eat dessert first

What is your favorite quote?

I’m not sure who said this originally: Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first

But I will always attribute it to my dear friend’s late father. Last summer, at her daughter’s wedding, when I arrived at my seat for the reception, this was my place setting.

And in that spirit, here’s a photo of an amazing dessert I had last night. (I actually had it after dinner, but I was not too full and enjoyed every bite.)

The flavor is “vanilla blueberry crumble” and it is delicious. It’s vanilla with fresh blueberries and graham crackers from the locally famous Kimball Farm.

That’s a small! (I finished it, obvi)

I don’t know if other parts of the country have local ice cream stands that were originally dairy farms operated by hearty, entrepreneurial types who decided to expand into ice cream in the early part of the 20th century, but eastern Massachusetts has many great options. Many have been in continuous operation since before WW2 and the ice cream is amazing.

Here are my top four:

Kimball Farm

Bedford Farms

Great Brook State Park

Crescent Ridge Dairy Bar

33 thoughts on “eat dessert first

    1. Thank you! iPhone cameras are so good now!
      (It was my first time having that flavor, which was highly recommended by my son who worked there in high school.)

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    1. They are special. I was just thinking last night how they are almost entirely unchanged since I was a kid. No app, no “reward” programs, just a great summer experience as always.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. A girl after my own heart!
      Whenever my husband and I go out for lunch or dinner together we work backwards on the menu, looking at the desserts first 😊. Any place we go where the dessert menu doesn’t live up to our expectations never gets a repeat visit

      That ice cream looks so good and we are fortunate to have a local Cotswolds ice cream factory nearby which I featured in a recent blog post: https://amidlifeadventure.org/2026/06/01/exploring-the-best-local-foods-during-my-travels/

      I’m definitely a fan of ice cream 😋

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  1. This is so lovely, Mary. It seems such a simple saying, but then you unfolded it so beautifully that I feel I have eaten dessert this morning. ❤

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  2. OMG love blueberries!! Peaches too!! Nice photo! Up here in Ontario, Canada we have Kawartha Dairy ice cream… so good!!

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    1. They make a peach ice cream at my local place, but it’s seasonal. I need to try it. Thanks for reminding me!
      I’m glad Ontario has one too. 🙂

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  3. Those old dairy-farm ice cream stands are one of the great underrated reasons to road trip New England — we’ve absolutely rerouted a drive to hit one. Vanilla blueberry crumble sounds worth the detour. And what a way to inherit a mantra: from a place setting at a wedding, in memory of your friend’s dad. We may adopt ‘eat dessert first’ as official family travel policy.

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