Day Trip to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

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.

Giving Back - Who We Donated To This Year

A tradition I started four years ago was to donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end to Charity.  I’m so happy to say that this year we were able to help support Gather NH as well as The Nature Conservancy. I chose to support Gather NH because food insecurity has become an issue for many more families this year due to the economical impact of the pandemic. I chose The Nature Conservancy because turning to nature and time outside has become such a saving grace for many during this time and it’s more important than ever to protect our natural resources.

Thank you so much for all your support this past year, it has definitely been a strange year for Birch Landing Home too with less Etsy sales (due to me temporarily pausing my Etsy storefront) and less partnerships and projects on the blog. Nevertheless, I am thankful for my Wholesale Accounts and continued traffic on my blog to make these donations happen. I hope to continue to grow Birch Landing Home and be able to give back more each year in return. Thank you all!

Giving Back - Who We Donated to This Year

A tradition I started three years ago was to donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end to Charity.  I’m so happy to say that this year we were able to help support the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America in addition to our donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Thank you so much for all your support for my Etsy shop and blog this past year, I hope to continue to grow them and be able to give back more each year in return. 

Give Back When You Can

Just a little reminder to give back when you are able, even if it's something small.  

Over the course of the summer we've been blessed with a lot of produce from our garden - we enjoyed it, shared with family and friends, and froze quite a bit for future use.  Last week we picked the last of the veggies and pulled out the rest of our vining plants to get ready for winter.  We ended up with quite a few squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes and rather than try to squeeze them into the freezer we opted to bring them to our local food pantry where we know the donation will be greatly appreciated.  

Giving back doesn't always have to mean volunteering a day of your time or making a large monetary donation - it can be giving back in small ways everyday to help your neighbor and those around you.  We all need to remember this more (myself included), and next year we'll make a point to share even more of our produce with the food pantry all summer long.  

Cute Fall Maternity Photo with Pumpkin

Okay, throwing it back to our last pregnancy and still in love with this easy Fall-themed maternity picture my husband and I took with a pumpkin!  It's so simple but I think it came out so sweet.  This idea would also be perfect for a Fall pregnancy announcement too.  Fall is our favorite time of year, so I'm happy we could capture a classy Fall-themed "belly" picture.  

I promise I'll share some photos from when I was farther along at our Christmas maternity photo session too - some sweet, simple ideas for your "special delivery" to come!  

Shop Fall Fashion

New Etsy Listing: Compass Rose Ornaments

New to the Etsy shop for 2016, Compass Rose Hand-Etched Ornaments in Birch.  These are a fun way to add some nautical flair to your home decor or Christmas tree - also a perfect favor for a coastal-inspired wedding!  

As always, wholesale inquiries are welcome - please send me a message for pricing information.  

Cheers to 2016!

Every time the New Year comes around it really gets me motivated.  I want to overhaul everything in the house, with Birch Landing Home, and my fitness goals and this year is no different.  

I've decided to take most of January to focus on our home:  it's time to do our yearly closet purge, deep clean all the carpets, and reorganize the dumping ground that our basement has become.  While I haven't read the book myself yet, I have read a lot of articles on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I'd like to try to use these techniques to purge more unused items from our home.  Though I can't make too many promises on this front.. I can be pretty sentimental about little things so we'll see how far I get.

I have big goals for Birch Landing Home too and I want to grow my Etsy shop and blog in many ways.  I'm planning on expanding to more New England-inspired decor in the shop including signs, handmade boxes, and painted sap buckets (don't worry, we'll still have our signature hand-etched ornaments available).  I'd also like to get our products carried at more local retailers too.  
The blog will still be a mix of DIY projects, product reviews, and lessons learned as first-time parents but there will a be a stronger underlying New England vibe to it.  I'd like to blog more about our favorite places to visit in NE as a family as well as showcase more great local products and makers (by the way, if you're a New England-based maker and want to collaborate this year please send me a message).  

And then there's fitness goals.. every year I say I want to get back into running and while I did run a lot more this year than I have in a while, I still didn't get to where I want to be.  So this year I want to make the push to finally run a half-marathon!  For those of you who aren't familiar with my running backstory, I was training for a half-marathon about six years ago when I suffered a couple stress fractures, mostly due to a structural issue with my foot (which I now wear orthotics for).  
We're hoping to expand our family again within the next year or two and so I feel this year will be my last chance to try for a half marathon again before I'm too pregnant or busy with a newborn to seriously run for awhile.  

Whew, so those are my top goals for 2016!  Wishing everyone lots of health, happiness, and success in the New Year - cheers!  

Featured on Life on the Shady Grove

Wendy from Life on the Shady Grove will be sharing her Christmas home tour and hosting a HUGE series of giveaways in December featuring 32 crafters, including Birch Landing Home!  She's just posted a little introduction to some of the participants on her blog so you can get a preview of some of the makers and items involved.  

I can't wait to see how she styles our hand-etched ornaments in her home and I'm looking forward to sending the lucky winner their own set of ornaments to use this Christmas!  

Don't worry, I'll let you know when Wendy's gorgeous home tour is up on her blog and when her 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways begin!  But in the meantime, don't forget to follow her on Instagram (@lifeontheshadygrove) so you don't miss another inspiring home decor post.