From the garden

As I mentioned earlier this week, we toured the Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, Rhode Island.
They had a handful of incredible gardens filled with the most beautiful flowers and a couple of critters too!

A few pictures from Rhode Island

Last Saturday we had some down time so we (me, my brother, his wife, my parents and my cousin) headed to Bristol, RI. While driving around, we stumbled upon this huge historic mansion and decided to take a tour.

There were some huge trees, several varieties, and they all had branches that touched the ground.

The back of the Blithewold Mansion. The lawn extended out to the ocean.

Joey, Mom & Dad at the marina in Bristol.

The roads in Bristol had red, white and blue lines. They're known for being a really patriotic town.

Battleship Cove. We toured a couple of battleships and submarines from WWII.

We all thought this was a really cool car!

Inside the submarine. Notice the bed in the top right hand corner... yeah, right above that torpedo.

So if you've never been in a submarine, it's tiny. I mean, incredibly tiny. Only one toilet, a kitchen the size of a linen closet and cots hanging from the ceiling. Yet towards the rear they had an ice cream machine. Random, right? To the right is the dental room. They had three different stations and a side room with an X-Ray machine. My sister-in-law really liked seeing all of this vintage dental equipment.

I love this framed newspaper article, it's even from a newspaper in Hawaii. To the right is a female officer's jacket. They had a big display of women's clothing and some interesting exhibits about their roles during the war.

I just couldn't help taking a picture of this. It's so incredible!

Later Saturday night we headed to Waterfire in downtown Providence. I didn't want to use a flash so these images are a little grainy due to the increased ISO. I think they turned out well considering it was 10:00pm.

They had fire dancers, gondolas and river tours. There was a street market that served fresh frozen lemonade and lots of Italian pastries. Despite the events that occurred just days before, we had a good end to a long weekend.

Life lately, according to instagram

Last week we were extremely busy. On the 4th I was tired and didn't feel like making dinner so we headed to Cafe Rio. We didn't want to get a late start on our hike up Y mountain (where we watched the fireworks from) so we scarfed down our food. Boy was it good // We've really missed their sweet pork, and I've missed their giant salads!

On Thursday I headed to Rhode Island to be with family. Strangers love to make comments about how bright my luggage is and how it will never get mistaken for another suitcase. The bright pink isn't really me, but it's always nice to be able to spot your bag within a matter of seconds. // I wore my new LBD- $15 from Target, such a steal!

Blessed Sacrament Church where we attended Mass in honor of my uncle. // Eating dinner with family in the house that my dad lived in when he first came to the United States. It was my first time being in that house.

 They only sell brown eggs where my family lives, kind of cool! // Pile of Biscoff cookies from all of my flights. I will definitely be using those in something! Maybe cookies, cupcakes, bars or cheesecake? Hmmm...

 Have you ever seen a red mushroom? We spotted one on our walk around a mansion in Bristol, RI. // We came to the end of the road and it went straight into the water. There was a man fishing just off the shore and while his back was turned the seagulls were eating the fish he had caught. It was so funny!

There were butterflies on the ground at the Blithewold Mansion. // Sail boats from the America's Cup.

Lighthouse turned into private residence // Waterfire (night festival) on the river in downtown Providence.

All in all it was a long and tiring week. Hopefully this week will be a little more relaxing!