hygge

November 27, 2017 by Kirsten

IMG_CB553141F9DA-1

Hey. Hi. Hello. It’s been a while!

Please excuse the absence around here, as you can see things have been…busy. I am usually a Thanksgiving fanatic, but something strange is happening this season. Don’t get me wrong- I had a fabulous time with the stuffing and pie, but this year jingle bells are just ringing a bit louder for me.

It’s not even December yet (but can you believe it will be this weekend?!) and I’m diving head first into the holly jolly. I’ve already watched most of my prerequisite Christmas movies (Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, Charlie Brown’s Christmas and It’s a Wonderful Life, I’m looking at you), the crafting has begun, and you guys, I even decorated my tiny tree. I know.

This quick week off from work was refreshing and productive, filled with family time, tea dates, homework cramming, donkey feeding, indoor farmer’s marketing, and small business shopping. Because #shopsmallsaturday should last all season long, here’s a little round up of my favorite spots around pvd:

NAVA for the best gifts for your best gals. + plants + candles + vintage wears

Home Imagined for refurbished midcentury furniture and an epic craft corner.

The Shop for cozy. Because you can shop small for foods and drinks, too.

Queen of Hearts / Modern Love for downtown fashuuun and fun accessories.

Frog and Toad for the most unique, perfect, can’t believe this is a real thing gifts.

first photo by Emily Nunes.

there’s no place like home

September 3, 2017 by Kirsten

Man, is it good to be back. M said something this week that really resonated with me:

“You know you’re living in the right place when you travel all over and you keep looking back over your shoulder.”

How beautiful is that? Walking the steps up to my apartment in Providence for the first time in a month was just the best homecoming; Walking around the Hope Street Farmer’s Market Saturday morning was somehow even sweeter. Maybe because I knew this would be my last chance to stomp Lippit Park on a Saturday morning, with the season starting next week and all…

Speaking of the season, have you guys heard that sentiment going around about how “September is the new January”? I couldn’t agree more. There’s something about the crisp fall air that stirs an urge to refresh and prepare. It’s perfect nesting weather. What better way to commemorate my renewed love of PVD and nestle into fall than with this pretty little map of my city?

Inspired by her world travels, the artist behind Modern Map Art uses intricate city grids to create detailed urban portraits with a touch of nostalgia. I love the vintage font and graphic vibes in this poster- how cute would it be as a housewarming gift?

The map arrived just in time, as my wonderful city welcomed me back with fresh fall feels. M and I have just started listening to Crimetown, the Gimlet podcast all about Providence’s mobster past. It’s pretty wild hearing the late Buddy Cianci’s voice (and a beautiful chorus of other Rhode Island accents) on such a well known pod. The perfect compliment to local cherry tomatoes and late-summer figs.

What city do you call home? Does it have quirks that make you feel all fuzzy?

Providence map c/o Modern Map Art. Check them out to celebrate your city with a custom print.

folk yeah

July 31, 2017 by Kirsten

A few photos from our first ever Newport Folk Festival experience, if you’re interested…

Continue reading →

a sunday story

January 10, 2017 by Kirsten

The sound of blowing snow and falling sun wake me. My apartment creaks as I shift pillows and the old radiators whine right on cue. Sun beams C major through the frosty window.

All around winter sounds; oh sweet Sunday morn.

Thick layers wrapped and zipped and fixed, I waddle through snow right into his car. Headed for warm caffeine and a walk through our latest most favorite neighborhood.

Every few steps a clump of gooey gingerbread appears inches from my lips. I’m given no choice but to indulge and well, there are worse problems than this.

Seeking refuge from chill in the old stone Athenaeum, we search through stacks and steal kisses. From a certain corner Poe peeks in. Smacky. A nod to the oiled canvas Washington and we head back into the snow.

Home at last.

He holds sunset tomatoes and fills the kitchen with french singing. It’s early dinner and we’ll have a buttery omelette. It’s big and full and tough to flip, but he knows full well:

things always taste better shared.

all the leaves are brown

October 18, 2016 by Kirsten

Ah, autumn. This weekend felt short, yet decidedly fall.

There was a cousin visit, complete with brunch, a stroll through Swan Point and heavy and happy life discussions.

There was tea times three and lots more walking, leaf rustling, west side mansion shopping, and poster hunting. There were Bucks & Dunnies, Ducks & Bunnies, pumpkin peeping, late night cookie baking (have you ever made just one chocolate chip cookie?) and more “life discussing”.

In a few hours it’s toes first back into ballet, but for now, I’m savoring the warm fuzzies of this photo diary.

fine

September 8, 2016 by Kirsten

img_4832-2

What a fine, fine weekend.

We had Nick’s, we shared old bay popcorn, we watched indie films, we made cornmeal blueberry pancakes. We shared space, we adopted cacti, we antiqued. We put a new spin on an old school game, we napped, we laughed. We spoke easy twice, we donned a red fez. We crafted in the sanctuary, we admired the Pearl, made a new bridge friend, we visited an old one. We ate pears and pico and peanut butter. We hoofed it downtown, we got lost in the watery fires, we hunted wine, we met friendly faces. We invaded Brown, we limboed lower, we sipped Del’s, we climbed a roof. We sat in ghostly study halls discussing the miracle of childbirth. We rubbed tired eyes. We held hands. We walked home.

A most very fine weekend, indeed.

hello, sweaty july

July 7, 2016 by Kirsten

Greetings from the hottest day of the year. Let’s backtrack…

If you are looking for something original to do on the 4th of July, consider walking around your nearest city (bonus points if it’s the Creative Capital). While everyone else burns at the beach, take advantage of the quiet. Stroll from one end to the other and hit every nook and cranny (winky face). Explore with iced tea and curiosity. Consider trying the old penny walk trick or making a list of things you’re thankful for over yummy samiches (extra bonus points if you get free pickles, too). Feel the sun, find the shadows. Download a timer cam app (no one is around to take a cheesy couplish photo for you, and no one is around to watch while you struggle to capture yourselves in the frame). Take touristy pictures. Sit down on every bench, read about famous singers you never knew lived (and died) in the area, pretend you go to RISD (and then Brown). Choose your favorite building on the block, and then choose again. Regale your patient manfriend with every architectural fact you’ve learned in the past month, and feel dang smart doing it. Trek home, commence nap. Wake, pack picnic, and place yourself under fireworks.

Actually, forget all that. Continue running away to the beach and leave the secluded city to us. :)

photo of me by Michael Collins, photo of us by iPhone-gen youth taking exorbitant amount of selfies.

goodbye, sweet june

July 6, 2016 by Kirsten

June began with a wedding and ended with a window. The weeks between brought sunshine, studying and sugar. Most days were dominated by a study of the social history of Providence as chronicled in architecture (one of the best college courses I’ve taken thus far) and twirling about with Free People. In the sugar department the aforementioned gourmet donuts via new kids on the block, pvdonuts, do indeed taste every bit as good as they look. You can’t call yourself a pvd kid until you’ve tried one, and they are well worth the wait. So go get ’em, guys.

In travel news, it seems Watch Hill always calls us without warning. But I’m not complaining; our spontaneous trips to Westerly always yield good conversation and a refreshing shift in perspective. Together we leave with a deeper understanding of each other, the kind only an empty beach, popcorn, and pinot grigio can invoke. And of course, Olympia Tea Room never disappoints- sometimes Marcia even offers free cake…

cutesy couple photo by Michael Collins.

breaking f a s t

May 25, 2016 by Kirsten

Breakfast is the best, don’t you think? I mean, according to Ron Swanson, there’s no sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food.

Much like Mr. Swanson, I too am one of those who wakes ready to break the fast. There’s something so refreshing about a good night’s sleep and the kinetic energy of an intact day that just makes me…hungry. Usually I’m a savory breakfast kinda lady, but in the spirit of traveling meals*, pre-Paris research, and new-to-me bakeries, a slice of walnut raisin toast with peanut butter by the river seemed sweetly appropriate.**

*if you have the option to take your bakery breakfast to a dock by a river, always do it. then go back to said bakery for lunch 2 days later to enjoy the lovely little garden area…update to follow…

**also, sidenote: shout out to the beehive in bristol for hooking it up with the BEST coconut black tea there ever was. extra shout to M for gifting me that magnificent tea diffuser and making all of my looseleaf dreams come true- you da bomb.

tracing our tracks

May 24, 2016 by Kirsten

with the chill of an april night in may,

we march out again to float above the river.

365 days dustier, our train tracks seem only to have magnified in magic…

so too has my aversion to such height-induced adrenaline,

but now we are we, and together we walk free.

clutching your expert hands I tread since-vanquished coals with care as if they still burned.

I follow your flippers, tracing your tracks and placing each velvet slipper on the rail behind yours.

someone else’s mother’s leather floats across the divide and I trail…

it seems 12 months time has erased my subtle cool completely, and I freeze.

please.

please wake my feet that they may flee in tidy take off,

incite my knees that they may ensure a steady landing,

and oh please, leave my racing mind at peace that it may not tempt curious eyes to seek the water below.

a shaky leap and at last I meet you for the first and five hundredth time…

we turn to face a searing sky.

burning hearts pressed together,

now above the train tracks

over the river

we fly.

5.24.16. written on a cool tuesday morning, dreaming of the past weekend…week…year…and all of the painted skies to come.

Setting The Barre

Category Archives: Providence Favorites