Maryland Polo

It's time to say goodbye to another season of polo here in Maryland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NRO polo shirt

Everyone always has a great time at Polo. 

 

Charm City's Charm

Baltimore Boy Michael Phelps has been breaking records in the 2012 Olympics and is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 19 medals. He is a huge fan of Baltimore based company, Under Armour and even appeared on a billboard that said "Welcome to Baltimore".

Image: Heidi Krauss

His waterfront property at The Crescent in Fells Point is currently on the market.

Image: Today in London

Phelps is a dog lover and has a Bulldog named Herman and a Catahoula mix named Stella.

He even bought JCW's childhood swim club Meadowbrook and re-named it Meadowbrook Aquatic & Fitness Center. Meadowbook is where Michael Phelps trains when he is home.

Special thanks to Michael Phelps for putting Maryland on the map...Baltimore is no longer just known for crabs, Bo and The Ravens.

Dog Mountain

Image: Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest

Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury, Vermont is set on 150 acres and is home to The Dog Chapel. The late artist Stephen Huneck founded The Dog Chapel in 2000. He wanted Dog Mountain to be a place where you could celebrate the faith, trust and friendship that dogs bring to the world.

Image: Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest

There is a no leash law on Dog Mountain so all the visitors are free to play as they please.

The Dog Chapel has a remembrance wall where people can leave photos, notes and cards honoring their pets.

Last month my Aunt's dog Sam passed away and my mom ordered her The Dog Chapel. I emailed her Sally Goes to Heaven which Stephen Huneck wrote after losing his beloved dog Sally.

Sam, I hope heaven is filled with lots of Gator rides and newspapers to retrieve.

For those of you who have ever loved or lost a dog, I am sure you can understand that Dog Mountain is a truly special place. If you feel inclined to help Dog Mountain continue to operate you can make a donation on the website.

NYE Day

We woke up New Years Eve and made a coffee run to get charged up for the day.

By the time we got back from Starbucks the breakfast casserole which was made with fresh eggs from the Country Couple's chickens had just come out of the oven.

After breakfast we walked down to the beach...with the temperature in the mid-50s there was no need to bundle up.

Captain Henry and Rudder couldn't have been more excited.

 EAS & JCW

 Rudder enjoyed the salt air.

 It was fabulous to be barefoot on the beach in January.

Seeing those bad boys frolic reminded me of the beach scene in Marley & Me...this song started playing in my head. There was one minor incident when the wet dogs tried to play with a lady who was wearing all white and unfortunately wanted nothing to do with them.

 Captain Henry wasn't ready to leave the beach.

We had lunch in town and stopped in Summer House to check on our reservation for that evening.

NYE Eve

For New Years Eve we headed to Rehoboth Beach with Rudder's Parents, A&T and the Country Couple.

The house was filled with the most beautiful needlepoint creations that Rudder's great-grandmother had made.

We stayed with two very bad dogs...Rudder and his brother Captain Henry. While everyone was preparing dinner they snuck out undetected, took a dip in the ocean and made their way to the boardwalk. Luckily someone spotted them and called to inform us of their whereabouts. It was hard to be mad at those adorable faces.

 Dinner was a surf 'n' turf birthday celebration.  

 After eating dinner we all gathered around the fire...

and enjoyed some drinks and a rather intense game of Taboo. It was girls vs. boys and the girls came out ahead.  

Finally it was time for birthday cake! The country couple have their own chickens hence the chicken themed cake from Grauls.

Horse Country

Over the Thanksgiving holiday my dear friend Char stopped in Maryland on her way down to Florida. We spent an afternoon hanging out on her family farm...it was just like old times.

Fall Housewarming

 Last month we went to a wonderful housewarming party.

The gracious host & hostess restocking the bar.

Rudder...and yes he is named after the legendary The Rusty Rudder in Dewy Beach because that's were his parents met.

The tablescape was full of Fall elements and the Chick-fil-A was a hit.

A Caitlin McGauley watercolor looked beautiful on the wall.

The signature drink was a seasonal Dark 'n' Stormy made with Apple Cider and Maraschino Cherries.

We finished the evening with s'mores around the fire.