One of those memories

This could be one of those memories
We want to hold on to, we want to cling to,
One that we can’t forget…

-Darius Rucker

This weekend Pat and I drove up to New Hampshire for Country Fest (featuring Brad Paisley, Sarah Evans, Darius Rucker and Jason Aldean). My best friend Tia got me tickets to the concert for my birthday and I was sooooo excited that the weekend was finally here. I had such an amazing time hanging out with Patrick, Tia and her boyfriend Ed on Saturday (see pics below). Then on Sunday, we stopped at my sister’s new apartment in MA and got to have breakfast with my mom and her boyfriend Ken. After spending so much time with family and friends this weekend, and having waaaaay too much time to think and reflect on the traffic-laden ride home, I started to feel really lucky.

Time seems like it is going by so fast lately. Sometimes I can’t believe I am married or that my baby sister is out on her own or that my oldest niece is almost old enough to drive (scary huh?) Anyway, when time is flying by it is comforting to think that along the way I am making great memories with loved ones : )


Ok, enough of the mushy-gushy stuff. On to the grub…


Dinner on Friday was snacks on the road to New Hampshire:

Berries with crumbled graham cracker crumbs

The cooler and the amazing cowgirl hat Pat bought me in South Dakota

Country Fest here we come!

Saturday morning Tia and I went for a long walk and returned to enjoy the colorful fruit salad that Tia had made. Although I always knew she was a one-in-a-million kind of friend, the fact that she stocked her house with vegan eats for my visit was another indicator of how lucky I am. We also enjoyed some stove-top banana oats.

Tia and I are both cowgirls at heart : )

Packing the cooler with VEGGIES!

Finally, we were on the road to the festival. After lots of traffic (have you noticed the weekend theme?) we arrived in the parking lot and the tailgating began.

Patrick grillin some veggie skewers with shrimp




Eggplant "burgers"



The spread





Tia eating homemade pickles from our tailgating neighbors



Pre-bite photo shoot

I approved!

Ed working the grill

Only Tia and I would drink Pinot out of Solo cups at a country concert

Rockin Out

I don't know...

We found Diana in the section right next to us! Only true friends can find each other in a stadium of thousands.

The night ended…

well, let's just say some stadium french fries may have been involved. Oops!

Sunday morning I awoke feeling the effects of late night Brad Paisley. Nevertheless, I was ready to visit with the fam. We stopped by my sister’s new gorgeous apartment and then headed over to a local breakfast place. There weren’t many options for a hungover vegan so I passed on the pancakes and picked up some Panera later on the road. It was so good to catch up with my family. I haven’t really gotten to see my mom since the wedding festivities and I missed her!

On the way home, traffic was so bad that Pat and I needed a break from the road. About 4 hours into the drive I spotted a childhood favorite: Stew Leonard’s. It is this grocery store we used to go to when I was a kid; Meg and I LOVED it. There were buttons to press and dancing bananas and free samples to be had. So, when I spotted the familiar sign I shouted "PULL OVER" and a grocery shopping pit-stop ensued.

I was very excited to discover a new product called dessert hummus. It came in many flavors but I was most excited about the pumpkin pie flavor.

The goods

So I am off to bed (but not before a little taste of my pumpkin pie dessert hummus). Did anyone else get excited by seeing the words pumpkin pie and hummus in the same sentence?? I have not seen two such amazing foods combined since the invention of Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter...