Life is Sweet * My Birthday Week

My friend Elisa posted this song and she is right you just can't help but dance to it. 

This week is my birthday. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to spend my birthday with sisters for the first time as adults. I have missed raising our kids together and the birthdays and the parties and all that goes along with the past 20 years. The other day someone asked me if I miss Utah and regret moving to Vermont. I thought about it and then replied, "not even for a half a second." I love life here in our tiny piece of heaven called Montgomery Center. I love all the rolling hills and little green mountains covered in trees. I love having my sisters and their families nearby. I love the beautiful rivers lined with bedrock. I love the visitors from all over the world stopping in for the day or the weekend to share a moment of the loveliness of our small New England village. I love meeting the people in our village and hearing their stories of how they ended up here. There is hope in our town. When there is hope their is no room for doubt or negativity. 

My Birthday is this week. I will eat one of Lisa's handmade creamy rich perfect cheese cakes from Sylvester's store with my two sisters. {image the cheese cake the Rachel & Joey from Friends ate off the floor because it was so goo} I will have my three wonderful kids with me. I am happy. Life is sweet.

xo 

april & co.

p.s. my new magazine Sweet Life STUDIOS will launch this Friday, September 7th! 

Our Village * Montgomery Center Vermont

This our little village of Montgomery Center, Vermont. We live in this 150 year old Inn. It's the cream and blue trim building on the top left. It's charming and has all the quirks of a very old building. I am looking into the history of the building and will update with more info soon. I went for a walk about town and snapped some photos to share.
I was asked to update the blog and social media for the community alliance website. I will be posting the local swimming holes, places to pick wild berries, sharing info about local businesses and artisans. You can follow along here MontgomeryJayPeak .org

We are just down the notch from Jay Peak Ski Resort. There are always French Canadians visiting and people from all over the world. It is not uncommon for people to speak French here. It's time for me to brush up on my French and learn it much much better!
Trout River runs through the village. It is located in the North East Kingdom of Vermont. Yes! A village in a kingdom just like a fairy tale.
Montgomery is Vermont's Covered Bridge capital. I will be touring the local bridges with photos coming in another post. Montgomery is also know for it's maple sugaring, stunning fall foliage, and Burnt Mountain.
It is common to see moose, white tailed deer, over 200 species of birds and even black bears.  To top it all off down hill skiing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing is a treat in the winter months.
It's beautiful, it's charming, it's everything a tiny New England village should be and more.
xo
april & company

church sales and wild flowers * things I love about Vermont

Another thing I love about Vermont and New England are the church sales. You can find the most amazing treasures. Today I hit the jack pot with a 75 piece set of Fire King 22k gold rimmed milk glass dishes for only $20!! The sugar bowl and creamer are worth $25 alone. I have 2 platters, dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, pasta bowls, cups & sauces and more. I am so excited.

 I also found a beautiful hand blown vase for my pretty wild flowers of Queen Annes lace, Black Eyed Susans and ferns. I found a few other nice pieces as well.

xo
april & co.

Our time on Lake Eden-Vermont

While we were looking at homes in Vermont we camped on beautiful Lake Eden. We were only a couple of feet from the shore. The lake is so peaceful and calm. The water is crystal clear. The shores are lined with thousands of trees. Every morning we were greeted by a family of ducks.

The one mother had ten ducklings. Whenever one we wonder she would stretch her neck to look for him and in a soft quack call him back. The lake is filled with wild life. Geese would sit in the tall grass in the center of the lake and fish. Dragon flies would visit while I was working on my camp chair on the beach.
We have fallen in love. A family lake house is on our list. This pretty little cottage is for sale.

There is also some property at a really great price right on the lake front. I do believe our family needs a lake house for weekends, summer days of fishing and boating and Christmas by the fireplace.

Life is good.
April & Co.

My house or I wish it was my house

I have finally found it, my dream house. It is a lovely 5 bedroom cape cod style home with a porch. It pretty much has everything I have on my list for my dream home including a fire place, a second floor balcony, an open floor plan, a room for each of us, a swimming pond, an orchard, a potting shed, a rock wall, a long tree lined driveway, a large garden with room for year round green houses, and so much more. It also comes with 530 acres that connect to state protected land. It even has a super cool barn/garage that is connected to the house with a huge guest suite that is perfect for Sweet Life Media head quarters. Oh yeah, it has a tower too!
I am buying one of these beautiful wooden row boats for the pond.

Stewart River Wooden Rowing Boats

Yes, it does get better. It is in the same town as a fantastic liberal arts college that has an amazing theater and dance program which means great cultural events year round. It's a great school for my kids to get their associates degrees before heading off to Yale.
It is the perfect location for the 5 star resort I would like to create in the next couple of years.

photos of  The Resort at Paws Up

It's a short 45 minute flight into New York City or Boston and a 2 hour drive to Montreal.

NYC from my talented photographer friend Justin Hackworth

And guess what!?!?! It just happens to be named Sweet Farms. It is practicly perfect in every way, even the name. It was meant to be.
From our Sweet Life to yours, 
april & co.

Going Confidently

 {sweet fragrant rose taken by april in Thomasville, Georgia}

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau

Many of my friends have asked, Why the move? What's the story? This quote from Henry David Thoreau sums it up perfectly.  I am going confidently and living the life I have imagined. Are you living the life you have imagined? 
From our Sweet Life to yours,
april & co.

life in the country * welcome

Welcome to april & company. A new chapter in creating a sweet life for our crew. We are looking forward to life in the country- riding bikes to the local store, long walks down country roads, swimming in the stream, a lovely garden, a small orchard, life near my sisters and lots and lots of cousins. Our family loves to travel. Exploring New England is going to be fun! Weekend trips to Montreal are on the list. Join us as we write about our adventures in traveling, gardening, raising animals, and cooking up a storm.
From our Sweet Life to yours,
april & co.