the light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion;
the tunnel is.
- unknown

a few weeks ago, we headed to portsmouth, nh in search of relaxation and beer!  we found both of those things, as well as a fantastic stationery shop, cupcakes, and more. (what else do i need?!)  here are some highlights ::

smuttynose brewery ::  very cool spot, laid back, the tour included lots of fun facts (including the story of the two older gentlemen on the IPA label), and lots of samples.  as a thank you for stopping by, you receive a coupon for a free pint at the portsmouth brewery — nice way to keep things going!  brewery tours are only offered a few days a week, so plan accordingly.

throwback brewery ::  according to the folks at smuttynose, a former employee started this small brewery that makes their beer using almost entirely local ingredients.  their beers are hand bottled and not filtered.

redhook brewery ::  the biggest brewery in portsmouth.  redhook originated in washington state, and in 1996, the east coast outpost was built in portsmouth.  tours are offered every day of the week.

portsmouth brewery ::  great spot to stop for lunch.  they make their own beers, and carry smuttynose and other craft beers, too.  we tried the spicy nut brittle off the snacks menu as an appetizer — different than anything i’ve ever had and definitely worth a try! there are several veg entree options, which i always appreciate!

the library ::  while the library only has one veg entree, what really drew us in was the ambiance and the history.  the restaurant is located in the rockingham house which was originally built in 1785.  the dining room is extremely ornate and full of bookshelves and books.  according to their website, the dining room ceiling was built by pullman car woodworkers in 1889, the paneling is hand carved spanish mahogany, the lighting fixtures are all original, and all the mirrors in the dining room were imported from france. several noteworthy historical figures have eaten and/or stayed in the building, including george washington, theodore roosevelt and john f. kennedy.  at the end of the meal, your bill is presented in a book!

gus + ruby’s letterpress ::  great stationery shop, named for the owners’ dogs.  bins of single cards to pour through (several of which made me laugh out loud), boxed cards, candles and lots more!

finally, we stayed at the ale house inn, a destination that had been bookmarked in my safari browser for two years.  finally made it! prior to the ratification of prohibition in 1917, the building that houses the inn was a warehouse for the portsmouth brewing company.  according to their website, “thousands of kegs once rested here as they underwent fermentation”.  when booking your room you can request that beer, champagne, cupcakes, etc. be waiting for you upon arrival.  they also offer the use of beach cruisers which provide a convenient way to check out the town outside of the main shopping district.  here are a few pictures ::
real room keys ::
cupcakes upon arrival (made at popovers on the square) ::on the bedside table, reading about reading, and music, and food ::

common area (you can’t see them in this photo, but there’s a stock of unlimited bags of chips in this room) ::
ALE ::

i would definitely recommend a trip to portsmouth.  there’s lots to see and do (and eat and drink!), but not so much that you’re running around trying to squeeze it all in. spend a weekend here — you’ll enjoy it.

cheers!  :)

the first question which the priest and the levite asked was:
“if i stop to help this man, what will happen to me?”
but then the good samaritan came by, and he reversed the question:
“if i do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
- martin luther king, jr.

the picture above is of the martin luther king, jr. memorial at boston university’s marsh chapel.  a paperweight featuring a drawing of this monument (a graduation gift from my parents) sits on my desk as a reminder of my time at bu .  it thrills me to know that i attended the same university where martin luther king, jr. earned his doctorate in theology.

i remember meeting with classmates once in the mlk, jr. reading room on the third floor of the mugar memorial library.  as we sat at a table chatting about a project, personal correspondence and artifacts from mlk were on display all around us.  that was really kind of unbelievable to me; it still is as i sit here thinking back on it.

if you’re inspired by mlk, jr. as much as i am, stop by the library the next time you’re in boston.  it contains papers he donated to the university in 1964, the year he received the nobel peace prize.  here’s a link to information on the reading room, which is open to the public monday through friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

i made my first trip to the troy-based design shop, design it together, last week, and it was an all-around awesome experience.  for those of you who haven’t heard of them yet, here’s a quick “about us” from the design it together website:

“Design it Together is a studio, store, and performance space that is the result of the ongoing creative collaboration of Taylor Gillis, BenKN, and their friends & partners.

Design it Together was born in 2010 when Ben and Taylor launched a design studio as an umbrella for their freelance work, and also to assist their friends’ record label, Do it Together Records (D.I.T.). Since that time, Design it Together has grown to include their own original line of apparel designs and poster prints, in addition to offering a host of design services.”

how i ended up there :: it was the birthday of a dear friend, and i had something in mind that i wanted to give her.  i had seen a print by design it together at last year’s larac festival that said, “now is the perfect time” — it immediately reminded me of my friend. admirably, she takes a lot of care and effort to be here now, so i wanted to give her this print as an acknowledgement of how awesome i think she is.

so, i called down to the shop to make sure they had the print in stock since it’s a 45 minute drive from my house.  the guy who answered said the print was actually out of stock, but that he could make me one right then and there.  this is the moment when design it together went from being a cool print shop that i wanted to check out, to a cool print shop that i will be seeking out and supporting for many years to come.  i’m a sucker for good customer service, and an even bigger sucker for a freshly made print, inked especially for me (or in this case, for my friend, the birthday girl).  i thought this was really awesome, and i appreciated it very much.

here’s the print, which was ready and waiting when i walked into the store:

there’s lots of creative and fun stuff to check out at design it together — cards, prints/posters, t-shirts and more.  here are a few shots of the shop:
i also stocked up on printed cards while i was there.  here are my favorites:

there are lots more awesome designs to check out, so stop by their website or the store (located at 286 river street in troy).

now i need to check out the music side of design it together.  hopefully that’ll happen soon!

creative designs + awesome prints + music + good customer service = awesome!

“there is no formula for success except, perhaps,
an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.”
- arthur rubinstein

my christmas present from j (it works – even came with extra ribbon!) ::
the matching gift i purchased for myself at design it together.  expect a post on my visit to their shop later this week! ::

while browsing around online a few months ago, i saw this cartoon from the new yorker. yesterday, i found it printed on a card, which i promptly purchased.  it’s fantastic.

i’m declaring a motto for 2012, and it is . . .
!!!  i just found it (letterpressed, even!) in ian coyle’s project, 73 letterpress.  for 73 days, coyle printed one thought a day on his 1950′s letterpress and this was the end result. they’re all cool and some are particularly inspiring.  here are a few more of my favorites ::

if you ever find yourself on the upper west side of manhattan (so for us tourists, most likely during a trip to the museum of natural history), please, please make the short walk to levain bakery.  a friend had mentioned it to me and provided the address (167 west 74th street).  apparently this place is a huge deal and very well known to city dwellers, but, being from out of town, i never would’ve wandered down that street or noticed the tiny downstairs bake shop if it wasn’t for my friend’s suggestion (thank you, jen!).

i went in and ordered the chocolate chip walnut cookie, and, this was, simply put, the best cookie i’ve ever had. absolutely amazing.  it was huge, hearty, a little crunchy on the outside, with melted chocolate chips on the inside, so rich, delicious — it got better and better with each bite. it was honestly like no other cookie i’ve had before.  i know you’re probably thinking, “really?  it’s just a cookie,” but, i’m totally serious.  this was the cookie to end all other cookies.  totally deserving of its own blog post.

levain bakery also makes bread, scones, and flatbread pizzas.  we had an artichoke flatbread which was also delicious, but . . . the cookies!

i was quite excited to see that you can order their stuff online and have it shipped to you, and i’m pretty sure the day will come when i disregard the overnight shipping fee and just go for it.

so yeah, the next time you’re in the city, go get some!  you won’t be disappointed!

(photo source :: levain bakery website, because my cell phone shots did it no justice!)

i found this six pack of adirondack magnets made from recycled bottle caps while christmas shopping, and picked them up for j’s stocking.  when i saw them, i assumed they were made locally, but after looking them up when i got home, discovered they’re actually made by kate grenier designs in seattle, washington.  there are tons of six packs to choose from — locations, teams, hobbies, foods, causes, political views and more. they’re well made, charmingly packaged, and at $18 per six pack, an affordable way to give someone a personal and fun gift.

for last year’s words belong to last year’s language
and next year’s words await another voice . . .
and to make an end is to make a beginning
the end is where we start from.
- t.s. eliot

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(photo source reuters/romeo ranoco.)

letterpressed cookie cutters?  get me to the kitchen asap!!! find them at paper source.

last night, while listening to harry connick, jr.’s harry for the holidays (don’t judge, i really like this album!), i made some christmas gifts/party favors for a little soiree i’m hosting next week for my college roomies.  knowing that all my girls enjoy their wine, i grabbed some wine corks from the stock pile i’ve been accumulating over the years, and made some christmas tree ornaments.  they’re easy to make, and i think, very cute!

what you’ll need –

• wine corks (5.5 corks for each ornament)
• hot glue gun (pick one up at your local craft store from anywhere between $3 and $30)
• ribbon, string or twine
• harry for the holidays (optional)

how to make the ornaments –

• pick out five corks that are roughly the same length/style (i.e., made of cork, synthetic)
• using a hot glue gun, make a little pyramid with three corks on the bottom, two corks on top of those, and one cork on top
• once the glue dries and the corks are firmly in place, tie a ribbon (string or twine work, too) around the pyramid, double knot the ribbon at the top of the pyramid, make a loop to hang the ornament on the tree, and tie off the loop into a double knotted bow
• to make the stump of the tree, cut a cork in half (or to desired height — i did a little smaller than half) and use the hot glue gun to adhere the stump to the pyramid

you’ve got yourself a charming little wine cork christmas tree!
if you still need some help with the holiday spirit, check out gala darling’s december activity guide.  simply looking at this blog post puts me in a christmas-y mood.

and last but not least, if you haven’t “liked” paperdolls of saratoga on facebook yet, do it! they’ve been running a 12 days of christmas giveaway, and i happened to win a set of seltzer goods magnets a few days ago.  score!  the contest will be running for a few more days, so check it out!

hope you’re enjoying the season!

• this tumblr page features thoughts on typography, accompanied by pictures of ryan gosling.  it’s visually pleasing (thanks to ryan gosling), and i personally find the commentary incredibly funny.  i think this one is my favorite.
• also visually pleasing, these two books full of positive, artful messages have found their way to my coffee table and are brightening up my days :: live now by eric smith and friends, and everything is going to be okay by chronicle books.  here’s a look at some of the messages from live now:
  
• jeanine payer handmade jewelery is a bit of an obsession for me right now.  not only are her pieces beautiful, but they’re all engraved with poetic and meaningful words.  you can select from pieces that are already engraved, or contact her to have a custom piece made.  i completely agree with the statement on her website that “there are few things as intimate as wearing poetry against your skin.”  i’m working on picking out a quote for a piece now.  so many to choose from!  locally, her work can be found at silverado on broadway in saratoga.
• sweet paul shares his chase for the sweet things in life on his blog.  recipes, home decor, holiday ideas, crafts and so much more.  i wish sweet paul was my personal friend! he publishes gorgeous and inspiring (and free!) digital magazines, too — here’s a link to the latest one.
• in the spirit of thanksgiving, here’s a recipe i posted last year for butternut squash and sage lasagna.  it’s one of my all-time favorite recipes, and i guarantee that it’ll wow everyone at your thanksgiving table.
• and finally, a manifesto to live by ::

that’s all i’ve got for today.  i’ll be putting up a list of things i’m thankful for, but it might not be until after the holiday.  so in the meantime, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!  enjoy it, and if you’re thankful for someone, take the time to let them know!

(live now photo source.)

‎”that guy you used to be, he’s still in the car.
he’ll always be in the car.
just don’t let him drive.”
- eddie vedder

(click image for source.)