May 2012
5 posts
This Friday
This Friday come celebrate with us at the shop as we be unveil our new summer line! Behold our new t-shirt designs hot off the presses. There will be beer, wine and other refreshments. Bring your friends!
LFK
Yay, Portland finally has a good bar to hang out in! Went to LFK’s (Longfellow Fellowship of Knights) yesterday with Maleah. It was decorated with old timey typewriters and had literary references throughout. The bloody marys were pretty decent—lots of horseradish, just the way I like it. Already looking forward to going again.
Sock Owls
Next time your socks get a hole in them, don’t throw them out. Try out this crafty DIY project and turn your discarded socks into cute owl ornaments. I can’t wait to try it out.
Monsters!
We had a great turnout tonight for our Monsters Art Show! People came out in droves despite the drizzly weather. Special shout out to Kris Johnsen for making it all happen. Here are some pics from the evening…
RIP, MCA
Noah came into the room today and delivered the shocking news that Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys fame, had passed away. Yauch had battled with cancer the last 3 years. He was 47. The Beastie Boys were such an important part of my high school years. To this day I remember as a teen being completely devastated when my mom wouldn’t let me go to their concert. Rest in peace, MCA. You will be...
April 2012
5 posts
MIT Building As A Playable Tetris Board
Last Friday hackers converted the MIT building into a giant Tetris board. Pretty sweet.
Call For Entries
Kris Johnsen is putting together a Monsters Art Show at our shop for First Friday. Anyone and everyone is invited to submit art for this event. Interested? Drop off is between April 27 and May 2, during store hours. The show will be up through June 3. Click here for more info.
Portland, Maine Is A Hipster Haven? (Revised)
Recently Portland, Maine made #5 on Travel + Leisure’s America’s Best Cities for Hipsters List. Say wha? Not saying we don’t have our own little thriving hipster community here…but we even beat Brooklyn for goodness sake, the hipster capital of the world. This poll by Dispatch Magazine, which also questions Travel + Leisure’s list, made me laugh.
Quick Egg Hatching Update
Alas, one egg was dropped and smashed in the early stages of the incubation period. And the other egg sadly never hatched.
Smörgåstårta, Anyone?
This Scandinavian sandwich cake is decorated so beautifully! It’s so amazing! I’ll pass on munching the salmon, mousse, cream cheese, shrimp, egg, cucumber and sour cream, though. Well, maybe I would try a nibble out of curiosity. For more on the smörgåstårta, check out Panini Happy.
March 2012
5 posts
The Hunger Games!
Noah and I had so much work today that we asked Noah’s Dad to watch baby River. The wholesale side of our business was in desperate need of some attention as we hadn’t had any time to put orders together. As soon as River was whisked away by his grandfather, Noah looked at me mischievously and asked, “Do you want to see the 11:30 showing of The Hunger Games?” Yes, indeed...
A Portable Treehouse
This is what I want for the apocolypse or at least the backyard for the summer. Tentsile offers an alternative solution to camping with its tent hammock combination. The tent can keep you away from creepy crawly insects on the ground, floods, and maybe even zombies. Sleeps 2-8.
The Chick-U-Bator
Darby’s been fascinated with chickens lately, and hatching his own baby chicks. We ordered a small, tabletop egg incubator for him, the Chick-U-Bator to be exact, which arrived yesterday. And Louise gave us 2 fresh eggs from her chickens. Darby’s job is to turn the eggs three times a day. We’ll see if the eggs wind up hatching, I’ll post about this again in about 3 weeks!
O'Brien, Is That You?
Two posts about Downton Abbey in one day, because I just cannot believe what evil O’Brien (Siobhan Finneran) looks like in real life! She’s the bitter spinster and Countess Cora’s maid that has my stomach in knots with her wicked schemes. And there she is in the red dress, looking very unlike her character. Amazing how hair and makeup can transform someone!
I'm Smitten With Downton Abbey
I will admit, when I first heard people raving about Downton Abbey, I thought they were talking about a bar on the north side of Williamsburg. I later realized my error, but it wasn’t until I read an article about all the elaborate food that is featured in every episode, that the show peaked my interest. What did fancy Edwardian people eat back then? The curiosity was enough to get me to...
February 2012
4 posts
All The More Reason To Throw Out Your Microwave
Above are pictures from a girl’s Science Fair project. She watered two identical plants—one with normal boiled water, and the other with boiled water from a microwave. By day nine the microwaved water plant was dead. Her classmates repeated her experiment, all with the same results. Click here to read more, including a disturbing top 10 list of reasons to dispose of your microwave.
Yay, Staycation!
Darby had school vacation this past week. When I shopped around for airfare for a little family getaway, I was dismayed at how expensive flights were. So Noah and I decided to visit areas close to home. First stop…Boston. We stayed at a hotel a stone’s throw from Chinatown, and finally got to eat at the Gourmet Dumpling House, which always has a line out the door. It was soooo gooood....
It's A Family Affair
I love these photos of famous musicians with their parents, taken by LIFE Magazine photographer, John Olson, in the 1970s.
Alice Cooper
David Crosby
Elton John
January 2012
4 posts
Yep, It's a Snow Day.
Yesterday was Darby’s first snow day. Boy, was he excited about getting the day off. Noah made an awesome snow ramp off the back porch steps for sledding. I’ll tell you one thing I could have done without, though—getting an automated phone call from his school at 5:30 in the morning.
Kittens!
Omigod, we are in kitten cuteness overload right now! We just got these cute kitties from the pound. Meet Howard Moon and Vince Noir, named after these guys…
Schulte & Herr
A new German restaurant opened up in Portland, called Schulte & Herr. We tried to go over the weekend but it was too packed. This morning Noah and I were able to snag a table easily and lucky enough to indulge in some out of this world German cuisine. The potato pancakes did not disappoint…it was served with house-cured lox, capers, cornichon pickle, radish, and a tasty horseradish...
Happy New Year!
We took a mini vacation to mid coast Maine last weekend. I had never been and was really looking forward to getting away and relaxing. We spent our downtime rummaging through antique malls and thrift stores. A friend of ours was coincidentally also staying at the same hotel with her kids, so Darby was thrilled to have playmates to romp around with. And I got to read Mindy Kaling’s book, Is...
December 2011
1 post
Picnic Holiday Sale
This past Sunday was the Picnic Holiday Sale, the craft fair Noah and I organize. And boy, this year was definitely the best ever! We were in a new location, the beautiful Portland Company Complex, which was a really amazing space. The turnout was fantastic, we couldn’t have asked for a better day. Here are some pics, including the ever popular Yeti photo op.
November 2011
4 posts
The Holidays Are Here!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Because it’s all centered around food! This year we postponed Thanksgiving until Saturday so Larry and his wife Chi-Yoon could join us. I absolutely love cooking all day with friends and family, sipping wine, and having good times. This year Chi-Yoon introduced us to my new favorite side dish, chipotle yams. So good!
Today we went and picked out a...
Birthday Partay!
Darby’s birthday party was last weekend. It was so fun! Since this household is so Star Wars obsessed, it made sense to throw a Star Wars party. The kids attacked the Darth Vader pinata with a light saber. Everyone got to pick their favorite Star Wars character cupcake. And I made Yoda and Darth Vader cookies to hand out as party favors at the end.
Hello.
Haven’t had time to post in a long time. Here’s a belated Halloween pic of me and the boys. Noah made Darby’s awesome General Grievous costume (yes, that’s snow on the ground, ugh). We’re pretty much all about Star Wars 24/7 in this family right now. Below is a video that cracks me up.
WatchStar Wars Incest - watch more funny videos
September 2011
3 posts
Backyard Camping
Darby has wanted to go camping all summer long. But with River being born and opening a store, the summer just slipped away from us. So last night Noah and Darby had a father-son campout. Noah put the tent up in the backyard on the deck. The weather was perfect. River and I visited, of course. We enjoyed some toaster oven smores and looked up at the stars.
Best of the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago
Hey! We made Babble’s Best of the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago List. Pretty neat!
I Heart Chicago
Went to Chicago this weekend for the Renegade Craft Fair. River came with me, as did the lovely Maleah, of coco+milkweed. It was fun shopping for our store as well as selling our own tees at the show. We had great booth neighbors…Eling, from Migration Goods, was directly in back of us. She graciously helped out with baby River when he got a little fussed up. Here are some pics of our trip,...
August 2011
6 posts
Summer Funnin'
Last year when we went to Aquaboggan, a hurricane was supposed to blow into town, even though it was a bright and sunny day. The hurricane never wound up materializing, and we had the time of our lives. We had the water park practically to ourselves, it was great! Today we were on our way to the beach when we passed by Splash Town and noticed almost nobody was there. Coincidentally today was a...
Picnic Recap
Wow! Even Hurricane Irene couldn’t stop Picnic! It was the best Picnic ever! We did not even have a single drop of rain all day. The turnout was our biggest yet. Thank you to all the wonderful vendors and bands who made it all possible. Here are a few pics I managed to take.
It's Picnic Time Again!
It’s that time again! Come out to the 4th Annual Picnic Music+Arts Festival this Saturday. It’s the biggest Picnic ever! Now with 120+ talented artists from the local DIY indie craft scene. There will be live music all day and lots of yummy food. See you there!
Perfect Summer Day
Spent the morning at our recently discovered new favorite beach. It has the perfect white sand that I love. It’s just so relaxing there, and not very crowded, which is nice. Can’t say that River likes going as much as the rest of us, but we’re still determined to go as much as possible before summer’s end. Then for lunch we tried a new Mexican restaurant on Fore Street,...
Mike Perry
Artist Mike Perry was in town for the opening of his exhibit/book, Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing, at Space Gallery. I like his work a lot so I found it very interesting to see all the artists he picked to feature in his new book. I chatted with Mike a bit and found him to be a really nice guy. Here are some pics from the evening.
Me with Mike Perry and his super cute doggy.
Thanks For A Great Night
Our Grand Opening Bash was so much fun! Lots of friends stopped by and we made some new friends, too. It was so good to see everyone. The party was only supposed to go until 8, but people kept coming in until Noah shut the door at 10:30. Thanks for all your support, Portland! I love you!
7 bottles of wine and 3 cases of beer later.
July 2011
5 posts
First Friday
On First Friday, August 5, we will be having a Grand Opening Bash from 5pm–8pm. Come celebrate with us! DJ Laree Love will be spinning tunes throughout the evening. Refreshments and light snacks will be served.
Cross-Stitch
How cute is this iPhone case that you can cross-stitch your own designs on! I’m too lazy to do it myself, but hey, I can dream.
Three Days
It’s been 3 days since we opened the shop, and what an amazing 3 days it’s been. Everyone’s been so nice! Lots of people have been popping in and welcoming us to the neighborhood. Shoppers, too, have been super nice. Thank you, Portland! You are the best. Here are some pics of the inside of the shop.
Big News
We’re opening up our own store! We found a great space in downtown Portland we couldn’t pass up. We still have to price all our inventory and do a few more small things in the store, but it’s really coming along. Our new signs are up as of this week. Thanks Cammie, for coming up from NJ to help us out! We plan to have a grand opening bash August 5 for First Friday, but...
Califor-ni-a
Renegade SF and LA are coming up! We won’t make it out to the West Coast ourselves, what with a new wee one and all, but our dear friend Larry will be selling our wares. So if you see this guy behind the Pinecone+Chickadee booth, come say hi!
June 2011
2 posts
Renegade Brooklyn
Noah and Darby leave tomorrow for a special father/son trip to do Renegade Brooklyn together.
Picnic Applications Close Tomorrow
Get your applications in cuz tomorrow’s the last day to apply!
May 2011
4 posts
Mission of Burma and Haru Bangs
Noah’s band, Haru Bangs, is playing with Mission of Burma tonight at Space! Doors at 7:30 / Tix $15 / 18+
Baby!
The newest addition to our family came on Friday, May 20th. Welcome, River! He weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz.
Entire Apartment Covered in Crochet
Check out the work of New York-based needlework artist, Olek.
Happy Mother's Day
Me and my mom
Me, currently 8 months pregnant. Darby will have a little brother very soon!
April 2011
1 post
It's Picnic Time!
Picnic applications are up! This year’s festival will be Saturday, August 27. All you crafty peeps out there, click here to apply.
March 2011
6 posts
Prepare To Have Your Mind Blown
These images by Daniel Kornrumpf are EMBROIDERED. What?!? Amazing.