Well now, does 5 weeks actually qualify as “summer break”? All you working folks are going to kill me for asking the question!
It’s been so nice to have time off . . . I’m actually remembering what it feels like to be human again, sans the feeling that a gun is to my head all the time! While I know that “gun to the head” feeling is right around the corner, I’m relishing in my free time.
We’ve certainly made the most of my time off so far! Kurt gets 5 weeks of vacation a year, and he’s committed to take each and every day! We left days after my semester ended for a trip to good ole’ San Diego! My friend was getting married, my nephew was growing bigger, and I missed my family and friends. Plus, we’re desperately tired of New Haven, so returning to my little bubble seemed like just the right respite!
We started with a family dinner on our first night in town, but guess who was the only family member to actually get a photo? That’s right, the sweetest little man, ever!
The next night we celebrated my friend Kari’s birthday at a new restaurant called Urban Solace. The food was great — homestyle-ish, but not diner-like. I haven’t felt that full in awhile, and I’m sure it had something to do with the side of mac & cheese that I thought was a totally brilliant idea.
I love the outside of the restaurant – so charming! Here we are, in front of it:
Most of the time in San Diego, we just spend lollygagging around. We did find some time to look around at neighborhoods that we both liked, should we move back when school is finished. We agreed on Little Italy, Downtown, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Carlsbad and San Elijo Hills (which has the most amazing homes that we could actually afford!). It was fun to look around and dream of owning our own place. We’re so over apartment living!
We attended the wedding of my good friend Ryan, who married the sweetest girl, Katie! Forgetting my invitation at home in New Haven, there was a little miscommunication about the start of the ceremony time, and alas, we didn’t make it! My goodness, talk about a very un-Jenn-like move! Eh, what can you do . . . we made the best part – the party!!
They both looked gorgeous, and I was so glad to see them on their most special day!
At the wedding, a self-portrait!
Just a lovely photo of them on the dance floor:
We ended the week with a pool side BBQ, where we had the best time! My dad and step-mom, Bettye, came down to San Diego to join us, and it was so relaxing and fun!
Mike and Kirsten, newlyweds, hanging out with Kurt:
My dad, me and Bettye:
My mom, with a very unhappy Logan after a dip in the pool!
and now a happier little man!
Kurt, showing off his parenting skills:
Getting back from San Diego, we had a few days to get ourselves together, and then we were off to DC to pick up Kristin & Brian, en route to Pinehurst, NC. Fortunately, we were smart enough to drive down to K&B’s on Wednesday and stay the night, otherwise it would have been brutal! When we got into DC, Kristin gave us a tour of the Pentagon, which was super cool. She’s an excellent tour guide, and had all these interesting facts about the Pentagon. But let’s get right to it . . . I am now your leader! Haha, wouldn’t that be totally scary?!
Our first night in Pinehurst we had a lovely dinner at the Carolina Room, where we had the funniest server who kept giving Kurt’s dad a hard time. I’m not sure that Kurt’s mom found this hilarious, but the rest of us did.
Later at the bar, me and Kurt:
The next day the guys had a round of golf, and Kristin and I made our way to a Starbucks in the next town over, which just happened to have a great TJ Maxx! We scored ourselves a few deals, and then drove back to the Village to have lunch with the guys. We had lunch at a great little Greek restaurant with the nicest server in the world. I swear, the people in Pinehurst are just so nice!
K&B, enjoying a Greek coffee:
Then Kristin and I browsed the boutiques, and I had to snap this photo of the guys in their rocking chairs:
That night, we had some seriously good sushi at Ten-Ya. I know, good sushi in Pinehurst, NC?! No seriously, very impressive. The waitress was extremely funny though, not knowing some very basic words at a sushi restaurant. When she brought the gyoza, she wanted to call them ‘geishas’. With her little southern accent, it was quite funny. She kept us laughing throughout dinner in fact.
The next day the guys golfed Pinehurst, and then the girls went to the spa where I had a massage with hot stones that I thoroughly enjoyed! I always thought the hot stone massage thing was rather gimmicky, but no, no! Loved it! Before our spa appointments, we had lunch at the club, and then took a group photo, being the dorks that we are:
It was really great spending time with Kurt’s sister and brother-in-law, Chris, as well as Kurt’s nieces Riley and Logan. The girls are so big since the last time we saw them! They are both so sweet and funny, and we look forward to hopefully seeing them again soon.
Our last evening ended with a BBQ, and lots of drinking over games of pool in Kurt’s room. Here’s Kristin, looking quite sassy in Kurt’s glasses!
Well that’s it, friends! Just a couple more weeks of relaxation, and the the madness begins again! Kurt and I are escaping to Martha’s Vineyard next week, and we’re both very excited to check out the island! Sadly, he’s on a project in NYC Monday-Friday, so I’m only going to be seeing him on the weekends for at least 4 months. Sniffle-sniffle!! 
We’ll have to plan lots of weekend getaways to make up for it!
Hope you are enjoying your summers too, and hope to see you soon! xoxo
We’ve been working on wedding plans a bit, which is fun but a lot to figure out! Also, Kurt bought a guitar and is teaching himself how to play. I actually quite love hearing him play, and like Kurt with most things, he’s immediately good at it.
Isn’t this a crazy photo?
