December is my favorite winter month filled with holidays events to do and to see. Maine, especially, is a favorite! There’s the Christmas Prelude in Kennebunkport and L.L. Bean’s Northern Lights Celebration in Freeport. I went to Northern Lights Celebration for the first time last year. I had to see what it was all about! It takes place at the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, ME.
Read MoreTomorrow starts the Mystic Restaurant Week in the beautiful coastal town of Mystic, Connecticut! A bi-annual event that happens every March and November and is a favorite of mine to attend. Mystic is a foodie destination with so many good restaurants. It’s hard to pick sometimes where to go dine. This week is a good opportunity to visit a restaurant you haven’t been to, so you can sample more food for affordable prices. Most restaurants offer 3-courses from appetizer, the main entree and dessert. Sometimes wine/beer is included. The prices are fixated with average of $15 for lunch and $25 for dinner. Can’t beat that!
Read MoreThere’s nothing that I love more than fall in New England. It’s the most amazing time of the year with crunchy leaves under your boots, leaves changing colors, everything apple and pumpkin (I’m team apples!), and many more. I had an eventful fall exploring some of what New England had to offer!
Read MoreIn a recent blog, I talked about the challenges of being deaf and dating. I left off stating that a Part II would be coming. Does that mean I have someone in my life?! (In the Michelle Tanner voice) You got it dude. I met my first serious boyfriend at RIT.
Read MoreHappy October! It’s my favorite month. I love seeing more fall decorations everywhere, crisp weather and best of all, Halloween. It’s a must for all Halloween enthusiasts to visit Salem, Massachusetts. Salem, known as Witch City, is famous for their witch trials history (1692). There are plenty of things to do and see in Salem - they have more than just witch trials history! It’s a very historical filled city with tons of museums to visit.
Read MoreDating is an adventure for everyone. It was especially hard for me because of communication barriers. I mentioned that I grew up in mainstreamed school. My only options for dating were the hearing guys. How do I approach them? How do I let them know that I have a crush on them? Will they learn American Sign Language (ASL) for me? It was challenging to develop friendships so dating was even harder.
Read MoreThere are a lot of struggles with being deaf in a hearing world, but also within our own deaf community. Unfortunately it is challenging to find my place in the deaf community even as a deaf individual. I mentioned in the cochlear implants blog that there are many subgroups of the deaf community. I learned about them when I attended college at RIT (which also had a college for the deaf - National Technical Institute for the Deaf - NTID). During my childhood, I was mainstreamed with all hearing peers so I never truly found my identity until college.
Read MoreI can’t believe the year flew by. Thank you to all the amazing readers. Many people encouraged me to start up a blog about my adventures around New England. I had no idea what to expect or where this would go. I decided to go for the ride and have fun with Knot So Loud.
Read MoreHappy Deaf Awareness Month! It’s the time to increase deaf awareness issues and culture. Accessibility is so important for us - sign language for one. The deaf world is constantly trying to teach and expose people to sign language. It will help reduce the problems formed by communication barriers. Many are not aware of the issues we face daily such as lack of open captioned movies, availability of employment, receiving high quality interpreting services, etc. It will always be a life long battle to educate people, but it’s my hope with deaf awareness month (and anytime!) to offer better quality of life for us deaf folks!
Read MoreHappy Labor Day weekend! This usually indicts the end of summer. I have to mention one of my favorite places to go during summer - Watch Hill, Rhode Island. It may be known as the location of Taylor Swift’s summer home where she has her 4th of July parties. Watch Hill is a coastal village in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. It’s small so it’s perfect for day trippers or those who wants a quiet weekend getaway.
Read MoreSharing all about my favorite farm stand in Mystic.
Read MoreI was born into an Irish family with strong pride for our Irish heritage. I love everything Irish and about Ireland. It was natural that the first time I left America was for the beautiful countryside of Ireland. It was on my bucket list to see everything that my ancestral country had to offer. I recall being so nervous to leave the customs that I am familiar with especially with my deafness. I had no idea what to expect - how the people over there would react to my deafness? How will they talk to me if I didn’t understand them? Will they be more mean? Will I meet deaf people in Ireland and will they be nice?
Read MoreEvery summer I take the drive on a long scenic country road in Griswold, Connecticut until I reach Buttonwood Farm. Buttonwood Farm is a working family owned farm that sells farm fresh ice cream. They have the best ice cream in New England region. It’s THAT good. Griswold, CT also got the “sunflower capital” cred from Buttonwood Farm’s annual event in July. The Sunflowers for Wishes is a fundraiser event donating all proceeds to the Make-A-Wish of Connecticut.
Read MoreChester, Connecticut is a small rural town sandwiched between Essex and East Haddam. I discovered this town a few years ago in May during their town wide tag sale. They hold one annually around Memorial Day weekend. It’s so good that I’ve gone there three years now. I wondered what Chester looked like on an ordinary day so I took a drive up one Sunday.
Read MoreThe town of Westport in Fairfield county was the very first town I visited in Connecticut. I came to Westport in 2010 so it holds meaningful memories for me. Westport is only 50 miles from NYC so it was the perfect suburban neighborhood without the city bustle. It is known to be on the top richest towns in CT list. That makes a drive around Westport very stunning with all of the mansions and structures. The downtown main street is another beautiful spot to see.
Read MoreLast month I blogged about my day in Stonington borough. Many local readers saw that I “forgot” a restaurant for the recommendation list… Dog Watch Cafe. Guess what? I intentionally left them off the list! Why’s that? Lemme tell you, Dog Watch Cafe is TOO good, they deserved their own post. When I moved to Connecticut in 2011, Dog Watch Cafe was one of the very first restaurants that I tried in New England. Dog Watch quickly became my go-to restaurant for many milestones and celebrations. It’s safe to say that Dog Watch is my favorite restaurant in the entire New England region.
Read MoreOne of my most favorite flowers (beside hydrangeas!) are peonies. Once I found out that there was a peony farm in Rhode Island, I had to make the drive last weekend to see it. The peony farm was located outside of Little Compton, Rhode Island. Little Compton is quaint small farming town on the coastline classified as “farmcoast”. It was the kind small town where you didn’t see much of traffic lights or big chain stores. There are many long winding roads with views of farm lands while you’re inhaling the coastal breeze. It’s perfect town for a slow paced day of driving to take in the beautiful scenery.
Read MoreThis past Saturday was one of my favorite days in the state of Connecticut… it was Open House Day! What is “Open House Day”? It’s a day when museums and attractions all over Connecticut offers discounted or free admission. Some museums and attractions also have giveaways or special activities. It’s a fun day to explore so off to East Haddam I go! East Haddam is a small town that lies on Connecticut River in Middlesex county.
Read MoreCafe Otis is housed in the 19th century building located right across from the City Hall. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner as well happy hour. The food on the menu is locally sourced and they have a craft cocktail bar too! The menu is described as Mediterranean-inspired with many vegan or non-vegan options. There was a selection of smoothies called Wild Otis with variety of flavors.
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