a year ago

we discovered popham beach state park for the first time.

a woodland animal 6th birthday party

 

karoline and rory's birthday celebration was two weekends ago. we rented a little property through our town that is used for an art camp during the summer and brought all the party goodness there. we made headbands with pieces of nature and lots of glitter. we grilled hotdogs and roasted s'mores by the campfire. we played pin the nut on the squirrel's mouth. we took our turns hitting an owl pinanta that our family had made. we ate yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting and woodland animal sugar cookies too. it warmed my heart to see all the kids running around soaking up nature and enjoying their surroundings. i think josh and i were camp counselors in another life.

exterior love at corey daniels gallery

wells, maine is where the girls and i sojourned on a day trip last month. we were headed to the wells national estuarine research reserve to explore 2,250 acres of salt marsh, freshwater wetland, beach, dune, forest, and field. but, before we reached the entrance to the reserve i spotted this particular building and nearly spit my iced coffee out on the dashboard. hellllllllllo fabulous architecture, design, sculpture, landscape and aesthetic all rolled into one beautiful package called corey daniels gallery. i racked my internet image ladened brain to figure out where i had seen this beauty before and realized it was in a new york times article from 2010.  "At his gallery, a recently built addition connects the house to a converted barn, both of which date back to the 19th century. The facade of the addition resembles a chalkboard left out in the rain."

i, of course, had to get out to take a closer look. to be surrounded in such thoughtful and artistic expression is really just one of the best parts of life for me. the girls on the other hand were not so keen on mr. daniel's artistic poetry. the whining was the least offensive action. there was kicking and screaming in the car and for fear of making a huge scene i decided to abort and not even see the interior of the gallery. the positive side is that i did get to snap these few photographs. and mark my word, i will be going back there without the girls for josh's and my anniversary. and then back again when the girls are old enough and will fully appreciate mr. daniels beautiful design because if they have one ounce of genetic makeup that is similar to josh and i; they will get it. at some point. i hope.

clam digging

it's a family event. pull on your big girl, let's get dirty, you mean business bog boots. jump into your car and head to wolfe's neck woods state park in freeport, maine where every month a guide takes a group of steamer lovers out to the mud flats to have a go at clamming.  it's back breaking, but you get a thigh burning workout and you have the taste of sweet soft shelled clams dipped in butter at the end of the night. family bonding with mud as the common denominator.

i like

love, love, love everything about husband and wife designers stephen alesch and robin standefer's (roman and williams) laid back summer home. photo by mikkel vang for martha stewart living.

heather chontos. black and blue IV - work on paper.

went to the portland public library today and at the checkout they have copies of poems for your pockets. charming indeed.

heidi swanson's pineapple coconut water recipe for hot summer days.

elephant ceramics studio tour photographed by erin little.

rory found this moth and i couldn't get over nature's beauty. i wish i had a rug inspired by that pattern.

flipping

lovely and inspirational design books to salivate over this summer.

red, white and blue

today is the first day of this summer where i am not responsible for two other human beings. the girls started camp this week which leaves me to indulge in a morning walk, blogging time, and maybe even a nap. say it isn't so!

above are some photos from our fourth of july celebration at my parent's house. i have to make that coconut cake with lemon curd and strawberries and cream again soon. it is gluten free and oh so heavenly. i bought trader joe's lemon curd in the jar instead of making my own to save time. what's your favorite summertime treat?