Maine Family Adventure: Perkins Cove

This quaint little cove is my favorite town and it’s located in Ogunquit (just a short drive up the Maine coast from York). This small community is so picturesque with its drawbridge, sail and lobster boats, gift shops, art galleries and restaurants. It’s like you’re on a movie set, it’s that cute!

Scenic view of the harbor in Perkins Cove.

Once you cross the Perkins’ drawbridge, there’s a wonderful open grassy area that looks out over the cove. My boys had a blast running around and exploring.

Watching the drawbridge go up.

If you’re looking to grab lunch while shopping, head to the Lobster Shack. This small rustic seafood eatery is just right over the drawbridge in Perkins Cove. The Lobster Shack is a local mainstay for lobster, steamers, and chowder.

And while you’re walking around, you’ll want to check out all the little shops. I love being able to buy local, especially things that will always remind of home and our time here. Here’s some of my favorite finds…

The Knotty Sailor (I love a good nautical pun!) is the perfect gift shop for all those Maine souvenirs. This shop has it all…t-shirts, magnets, trinkets, buoys and MORE.

I was on the hunt for some small things to personalize my boy’s rooms (since we’re living in a Winter rental) and boy did I score big in The Knotty Sailor!! I found this AMAZING red and white vintage flag to hang over my son’s bed as well as this painted wooden buoy- I just love everything red and blue! I also found this sweet little wooden sailboat, for my youngest’s dresser and this Maine state shaped cookie-cutter by Ann Clark Ltd., will go perfectly with my lobster and moose cookie-cutters.

Junebug’s Beach House, specializes in unique, handcrafted goods made in the USA. It has the most amazing items for both your home and your pets! Again, I scored big on finding perfect things for my boy’s rooms. I’m completely obsessed with my reclaimed lobster rope garland by STERN LINES, made here locally. I’m lucky enough to also own one of their lobster rope doormats, go check them out! Lastly, my new red and blue striped buoy pillow by MAINE MADE might be my new favorite accessory for my son’s big boy bed!

There’s lots more to see and do here…off to the Marginal Way we go!

Maine Family Adventure: Nubble Light

We arrived safely in Maine on August 1st and I was giddy with excitement to head out and explore the area…unpacking just had to wait another day! As a kid, whenever family or friends were visiting us in the Southern Maine area, we always brought them to this special spot. Nubble Lighthouse is located in York, Maine and is a must-see in the area. I was told as a child, it’s the most photographed lighthouse in the world!!! I’m not sure if that’s true, but thirty-some years later, it’s still one of my most favorite places to see and of course photograph.

It was pretty foggy when we arrived, so we could hardly view Nubble. This small rowboat is anchored to the rocks, which was perfect (and safe), for my boys to explore and for me to capture (double bonus).

I might be biased, but isn’t he SO handsome!

If you’re planning to view Nubble Lighthouse, then you need to eat lunch at Fox’s Lobster House. You can’t beat the view from the picnic tables, which is just a quick walk from the lighthouse’s parking-lot. The New England Clam Chowder is always my go to, you can never go wrong with chowder and a lobster roll…right? After lunch, head to Dunne’s Ice Cream (it was formally Browns Ice Cream when I was growing-up), for some tasty homemade ice cream.

Maine Family Adventure: Moving to Maine

Welcome to my new blog!! I’m Tiffany (lifestyle portrait photographer) and my family and I just recently moved from Charleston, South Carolina to York, Maine for the next 10 and a half months. I’m new to the whole blogging world and to be honest I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing (which is VERY scary), but I love capturing images that tells a story…and what better story to tell then my OWN! My hope is by documenting and sharing our own adventures, we’ll inspire other families to take the leap and follow a dream of theirs.

So why move your family over 1000 miles from beautiful Charleston to Southern Maine for just 10 months, you might ask? Well, It’s always been a dream of mine to once again live back home in Maine. I grew up in the small town of Eliot, ME and attended college at University of New Hampshire (GO BLUE!), which was just a couple towns away from my home town. I came to Charleston in 2006 after returning home from the Peace Corps (more on that later!), excited to live in a new place for a couple of years. And 12 years later…here I still am!!

Every fall in Charleston, when I’m dripping in sweat while at the local pumpkin patch or sitting in the stadium at a college football game, my heart aches for the cooler, crisp sweater-wearing weather of home. Maine was the most magical place to grow-up and a place I want my boys to love as well. So this past fall, after another season of Maine calling (really SCREAMING) my name, I thought…why not try to move back to New England for a year. And that’s where this crazy idea became…MIZZELLS MOVE TO MAINE!!

These are my two boys…my world.

I hope you’ll take this ride with us, as I give you a glimpse of all our adventures here, as well as how we made this all possible.