I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
A few weeks ago the lovely Hannah at Reverie Coffee House reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I’d like to design a custom sticker for Reverie. We went back and forth several times bouncing ideas and settled on this hand-drawn design that incorporates a hummingbird, coffee cup, flowers, and Maine. This is my first commissioned/collab design and it was so nice working with Hannah. The stickers are on their way to Reverie and will be available soon!
Birch Landing Home x Reverie Coffee
I’m so excited to be included in their retail section amongst other NE-based makers. Thank you Hannah and Reverie!!
Reverie Coffee House is located in Brunswick, ME with another location opening any day in Bath, ME! You can check them out on Instagram @reverie.coffeehouse
This past weekend we took a much needed day trip up to Boothbay, Maine to finally see the amazing Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and its new art installation of giant trolls by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. The whole visit was beautiful and so fun. I’ve included a few photos here but they don’t do this magical place justice - the Gardens and the trolls must be seen in person if you ever have the chance! Here are a few tips and items of note from our trip. | This post contains affiliate links |
Tickets
Currently at this time Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are requiring advanced purchased tickets only and your entry is timed (I believe this is for COVID precautions to help spread out visitors and limit the amount of visitors coming in at any one time to help reduce crowding). We purchased ours for one of the first time slots of the day and it was perfect. We found that the park was getting rather crowded by lunch so earlier was definitely better.
Masks
There were signs asking non-vaccinated guests to wear masks inside buildings, however we did not see that enforced. Nevertheless, we have been very COVID-cautious ourselves and made sure our kids put on their masks when we passed through the entrance building and when we left, also we had them put them on whenever we went into any other enclosed spaces.
The Trolls
There are five giant Trolls tucked away in the woods throughout the park. The map in the brochure was a bit confusing and it was difficult to tell exactly which paths some of them were on, but after a quick conversation with a very helpful gardener we had a good plan to see them all. At most of the trolls there were groups gathered to take photos but everyone was very respectful, waited their turn, and gave space so each group could take good photos with the trolls which was very nice.
So Much to Explore
Besides the incredible trolls, there are miles of hiking trails and so many gardens to explore. We spent several hours there and didn’t even see most of them. Our favorite areas were the Children’s Gardens with its whimsical flowers, buildings, and animals, and the various ponds and fountains. Our kids especially loved watching the tadpoles (SO many tadpoles!) and turtles in the ponds.
We got lots of compliments on our kids' matching sunhats too! They are our absolute favorite ones by Sunday Afternoons.
Lunch
We headed out early afternoon when it started to get very hot and crowded but we easily could have stayed and explored longer! There was an on-site cafe that had grab-n-go food that looked great but we decided to forgo that and opt for seafood on the way home (when in Maine). We would have loved to stop at Red’s Eats in Wiscasset but the line was down the block when we went by, so we got takeout from Sea Basket instead and ate our weight in fried seafood and lobster rolls - it hit the spot.
Overall it was a beautiful day to get out and explore this beautiful place with our family - we’re already planning on coming back later in the summer to see everything with different plants in bloom.
Thankful for our family, friends, freedom, and those protecting it all. We spent a quiet weekend around town with family and that was just perfect for us.
Ever notice that the silhouette of those Starbucks bottles are very much like an old-fashioned milk bottle? I'm sure the real reason is smart marketing, but an ever better reason is for you to turn that bottle into a milk bottle vase!
Materials:
Starbucks glass bottle, with lid (which means you have to drink one of those delicious coffee drinks.. darn)
white or cream acrylic paint
cardboard
How to:
First drink a Starbucks (most difficult part of the job right here). Then remove the labels and wash the bottle thoroughly, inside and out. You should be able to get the glue residue and expiration mark off the bottle with a scrubby sponge and dish soap. Rinse the cap and save.
After the bottle has completely dried, squirt a decent amount of acrylic paint into it and replace the cap. Swirl and shake the bottle until the paint has completely coated the inside of the bottle, adding more paint if necessary.
Remove the cap and pour the excess paint back into your paint bottle.
Next set bottle upside down on the cardboard for about 30 seconds then pick straight up, set back down in a different spot, and repeat several more times until you seem to have most of the excess paint out and a nice even coat on the inside of the bottle.
Put bottle back upright to dry so the paint doesn't drip and pull away from the bottom and also so that air can get inside. At this point I brought it inside the garage to dry - didn't want any curious grasshoppers falling in!
Let dry about 48 hours.. it can take a surprisingly long time to dry due to the small opening of the bottle.
Once completely dry, place on a sunny windowsill and admire. (Note: this vase is for decor purposes only. If you put water in it for cut flowers the acrylic paint may start to lift off the glass after a while.. just something to keep in mind. You may want to consider using fake flowers.)
You could even dress these up a bit with some gingham or burlap ribbon. They are so easy to make and could be used for all sorts of things such as small centerpieces or accents for a bridal or baby shower.
