transient travels

About six months ago I was at the stage of wedding planning where all I could think about was the honeymoon.  The vendors were booked and it was way too early to start getting arts and crafty so instead, we plotted where we’d spend our first couple of weeks as a married couple.

After deciding on Spain and then Tunisia, Mike and I spent time choosing more specific locations, like where we’d stay and the types of day trips we’d take. We made our own personalized Google map and frequented Barnes and Noble to purchase travel books. It was great.

But despite that fact, the books that we so enthusiastically purchased now sit lonely on our bookshelf, and they have been since then – their sole purpose is to hide the mess of books and frames that overflow that sad little shelf.

As we get closer to the wedding (only three more days!) gluing blue and brown ribbon together, brainstorming the perfect sign in and crafting little centerpieces out of candles and espresso beans has suddenly taken precedence over planning, and even packing for our trip. I have been so focused on the details of the day, I keep for getting that in under a week, we’ll be traveling.

In a way, it’s exciting though. Sadly, it took the reaction of a client this week to make me realize that. When I was asked if we had any plans for Tunis or Spain, I embarrassingly replied ‘no.’ But instead of a laugh or an awkward silence I got a “that’s so great, what an adventure, you’re going to have a great time.” And I thought, you know what? I am going to have a great time – we are going to have a great time.

Next Tuesday morning, after an entire night of flying, Mike and I will land in Tunis and we will be free from planning, free from commitments.

For the first time since this whole wedding planning process began, we will be taking every single decision one step at a time…

I got the best text this weekend.

My brother randomly and unexpectedly found himself in Maine, just a few houses down from our old vacation house on Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro.

It hasn’t changed a bit- except for the new family’s SUV out front.

You think you have a memory down and then you get a text like that and realize you didn’t. But, it all comes rushing back.

Two weekends ago my gal pals coordinated a surprise girls weekend to tack on one more adventure before I officially lose my status as a single lady. I didn’t guess the destination until we reached route 84 in Connecticut, but even when I did, there were still plenty of surprises ahead of me.

Festivities began on Saturday morning when we made a quick stop at our old stomping grounds.

What’s so cool about visiting old places is you find out that some things never change.

And the things that do, really stand out.

Next we went on to another location, rife with even more memories – the plateau.

Throughout the rest of the day we gallivanted around Philadelphia – eating a delicious meal, enjoying the local lager and singing our hearts out at karaoke – you know, girls weekend stuff.

I can’t wait for our next getaway.

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a co-worker about the ingredients of a Manhattan cocktail. I confidently, and quite arrogantly, stated that the ingredients are whiskey, sweet vermouth and a maraschino cherry (though I sometimes ask for two). He corrected me with the fact that a Manhattan also contains bitters, and I couldn’t believe it. How could I go on this long without knowing the exact ingredients of my favorite cocktail? And more importantly, how could I have allowed my Mad Men party be so incomplete? What a poor hostess!

When I go out I do tend to order wine or beer, but when I am in the mood for a cocktail, it’s almost always a Manhattan. I just love whiskey. Unlike vodka, it has a flavor that can stand up against anything. It’s never in the background of a drink – it’s always what makes it.

Since my little lesson on ingredients, I feel like I have been stumbling across the drink more often. Does that ever happen to you? Like when you learn a new word and all of a sudden everyone around you uses it constantly?

In the September issue of Food & Wine there was a focus on the “50 best recipes from the new south.” In that issue I learned the southern take – a Maker’s Mark Manhattan. As you can imagine, the main ingredient is Maker’s Mark.

Also, for the past two weeks I have been frequenting Trina’s Starlite Lounge with friends. Most of the time, by the time I decide to go I have already eaten dinner, so as my friends enjoy their meals, I sit and sip a Manhattan. But not just any Manhattan, Trina’s has their own take.

Their INMANhattan (cleverly nicknamed after its neighborhood) is made with rye, Carpano Antica and orange bitters. And they dress it up with an orange peel. I think it’s amazing.

Besides the whiskey, what I love about a Manhattan is that it’s classic and undeniable, no matter what form it takes. And even if you ignorantly leave out the bitters, there’s no doubt that you’re drinking a classic.

What’s your favorite cocktail? And if you had to make it, would you actually know the ingredients?

I’m not one to draw attention to myself in public. As you may remember, there were no tiaras or feather boas at my bachelorette party. But I got a gift from my friend Beth last weekend that was so fun and perfect that I will probably make an exception to show it off.

Plus, I was thinking about how the first stop of our honeymoon will be a bit unconventional, so it will be nice to be adorned with some corny stuff to, you know, make it known exactly why we are traveling together…

Aren’t they pretty and fun? They are Wilton Bride and Groom passport cases and Anna Griffin Mr. and Mrs. luggage tags. I adore them.

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This was my “I’m too busy working and wedding planning to blog” cop out post. I wish it wasn’t so.

How are you guys doing?

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been giving your blogs much attention either. I’ll be back to my regular schedule soon!

While in Europe I had a film camera that was just about as old as me. Having only mastered the ins and outs of a throw away, I felt lucky to have a camera that would stay with me for the long haul. I was a student studying abroad – naive, innocent and inexperienced, but I was free. With that camera I set out to capture every piece of the world I could, and turn each one into a tangible, visual memory.

Today, when I go through my photos I tend to feel a lot of remorse. I look back and wish I had a better camera, that I was a better photographer, that I had the means to buy endless amounts of film so I could take enough photos to get every shot right. Sometimes when I look back, I feel like my ability to really capture something great was trapped by circumstance.

But that is only one way to see it.

When I got home, the first thing I did was develop my photos. It was like Christmas. Once I finally had the chance to go through them all I found that many of them were faded, black or blurred by poor lighting.

At the time though, that didn’t really matter.

When I was flipping through the giant pile that represented my six month journey, I wasn’t disappointed in the quality. What mattered was that I could pull a memory from even a semblance of an event or scene in every single photo. I came back from that trip with more knowledge, experience and awareness than before, yet the innocence part didn’t really fade.

As I grow older, though, it becomes easier to let it. Sometimes, it’s easier to default on disappointment than it is to sift through the blur and poor lighting to find the quality.

It’s good to be reminded that sometimes, disappointment is only perception, and that feeling of being trapped exists only in how you choose to see it.

A couple of weeks ago Verizon emailed to let me know that I was eligible for an early upgrade. Fed up with the dying battery of my BlackBerry and the hassle I had been going through to even “check in” on Foursquare (let alone tweet!), I spontaneously purchased the Droid Incredible by HTC.

To be honest, even though the decision to get a new phone was on a whim, my thought process wasn’t quite as hasty. I did quite a bit of research and compared and contrasted the different kinds of Droids that are out there. Though I must admit, in the end I hoped that all signs would point to the Incredible because the design is so sleek and the device overall is just plain pretty.

I perused numerous review sites and gadget blogs and watched probably a half a dozen videos before making my decision, but in the end, all signs did point my way. Also, Bonnie Cha at CNET seemed to think pretty highly of the Droid Incredible and I trust her, so I took her advice and ran with it.

I have been meaning to try out all of the apps, but I have only had it for a weekend, and let’s face it, wedding planning is getting in the way of my entire life. But, one app that I have been able to try is slowly becoming my new addiction.

The Retro Camera App is probably the coolest technology tool I have at my fingertips these days. I’m sure the high quality of the camera on the actual phone plays a large part, but I have found that the quality and the coolness of the photos that I can take with this app, for a phone, is nothing short of Incredible.

While visiting my parents last weekend we were fortunate to sample some good old Pennsylvania Lager thanks to my sister, who recently picked some up in her travels. This was the first photo I took to test out the app and I literally put no effort into it. I was shocked at how well it turned out. Now it serves as the wallpaper for my phone.

Last weekend I also decided to capture my mediocre cooking skills (note: I like bananas in my pancakes and Mike does not). The lighting in my kitchen is horrendous and there is absolutely nothing photogenic about my stove or my cooking, but this app somehow made my breakfast seem rustic and made from scratch, even though it came from a box.

If these are the kinds of shots that I can capture day to day, I can’t wait to get out there and test it out on some cooler scenes.

Do you have a Droid? What other apps do I need to test out?

Last Sunday I took an unpleasant trip to the Apple Store to find out why my external hard drive would not be acknowledged by my Macbook when I plugged it in. In short, I was told that my hard drive stopped working and that the only chance I had of recovering my data was to go through a company that charges more than my honeymoon for their services. I looked into other alternatives and it looks like that’s the going rate.

I know what you’re thinking – did you back up? Yes, some of my photos were backed up, but many of them were not. You see, I take a lot of photos and as they overtook my little Macbook and then my external hard drive I found myself with no more space. I recently downloaded Dropbox, but I have yet to really come up with a formal back up system for all of the data I accumulate. And before I could solidify an official process, it was too late.

I have uploaded a lot of photos to my Flickr account. And while it makes me happy to have them there, they aren’t the original files and therefore, the quality will never be the same.

But knowing that I just can’t spend the money to attempt to bring back my files, tonight I spent some time perusing my Flickr account to reassure myself that not all is lost.

Then I came across this photo of a work-in-progress replica of a boat that Mike and I saw on one of our trips to Gloucester.

Stumbling across this photo turned my sadness into optimism a little. While I will never get some of my original photos back, rebuilding my library of memories will be one heck of a work in progress. And even if the end result isn’t perfect, it will always represent something great.

Last week I had the loveliest birthday celebration. My friend Bryce just opened an Etsy shop – Extension by b. mattie – and before she could launch officially of course, she had to hire some models to show off her stuff.

Lisa and I happily accepted the job.

From stylish aprons and festive headbands to knitted hats and retro shoe bags perfect for travel, we tried on every piece in her shop. I can’t help but think it was a vain way to spend an evening, but in the end we were part of the launch of something meaningful, something that will help our friend’s creativity and desire to well, create, flourish. And there’s nothing vain about that.

[The following ten photos were taken by Bryce Mattie with her very sharp camera. As you'll see, in addition to being crafty enough to create beautiful clothing and accessories, Bryce is also a great photographer.]

The pay for modeling was delicious. Following the shoot, we had a glass of birthday champagne and homemade blueberry cake – a recipe that Bryce got while traveling to Nova Scotia.

[If you can't tell, we're back to my photos now...]

And then we watched the sunset – and had one of those moments that make you realize just how great it is to be a Bostonian.

Wedding planning has been fun, challenging, sometimes frustrating, and overall exciting. But as planning gets crazier, especially as we are just about one month away, I find myself dreaming about a weekend where we can just sit back and relax – and truly break out of the work week.

People who know me may laugh at this post because wedding planning or no wedding planning, I’ve never really been one to relax. But, it’s during times like these I realize that whenever I can, I should.

Right now, my idea of a perfectly lazy weekend includes a big breakfast with lots of coffee, whilst catching up on the news and perhaps even reading the newspaper.

I miss the days of flipping through the Boston Globe Magazine, admiring the pretty real estate I could never afford and laughing at the ridiculous situations Miss Conduct helps people through.

I would then take a long walk with Mike through the beautiful neighborhoods that surround our apartment. The walk would include a stop at the Farmers Market to collect fresh ingredients for dinner. At night we’d make dinner, over wine, eat late and then start all over again the next day.

Please remind me of this post when the planning is over.

What is your perfect, lazy weekend?