Dog Days: Summer Walks

Summer walks with these boys means more visits to our local pond for them to go swimming.  Well.... for Glacier to swim out to the sticks we throw him and Azul just wading out waiting for us to throw rocks at him.  Yes, we know, he is a little strange.  We think Glacier may have broke a tooth by actually catching the rocks we throw so we throw them extra high or when they aren't looking so he doesn't catch them.

More rock catching pictures here and here.

xo

Erin

Hiking: Bluff Point State Park

Bluff Point State Park is one of my favorite local hikes.  It's close enough that I can drive to it in 15 minutes and usually just call up one of my girlfriends after work on a nice day to meet me there.  It's a 3.6 mile loop, but it's no ordinary trail in CT.  It allows dogs, biking, swimming and fishing!

Ryan and I decided to go on a rainy evening after work.  He was breaking in his weekend backpacking pack so do not fret the trail is flat, wide and easy enough for children.  I tend to like hiking the river side both to the point and back.

Map via here.

The best part is the ocean view at the point!

See more hikes in CT:
Lantern Hill
Bear Mountain

xo
Erin

Summer Nights

Expect to have hope rekindled.  Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.  The dry seasons in life do not last.  The spring rains will come again.

Sara Ban Breathnach

See more pictures and outfit details here.

xo 

Erin

Allergy-Free Restaurant Review: The Malted Barley

Restaurant Name: 

 The Malted Barley

Location: 

 Westerly, Rhode Island

What I ate:

 Gluten free Captain eli's root beer from Maine and a BLT on a gluten free pretzel.  If you have an egg allergy you will need to leave off the aioli.

Cost:  

Pretzel sandwich = $8

Root beer = around $3 or $4.  Not sure we split the check in half.

My Thoughts:

This was my second time at The Malted Barley and I was not disappointed either time.  If you only eat gluten free, you will your choice of any pretzel sandwich.  Since I am also dairy free and egg free I had to be a bit more choosy or I would just have had to ask for some without the cheese and such.  My BLT pretzel sandwich was good.  I would order it again!  Also, the root beer was the best I had ever tasted.  The atmosphere was fun and there was live music setting up as we were leaving.  Overall, if you are in the area, it's defiantly worth a visit!

xo

Erin

*I was not paid to do this review.  My opinions are my own.  I also do not know all the ingredients.  They                                  may contain dairy, egg, soy or another allergen.

Traveling Around New England

My family took the long drive from Wisconsin to Connecticut to visit Ryan and I this last week.  Of course we had to cram in a ton of all things New England on their five day stay.

There was a total of 6 of us traveling around, including 3 small children and we wanted to make sure everyone kept busy.

Our Itinerary:

Day 1: Martha's Vineyard

Day 2: Whale watching off of Cape Cod

Day 3:  Nautilus Museum (Submarine) and Mystic, CT

Day 4:  Point Judith, Fisherman's Beach and the lobster boats in Galilee, RI

Day 5:  Watch Hill, RI and beach day

What a great way to start off the summer season!

xo

Erin

I Love Standing In The Middle Of The Road

Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.

Margaret Shepard

See more pictures and outfit details here.

xo

Erin

Baby Robins

We just snapped this photo tonight of these precious baby robins.  They are living in our front garden; the same garden we had a robin family call home in 

2011:

I hope it's the same mom and she comes back each year to the same spot to have her babies.

xo

Erin

Summer, I Love You

Once you become consciously aware of just how powerful your thoughts are, you will realize everything in your life is exactly how YOU allow it to be.

Melanie Moushigian Koulouris

More photos and outfit details here.

xo

Erin

Prophetic Photography: Running

Run The Race

You Need the Endurance

I don't like to exercise.  I get bored. It's hard.  I give up early on.

In an effort to get in shape, Ryan's been teaching me how to run and the largest lesson he is trying to drill in is that it's all in my head.  I have to be more mentally tough when it gets uncomfortable because my body can do it.  If I'm comfortable, no progress is being made.

When I took this picture I labeled it , "The Road Ahead of Me".  I knew God was telling me the road symbolized my life, my journey.  I have been crippled with fear lately that there are scary things around those bends because I can't see what's ahead.  Life can be hard and I don't want to experience the difficult things that may come.  I fear I would be too weak to make it through them. I want to be comfortable and happy.

So God said:

If you don't run, you will go nowhere.

Just like with running,  if I'm comfortable in life, no progress is being made, I'm going nowhere.  If I don't run with endurance I will live a comfortable shallow, meaningless life never knowing what God had for me around that corner.

And endurance produces character, and character produces hope
Romans 5:4

By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Luke 21:19

xo
Erin

See more prophetic photography here.