magazine monday: hupper island!

This past weekend was an entirely & unlimited-free weekend – something that I can honestly say has not happened for months.  I had been looking forward to this wedding-free weekend for quite awhile now, and was delighted that it worked out that Michael & I could accompany our friend, Julia (on her birthday!), to her family’s cottage on an island up the coast. (Sidenote: I must say, between shooting both an engagement session and a wedding on a beautiful island, and then vacationing on another equally beautiful Maine island, this summer has set quite the bar for fun excursions!)

Of course, my camera made the trip with us up to Hupper (yes, how can you not fall in love with an island called Hupper?), and each time I took a picture, Julia, the ultimate Magazine Monday aficionado, kept asking if I would somehow be able to incorporate the weekend’s trip into this week’s Magazine Monday blog post.  I really had only planned on making some Martha Stewart pasta dish for today, so this idea seemed absolutely wonderful!  Upon returning home from Hupper, I began flipping through my magazines in search of the perfect article, while Michael napped in the shade & Orvis blissfuly chewed on the piece of driftwood we found for him on the island.  I began with the usual favorites- Martha, Real Simple, Whole Living, and Self- having really no luck at all, and then I saw my answer staring right at me.  The cover of the Women’s Health on the blanket beside me said, “Take Back Your Weekends!”  Bingo.

In addition to spending time with Julia and her family and enjoying such a idyllic setting, one of the things I was looking forward to most was turning off my cell phone for the entire weekend.  There is little to no reception on the island anyways, so powering down seemed like a no-brainer.  Besides, who really wants to check facebook updates when you can sit in a shaded spot on the porch and watch boats sail past the lighthouse from Forrest Gump?  Exactly.

The weekend left both Michael and I so relaxed, but so thankful.  We laughed (and laughed), we enjoyed our company, we ate delicious food, we watched the sunrise, we explored the island – we enjoyed every little part of our weekend.  We’re so lucky to have friends like Julia and her lovely family, who are kind enough to share some of these incredible experiences with us.  So lucky.

Happy Magazine Monday!