Happy Monday, friends!
We’re on a plane en route from drizzly New England back home to sunny Phoenix right now, but we just had to share some of the highlights from this weekend with our sweet friends Justin and Mary at their home in Connecticut, and our day trip together to Rhode Island and New York, right away! When we very first met Justin and Mary, we connected on more levels than we could count, but perhaps, most notably, was our mutual love and affection for the greatest television show to never get nominated for an Emmy: Gilmore Girls.
That led to Justin and Mary revealing that they lived within an hour of the town that inspired one of our favorite shows of all time. Thus, we knew what we had to do. The path was oh-so clear and totally spontaneous in the best kind of way. We had to make a pilgrimage to the northeast to see the town that inspired our favorite show and pack all the Gilmore things we could into one weekend. So, we all checked our calendars and found the one weekend of the year when we were all available on a Saturday and Yale had a home football game (another critical part of the complete Gilmore experience).
So, on Thursday, we were off, leaving the warm comforts of Arizona for the cold and cozy ones of northeast in the fall, and we packed more in one weekend than we think we’ve ever done! In the mornings and evenings, we sat by the crackling fire in our pajamas, drank hot apple cider, roasted marshmallows for s’mores (the mint chocolate ones were our favorite!), and had talks, good ones, about things that matter and things that don’t, trading off between inquisitive questions and thoughtful responses, silly stories and deep belly laughs. Both were the perfect ways to start and end our days, without a care in the world yet caring so much about these two people in it. It was a retreat and a refuge. Refreshing and revitalizing. We feel immensely blessed to have friends like them.
We went on adventures, too. We wandered around historic Yale University, ate grilled cheese from a phantom food truck that’s in one place one day and a new place the next, drove to Rhode Island and had drinks at a hotel next door to Taylor Swift’s waterfront house all while trying to restrain the fan girls deep inside all of us and keep our inner Taylor demons from taking over and us having a rush-theWhite-House-lawn moment at her mansion, paid a visit to the Branford House, Justin and Mary’s gorgeous wedding venue, and, of course, strolled around the real Stars Hollow, which for Gilmore Girls die-hards is a sort of television Mecca. Some of the most fun we had all weekend, though, was at the Yale football game, where we tailgated with hot chocolate and, the biggest highlight of all: we met Handsome Dan, Yale’s famous bull dog mascot! We didn’t stay legalistically true to Emily Gilmore’s famous Yale tailgate. No Bloody Mary’s, Fig Newtons, or fun flasks, but we made plenty of Pennilyn Lott references and countless chants of Bull dogs, bull dogs, bow wow wow!
Yes, we drank our weight in holiday-themed Starbucks drinks this weekend. We stopped to take photos at every opportunity. We ate delicious dinners from the best neighborhood joints, tasted unbelievable pastries from locally famous bakeries, and paired glasses of seasonal wines with good conversation whenever we could. And it was in those moments when we got the clearest glimpse of who our friends really are: two people who, despite having the softest voices in the room, speak louder than anyone else by their thoughtful words and caring deeds. They’re, at their core, kindness laced with loyalty and integrity wrapped up in love. We’ve heard it said before that we’re all the average of the five people we spend the most time with. If that’s the case, we need to plan weekly trips to New Haven, because Justin and Mary, are exactly the kind of people we want to be.
Here are the highlights of our time in New England! First, up Yale!
It’s been a lifelong dream of ours to get to see the real Stars Hollow, and this quaint little Connecticut town was the epitome of all things Gilmore. Yep, we can die happy now.
We were so enthralled with the fall colors that we actually asked Justin and Mary to stop the car just so we could take a photo with a tree!
We even got to see The Branford House, the gorgeous venue where these two lovebirds tied the knot seven years ago! So special!
We took a quick detour into Rhode Island and had drinks at the prettiest hotel we’ve ever seen. Gah! This view!!
Gilmore Girl tailgating at the Yale game!!
In true Paris Gellar fashion. WE WON! WE LOST.
The game was FREEZING, but it was worth every shiver! We found lots of creative ways to stay warm!
We met the REAL Handsome Dan!! A Gilmore dream come true! 
The two of us even snuck in a quick trip to NYC to see the sights and shoot an engagement session in Central Park! It was our first time shooting professionally in New York, and we are so excited to share those images soon! Here are a few little highlights from our sight-seeing adventures!
Even with all the amazing things we saw and all the incredible things we did, THIS, this was the best part of all. Crackling fires, s’mores, movie nights and great conversations with friends we love with all our hearts were our very favorite moments from this amazing weekend.
We l-o-v-e traveling! Wanna catch up with our adventures around the world? You can do that here!
International: Ireland • England • France • Spain • Italy • Greece & Turkey • Anniversary Photos: Venice • Italy 2.0 • France 2.0 • Vow Renewal: France • Switzerland • Iceland • Prague • Germany & France
Domestic: Nashville • Denver • Phoenix • Vancouver • Seattle • Vegas • Atlanta • Santa Barbara • Florida • Virginia • New England/New York • Sedona • San Diego • Nantucket • Boston • San Diego • Virginia • Arizona • Charleston • Disney Cruise
