love list: maine roadtrip

the best part of summer is here. i flew out east to my summer gypsy crew a few days ago to join the annual summer vaca' to maine. pretty lucky to be back with these people yet again. new jersey doesn't just feel like home, new jersey is home. hence my love for 32 old chester road.

so begins this series of love lists. two weeks in maine is an epic adventure of sorts, so this love list is featuring solely the loves we have during our road trip from New Jersey to our heavenly oasis in Midcoast Maine.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the cutest east coast village ever is our halfway point, break in driving, overnight stay. 8+ hour drive with kiddos (myself included) is no joke, it is not happening without stopping. and i mean, portsmouth is dreamy, it definitely doesn't suck. it's the best

| Gus & Ruby- Portsmouth, New Hampshire |

paper and lifestyle stores. they kill me. this one as displayed by the pictures has some pretty ridiculous windows. and first summer we strolled into this hidden gem, they had a huge collection of emersonmade original collection flowers. 

| Ceres Street Bakery- Portsmouth, NH |

off the beaten path, really awesome bread, strong and ridiculous coffee, cool people working, inhabited by the locals. basically fits all the requirements the gypsies are looking for. happened to run into our favorite shop owner from the night before the morning we were at ceres. at that point, we knew we belonged at ceres street bakery.

                                          | 158 Pickett Street Cafe- Portland, Maine | 

road tripping and traveling with caroline is awesome for many reasons. one of them being her amazing discovery and knowledge of ever artisanal, cool, and off the beaten path people doing awesome things with food in their locale. case in point, 158 pickett street. cool story behind this little gem, boyfriend/girlfriend duo (no longer, they had to split the starter) who created artisanal bagels with a sourdough starter of sorts. and then went to a whole new level of crazy by crafting a menu with killer sandwiches. i had 'the hippie'- sesame bagel loaded with hummus, carrots, cucumbers, greens.. and then  i added pesto and eggs. i landed in bagel heaven, and i didn't even know that was possible. not to mention their killer back courtyard, local kombucha, cold press and whimsical bathroom that conor and belle spent half a lifetime in. 

| Standard Baking Company- Portland, Maine |

another hotspot i have been introduced to thanks to caroline. the first time i came was right before i was catching a bus to head to Boston. this place is magical, old warehouse building, you walk in to a counter facing rows of beautiful bread. i believe i carried a classic french baguette and chocolate sea salt cookie onto my bus ride to boston. gypsy travel snacks. and their peach iced tea is heavenly.

 | Rock Paper Scissors- Wiscasset, Maine | 

this may or may not be one of the most dangerous stops on our way to the beach cottage in maine. it is across the street from the most renowned lobster roll joint in maine. never mind the lobster rolls, in the town of Wiscasset Rock, Paper, Scissors has all of our hearts. it is the most beautiful designed, displayed, selected paper store I have ever come across. each year we lose our minds in this store. is now a good time to admit that both of these photos are from two summers ago, the past two summers I have been so entranced and committed to this store that I have not been able to take out my phone to snap any pictures, too focused on the paper. this year I scored some killer new colors/designs of washi tape, a beautifully simple lower case stamp set, kraft paper envelopes. a lot of crafting takes place on stormy maine mornings. pictures to come of rock, paper, scissors inspired creations. 

that's the way to live...

cliffs at the river.  [photo credit: kenny b]

"happy. just in my swim shorts, barefooted, wild-haired, in the red fire dark, singing, swigging wine, spitting, jumping, running- that's the way to live. 

all alone by the sigh of the sea out there" 

jack kerouac

i love people who can remind me to remember this. kenny b. case in point. my cousin who comes in last minute on spontaneous adventure trips to visit me in the city. gives the best hug at the pick-up line at the airport. and lives the way he lives and wants to share in the living. he gets you to remember the simple, free adventure that is in creating every moment of the day. 

impromptu workouts at the farmer's market after picking up our csa. my arms were literally on fire. no gym, no machine, no weights. just good old fashioned work. 

playing down at the cliffs at the mississippi. like little kids trying to do tricks and crazy yoga things with our bodies. 

talking. real conversation. in the sculpture gardens at night with the skyline doing it's thing.

i love people who remind me of these things. so kerouac, you nailed this so so so spot on...

but maybe my way to live isn't 'all alone by the sigh of the sea'..... i want to listen to the sea, play in it, swim in it, adventure along it's coasts with my people. not alone. i don't dig alone when there is carefree, summer adventures that are out there. 

ritual

rituals. not habits. rituals should feel good, have a hint of nostalgia perhaps.


whenever i head back to the lake i enter my own little ritual heaven. one of my favorites, my go-to's, my ritual that i will hold on to for dear life - reading a magazine on the dock, deck, or porch depending on time of day and sun situation.


case in point, this weekend. after a day on the lake i retreated to my ritual; my fort. let's be real, we are essentially calling our rituals our down dogs of life. where we go to recover. my body had that sun tired high. la vida was full. and i got to read food & wine and drink ice cold lemon water out of my favorite water bottle. 


rituals. they can root us. they can restore us. they can let us savor moments of sun-tired, lake hair, non-showered, dirty barefeet. they are pretty awesome, huh.


i could go on for days on rituals. what's yours? 

summer house

i really do not know how to properly introduce this movie. that is how good it is. and coming from me, that is saying alot. i find it impossible to listen to a song in it's entirety before skipping to the next and any youtube clip someone sends me that is over 30 seconds is probably not happening. so this is good. really good.


scott schuman + garance dore are behind this lovely little j.crew video. their work is unbelievable. i have actually used this video of scott schumans' for my capstone entrepreneurship class. they both have the ability to captivate through their lens. this will take you places. i can smell the salty ocean air.
i mean it is just everything; the bracelets on his wrist, the red rugged jeep, the big chunky sweater.


fall in love for yourself. go somewhere with it. 

 video: courtesy of j.crew

my people

i am lucky to be surrounded with a good crew. i love my people. they speak to me in endless ways. think of it as a the gypsy soul's own version of 'overheard.' i want to share the words, the shenanigans, the messages that my people give me on a daily basis. 

'it is important to question. and keep asking. the answers will change'

austin

etsy (lust)

etsy (lust); the wanderlust of the world wide web. you can get lost in it. i just did. 
i had every intent of doing work on the shop, but etsy (lust) took over. before i knew it i had spent endless minutes jumping around from one favorite to the next, connecting with more and more super talented people with a focus on the idea of craft, artisanal, of working with your hands to create something beautiful.


the type of beautiful that you just can't find when the machine is cranking it out. so i would love to share my etsy (lust) on this sunday..because sharing makes it totally productive, right?


[ untold imprint ]
subtle. natural. earthy | hand printed textiles

[ rocky top soap shop ]
"You get the sense that you have been transported to a world past, where things are a bit more simple. Indeed, this is the way life should be."

[ wind and willow home ]
"I am constantly inspired by the change in seasons, stunning sunsets and beautiful blooms. Each batch is inspired by the simplicity and classic lines of nature"

(do i need to mention that araya, the artist behind wind + willow is a minneapolis locale, raised on the north shore. yeah, cool factor is through the roof)


[ sparrow nest script ]
" My craft centers on the visually pleasing arrangement of words on a page and combines my love of words both as tools for communication and as works of art in themselves.
I'm very environmentally aware when I create."

(because, well hello.. i am a total sucker for a good card)


[ son of a sailor ]
"playful creation and collaboration."

(confession, i have been lusting after this for some time now. it has spent some serious time in my cart. i think it is time to pull the trigger. check out william and jessica's blog as well )

yoga | studio

i am going to try something.  it may be short lived. but it could be something beautiful.
i have a deep love for yoga. and for now that is where i am at with it, i have not grown into it's full and whole meaning. it is a love of my life and i am sweating with it as much as i can.

and i think it is time i start taking my lover outside the four walls of the studio. mixing things up, fusing things together, taking the mind blowing and awesome dharma talk from my teachers and applying it to my real life (like actually doing it).

it is kinda like this. i have a chronic problem of stocking up on outrageous adventure pictures and quotes on my ipad that evoke this lifestyle of living wild and free. i have a running document on my desktop that i compile 'random musings' of quotes that i encounter on blogs that look great on a card or as picture on your mirror. and then there's the life inside the yoga studio that i mentally compile all the lessons, all the symbolism, all the connections of breath and movement... but then i sweat it out for an hour, namaste and leave.

so, it is time to connect. yeah? life in the studio and my life outside are coming together. (because really they are the same thing) we'll see how it goes, perhaps it may be a weekly thing? but i can't handle a plan, so let's keep it free-form. and in all honesty, i am still searching for the right title for this little series. i do know i want to pair pictures with words...

harvest: the product of an effort, an action

yesterday morning i was out doing some crazy, cool things. crazy, cool things that got me thinking about this word harvest. a word that seems to get thrown around, said casually, nonchalantly, without intention behind it.

my best friend and i woke up with the sun and headed out to one of the yards of Bare Honey.
Dustin is a man who understands harvest, who understands the relationship we have with this earth, who honors knowing where his food comes from and who creates.

we put on the bee suits. we waited for the sun to come out. we watched the bees start to wake up. we used cedar to smoke out the bees. we sprayed almond extract. we used a leaf blower to 'gently' push the bees out of the hives. we stacked the boxes in the trailer. we got hot. we were amazed as we saw the honey dripping down the frames, with the sun hitting it just so that it sparked these moments. we blew out our last hive. we walked away from the hives back in the parking lot. we stripped out of our suits, out of our boots. we sat for a moment blown away by what we just did. we walked back to the building where dustin plugged the centrifuge in. we watched as dustin went into a trailer full of frames, full of still buzzing bees with no bee suit on, totally vulnerable. and then a beekeeper with his product, with his harvest, reached his hand full of honeycomb dripping with honey outside the trailer and into our hands.

and here we were, sitting in the sun, hands dripping with honey straight from the hive. raw. warm from the sun. unlike anything. because now, there was meaning, there was intention, there was action behind this word. there was a lot wrapped up into that harvest.

harvest. you know, it kind of makes you think. it can stir things up. like, there are so many things that we can harvest...so many things we can put our efforts, our actions behind. and summer has this dreamy, beautiful season that is just asking for us to get outside, breathe in that summer air and start harvesting.

and then it just makes you fall in love with whatever you are harvesting. creating text messages that read like this conversation:

p.s. i have been dreaming about honey all day | golden liquid of the gods | hoooooonnnneeeeyyyyyyy oooooo hoooonnneeeeyyyyyy

when we were young

lucky enough to see this crew live tonight. outside. on a beautiful summer night.
it was something else. not to mention that the night ended with a killer performance by oar. 


the lumineers. as the story goes they gave up their lives to follow their passion for music. packing up and heading for colorado. living, adventure, reckless abandon in the best possible ways. and their music gets it.

'When we were young, Oh Oh, we did enough

When it got cold, Ooh Ooh, we bundled up

                                                  I cant be told, Ah Ah It cant be done

It's better to feel pain, than nothing at all

The opposite of love's indifference'

where i'm coming from

in thinking about home, a sense of place, my roots this whole graduating from college thing and having an infinite open future ahead of me tends to ignite that panicky feeling. and when i say tends to, i mean it totally sends me into cartwheels of panic. in a good way, perhaps? and recently while running and having life conversations my friend had the profound philosophy that 'we are so young and have the opportunity for home to be anywhere.' it's cool right, when certain moments, certain people, certain ideas get you at your core and make sense.


 where i'm coming from. my sense of place, my roots are a product of my wanderlust and gypsy soul. scattered all over, the following places being realized and so many still unrealized, because who knows where i will be in a month, a year... i like to think that figuring out my next step is a last minute thing, because what i realized on that hot summer run was home can be anywhere. 

maine.

belgium.

st.paul.

old chester road.

eternally home: the shore