A little shopping anyone?

My surprise birthday weekend began Sat morning. I showered, dressed and packed without knowing where I would be going. Okay, that's a lie. I snooped. I knew we were staying in Keene, NH for the night, but had no clue what each day held. As we're driving west on Rt 2, and hubby didn't take the exit to Keene, I assumed we were going to Manchester, VT for the day. Guess #1- Accurate! We arrived around 11am and the clouds had miraculously parted for us. It was sunny and warm which made for a great afternoon meandering through the Main Street shops. I forgot how much I loved downtown Manchester. It is the most adorable little town, but don't let it fool you. (There is lots of New York money that stay and visit there.) 

We popped into Ponce Bistro for lunch around 1pm. So glad we did! The menu was amazing as well as the ambiance. We started with a cup (which was the size of a bowl) of their homemade Red Pepper Soup. Hubby and I decided to split the Nuts & Berries Salad, along with the Veggie Gobble. To. Die. For. It was like we stepped out of VT and into France. 

Table for two?

Sad to say these are the only two photos I took all weekend. I seem to be lacking in the memory department lately. I realized once we got home that this was it. (Very sad.) So after lunch we continued to shop, buying way too many things. Around 4pm we realized there were some very dark ominous clouds heading our way, so we sprinted about a half mile to where we parked, just in time. As we closed the car doors, the sky opened up and began to down pour. We drove to one more store, then headed to Keene. 

Loving my new hat!

We checked into the Courtyard Marriott, which was 2 years young right off the main strip. Gorgeous rooms and so well kept. The staff was very nice, as well as the Tufts Univ. baseball team which we had the pleasure of meeting. The hotel even had a bar, restaurant and breakfast bar. Starbucks on site? How can you go wrong? 

We took 20 mins to rest then changed and headed to dinner. We kept it simple at Margaritas enjoying some Sangria and tequila. Got a little tipsy, then found our way back. I was oh so tired, so we turned in early. Luckily we had HBO and found Water for Elephants on. Hubby popped down to the lobby and got us some waters and Reese's to snack on with our Cinnamon Kettle Corn. 

Ladies, this is what a great husband looks like!

Sunday we packed up, grabbed some tea/coffee and breakfast sandwiches in the lobby then headed to Tilton, NH outlets. It was raining, well drizzling most of the day. Thankfully the outlets have a large over hang shielding us from the rain. Did some more shopping until about 2pm. Grabbed lunch at Boloco in Concord, and headed home.

My lovely Aunt Flo had decided to make a visit Saturday morning before we left, so I was super tired from running around all weekend. Anyone else get really exhausted the first few days?. Almost fell asleep in the car.

We pulled into our driveway around 5pm. Unpacked, and curled up on the couch with the leftover kettle corn. All in all, great birthday weekend! I am truly blessed to have such a thoughtful and patient husband who puts up with my snooping. Love you babe!