Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘maine’

Turtle Love Co.

Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Portland, Social Consciousness, Style, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , , on June 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

As with fashion, the world of jewelry usually doesn’t support sustainability.

That’s why when I find a company that breaks the mold to uphold their integrity, I simply have to share. The funny thing about Turtle Love Co. is that they actually found me! This past winter, when I was still living in Portland, Maine, one of their employees recognized that both TLC and myself believe in the same things: environmental consciousness, supporting a local community, an appreciation of craft, and a love of vintage. She reached out to me and I was so happy to get to know just one more independent business that was in it for more than the money.

So, it’s my pleasure today to introduce you to Turtle Love Co. – if you haven’t already noticed their button in my sidebar, that is. Based in Portland, this small team of individuals {including my former neighbor – Hi, Ashley!} curates an amazing online jewelry shop that carries only the highest quality and most responsible independent designers. If you’re in the market for eco-friendly handmade or vintage jewelry, this is the spot for you.

These are just a couple of my favourite pieces on the site, but you simply must have a look for yourself! There are so many unique and beautiful vintage items that have been collected, and beautifully handmade pieces right along side them. Check it out!

Have a great Thursday!

xx.

Read Full Post »

Photobooth Friday – No. 37

Posted in New Hampshire, Photobooth Friday, tagged , , , , , , , on May 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

Our week in snapshots:

| highlights |

I’m getting used to the view from our bedroom window: pine trees. This is, ironically, something I really missed when I lived in the Pinecone + Chickadee State. Funny how things like that work. Speaking of which, we took the Maine plates off of our car this week and updated them with fresh New Hampshire ones. Slowly but surely we are updating the things that need updating and making ourselves at home again.

I am definitely getting used to seeing my best friend more often. The other day I spent the whole day at her house mostly chatting, but we also got a little bit of our respective projects done, and it felt good to do some of that with someone else around. Usually when I work on my Etsy or blogging stuff I’m alone while Ryan is at work. Such a nice change.

We got to plant part of our garden on Sunday with a little help from our footsy-pajamaed niece, LG. She’s 3 now and other than getting distracted by little critters who came across our planting path, she was of great assistance dropping one little seed in every hole we made, then carefully covering it up with her tiny hands. She did have a bit of an accident later in the night, so she asked my sister and I if she could borrow some of our clothes {that we haven’t worn in 20+ years} that my Mom still had hanging around. She left in a vintage half-apron of my grandmother’s – bare bum in the back -, a sunhat that belonged to a doll, a tank top that my sister wore as a little, and a sweatshirt that said “JULIA” in puff paint across the front {one of my favourite pieces of art work at that age}. She  has such a wonderful little personality.

Have a wonderful weekend,

xx.

Read Full Post »

Photobooth Friday — No. 35

Posted in New Hampshire, Our personal history, Photobooth Friday, Shop Talk, tagged , , , , , on May 4, 2012 | 2 Comments »

♥

Our week in snapshots:

| highlights |

A lot can happen in a week. Since I last wrote, we have packed up our entire apartment, stuffed it into a Uhaul truck, and carted it across State lines. I always smile at the first town over the Maine border into New Hampshire: Freedom. An appropriately named entry point for two Shirefolk like ourselves that have been longing for our home State for quite some time now. “Welcome back to the Live Free or Die State”, that pine-y little town tells us.

To me, this already feels like home. My whole family {my parents and both siblings} is within a half hour drive of our new apartment. We haven’t all lived in the same State since I was three years old and my brother left for college – can you believe that? It’s been more than twenty years. My best friend came over yesterday and we spent hours on the couch chatting as though from 1996 to 2012 no time had passed at all. And since Ryan + I are no longer working until 10 pm or midnight, we have already been able to establish a normal sleep schedule. It feels right to be here again.

My shop reopening is in a mere 5 days and our internet still hasn’t been properly established. But, I’m going full steam ahead working on the line and preparing photo shoots and item descriptions. The packaging has been perfected, the extras have been decided {each purchase comes with freebies!} and the studio space becomes more organized every day. This is such an exciting time in my life and I’m so happy to be able to share it with all of you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xx.

Read Full Post »

SWAPmaine – Spring 2012!

Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Free Giveaways, Portland, Social Consciousness, Style, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , on April 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »

♥

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.

Read Full Post »

Mod Night Style

Posted in Style, Vintage + Thrift, What We Wore, tagged , , , , , , on April 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

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.

Read Full Post »

Photobooth Friday – No. 34

Posted in Our personal history, Photobooth Friday, tagged , , , , , , , on April 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

Snapshots from our week:

 | highlights |

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.

Read Full Post »

West End Deli | Favourite Portland Haunts

Posted in Favourite Portland Haunts, Good Eats, Locavore Resources, Portland, tagged , , , , , , on April 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

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.

Read Full Post »

Photobooth Friday – No. 33

Posted in New Hampshire, Photobooth Friday, Sewing, tagged , , , , , , , on April 20, 2012 | 5 Comments »

♥

Our week in snapshots:

 

| highlights |

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.

Read Full Post »

Coffee By Design | Favourite Portland Haunts

Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Favourite Portland Haunts, Good Eats, Locavore Resources, Portland, Social Consciousness, tagged , , , , on April 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

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.

Read Full Post »

Pinecone + Chickadee | Favourite Portland Haunts

Posted in Favourite Portland Haunts, Home Decor, Portland, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , , , , on April 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

♥

When in need of a quirky purchase, Pinecone + Chickadee is the place to go.

Record players, instant cameras and film, typewriters – they’ve got ‘em. They also have a wide selection of new indie art, both local and from Etsy artists across the globe. The atmosphere is relaxed for your browsing convenience, and all of the vintage is in nearly perfect condition.

Named for Maine’s State “flower” and bird, Pinecone + Chickadee is an accurate reflection of what our city has to offer to tourists and residents alike. The bright colours and sunny space allow the shopper to clearly see the details of every little treasure and the mid-century decor really inspires!

Every time I go in, I want to take something home so the central location {right on Free Street next to Find} is dangerous for me! The husband and wife team who own this boutique did a fantastic job pulling it all together. The most impressive part? They have so many different styles of products – kitschy, modern, cutesy, classic – yet they somehow still fit it all into one cozy aesthetic!

Have fun browsing if you have the chance to stop by! Make sure you have a look at their neat shadow puppets {forgot to photograph – shoot!}, and purchase something little, if you can. Supporting local shops is so important because you’ll be helping independent artists and designers accomplish their dreams!

Do-something-cool Saturday!

xx.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 397 other followers