Looking Good in the Neighborhood
April 11, 2012
It’s fun to dress up sometimes, to put on an actual dress or skirt and look extra pretty, but I’ve got to say that more often than not I am in denim and keepin’ it real! Things are casual around here. Our clothes tend to reflect the pace of the place, right? New Englanders are a sturdy sort and it’s no surprise that denim fits us just fine, and in Maine this means even for fine dining.
For those of you with casual or creative workplaces that allow denim, or for weekends when you’re just banging around town {whatever your daily or weekly denim allowance is– I get to wear it to work every single day}, wearing denim and a fairly basic top can easily be pulled together and elevated in style by adding an interesting piece of jewelry, or a shoe in a great color, or a funky scarf. Being as comfortable as “jeans and a tee” but looking “dressed to a T” is about choosing items that fit and flatter you, go well together, and have a point of visual interest to polish it up. Making something your own can involve accessories, but sometimes it’s as simple as a fun color combination.
I got inspired to put together “visually interesting” and highly wearable outfits on Polyvore. This is the first set I’ve yet to create! This could be a great way to help you discover your own style or to create new looks without leaving your house or being limited by your actual wardrobe. Then take your new inspiration as a guide for your next shopping trip. It’s clear I like pattern, color, and mixing them together. Aside from the extras, the canvas of each outfit is a pair of jeans {skinny, boot cut, colored…these all fly; denim has never been more democratic} and a basic top {long & loose, fitted & striped, oversized & blousy}. The most fun you can have with the basics is by giving them a twist. If you wanted to get real neighborhood-y about it you could add a cardigan like our old good friend Mr. Rogers. Remember that he used to change into one in each episode? Have any of you tried Polyvore yet?
Live to Tell
April 10, 2012
An incredible, unbelievable thing happened at our house this morning. We were in the midst of our morning routine, getting ready for work. Luke hollered out to me that something had happened, that there were chicken feathers all over our backyard! I ran out of our room and looked out at the lawn and sure enough there were feathers from our chickens all over the place. I saw Rhode Island Red and Plymouth Rock feathers and knew more than one chicken had been attacked. I felt sick and panicked.
Luke ran outside ahead of me and saw a fox right near our back deck run off with our rooster Ruby in it’s mouth. I ran out second and chased the fox through our back field. I was running, and crying, and yelling. It was awful, and there was nothing I could do, the fox had taken off. When I got back to the barn I asked Luke how many chickens were still there. 3 of our 5 hens were alive, but one was injured. We had lost 2 hens and Ruby, our rooster. We were shaken. Our injured girl didn’t seem to have obvious major injuries and she ate when I sprinkled corn on the ground for them in their coop. I could only imagine what they had seen and what was going on in their heads.
So many things were going through my head. Lots of what-ifs. I felt terrible and so did Luke. It was a moment of trauma and a reality of keeping chickens that we hadn’t yet encountered. We had to lock up our hens and get to work. How do you do that after something like this? After Luke left I was walking out to my car in the front yard and happened to look across our driveway to see the missing 2 hens pop out from behind some low pine trees. Unbelievable! I ran over to them and coaxed them out from hiding and got them back down to the barn with the other hens. It was just incredible! I couldn’t believe it. Even though we had lost Ruby {our valiant rooster who laid down his life for his hens} we still had most of our flock. Talk about shaken nerves!
An hour or so later Luke told me he was headed home from work, he wanted to check on things. We were feeling heartsick and worried that the fox would come back to bother the hens. When Luke called me a little bit later he asked, “Guess who is standing in the middle of our driveway?” I imagined a bold fox was back for more. “Ruby,” he said. Ever hear anything that was both mind boggling AND beyond wonderful? I was stupified. Say what?! Luke explained that Ruby seemed ok, he looked and was acting fine, considering he’d been in the mouth of a running fox.
Later in the morning Ruby took his hens out to the compost pile {with Luke supervising} and they went about their usual task of scratching at scraps while he kept lookout.
I’ve never felt more proud of or astonished by an animal. These chickens that we are so fond of and who color our days, are a band of toughies, not to be messed with, who can overcome a sly fox, take a beating, and give one. Some of them have truly ruffled feathers, but they are ALL alive. They live to tell.
The bravest, scrappiest, most valiant rooster around these parts: Ruby!
When we looked over the photos from our trail camera we saw lots of mug shots of this guy creeping around our field:
I suppose he lives to tell, too.
Maine Things Monday
April 9, 2012
Hello! Did everyone have a good weekend? Since it was a holiday we saw a good amount of family and that’s always a highlight! Things are ‘greening’ up around here but Maine has been super dry and we’ve had some wildfires. A rarity for us in March and April.
On my next day off I plan to visit the Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm location {where the trees and wildlife have been safe from fires} to check out the birds and see what’s in bloom over there. A meandering walk through nature, along the estuary is in order! They have lots of interesting and fun events going on all the time in various locations, too!
p.s. On Saturday Night Live last night there was a mention of a Maine man in a Batman costume who pulled a not-so-funny April Fool’s prank that got him arrested. Got to love being mentioned on one of the most watched pop culture podiums for having a knucklehead amongst us! What state doesn’t though?!
In keeping with the nature theme here, take a look at these awesome wooden toys and puzzles from Merchants Row, right here in Maine! They have nailed the whole turning-your-idea-into-a-tangible-thing endeavor that is just so hard for most of us! Every single puzzle, toy, and object that they make is like a little piece of art.
Happy Easter!!
April 8, 2012
Assuming you celebrate Easter, do you remember as a kid waking up to the excitement of your basket that the Easter Bunny left for you? I would have a trail of jelly beans to follow from my bed to my basket! There would be egg-shaped candy, jump rope, a bottle of bubbles, a toothbrush, marshmallow peeps, a chocolate bunny, a stuffed bunny, a book, and an orange. What a combination of things!
This image of Christopher Walken as The Bunny makes me laugh! It’s a little creepy that you can see more instances of Walken wearing The Bunny here.
Today We Dye Eggs
April 7, 2012
Tradition is tradition and all over the world kids will be dyeing eggs this weekend in celebration of Easter! Here are some, fresh-out-of-the-nesting-box, courtesy of the resident hennies:
Later today we’ll visit with a couple of our nieces and do some egg dyeing! Aren’t these some pretty Easter egg designs?
being “the other one” is all relative
April 5, 2012
Broadly speaking, Portland, Maine is often considered “the other Portland,” mainly because the one in Oregon is a larger city. Around these parts if you consider this one to be “the other one,” then you’re from away, and if you’re from here you wouldn’t even consider calling it that. {This could just be the hometown pride talking.} Part of me doesn’t mind that our city here is less well-known because that means we can keep it to ourselves.
However, in 2011 Travel & Leisure did a “City Face-Off” of the Portlands as part of their “America’s Favorite Cities” series and Portland, Maine won over Portland, Oregon. Interestingly, as Wikipedia would have us know~ “Portland, Oregon was named for Portland, Maine.” Turns out a native Portlander {of the East Coast variety} was one of the founders of the Oregon Portland. A fun fact that I did not know.
Elvis Costello gets this same “other” status because let’s face it, when you’re The King of Rock-n-Roll you’re a hard act to follow. Presley, while I do like some of his music, has just never stuck with me. I’ve always liked Elvis Costello and if I ever find a t-shirt that reads “I love the other Elvis” I’m buying it.
All of this “other one” business is all relative anyway because some might agree that the positives of being somewhat of a little secret outweigh the negatives.
How do you like them apples?
April 3, 2012
Remember that scene in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon’s character gets the girl’s number and flaunts it through the window at the jerk from the Hah-vahd bar? He said, “How do you like them apples?!” and we all felt the glee of seeing the good guy trump the {not so nice word here}?
Well how about this: Apple stock is predicted to reach $1000 a share?! Driving home from work today I heard this on Marketplace and while the prediction may not come to fruition, stock is currently around $629 a share. Is anyone who owns Apple products surprised? Last November I got my iphone and as I’ve admitted before, it is my precious dear to me. As noted in the story the iphone is much more than a phone; aside from the countless apps it’s a camera, calendar, video recorder, video game player, and gives you internet access at your fingertips. You can check email, ebay, facebook, npr, craigslist, and the weather with your fingertip! I’m on the Apple wagon, even though sometimes it feels like I’m in a herd of sheep…but you like what you like.
Do you have Apple products? What do you use them for and what do you love best about them?
i can’t go for that
April 3, 2012
What’s that? Do I have a Hall & Oates obsession? Ahhh. Maybe. Maybe I had girlfriends over for dinner a few months ago and found a Hall & Oates station on Pandora and have been listening to it daily ever since. I might have even gotten friends hooked on it.
What’s not to love about their pop rock sound? It’s the background music of my childhood. The only concert I really remember my mom going to was theirs. Anyway, the other artists who pop up on that station are pretty 80’s awesome, too. Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, The Outfield…and plenty of one hit wonders.
{Look at them back in the day~ hysterical!! What’s with Oates?!}
So naturally I was all smiles when this awesome video was posted by our friend on facebook:
It’s Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers. The ‘van sessions’ are videos of them driving around in their van singing covers! So fun:) Check out her original work and all the other happenings that they’ve been up to!
What stations on Pandora do you love listening to? Are there any bands or singers that you love, that maybe aren’t so cool? It’s ok, you can tell me. You’re in good company here:)
Maine Things Monday
April 3, 2012
Ideas that stay with you
April 1, 2012
After seeing this post about hanging big art in the bedroom recently from Apartment Therapy it’s been on a constant loop in my head. I want to do this! We do not have a headboard and it seems like I’m always considering DIY projects or looking online for the right style…in the end, maybe I just hang large-scale art instead? I wouldn’t frame mine with glass, though, because there is something unnerving about such a heavy thing hanging over us while we sleep that could possibly come loose. A fear that began the night we heard a crashing sound {as if a car drove into our apartment!} and we ran downstairs to find that our shelves with all our favorite pottery had fallen from the wall into a heap of shards. Sad, so sad. We likely didn’t anchor them properly, but the fear lingers!
Enlarging a cool photo is another great idea. We have this one wall in our living room that is wide and tall and still empty. I had this cheeky idea that we could take a photo of the view from the windows adjacent to it and have that photo made very large and hang it on the wall. Cheeky and tricky:)
What do you think about such big art for your bedroom or any room? Also, what are your thoughts on ideas like these that stay with you? My feeling is that you should act on them, but I don’t always do that, hence the bare walls and our unadorned head-of-the-bed.
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