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Archive for April, 2012

The long awaited spring swap is now approaching!

SWAPmaine recently announced the date and location for the next city wide clothing swap! June 10th is the big day and Portland Flea for All is where it will all go down. That means if you’re in New England it’s about time for you to sort through your closets and pull out all of those pieces you never wear. You can swap them with the items that other people bring and go home with a brand new wardrobe for free. Here’s what I found at the first SWAPmaine, and also at the second. Excited? I thought you would be.

Keep an eye on their website for more info!

xx.

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Last weekend was my second time attending Mod Night!

The first was back in September and arguably one of my favourite nights of all time. Perhaps it was actually a little too much fun because it set the bar really high for this night which never really panned out to be what I expected. Oh well, at least I had a great excuse to dress up, right? I wore the vintage wiggle dress I found for free at the first SWAPmaine last spring and a pair of “go go” boots.

My absolute favourite thing about this dress is the collar! It’s the perfect little accent. I’m so in love with collars right now. I’d say you’ll probably be seeing more of them on my various internet spots say around May 10th or so {hint hint!}. Peter Pan, scalloped, classically shaped like this one – they’re all so darling!

Of course I opted for a beehive again, as well. Any excuse for me to wear one is good enough! But I have noticed that I think they’re getting bigger + bigger every time I style one! Kind of reminds me of Marie Antoinette. I’ll be careful not to let that sort of exuberance translate to other parts of my life.

Have you ever been to a Mod themed event or party? I’d love to see what you wore! This is definitely my preference as far as dressing up goes. It’s just so much fun.

Happy Saturday!

xx.

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Snapshots from our week:

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This was a week of goodbyes. On Tuesday night we met up with our friends at Novare Res and took over their back room with giggles and good times. I will miss that crew so, so much when we’re gone. They’re a dynamic group of friends that understand our unique humor and share so many of our interests that it’s uncanny. I always thought that Ryan and I were unlike anyone else, but we really feel like we fit in with our Howard Street/Congress Street/Thunderflat/Fort Sheridan friends. I know we won’t soon find friends as amazing as these.

As if those goodbyes weren’t bittersweet enough, on Wednesday night a party was thrown in our honor at work. A lot of our co-workers were present and all of the clients that we’ve been assisting for the past three and four years, too. It felt good to look around that big room at all of the people we’ve been working with for so long. I think our time in Portland was very well spent.

I’ve been feeling a lot like a lame duck, these past weeks. We still have time left here, but not enough that we could really start up new projects or plan new contributions. My focus has shifted to our new life, but we’re still here sitting in the old one waiting for Monday to come. And the ocean wind has been blowing fiercely as though it, too, can sense the change.

At this time next week I’ll be writing from New Hampshire!

xx.

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Our move-in day is next Monday!

And with less than a week left, I’m finding myself super inspired to decorate our new space! I’ve been scouring Pinterest for some ideas on how to use what we have to create a new and different look for our home and here are some of the images that have really gotten my gears turning:

I can’t wait to get settled in and share a new home tour with you! Our new apartment doesn’t have as much built-in personality {fireplaces, moulding, etc.} as the one we live in now, so I’ll be doing a lot of creative styling to try to bring it to life. But, I suppose that just makes it more challenging and more exciting!

I’ve already got a list of must-do move-in DIYs going for things like the tub caddy above and a mug tree. It may take us awhile to get to the point where we’re ready to share our space, but I couldn’t be more excited about pulling everything together. Furniture arrangement ideas fill my head and my studio space will be the first thing I focus on since my shop’s reopening is scheduled for May 10th!

So much to do, so little time!
xx.

Image sources, top to bottom | one, two, three, four, five, six.

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Something to peruse while you sip your morning coffee:

I’ve added ads to the side of my blog! So far there are only three of my favourite bloggers and/or shop owners, but I have others lined up to participate, too! Keep an eye on this side bar and hop on over to their pages to find out why I like them so much! If you’re interested in sponsoring me, you can email me at hello.juliastrawberry@gmail.com for rates! I’d be so happy to hear from you and glad to make you a part of the support team.

Also, I created the image above for my best friend – a fellow coffee lover – for Christmas, but just found it again on my desktop {my desktop is messy…} and figured I might as well share. Click it to make it large, then drag it to your desktop if you think you might like to print it out or something!

Hope your Tuesday is fantastic!

xx.

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I can’t tell you how many times we’ve run over to the Deli for a late night snack.

The fact that this little corner store is located pretty much right outside our front door is both a blessing and a curse. When we accidentally run out of milk or eggs, I am so thankful for it. But then milk and eggs turns into milk, eggs, a bottle of wine, and two of their amazing Cat sandwiches {colby cheese, craisins, apple slices, sprouts, baby spinach, carrots & cranberry vinaigrette on a baguette!}, and then we don’t go grocery shopping for another week because we can just run next door instead. It’s a little too convenient, if you know what I mean.

Still, most of the employees know us by name, and that’s a very comforting feeling. We don’t mind sharing our money with a cute little shop that has so nicely stocked a little bit of everything we might possibly need. Seriously, they have everything. A huge selection of beers, wines, and mead, made close to home as well as imported. They have cheeses, of course, to accompany your drink of choice and plenty of other little snacks {like ice cream}. There’s a deli counter in the back where you can order delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches, and up front they have everything from cat food to bandaids with a little station for hot coffee as well.

It’s amazing that they can cram so very much into such a tiny space and still host beer and wine tastings and have a live musician playing on certain nights. Plus, the table space inside and outside comes in super handy when you need to get out of the house for a bit. It seems like we give them about half of our paychecks, so I hope they don’t take too much of a hit when we move away! Perhaps now that you know about it you can take our place in supporting this fantastic little shop?

Sunday is for soups + sandwiches!

xx.

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Yesterday was a big day for me!

My first monthly post for the Goodwill Industries International blog went live! I’ve been so, so excited about being a contributing writer for their blog because this organization is something that I truly believe in. If you didn’t know, I’ve been working for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England for the past three years and I’ve seen first hand how this wonderful company has not only changed the lives of those in need, but in some cases they’ve even made life possible.

I’m very fortunate to have a lot of opportunities in my life, but some people aren’t so lucky. They may lack the funds or the training to get a suitable home or occupation and without Goodwill they would be left in a very difficult situation. However, through funding from the Goodwill retail stores {if you’ve ever purchased something there then you’ve helped!} I have had the pleasure of watching individuals with disabilities overcome their challenges by receiving training and assistance in good jobs, and finding safe homes. That’s right, the money you spend at Goodwill doesn’t leave your community, it gets reinvested right back into it!

It’s in these funded group homes that I have spent so much of my time, so I know from first hand experience that without Goodwill, a stable life for some individuals would just not be possible. I was a little sad that by moving I would be leaving behind all of the wonderful people that I’ve met while working here, but since I’ll be blogging for them, I guess I’m sort of still in the family. Check out my most recent post for ideas about how you can decorate your home with books thrifted from Goodwill, and make sure you support your local community by looking in their retail stores first whenever you find that you’re in need of something.

Have a fantastic day!

xx.

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Our week in snapshots:

 

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This week brought sunshine in mass amounts – definitely appreciated, New England, thanks! We were able to leave the house without coats on and open our windows for a couple of hours at a time. This means that we did a lot of walking around town and making excuses to be outside. We made another trip back to New Hampshire for some job interviews on Ryan’s end and spent the night at my parents’ house in the woods. We arrived Monday night after the stars had all come up, and as soon as we got out of the car we just stood in the driveway marveling at the sky. Away from the city lights, we felt like we could see the entire universe and Ryan proclaimed that there were so many stars in the sky that he almost couldn’t see any of them. I can’t wait to call that region home again.

I made some new little creatures for the Merchant Company this week {photo on the top right}, aren’t they adorable? The design is by the owner of the shop, Dunja, and she picked the most remarkable vintage fabrics to make them with. I’m so happy that I got to help bring these little cuties to life! Each one is entirely unique with different combinations of colours and textures, and the eyes are all hand stitched in. So darling!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xx.

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How many of you saw this one coming?

When I thought of the idea of sharing my favourite local spots with you, CBD was one of the first places to pop into my head. To me, Coffee By Design embodies what it is to live in Portland. It’s a comfortable, friendly environment with patrons and baristas alike who believe in the power of the local economy.

Their blends are handcrafted and micro roasted here in Portland, which proves that this company is all about keeping things as local as possible because the heart of a community lies in its small businesses. They believe that “bigger is not better” and pay careful attention to the details that go into each batch of coffee so that coffee snobs and the regular joe will both appreciate and enjoy the end product.

Coffee By Design offers organic and fair trade options as well as seasonal flavours and old favourites. You can purchase their coffees by the pound {and get a free cup of coffee if you do} or just get one cup and spend time sitting in their window right on Congress Street watching the city pass by. With free-wifi, this place is an excellent spot to kill a couple of hours, but the well-trained baristas make it easy to swing in for a drink on the go, too, by attending to customers quickly and patiently.

In keeping with their appreciation of all things Maine, they feature art from local artists, carry GrandyOats {an organic grown in Maine oatmeal}, Mr. Bagel bagels, and Little Lads popcorn – so good. Plus, they’ve got the buy-a-certain-number-of-coffees-get-one-free deal that no good coffee shop is complete without!

Oh, yes, and how could I forget all of their little gifts. They have tons of coffee accessories – mugs, french presses, grinders, as well as cheeky “Much Ado About Nothings” Shakespearean sticky notes and gifts of that ilk. Plus, granola bars, pastries, and juices if you need a little something to keep your coffee company. Stop by soon to enjoy the local flavour.

Perhaps I’ll see you there!

xx.

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Hello, my dears!

Today I did a guest post on the Goodwill Industries of Northern New England blog about the Little Black Dress! My look is vintage inspired featuring the items above. Head on over to check it out and see how I’ve styled it.

Enjoy this beautiful spring weather!

xx.

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