Yesterday, on a bit of a whim, I headed down to Newport, Rhode Island with Troy to spend a day relaxing with no real itinerary in mind, and taking in the scenery. I had visited around Christmastime a couple of years ago and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Last night was no exception, made even more lovely by how unseasonably warm outside it was. At one point, I had shed my winter jacket and was comfortably walking around downtown in just a cashmere sweater- admiring the Christmas lights, the mansions, and window-shopping.

During a stroll on Cliff Walk, after stumbling upon a poor dead dolphin that had been washed up against the rocks (seriously- talk about a bizarre find,) Troy and I ran into a very nice woman visiting from Russia who took a couple of the above photos of the two of us together after she talked about the comparisons between the architecture of some of the mansions along the coast to that of buildings from where she’d grown up, and despite the fact that I pulled ridiculous faces in most of them, I’m grateful she was able to capture a couple of good shots with such an amazing view in the background.

Between the warm weather, the scenery, and the really good company- I think it was just what I needed to help me unwind before the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day rush where I’m (usually) left scrambling to visit family & friends and drop off gifts within a certain amount of time. I can easily see Newport becoming an annual holiday tradition.

And, of course, I couldn’t just end this post without wishing a very Merry Christmas to all of you reading this. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!

xox