Clockwise below: Natalie & Brynn looking out over the lake; breakfast burritos on Monday morning; Brian and Sean playing at the ICE CASTLE in Saranac Lake; Sean & me smooching on frozen Long Lake; Brynn’s knives have moose hats; the unfrozen side of Long Lake; the men; Brynn & Brian in Lake Placid; and in the middle is a smiley Natalie on Sunday night at the brewery.

This past weekend I took the train from Buffalo to Albany, where my friend Kim was waiting to take me to her place in Northampton, Massachusetts. I’d been there once before, for about two hours, and was eager to check the place out. Kim’s apartment is right in the heart of Noho and we spent the weekend eating tons of food, shopping (and looking) in all the cute little stores, and catching up. I was so distracted by the friendship and eating that I barely took any photos beyond my iPhone (and if you follow me on instagram you know I at least took a ton of those). On Sunday morning before I got back on the train to come home, we had breakfast at The Roost, where I took the below photos. My sandwich was a delicious blend of egg, cheddar, avocado, and pico de gallo, and I did not want to stop eating it at all, even to preserve its memory in a photograph.

So yeah, my two weekend trips were successful and have inspired me to plan a few more for this Spring. What’s your favorite place to visit for a weekend? How far are you willing to go?

These are pictures of my friend Brynn’s two sun porches. Even though it was January and bitterly cold when I took them, doesn’t it look so warm and festive in there?

I can’t frickin’ wait for summer.

I drove through some bad weather on Thursday night and it made my ride an hour and a half longer than it should have been. When I got to Brynn and Brian’s house they had chili and hugs waiting for me. My stressful drive was all but forgotten.

On Friday I went to school with Brynn and observed her for the day, fulfilling both credit hours for my School Media Center course and my long-standing curiosity as her friend. Long Lake Central School is small (65 students total, K-12) and very, very neat. I learned a ton from Brynn and am so looking forward to having my own school library one day.

After school on Friday Brynn and I drove to Lake Placid. We planned to grab dinner at this great Mexican restaurant, get some work done at the coffee shop, and maybe catch a movie. As we entered Lake Placid we were greeted with this lovely scene:

It was so cold on Friday (and Saturday) that there were very few clouds in the sky. With that fact and the glaring spotlight of a full moon, Whiteface Mountain was frickin’ glorious. I mean come on, what else would you call this scene?

Brynn let me stall our night for a few minutes as I snapped the best photo I could. Nothing I got does it justice but it was -5 degrees outside and my poor right hand was in pain from the cold.

The rest of the weekend was fun too. I slept sort of late on Saturday morning, went on a brief (freezing) photo walk, and got some school work done. Brynn and Brian prepared for that evening’s “Chocolate Fest” library fundraiser and town open mic, both of which proved to be excellent events. I ate more chocolate-themed desserts than I care to disclose and I got to see Brian sing at the open mic with his younger sister Nicole.

My drive to Buffalo was clear and quick. Sean and I grabbed dinner at Hardware with Kevin and Sara, and went back to Kevin’s to drink tea and, as it turns out, practice juggling.

All in all, a lovely extended weekend–I feel great.