This holiday season, why not branch out from a bottle of Cab or a plate of Christmas cookies and offer a unique Vermont-made gift to your holiday party host? I’ve collected some of my favorite made-in-Vermont items, from gifts for the home to nibbles, noshes and libations. During the holiday season, […]
I first experienced small-town living in college, when I spent the academic year at Middlebury College and summers in Lubec, a tiny, tiny town in downeast Maine (the closest traffic light is 75 miles away, no joke). Despite Lubec’s remoteness and the spotty cell phone service that drove me crazy at the time, […]
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been attracted to water. Growing up, I was the kid who would take baths until my fingers were prunes. During beach trips to the Jersey Shore, I’d spend the whole day in the water, flailing about in my favorite one-piece swimsuit with a big […]
My first job in the hospitality industry started the summer before I headed to Middlebury College as a Feb. I was hired by Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana, a Relais & Châteaux property located in the Bitterroot Valley. Triple Creek consistently wins impressive awards: Travel & Leisure’s 2014 Best Hotel in the […]
Back in the summer 2009, I spent three days touring the 20+ breweries in Vermont as part of the Vermont Brewers Association Passport Program. Trapp Lager Brewery, located in Stowe, Vermont, wasn’t yet part of the passport program; it was one of the few breweries in Vermont that I […]
There’s something utterly charming about the creaky wooden floors, hidden nooks and crannies, and unique architectural details present in 19th-century homes. I have a thing for old Vermont farmhouses and a desire to someday own one. Maybe it’s the history of an old house—the raising of children, the family gatherings, the comings […]
The Alchemist, a restaurant and brewery previously located on Main Street in downtown Waterbury, used to be one of our favorite date-night spots. We’d take a leisurely drive over the Appalachian Gap and wind our way to Waterbury. The homecooked pub food and Wild Child on tap were worth every bit of the 80-minute drive (one way). Sadly, […]
I had never heard of the 251 Club of Vermont until I received a résumé at work in which the applicant described his love affair with Vermont and his affiliation with the 251 Club. The Club, which is open to Vermont natives and non-natives alike, celebrates the Green Mountain State and charges its […]
Lareau Farm in Waitsfield—home to a classic, 13-room Vermont inn and the original American Flatbread—isn’t the type of place I would normally consider staying. We usually opt for B&Bs and inns that have personality but are more luxurious than our own home. But when I needed two rooms […]
I once heard that Vermont is second only to Hawaii for destination weddings… and for good reason. In 2014, there were over 5,000 weddings in Vermont. Whether in the summer, peak foliage or the winter months, there is something inherently romantic about Vermont. There are ample barns that make […]
I love travelling. Discovering new restaurants, sipping inventive cocktails, admiring old architecture, meeting new people. I am easily entertained people watching—imagining what others’ lives are like. Never having worked in the corporate world in a big city, I’m fascinated by the pace and culture at big companies. Travelling affords me an escape from […]
Doesn’t it seem that the best presents are always the ones you would never buy for yourself? Listening to the Alt—a powerhouse trio of Irish and Scottish musicians—recently at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury, Vermont, was one of those experiences. When a family friend who hosts a Celtic radio show down […]
When I was in college in Vermont, Rochester was always “the town where you make a left onto Bethel Mountain Road” when giving directions to hop on interstate 89. Or a pitstop after urgently holding my bladder after miles and miles on back-country roads or, better yet, a snowy, white-knuckled drive down […]
It’s (finally) fall here in Vermont, which means apple season! Happy Valley Orchards, located on Quarry Road in Middlebury, Vermont, has the best cider donuts in the area. Naturally, it’s a favorite spot of ours once the seasons change. Yesterday was the first chilly day of the fall, […]
The Middlebury Farmers’ Market, held at the historic Marble Works in Middlebury, Vermont, holds a special place in my heart… It was once a Saturday morning tradition for me to go to the Middlebury Farmers’ Market to fetch eggs, maybe a block of cheese and a sweet treat, usually […]