My new home!

In January I moved into a new house. A tiny little house that's basically just two rooms, stacked on top of each other. It's small, but amazingly, fits all the stuff I need. Plus, it's a short walk from the cafe, the dance studio, the food co-op, the hair salon, the dentist, the book store, the library, the grange hall (where the farmers market and community musical rehearsals are), the hardware store, the art supply store and the community garden. Phew. Main street could still use a few more stores, but for now it serves me well. I'm super close to the lake too! It's nice to get local eggs around the corner. And a latte. As far as small town Maine goes, I'm pretty lucky!

I sit in this chair to knit, rug hook and quilt. I often have to wrestle it away from my fur ball, Louis. Often, we can compromise and just share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The kitchen features a tiny gas stove (rare in Maine) and a moveable table. I love this. I can use it to help cook, eat or cut fabric. After getting to work in a huge studio for a while, the smaller space takes a bit of getting used to. I actually have to pick up when I'm done or else I'll have a side of thread with breakfast! I can't really work or store on anything too gigantic,  but I can move the table at least, to make a quilt sandwich.

Upstairs is my bedroom, a tiny office alcove(behind the orange partition) and my bathroom, which has the best shower ever! It also has open shelving, so I decided to get some tins at the flea market to hide away my 'less pretty' toiletries.

 

Where I sew...

plus a washer & dryer!!

 

Some experimental things I've been making for a show in May

Apron Endeavor

I'm now selling  aprons at Cafe Nomad, the awesome cafe in my town where I also work. This is my second batch thanks to the lovely "Main Street Supporters" out there! I'm also selling knitting needle cases at Artful Hands a little further up Main street, but I don't have photo's just yet. So fun to make each one be different.

FALLing in love...

Isn't it amazing that when you set forth to cook all day, suddenly it's three and you realize you haven't eaten a 'real' meal yet? You nibble on this, test that, drink a glass of wine (just to make sure it'll add the right flavor to your pot roast of course) and just feel stuffed with aromas.

This is just that day. Waking to a quiet cup of coffee with a little knitting, followed by a walk around the garden harvesting herbs and then chop chop!  I roasted a chicken with rosemary, sage & thyme butter, am marinating even more chicken for my uncles favorite dish and put a pot roast in the slow cooker with tons of fresh herbs, veggies and secret ingredients to pop the flavor. Oh yeah, also, a cooks illustrated banana bread variation that is delicious! I'm eating it right now and it's the most of one thing I've eaten yet today.

Fall always pushes me toward the kitchen... to roast, stew, or bake things, which I meet with pleasure. I'm happy to be here. I'm just in love with the way things are right now. Except for tea-parties that don't involve stuffed animals and imaginary friends (or do they??) but that's a story for a different blog!

Adding to the FALLing in love... an adventure to the county fair. I've already decided that next year I want to submit items and try to win so many ribbons!

Turning 30!

It sure is lovely to have a pal who's a photographer and is also willing to snap photos at your birthday party! Thanks Emily!! 

 

I didn't plan on having glow sticks at my 30th birthday party, we just found them in a cupboard, I swear!

Emily also set up a photo corner, which was pretty fun!

 

Please take a moment to check out Emily's beautiful work!!

She does it ALL and I really looking forward to future projects with her!

Early, gray waves and droplets.

Sometimes...you just have to go to the ocean.

And sometimes, someone has left behind little rock pile sculptures that make you a lot happier than you were before you got there. 

Determined to give even the tiniest rocks a rumble, each grey wave's retreat proved louder than it's initial crashing.

 

Going Home

My apartment in a truckA few days ago I loaded all my possessions into a rental truck and made the seven hour drive back to Maine... with my cat. Thankfully my pal Sarah came a long for the ride and kept Louis (the cat) from jumping in my face. He chilled on the dashboard mostly while I admired the leaves and made small talk, unable to comprehend all I was leaving behind.

The time to move from Brooklyn hit me like a ton of bricks. Really? Leave the coolest place? (it is right?) Why? I have everything I'll ever need here. It's hip, happening and there's so much to do! Right. There's so much to do. At any given moment you could be doing something else much cooler, with much cooler people, wearing much cooler clothes or shoes. My friends are pretty rad, so I tended to focus on the shoes part and since I was almost always broke, buying such things was usually out of the question. Oh NY, how you inflated my insecurities!

My Marks family send off. They all came to wave goodbye, heart wrenching, but much appreciated!But I don't want to dwell on the darkness, because the city is a fabulous place, I'm sure in time I'll even be able to lift my "I heart NY" mug high, but it just wasn't working out.

Of course I have HUGE plans of doing everything I ever wanted in life in this new magical land of opportunity, but for now...I'm content to collect my thoughts, breathe fresh air, talk to people I haven't seen in years, invest in some new projects and find my smile.

Things I will miss:

  • My pals and their kids
  • The flea and these pickles
  • The slate sidewalks covered in leaves and a little rain
  • The Brooklyn Bridge
  • Brooklyn being part of my addressThe Marks brought me a parting gift and as I opened it 2 year old Clarissa said "Happy Bithday Gimmie!" which just killed me!
  • Bike riding in all seasons (ok, I didn't really do that, but at least I could!)
  • Brooklyn Family Thanksgivings
  • Being able to get almost anything at anytime
  • Being able to drink as much as you want and still get home safely (hello subway/car service!)
  • Things being open past 9pm!
  • The skyline
  • Parties on my roof

Things I won't miss

  • Traffic
  • Being underground
  • Cockroaches
  • The anger... in every line, street corner, subway car, driver...
  • Carrying my bike up four flights!

L.L. Bean is in my blood

When you're from Maine, it's pretty much a given that you'll own at least one piece of clothing or tote bag from L.L. Bean in your lifetime. Most people have more than that, myself included. The clothes don't really fit my preferred 'look' but I'm proud to sport their boots, bags and long underwear.  With each year that passes in my life here in Brooklyn, I strangely feel more and more like a Mainer! I keep finding that I need more outdoor gear (especially when dealing with the elements at the Flea market) like rain coats & boots, toe warmers, snow boots and long underwear, so I've been checking in with good ol L.L. more than I ever used to.  

Sure, I could probably find some rainboots here in NY and a rain coat, but you know what? I don't trust them as much. (*disclaimer* I'm am aware that there are other reputable outdoor retailers besides L.L. Bean) Once I bought a cute pair of rainboots from Marc Jacobs, which were super, super cute, but only lasted a few weeks before getting holes! If that happened at Beans, you could march right back and get a brand new pair, or something else, no questions asked. They have great customer service, which I'd like to reward with my patronage and I really like being able to visit the store with my Mom  at all hours of the night! So, from now on I plan look there first and if I can work it into my 'look', I'm going for it!

I was quite surprised at how many things I found today! I just wanted some new rain boots!

 

Yes folks, there is a skort up there, I can't believe it!! And even though I'm not much of a camper, yet, I found all kinds of cute gear, mainly that rad orange stove! I didn't add this picnic tote bag because it looks so much like their well known canvas totes, but instead it's an insulated cooler! So great, since coolers are usually so uggers!

I love MAINE!

Loving Maine

Onrej, longing for Maine...Over the holidays, I was fortunate to be able spend two weeks away from New York, at home in Maine. I had to bring work home with me and as a result, couldn't justify taking any big adventures. I'll be the first to admit that there were definitely a few stir crazy days. For the most part though, I enjoyed the relaxing time hanging out with my mom and running into people at the local cafe.  I did a little flea market shopping, visited long lost pals, picked up a new craft (needle felting!!) and astonishingly, without even intending to,  stopped my terrible nail biting habit!! We'll see how long I can last back in the stressful environment of the city, but so far so good. Three weeks and counting!! I can hardly even believe it. I wish I could say it was my new year resolution and take credit... but I don't even know how it happened! Something about the Maine air must have done it, or perhaps the lack of stress or need to get anywhere... what ever the reason, I sure am thankful!

One of the most fun part of my trip was seeing my mom get excited about needle felting. I had picked up a little felted animals book on one of my last days home to show her and she quickly bought it for me and herself. Then on Sunday, my last day home, when most stores close early or aren't even open, she decided to call around to see who could outfit us with all the supplies. She found a place and quickly we were off. That night we sat at the table, felting our cute little penguins together, while my mom also transferred her cds to her computer and practiced taking pictures with her new digital camera. It was fun and really reminded me of being a kid on Christmas vacation, staying up late, playing with the new favorite toy and enjoying the not-so-eventful aspects of family. I can visualize a night years ago, of my mom, gram and I sitting at the very same table, under the very same light. I was definitely testing out the hot curlers I had gotten for Christmas, but other than that I have no idea what else we were doing.  Oddly, there tended to be a lot of solitaire playing at Christmastime... so that could have been it... I guess that wasn't the important part, or my brain would have remembered it.

Whenever I come back to the city I'm reminded how much I like Maine and this time was no different. I did however, make a few concrete observations that I wanted to put on a list, of why I love Maine:

  1. It's quiet
  2. Wherever I go, I seem to run into someone I know and that feels nice.
  3. There are a lot of trees everywhere and it smells good.
  4. At any given moment, no matter where you are (well, maybe not the mall) it seems like there are less than 70 people around you... usually waaaaay less.
  5. Tough laws for the better good: No smoking in your car with children under 16 & police are now allowed to pull people over for not wearing seat-belts.
  6. The Maine accent: it's a wicked good one

There's definitely more to come!