The Story Behind a Photo

This is one of my most favorite photos I took on my trip. First off, it's Ice Cream which is always a good thing. Secondly, I think we can agree that it's pretty Instagram-worthy.  It's one of those photos that's just begging for a clever hashtag on Instagram. However, what I find even more interesting - and stressful since it happened to me - is the story behind the photo.

In this case, we were wandering around Padstow trying to decide on which Ice Cream shop would get our business.  There were so many, and we couldn't really decide.  We wandered just a bit further, and found an Ice Cream Parlor with homemade ice creams in all sorts of specialty flavors.  It was the perfect find!  After some indecision, I decided on 2 flavors.  Chocolate and the one I always get in England, Banoffee, in a waffle cone.  Both flavors were to die for!  So while I was waiting on my friend to choose hers, I went outside and snapped this photo so I could remember to scrapbook this yumminess when I got home.

As we both ate our ice creams, we mosied down to the coach stop to catch a ride back to our car.  That's when it happened.  One scary-a&$ seagull dive bombed my head a bit.  He got so close he brushed his feet against the top of my head.  I recovered and continued to walk. Then it happened again.  Though this time, I was a little too close to the edge of the sidewalk, and it took me a bit too off guard, and the stupid bird knocked me down, and made me drop my perfect ice cream cone - which he then pounced on and ate like he hadn't been fed in days! Of course, since it scared my friend too - who is more afraid of birds than I am - she just chucked her cone at him which is what he wanted in the first place.

So the moral of this story is, not all ice cream photos are perfect.  And sometimes they are - and if they are, a possibly homicidal bird may want it for himself...  Also, as a life lesson (I learned after this incident) when eating outside near birds, stay close to the wall.  They have to dive to get to you, and they won't do that if you're too close to the wall because they may dive into the wall (which I wouldn't mind really - since I now blame all birds for the loss of my perfect ice cream! - but I don't think they would like it...)

Sunsets and Sunflowers

I'm friends with many photog-moms on Facebook.  And for the last few years, at this time I start to see photos of beautiful sunflowers and yummy ice cream appearing on my timeline. Well this year I decided I wasn't going to be left out.  I was going to get to see the same gorgeous sunflowers and enjoy the same delish ice cream, so to Broom's Bloom Dairy I headed.

Broom's Bloom Dairy is a huge dairy farm in Harford County MD where they have fields of corn and big, bright and beautiful sunflowers.  And of course they make all sorts of yummy ice cream too.  They also sell meats, and milk and fresh cheeses, but I'm all about the ice cream really.

Since I've been waiting for so long, you could say I was pretty excited. I adore sunflowers. They are my most favorite flower.  They're just so big and happy looking.  And we all know how I feel about ice cream. All of that being said, Broom's Bloom did not disappoint.  Unfortunately we got there a little late in the day so the sun was starting to go down.  That means I didn't get the perfect photos I was hoping for, but some turned out really well.  My friends may now think I'm a little nuts due to how excited I got to "commune with the sunflowers", but who cares?  They were everywhere!

Then we headed to the barn to stand in a very long line to wait for some totally perfect ice cream!  I had brownie in a waffle cone.  And it was so darn delicious!  There's also something about sitting outside in the country on a warm summer night that makes everything taste that much better.  

Such a fun night!

Friday Five

1. Do you think I could get a dog and teach him to be a foodie too?  Adorable!

2. Roadtrip!  Though I'd like to lodge a formal complaint - Maryland has much more than 1 good food truck and the one they chose is most definitely NOT the best in Maryland!

3. To be honest, the bestie suggested that we try this museum out next week when we're in the city and I've been judging her ever since.  However, since reading this article this morning, I'm definitely warming to the idea.  It looks like so much fun and any place that celebrates ice cream can't be all bad! Also, now that I know the pool of sprinkles is not really filled with sprinkles and is actually filled with beads - I'm feeling much better about the sanitary implications...

4.Scrapbook Love!  Between In a Creative Bubble's Book Journal Cards and her Spellbound journal cards, I'm going to seriously need to start re-reading HP just so I can scrap the ordeal.  Such cute designs!  Based on the number of times I talk about how wonderful her products are, I really should become her marketing manager.

5. Is it November 25th yet??!!
            

Friday Five

1. If he hadn't been adopted so quickly and he didn't reside across the country, I would have totally decided to adopt this little guy and his big attitude.  Is he not the cutest dog ever?! I love him and his name!

2. As stated yesterday, I'm over the moon that Phil Mickelson is playing so well in Scotland. He's been on fire these last 2 rounds.  I only hope he can keep it together through Sunday and take home the win.  I'm also fairly in love with the fact that there's a whole article on why he's wearing a binder clip on his hat.  I suppose it was a slow news day at Golf.com.

3. In the travel category this week, this definitely falls into the #Goals column.  A list of the best NYC ice cream?  Yes, please!!!

4. One of my pet peeves is drinking non-icy cold water.  I hate water or any drink that isn't super cold.  Because of this, I've recently fallen in love with my (stolen from my mother) HydroFlask.  I've been chatting this thing up so much, they should start paying me royalties. It will keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours (mine has kept ice for over 24 hours - I tested it!) and hot stuff hot for up to 6 hours.  And it comes in pretty colors too!  I can't wait for my pretty plum one to come in the mail!

5. I was understandably upset when I heard I wouldn't be seeing Lin Manuel Miranda in Hamilton come October.  However, I was quite happy to hear that Javier Munoz would be replacing him.  He's been his standby for the entire run and has a history with the show already.  He most definitely deserves the role and I can't wait to see him in a few short months.  But after learning all of what he's overcome, I'm even more excited to see him get his chance to shine.  He seems like a truly wonderful and genuine human being!

Maryland Ice Cream Trail Stop #1: Rocky Point Creamery

I've basically been wanting to do the Maryland Ice Cream Trail, since I discovered there was one - about 5 months ago.  I'm not sure how I have lived in Maryland all my life, and never knew our creameries were so good, there was a trail of them dotted around the state.  But after a few clicks a few months ago, I was hooked on the idea.  The only issue is that most are pretty far away from where I live.  

I had planned to conquer the easy peasy one today in Baltimore County.  But plans changed and I crossed it off the list.  However, the plans changed for the better.  Because it just so happened we were close to another creamery on the list - Rocky Point Creamery.  So off we went!  Let's just say, if the rest of the places on the trail are this good, it's going to be quite the fabulous summer. 

For some reason, I had assumed they'd just have a few flavors - pretty much the usual, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.  But I was very wrong, they had a list of about 20 different flavors, even a no sugar added option.  The 3 of us had 4 different flavors and each was better than the last!  We sampled Banana Pudding (out of this world!), Chocolate Marshmallow, Peach (Delish!) and Caramel Pecan.  All were super yummy!  

Even the spot itself was lovely, full of very happy people (and puppies - they have a puppy sundae too!) all enjoying a gorgeous day, lounging about on some very stylish (ha!) benches. One stop down - 7 more to go! 

 Banana Pudding with Hot Fudge that I was so excited to eat, I forgot to take a picture of it until I was half way done...

 We're Mooing if you can't tell - you know, because of the cow...

Friday Five

1. Jeffrey Dean Morgan on The Good Wife.  I mean, honestly, how dreamy is he?  And such a great character! 

As TV Line so eloquently put it "How does The Good Wife expect us to pay attention when this is staring at us?"

2. This may or may not be a good thing to tell an ice cream lover like me, but I discovered an Ice Cream University!  Oh my goodness!  Why have I never known this before?  Between giving classes on ice cream making and starting an ice cream business, they also lead gelato tours of Italy.  Be still my heart!

3. This is just an adorable little story of President Obama hanging out with kids.  For a guy who's job is as difficult as his is, he deserves to have fun goofing off with little ones every once in a while.  And they obviously enjoy hanging out with him.

4. This!  This explains my decorating style perfectly!

5. And speaking of books, I'm loving Wishful Thinking by Kamy Wicoff.  It was a last minute purchase in Austin - mostly because I love signed books.  It's an awesome mix of fairy tale and chick lit.  Can't wait to dig into it even further this weekend!

Friday Five

1. Jeans, Jeans, Jeans - Woohoo!  I realize that I haven't needed them since it's been 50,000 degrees here, but I've been looking for jeans for vacation since summer started.  The stores have had plenty of fantastic sales but no stinking jeans.  It seems that it's finally close enough to fall, that the jeans have finally arrived!  Ann Taylor LOFT here I come!

2.  The Travel section of Pinterest.  It's probably not good for my checkbook but it's certainly giving me a serious case of Wanderlust.

3. I've read this story before and it's not my favorite by any means.  So I'm not entirely sure what makes this cute.  I have a suspicion that it's the Benedict pictures interspersed... 

4. Most certainly the best and most impressive this to happen this week!  Way to go Phil!  The win the week before, the humility with which he always plays, the fact that his family was there each time he won, and most of all coming from behind and bypassing Tiger along with quite a few others.  He's just fabulous, and that's about all there is to it!

5. Banana Fudge Pie Ice Cream with mucho Hot Fudge from Kilwin's in Annapolis - Yum Yum Yum!!

Off the Top of my Head

1. It's snowing outside and all I can think about is blizzard conditions keeping me from work tomorrow.  It's literally just started and it's not even laying but the elementary schooler in me is just begging for a snow day!

2. It's Valentine's day tomorrow and I once again have to deal with the fact that I do not have a Valentine aside from a very adorable niece.  This whole 30th year thing hasn't exactly started as I had hoped...

3. I've gone weeks without having any ice cream whatsoever but now that Lent has started and I've given it up, it's all that I'm craving. 

4. I'd really like to enter this travel contest but having to put myself on film is an absolutely terrifying thought.  I'm sure I'm not interesting enough to fill a 3 minute video. But oh my goodness I'd give my right arm to travel to the places this trip promises!