Local Lovelies: Once I went to Boxcar

A long time ago I started a series of posts about my favorite local sights and indulgences.  When we moved to Syracuse two and a half years ago, I tried my best to cultivate that same weekend lifestyle of hunting down special spots in the area and things that make the city (or town) unique that made our life in the Hudson Valley so idyllic.  I've covered the Creekwalk in Syracuse, but my demanding schedule and finances sometimes get in the way of digging in to the Syracuse culture.  STILL, I've been plenty of places - big an small, expensive and free, outdoors and in, simple and complex - they're just waiting to be shared.  Here's one from over two years ago, our first winter back in Syracuse.  

I didn't take too many photos, but one Saturday afternoon I went to check out the Boxcar Press open house.  Boxcar is a letterpress business in the city that had just renovated their studio on the near west side in late 2010.

At the open house, I saw live printing on their beautiful presses, got to try my hand at printmaking, and shopped some of their holiday products, including cards, notepads and coasters.  I also received a free t-shirt and a few sample coasters to take home.

Boxcar was one of my very first experiences with some of the innovative art and local-focused movements that are happening in Syracuse.  Though I haven't been back to their space since December 2010, I always enjoy seeing their work at local art fairs, and checking out their blog from time to time, for tips on printing, and to see what they're up to.

Looking back

One of my favorite procrastination activities - especially useful when I'm on my laptop pretending to work on a paper - is looking through my files of digital photos to the very same date last year.  I love to see what I was up to, what I thought was important, what I wanted to document some twelve months ago.  Sometimes this search turns up a couple of photos of my apartment - decorations, something I baked, maybe just a clean room - and other times I am reminded of a sweet adventure or a moment spent with family or friends.  No matter what, it's always a reflective experience, and usually great perspective on how quickly life changes...

Late last November, we went on a nature walk at Beaver Lake...

                        ...and an evening game of checkers.

Things to love today.

Happy Sunday.  Today I am catching up on cleaning, reading some of my favorite blogs, planting a few spring seeds and planning on stopping by a new-ish coffeeshop downtown that I've been wanting to visit.  What are your Sunday afternoon plans?

A few weekend links taking up my time:

 - Dreamy Whites. French farmhouse inspired living
 - Live streaming Blue Heron cam from Cornell's Ornithology Lab, via my mother!
 - Brandi Carlile's That Wasn't Me.  I've already listening four times today
 - Elephantine.  Lovely photos, recipes and short fiction
 

Sunday at Terrain

Last weekend, while down in the Philadelphia area for a family bridal shower, I had the chance to stop into one of my favorite stores, Terrain!  My sister, mother and I spent the afternoon wandering aimlessly through the rooms, greenhouses and gravely aisles of the garden store that is so much more than plants.  Seriously, I could spend an entire day there, looking everything over, and then looking again.  And they have a perfect little cafe, to boot, so when you're in need of a shopping break, you can hop in line for a bubbly spritzer and cheese platter.

My love of Anthropologie is no secret, and so when I discovered Terrain a year or so ago, I began making it a regular stop on my trips to PA.  This time around, I picked up a few more weck jars to add to my collection, three new terrarium plants, and - finally - a simple glass cloche, and item that's been waiting patiently on my want list for a long, long time. 

Little weekend close to home

Bonjour, mon petit blog.

Don't you just love weekends at home?  Nothing to do but soak up plenty of quality time under soft, warm blankets, nestled deep in couches and pillows, watching sitcom reruns and pbs specials, sipping herbal tea and playing board games with friends in the evening.  This weekend we made time for some errands, reading and work (for AChef), but also found room to grab coffee and bagels on Sunday morning and head to the local flea market, where we found a box of green depression compote dishes, a lovely little letterpress block of a carriage, and a postcard of a french castle.  Afterwards, we took a long walk along the creekwalk right up to the shore of Onondaga Lake.  I love fresh air.  After weeks of work, travel, stress, fluctuating weather and social outings, nothing is more envigorating for me than a walk with no more agenda than taking in the surroundings and totally relaxed conversation.


As spring begins, there's so much more to think about.  In addition to considering graduate school and a big move, I'm starting to take focus on some lifelong ambitions, from pet-ownership to running a half marathon to my own creative and artistic needs.  2012 is just beginning.  What are your hopes and plans for the spring and summer to come?
 

Little Things

Favorite Things: the second week of February...

...making a huge pot of coffee on Saturday mornings to enjoy throughout an afternoon of chores, blogs, pinterest, grad school paperwork and cleaning. 

...Valentine's Day crafts (see above for my new front door decor)

...a tumblr completely dedicated to coffee!

...a thin layer of snow on the grass outside

...running on the Creekwalk this month, thanks to more post-work daylight

...the sugar cookies I am going to bake this afternoon

...still spending every morning, afternoon and weekend hour in my moccasin slippers <3

The weekend

{Making cinnamon pull-apart bread, last weekend}

Though they are far too short, I love the weekends.  Tending to my herb garden and indoor winter plants, trying a new wine, spending hours perfecting experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and poring over magazines and books; what's not to love?  Here are just a few of the things I've already done or have on my agenda for this, the last weekend of January...

Creamy broccoli cheddar soup.  Check!  We enjoyed this for a late dinner tonight, and it was worth every calorie :)

Sewing a new throw pillow for my favorite living room chair.  Check!  After a lazy afternoon of coffee drinking and movie watching, I spent an hour or so of my evening making a simple, linen throw pillow to dress up one of my favorite spots in our apartment.

Brunch!  This one is reserved for tomorrow morning, when both AChef and I will be home.  Out to Stella's?  In for homemade raspberry scones and mimosas?  That's yet to be determined...

A Syracuse adventure.  Also for tomorrow.  As much as I crave a nice full day with nothing but my favorite slippers, a big pot of coffee and the comforts of my apartment as far as the eye can see, I so easily get ansty for an experience outside in the real world, away from my computer and requiring an outfit that does not include sweatpants or yoga pants.  Current favorite spots include the Creek Walk, Freedom of Espresso and Craft Chemistry, but maybe this weekend calls for something new?

Late January Love

{a coffee-fueled weekend}

Things I love this week:

...Terrariums.  I'm all about them right now.  I visited one of my favorite places, Terrain, last weekend, and the fresh spring flowers, delicate glass containers and fabulous creative inspiration everywhere I turned had me itching to get started on a small botanical masterpiece of my own.

...Valentine's Day crafting and decorating, more on that later!
...Catching up on some of my favorite blogs.  It's been too long.
...Hitting 100 followers on Pinterest this week!  Woo hoo!  I thrive on celebrating small moments of happiness.  In fact, the smaller the better in most cases :)
...Downton Abbey.  DON'T get me started, I am totally obsessed!!!

Winter in the Kitchen: Sunday baking

Weekends without a strict agenda are like a breath of fresh air.  I've become so used to plowing through tasks and projects, that the chance to sit back a bit this Saturday and Sunday, ignore a few work-like activities and indulge my creative and relaxing urges has been simple and lovely.  After a morning at the regional flea market, hot hazelnut coffees in hand, and our first trip to the local natural foods store, what better way to spend the rest of this Sunday afternoon than in comfy clothes, baking up a savory treat?  Today I chose Ina Garten's buttermilk cheddar biscuits, and the moment their aroma began to drift from the oven, I seriously wondered how I had not tried this recipe before.

They were relatively simple to make, didn't require many complex ingredients, as is Ina's specialty (the only thing I didn't already have on hand was the buttermilk), and the results are warm and filling.  I've been on an unintentional baking kick for the past few weeks, likely due to the holidays, but I've been enjoying having the energy to to work some new recipes into my repertoire.  AChef is already loving them, so I'm certain they'll become a regular in the rotation.  You can find the original Barefoot Contessa Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuit recipe here.  I made a few slight changes in mine, first because I mistakenly used baking soda instead of baking powder, and then intentionally made the biscuits a different size because I wanted to use my biscuit cutters, both of which are probably responsible for my third change: baking time.  The recipe suggests 20-25 minutes in the oven, but I actually took mine out after 13 minutes because they were golden brown on top, and baked all the way through already.  Still, they came out tender, flavorful and just as I had hoped.

Last weekend, in review

{creekwalk}

 

 

 

{late fall colors}

{dinner at Chipotle/campus at night}

Last Saturday AChef and I found ourselves itching for a small adventure, and wanting to soak in a little bit of the cold, fresh November air.  We made our way downtown to Armory Square, where we picked up somewhere at the south end of the semi-new Creekwalk.  The creek that rolls through parts of downtown Syracuse, and into some of the outer neighborhoods, is something that I have, until recently, known to be less than appealing.  I remember it winding through some of the more intimidating blocks that I often drove through between school and home as a teenager.  And as a city-raised girl, I am not too easily intimidated.  I also have vague memories of crossing the creek downtown, my strongest memory being the scent eminating from the water.  Still, I wanted to give the creekwalk a chance.  

Some amazing things are going down in Syracuse in terms of urban vitality and artistic movements.  Though the creekwalk is a city project, it's still a move in the right direction, connecting small sections of vibrant city life to one another.  We began our Saturday afternoon trek promptly at Walton Street (only about a block from the true beginning of the creekwalk) and made it all the way to Franklin Square before we decided it was time to turn back in search of a nice Starbucks peppermint mocha.  Every inch of our travel on the creekwalk was infused with Syracuse iconography: Armory Square, Dinosaur BBQ, Niagara Mohawk, Franklin Square, Freedom of Espresso... 

I admitted something to AChef on our small jaunt down the sidewalk, something that I have such mixed feelings about, but I can hardly characterize as a negative emotion: I'm starting to love Syracuse.  YIKES!  Something I never thought would happen.  I never hated the city, but also I never anticipated wanting to live here as an adult.  Let's be honest, most people do not want to settle in the city they were born in, no matter how fabulous it is.  There are just SO many more amazing and diverse places on earth to discover and to set down roots!  Still, I am recognizing some truly unique things about Syracuse, and the Craft Chemistry/Funky Flea/Salt City Urban Market/30 Below/Red House/Armory Square type of life is hard to resist.  I want to be a part of it.  There is something truly appealing about a medium-sized city:  when amazingly artistic and innovative things begin to happen, it feels possible to be involved.

We ended last weekend's adventure day with Starbucks and dinner at the Chipotle on Marshall Street (yes, I admit it, I love mildly trendy eateries), but I was left with the lingering thoughts of where to nest next.  Who knows what's in store?  I can only hope for adventure and fulfillment.  I'll keep you in the loop.

Good things for Sunday

Where has the fall gone to? It passed me by too quickly...

I've been trying to play catch-up this month, but I'm not sure I've been successful. Some wedding-related items are coming along, and I'm beginning to transition into winter decorations around the apartment, and last week I even managed to catch up on a few of my favorite blogs! Go figure. Some of my favorites to keep me busy for the short week ahead:

A free blogging e-course at PuglyPixel. She's also got great free graphic design elements if you're looking to spiff up a website, blog or shop. I used several on our wedding website!

New blog discovered: You Are My Fave.

Pretty country wedding on Project Wedding. With garden roses. Hooray!

Sunday Studies

 

Finally, a quiet Sunday at home (no weekend trips!).  Browsing at the flea market, freshly picked blueberries for lunch, AChef plows through Harry Potter VII, decorating with old and new flea market finds, watercolors in the late afternoon, enjoying fresh picked flowers from our garden (and road stands).

Delicious Things: Sun, Sunday and pizza on the grill