a little glimmer...

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T01:37:00.000-05:00

p e a c e l o v e h a p p i n e s s

all

you!

Product Love: Island Thyme Lavender Peppermint Headache Stick

2011-11-15T23:25:00.004-05:00

It has been a while since I've had time to write (we're mired in paint cans and caulking guns), but I thought I'd ease in from the posting drought with something that manages to make me forget all the stress of renovating... This Lavender Peppermint Headache Stick from Island Thyme.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll warn you that I'm addicted to the smell of lavender. So when I found this little treasure on our travels in the San Juan Islands, I couldn't wait to try it. And I'm happy to say I somehow restrained myself from diving into the bottle in the middle of the store. Perhaps only because it's the size of my finger, but never mind...

Island Thyme suggests dabbing a bit of this strong-but-delicious-smelling oil on your temples for "tension headaches, drowsiness, sinus congestion, jet lag and more." Frankly, it just makes us smile (hubby included, who might be even more addicted than I am). The scent is strong, but oddly both energizing and relaxing. And I love that it's made with natural essential oils on gorgeous Orcas Island in Washington.

Find it on Island Thyme's website or if you're really lucky, buy it locally in the San Juan Islands.

Ticket time: Outstanding in the Field

2011-03-20T20:42:00.007-04:00

Remember this? It was last year's Outstanding in the Field event that we went to in Roscoe, NY. It was a dinner held along the river at Mountain Sweet Berry Farm. Tickets for this year's events went on sale today and some events are already sold out, so hurry along if you're pining to go. And this year the group is stopping at spots outside the US in Italy, France, Canada, Ireland, Spain, and more. Such fun! Click here for the 2011 tour list and to get tickets. Bon appetit!

P.S. Yes, it's certainly pricey. But these kinds of events are taking off around the country, and there may be other cheaper options near you, so it's worth a little interweb researching if you're interested.

P.P.S. For those of you in South Florida, I hear the dinners and brunches that Paradise Farms hosts are lovely affairs, although I haven't tried them. (Here's OITF's experience with Paradise Farms a few years ago - scroll down to the heading "Miami Vice.")

Iron & Wine & Happenstance

2011-02-06T22:38:00.006-05:00

My lovely friend A was visiting last weekend and thanks to a ~~snowstorm~~ ~~flight snafu~~ lucky break, she ended up on the plane with the band Iron and Wine. Their very sweet manager managed to finagle us tickets to their sold-out concert at Radio City Music Hall (a few hours on the tarmac gives you a chance to get to know your neighbor!).

The concert was amazing. I knew a song or two of theirs, but it made us fans. Lead singer Sam Beam is a fantastic musician and unexpectedly, quite a good stand-up comedian. We ended up in sweet seats behind the sound guy and had a fantastic night listening to amazing music, watching the cool work on the sound board, and getting to hang out with A. Fabulous night. (And the pictures from my Blackberry just don't do it justice.) Thanks, Howard - what a lucky coincidence!

Product Love: Deep Steep Organic Body Butter

2011-01-09T21:02:00.002-05:00

This Christmas I discovered a new favorite product...

I'm always on the lookout for products that are natural, preferably certified organic, but that are lovely to use and actually work. This holiday season I came across Deep Steep products. I gave their lavender chamomile organic body butter as a gift and got myself the rosemary mint scent. They're both wonderful! The scent is strong, but they also make an unscented version. The body butter works like a dream, even in the drying radiator heat of a winter in New York. I can't wait to try their other products, like the organic bubble bath and organic sugar scrub. The products have no parabens, lauryl sulfates, mineral oil, or synthetic fragrances, and they're not tested on animals (plus their little logo guy is adorable!). You can find them on their website, at Ricky's in NYC, or here. So, what organic products do you love?

Ladies & gentlemen, start your engines!

2011-01-02T23:11:00.007-05:00

The NY DEC tree nursery opens tomorrow for ordering! For those who remember our little tree-planting adventure, we're gearing up for another order of craziness. But first, a quick glimpse at how last year's trees did. These pics are a little old, as they'd be under a couple of feet of snow right now. Before the winter hit, the beach plums we planted on the hillside (above) were doing beautifully, as were the red oaks we scattered around the property (below).

And today we settled on our plan for this year's order: white pine, balsam fir, and white spruce (for privacy and deliciously smelling needles), more red oak, red maple (for brilliant fall color), American highbush cranberry and bayberry (for wildlife food sources), dwarf sand cherry (for streambank stabilization), and paper birch (for its beautiful bark), if they're all still available. Don't ask how many - once again, we're nuts.

If you're up for ordering, too, here's the 2011 brochure for the Saratoga Tree Nursery. The site has details about each species, but if the plants you want are marked as "LS" (limited supply), order as early as you can - they sell out in the blink of an eye. New Hampshire has a similar program - let us know if you know of others!

We're also getting a few apple trees and some lingonberries from St. Lawrence Nurseries. Their focus is cold-hardy edible plants - necessary for our freezing little pocket of upstate New York. Exciting!

Until then, we'll be sorting out our fancy planting-wear...

Things You Don't See in the Country

2010-11-20T09:54:00.001-05:00

I love New York. Where else would you find this...?!

Holy ghouls, Batman!

2010-10-31T23:57:00.002-04:00

NYC is a great place for just about any holiday, including Halloween. So this year as part of our frightivities, we went to the "Halloween Extravaganza" (sounds impressive, doesn't it?) at St. John the Divine. They showed The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with a live organ accompaniment, but the main event was the procession of the ghouls - spectacularly-costumed creepies slinking their way through the smoke-filled nave of the massive gothic cathedral near Columbia University.

The photos don't do it justice (yeesh, those are difficult conditions for photos!), but here's a taste of this deliciously creepy and quintessentially New York event. Did any of you do something special for All Hallows Eve?

Happy Halloween, everyone!
P.S. As always, just click to enlarge...

Update: Things You Don't See in the City

2010-10-17T16:36:00.003-04:00

So many of you have asked about what's been happening with the beavers that it seemed time for another update (an earlier one is here). For those who don't know, there's a beaver pond on our property. Earlier this year, we discovered that the beavers seemed to be following our lead by deciding to renovate. They took down a sizable tree in the yard - you can see a close-up of it here.

We'd thought they'd found greener (browner?) pastures, since they'd been seemingly dormant for a while. But lo and behold... the other day while showing a friend around our place, we found this.

And this.

Oh, come ON.
That one's a maple - a tree we really wanted to keep!

Yeesh. That says it all, I think.

P.S. Our lovely friends E&S recommended this IMAX flick when we were discussing the little critters and we saw it last night. Crazy! It's a really quick watch (even streams on Netflix) and is pretty amazing - never seen anything like it! Now we have some clue as to what's going on out there in that pond...

Bigger than Garfield

2010-10-11T01:01:00.002-04:00

Two wonderful friends of ours have the most impressive cat we've ever seen. He's big, he's burly, and his name is Mr. Littlejeans. And he's so popular, he even gets a weekly slot on their blog, Pacific Standard. One of his recent portraits was the source of so much outloudchortlingandpointing around here that I just had to - Had To - link here. The kids got a boat and, well, enjoy... And no, can't preview - you need the whole image + words all in one fell swoop.

P.S. Check out some of his other glam shots, particularly the ones with his hands in his pockets. Those are personal faves. And Strath, really awesome shot of your cabin boy. :)

Outstanding in the Field

2010-09-09T00:15:00.009-04:00

An intimate table for 150.

We were lucky enough to be part of a special event recently: a farm dinner in upstate New York. It was an event by Outstanding in the Field, a traveling food circus of sorts, and we had the honor of being the first riverside dinner they'd done. It was three hours of food- and atmosphere-induced merriment, with some outrageous laughs and a few people in the water (yep, including my hubby!). (And okay, the copious amounts of wine might have influenced the merriment, too.) What a gloriously memorable way to spend an evening.

Although the whole shebang was supposed to start with a tour of the farm and a talk by the farmer, we missed that part of it as the farmer never showed. (Odd, the whole farm-dinner-without-the-farmer. But we had a great time all the same!)


Part of the tradition: each guest brings his or her own plate. Look at the wonderful variety...

but I bet you didn't expect that pattern.

Jim Lahey from the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC served as our fabulously talented and friendly chef and baker, and he started us off with hors d'oeuvres, addictive strawberry/coriander/champagne cocktails, and a mouth-watering view of a simply elegant table for 150 along the banks of a river running through Roscoe, NY.

Mountain Sweet Berry Farm - Roscoe, NY

Some highlights from the dinner were the Windfall Farms green salad with fresh farm vegetables, herbs, and gorgeous, richly-colored flowers, perfect roasted potatoes that I so wish I could make, and a delicious panzanella with heirloom tomatoes. Everything was paired with local wines - all from Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in the Finger Lakes region of NY. But it was the juicy-ripe peaches and cream crumble with honey and Early Bird Cookery homemade blueberry ice cream that I could have eaten for the rest of the week.

Left: Jim Denevan (OITF founder) entertaining the crowd.
Right: the results of a little wine!

Thanks to our super-fun tablemates for a hoot of an evening, to Steve for taking good care of our table, and to Grace Bonney at Design*Sponge for telling her loyal readers (yep, I'm one!) about it. Check out Grace's post about it for better photos (I blame all that wine for our clunkers :) ). We loved it and can't wait for the next one!

P.S. Their events book up crazily quickly and they're quite a splurge, but it was so unique and special that we thought it was well worth it.

Loved the Mason jar lanterns - great atmosphere to end the evening!

Not quite a million trees

2010-06-16T02:20:00.010-04:00

We're a little crazy.* Although we've been mostly focused on sprucing up inside our cottage, we've spent some time working outside, too. Our biggest accomplishment there was planting 1275 trees (well, seedlings). Yep, 1275. We did it in four days between the two of us, with a huge assist from my enthusiastic, energetic, intrepid mom, and we all lived to tell about it.

Our property is pretty tree-filled already (though the beavers are doing what they can to change that). But there are areas where we'd love to see more oaks for hardwood, fruit trees for blossoms and fruit picking, evergreens for year-round privacy, etc. So we rolled up our sleeves and planted 8 different kinds of trees, plus some fruit trees and bushes. Now, this sure isn't New York's Million Trees program, but we're hoping that it's a good step towards making the property as special as it is in our imaginations.

Now that we've done it, I thought I'd pass on what we learned. Turns out that it wasn't as hard as I expected! We bought almost all of our trees from the Saratoga Tree Nursery, but I've since seen similar programs in other states. They ranged from $36 to $66 per 100 trees/bushes (which should give you an idea of their size: small!). So here's our quick tree-planting summary, with places to go for more details.

Step #1: check the weather. It snowed on our first weekend of planting. Ok, that was pretty miserable. We didn't have a choice about whether to plant that weekend, and nurseries generally suggest that you plant right away. So like us, you can bundle up and get out there. (Although I bet it has stopped snowing in most other places by mid-April!)

Step #2: the Saratoga nursery gives information about what you need for proper planting (helpful for us neophytes). We didn't get the weed mats, tree tubes, or other protection. There were just too many trees, and we thought we'd risk it and see how it went. Our cost/benefit analysis said, "Just plant and see." But we did arm ourselves with gloves, wellies, clothes that could get filthy, a wheelbarrow or bucket of water to carry the seedlings in, a shovel/flat spade, a utility knife for cutting too-long roots, and some rain (but a hose would work, too).

Click photo to enlarge. Left and center: This is how half the seedlings arrived: wrapped in brown paper and wood chips with soaked roots. The other half arrived in packs of 100 in brown paper packages tied up with string. (Seriously!) Right: our carrying system.

Step #3: no digging involved. It's easier than you think. This site has a good concise tutorial on planting seedlings, but the short summary is to make a wedge opening in the ground by pushing the spade away from you, put in the seedling, then make another wedge a few inches away and push toward the seedling so it closes the hole. Stamp down the soil around the tree to be sure it's secure, and water (or thank Mother Nature for cooperating with your plans).

Click photo to enlarge. Left: separating buttonbush seedlings. Center: planting white pine seedlings. Right: stomping down on the soil around the little tree. You also get a view of our super-chic choice of grunge-wear: painting clothes, muddy wellies, and cheap but much-appreciated gloves.

Step #4: wait, oh, 2 to 20 years. Fruit trees take a few years to bear fruit, and the evergreens we planted won't be creating a little more privacy until they're many years older. But we're already seeing the little trees unfurl their new leaves and needles, which is exciting enough for us.

So we had our big planting days and we'll see what happens! We've been told to expect that a 50% success rate is about right for situations like ours (so many planted and so far flung that we can't irrigate or cut back competing vegetation from all of them). But that sounds fine to us. It was a fun, if tiring, few days, and we certainly got some exercise and helped out the environment for less than dinner for 2 in the city for each 100 trees. And we didn't even spend all day each day, so it turned out to be a speedy way to add some green to the property. Send good tree-growing thoughts our way and we'll do the same. We may even send you some home-grown fruit!

We have some older apple trees already, but clearly they need a little trimming!

If you'd like to do your own planting... The Saratoga Tree Nursery doesn't take orders again until January, but that gives us all time to mull over what we need and where, and to get the area prepared. We did lots of research on which plants were native to our area, whether there were any known issues (Did you know that black walnuts are extremely toxic to horses and many plants? Me neither.), and how to plant and care for the trees. You'll be ready to go when it's time to order. Be forewarned that the Saratoga nursery sells out of some of its seedlings within the first couple of days they're open for orders. So mark your calendars for the first ordering day and call right away if what you have your eye on says "limited supply!"

Happy planting!!

* I'd prefer to think of it as being enthusiastic, energetic, intrepid even. But I admit it might just sound plain-old crazy.

Things You Don't See in the City - Part 2

2010-04-20T23:22:00.007-04:00

Spring comes late to upstate New York, and although the excitement may have worn off already for others, I had to post these photos. Looks to me like a sign of spring if ever there was one! These are a few of the lambs at a local university farm program a short drive away from the cottage. The sheep weren't so excited that I hung out to take some photos of the little ones, so I just snapped a few quick shots before they could get too grouchy.

P.S. An update on the beavers and their tree-felling... The little guys managed to down 25 trees in a two-week stretch!! That's some gumption. (Or audacity...?) And it sounds like one isn't so little after all: we hear there's an 80-pound bugger in the beaver pond. Yes, you read that right. Eighty pounds!!! Yeesh. We've also learned that you have to wrap the trunks of trees you want to save with wire. It's worked so far - keep your fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted...

Things You Don't See in the City

2010-04-06T05:21:00.012-04:00

It has been ages since I've posted - I think I've been hibernating... So to take inspiration from the flowers blooming in Central Park, time to start afresh.

A little amusement for you today. We were upstate at the cottage this weekend painting, and discovered this. It's alternately infuriating (7 trees in one week!!) and hilarious (of all the challenges we expect to have with a house, this isn't one of them), so I had to share. As you can see, there is a busy beaver (or many) at work at our place. (Aggressive little buggers...) Much laugher was had (ok, after some stress - would they aim away from the house, please?!) and we're relieved that so far they're just taking the poplars (which we neophytes have been informed aren't great trees anyway). Keep your fingers crossed that their diet doesn't include apple trees!

Hope you had a lovely Easter!

Cheers!

2009-12-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all! Here's to a happy, healthy 2010!!

Photo of fireworks from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River.

A Million Trees

2009-12-13T11:19:00.001-05:00

NYC gets some things so very right. Like this one: planting 1 million trees in the Big Apple. MillionTreesNYC started in 2007 with a 10-year goal of planting seven figures worth of greenery around the five boroughs. One of the best parts? You can request that a tree be planted on your street. Request one here, or find out more about the program, volunteer, donate, learn to care for trees, or request a tree-planting in a private space on the MillionTreesNYC website. As of today, almost 300,000 trees have been planted - let's help the city on its way to cleaner air, more shade, and glorious fall colors as the leaves change each year.

A bit of bubbly

2009-12-12T14:09:00.006-05:00

We're suckers for a nice prosecco and recently had a fantastic bottle that we both loved. It's called Nino Franco Prosecco Primo Franco, and it's fruity without being cloying and so very drinkable. Soft and bubbly, not too sharp - our new favorite. You can find it at Nancy's (where it's Nancy's favorite, too!) or here . (One caveat: Nino Franco also makes a "rustico" prosecco, which is less delicate - I much prefer the Primo Franco - and much easier to find.) And since it's party season, a nice bottle of something frizzante seems ever so à propos.

Magic barns

2009-11-18T00:21:00.007-05:00

A ubiquitous sight when you're wandering New England or upstate New York is a barn, whether neatly kept or barely standing. I'm fascinated by them, regardless of their condition. They can be majestic, well-worn, or desperate and filled with everything you can possibly imagine. An Apple A Day had a lovely missive about a barn here, complete with the perfect pair of photos.

We just had a chance to see inside one spot that I've drooled over and I can't stop thinking about all its wonderful possibilities. Here's a glimpse of a few of these charmers from our travels this weekend.

I love New York in the fall...

2009-11-07T00:39:00.007-05:00

We had guests in town for a couple of days, so we took a leisurely walk through Central Park to admire the trees and the fall colors. I hear this year's weather made the colors less vibrant than usual, but it's still a lovely view to me.

The Beehive

2009-10-19T00:43:00.001-04:00

While exploring this weekend up by the cottage, we found an adorable town and a really cute place to eat. The little cafe is called The Beehive, and it's on Main Street in Franklin, New York - a little oasis of turn-of-the-century buildings. It's a charming spot in an even more charming town. They also sell great homemade bread, and it seems to be the local gathering place for the community, which gets extra points with us. The Yelp review is here, with more pictures.

Update - September 2010: Sadly, The Beehive is now under different management. While we think it's still the best option for eating in Franklin, it just doesn't have the great style or attention to detail that it used to. The differences are subtle, but make a big difference.

Shelter Island Yummies

2009-10-15T09:46:00.000-04:00

Macaroons, eclairs, and cakes - oh my! This is one of the cute places we found while exploring Shelter Island. It's called Mark It With G and it was a great spot for our lunch. Someday I'll learn how to make French macaroons, but until then, I'm keeping up with my tasting research...

Shelter Island

2009-10-15T00:22:00.004-04:00

I'm loving these pictures we took on a recent trip to Shelter Island, NY for the delightful wedding of some good friends. Between the dancing and the cocktail events, we had a chance to wander the island. So charming and peaceful. Hope you enjoy a few of our shots...

images: top and bottom rows - walking on the beach with the hubby; middle row - shots of mark it with G bakery & restaurant (left and middle) and a cottage we loved (right)

Green Apples!

2009-10-05T11:10:00.001-04:00

We have apples! We went up to the cottage this weekend and had beautiful views of the leaves and the autumn, and we discovered green apples while we were exploring the property. (Three cheers - our favorites!) They're a little ugly (no scary chemicals to make them look fancy) but they taste great! It'll take some research to figure out what other varieties are on the land - there are quite a few different types - but I'm already dreaming of fresh, hot apple pie (!) with apples from around the cottage. Mmmm...

Salumeria Rosi

2009-09-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

A good friend just moved back into town and we went to one of our favorite places tonight as an introduction to the neighborhood. The restaurant/market is Salumeria Rosi, and it's a tiny jewel box of a place, where they have wonderful wines and they manage to serve foods that I know I don't like in a way that I just love. They serve tiny plates - Italian tapas-style - and it's also a great place for picking up a (shmancy) picnic (admittedly with a price-tag to match) and heading to the park. Happily, our friend loved it - hope you will, too. The menu is here and the review in New York magazine is here.

Buon appetito!

-a.l.g.

"Begin at the beginning..."

2009-09-26T15:24:00.002-04:00

Good advice, that.

My husband and I are embarking on a few big, new projects and I thought this would be a great place to keep a record of them and to share them with those of you who've asked for updates. Let's see how it goes...

As some of you know, we've just bought a little cottage in upstate New York that we're working on readying for what we hope will be the site of many great memories and parties with friends and family, adventures in nature, and an escape to a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle.

Our cottage is in the foothills of the Catskills, an area that is still surprisingly remote and rural and that has lovely ponds, streams, and lakes throughout. This picture is a shot of the stream behind the cottage - following it to the left leads you to beaver ponds and other wonderlands.

Welcome!

xo,

a.l.g....