping It
at the First New
Member Meeting

This past week, I went to a Girl's Night Out event at Alex and Ani and it was wonderful. I felt really awkward going in so after a semi failed attempt a small talk, I made it my mission to find a Christmas present for someone!

A Gift for my Mom
Tangerine Watercolor Beaded Bangle
Whimsical, Viviacious, and Free
Intial E Charm Bangle
Personal, Timeless, Distinctive

After settling on a gift for my Mom, her favorite color and letter. Then I settled into a group of other new members and I got a little something for myself. I had a good time chatting and I'm looking forward to the general member meeting coming up! Hopefully there will be some other new members there.


I part of the reason I joined was because I feel a bit lonely here in Maine sometimes. Most of my high school friends and family are back in Illinois. Our college friends moved away. I never really clicked with the people in my class at law school and it's been a struggle to stay in touch with them since lawyers are so busy. I hang out with Ben's friends all the time but they're the people he grew up with and they are really close and sometimes I'd like to have my own friends to hang out with.

So, I joined to make friends and push myself out of my comfort zone. I hope to make friends working on projects and I hope to learn how to be more organized and grown up. I also miss being involved and volunteering. Law school was so overwhelming that I just stopped. I miss doing things to help out in the world.

Pumpkin Time

While I've already had my Pumpkin Spice Latte (and I remembered that I didn't like them that much). It's clearly fall here in Vacationland so Mr. Handsome and I went to get our pumpkins.

When looking for a pumpkin. I only have one thought in mind. How many seeds does it have inside? I don't care so much for carving pumpkins. I like having one and I love roasting pumpkin seeds. But pumpkin guts are messy, I am afraid of sharp knives, and the pumpkin guts irritate my skin.

Mr. H taking our pumpkins to the register.

We went to Rocky Ridge Orchard in Bowdoin. They have apple picking, a farm store, and pumpkins! All of the pumpkins were so big! I was happy an impressed. But that made it hard to pick out a pumpkin because they were all so nice looking. I ended up getting a scraggly looking one with green stripes and Mr. H found a great round orange one. (I forgot to take pictures of them but I will post them once carved along with photos of our halloween decorations.)

They also have a Halloween area set up where they have a bunch of creepy decorations to take pictures with. We walked through and saw a small child who was very happy about a giant rubber spider. The spider looked almost as big as the kid.

Inside

We went into the store/bakery to wait for apple cider doughnuts (they usually also have pumpkin molasses and chocolate doughnuts too). It was a busy day so we had to wait for a while. But it was worth the wait because we got half a dozen fresh hot doughnuts.

We already had apples at home so we didn't go
apple picking or pick any up from the store.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds
I do not have a recipe for roasting pumpkin (and squash seeds) but you could use this recipe from allrecipes.com as a start. I usually flavor the seeds with season salt, pepper, and maybe garlic powder. I also usually use olive oil instead of melted butter. Do you roast pumpkin seeds? How do you do it?

Reid State Park, Georgetown, Maine - Best Beach in Maine

I really wanted to go to the beach once more before the summer ended. But, it was too cold cold to enjoy laying out on the beach so instead of going to Popham Beach (our usual place) we went to Reid State Park home of Mile Beach and Half Mile Beach.

Though it looked like it was further away than Popham Beach, it didn't seem to take nearly as long to get there. We passed through quaint Georgetown on our way there and we saw a rock painted like a turtle. At the last road we turned on, there was a rock painted with an American flag. I didn't think fast enough to get a picture.

We got there and got out of the car and it was a beautiful day in the mid 60s. The sun was shining and there were just enough clouds in the sky to make things look interesting.

We stopped at East Beach first. The grains of sand there were very large like tiny pebbles and there were rocks. We looked at the tide pools along the rocky shore and watched people fishing for a bit. 

There was a nice picknick area above this beach with a swing!

We went for a long walk around and took a picture together by the lagoon. Then we went back to our car and drove it to the parking lot for Mile Beach (I assume it is at least a whole mile long because I used RunKeeper to track this "hike" and we hiked about 3 miles).

I had remembered to bring my kite to the beach this time. I bought it about three or four years ago and this is the first time we flew it. It was loads of fun. Though I was worried that it would fly away because it was so windy!

I took the kite back to the car and we walked to the end of the beach.

On my way back, I thought I lost my precious COLBY water bottle but  my husband he reminded me that I had left it in the car.

Interesting Patterns in the Sand

We found a hut made out of drift wood. I can't wait to come back next year and see if it is still there.

The hiking fanny pack in action.

Sand Plovers. They looked so cute looking for food in the surf.

I cannot wait to go back sometime and see Half-Mile Beach!

"Healthier" Downeast Pumpkin Bread

Unfortunately it's fall now (or at least it was until is was 90º yesterday). So it's cold and I can't wear most of my Lilly shifts but every cloud has a silver lining. Now, it's time for pumpkin everything. My favorite thing to make this time of year (and any time when I have a can of pumpkin) is Downeast Pumpkin Bread. This is the reduced fat, reduced sugar version, more whole wheat version. The original recipe can be found at allrecipies.com.

Downeast Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 36 muffins

Ingredients

1-15 oz can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 c. unsweetened applesauce (instead of vegetable oil or melted butter)
2/3 & 1 oz water
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar*

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t grond cloves
1/4 t ground ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease three muffin pans. Mix the first group of ingredients (the wet ingredients and the sugar) in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into the muffin tins. Bake for 30 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This recipe can also be used to make loafs. Bake loafs for 55 min.

*I prefer dark brown sugar since it has more molasses in it and molasses makes me think of New England

Details of the Changes to the Recipe

This recipe had more of what I want and less of what I usually don't want. I usually want less fat and less sugar (for fewer calories over all) and I want more protein and fiber. Here I got fewer calories from sugar and fat and more fiber.

Nutrient	Original Recipe	This Recipe
Calories	175	95
fat (g)	6.9	1
protein (g)	2	2
fiber (g)	0.7	2
sugar (g)	17.1	12

I accomplished this improved nutrient profile by reducing the sugar by a third, replacing half the flour with whole wheat flour (more fiber), and by using apple sauce instead of the liquid fat. When you're baking quick breads, these are always things you can do reduce the calorie count. Whole wheat flour is heavier that white flour so you may want to add in extra baking soda or powder to ensure that the bread rises.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game . . .

A professional group that I am a part of had a night out at the Portland Sea Dogs game (a AA Red Sox Affilate)! I was really excited to go because they have a weekly happy hour. But I never go. I don't like drinking around people I don't know well and I'd much rather spend my money on clothes or candy.

The Blimp

Our tickets came with all you could eat food so we had dinner at the game and we both had two Sea Dog Biscuits (ice cream sandwiches). I got to catch up with a friend from school that I had not seen in forever! I left my phone in the car but I had my camera so I got a few pictures.

My Play by Play Announcer

The game was fun and fast. The Sea Dogs won! Minor League games are full of silly contests for children between innings. There were a number involving lobsters and fishermen since this is Maine. And there was a race between a lobster, a Maine potato, and a blueberry.

When the won, a light house came out and fireworks went off!

Everybody to the Bat Cave

L.L. Bean's  Day Trekker Lumbar Pack

I got a lumbar pack to use when hiking. We like taking short day hikes. I hate wearing a backpack while hiking since it just sticks to my back and makes my shoulder sore. So I thought I'd try out a glorified fanny pack that can hold two bottles of water. I looked so cool that there are no pictures of me wearing it but it got the job done.

We headed to Bradbury Mountain State Park and took the path less traveled. Instead of heading up one of the many paths that take you to the top of the mountain, we went to the other side of the park. It was less crowded than the other side.

This trail was so confusing! It wasn't a hard trail
but it was super hard to follow! We abandoned it after getting
really, really turned around and so we went to the bat cave.

There were lots of ferns.

The rangers built boardwalks thru the swamp.

The Trail to the Bat Cave!

This must be the bat cave,
it was not as exciting as I expected.

A Place to Sit

We had a good time and my pack worked out nicely. I can't wait to take it for another hike. But, in the future I will manage my expectations better as I expected to see a real cave and maybe even a bat (or BATMAN) on the Batcave trail.

Pink Tangerine in Kennebunkport, ME

Kennebunkport, Maine

There are two places I know of where I can buy Lilly in Maine. One is a bridal shop called Spoil Me (where I found my bridesmaid's dresses and my veil). The other is the Pink Tangerine in Kennebunk!

Instead of braving the parking in town,
I parked in the town parking lot about a
ten minute walk from the shops. 

I love going to Pink Tangerine. Kennebunkport is a ways from Portland and like most of Maine it's crazy with tourists in the summer so I don't get there often.

The walk was nice.

Before going to Pink Tangerine I stopped at the Deep Blue. They have sea glass and I wanted to get some for my sister since her birthday was soon. None of the sea glass looked interesting but the did have some very cool sea urchin tests (skeletons). I hope she will be able to do something crafty with them.

I really wanted to get this Island Co. dress that was on display.

I stopped in at Green Tangerine, Pink Tangerine's sister store, they carry Vineyard Vines and other brands you read about on "preppy" blogs. What I liked most of all were the Island Co. dresses but they were linen (I have an aversion to very wrinkled clothes) and they were rather short (I am on the tall side).

Pink Tangerine!

I went to Pink next and struck out. The Janice Dress in Sunkissed was too low cut for this prude. (Lilly didn't make many simply shifts this season.) The Foley dress was too expensive (I knew that would be the case) and it fit oddly (I think it ran larger than the Mariekate or the Tabitha). The Darcy dress in Ice Cream Social on sale was very low cut in the back. They were sold out of my size in the Delia in Cha-Cha.

 

But the girls who work there are the nicest and were incredibly helpful. I ended up getting the Maritime Skort in Get Nauti (it is so short as you can see in this blurry photo I took to send out for opinions on the length and the OOTD shot from later). I love the Get Nauti print. I hope I can get something more modest and easier to wear later, maybe a re-cut in the Endless Summer Sale. I also got the goody goody necklace and the storage bin in chin chin that I came for.

 

I walked back to my car and only stopped at one other store on my way back (I had donated platelets that morning so I was a little bit tired and I knew I had some more errands to run before I could go home.) I snapped some lovely photos though.

On the Bridge between Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

P.S. I am trying to schedule posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week I had some trouble with the Internet so I wasn't able to schedule my posts.

Up to Camp?

My husband's family friend invited us to their family camp, their cabin on a pond in the middle of woods and mountains, for the weekend. Everyone but me had Friday off so, after getting lost on a gravel road in the mountains in a Prius instead of my all wheel drive SUV, I arrived in time for the sunset. And, it was lovely. But, not as lovely as seeing my husband again after thinking that I was going to run out of gas and die in the wilderness.*

Much to my consternation they bought fire works. I hate loud noises and having my limbs blown off but some of them ended up looking very pretty and no one was burned or maimed. The best looking ones ended up going off right above us. I kept darting back and forth along the beach to avoid getting hit by shell fragments. Our neighbors enjoyed the show.

After we set off the fireworks, mother nature decided to put on her own show. Fortunately we did not lose power. I'm going to pretend that we didn't lose power because there were windmills on the mountains by the camp.  I thought they looked pretty. And, having grown up under one of the flight paths for O'Hare, they reminded me of home (except for all the mountains). 

The next morning me and my husband went for a walk because we woke up before everyone else. Except for the children next door who sounded like they were having a whole lot of fun all day long.

We went canoeing in the morning. We saw some loons on the pond.

I went for a lovely walk, looking for cellphone reception, and saw lots of lovely lillies. I also got to walk along a creek and listen to all the little waterfalls along the road.

When I got back from my solitary walk, which was fruitless as I walked towards civilization fro over twenty minutes and still had no cell reception, our friends had started to stir. We made pancakes with wild blue berried that everyone had picked yesterday during a disastrous hike up the mountain across the lake from the camp. (Apparently, everyone was told that it would only be twenty minutes but it was a whole hour. It was also very hot that day.) The pancakes were delicious though. Some were blue berry chocolate, even.

Later in the afternoon I tried swimming in the pond and I think I had a panic attack. I am a strong swimmer as I grew up with a pool in my backyard. It was like an asthma attack because I was gasping for breath but it didn't feel asthma and my heart was racing. The water in the pond was warm so it wasn't my body seizing up because of the cold, like what happens when you capsize in Lake Michigan at the beginning of the season. It was odd. I spent the rest of the time on the shore and went birding from the safety of the screened in porch.

Our friend's great- great-grandparents built the camp at the turn of the last century so it was really interesting inside. I loved the bookcase most of all since the books appeared to be arranged in chronological order by publishing date.

There was lots of cool looking old things like an old poster with the pledge of allegiance on them and the camp "rules" from the 1930s. All in all I was happy to be invited and am now incredibly envious.

* I was supposed to drive up after work on Friday. I swapped cars with my husband because I have a small SUV and he has a clown car sized Prius. My car was large enough to take up all the stuff and all the people so we traded. I left work on Friday late since I hate leave a mess for Monday and I was anxious to join them. I did not remember to stop for gas. After I realized that the gas gauge was down to two bars, I passed exactly two gas stations but I wasn't really sure if they were gas stations because they were so old fashioned looking. I missed a turn. So I had to turn around. I drove the tiny Prius up a gravel road that went straight up the side of a mountain. I thought I was going to slide back down and die or break my husband's car and be stranded in the wilderness. Then, I ended up driving right past the camp and continued on further into the wilderness. The gravel road got rougher and I was sure my husband's car was going to fall apart as I was driving it. The gas gauge went down to one bar. Eventually I found a place to pull over and looked at the atlas and my directions. Some people on ATVs went by and slowed down. I was afraid they were going to help me (or harass me, except I don't think people in Maine even think about doing that but they did look like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie almost and I was panicky on account of almost running out of gas). I figured out I had probably gone more than two miles since the last turn so I turned back. I found my husband about one and a half miles down the road, he had started to run after me after I drove past him, and everything was okay.