the end.

Last Saturday, we went to end of Long Island which would be Montauk Point. But before we went we stopped at a farmer's market. I am not a big fan of farmer's markets, I would rather be rummaging through a flea market or an antique store. But it wasn't that bad! The fresh flowers were my favorite and I really liked all the pretty colors. Unfortunately we didn't buy any, but looking at them was good enough. 

There was a variety of vegetables, cabbage, string beans, and lettuce for sale. At one stand there were even some vegetables that I have never heard of before. Also people were selling fish, Mediterranean food (it smelled so good), pretty yarn, cheese,  pizza, and a variety of other things. We didn't buy anything (again) just looked. Sometimes looking is the best and it was for this trip. 

We drove through the Hamptons, but didn't stop. Since it's off season many of the restaurants and stores were closed. Also it was terribly cold outside so not many people were walking around. In Mountauk (the end of Long Island) we found a small restaurant. As we entered we had no idea what to expect, half of the building was a bar and the other half was a restaurant. We sat down and ordered Jimmy's Fish and Chips. When the food came out I was pleasantly surprised. The fish and chips were yummy and the small cole-slaw was delicious. 

Finally the end! It was exciting to be at the end of the island. I always love looking at the ocean and thinking there is something beyond. There are people, cities, countries out there and for just a moment I stop and realize that I live in a big world. 

We walked for a little bit, my parents picked shells, Natalie took plenty of pictures, and I just kept walking to stay warm! Afterwards we went back to Montauk to get something warm to drink. Even though it was a gas station (glamorous) the hot chocolate was so good and it even had whip cream my favorite! Our day trip was really fun and I enjoyed the memories and the laughter that we shared. 

around here.

This week was very productive! We visited a 4H farm over the weekend and saw many animals. My favorites were the piggies and the cows. I always think cows like to pose! When I was taking their picture, all they wanted to do was look at the camera. They are too cute and funny! After seeing the animals, we went to Chipolte. It's my favorite and family's favorite chain-restaurant to eat at. The food is always so fresh and yummy! 

We also wrote Valentine letters to some of our family members. It's so fun and great to receive happy mail! I enjoy writing letters as much as I like getting them.  The card's we found were cute and sweet and I hope they brighten our family's day! Because who doesn't like getting Valentines?

Lastly our sweet pup's birthday is today! Patsy Jane turned 6 years old! She brightens our lives with her kisses, snuggles, and making us laugh.  I still can't believe she's 6 (we adopted her when she was one.) Happy Birthday sweet pea!

Have a Happy Valentines Day!

Seeing the Opera.

Last week I wrote about our tour of the Metropolitan Opera. We didn't see an opera there, but instead saw one in HD at the local movie theater. It was actually a great experience! During intermission, we saw how they set up the stage and the MC interviewed some of the main opera singers. I loved hearing their different accents.   Before we went, our 4H group spent a few hours learning about Carmen (the opera we saw), and what is a soprano, tenor is etc. I would totally recommend, doing a class or reading a synopsis about the opera before you go  Really, if I blindly went to see Carmen, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

When we toured the Met, I couldn't help myself! I bought a few postcards of different operas. I honestly can't wait to use the Carmen one in my Fall minibook. 

Touring the Metropolitan Opera.

My sister and I are apart of a  4H group and last week we were able to tour Metropolitan Opera! I haven't been to New York City in a few years so it was exciting to get to visit it again!

The Metropolitan Opera is located in Lincoln Center. We didn't get to see an opera, but toured the opera house and saw behind the scenes of how they set up and take down an opera. I never knew there were so many components to an opera. Our tour was fairly small there was only 7 of us. The tour guide did an excellent job of telling us stories about the opera and pointing out opera singers and conductors. I think I saw an opera singer who will be performing this November! 

My favorite thing in the opera house was these beautiful chandeliers which were a gift from Austria to the US. I loved the way they sparked in the night! By the way, the ceiling is real gold! I wish I was able to take pictures inside the auditorium, but they are not allowed. The opera house is absolutely beautiful and someday I would love to see an opera there. 

As you can tell by my expression I had a lovely time! It was one of my favorite tours yet and it was exciting to learn about the ins and outs of an opera. 

P.S. If anyone has seen an opera please let me know! 

Our Trip.

P.S. I changed the name of my blog to www.melissamarieknits.com because weird websites from different parts of the world were looking at this site. I think the name works better for me, I really love it! 

Last weekend we traveled to upstate New York to visit, apple farms, my Nana, and a college that I want to attend.

The apple farm we visited had a variety of things to do. We picked apples at the farm and also browsed the store. I really loved the pumpkins, I wish I bought one! One of the nice things about the farm is if you had a dog you could walk let the dog walk around with you as you picked. 

Lastly we toured the school that I want to attend. The picture above is where the school is located. For personal reasons, I am not going to mention the name of the school. I really loved it and enjoyed the tour. 

We also saw baby pigs who were a month old. Aren't they cute? They make me want to have a pig! 

RIT.

After Margaretville, we went to RIT to drop Patrick off at college. Since he is a freshman we went to orientation and helped him settle in to college.  It was fun experience! We helped him move into his dorm a day earlier so we beat the crowds of incoming freshman, which was a relief.  On the day of orientation, we had a continental breakfast which was given to all freshman's parents and family members. It was nice walking around the college and seeing all of the balloons. The college's colors are brown and orange so all of the balloons were either brown, orange, or white. I especially love the tiger balloons! 

My brother is studying computer science so we met the dean of the Computer Science College and sat in a few q&a's. One of the awesome things that the college did was a Tiger Walk. The Tiger Walk is literally a parade for all of the incoming freshman. Before we dropped my brother off at college, I told myself I wouldn't start crying. But when, the parade started I started crying. It was definitely a emotional experience for everyone. 

In the end, I do miss him but I am ever so happy that he is in RIT (talk about a good school!) He is studying a great major and is already making plenty of friends! 

New York Vacation.

Last week, we went to Margaretville, New York for a quick vacation. This would be our last vacation with my brother for a while because he is going off to college. Downtown Margaretville, is adorable! It is a very small quaint town located in the Catskills. I loved that we stayed in a apartment over a old movie theater. The fun part about staying in a 2nd story apartment is you can see the town from above!

The apartment was nice and vintage. The kitchen had yellow cabinets (which was fun) and the wood floors were beautiful! My favorite room in the apartment was the living room, because the windows were huge and the lighting was great. We stayed in Maragretville for three days. On the first day we traveled around the countryside and had fun eating sandwiches and exploring. But on the second day my tooth (by the way is in dire need of a root canal) was killing me. So I stayed back and sat on the couch and watched Mrs. Doubtfire and Brady Bunch while eating soft chocolate chip cookies. Real life everyone, real life! 

My second favorite room in the house was the spare room with the lime green wall! Also it had a blue couch, rarely do I see rooms like this!

In Maragretville, there are some cute antique and book shops. I loved walking around town and exploring. My favorite part was walking into the bookstores and viewing all of the old books,l while watching the cashier paint a mural. It was definitely a fun vacation! 

P.S. Thankfully I am getting my tooth fixed (today!) 

Fun Vacation.

Since we are living in Long Island we are pretty close to family. It takes about 3-4 hours to get up to see relatives. Yes it's a long drive but we are closer than Colorado (which is where we used to live.) We drove up to Albany, celebrated my Nana's 91st birthday, and then stayed with my aunt. I love visiting family because we chat, eat great food like this watermelon shaped sherbet, and play miniature golf. I didn't win but I got a hole in one! Cheers to summer 2014 you are great! 

Favorite Place I Saw.

One of my favorite National Parks was Everglades National Park. Thankfully we visited this park in February instead of in the summer. Oh boy it would be so hot outside! Even though when we visited it was really hot and also there are plenty of mosquitoes. I am right now making this place seem awful, but really it's a amazing park! 

We stayed in the campground at Flamingo which is in the National Park. I loved Flamingo because we were able to bike to the visitor center and walk around the park. We went to Echo Pond which was close to our campground. Heads up we did this walk in the morning when the mosquitoes weren't that bad and it wasn't so hot outside. By the time I finished the hike, I was dripping with sweat no joke! The picture above is a beautiful spoonbill bird we didn't see any flamingos. 

For me, the best part about Everglades was seeing a alligator in the wild and a crocodile. It's definitely a different feeling being so close to an live animal in it's own habitat. 

How We Lived In A Camper.

We lived in a camper for 9 months. During those months we visited National Parks and saw about 25 states. My favorite part of the trip was visiting fun cities like Seattle. I learned a lot by living in a camper. One of things I learned and will use in life is you don't need tons of stuff. We sold everything we owned 
to travel around the USA. I still can't believe we did it! 

P.S. We saw more states than the ones above, but I never got to take a picture of the full map! :(

So how did we live in a camper? We put our house on the market and sold it in about a month and a 
half. Thankfully it all worked out well. We also sold all of our furniture, toys, etc. on Craig's List or yard sales. Some of our toys or other items we donated to thrift stores. Our goal was to sell the house and 
our stuff so while we were traveling we didn't have to worry about it. The idea of traveling came into 
our heads in late April and the reality hit in on August 19th when we closed on the house and hit the 
road! 

We decorated our bunks/beds in our camper to make it feel homey.  We also kept only the things 

that we needed, but somehow I was able to keep my Anthropologie mugs and they didn't break, 

during our trip! The camper only has one bathroom and one shower which means we used the camp-ground's facilitates, like showers and laundry. Most of the campgrounds we went to the bathrooms 

were clean and nice. We also didn't spend a lot of times indoors instead we visited towns, National 

Parks, or when we were indoors we did school. Visiting places helped us explore so we didn't feel to cramped inside the camper. 

I actually enjoyed cooking in the camper even know the stove and oven was super small. In California, 
I made pumpkin cookies with icing! Overall I enjoyed exploring and visiting new places, but at the end 
of the trip I was getting tired of the tight quarters. I am glad we did the trip and I will remember all the places we visited. 

A Quick Vacation.

After the 4th of July I took a quick vacation to upstate New York.  We left on Sunday and came back Wednesday. It was a surprise and sudden vacation so I didn't have any posts planned. Also I didn't bring my computer so I enjoyed a electronic-free week. My sister and I stayed with my aunt and enjoyed a shopping day where we bought some craft supplies. I also got my hair cut! I haven't had my hair this short since 8th grade, I'll be a senior this year. It was definitely nerve wracking cutting off my long hair (my hair went halfway down my back!) But I don't miss it. On Tuesday we went to downtown Saratoga and walked around the town. We had a great trip and enjoyed our time with our aunt. I am sorry that I didn't have any schedluled post

My Shuttefly Book

Shutterfly teamed up with the National Park Service, with each purchase you made at the gift store you would get a free Shutterfly book. I have never made a Shutterfly book, but always wanted too. So I was glad that I was able to make one. I didn't document all of the National Parks, but chose a few of the ones that I loved the most. The pictures below are from Death Valley, my favorite National Park, because the landscape was very diverse. I also included pictures from Big Bend Texas which was very pretty, but hot. The last picture was from Joshua Tree and Mojave National Preserve this place was also a desert. To think we saw so many deserts it's pretty amazing!

As you can tell, I made a simple book! I kept the background white to make the pictures the main focus. I also didn't do that much writing! On the bottom of the picture, I wrote where & when it was  taken. Shutterfly did an amazing job. The quality of the photos and book is excellent! 

Favorite pictures of our trip.

 

 Yellowstone National Park 

Glacier National Park

 

 Beautiful flower in Spokane WA

 

Yosemite National Park 

 

Gray shawl in Pahrump Nevada

 

China Date Ranch, CA

Let's Go to the Sound!

One of the things that I love about Long Island is the beach is close to our house. In all honesty, the beach is about 6 minutes away! This time I decided not to get wet and instead played with my camera and sun bathed. We only stayed at the beach for and hour, because it gets so hot! Thankfully the beach wasn't that crowded, but we know later on in the summer months it will start to get really crowded!