Portsmouth, New Hampshire is a favorite coastal visit.
 
EAT

• Breakfast: Friendly Toast
• Lunch: If you went to Friendly Toast, you won’t be hungry. But you will be thirsty. Go to Portsmouth Brewery.
• Dinner: The Black Trumpet (coordinate it with the sunset and call for reservations)

 
STAY

• Ale House Inn: a small, boutique hotel with water views and Dwell bedding. Beautiful rooms, awesome details and accents everywhere you look.

 
DO

• Walk or ride a bicycle everywhere (if you stay at the Ale House, you can use one of theirs).
• Look into the Isle of Shoals and Harbor cruises. Very worth it.
• Grab an overly priced beverage at one of the waterfront bars. You can find them by walking down the narrow, historic passageways that sit between the old buildings along the port.
• Shop at Gus & Ruby (staple letterpress shop with a mouth-watering selection of paper products and must-have goodies like mason jar sippers and Ban.do accessories) and Nahcotta (art gallery + well-curated gifts for the home).

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Summer, if you could stay awhile longer, that’d be great.

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Okay, so I’m addicted and in love with a little city in the south. Every time I visit, I can’t seem to get enough. The food. The cobblestones. Historic everything. Rooftop beverages at sunset. Morning jogs along the battery. Friends gathered each visit.
 
There are WAY too many amazing spots to shop, dine, drink, and tour in Charleston. Do your research. And visit often. These are just a few of my favorites during a quick 4-day visit:
 

 
DAY 1:
Arrive in CHS.
Rent a car for a couple days or your entire stay.
Paddleboarding and beach walks at Folly.
Tacos at Taco Boy paired with screwdrivers.
Finish with a late evening wine and charcuterie at Bin 152.
 

 
DAY 2:
Morning workout of your choice (must work off yesterday’s treats).
Early afternoon sunning by the pool at King Charles Inn.
Lunch at Monza. Half carafe of pinot grigio. Pizza.
Sunset drinks at Vendue Inn rooftop bar.
Dinner at Rarebit.
 

 
DAY 3:
Battery walk in the morning with a loop down Meeting or King street.
Lunch at CO – Vietnamese and awesome for lunch or dinner.
Beach visit, because once wasn’t enough.
Back in time for a cocktail at Husk Bar.
Dinner at Two Boroughs Larder.
 

 
DAY 4:
Maybe a workout this morning, but let’s be real, the pool sounds way better at this point.
Bike rentals just down the road, or if you’re lucky, your hotel has them.
Ride to Xiao Bao Biscuit for lunch.
Get their version of the dark and stormy, with coconut milk.
Anything on the menu is a win.
Burn off your lunch with happy hour bowling at The Alley. Or play one of their many old school video games. Can you say Mortal Combat? NBA Jam? The Alley is a bar, arcade, and bowling alley. Aka heaven.
Dinner anywhere you please. Try Husk, Fig, Butcher and Bee or another food gem that has undoubtedly sprouted up within the last 6 months.
 

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For years I have followed a design website. This design website was smaller at first, with its start on blogger when I discovered it in 2004. I would email the site creator how I adored the posts. She would respond with thank-yous. This site lead me to Savannah, where I attended summer school at SCAD. It lead me to discover Charleston, SC. It caused a spiral of DIY creativity in me that was Out. Of. Control. This site was better than anything I had ever found as a creative person. Between the house tours, business savvy tips, buyers guides, the design appreciation… It is everything I could hope and love to find in one location. It is Design*Sponge. Grace Bonney changed so much for me when I discovered her site.
 
So this summer, when I submitted my before and after project I had been working on for three months to submissions at Design*Sponge and received a response from Grace saying they wanted to feature it, I freaked. Like squealed and jumped up and down and ran out of my office and proceeded to have a private and rather loud celebration for myself outside of my building with no care for passerby’s. I also might have called my sister just to scream and giggle uncontrollably into the phone while she asked repeatedly if I was okay.
 

 
Getting on Design*Sponge is a dream come true. But so was completing this refinishing project. I acquired a library card catalogue at a yard sale three years ago and this summer I was finally inspired to work on it. I had big expectations for this piece of furniture and as I took photos of the completed project, I felt incredibly accomplished. After I found a home for it in my apartment (which required completely rearranging everythinggggg) I thought, “What project next?!” Must refinish something else awesome… And so the spiral of creativity continues.
 

 
For a full before/after how-to: Read the post on Design*Sponge here!
 

 
Thank you Grace Bonney and Design*Sponge for inspiring so many to pursue what they love. I’m not sure I would have ever thought I could accomplish a project like this without you showing me it was possible and constantly giving the inspiration and resources away freely every day.
 

 

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Fall in Vermont is a contemplative time, a confusing time. For me, it’s a time to feel super grateful for where I live – the trees look like fireworks! Seriously, if you haven’t done the leaf-peeper tourist thing, you really really should. It’s kind of dumb when you think about just how beautiful it is. Your brain almost can’t process all of the color.
 
Fall in Vermont is also when I start to miss the summer (hence the confusing time). I’m an ocean, beach, hot-weather person. When I can start seeing my breath and weather.com warns of frost in the mornings, I tend to grow a little grouchy. Winter is a LONG, cold, dark season. Why do I live here? Oh yes… firework trees. Rolling mountains. Wonderful people. Small towns. Epic summers. Not-so-bad snowboarding. Yard sales with antique card catalogues for $20…
 
To help myself cope with the changes ahead, I often clean and rearrange. Is that like an OCD tendency? It definitely might be. It’s just like spring cleaning though. Gotta clean up that abode. Make it bright. Make it functional. Make it fun. It is a replacement solution for the sunshine that will be lacking in a month.
 
Living in a small, loft apartment for three years means things have a tendency to get sloppy. There is nowhere to hide anything. Storage solutions are a must. This fall I took some time to clean up my space and give it a new look, on a tight budget.
 
Here are five, inexpensive ways to make a small space look new!
 

 
1. REARRANGE YOUR SPACE
Move favorites from upstairs, downstairs. Feature a new (or old) piece of furniture. Color code your bookshelf. I had my recently refinished card catalogue to find a home for. It was a perfect excuse to completely update the layout of my living room. I moved a great lamp from my bedroom to the living room and an adorable outdoor, retro side table that was hiding in a closet to replace a cheap $10 ikea table. Creative repurposing! After moving things around and cleaning up, my living room never looked better.
 
2. PICK UP SOME NEW ACCENTS
This is an easy, instant-gratification project (my faves). If you’re on a budget, this can take place over several months (sale hunters!!). I updated to all white linens for the bed via TJMaxx. Purchased a new comforter cover and shower curtain during a sweet sale on West Elm. Updated bed pillows from JCP when they had a 50% off sale. And purchased some awesome screenprinted accent pillows for my couch from a local store at a summer discount price. A quick, easy update to three rooms!
 

 
3. UPDATE YOUR STORAGE
My bedroom was my nemesis. With no closet and three years of fighting clothes, a weird utility shelving system, and boxes of winter-wear just out in the open, I was determined to find a cool way to display my mess on a budget. I purchased an inexpensive dresser via Home Depot – who knew?! Home Depot offered this modern piece of furniture for a fraction of the price of anything else I’d found, with free shipping to boot. Done. Installation took a couple hours, but nothing too crazy. Solid wood, easy construction, durable.
 

 
4. PURGE
Next up was the clothing purge. It was surprisingly easy to get rid of the “I might wear this again someday” stuff… Especially when I realized I could get cash for it. With selling my clothing to friends, family, and a local consignment shop – I made back the cost of the dresser.
 
To highlight my remaining outfit faves, I purchased an all white clothing rack from Ikea for $12.99 and white, wooden hangers. I, of course, color coded my outfits for an added organized look.
 
These two items seriously transformed a nightmare space into something I love waking up to every morning. Plus I feel like I’m shopping every time I pick out an outfit.
 

5. COVER YOUR WALLS
Nothing says updates like some new artwork. Artwork on your walls is a great way to give each room a new look and feel. Especially when you’re renting and can’t paint. But don’t worry, new art doesn’t have to be expensive! And it doesn’t have to be your typical painting on the wall. I hung up old skateboards, a ukulele, and cardboard moose head among the framed art I’ve collected over the years. Urban Outfitters and Society 6 are also two great places to find inexpensive prints to hang on your walls. If you can’t afford to have them framed, use clips and tack the clips to the wall so you don’t ruin your art.
 
My bike is happily in my hallway instead of in storage. And my snowboard is leaning out to show its graphic base. If you don’t have a place to store your equipment, you might as well have it out on display like the rest of your art!

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Hey November! Orange and red leaf confetti is happily composting on the ground. Giant sunflowers are dropping their dried seeds in hopes of new growth. My favorite cherry tree is giving the season away so obviously. New mushrooms are sprouting and frosty dew is clinging to spider webs. It’s official.
 

The end of fall has arrived. And with it, cooler temperatures, the occasional dusting of snow. And layers. Lots and lots of layers.
 

Winter will swoop in secretly, before we’ve realized it. Snow caps will slowly begin their steady migration down. Getting closer and closer until they reach us. Winter usually arrives at night, so that we can have a surprise of perfectly white covered branches sparkling in the sunrise.
 

I must admit, I’m not in a hurry. Haven’t quite let that long summer go. I think I can still see a glimmer of it… When the sun hits the side of the couch and the house heats up with its warmth. If I sit in that patch of light and close my eyes, I can still taste it. Maybe even desperately imagine the ocean so close to touching my toes. So long summer.

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New Year’s Resolutions are floating around in my head. Are we not supposed to do that anymore? Overly hopeful expectations perhaps destined for failure mixed with a lack of accomplishment and deep-rooted guilt. So we’re just not supposed to dream big?
 
A new year is the perfect excuse to revaluate your laundry list of day dreams and give yourself a pretty sweet to-do list. Don’t let those pessimistic thoughts stop you from achieving or failing. Go forth! Dream big! Fail if you must! But you must try.
 
Make those resolution lists totally manageable: “floss. daily, dammit!” and add on little (what you thought were) unreachable goals. You will start to find that those goals are absolutely attainable. Not easily. Of course not. But through hard work, motivation, inspiration and a solid plan of attack, you will reach your overly ambitious resolutions. And what happens when you achieve? Excitement! And additional dreams just waiting for you to scoop them up.
 
Then you’ll be on a role. There will be no stopping you. Don’t be afraid of failure. Amongst the accolades and triumphs, there must be some (or many) mistakes, bumps, road blocks and full on tearful and frustrating moments of wanting to give up.
 
Fact: those shitty failures make us strong and brave. And in the end, bravery breeds adventure and success. So make your list of resolutions and feel the power and magic behind pursuing what you love. No to-do is too big or too small. You can do this. You’re that good.

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Yes, it’s been a frigid winter. The coldest in such a long time! Survival relies upon winter activities. And we make it work, even when it’s -20. Seriously. Put on some toe warmers, a snowboard, possibly include a flask of whiskey, definitely a warm beanie.
 
It sure is beautiful though. Winter wonderland even with the windchill and ice. It makes you stronger too. It also makes 30 degrees feel like 70. People drive with their windows down. Honestly, I saw someone wearing shorts the other day. The cold might make you crazy, but it also makes you appreciate the seasons, their individual and unique beauty, and summer. Definitely summer.
 

 

 

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Last month we ventured to San Diego for a work trip. Hopeful it would be a combination of work mixed with mostly fun, it realistically turned out to be the opposite. Fairly so. We still managed to sneak away for epic tacos, late night drinks, sunsets and ferry rides to nearby islands where bike rides, more food / drink, and ocean-to-tootsie soaking most definitely occurred.
 
Will be headed back that way in the future. For all play and no work. It was a wonderful city and we only scratched the very top layer of its warm and welcoming surface.
 

 

 

 

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Okay. So I’ve been mia. For like the entire spring / summer / fall. And now it’s November. I feel major guilt for my lack of updates. A new website is in the works! One that’s a bit more friendly with the trickling in of content. I know I should just promise that I will update my blog at least once a week but these days that just isn’t in the cards. So stay tuned! For a beautiful image-friendly site coming soon :) In the mean time, here’s a quick 6-month overview:
 

Glamping happened. And guys – it’s ABSOLUTELY all it’s cracked up to be. And I have no shame. No shame what-so-ever.
 

Invitations for glamping adventures. Complete with bravery patches, bandanas, and custom playing cards unique to each person invited.
 

Portsmouth and Portland summer trips coast-side were very welcomed. Stumbled upon new places to stay and things to do. Including a ramen bar in Portland that I still dream about.
 

Lots of espresso was enjoyed.
 

New animal friends were made.
 

Charleston came around again, as it typically does this time of year.
 

Seriously. If you haven’t gone to Charleston, SC. You need to go. Just go. The ocean looks like this sometimes, when the currents flow just right.
 

Have I mentioned that Charleston has the best food you will ever put in your mouth?
 

Seriously. The food there per square mile is absolutely insane.
 

Girls trip to Nantucket for a four-day weekend. It’s beautiful there in the fall. Especially through portholes as you approach on boat.
 

Stormy sea sunsets as we left Nantucket.
 

A grasshopper found Stella to be a lovely taxi.
 

And then just like that, it was fall.

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