Every fall we take the kids and sometimes a grandmother or two to Yankee Candle in Deerfield, Mass. for lunch at Chandlers and some candle and ornament splurging and oohing and aahhing at the many many things you can drool over. The kids each get to pick out a new candle fragrance and an ornament for the tree and sometimes we’d come home with a new house or shop for our Christmas Village. Last year was no different… except… it was very… very… clear…. that we had pushed our luck and the “kids”… were past the joy of it all. Way.
SO! This year the Mr. and I went all by ourselves, yes we did.
I guess you could call it a date!
Apple carmelized onion quiche – I gotta find a recipe.
I’d love to bring this Christmas Cow home and place it on the front lawn at This Old House.
This fella was busy checking stuff… see the big book next to him?
Hmmm.. looks familiar… doesn’t he?
Did you know soda now comes in these funky bottles? They’re made of aluminum can material.
I like the glass bottles myself. These are just.. weird, and don’t hold much.
This is what I brought home… some new fragrances!
Whoopie pie!!!…Peppermint Bark! (yum) Red Berry & Cedar and
an old favorite, Christmas Wreath…
…one more!…
Chocolate Layer Cake… so good smelling, you want to eat it.
It was a good day.
Can I tell you something, though? I missed having my kids there..
even the whining and rolling eyeballs mixed with heavy, bored teenage sighs.
It’s a good thing – the spreading of wings and broadening of horizons…
the flutter and flight that leads further away from the nest.
So I’ll encourage and let go,
all the while hoping that they’ll return with their own desire
on occasion to take part in the traditions and comforts
we’ve provided over the years.
*life*
heavy sigh and eye roll.. this time.. mine.
that Christmas Cow is too cool. love all your scents. does it really smell like a whoopie pie? i love the idea of peppermint bark. sounds yummy. i've been to the one in williamsburg, va. & have gotten a little "scent happy" there are so many to smell. love it!! (:
Things will swing back the other way! I have had beer in those can bottles and they can be sharp!
they may not have gone with you this year, but the time will come that they will take their own families there. You instilled the tradition in them. :-))
Oh, and that quiche looks great!!
What a fabulous place to visit at this time of year! I love it!
I admire anyone who can go anywhere near a Yankee Candle store and not get an instant headache. I LOVE the candles … it's the store that I can't stomach. Oh, yeah, and I really like the cow … yummy sounding quiche, too.
A lot of my blogger buddies, as well as my wife and I are dealing with this same issue. But hey, sometime in the future, you'll be the grandparent going with them! That probably didn't cheer you up, did it?
Cool candle place though.
You had me at Apple Carmelised Onion Quiche! wouldn't need the candles at all!
It seems like I've been readjusting family traditions every year…it isn't easy:(
OH Karen, I actually clearly remember your post from last year! I think that I was probably envious/half starved reading about the yummy smelling candles .. it's sort of a deja vu feeling!
I like it that you miss your kid's along for these things. It's a good thing to let go-it's a good thing that you love them that much that you want them around! ha!
Someday, someday, when they turn into half old Grandma's like me, they will be hauling their children along to be with you on this trip….their heart's melting at the fond memories they had as little 'uns. I just know it.
And if they don't-more caramel quiche for you. Which sounds mighty sketchy, I might add! haha!
i love yankee candles. i have a sandalwood one in my bedroom right now and my daughter has some buttercream frosting coming out from her room. oh is it any wonder i keep baking so much these days?
What a neat looking place!!! A very brief whiff is all I can take and I couldn't go in the actual store… unfortunately.
Yankee Candle is magical isn't it?? It is a bit hard to get used to the kids not being around much. They have their own lives now. We have been adapting for quite some time now. This year…my daughter is having Christmas dinner at HER house!! Just for the four of us. It is her first attempt at entertaining in her newly redecorated (ummm..completely gutted) house!! She is very excited! Me, I will miss the day here at our house, but I understand that she is growing up and it is a VERY big deal that she is entertaining for us. Onward and upward…right??
The quiche looks yummy, the Christmas cow delightful and can't wait to buy some more Yankee Candles. By the way, Deerfield is one of my very favorite places! Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Oh my, what a lovely place. I love Yankee Candles and I'm jealous of your visit to this wonderful place. Stay safe during the 'mega' storm!!
I am so glad that the Grandkids are still young enough for the usual rituals around here, but understand that there will come a day . . . Loved your closing comment. Love the looks of that quiche.
Aww, I'm sure they'll indulge their "ole" mom again soon!
Looks like you had a great date though!
I was just drooling over the Yankee Candle web site earlier today. I had unpacked my fall decorations and was wishing for a candle to go with them. I shall have to post a picture of my fall tree…
The quiche looks yummy. If you find the recipe, please share!
you are so blessed. I love reading your blog. It would be less heart warming if you were writing about how can you get you kids to move out and let you rest. Funnier, sure. But not as fun to read.
xoxoxo
Kurt
Well, actually I think you should go back and buy the cow.
The thing about kids spreading their wings and broadening their horizons? Sometimes, they come back and back again. 🙂
I love the Yankee Candles that smell like evergreen. You have a nice set of candles for the winter months. And it sounds like you had a wonderful time with hubby, sans kids. I miss mine, too, especially when we hunt down our Christmas tree which was always so fun with them (and a little crazy!) I guess this is a new phase in our lives that we will get used to.
Have a great Saturday evening!
XO,
Jane
I used to buy parafin from the Yankee Candle guy when he was in Holyoke, MA before he got so famous…and your kids? They will come back to this and cherish their memories forever!! You are doing such a good job, Karen
Looks like a great place! !! Have a great rest of the weekend
I want to go there! Jemma and I will come and you can have a 6 year old tag along! I love traditions and you know what?? Even with all the eye rolling and sighing, I bet when they have kids, they will do the same thing!
Oh Karen! My daughters are much older than your kids (26 and 30) and I STILL miss them being around me. I'm lucky – they are close and I see them all the time. I do miss hanging out and watching ridiculous TV and laughing. 🙁
I was at Yankee candle in Deerfield this past July. Great place, but the smell gets to me after 45 minutes. Love it though! I know what you are feeling when it comes to missing their company. Every summer on the last Wednesday before school would start we would head to the beach for a nice seafood dinner and the fire works. It just isn't the same without the kids.
oh wow…would I have ever loved to have been on this trip…so much FUN! also, I love the cow -grin-.