{dear friend}

Last week, at the tail end of my February vacation from school we packed up our ski gear and headed up to the great state of Vermont. Zan and I left town on Wednesday and got a full long weekend up in the Green Mountain State — with Pennylane too! Oh, Vermont. Red barns and covered bridges. Ski slopes and hot chocolate. And the greatest food! I love it all.

For the past 3 winters Zan has rented a house with his brother, my sister Meg’s boyfriend Tom, and some friends. Meg and I go up a few weekends here and there and this past weekend was my first visit of the year. This year’s house is magnificent, with a woodburning stove and the most wonderful built-in bookself filled living room. I could have read my book there all day! But skiing! There’s that too, of course! So much to do, and don’t we always try to do it all…

Wednesday night upon our arrival we immediately went to American Flatbread. We love it there! Nestled right on the property of Lareau Farm we love the classic Vermont Barn vibe and their pizza is delicious. They make it right in the main dining room and cook it up in the massive wood-fired oven right before your eyes. Too fun! There is also a great Bed and Breakfast on the property, The Lareau Inn that Zan and I have stayed in before. Look it up if you’re ever looking for a place to stay in the area. Cozy rooms and amazing breakfast. We have great memories of our time there.

On Thursday we did a little bit of lounging and lot of time loving on Pennylane. We were so lucky to be able to bring her up to the house with us! We took a hike along the Mad River, went to lunch at the Mad Taco in Waitsfield {so many hot sauces, so so good!}, and did some shopping in the historic old town. I found the most amazing old school fleece at the thrift shop that I got entirely too excited about and purchased right away. So 80s. So classic! That night we made my mom’s Chicken Tetrazzini recipe and Meg and Tom made it up to the house just in time to enjoy dinner with us and a bottle of wine.

Friday was a day of sunny skiing. We skied at Sugarbush at Lincoln Peak. For the past two years I have bought a “Quad Pack”, which is a discounted set of 4 tickets they offer every year in the pre-season. It costs around $200 for 4 days of skiing, which is a really great deal considering the prices on day passes these days! There are also no black-out dates which means we can go any week day, weekend, or holiday that we want.

That night we headed up to Burlington to meet up with my college friend Julie and to have dinner and drinks at the Citizen’s Cider Brewery. The best part about the friendships I have made over the years is that I can always pick right up exactly where I left off. Such a comfort and always so much fun. ♥♥

Saturday was so foggy but so beautiful! We spent the day at Mount Ellen this time around which is another mountain/lodge at Sugarbush. My sister and I skied until lunch, then I did one more run before we headed home to keep Penny company for awhile in the afternoon. Apres ski, we met up with the rest of the crew at General Stark’s Pub at Mad River Glen. The Grift was playing which is one of Vermont’s favorite bands and I am just in love with the atmosphere at Mad River Glen. The whole place is straight out of the 80s. And you you know how I feel about the 80s. :)

Afterwards Zan and I picked up pizzas from The Bluestone to bring back to the house for dinner. Another great recommendation for food in the Mad River Valley! So many amazing choices it’s always hard to decide. Another spot that’s an all time favorite is The Hyde Away restaurant in Waitsfield. Farm to Table! I ♥ VERMONT.

We spent Sunday morning lounging around the house, eating quiche and coffee with chocolate milk and enjoying the last few hours in front of the wood burning stove before packing up again and heading home. We stopped at Worthy Burger for lunch on the drive back, which is a little bit out of the way but worth it for a worthy burger. ;) Oh my. I feel like this has turned out to be a ALL THE GOOD VERMONT EATS post! But there are just so many good spots! It’d be wrong not to mention them and as you can see nearly impossible not to make a stop at them all. Which is pretty much what we did!

And we will be back!

Tis the season, after all. ♥