The Emerald Necklace

Time is moving so, so quickly!!! I'm moving out of my apartment in two weeks and moving to California in three!!! Ah!!!!!! I don't even want to update you on my packing progress ... I think I have a total of 4 boxes packed (gulp) but, maybe there will be some all-nighters to come. All-nighters and day trips, cuz no way am I missing out on summertime in New England. Yesterday I was hoping to visit New Hampshire with Jeff but instead we got cupcakes and bubble tea and hung around some little spot in Brookline (I really love living near the The Emerald Necklace, exploring is always the perfect go-to on uncertain summer days)

This is a little outfit I hope to wear to the Woodstock Fair (northern Connecticut, not New York) which is one of my childhood's summer staples. Typical county fair type stuff. Biggest pumpkin contests, fried food, and carnival rides. There's something about a colorful striped skirt that yells ferris wheel and cotton candy, oh and that zebra gum too!



Anyway, enough chatter. I have so much sewing and packing and sewing to do it's unreal. More to come though - I just realized I'm already two blog posts behind what I have pictures for!

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23

Well, the passing of 23 turned out to be a surprisingly lovely time. I've been dreading this day since I turned 22 (My favorite number is 2, and so 22 is the best! and it also holds a lotta sentimental value for other silly reasons, but I won't bore you with my numerology!) It started off at a little dance party in Cambridge where all the best folk in Boston came out to celebrate! It was also three of my roommate's birthdays in July so we had one great big party on Sunday and it couldn't have been nicer!

I started off my Monday morning with a few little sweets that my boy had sent to me. I'm still whining about the Ferry Boat Building Miette being out of strawberry balls, but - the other Italian chocolates were still nice! I decided on wearing that little 20's dress Amy gave to me at Elmwood. When I first saw it I declared it my birthday dress right there on the spot - so I don't know why I was himming and hawing about what to wear. Well, I think I needed one more accessory to go with it - and so I decided to go a little over the top and tie that floppy scarf in my hair!

Alice suggested I start a new spin on the birthday dress tradition too! 1920's dresses for my 20's, 1930's dresses for my 30's and so on and on! Yes, indeed!!



We headed off to Southern Vermont for a little New England exploration. We found our way to a really beautiful old graveyard. There was this little part that dipped down into a tiny valley in the back - we were hoping for a river to be there but it was only ferns, soft squishy grass and more head stones.








I also made Alice sit for a picture too!! Me 'n my little fairy baby... (hahaha, Alice - JOKE! JOKE!)



I have a few more pictures to share from our other adventures from the day - but that'll have to wait until tomorrow!!

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Golden Afternoon

I'm at my parents house for the weekend and I convinced my mom and dad to go to Dresser Hill Farm for dinner!! YES! There's nothing like side of the road ice cream shacks for summer nourishment. Fountain soda, chicken fingers, french fries - oh and a lil bit of mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone for dessert, yes please!

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This lovely farm happens to be located on a big 'ol hill and it never fails to have the most magical golden afternoon sunsets... I think back in the day when Jeff first started tinkering with cameras we found ourselves up there in the afternoon snappin' pics, maybe someday I'll drag him back to take some legit ones ... in the mean time - my dear mamma saved the day! (with my, ahem. iphone)



She's so cute, the backgrounds for each picture were all her thinkin' and I have to say she did a pretty perfect job framing them too!! (She told me a few times when I was complimenting her that she 'was an art major')



Thanks mom and dad for another perfect summer afternoon!!

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The Elmwood Time Capsule

I'm having trouble finding just the right words to properly convey just how much happiness there is in my heart right now. I think I woke up from a dream this afternoon as I slowly wound my little car Eastward around the twisty back roads of New Hampshire. I spent my yesterday and this morning visiting the most charming and beautiful house I ever did see, with the two most beautiful and charming girls I could ever imagine existing.

Everything was perfect from the moment I opened the front door and saw Amy's little dress collection, and heard Paul Whiteman drifting around the rooms...



I basically ran around the house on my tip toes like a little bebe in a candy shop taking pictures of everything. With my phone mind you, because I'm an idiot and forgot the battery/battery charger for Alice's little camera I've commandeered (I thought I'd charge it up a bit before I left, and instead I left without it!)







I'm almost 100% sure that my time at Elmwood will have been the very best part of my summer. Canoe rides, garden flowers, bare feet and wooden floor boards. screen doors, fire flies and maybe a mosquito or two... I'm so happy I got to peek inside that wonderful little house and be part of Amy and Ginny's world!!

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Spaces I daydream about

Three summers ago my dad and grandma were trying to clean out my great grandmother's house. No, not to sell - but to rent to new tenants. I spent an afternoon wandering around scrounging up little bits and pieces to take away from the house before the new folks moved in. I think about that day a lot, and daydream about moving in, a lot - it probably finds its way into my head at least once a day ....

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If I lived here I think I'd quit my job, forget California and do 1385 full time. The second floor has two bedrooms, one small enough to hold all my findings, the other would be perfect for a sewing room. And in between those two bedrooms is this beautiful floor ... I think I'd stack hat boxes and old time worn suitcases with a few stuffings for good measure. Or maybe I'd make it a sitting room of sorts.... so many possibilities!



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This is the bathroom and the pantry - the light is so pretty and the I love the tiles and the lovely little cubby cabinets. Maybe I'd replace that old crumbly bathtub with a claw foot tub, I think that'd be one nice upgrade.



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I think what brought this blog post on was that I was looking through some wallpaper designs and I thought about this wallpaper. I don't know if the new renters painted over anything. I cringe at the thought of it so I try to not to think about it.



It's perfect though. Prints done in a nice subtle way are always my favorite, and this one takes the cake.

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Last but not least, tin ceilings.....hellooo dream world...



I'm so mad at myself that I didn't get better pictures. I think my excuse was that my batteries died, or something lame like that... isn't that always the case? Fortunately though - there is another family owned space that I can't wait to take pictures in. I took some photos of it a while back and have been trying to decide if I should share them before Jeff and I go ... but I think I'll wait!!

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New England Institutions

I have a 'to do list' for tonight which is about 7 items long ... so what am I doing right now? Distracting myself with every possible thing I can think of... I managed to find the time to take a little stroll down memory lane and look through my iphoto.

So - as I was flipping through my pictures I realized I had some photos of a magical little place that exists in my life and I've never shared them! Coney Island... No, no - not the Coney Island - but the one in good 'ol Worcester, Massachusetts! (I'm saying this with a big cheesy grin on my face - if you've ever been to Worcester you understand what I'm talking about!)



My dad loooves this place - and I can't blame him, it's got a charm you just don't find in places anymore! It was built in 1918 and I don't think anything has changed except for the cars outside and the internet juke box. They're famous for their hot dogs, but I prefer a grilled cheese with a side of boxed chocolate milk - just like I had in grade school.





There's so much swoon worthy art deco detail in the architecture and the booths are covered in the carved out initials of old loves and forgotten flings. There's something so comforting about flopping your cafeteria tray onto one of those red chrome tables - perfectly worn in all the right places- to wait for that song you requested on the juke box. (my favorite is there is a mountain by Donovan)



It seems as though all my photos of the outside in daylight are gone-zo - but here's an old wardrobe remix photo from last winter.... I'm so sad that I cant find any of those photos right now because the outside color choices are just top notch! I'll have to get myself over there some warm sunny afternoon for my grilled cheese fix and a photo update!

** update! I was able to stop by on Easter Sunday and snap a couple pictures - unfortunately I only had my phone and it was closed - but at least I didn't feel like a crazed tourist standing in the middle of the road taking pictures!!!

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sneak

I'm alive, I swear! The past three weeks have been a total blur - seasonal/job/life transitions have taken up all of my time and it hasn't left too much room for the computer (this was that period of quietness I talked about before) But, here's a little sneak of the 1385 plans I keep hinting at. I wanted to get everything online by Sunday - but we ran out of light and this weekend is supposed to be all grey skies and rain clouds - so I'm hoping to get everything all set and ready to go for Thursday or Friday!

PS New England: Don't forget, Baked Fresh is October 5th. I'll be there under a bright yellow tent and there's going to be a whole slew of other lovely vendors - so please, please come visit! I'm excited - but until then, I have the longest to do list.... ah!

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The Long Crouch Woods

I had heard tales of abandoned bear cages somewhere inside of Franklin Park, but it was always one of those 'to do' things that gets pushed back and pushed back. Well, on Monday we finally found them!!

Apparently the cages were built in 1912 and then abandoned in the 50's. The dens were too too expensive for the city to keep up, and it turned into an illegal dumping ground. Over the years there have been grants to clean the place up and I'd say it looked like it was in pretty good shape!

Except for these guys, but I think the animals are actually my favorite thing about the dens!




There are no clear cut directions on how to get here, and it took the iphone, lots of driving around, and my internal navigation senses to find the place! (thank you dad for passing your keene sense of direction down to me!) The only advice I can offer is that they run parallel to Seaver Street, and there's a parking lot with tennis and basketball courts and a big white stadium near by. Walk away from the the parking lot and towards the stadium the first wide dirt path you see on the right goes into the woods and you'll find it along there. (I think it's the first path, then again - I found it on a pure hunch) It's only a 5 minute walk from the parking lot. I recommend going in the early morning hours or in the late afternoon, that funny orange glow makes the concrete a little more inviting!!













(Or should they now be called the raccoon dens?? harhar. There were three or four of them in there actin' all cute and stuff!)

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Harvard University's Museum of Natural History

Harvard University's Museum of Natural History is one of the very best places to visit in Boston, and I think it's one of the most underrated too. I suppose that's probably for the best though, because it's not very much fun to look at funny 'ol dead things with a crowd around you! If you live in Massachusetts, the museum is free on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. I always find a new favorite animal when I visit, and of course I have my old flames I'm sure to linger around a bit longer (the coelacanth is one of them!)

Someday I'm going to spend a few afternoons and photograph everything in there, but for now- here are a few of my favorite photos!! (there are a bunch, so click Read More to view!)

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