Category Archives: Likes

Family Road Trip

06 Thursday Jun 2013

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We managed to survive (and even have fun) on a nine day driving trip with a two and four-year-old.  This was our last adventure as a family of four before the baby arrives in August.  We used Air B&B to book all of the places we stayed and were super happy with the results.  The houses we found were amazing and cost much less than hotels.  Here are some of the highlights from the week:

*Driving in the Smoky Mountains

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs Va

*White Duck Taco, Ashville NC

*Air B&B Apartment in Converted Garage, Ashville NC

*Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY

*Horse Country, KY

*Bright Crayon Colors at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Graffiti, Ashville NC

*Hatch Show Print Archives, Nashville TN

*Racing Silks, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington

*Truckers Chapel, KY

*Warrior Motel, Cherokee NC

*Downtown, Nashville TN

*Restored Woolworth’s Soda Fountain, Ashville NC

*View from the Bathroom, Air B&B Rental at Warm Springs Cottage, Warm Springs VA

*Strange Scenery, Somewhere Near Dollywood, TN

*Barista Parlor, Nashville TN

*Driving Over the Smoky Mountains, TN

*Hatch Show Print, Nashville TN

*Water Tower, NJ

*Kid Breakfast at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Caverns of Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Farmer’s Market Fruit, Nashville TN

*Surprise Memorial Day Fireworks at The Homestead, Hot Springs VA

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs VA

*Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Tadpoles! Natural Bridge VA

*Wild Turkey Country, TN

*Kentucky Horse Park Lexington

*Clouds and Windshield Bugs, Driving Through NC

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Flea Market Finds: Vintage Barware

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Likes, Organizing, Vintage

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Stirrers

The neighborhood stoop sales were especially good this past weekend.  We barely made it to Ada’s school festival because we kept returning to the estate sale of a former set designer from New Orleans.  The sale was full of vintage Christmas ornaments, beads and glassware.  I found these stirrers for $.50.  The beaker is from a different sale and has pretty numbers etched into the glass.  It set us back $1.  How I love a good stoop sale!  We have been collecting nicer pieces for our “bar” (a shelf in the kitchen at the moment).  Chris likes to mix up a cocktail in one of his grandparents’ tumblers when we watch Mad Men.  (And he has been making me a virgin ginger beer version).  Everything tastes better when it is sipped out of a fancy glass.

Hudson Valley Seed Library

02 Thursday May 2013

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The Hudson Valley Seed Library offers heirloom and non-GMO seeds wrapped in beautiful packages.  Each seed pack is designed and illustrated by a different artist and contains a bit about the history and origin of the seeds.  The girls and I recently planted some of the borage and Basil seeds in our garden.  The borage is for the bees and the basil is for our salads.  Hudson Valley Seed Library’s seeds would make perfect wedding favors or party thank-yous.  The seed packs are not only pretty, they are also playing an important role in preserving heritage seeds and plants for the next generations.

A Visit to Portland (Maine)

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

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I got to spend this past weekend in beautiful Portland Maine. I went without the kids for my cousin’s baby shower and managed to get a whole day to myself walking around the city.  I haven’t been in Portland for years, but was happy to see some of my favorite stores were still alive and well.  The flight from JFK takes only about 45 minutes and the airport in Portland is about a 15 minute drive to downtown.  The city is full of good food and beautiful views and old cobble streets.  Here are a few treasures from the weekend:

*Yarn, yarn, yarn and patterns for baby sweaters from KnitWit on Congress Street.  I especially liked their selection of Maine-made yarns and picked up some pretty Swans Island colors.  (I got a little ambitious, and am trying for three sweaters for the new baby by August).

*German Kite Making Paper from Circa Home on Congress Street.  I can’t wait to look up some kite patterns to make with the girls.  Circa Home is relatively new and has a well-edited and affordable mix of vintage and new housewares, toys and office/art supplies.  I fell in love with a set of vintage children’s gardening tools in the window.

*One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey, Seaweed Soap and Cotton Dishtowels by the Yard are from Folly 101 on Exchange Street.  I remember my Great-Grandmother always had dishtowels like these, bought by the yard and then hemmed at home.  I picked up the One Morning in Maine book as a shower gift.  It has the most beautiful vintage illustrations and makes me want to move out to a remote island on the Maine coast.  McCloskey also wrote and illustrated Make Way for Ducklings – one of our all-time favorite books.  Folly 101′s owner Astrid is also a stylist and has a great eye for simple, beautiful housewares.

I had a great weekend visiting family, watching the water and wandering around Portland.  But I am happy to be home again with my family, and happy to have some new projects to look forward to.

Cheating on Mrs. Meyers

26 Friday Apr 2013

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Caldrea

I love Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, I really do.  I have used their natural cleaning products for years.  But when I am pregnant and have super smelling powers the fragrance of Mrs. Meyer’s can make my head spin.  (Did I mention we are expecting a third baby in August?)  So, when I spotted Caldrea dish soap at Target the other day I gave them a cautious sniff.  They smell amazing!  The scents seemed powerful and fresh without being overpowering.  I gathered up some Hibiscus Yuzu, Citron Ginger and Blackberry Mint.  They cost $5.99 each and the bubbles turned out to last for an entire sinkful of dishes.  (We are crazy people who eat off of vintage dishes and glassware and never use our dishwasher because it would harm the bakelite and wash away Swanky Swigs decals).  The Caldrea soap smell seemed to pleasantly last through washing but did not linger for the next several hours.  I will have to seriously consider my return to Mrs. Meyer’s after the baby comes and my Spidey Sense wanes.

Garden Inside

25 Thursday Apr 2013

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Flowers

We are so excited to have flowers in the back yard!  I have wanted a cutting garden of my own since I worked designing wedding bouquets years ago.  Our garden is just starting out this spring, but we were able to do a bit of cutting from the bulbs we planted in the fall.  I am in love with these checkered Fritillaria and the Hyacinth and Daffodils smell wonderful.  We purchased our bulbs from White Flower Farm in Connecticut and the resulting plants have been strong and vibrant.  We are trying to stick to a blue/purple/white/cream color palette.  Although this scheme has morphed a bit as Chris recently purchased some giant yellow sunflower seeds, some of the tulip colors are slightly different than the catalog image, and Chris’ parents are giving us some beautiful pink peonies from their yard.  We are looking forward to figuring out the flowering schedule and filling in with new plants every season.  This is what has come up and bloomed in the garden so far:

*Narcissus Cheerfulness

*Narcissus Manly (Huge blooms!)

*Fritillaria Persica Adiyaman

*Fritillaria Meleagris (I love this!)

*Hyacinth Blue Eyes

*Hyacinth Miss Saigon (These smell wonderful)

*Tulip Backpacker

*Tulip Champagne Diamond (So beautiful!)

Happy Spring!

Charcoal Water Purifier

12 Friday Apr 2013

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I have been trying to escape our habit of keeping a Brita pitcher on the counter.  It makes our water taste better, but the unattractive plastic container hurts my eyes.  I came across this Kishu Binchotan Charcoal at Dry Goods in Brooklyn last weekend.  (See my post about my new favorite store Dry Goods here).  This charcoal is actually just a piece of ceramic-like burned wood, charred at super high temperatures.  The charcoal absorbs impurities in the water and makes it taste much better.  The Brita and many other filters use the same charcoal technology.  But these Binchotan sticks look better and don’t come ground up and housed in disposable plastic.  (Technically NYC water is safe to drink without a filter, and we had ours tested to be sure there is no lead in our old pipes.  But I grew up with well water and I like ours to have that similar taste).  I boiled the Binchotan Charcoal for ten minutes per the directions, dropped it into my vintage ice tea pitcher and let it sit for a couple of hours.  I was thrilled to find that the taste is as clean, and even better than water from the Brita.  This glass pitcher is a welcome addition to our countertop.  Ebay has a great number of inexpensive vintage glass pitchers here if you want one of your own.  Cheers!

Dry Goods

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

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I got to spend a sunny Saturday wandering around Atlantic Avenue with friends this weekend.  (Thank you to the Dads for kid-watching!)  We stumbled into a sweet shop named Dry Goods and ended up spending an hour in the tiny, well-stocked space.  I have a weakness for useful and beautiful housewares in pretty packages and Dry Goods is stocked full of just these.  The owner Carla travels, stockpiles and curates the collection and offered a wealth of information about some unfamiliar products: Charcoal Toothbrushes!  Swedish Sea Salt Soap! Hair Powder!  Here are some of my favorite finds:

*Kishu Binchotan Charcoal Water Filters – These simple charcoal sticks purify tap water, are reusable and look much nicer than the plastic Brita on our counter.

*Couto Toothpaste – Created by a Portugese pharmacist in 1932, super-minty, and all-natural.

*Sea Salt Soap – This Swedish soap has the best packaging ever and people swear by its sea salt formula.  A customer came in and bought a case while we were in the store.

*Binchotan Charcoal Toothbrush – The bristles of this brush contain actual charcoal to help clean and prevent the growth of bacteria.

*Lu Lu Organics Hair Powder - Magically cleans hair without a shower.  Great for travel and smells lovely.

*Herbacin Kamille Glycerine Hand Cream – This German cream has a smell that is light and reminds me of my childhood somehow.  It leaves hands soft.

*Paine’s Balsam Fir Incense – These all-natural incense logs smell like an entire balsam fir forest.

Favorite Toddler Toys: Dried Bean Tea Party

25 Monday Mar 2013

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One of our kids’ favorite games involves a bunch of dried beans and some empty bowls.  There is something that fascinates little kids about moving volumes from one container to another.  The beans we use are large pinto and white lima beans and we have saved and reused them for over 3 years now.  We spread out a tablecloth, put out some empty containers and spoons and let the kids go to town.  The beans rarely all stay on the tablecloth, but those that do are easy to scoop up at the end of play.  Josie has been using her new favorite recycled plastic tea set by Green Toys with her beans lately.  (Thanks Aunt Heather and Uncle Tim!)

*Our kids have always been pretty good about not putting things in their mouths, but keep an eye on the little ones.

DIY Stuffed Bunny

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Maggie

I saw this Miss Maggie Rabbit doll on Apartment Therapy last week and thought she would be perfect for the girls’ Easter baskets.  Alicia Paulson sells the PDF pattern for Miss Maggie on her sweet site Posie: Rosie Little Things.  The site also has kits for sale if you don’t have your own stash of fabrics to make Miss Maggie, but they are currently sold out.  (She has more coming soon, so keep checking).  I managed to find all of the needed  materials in our fabric and yarn scrap boxes.  The pattern includes instructions for the hand-stitched felt rabbit and her boots, machine-sewn floral dress, and hand-knit capelet- thus winning points in all three of my favorite crafting areas.  Our rabbits are now in mid-production, but I wanted to post now so you still have time to make your own before Easter.  Happy stitching!