This past week we took a little family adventure up to Vermont. Mike had some time off from work, and we both had a few ideas on our travel wish list to visit there. I have been wanting to visit Field Guide Stowe since it opened, and had a trip to the King Arthur Flour campus in mind. Mike is a beer guy and wanted to visit a few breweries in the area to check out their selection. And Miss Jane was ready for her first overnight in a hotel, so we packed up our bags and headed north! 
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Last week I shared a little recap of our babymoon getaway weekend. Before we decided to spend a weekend on Nantucket for some R&R pre-baby arrival (and the madness of the holiday season), I was doing some research on babymoon destinations and felt like there weren’t many resources out there for this type of a trip. The babymoon concept has gained more popularity in the last few years, and up until recently most people I knew that took one ended up going somewhere warm and tropical. It wasn’t really an option for us to pick a destination that required plane tickets or tons of time off (and sadly, with the spread of the Zika virus, my doctor cautioned us against traveling anywhere too far south). Those factors kept us in the New England travel radius, and helped me narrow down a few key places to consider going. We ended up picking Nantucket because it was just at the edge of the off-season and neither of us had been there for more than a day trip before.
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Almost a week later, a little recap of our babymoon adventure on Nantucket seems fitting, because I’m heading into this weekend thinking about what an amazing relaxing time we had and how grateful I am for the getaway! We were lucky to catch some unseasonably warm weather last Friday, paired with a few crisp cool fall days the rest of the weekend — the best of both worlds! It gave us some time to stroll out the beaches and lighthouse, while bundling up in our autumn-best for an awesome off-season day at Cisco Brewery. Pregnant lady at a brewery you’re wondering? With live music, bowling, pumpkin carving, and a BBQ pig roast going on, I almost didn’t miss the beer tasting (almost!). 
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Last weekend when Alison and I stayed at the Lark Hotels property in Narragansett, RI — The Break Hotel — we got the opportunity to meet their Chef Basil Yu at Chair 5 and partake in a little cooking class. We walked in not knowing what we were making, but were greeted by Basil and some fresh Narragansett Lobsters chilling out in the kitchen. He let us know we were going to be making their creamy Narragansett Lobster Fettucini with homemade pasta, and my eyes lit up. Give me all the cheesy, creamy pasta and top it off with some buttery fresh lobster plucked right out of the water down the street and I am a happy girl. Basil was awesome, he walked us through making the pasta by hand, we learned how to break down the lobsters (I’m going to be so much more confident ripping into a lobster this summer!) and went step by step through the recipe to create this gorgeous dish. It was ah-mazing, like I couldn’t stop eating it. And lucky us, he gave us the recipe to share with you so you can make it at home!
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One of the best things about this blog is that I’ve made some really amazing ‘blogger buddies’ and get to do fun things with them. Alison of Long Distance Loving and I got the chance to have a little Boston Bloggers ‘pow-wow’ at The Break Hotel in Narragansett last weekend to kick back, relax, enjoy the amazing (and unseasonably warm) weather, and do a little planning for our Boston Bloggers group. The folks at Lark Hotels know how to make a girl feel special, and treated us to some spa-time (manicure for me!), beyond delicious food at their restaurant Chair 5 (um, s’mores ice cream sandwiches, do I need to say more?) and even hooked us up with a cooking lesson with Chef Basil Yu (more on that in another post!). It was a perfect girls getaway in one of the prettiest places I’ve ever stayed — if you’re ever looking for a weekend near the water check this cute spot out! 
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I had one of those *pinch me, is this really my life?* moments this weekend while being treated to a luxurious getaway by Lark Hotels at their newest property in Newport, RI. I was so lucky to be invited with a group of awesome bloggers and creatives to stay in the newly opened Gilded Hotel, participate in some fun activities, and cruise around the historic ocean town to learn a bit more about the area.
The hotel was an absolute feast of eye candy, designed by Rachel Reider. The tagline of the hotel is ‘A Clever Twist on a Golden Age’ and the decor certainly lived up to the moniker. Jewel tone paint colors, ornate mirrors, lacquered surfaces, and gold accents gave the whole space the vibe of a funky, modern-day Great Gatsby party. A few of my favorite details — the graphic pink wallpaper in the hotel’s lounge, the whimsical garden courtyard, and the over-the-top design of the front desk and breakfast area.
When we weren’t ogling over the crazy gorgeous decor of the space, the Lark Hotels team had us busy with tons of fun activities. We toured some of the Newport Mansions, and got to see some of the historic opulence of the Newport area that inspired the hotel’s design. We had manicures on the hotel veranda, private croquet lessons in the courtyard, and took an afternoon sail boat ride around the harbor to tour the local area. And after dinner both nights, we ended the evening in the hotel’s pool room which had a moody library vibe for champagne, cookies, and some games.
It was a hard adjustment to come back to real-life on Monday after such a luxurious weekend (I am still dreaming of the tapas-style breakfasts served at the hotel!). I’m so happy I got to spend the time with such an amazing group of fun, inspiring women, and grateful to Lark Hotels for truly treating us like we lived in the Gilded age. If you’re looking for a fun spot to stay in Newport, or want to getaway with some girlfriends for a relaxing weekend, I can’t recommend the space enough. Now, we are we going to travel next to and do this again?!
For more pictures of the weekend and the hotel, be sure to check out the hashtag #GildedGetaway on Instagram.
Please note: Lark Hotels hosted us for the weekend and gave us complimentary stays at their property. All opinions are my own.
