One of the more bittersweet things about winding down the year and preparing to start a new one, and especially as someone who has been blogging regularly for nearly six years while developing my own little creative traditions along the way – is looking back on all of the moments and memories that were made while curating a list of ten of my favorite photos that captured some of those very same moments and memories along the way.
In terms of picturesque locations that literally took my breath away, 2025 had no shortage of them. While there’s a couple of pictures I snapped during an extended stay in Northern Italy this past May (of course!) included in this roundup, I also found plenty of beauty and joy right here in New England – be it during early morning coffee runs by the Rhode Island waterfront at the peak of the Summer, admiring a bustling and historical Boston-based study hall during a day out with my mom, to enjoying the most perfect “Girls Getaway” on Cape Cod – and so many, many more!
As is tradition, I’ll have links to the posts that correlate these photos should anyone want to read more about the locations or experiences, or even if they just want to check out any additional photos I took while there (because it seems I can never just take one these days!)
I am so ready to get into this one and start talking about these photos more at length – so let’s do it!
10. Still Feeling Festive (December 2025) – Maybe it’s because I still have Christmas on the brain and my apartment is absolutely decked out in every festive decoration I own, but I’m very much continuing my embrace of all things merry, cheery and bright these days as we inch closer and closer to the New Year. Then and only then will I begin packing away the lights, ornaments, themed pillows and towels.
Earlier this month, following a big snowstorm, my mom and I spent an incredible day together in Stockbridge, Massachusetts – the most quintessential of New England Christmas locations – for a day of shopping, dining and wreath decorating courtesy of The Red Lion Inn. While I snapped photos of all of it, this one picture taken from the inside of a local bakery that was filled with holiday treats and décor, was one of my favorites – because you can feel how cozy it was just by looking at it!
I can’t wait to head back to Stockbridge soon to share more of my favorite locations in the area. It’s such a gem of a place that I never tire of!
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9. Old Money. New Flowers (April 2025) – Another place I never tire of? Newport, Rhode Island. While I had so many fun and spontaneous adventures in the area this past year, it was a solo road trip to Cliff Walk and the oceanside mansions during a heavy rainstorm that sticks out the most for me.
I had made the trek to the area when the weather was at it’s worst for one very specific purpose – to have an unobstructed view of the first blooms of the city’s annual “Daffodil Days” event since I had hoped the torrential downpours would keep the crowds away, at least for a brief period of time – and it paid off!
I got to see hundreds upon hundreds of daffodils at my own pace and leisure, which made for some beautiful photos – but this one with the famous Breakers Mansion in the background was by far my favorite of the day!
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8. I Don’t Ski, But I DO Love a Good Lodge Experience! (January 2025) – Every once in a great while, something will cross my social media feed that immediately catches my attention and causes me to make an instant purchase or book a reservation to try something I’d seen out for myself. Such was the case with the “Gondola Dining Experience” hosted by the Kennebunkport Inn.
My mom and I stopped by in the days following my birthday earlier this year to grab some food, a couple of drinks, and do some sight-seeing and shopping nearby since Kennebunkport is absolutely lovely year-round, and this remains one of our favorite dinners we’d shared together this year – not only because of how good the food was and how great the service had been – but because it was such a unique and cute idea to begin with!
I’m actually traveling back to the Kennebunkport area very, very soon – but I’ll get into the details in my last post of 2025!
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7. Stunned By The Splendor… (May 2025) – It really took everything in me to not just pick ten photos from my Italian getaway this past Spring and share them here for this year’s compilation considering how breathtaking and life-changing all facets of the trip had been. The scenery. The people. The food! It was all such a dream come true that I will be thinking back on it with such fondness and gratitude for many more months and years to come.
This photo, snapped on my first full day in the region after landing and getting acclimated with my surroundings and lodging, was captured at the moment I dipped my toes into Lake Garda for the very first time in my life after hiking down the cliffs seen in the background. Troy had to stop me from diving in all the way since we still had quite a hike back after our rest and it would have been impossible if I had been soaking wet – but the water felt so refreshing!
Dipping my toes into many more lakes, oceans and rivers is definitely on my “To-Do” list in 2026.
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6. Beauty in the Bitter Cold (February 2025) – Similar to the rainstorm that inspired me to venture down to Newport to photograph their daffodil displays, I headed towards a local state forest in the immediate aftermath of a significant ice storm that swept over New England this past February to capture the accumulation of the snow, the trees, and the sky before it disappeared to the sunset or to the plows and sanders that were on their way to fully clear the roads.
This photo was taken near Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, Massachusetts shortly after I’d pulled over by a curve in the roadway. I was the only person there for a long time, and once the wind had died down shortly after my arrival, the scene was so calming and peaceful to behold.
I’ve never particularly cared for Winter as a season overall, but that moment and this photo may have swayed me – even just a little bit.
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5. High Tea and Intense Studies (May 2025) – Since I was going to be out of the country on Mother’s Day this year, I opted to celebrate my mom about a week earlier with a day trip to Boston so that we could visit a Titanic exhibit she had really wanted to see and to enjoy a high tea event at Boston Public Library she’d seen advertised somewhere.
During our stay, we also crept into the famous and stunningly beautiful Bates Hall area of the library, which may be the most photographed spot in the city other than Acorn Street in Beacon Hill. The place was packed with silent and diligent students who were studying and working very hard, so I snapped the photo above very quickly and quietly before we made our exit so as not to disturb anyone.
I believe Bates Hall is open to anyone who wants to read/work quietly, which makes me want to go back just so I can say I was productive in there!
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4. Queen of the Castle (May 2025) – During one of our many hikes around the Lake Garda region, Troy led me to the ruins of Castello di Arco, a medieval castle that was built into and along the cliffside overlooking the town of, you guessed it, Arco.
For something that is so old and has been left open to the elements and countless visitors for such a long period of time, the remaining structures of the castle and towers are in surprisingly good shape. While it’s awe-inspiring to see a large, looming artifact and a man-made achievement of such historical significance up close and in person, the views from the tops of where the castle is nestled are worth the climb, too. You can see for miles in every direction, which is probably why the castle was built there to begin with way back when.
There were a few other castles we caught glimpses of during our travels in the region – but this was by far my favorite one to stop and explore!
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3. Coffee & Hydrangeas (June 2025) – One of the tell-tale signs that Summer has arrived here in New England are the bursts of colors when the hydrangeas are in full-bloom. It’s an occasion so beloved here in the Northeast that Cape Cod even has a festival dedicated to it that draws thousands of people each year.
This photo wasn’t taken on Cape Cod, however, but at Watch Hill Beach in Rhode Island – near the famous Ocean House Hotel – where I had stopped one morning while out picking up coffee and pastries for myself and some of my friends since we’d had plans together in the area later on that day. I’d arrived early and found parking right by the water when I came across these blue hydrangeas that looked so perfect with the boats in the background.
The blue ones are my favorite by far, so I’ve always loved this picture since the day I snapped it while walking to the local café!
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2. Girls Just Wanna’ Have Fun… (August 2025) – I spent quite a bit of time in and around the Cape throughout this Summer, usually with day trips and quick outings, but Dennis and Hyannis ended up being the destination for a long weekend away with my girlfriends this past August when we made arrangements for our annual Summertime “Girls Getaway” – resulting in one of the most fun trips we’d all taken together in recent years.
While there was plenty of good food and tasty drinks, no shortage of harmless pranks and laughs, we’d also spent time together on a whale watch, checking out antiques, shopping, and catching one of the most spectacular sunsets I’d ever seen on the East Coast.
I snapped this photo on our last night together at Mayflower Beach, where we’d lined up tumblers we’d all purchased (and decorated) side-by-side in the sand to commemorate our trip. We’ve since made the decision to bring the tumblers with us on every trip we take together moving forward and to find stickers to add to mark the occasions – so I’m excited to see how they’ll look by next Summer!
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1. When Life Gives You Limone sul Garda… (May 2025) – And finally, one of my favorite memories of my time in Italy was wandering the streets of Limone sul Garda hand in-hand with Troy as we checked out shops, restaurants, churches and lemon-printed street signs while the sun was setting over the surrounding mountains. I had never been more at peace or in love than I was that night.
I snapped this photo of a local lemonade and spritz stand (and the lemonade was delicious!) that faced Lake Garda. It was just so cute, so perfectly placed, and was one of just a couple of moments where it wasn’t super crowded – and I’m glad I was able to capture it before they closed up shop and headed home for the evening.
I really hope I have the opportunity to go back to Northern Italy again someday soon. That trip, and Limone, were heavenly.
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My goodness, what a year this has been – and I’m so glad and grateful I got to experience as many incredible moments as I did. I’m even more grateful that nearly all of those moments were spent in the company of some of the people I love and cherish the most in this world. That’s all I could ever ask or wish for – and 2025 delivered it in abundance!
This coming Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, I’ll have my annual recap of 2025 in all of it’s entirety – including the news headlines, major moments, pop culture phenomenons, etc., and a listing of my resolutions and goals heading into 2026 as my last post of the year here on ‘Coffee & Chiffon‘ before I take a very small mini-vacation to rest and recoup. It’s a doozy I’ve been working on for quite some time now, and I can’t wait to share it!
’til then!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 