Greetings from the first official (significant) snowstorm of 2025 here in New England! Having started late yesterday afternoon and going strong until the early morning hours today, I’m staying warm and cozy as I work remotely and wait for the roads and the parking lot at my apartment to be cleared before I brave the outdoors again. The local cinema in my area is commemorating 40 years of ‘The Goonies’, and I’m thinking about checking it out tonight. There’s nothing quite like a classic movie re-watch and a big bag of buttery popcorn to kick off the week!
This past weekend was a lot of fun, filled with fascinating events, some rest and self-care, and the aforementioned snowstorm. On Friday evening, I picked up my friend Stef for a “Girls Night” as aided by Troy – who had bought us tickets to the touring Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy as they made a late night stop in Amherst.
We kicked off our evening with dinner at The Historic Deerfield Inn, which I had only just visited for lunch with Dan last week. While Stef enjoyed what looked like phenomenal steak frites, I was living for the beef short rib and roasted vegetables. It was divine.
Afterwards, we made our way to The Red Barn at Hampshire College for the performance. The venue, popular for weddings and parties, is absolutely gorgeous – and the lighting and effects used throughout the night really helped set the mood. The company, which consisted of a handful of actors/actresses who doubled as servers and bussers, performed four of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poems and tales, serving a specially crafted and themed cocktail in-between each performance. Since I was driving, I only had a few sips of each – and they were all delicious. I think the “Twisted Brandy Milk Punch” was my favorite, since it reminded of of eggnog – and I’m going to have to ask Dan to try his hand at making one since he’s an excellent mixologist!
The show was so well-done and so much fun, and I highly recommend checking it out if the group comes to your area!
I brought Stef home safe and sound afterwards before making my own way back to my apartment, where I proceeded to crash at 2AM with no hesitation.
On Saturday, after waking up late and not really having the energy or motivation to do much of anything – I took a self-care day – lounging and doing little more than sleeping, playing ‘Animal Crossing’ on my new Nintendo Switch, and brewing coffee while I reviewed my plans (of which there are many!) for the week ahead.
And then yesterday, after waking up early and so feeling revitalized and refreshed, I was unbelievably productive leading up to the beginnings of the storm – running the errands I had wanted to get to on Saturday, hitting the gym, and wrapping/packing up presents for a very belated “Friendsgiving” my friends and I have scheduled this coming Sunday now that the holidays are over and our schedules have somewhat opened up again!
And as the snow started to fall, I headed back over to Historic Deerfield to capture some photos of the beautiful old houses before the roads became a little too icy and slick to drive safely.
And now here I sit, working and preparing for the week ahead – which includes both my birthday (and another milestone blogging anniversary here at ‘Coffee & Chiffon’!) and some “salty” self-care before I both head up to Maine this weekend and have the “Friendsgiving” dinner I had mentioned earlier!
Prepare for a lot of pictures!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 