Saturday, December 31, 2011

Sweet tea and lots of R&R

This Christmas break has been very relaxing for me. I came home with about a week before Christmas and have spent a lot of my time relaxing with my family. Most of you know that my family lives in Tennessee so I'm soaking up sunshine and some warmer temperatures this break. I have also been making sure to get enough sweet tea to keep me going until I come back south again. Its really nice to take time off from a busy semester and get back to the basics doing things I enjoy.


This break I have started some new hobbies that I have always wanted to try. What better time to get crafty and try new things! I have always wanted to learn how to crochet and finally after a little instruction from my Mom and some books I'm crocheting like crazy. I am currently working on a scarf and maybe next year I will try knitting. I also have created terrariums! These are so easy to make and take minimal care to keep them going. My Mom saved me a handful of different glass containers from Mason Jars to spaghetti jars and I googled how to make them. I was inspired after thinking how nice some plants in my room at school would be especially as we get into the winter months.  I have also been beading making glass beaded bracelets and necklaces. I sold some of them at the SMC MOVE International market in December which helped contribute money towards my trip. All of these crafty hobbies of mine can be done on a small budget and when I'm back at school.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

are there workout classes available to students? such as spin classes or yoga?

Yes! Each semester our athletics department runs yoga, Zumba, kickboxing, and other exercising classes to students. They are really fun to take with friends and are a great way to stay in shape!

Ask me anything

Sunday, December 18, 2011

10 things I wish I did at Saint Mike's

I am a senior at Saint Mike's and looking back on my years at school I have come up with a list of things I wish I did earlier on.I hope I can inspire some to maybe think about doing some of these things!


1. Been a core member with the MOVE program~ MOVE runs some amazing programs from cooking food for shelters to walking rescued grey hounds. I wish I got more involved with the Lund program and had tried to become a team member. The Lund Center Provides "services for young women who are pregnant and parenting, families with young children and adoptive families."  Senior year I finally signed up to volunteer through MOVE with Lund and realized how much I liked going. 


2.  Joined Rescue ~ By the time I returned from abroad I finally decided that I might want to be an EMT and run rescue at SMC. I figured this out a little too late for our program and now am trying to join a local rescue squad in the area for next year. 


3. Taken a Gender Studies course ~ We have some amazing professors who teach gender studies courses that range in topics. I wish I would have taken at least one course earlier on and then maybe considered it as a minor. 


4. Started going to Career Development sooner ~ Career development is such a helpful place on campus and I wish I started taking advantage of all there services sooner. For example, starting my resume and graduate school plan earlier. 


5. Taken a Business class ~ Even though I'm not a business major I think it would have been interesting to learn about the basics of business. Part of a liberal arts degree is getting to diversify your self and having experience in different subjects. Who knows maybe one day I'll own my own business.


6. Done research with a Professor ~ Many Professors conduct research whether it's in the summer or during the school year. I would have loved to gain extra experience with conducting research especially around my major, Anthropology. 


7. Gone abroad again ~ I loved my semester in Florence and would go again in a heartbeat. I wish sometimes I went again because SMC has such an amazing program and there are still so many places in the world I would love to see. If I went again I think I would go to either Brasil or Costa Rica. 


8. Been an RA ~ Being an RA is challenging and rewarding job. It's a great way to gain leadership skills, meet some new & awesome people living in your building, and get paid. 


9. Intern before Senior year ~ We have a great internship office that has connections with various organizations, companies, and alumni. I wish I began doing internships before my senior year because they are such a great way to gain skills while making connections. 


10. Gone to a play on campus ~ I'm a little embarrassed  to say that I have never gone to see a play on campus put on by our theatre program. They put on wonderful productions and have a play once a semester I just for some reason have never gone to one.  






These are just things I look back and wish I had done. It's hard to do everything in four years and I am happy for all my experiences I have had at SMC. I couldn't have asked for a better 4 years. It's really easy to look back and see things clearer, but I always like to believe that 'everything happens for a reason'. 

Thursday, December 15, 2011

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Well, that's a great question I'll get back to you on that............We'll if your like me and all other students that's a tricky question that's not very simple. Luckily, there is a magical place at St. Mike's called the Career Development that can help you figure out, plan, and prepare for....the real world!!! ( Along with many other things).

In September, I began going to resume writing workshops, graduate school information sessions, and began meeting with a career counselor. All of these things are free to students and they are so helpful whether your a senior like me or a freshmen! They also offer practice interviews, ways to make connections with Alumni in your field of interest, and can help you find a job. This building also houses our internship coordinator and study abroad office which I highly suggest taking advantage of. I am currently about to start my second internship for credit and have had such a positive experience and have made great connections.

All these helpful tools that often get forgotten about or pushed to the very end (senior year) can be accessed much earlier in your time at SMC. I really am glad I've been taking advantage of all that they have to offer and thought I would share with you one way my life has become a little bit easier because of this magical place on campus!

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Career Development & other offices in Klein !

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Surviving the cold weather

I get asked all the time on my tours what I think about the weather here and Vermont. Most people when they hear Vermont think "Ohh it's cold up there and so close to Canada". Yes, we are about an hour from the Canadian border and yes it can get cold here. I personally am a warm temperature loving person. I'd rather be hot than cold. So, why am I going to school in Vermont? Well, I really love Saint Mike's , but I also have learned to handle the snow. ( I still can be a whimp sometimes). I have various jackets for all kinds of temperatures and am never afraid to start layering it up early on in the season.

I also make sure I don't stop moving and getting outside in the winter. I learned how to ski freshmen year at Smugglers Notch because of our awesome ski pass and now try making it to the mountain twice a week. I also usually step up my gym going in the winter and begin hitting our indoor track more so I get some endorphins in me. This can be a challenge sometimes to get the motivation do go, but I have to keep reminding myself it's going to make me feel better and warm me up! Being a wilderness leader doesn't hurt either because I lead snow shoe trips in the winter and get to see some beautiful snow covered woods and mountains on trips. Who would of thought from all that, that I don't particularly enjoy the cold. These are just some ways I get through winters in Vermont and why I love this area in every season.




Friday, December 9, 2011

Prezi in the Classroom

I learned about Prezi presentations about a year or two ago and recently in the past few months I have been using it for all sorts of things. Now, you're probably scratching your head going what's a prezi. If your not then kudos! Prezi is a website that let's you create presentations in a whole new way. They're fresh and professional and have impressed my boss and my Professor. The program lets you zoom in and out and pan a screen effortlessly. It helps captivate your audience and make your presentation a little more interesting.

I started using it to present new ideas and goals at my internship on social media and recently just created one on my findings from a research project. One of the reasons I have been so drawn to it was that I didn't have power point on my computer. If you don't have access to Power point, but have access to the Internet than I challenge you to try making a Prezi!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

We're Back.......


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Half time competition 

This past Saturday orientation leaders got summoned by the lovely Grace Kelly and our team spirit club to pump up students and get freshmen to come out to the men's and women's basketball games against Stonehill College. This was really fun to all reunite in our purple O-leader shirts and you can't forgot our favorite accessory...... our whistles!!!! Yup, we were those loud kids running around the quad making noise and blasting music! We also all got Santa hats to accompany our ensemble. 

At the game we sat in the bleachers and cheered on the purple knights through both games. The dance team which preforms at half time even let us have fifteen seconds of fame to shake it to the song 'Space Jam' ! I loved getting to act silly and cheer on our basketball teams! This is one of the perks of having great team spirit! Both the men and women's team played hard, but got defeated. This is just the beginning of there season and I'm looking forward to more games!

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Women's team warming up!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Tacchino!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was lucky to be at home in Tennessee and share the holiday with my family. It had been about five months since I'd been back, so it was nice to come home. I have caught up on sleep and have mastered relaxing! Thanksgiving is like a teaser for Christmas because were getting close to that holiday and in a month I'll be back home, but will have about a month off which is great. 

I can't forget my Thanksgiving a year ago in Italy where three friends of mine cooked up an Italian themed Thanksgiving. I have been day dreaming about it and Italy a lot lately. I love how Thanksgiving can bring friends and family together to enjoy food and time together. I really enjoy cooking so it's always fun for me to cook for everyone. 


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Exciting News!!!

Last week, I waited and waited and finally received some very exciting news! I found out that I was chosen to be part of a group of 10 SMC students going to Calcutta, India this summer for 3 weeks!!!!! This trip has been running for ten years from SMC MOVE extended service trips. In the three weeks we will be working with three organizations one being Mother Teresa Home. I am so lucky to have been chosen to go! We have a lot of leaning, planning, and fundraising  to do until we go. Stay tuned for more updates !!!

My MOVE Service Extended trip last year
in Hartford

Monday, October 24, 2011

What it's like to be a senior at SMC

Most people probably don't think about their senior year, especially if they are seniors in high school! Well welcome to the world of being super busy, getting to take classes that you love, having closer  relationship with some of your professors, and living with some of your close friends!

I have a packed semester of classes, but they all are about something that interests me and are helpful for what I want to do after college. A few professors in my major have also become very helpful and people I go to for advice and to talk about various things.And I get to live in the 300s with some of my close friends ..somewhere I dreamed of living when I was just a first year.

I tend to spend the majority of my time doing/studying things that I love like Anthropology, Volunteers for Peace (my internship), and rock climbing! I also get to experiment with food and cook up family meals with my close friends/room-mates. It's nice having your own space, still be part of a community even in your fourth year at school and loving the place you began calling home four years ago!


Here are some pictures of my home and a look at what it is like to be a senior!
My Room

My view!



Family Room

Kitchen





Saturday, October 22, 2011

Things I miss from abroad

A year ago I was abroad in the beautiful land of Firenze (Florence, Italy) embracing the romantic culture, divine food, and the best semester ever! Every once and a while or maybe more regularly I drift off and recollect about my trip and I start to think of some of my favorite things. My favorite things lead me to missing them so I comprised a list of what I miss!

-Dried kiwi
-Listening to podcasts daily
-Wandering around the city
-Going to museums and learning about new things
-Weekend adventures to far off lands, cities, or new parts of Florence
-Speaking in Italian
-Walking a mile to class .....sometimes I miss this
-Espresso
-Gusta Pizza
-Gelato
-The Duomo
-My rooftop terrace
- The many David  statues
-Travelling around by train, plane, public transportation
-Slowing down the pace of life
-Not walking around on my phone all the time
-My Signora
-Buying my food fresh and daily
-Feeling like anything is possible


My favorite bakery on my street!

David!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The craziness of Senior Year

Who ever thought that so much could happen and change during the first month of senior year? Well I never anticipated this. Jumping into senior year I never imagined myself being this busy and having so many things to constantly be doing. Updating my resume, attending grad fairs, researching graduate schools, and thats not even  my homework.

I knew that I was going to have a busy semester since I'm taking two big Anthropology courses one being my capstone and the other Research and Theory, but I have never been this busy. Sometimes I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Yes, being this on this occupied can be a little overwhelming at times I'm also learning to embrace it and appreciate it. For instance I'm in classes that I really like studying or doing research on things that interest me. My research for one of my classes has been a way for me to explore an interest of mine, Buddhism and meditation.



Something I have used to help re-center myself and help regain control over my very busy schedule has been meditation. For my research and theory class I had to choose a topic/place/ organization to research about and conduct interviews etc. I chose the Shambhala Center and I have found that my research has been very relaxing. I've attended a few hour long open meditation sessions, a Shambhala cafe, and will continue attending more events.

Despite all my busyness I'm getting to do things I really like or are interested in. Getting to live Senior year around how I want to spend my time is pretty awesome. And Saint Mike's has allowed me to find my passion and provide me the tools to cultivate it and keep learning and exploring! I will do my best and blog more around my busyness!


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Building Peace through a Peace Dove



Who would have thought that I would get to spend some of my time at my internship helping build a peace dove for Burlington. Now you probably are scratching your head trying to picture what a peace dove is. Well, the dove is going to be created from paper and some other pretty simple innovative material. The dove will be like a puppet and will be worn in the John Dewey parade by someone! 

By helping build the dove I also get to meet some pretty awesome people. Here in the picture is Frank who inspires and remind's me to be creative and think outside the box again. Frank tells the best stories and has done some pretty cool things like building over 100 of these birds along with other animals! The structure of the bird is mostly made from tightly rolled up newspaper. It is actually very sturdy! I love getting to meet past volunteers of VFP along with other people from the community who all bring something different and unique to the table when we come together to create the dove. 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Volunteers for Peace

This semester instead of taking a fourth class I chose to get an internship for credit. Being an Anthropology major I am not required to intern, but wanted experience in areas that I'm interested in so I chose a non-profit  in the area that did work that inspired and interested me greatly.

Volunteers for Peace allows individuals to volunteer in over eighty countries around the world from two weeks to up to a year! The volunteering is unique in that it allows people to interact with others from different regions of the world. Most trips do not have a volunteer from the same country together because this allows for a really valuable experience and way to make friends. The service projects range from working with kids, environmental work, hands on work, along with other kinds. One of the other really great things about VFP is that trips are affordable (especially for college age students)!

So far, I have gotten to learn more about the program and it's history as it turns 30 this year.To celebrate the anniversary, VFP is creating calendar of thirty years sharing pictures and quotes from volunteers. This is a project that I am working on right now. I'm really excited about what I am getting to do with VFP and everything I have learned so far! I will update ya'll as the semester progresses.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Welcome Home Leaf Peepers!

Fall is in the air and the leaves are starting to turn. This can only mean that leaf peeping season is just around the corner! One might ponder what is leaf peeping. Well, according to the dictionary leaf peeping is: an activity that one might partake in during autumn in areas where the foliage changes colors. It is the act of admiring autumn foliage for its beauty. 
I've never in my four years at SMC, driven around with a leaf peeping intent, but maybe this will be my year! Leaf peeping came to my mind when I opened this page because this past Sunday my roommate Julie and I went apple picking in Shelburne. On our way over to the farm, Shelburne Orchards, we got a glimpse at the foliage starting to change and got excited. Our immediate thought was how we must explore the foliage in Vermont during our senior year!




Fall is one of the best seasons in Vermont and is a great time to come and visit. I personally love starting school again and getting to catch up with my friends that I didn't get to see over the summer. I also enjoy getting to move back home. SMC and Vermont have really become my home away from home and this year is really going to be bitter sweet. So whether you love leaves, love SMC, or want an adventure plan a road trip and come say hi! 

Monday, July 25, 2011

Hi was wondering what kind of stuff like furniture and things like that come in the suites. is there stuff like couches, fridge, microwave, shower curtains, what comes in the bedrooms? things like that...and what type of things do you reccomend bringing?

Hey! In the suites they come with couches, chairs, a few little tables, one big fridge all in the common room. For the bedrooms they come with a desk, a bed with drawers underneath and an armour (dresser/closet). Microwaves and shower curtains are not included unfortunately. So I would recommend talking with your suitemates and planning who can bring a TV, microwave, shower curtain, etc. I suggest also bringing a mini fridge if you already own one for extra storage of food along with cleaning products for the bathroom.

Ask me anything

Monday, July 4, 2011

Thanks for introducing me to Seven Days! (:

I'm really glad you like it. I really enjoy the newspaper and love reading it weekly.

Ask me anything

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Downtown lifestyle

Church Street
Living in downtown Burlington has many perks. First of all, I get to walk pretty much everywhere and if I need to leave the area then I reluctantly give up my parking space. Walking around has really familiarized myself with streets and new places I hadn't noticed before. Secondly, I'm so close to some of the best local food and coffee places in Vermont. My top favorite coffee spot is Speeder and Earls and my top restaurant is American Flatbread. 

I also really enjoy being able to visit my sister at work on a daily basis. She works at an awesome outdoor store called OGE (outdoor Gear Exchange). I always seem to find something that I want when I pass through!

Living in Burlington also means staying attuned to various events going on in the area. I read Seven Days newspaper weekly and try new restaurants they review and check out free events or classes in the area. It's a great source to really know what's going on!

So far I've gone to a free concert in Battery Park, the Farmers Market, two new restaurants that I had never tried before, and the fireworks show! Check out my pictures below!



Ben and Jerry's!
Battery Park free concert

Lake Champlain sunset....so beautiful!

View across the lake at New York. This view is one of the reasons I choose SMC!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Burlington Living

Hello Summertime!

It’s been way too long since I’ve blogged, but my apartment in downtown Burlington couldn’t get internet for a while because Comcast was so busy. The great thing is I have hot water and internet now and can keep ya’ll updated about living in Burlington for the summer!

Lake Champlain
This summer I got a job at a summer camp at Petra Cliffs climbing gym so I will be taking camper’s rock climbing, kayaking, sailing, and caving! I just started training and camp starts officially Monday! I’m really excited for all the activities I get to do and the other students I’m working with! I will keep you posted about fun things I do around the Burlington area!



Living downtown is a lot different from living on campus or at home, both of which I’ve done in the summer before. Downtown living means getting to walk everywhere, cooking all my meals, and getting to really live independently. It’s going to be practice for living in the 300’s townhouses next year. For seniors on campus at SMC they can live in townhouses. The townhouses include living room full kitchen and mostly single bedrooms. A lot of seniors end up taking themselves off the meal plan and cook all their meals. I love cooking so I’m excited to get to cook for myself and my house-mates.
Church Street

Burlington has so much going on in the summer time and is a fun place to walk around and explore. I plan on trying some new restaurants and finding great spots to relax or people watch. So stay tuned for summer adventures in Burlington! 

Monday, May 16, 2011

Internships

Internship's are an awesome way to get experience with a company or organization while getting academic credit. At Saint Mike's the career development internship office is very helpful with notifying students about internship opportunities during the summer and school year. Some majors like Business and Journalism require majors to have an internship, but anyone in any major can get one.

This past spring I decided to search for one so the first step was going to an informational meeting and getting a list of resources on the school website to help find the right internship for me. Then I began emailing a few organizations until I heard back from one of them. I next set up an interview and ended up outlining and figuring out what I would do for my internship. After setting up my internship came the application process through school since I wanted to get credit for it. Students can also have an internship that are not for academic credits. It just depends on what works best for you.

So, next semester I'll begin my internship working about 10 hours a week around my other classes. I'll meet with one of my professors and check in with her on a regular basis about the things I'm doing with the organization. I'll be working with the organization Volunteers for Peace. VFP helps individuals from around the world volunteer internationally through service development and community development. I will get to help promote the organization through social media and organize trips and stories of people returning. I'm really excited to get to work with this organization. In the fall I'll be blogging about different experience and skills I'm learning!

Internship's are a great way to get experience with different organizations gathering skills and could help figure out what you might want to do as a job later on. The great thing is you can set up several internship opportunities throughout your four years!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Wrapping up another Year

The fun and joy of yet another p-day has come and gone with plenty of pictures and memories to last me until next years. With p-day complete that means finals and graduation are quickly approaching. This week has been a whirl wind of the final week of class along with plenty of papers and work to finish. I'm in the process of finishing my last paper and can't help to look at how far I've come this year.
TH 304 for next year!!

View of Florence
   It's crazy for me to think only a few months ago I was in Florence, Italy soaking up Renaissance art along with Italian food and culture.  I've been back in the U.S. now for four months which seems crazy because it seems like it was just yesterday or that it all was a dream. I still pinch myself and remember that 'hey I was in Italy and Europe for five months'!  The end of a school year always tends to brings up a lot of memories and various events that occurred throughout the school year.   I'm  really going to miss the senior class graduating this year and it will be weird to become the next senior class in the fall. I can't believe my time at SMC is going by so quickly! Freshmen year still feels like yesterday!

  This summer will be a lot of fun and will be interesting as I'm living and working in Burlington. So I'll be able to share with you Burlington and SMC in the summertime!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

EARTH FEST



Every year at Saint Mike's our Green Up club puts on the event, Earth Fest. This year they went all out by getting the Ben and Jerry Truck to come give out ice cream and they had Barefoot Truth playing. Along with all of this there is tie dyeing, plant your own pot, free local food (usually hamburgers and veggie burgers that are delicious)!
This was the food table that was so crowded and had created a
 longer line than Ben and Jerrys!
One of the cool things Green up did with the food is they did not supply any plates or napkins so people either brought their own or just ate what they could hold so we didn't generate that much waste. The Outdoor Gear Exchange store also had a tent set up with prizes and had games laid out for students to play with. Green Up did a really nice job this year with this event that attracted a very large number of students and members of the community. Hey, who wouldn't enjoy the chill beats of Barefoot Truth playing while eating a Ben and Jerry's.

Kevin just planted a see in an empty pint! 

Barefoot Truth

The effects of bottled water explanation 


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

1/2 Marathon!

Right after the race!
Hey guys, so this past Saturday I ran a half marathon (13.1) and completed my New Years resolution! I signed up for the race in January and began running frequently. With the snow and chilly weather most of my training took place on the inside track in Tarrant. Finally, race day arrived falling conveniently on parents weekend so my Mom could come cheer me on. I could not have asked for a better day to run, the sun was out and I got to run along the bike path along Lake Champlain in Burlington.

I finished the 13.1 miles in 2:13:40 which was fine by me! I plan to continue to run and maybe one day do a full marathon! This weekend overall turned out to be a blast hanging out with my Mom and enjoying the warm Spring weather that has now come!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

How much time does Wilderness take up?

Wilderness doesn't take up too much of your time. If you decided to become a leader there is training and meetings about once a week. Most trips and trainings occur Saturday and Sundays. You can be as busy with wilderness as much as you want to. It's how much time you want to put into it and whether your going out climbing, kayaking ect. with others frequently or not.

Ask me anything

Friday, April 8, 2011

What is the transition like going back to school after being abroad?

After coming back from abroad it took some time to readjust to coming back. Like using a microwave again was something I hadn't used in 5 months or driving a car. Coming back was hard sometimes because I really liked certain aspects of my daily life or way of life abroad. The thing that helped me the most was talking with my friends who also just returned and sharing stories. Being back now for several months I have gotten in a rhythm again at school and with activities. I haven't forgotten about my time and still find myself day dreaming about certain places.

Ask me anything

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Hide the Knight!

Hey Guys check this out. On Saturday if you and your family is coming to Accepted Students Day you should try and "find the Knight". The game works that around campus there will be knights hidden in five locations and you can use clues to find them. The clues will be posted on the Saint Michael’s College Facebook, @saintmichaels and @smcadmissions Twitter accounts, and one clue will be announced Saturday morning before the Accepted Students Day kicks off! At the end of the day you can turn in your "Knights" at the table in in Ross Sports Center to win $20 gift card to the SMC Bookstore for some SMC swag! To start, here are two clues to unscramble! Good Luck!
 
1. Unscramble these letters to find the room where the knight head is hidden: “one-sided glue”
 
2. You’ll find the knight in one of the rooms mentioned in this video http://www.youtube.com/saintmichaels#p/u/32/iu0n7I7mFLM

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

i was wondering if you could talk about your experience as a soc/anthro major.

I love being a Soc./ Anthro major especially because of our department. The professors have so much experience and knowledge about areas and different cultures which really makes classes interesting.I took my first Anthropology class and knew this was something I wanted to do and have made that happen. One of the ways has been through studying abroad which is a requirement for the major now. And SMC has an awesome study abroad program that has so many choices of countries and makes the process easy on students. I've also been volunteering in the area a lot and for some classes volunteering is a component. Burlington also has a large amount of refugees so learning about refugees and then getting to meet some and work with them has been very rewarding. I've worked with a Bhutanese refugee girl for a bit and that was a great way to actually apply skills and what I've learned about being an anthropologist from class to my time with her. Right now I'm looking to set up an internship for next semester at the organization Volunteers for Peace or at a shelter in Burlington. . I hope this answer is what you were looking for.

Ask me anything

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Stowe Eating Tour Adventure!

I've been asked a lot about what are some of the things you can do in the area on the weekend other than skiing. Well, last weekend my friends Livy, Claire,Tracey and I went on a Stowe eating tour adventure. A Stowe eating tour adventure is a sampling tour in and around the Stowe area that consists of visiting the Cabot store, the Cider Mill, Vermont T-shirt Company, and last but not least Ben & Jerry's. So, after we ate a delicious brunch in Alliot we piled into a car and headed south for the Stowe/Waterbury exit.


We decided to stop at Cabot first and save Ben and Jerry's for last. The Cabot store is a magical place if you  are a cheese lover. Walking in your greeted with samples of cheese flavoured popcorn and a wall of fridges lined with some of the best Vermont products maple syrup, cheese, butter, and root beer to name a few.  Walking further in you discover a table lined on both sides with bowls of cut up cheese to sample. My favorite was the rosemary and herb one! After stuffing ourselves it was time to move on to our next stop, the Cider Mill.

The Cider Mill home makes apple cider, cider donuts, Jams, and other delicious treats! We first started off with the Jam tasting and then quickly found the free samples of apple cider.

After watching an informative movie on how they make cider we ended the tour with freshly baked cider donuts.





(Writing about this is making me crave them again)

Our Next Stop was the Vermont T-Shirt Company store. No sampling here, but I got to make my own sweatshirt. At the store their walls are lined with images and phrases which you can have pressed onto a sweatshirt or t-shirt. I went with a black hoodie and put the Stowe logo on the front and an image of a sunset and a moose on the back. After, my masterpiece was finished it was ice cream time!
Going to the Ben and Jerry's factory is a place I got to visit as a kid and it still feels just as magical as it did back then. We decided to skip the tour and went straight for some ice cream! At the factory you can get flavours that have been retired or limited addition so it opens even more possibilities for choices. I chose peppermint stick due to my love of minty ice cream. Tracey indulged in a super chocolaty one and Claire mixed and matched a few flavours.And  Livy went with a snazy T-shirt to remember our day. Walking back outside we had a brief photo shoot, take a look! 
Peace Love Ice Cream!


Tracey and Me


Livy and Claire




We loaded ourselves back into the car stuffed and in a food coma. This adventure was a great way to explore the Stowe area and experience some of the best things about Vermont!