Bocce

harkinchronicles

Even though (as of July 1st) I’ve been back in Connecticut for three years, this is the first summer I’ve gotten to participate in 440’s bocce league. My first summer back, I moved here literally in the middle of the summer and the past two summers I would have had to miss too many games with my job. FINALLY now that I work normal hours, I am able to play!

We’re supposed to play each Tuesday but the weather here has been crazy so we’ve had multiple games get postponed and there’s been a few weeks where we’ve played both Tuesday and Thursday just to get all our games in. Bob updates us each week with our playing times, teams, and standings. Everybody signs up as individuals is assigned to a different group each week so people can meet each other (which is great because Matt and Ashley can’t make half the games because of work and James was signed up to play soccer).

For the first game, my team needed a sub and soccer hadn’t started yet so James subbed in and we won! My team also won the second game. For the third game, Carolyn was on my team and she was really good so was surprised when we lost…there was a guy on the other team who was REALLY good (like he hit the yellow ball with almost every throw…he was first in the league last time I saw the standings). There was one week that it rained both Tuesday AND Thursday so that week’s game was pushed to the following week…and I lost. But then I won the 5th game. Bob was on my team and we threw four points on our first turn. Going into the sixth week, Bob texted the league standings out for everybody and I was tied for third (which isn’t saying much so early in the season). My team won the 6th game AND I threw the winning ball!

I can’t wait to play again this week and for the rest of the summer. Am I a bad person to hope it rains on Tuesday when we are on vacation so that I can play on Thursday that week when we’re back?

Until our next adventure!

Danbury Street Fair

harkinchronicles

The other weekend, Ashley and I stumbled across a street fair. Literally. We were on a quest to get a new pet for our house (no update on that over a month later…) and decided that we were hungry. There’s this great food truck that’s normally parked super close to the animal shelter we were visiting but we did a drive by and it wasn’t there! SO we checked their Facebook page and they listed that they were on a different street for the afternoon…okay….so we went and literally downtown Danbury had Main Street all closed to traffic with a bunch of food trucks, entertainment acts, and other tents set up. Heck. Yes. 

We obviously had to scope out ALL the food trucks first but wound up ordering from the food truck we originally were in search of. We both had burrito bowls, Ashley’s with shrimp and mine with braised brisket. The portions were HUGE and we both wound up with leftovers.

Unfortunately we got there towards the end of the fair but it was a cool event to happen upon. I used to visit Main Street a lot more back in the day and I forgot how many bars and restaurants are actually there…maybe this summer I’ll bring everybody to visit some old favorites!

Until our next adventure!

Jake’s Birthday

harkinchronicles

Jake’s birthday was on May 31st which was the same day we went to the Yankee’s game. We thought we were going to miss out on the celebration but the game ended superquick and we were back on the road and heading home at around the same time the group was just getting to Bull and Barrel. We texted them when we were about 15 minutes out and met up with everybody there.

Bull and Barrel is a large country-themed bar just over the New York state line. They brew their own beer (the blueberry is my favorite!) and they have a mechanical bull in the middle of the room. I can’t ride the bull due to a neck injury (and let’s be real, I make a fool out of myself enough each day…I don’t need to add more opportunities to do so) but some of our friends rode the bull! I tried to get some pictures and videos but it was pretty dark. The guy in charge of the mechanical bull even let Jake ride it again after he fell off the first time.

Birthday Boy Jake

After we were done at Bull and Barrel, everybody came back to our house to hang out in a quieter setting. We stayed up wayyy too late and it definitely reminded me of a Friday night from when I was younger!

Until our next adventure!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

harkinchronicles

A family friend recently posted that his grandson’s baseball team was doing a fundraiser and had bought a block of tickets to a Yankees-Red Sox game. James and I jumped at the chance to go (he’s NEVER been to a baseball game and I’ve not been to the new stadium yet) and our friend Ross joined us.

It really wound up being a great day. The larger group took the train down around 3 but since we had work, we drove down around 5. The drive actually wasn’t too bad, only a bit of traffic at the end. We found parking easy enough and got into the stadium relatively quickly. Our seats were amazing! The weather was perfect – we all packed our 440 sweatshirts so we could take matching pictures but it wasn’t even cold enough to wear them (we did put them on for a photo though). Oh and the best part – the Yankees won!

Until our next adventure!

MDW

harkinchronicles

The unofficial start of summer in the US is Memorial Day Weekend at the end of May. Going into the weekend, I realized that this is the first year that I haven’t had to work (or graduate or move) during Memorial Day Weekend since 2007! Most people like to plan cookouts or beach trips – not me. I just wanted to see where the weekend took me.

I had to work Friday but once I got home, Ashley and I went to one of the local beaches with Lilly. She loves digging in the sand so we let her play a bit and then tried to get some cute photos of her. Tried is the key word.

After that, we met up with James at Biscotti’s for their summer kick off event. In the past year, they’ve made a lot of updates to their outdoor area. We sat at the outdoor bar (with Lilly!) and ordered oysters. Lilly made friends with a small child who left her seat and sat on the ground with Lilly almost the entire time we were there. 

I ended my Friday night teaching. Lilly followed me downstairs and settled down onto a bean bag that’s right behind where I teach. I had made this really cute surprise reward for my student and I was excited to have the dog be one of the surprises but LITERALLY THIRTY SECONDS BEFORE CLASS BEGAN she threw up EVERYWHERE. We have to log in and hit start class on time otherwise we can have our pay docked or get fired. Thank god for Matt – he crawled around off-screen cleaning up dog vomit while I led class like nothing out of the ordinary happened. 

Saturday morning started with James and I running errands – we went to the bank to deposit wedding checks then grabbed breakfast at Candlewood Cafe. While we were at breakfast, I checked Facebook and saw that someone posted a really nice patio set for free. It definitely wouldn’t fit in Shonda the Honda so I started texting all our friends with trucks but nobody responded quick enough. Later, we went to Lowes and saw the EXACT SAME SET for sale for like $700…as if I wasn’t disappointed enough at breakfast when I saw it had already been claimed. 

Later on Saturday, we cooked up a bunch of food and got the fire going and just told people they could stop in if they’d like. A lot of Matt’s old lifeguarding friends came over. We sat around the fire and then went inside to play Quiplash to end the evening. 

Sunday almost started with a trip to urgent care. A window on our back door broke a while ago and even though we’ve vacuumed a million times over, I managed to step on a piece of glass. Matt the (former) lifeguard wasn’t able to get it out but James did! Sunday was basically a repeat of Saturday with more grilling and more chilling and more fire.

I was super productive on Monday. I brought all my summer clothes upstairs, got rid of the stuff that no longer fits, and brought winter clothes downstairs. I also organized all my VIPKID and office supplies. We had duplicates of things everywhere! James went out on a friend’s boat and by “went out on a friend’s boat” I mean he spent a lot of time sitting on a dock watching people attempt to get the boat running. They finally did make get it going and made a quick run up to Sherman before turning around and driving to Danbury where they let James off at a dock so he could join Maranda and I at one of our favorite sushi restaurants (okay, so the sushi restaurant with the best happy hour). 

All in all, a wonderful and relaxing weekend. I could really use some more three day weekends…when’s the next one?

Until our next adventure!

A Quick Update

harkinchronicles

Yiiikkkessss…just went to check when I last posted anything and it was from our trip in mid-May. Sorry for the radio silence! Things have been a bit hectic around here…here’s a quick update of what’s been happening the last few weeks.

Rain

It’s rained pretty much every single day during the month of June. It’s MISERABLE. I’ve been doing a crap job of straightening my hair because what’s the point?

Garden

I’m sure the only living creatures that have liked this weather are the plants we’ve got in our little garden (except for the rosemary which I’m pretty sure drowned). So far the jalapeno pepper, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, and tomatoes appear to be thriving. Maybe we’ll have our own little roadside produce stand later this summer!

Name Change

I went to go legally change my name which was supposed to be super easy but of course was not super easy for me. Long story short – I have to go to an actual court hearing next week. Last Friday I was barely able to do anything at work because they started the name change process with our IT department and somehow they managed to wipe me out of the system. I was in the middle of angrily writing about the whole miserable experience when the work day ended and ….

James Broke His Foot

James managed to get run over by a truck in a not-super-serious-totally-accidental way but he did break his foot (trucks are heavy) so we spent a good chunk of last Friday and Saturday in the emergency room. All we know so far is there are two broken bones but the doctor ordered a CT scan that with any luck will take place next week so we can find out more. Unfortunately this means James has been home from work for a week. Luckily he has the dog and a pile of video games to keep him entertained.

Until our next adventure!

Southern Tier Adventures

harkinchronicles

After we left our Airbnb, we headed back south. My mom had recommended several wineries for us to stop at along Seneca Lake but because it was a Sunday, most of them were still closed at the time we were traveling.

Kayla had told us that we should check out the gorge in Watkins Glen. It was pouring out but James and I wanted to since we were right there. We had seen part of it from the road when we were driving the day before and honestly didn’t know what to expect. We just thought there was a little area right off the road – nope. It’s a HUGE PARK. Even though it was pouring, we still hiked a little on the trail. It was amazing to see the path the water had carved for itself. The water was coming down through the rock with such force that it looked like a water slide. We definitely want to go back later this summer!

Since we didn’t get to make our own glass the day before at the Corning Museum of Glass, we bought tickets to an afternoon glass blowing session right after we left Watkins Glen. We had lunch when we arrived in Corning and then went to the museum to do some shopping before our session began. James and I both go to make something and they let us go at different times so we could get pictures of each other! James actually got to shape the glass for his sculpture which looked super cool and is something I definitely want to try.

We started driving back towards home after we finished our glass blowing session but since it was so early in the day, we decided to stop along the way as things seemed interesting. On our way up we had spotted a casino called Tioga Downs right off the highway. We decided to stop and as we were pulling into the parking lot, there was a sign that the antique barn was open! James was definitely not as excited as I was, although he did wind up finding a tool organizer that made his boss jealous. I found some vintage Pyrex dishes that were way cheaper than what I had been finding them for in Connecticut. Also, fun fact, Pyrex was made by Corning! So it was totally an appropriate souvenir. We went into the casino itself for a bit but we’re spoiled after living so close to Foxwoods and Mohegan so we hit the road again. We made one more stop in Binghamton to have dinner and got home in the early evening.

James and I both really want to go back to the Finger Lakes region for a long weekend this summer so hopefully I’ll have another post about this wonderful place later this summer!

Until our next adventure!

This Is Wine Country

harkinchronicles

Earlier this month, James and I joined several of my sorority sisters and their significant others in the Finger Lakes region of New York to celebrate Kayla and Josh’s wedding. Kayla is my “big” in our sorority. We have this habit of dressing, looking, and acting alike so it was no surprise that Kayla ALSO ran off into the woods to get married. Unlike James and I, her and Josh aren’t planning a big reception so this was our time to celebrate. PLUS Kayla and Josh live in California so I don’t get to see them that often. It was absolutely refreshing to have a bunch of us under one roof just like it was in college…except with boys…and a baby…that’s also a boy.

James and I drove up Friday after work. We stayed in this huge, old (haunted) Airbnb in the middle of nowhere. Everybody was arriving at different times and by the time we arrived, everybody that was already there was settled into bed. James and I went to our room and got a decent night’s sleep except for the part where Jess, Phil, and their baby arrived at 4 am and James didn’t KNOW anybody else was arriving in the middle of the night so he thought a ghost baby was out to get him. Whoops.

Saturday morning, I woke up to the wonderful sound of my friends chatting away downstairs. I found my way to the living room and promptly dove onto the antique couch they were sitting on. After a bit of catching up, we all sat in the large dining room to have breakfast together. I wish the weather was a little bit nicer – there was a large covered porch off the dining room that would have been perfect but it was chilly.

After breakfast, we headed into Corning to pick up Irene and visit the Corning Museum of Glass. Several of wanted to do the “make your own glass” session but we just didn’t have enough time. We went through the museum and saw several demonstrations including glass blowing. After the museum, we grabbed lunch at Mooney’s which I guess is a chain that they also have in Buffalo? Half of our table ate like adults and ordered sandwiches and the other half of our table ordered giant platters of mac and cheese…you can guess which end James and I sat at.

For the afternoon, we visited one of the many winerys bordering Seneca Lake – Lakewood Vineyards. Some people will come to the area and rent a party bus and do an entire wine tour (saw a few of those during our travels) but we stuck with just the one winery. The lady serving us was so nice (she reminded me of Maranda’s mom) and she gave us plenty of extra samples. We purchased a bottle of rose wine from the winery.

Since we had such a huge lunch, nobody really wanted dinner. Also, the weather turned out nicer than predicted (for Saturday only) so we sat around the bonfire drinking wine and eating junk food including roasted marshmallows. Once it got too dark, we went back into the house and played the Harkin House favorite, Quiplash, before heading to bed.

Sunday morning we had to check out of the house pretty early but we came downstairs to find that everybody had surprised Kayla and Josh and James and I with wedding cakes and cards! Irene even played “Happy Wedding Day to You” on the piano – if you’re curious it 100% sounds like “Happy Birthday to You” haha. After enjoying cake for breakfast, we quickly checked out and parted ways. Some people went straight home, others went to visit family and friends in the area. James and I went on our own little adventure which I will write about separately.

Until our next adventure!

Cinco!

harkinchronicles

I love most holidays – I like the food, the celebrations, and the decorations. I think James is afraid of what’s going to happen during Christmas (my absolute favorite, decoration-wise).

My best friend’s mom was my middle school Spanish teacher. Every year, she’d throw a huge Cinco de Mayo party and I’ve celebrated Cinco de Mayo ever since (although one year it wound up being Ocho de Junio because of my work schedule). I have a special love for Mexico and Mexican culture – I did my study abroad in Oaxaco, Mexico!

Thanks to some handy new kitchen gadgets, I went all out for this year’s Cinco menu. On the menu this year:

  • Homemade guac and store-bought chips (literally a year-round staple wherever I am)
  • This elote dip that was AMAZING. I actually sent people out to get more corn so we could make a second batch.
  • These shredded chicken tacos that came out SO GOOD. I’m normally not a chicken fan but these were my favorite tacos from the party!
  • These pork tacos. They came out okay…we bought less meat than the recipe called for so there was A LOT of sauce.
  • Chipotle veggie tacos that I made using a copycat Chipotle recipe. Amazing.
  • Beef tacos that James made (sorry, no recipe there!)

Our friend Will told us about this fun game for the Apple TV that we promptly downloaded and spent the next three hours playing. It was hysterical and I’m pretty much bringing our Apple TV everywhere we go from now on.

Literally the only picture I have from the day. The caption is in reference to a party last year when Will dropped Grace’s BRAND NEW puppy, Riley (Will maintains that she leapt off his shoulder).

We don’t have any holidays coming up soon but I’m sure we’ll come up with a reason to have people over the house soon!

Until our next adventure!

Talk Derby to Me

harkinchronicles

Our family friend Tara hosts a Kentucky Derby party every year the day of the race. James has been before but this was my first time attending. My last Derby party was back in college and we went all out with bright dresses and big hats so I asked James about 1000 times before the party if people “dressed Derby” for this party and he told me yes, dressing the part is an expectation. Luckily we had the Nip Hunt that same day and I had an outfit that worked for both events. I may have worn the hat from the relay race at Justin and Jasmine’s baby shower…

We got there right in time for the race to begin. Our roommate Matt came along and neither Matt nor James was dressed particularly “Derby” so again walking up the driveway I asked James if people dressed up. He said yes and then laughed. I told him I was going to kill him if I was the only one dressed up. I may have been in the brightest dress but luckily all the other women had hats! A lot of people made their own hats that were much larger (and more “Derby”) than mine.

Even though I have been to Derby parties before, I don’t think I’ve actually ever watched the race. I know absolutely nothing about horse racing but while we were watching the race, I commented that it was awfully strange that the horse in first place made such a wide turn. He nearly caused a horse pile up behind him! Well after the race was over, there was all this commotion because there was some type of penalty for the horse that came in first place and officials were going to review video footage to see if the results would be overturned. The first place result has NEVER changed in all the previous 144 years so this was a BIG. DEAL. After 20 minutes of us watching the officials watch replays from every angle, the results were overturned and the first place horse was disqualified meaning the second place horse was now the first place horse. A historic Derby moment!

Until our next adventure!