After a long winter, spring always starts achingly slowly, taking its sweet time to unfurl until the whole world seems to stutter into life all at once. It’s easy to give into impatience and miss those first few days, when the bravest trees start to bloom but the weather hasn’t quite decided which way to turn.

‍January is decidedly not high season in Maine. The small towns along the coast are sleeping through the season’s short days and the weather forecast is anything but welcoming to outsiders. Mainers embrace the beauty of this time of year, though. They pull themselves out into the elements to enjoy every bit of the season, no matter what it brings.

Supper ended after a gorgeous sunset ushered in a peaceful evening and the lights twinkled on across the city skyline. Guests lingered around the table late into the night, sipping on dessert cocktails and reveling on our little community created just for the day, on this rooftop in the city, so far away from the many realities waiting below.