Anna Brietta

freeformhappiness.com

[annabrietta]

Hello Lords and Ladies!

My life has gotten crazy busy… but I managed to sneak in a bit of fun!

About a month ago (so long already?!) I was sent free tickets to go enjoy a local renaissance faire in Carver, Massachusetts, King Richard’s Faire!

I’ve been before, (read about last years trip here), and was TOO excited to go again this year!  It’s just such a lovely place, and HEAVEN for the fantasy fanatic in me.

See all of my pictures from it in this other blog post.

Instead of talking about the faire in general, and about what I did while I was there (pretty much the same as last year) I decided I’d do more of a “What to Pack” type of thing.  Because King Richard’s Faire is an all day affair!  You must be ready for whatever the faire throws at you!

Also, I’m obsessed with being prepared.

Here’s my list of KRF essentials:

  Comfortable Bag.

Huh?  You heard me.  You need something that will fit all you need, while also being comfortable to wear all day.  For me, purses/one shoulder bags end up making my back and shoulders hurt, and regular backpacks are just too bulky.  So I found a super cute and chic little backpack.  It fit all I needed, but was small enough that it didn’t make my back hurt.  WOO!

Layers.

Because in Autumn at an outdoor faire, layers are your friend.  Most of the faire is in the shade, though there are parts in the sun.  And if you’re like me, you go for the WHOLE day (10:30-6), so will encounter a few different temperatures… If you wear a costume, GOOD ON YA! But don’t forget that cape!

Comfy shoes.

SO NEEDED!  You’ll be walking (or in my case excitedly bouncing) around the faire all day, and when you see shows, you may have to stand, so wear a shoe that won’t give you blisters or make you’re feet ache by lunchtime!

Also take into account that the faire is outside in the woods, so your shoes will get dusty.  Or muddy if it has been raining!  Wear a shoe that is either easy to clean, or shoes that you don’t mind getting a lil dirty!

Weather appropriate accessories

Raincoat, sunscreen, sunhat, shorts, mittens, sunglasses, flower crowns…… you name it!  Check the weather and be prepared!

Money

As much as I LOVE KRF, they are EXPENSIVE!  The food is a bit overpriced in my opinion, but it’s still super tasty.  (and you can’t bring in your own food…)  Make sure you have money for food, drink, games, and all of the WONDERFUL vendors they have there.

Hand wipes

Because after that giant turkey leg that is so delicious… you’ll want something to clean up your hands and face.

Pencil/Highlighter

To plan your day!  You get a map with a schedule of all the different shows and events going on.  You’ll want something to plan out your day so that you see all of the things you want to!

Portable Power Bank

Because you’ll be taking SO MANY pictures, your phone will probably die… or in my case you’ll lose spend a lot of time calling and texting the friends you lost when you wandered away from the group in a distracted, blissful daze….so bring a power bank to re-charge it!

Misc. Normal Day Trip Things

Ya know… band-aids, mints/gum, chap stick, hand sanitizer, hair ties… always be prepared!  You never know what will happen!

Most importantly….Your Tickets!

If you get your tickets ahead of time… don’t be a fool like me and ALMOST FORGET THEM!  I was literally getting into the car and my friend said “Do you have the tickets?” NOPE!  Phew… that was almost a disaster.

If you live in the New England area and LOVE fall activities/history/fantasy/a good time… GO TO KING RICHARD’S FAIRE!  It is honestly one of my favorite times of the year.  It’s like walking into a fairy tale!

The food is delicious, the games are so fun and unique (hello dagger throwing!), THERE’S MEAD, the buildings are beautiful and colorful, and the canopy of trees always above you is so gorgeous, it’s a dream.  I seriously love it there.

As I said last year, I will warm you that it is a money pit.  If I didn’t get free tickets, I probably wouldn’t have gone, even though I love it so much!  I just don’t have the money.

BUT!

King Richard’s Faire is SO GOOD at giving everyone an opportunity at free tickets.  LOTS of local blogs do giveaways with free tickets, the faire itself has Free Ticket Fridays on Facebook (like their page!), and local business also give out free tickets.  There are SO MANY ways to get in for free, so if you do a little research, I’m sure you can find something!

This faire is fun for all ages, and an experience you will never forget.

Huzzah!

Check out my photos from the day… go to this post!

      King Richard’s Faire: Your Faire Essentials Hello Lords and Ladies! My life has gotten crazy busy... but I managed to sneak in a bit of fun!

[annabrietta]

I took SO MANY PICTURES!

So many that I was WAY to lazy and busy to go through all of them and pick out the best.  Sooooo… enjoy!

    King Richard’s Faire… The Photos! I took SO MANY PICTURES! So many that I was WAY to lazy and busy to go through all of them and pick out the best.  Sooooo... enjoy!

[annabrietta]

Oh it's Saturday? I honestly didn't notice... So much work and arranging to do 🎼

[annabrietta]

The watchdog thinks she is being sneaky hiding behind a plant 👀😻 . . . #stella #stellabella #watchdog #pupstagram #pupper #pup #dog #doggo #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #mutt #muttsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescue #adoptdontshop #adorable (at Salem, Massachusetts)

[annabrietta]

Posts Of Note – Week 21

[annabrietta]

The End of Summer Does Not Mean the End of Happiness.

The End of Summer Does Not Mean the End of Happiness.

Wait… It’s the last day of August?  When did that happen? Where did the summer go? I know, I know, summer isn’t actually over yet… but it’s really starting to feel like it’s ending. All of the stores have sweaters and long pants, gearing up for fall. Sunset is noticeably earlier everyday, decreasing our minutes of sunshine already. The night time temperatures are dipping to sweatshirt levels. And…

View On WordPress

[annabrietta]

Music Monday: Beyonce at the VMAs

Music Monday: Beyonce at the VMAs

I’m gonna keep this short because… Beyonce. She’s perfect.  Amazing.  Queen. If you need some Monday blues inspiration…here it is.  Be Beyonce. She just keeps getting better. Have a Beyonce Monday.  

View On WordPress

[annabrietta]

She has spotted a chipmunk on shore...#huntingface #gametime . . . #stella #stellabella #pupper #pupstagram #dogstagram #doggo #dog #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #mutt #muttsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #chinamaine #chinalake #maine #lake (at China Lake)

[annabrietta]

Stella says good morning! . . . #stella #stellabella #pupper #pupstagram #dogstagram #doggo #dog #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #mutt #muttsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #chinamaine #chinalake #maine #lake (at China Lake)

[annabrietta]

It's like glass...I want to live in the morning forever. . . . #chinamaine #maine #chinalake #lake #peaceful #calm #beautiful #perfection #morning #goodmorning #happiness (at China Lake)

[annabrietta]

How I felt about this game. #ilost (at China Lake)

[annabrietta]

Homemade mojito ✅ Lake ✅ Sunshine ✅ This, my friends, is happiness. . . . #summer #drinks #mojito #mint #sun #sunshine #lake #chinamaine #maine #happy #happiness (at China Lake)

[annabrietta]

Happy national dog day the the prettiest, cuddliest, silliest, cutest, fiercest pup I know. 😍Now stop making me take you to the vet every weekend. 😿 . . . #nationaldogday #stella #stellabella #pupper #pupstagram #doggo #dog #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #muttsofinstagram #mutt #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #sleepy #sleepypuppy #cute #cozy

[annabrietta]

View this post on Instagram

Stella with her best bud Trigg. Let's face it, they're in love. . . . #stella #stellabella #pupper #pupstagram #doggo #dog #dogs #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #mutt #muttsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #playtime #love #inlove #puppylove

[annabrietta]

Watermelon! Tastes like summer in a glass 😎 . . . #watermelon #watermeloncooler #drinks #summer #yum #tasty (at Bambolina)

[annabrietta]

HI!

I haven’t blogged in a while…. I went on vacation, and then my laptop just decided to not work anymore… so I had to wait until tech support (dad) could fix it….

But it’s fixed! (for now…)

So what’s been going on in your life, Anna?

Well!  I went on the yearly big family vacation to China, Maine, and it was super duper fun.  Might do a post on it…probs will.  So I won’t say much more on it here.

When we got home from Maine, Stella was soooooooo sick and had two vet trips in two days.  Ugh.  But she got lots of drugs and after a week was feeling much better.  I won’t go into details about the sicked because it was MESSY and pretty gross.  But I will say that at one point when I thought I had cleaned it all…. I stepped in a hidden gift.

MOVING ON!

The next Sunday, my family/friends decided to go paddle boarding on the ocean.  We obvi brought Stella, and she did a bit of frantic swimming.  “Frantic” becasue she really doesn’t swim by choice, and only swam because she was trying to come save us paddle boarders.  Poor little puppy!  It was a stressful couple of hours for her

Turns out she swam a bit too hard and injured her tail.

Lil injured puppy burrito

  I thought she was like dying.  She was moving so slowing the day after we were at the ocean.  She looked so sad, and she was never comfortable.  She would just slowly get up to find a new place to lay down every few minutes.  I can’t even explain how sad she looked.

Her tail was straight down all the time, and she wouldn’t sit down.  I had no idea what was going on, especially when she just seemed to be getting worse as the day went on.  I didn’t know if she was sick, or hurt.  So back we went to the vet, and it turns out it was swimmers tail.  Yes folks, that’s a thing.  I was just as flabbergasted as you.

Monday nigtht after the vet, she finally fell asleep

Swimmers tail: a.k.a. Limber tail syndrome, cold water tail, broken tail, dead tail, broken wag, sprung tail.

I just love all of those names!  lolz

Apparently it is very common in dogs when they swim in the ocean.  They end up over working their tail trying to keep steady with all of the waves and currents in the ocean.

Very painful, and boy could you tell… the poor pup.  I’ve never seen her look so sad.

A sad, groggy pup on pain killers

But the vet gave her two different pain killers and she started feeling much better.  They made her soooooo groggy, but that just meant she could sleep easier.  (and made her super silly and even more cute… if that’s even possible)

The poor little pup was in so much pain though that she didn’t even pee until like 3:00pm that first day. :(  It hurt to squat down.  Poor lil Stella!!!

I got her a giant moose to help her feel better

Her tail has been looking better everyday, though a week and a half later it’s not 100%.  You can see it’s still a lil swollen, she nibbles at it a lot, and she’s not a fan of anyone touching it.  But it curls and wags a bit more everyday!

  So dog owners beware!   It could happen to your lil pups! Stella wasn’t even in the water for very long!

Is a dog with a broken tail even a dog at all?

(yes, obvi)

A dog that can’t wag their tail is a sad dog indeed. HI! I haven't blogged in a while.... I went on vacation, and then my laptop just decided to not work anymore...

[annabrietta]

Get outside and open your eyes 🌻🌸🌷🌹🌼🍃🌞 . . . #summer #garden #flowers #green #beautiful #nature #outside #ropesmansion #ropesmansiongarden #salem #salemmassachusetts #salemma (at Ropes Mansion)