Summer nights in Ridgewood, New Jersey

Let's rewind a bit to last Wednesday when we packed our bags and took the train to Ridgewood, NJ. The plan was to stay two nights with Anton's parents and then head out on our mini-moon weekend getaway for two nights.  Ridgewood is such a beautiful town with cute houses everywhere and lots of greenery. I don't know how many times I said "it is sooo green here!" haha. We brought Merlin with us to A's parents and he absolutely loves it there. He gets to run free in their backyard, roll around in the grass and gets so much attention (and treats). It's funny, but if Merlin is enjoying himself then I have a much better time as well.  The first night A's parents spoiled us with grilled meat and vegetables - so yummy. And the next night I attempted to make Mexican style corn on the cob with coleslaw and guacamole. Not as impressive but everyone enjoyed it. They also recently bought new furniture for the front porch so we ended up sitting out there for hours on Thursday and just chatting. I love these types of summer nights! The gang packed and traveling from Brooklyn to New Jersey. Two different subway and two different trains later we arrived. Merlin is becoming more and more used to traveling in his little carrier and it makes everything so much easier.  We both were so happy to finally get there and spend some time in their backyard. Hung out in the backyard for a few hours, talking and catching up.  Then A' helped his dad put together a table they had ordered. Unfortunately it ended up being damaged so they had to return it.  But while they were working on that I was served a glass of wine and got to relax on one of the lounge chairs.The photo to the left is of A and his little sister, at the front porch where we had one of our dinners. Such a cozy nook!  One of the days we went for a long walk and I couldn't help but stop and take some photos of these beautiful gardenias. Aren't they stunning. When I have a yard of my own I will definitely plant these flowers.  On our walk we met a cute little kitty that I just had to say hi to. And in the evening when the lightning bugs (or fireflies) started to light up, I turned into a kid and caught a few. I felt bad doing it, so they were released to their freedom pretty quickly. But these bugs/flies are just the coolest, how they light up and sparkle.