Hydrangea Season!

My love for hydrangeas never gets old and as I looked back through the archives of this blog there are so many photos, and written posts I shared about this flower. I first discovered them in North Carolina and when I moved to the east coast they are literally all over Jersey and New England! I love them and summer is the season for them. New Jersey is certainly lovely and not boring because there are a lot of hidden gems around here. If you drive long enough and go rogue without googling "famous hydrangea spots" or "best shore place" you'll most likely find hidden gems on your own. 

Hydrangeas And A Little Library Pantry!

It's that time of year where hydrangeas are in full bloom and for the past two years have always passed by this cute little pantry library where the most vibrant hydrangeas bloom. Last year on the same day we stopped by and then again this past week. It was a fluke that we happened to stumble upon it on the same day! The older Noah gets the more he likes to venture out to little pantry libraries to see what they have. In return I will put in books that we'll no longer re-read and that's the best trade! But look at how colorful these hydrangeas are! These photos don't do it justice and I sure do love capturing them in all their blooming glory! I don't which I love the most- books or hydrangeas!!

A Little Hydrangea Photo Shoot!

The first time I noticed hydrangea flowers were at my brother in laws wedding and they truly were the most beautiful flower I'd ever seen. So you can imagine the look on my face when the time came for us to move to the east how excited I was knowing that I would be able to plant these! I longed to see hydrangeas because they don't grow out west. It has become my favorite flower and every year I look forward to summers when they are in bloom and by golly they are the most vibrant beautiful flower! I have some that grow in the back of my apartment but they are not as colorful as the ones in these photos. So when we went to the beach last week we decided to go for a walk along the neighborhood to capture some in all their glory and even did a little video on my TikTok. And they are soooooo gorgeous!

I had some lovely "models" too and had so much fun capturing these moments! 

Hydrangeas, More Ice Cream & A Carousel Ride!

Words cannot express how grateful I am for neighborly friends. Especially when one lives in farm central near the highway with friends that live pretty far. Having Cristy as our closest neighbor has been a blessing to both Noah and Chelsea. Chelsea would love to have a little sister, and Noah wants to go to the playground with someone close to his age. Cristy has been a blessing to our kids summer, and it's so nice to be able to take her out on some of our adventures with us. After all, summer to us means spending it entirely outdoors! 

potbelly & wegmans.

It rained all day on Monday, and yesterday the sun was shining... all day. I loved it. Spending the day with two of my favorite boys escorting me to the places I love going to without any hesitation is pure luck. I married a man who will literally jump off a cliff if I did. Not that I would ever do that, but you know what I mean. I say let's go here, he says, "okay". 

Today was a Philly kind of day, and I was craving a toasty warm sandwich from Potbelly. I became spoiled with that place when we first had it in D.C. These sandwiches are to die for, and today we drove to the city to get a taste of the best sandwiches on earth.

Noah fell asleep on the way, and it's probably a good thing because he doesn't really like his sandwiches toasted. He likes soft bread, and those Kings Hawaiian rolls. He can eat a whole package of those. We let him sleep as Jon and I enjoyed our lunch feasting on our big sandwiches.

Poor little kid was so tired. He didn't even budge while sleeping on this hard wooden bench. 

I just love all the decor in this restaurant. From the booths to the ceiling, and even the restrooms (sorry...I don't take pictures in restrooms!) I did however have Jon take this picture. It was mounted high on the wall, and I loved the quote on it. 

Wise words from Andy Warhol, and it's so true. I think everybody should like everybody. Look at the ceiling...isn't it cool. If only my ceiling looked like that. 

The staff here is super friendly. They gave me a free soda from the refrigerated section because their soda fountain machine was being worked on. I was hoping to get the shake for free as well, but to no avail. That's okay...I was hoping Noah would wake up so that he could eat something. 

And he did.

He woke up while I was taking pictures of it. Truth be told I've never had their shakes until today. They were pretty good, and I especially loved the tiny cookie they put on the straw as their signature. That's how you know your shake is from Potbelly.

Every time we come here I have to buy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies before we leave. Always. They're not for me...oh no. They are for the girls because all of them have such a big sweet tooth. 

*****
After lunch we headed towards King of Prussia to run an errand, and stopped at a nearby Wegmans. I know there is one close to where we live in Cherry Hill, but this was convenient at the time. I just love this place. It's so clean, and it looks healthy! It reminds me of Stew Leonard's in Connecticut, and a mini Trader Joe's. 

As I was leaving I was eyeing these gnomes. I thought they were so cute, and they were on sale.  I decided to wait on buying them until we actually have a "real garden" to place them in. Noah thought they were cute too! 

My favorite flowers are hydrangeas. Ever since I visited the east coast for the first time in the year 2000 I fell in love with them. Now I take pictures of them wherever I see them. Our house would be rocking with these in the front lawn. Too bad I didn't take any home. Next time. 

Wegmans is at the top of my list for the best markets. It really is a cool place to shop for all kinds of things.  

Life on Tuesday was pretty good. If only I had day trips like this everyday. It's always nice to get out of your element in Jersey & cross that bridge to eat at one of your favorite places.

And go to your favorite market.

hydrangea flowers are my favorite.

One of my favorite parts of summer are blooming hydrangea flowers, and they have them all over New England.  They are so vibrant in color, and so perfectly created. I actually see more hydrangeas in New England than in New Jersey. The people in the New England area seem to take more care of them than those in Jersey (at least in my area.) I see so many hydrangea shrubs dried up, discolored, and lifeless. It's a shame because these are the most beautiful flowers on the east coast. 

I first noticed them while we were living down in North Carolina, and was immediately drawn to them. I've never planted them, but one of these days I will. They don't grow in Texas or in Utah, and they come in the colors blue, lavender, rose, white, and an off yellow. They certainly are beautiful, and they definitely flaunt themselves out in the open.

 As were driving around to see the attractions of where the movie Mystic Pizza was filmed we were surrounded by hydrangeas. We drove along the alluring seaside country of Watch Hill & Westerly in Rhode Island, and found all these hydrangea shrubs. These towns are about 20 minutes away from Mystic.

My myriad of pictures were all taken with my iPhone 4S, and I think they came out just beautifully.

If I ever do plant them I'm going to make sure they are treated well, so that they can bloom year after year.