Greetings from The Snowpocalypse! Although there had been a brief lull in the storm when I sat down to start writing this post this morning, it’s now coming down yet again here in Western Massachusetts. While the snowfall isn’t nearly as heavy as yesterday’s, it looks like this current part of the storm is set to continue well into this evening. I’ve seen people and plow trucks trying to get a head start on the cleanup, but it looks like they’ve all disappeared, presumably to give it another go later on today since it’s accumulating so fast.
I’m just very grateful and glad that I’m in my warm apartment with plenty of snacks and a full queue of things to watch on Netflix, although I’m a little tempted to go out this afternoon to see (and photograph) the aftermath of what has felt like a record-breaking storm!
Prior to the flakes starting to fall, this past weekend was a different kind of flurry for me – one filled with surprises and activities, all planned by my friends without my knowledge – as an extension of my recent birthday celebration!
After meeting up with Stef at her house and then driving to a couple of different locations to pick up our friends who would be joining us through the weekend, we were off to a secret destination the girls had chosen, although once we’d gotten close to Peabody, Massachusetts – I had my suspicions on where we were going. It was only when we passed The Witch House, I knew we’d be spending most of the weekend in Salem, and I was SO excited.
We started the weekend with lunch and a couple of cocktails by the water at the Mainstay Social (and their buffalo chicken rangoons were delicious!) before stopping at my beloved Blackcraft Coffee for a matcha and to do a walk-through of their occult-themed haunted house. Some of you may remember when I last wrote about Blackcraft while celebrating Summerween in June.
Although it’s the off-season in Salem and there were no actors or moving animatronics jumping out at us, the carefully designed rooms were creepy enough as is. It was really well done and I’d love to experience it someday at peak-Halloween time!
From there, we headed to our accommodations for the evening to drop off our bags before it was time for the next planned activity. The girls had all pitched in to get us a room at the famous, possibly haunted, Hawthorne Hotel where we had a view of the Common in Salem and the nearby Witch Trial Museum that glows red at night. I got the sense that the girls picked the hotel for a reason, although I would find out for sure later on that night.
Our next stop was a haunted/witch-themed escape room via Stained Hourglass Escapes. Right after we showed up, I received yet another surprise – Sean was there! He’d come down for the afternoon to join us and celebrate with me! I was thrilled to have him there, not just because he’s one of my best friends and I adore him – but because he’s really good at solving puzzles and I knew we’d need all the help we could get.
Much like Blackcraft’s haunted house, the escape room was super intricate and a lot of fun. They even threw in some birthday surprises for me, which were super thoughtful – and we managed to solve the final puzzle and escape with just a couple of minutes on the clock to spare!
We’d reportedly had a dinner reservation planned shortly after leaving the escape room, but before we headed to it – we stopped at The Cauldron Black where the girls had me sit down for an extensive tarot reading (the first I’ve had since I was a teenager!) Everyone working there was so kind and sweet, and the reading itself was very detailed, comfortable and reaffirming. I told the girls it made me feel hopeful and even peaceful in a way when they’d asked how it went, which is always a good thing,
Our dinner plans were at Sea Level since everyone knows how much I love oysters and fish tacos – and boy, did we have a lot of them! We also all split a cookie skillet dessert loaded with chocolate and pretzels – which might be my favorite form of birthday cake ever.
After dinner, and after seeing Sean off since he needed to get home before the storm started – we made a final stop for a quick nightcap at the Hallowed Ground Speakeasy off of Washington Street. The place has such a cool, relaxed vibe, and we all settled in on a couple of couches near the back to sip and chat.
Once back at the hotel, the girls had one final surprise for me – they’d gifted me a very cool Ouija board and handheld radio that they wanted to use in the room to conjure up some spirits – although we were all a little tipsy by then so it’s very possible that the movement we did see on the board when we started using it was the result of any one of us getting heavy-handed.
Ultimately, any spirits that were possibly trying to talk to us probably got tired of us eating snacks mid-conversation, but it was worth a shot!
Although there had apparently been plans to visit some museums and a couple more stores on Sunday, we couldn’t ignore the approaching storm – and we headed out bright and early to be back on the road and get everyone home before the roads became too treacherous to travel on.
I think we may attempt another Salem trip in the Spring to check out the things we couldn’t get to this most recent time around – and hopefully by then a couple more of our friends who couldn’t make it this past weekend will be there, too!
I had such an incredible time, and I’m so, so thankful to my friends for planning such a special weekend for me – filled with so many things I love in a place I adore! I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls in my life, and I love them more than words can say.
A little later on this week, after I dig myself out of the snow, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite things from this past month and then recapping it in it’s entirety before we head into February!
Until then – stay safe and warm out there!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 