how to waste four hours

entrance to the Meadow Walk at Berkshire Botanical Garden

date time at the auto shop

S: Our silly special date day started with a not-so-fun task - hauling my car over to the auto shop for new headlights. 

Since it was a Saturday and one of our days off, we wanted to try to make the trip more fun than just a regular errand outing. So, one hurried Google search about museum passes later, we were delighted to learn that we can check out free passes through our county's library system. Get your library cards, kids! 

Our bucket list this summer included "trip to the Berkshire Botanical Garden," so we decided to use this time to check that off our list. 

G: Since Shannon gifted me seasonal date cards for our anniversary, I have been determined to sneak in some spontaneous dates here and there, and this was one of them! It was so fun to use an adult activity (i.e. car shop repairs) as an excuse to find a new thing to do. 

I'm an avid library-goer (getting a new library card is always the first thing I do when I move), and I had heard of using museum passes before, but this was the first time I tried them myself. Highly recommend, especially as museum fees can add up.

garden date

S: Berkshire Botanical Garden is a lovely space. Spread across two sides of a local highway, the grounds host a brilliant array of flora, greenhouse spaces, beautiful buildings, and natural pools of water. Gillian and I loved strolling through the trails hand in hand. Because our pass was free, it was a treat to focus on what brought us joy rather than try to cram seeing everything into one visit to justify having paid for it.

Mid-trip, we both got a bit parched and snoozy, so we stopped at the garden's seasonal coffee bar, an off-site extension of a local cafe, The Lost Lamb. We sipped iced tea at a salmon-colored metal table, surrounded by a blur of emerald and blush and sienna. 

G: I took this photo of Shannon at the edge of the Meadow Walk. We ultimately abandoned ship because it was hot, and uhhh tick season, but how beautiful is this spot? I love the moments when I feel how old this place (Massachusetts, the land, the earth) is, and how we get to encounter it anew each time.

sweet Shannon poses in front of the Meadow Walk

brunch pit stop

S: One of my all-time favorite spots to grab a bite is Starving Artist in Lee, MA. It is one of the first restaurants I went to when I first planted myself here in MA and it still holds true as a personal must each summer season. They have the absolute best array of savory and sweet crepes (among many other yummy menu items). 

Gillian got one of their seasonal specials, a strawberry goat cheese crepe with arugula and balsamic dressing. I got one of my regular orders, their barbecue chicken crepe. Starving Artist's interior is clean and airy, with artsy accent pieces dotting the tables and walls with pops of color. 

G: Shannon had been wanting to go to Starving Artist for weeks, but we never found the right moment until this date. Their crepes are absolutely delicious, and I love their summer specials most of all. 

ice cream

G: What would a Shannon and Gillian date even be without ice cream? We polished off our crepes and headed to High Lawn Farm, a local dairy farm and ice cream shop. I've been in various phases of lactose intolerance my whole life (which I currently choose to ignore), but since I started buying High Lawn milk, I have had absolutely no problems! It's pretty astonishing how good high-quality dairy can make you feel (don't tell the vegans).

We both got a kids scoop of Mint Oreo - another Shannon and Gillian life hack, because the kids scoop is almost always nearly a single scoop and way cheaper. Plus, the best part of High Lawn is getting to pet their cows. Sometimes, there are babies only a few days old!

S: Seriously, the baby cows never disappoint. One of my favorite memories with Gillian is the first time I went to High Lawn farms with them, and they led me around the stables. Pure cuteness, all around. 

bonus activity

G: Once we finished at High Lawn, we still hadn't heard from the car repair, so Shannon called and lo-and-behold, the car was done (and probably had been for a few hours). After picking up the car, getting some groceries, and heading home, we finished the evening by making aprons.

I recently acquired my sewing machine via a cross-country plane exchange (thanks to TSA for miraculously letting this one through). I wanted to teach Shannon how to sew by doing an easy pattern. We'd been searching for cute aprons in stores for a bit, and everything was so expensive!

Instead, we spent $24 on a trip to Joanne's Fabrics, and used this pattern to make our own. It was super fun!

Shannon sewing her apron

S: And there ends our date! There are many reasons that Gillian is the best partner I could ever ask for, but one huge one is that everything we get into together feels like a date - visiting a fancy restaurant, hiking the Appalachian trail head near home, sleepily grocery shopping in the midst of life's many insanities, and yes, even learning to sew. Just another dose of Gillian's sweet magical realism they bring to my life. We hope you find the fun in the mundane this week. We sure hope to. 

xo

the roommates