Brooklyn Museum: Workt by Hand

Last weekend, the weather was pretty crummy here, so to help stave off major ants in the pants, we took the kids (kids!) to the Brooklyn Museum. John took Griffin to the archive room where you can pull out drawers and shine flashlights into the cases. He loved it! (Hands on stuff is always a hit.) I took Louise (who saw the back of her eyelids the whole time) to see the Workt by Hand exhibit featuring some beautiful historic quilts. I don't know what it is, but I'm gravitated towards quilts. I was in heaven looking at all the amazing hand work. I could have looked at them all day long. But of course, Griffin got hungry and Louise woke up, so we went to the cafeteria for a stromboli and a beer. :) 

Wreath-Making Class with Amy Merrick

This weekend, my great friend was back in town (hooray!) & asked if I wanted to go to a wreath-making class by Amy Merrick. I've been dying for a crafternoon (baby nesting + holidays = "dying for a crafternoon"), so I jumped at the chance. Amy makes exquisite flower arrangements & her wreaths are beautiful & perfectly wild. (See & purchase here.) She gave us a little tutorial to start, putting together greens like magic & making it look effortless. For me, it was not. I went hard out of the gates & bulked up on greens, then gradually thinned out as I went around, creating a little dieted-looking wreath on one side. But I love it! And it was so much fun getting to work with materials I never work with, hanging out with a good friend & happy people. And I now have a beautiful (and beautiful-smelling thanks to the eucalyptus) wreath hanging on our wall (above).  

Big thanks to Amy for letting us into her gorgeous studio to play with greens all afternoon! 

See more of Amy's work here.

About Town: CMA, again

We went back to the Children's Museum of the Arts this weekend. It's much busier on the weekends, but it didn't seem to get in the way of Griffin thoroughly enjoying his dot pens.

ps, those things are awesome! and washable:)

A Visit: Blue Hill at Stone Barns

John & I had our 5 year wedding anniversary a few weeks ago and to celebrate, we treated ourselves to a night away at an inn about an hour north of the city. On the way, we stopped at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. We've never toured the property before & it was fantastic. Almost every part of their farm is open to visitors, so you can see all the food up close - the arugula, the herbs, the pigs, the chicken & the turkeys (getting ready for Thanksgiving!). It was a great day - I'd highly recommend a visit. The night away was great as well - and also highly recommended:)

[photos: my new hot pink shoes!, the coop tower, library books, cuddly sheep in the pasture]

About Town: Blue Sky Bakery

I can't believe that it's taken me so long to feature Blue Sky Bakery on my About Town posts.  This is hands down my favorite bakery/coffee shop in all the land.  Maybe even my favorite place in Brooklyn.  Just after I had Griffin, when it took an army just to step out of the apartment, my first stop was Blue Sky.  If I could get here, get my latte & muffin, I was set for the entire day.  And I've never considered myself much of a coffee drinker or one for muffins.  But Blue Sky converted me.  The owner is a super nice guy, as is everyone who works here.  And the muffins are crazy good.

My go-to order?  Large latte and a muffin - whatever has pumpkin in it.  The golden child of muffins?  Well, it's a tie: Pumpkin, Banana, Chocolate Chip and Zucchini, Raspberry, Chocolate Chip.  Runner Up?  A slice of the Banana Chocolate Chip Bread - not your average banana bread! (Hmm, maybe my go-to order should be anything with chocolate in it.)  John likes any muffin with cream cheese in it.  Yes, cream cheese IN it.  Again, it's my favorite place.

If you're in the area, you really must stop in.  Pick up some muffins for you, your co-workers or your host.  Call ahead for an order of 6 or more muffins.  And get a muffin card - your 10th muffin is free.  Enjoy!

Blue Sky Bakery
53 5th Ave
(between Bergen St & St Marks Pl)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 783-4123 
Hours: 7:30am - 1:30pm (opens at 8am on weekends)

[photos, top to bottom: Kingsley waiting patiently outside of Blue Sky while I took the photo; muffins straight from the oven; Pumpkin Apple Walnut muffin]

About Town: Stampworx 2000 (& the Bride's Guide)

My niece & I went to pick up some stamps yesterday that she had designed. I hadn't seen "my stamp guy" in a long time. I used to see him every week when I was doing a lot of stamp work. At times, I went through stretches of seeing him every other day. I've always kept him under wraps because I got the feeling (and he even told me one time) that he wanted to keep it that way. But yesterday when we showed up & caught up for a bit, he told me about this feature that The Bride's Guide did on him & his business back in April. Editor Shira Savada calls him a "secret weapon" to Martha Stewart Weddings. I think many people would agree, including me. But now that Martha has put it out there, I can too:) If you're in the market for custom stamps, Donald is your guy. In addition to making great stamps, he happens to be a very nice person.

Read the Bride's Guide Q&A with Donald here.

And for stamp inquires, email him at donaldc@stampworx2000.biz or give him a call at (800) 998.7826. See more of Donald's work here.

[image courtesy of The Bride's Guide]

About Town: B&J Fabric

I've had a lot of outings this week while my niece has been visiting. And as a result, I've seen & done things I haven't in years - fabric & button stores, the Met, candy meccas, favorite lunch spots. It feels really refreshing & reminds me that this is not only why I love living here, but that I need to get out more on my own.


Earlier this week, we went to B&J Fabric, my go-to in NYC for all material. Plus, they have a huge selection of Liberty of London prints, which I could leaf through & dream up projects for hours.

B&J Fabric
525 7th Avenue (b/t 38th & 39th)
Second Floor
New York City 10018

Today, we're mostly staying local, with an afternoon snack down the street at One Girl Cookies:)

About Town: Four & Twenty Blackbirds

I had heard about "the new pie place on 3rd Ave" from a friend who always seems to know of new spots before anyone else - or at least me:) We happened to pass Four & Twenty Blackbirds on our way back from Lowe's on Saturday (our tomato plants are growing so fast, they needed some more stake support) and made a quick pit stop. I'm sorry I didn't take any interior shots because it's so well done - the kind of place where you could park yourself for hours. Isn't the front so cute, too? Reminds me of a London store/cafe-front. And the pie. Oh, the pie! We got slices of Rhubarb Crumble and Salty Caramel Apple. Both were delish, but the Salty Caramel Apple was beyond. I'll definitely be going back here.

Four & Twenty Blackbirds
439 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215
(Corner of 8th street and 3rd Avenue)
Park Slope / Gowanus
(718) 499.2917

About Town: pop bar

One of my favorite things about living in New York is how things constantly change. Buildings go up, go down, streets close, stores open, restaurants open, lines form around the block for both. Even in four years in our little corner of Park Slope, we've seen restaurants & shops come and go. Nothing is static, and something is always new.

I want to start making a concerted effort to explore those somethings new. The new taqueria down the street that was described to me as "La Esquina, but fresher" or the "new pie place on 3rd Ave." We all hear about these new places every day as a New Yorker. So I'm going to start a little part of this blog called About Town, where I go somewhere new - a shop, a restaurant, a park, a museum - anything new, or new to me.

Last night was my first About Town visit to pop bar, a gelato-on-a-stick place in the West Village I had read about a couple months ago. I got strawberry dipped in milk chocolate and man was it gooood! I want to go back to try the other flavors. Banana dipped in milk chocolate? Mango? Mixed Berry? Yum!

I hope you enjoy this little adventure in blogland with me:)