It's All About the Memories!

Ahhh… February, the month of love! From the dead of winter emerges the warmth of your heart. 

Even for the single people there is always an opportunity to get together with a group of your friends and celebrate how much you appreciate each other. It’s not just about a significant other, it’s about love in general. The love for your friends. The love for your family. The love for your pets. The love of nature, the beach, a sunrise, flowers, a warm mug of tea, your favorite sweater, a glass of red wine by the fire.

 It is about the love for life and taking a day to appreciate whatever it is you choose to love, whatever makes your heart sing.

Now, we do love big romantic gestures and really, who doesn’t? But who says that you need to go out and spend an arm and a leg on dinner at a high end restaurant and fancy flowers and jewelry to prove your love? You know you’ll probably just bicker over whose fault it is that you’re late for your dinner reservations anyway. 

We have a solution to the madness – give a gift that doesn’t need to be bought. Give the gift of a memory. 

Make dinner for your love, plan a romantic evening watching the sunset with a bottle of wine, stargaze cuddled up in a warm blanket with a couple of hot cocoas. The best things in life are free. 

Why do you love your significant other, best friends, sister, mom, or dad? We think writing them a letter is the perfect way to show them you love them, make a top 10 list—top ten reasons you love them, top 10 funniest memories you’ve shared together, or the top 10 times they made you smile the biggest. This is a gift that is really from the heart and is sure to make them feel genuinely loved and appreciated.

There are plenty of ways to be creative with your Valentine’s Day gifts. We hope that you try something different this year than the old tired routine, plus what’s romantic about a routine? Romance is spontaneity, the creation of a moment that you will remember forever. 

It’s about more than money, it’s about the memory.

Say Yes to New England and Cape Cod. 
Memories are Made in Our Homes.

www.newenglandvacationrentals.com

Check out our Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more fun Cape Cod insight. 

The Coast of Christmas Past

December is upon us and we're like little kids when it comes to the magic of the season! With a flurry of holiday activities this month, we can't complain about the mild temperatures we've been having here on Cape Cod - although a cozy white Christmas would warm our hearts. We're definitely jumping up in down with excitement over the festive holiday season in our classic Cape Cod towns.

Photo Courtesy of The Chatham Merchants Association

Harwich kicks off their holiday season this Friday December 4th. Santa will arrive by fire truck and offer season's greetings to everyone - we hope you haven't been too naughty! The annual lighting of the tree is something we definitely hold our breath for each year. The countdown, the illumination, the crowds reaction to seeing the spectacle is always a highlight. We don't want to play favorites but we adore the horse drawn carriage rides - a family favorite to remind you of days of yore... We can't wait!

Chatham's Christmas Stroll is set for the following Friday December 11th. With offerings of cookies and cocoa from the businesses along Main Street we'll definitely be feeling as jolly as Old St. Nick. There is something for everyone at this stroll - including prizes, raffles and even breakfast with Santa the following morning at The Wayside Inn.

Don't stress this season about finding the perfect gifts for everyone on your list. Christmas is a time for caring. Think about your family and friends, what would really they really enjoy? Look back on a memory, your mom loved the chowder the last time you were at  400 East, why not get her a basket full of gift cards to use on a special day you've planned for just the two of you? Take her out for that chowder, relieve her stress with a massage from Knead A Massage, arrange a private wine tasting at a local vineyard, take her out to a movie. It's the gift of an experience and you will share plenty smiles and laughs while making irreplaceable memories. We bet that will mean more to her and you than if you got her another pair of earrings this year - and you thought gift cards were impersonal!

The Christmas strolls are a perfect time to explore area shops and find unique one of a kind gifts for even the toughest person to shop for. In this season of giving, we always find the gifts that make our families smile the biggest at the most adorable boutiques, creative artisan shops, even classic antique stores! This year skip the lines at the big retailers and the exhaustion of a trip to the mall. Find gifts with a personal touch that will leave your friends and family full of joy right in our backyard. Take a moment and think about what will make each loved one smile. Sit and listen to what they talk about, we're sure inspiration will strike!

December is the season of giving after all, let's give back to our communities by showing our local artisans and shopkeepers support. Let's give gifts that will put a smile on even the biggest Grinch in your family's face! Shop small, shop local, look back on a past memory to make a new one. After all, the joy of the season rests on how you feel inside when you make other's happy, let's not forget that as it is what makes this the most wonderful time of the year.

Life is about the moments...make great memories with your families and loved ones!  It can all be too quick.

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Seufert

Say Yes to New England and Cape Cod. Memories are Made in Our Homes.

www.newenglandvacationrentals.com

Check out our Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more fun Cape Cod insight. 

Cape Cod's Addition to the Kitchen: Farmers Markets

Locavore, in case you are like the NEVR team and have not heard this word before it is a growing term that gives definition to a new group of eaters. Locavore’s are not vegetarians or vegans but people who are ready to throw aside the pesticides and GMO’s and opt for nothing less than locally grown farm to table.  As chefs go back to basics they hope to leave a smaller eco-footprint than importing and keep their dishes packed with nutrients which is why Farmers Markets are in growing demand.

As we drove down Route 28 on Tuesday the crisp sweetness of kettle corn stopped us in our tracks and we could not help but pull over to the Chatham Farmers Market. With rambunctious red tomatoes, glistening blueberries and even some refreshing ginger beer from Farmer Willies

to quench our thirst we sampled each stands newest flavor and even got to speak with some of Cape Cods local farmers.

Chef Lisa, owner of Chef Lisa’s Home Grown Gourmet, is a private chef who had us hooked with her new watermelon gazpacho which tied in the perfect amount of playful sweetness with delicate spice. This creative culinary expert plans her menus around what is ripe and growing in each season whether that be Zucchini, summer squash or tomatoes. This true farm to table experience leads to an ever changing mouth-watering display that incorporates whichever harvest happens to be in abundance from the farm stands that were surrounding us.

Drooling over the organic salted caramel ice cream pops from The Local Scoop, Foss Farms famous tomato sauce and the dressing from the Paul Newman’s of Cape Cod, DD’s Dressing, we truly understood why this farm to table movement was spreading with such clout.   

We are not sure whether it was Chef Lisa’s delicious gluten free oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies, or Allen Farms savory basil, but whatever it was our team is going back next week for our local addition to the kitchen.

 Don’t forget to live like a local with our friends at various Farmers Markets Cape-wide, including Chatham, Harwich, Orleans, Wellfleet and more!

For more information on Chef Lisa’s Home Grown Gourmet services visit her website and don’t forget to check out the New England Vacation Rentals mobile App for special discounts on her food baskets!

Say yes to New England and Cape Cod!

Memories are Made in Our Homes.