First Trip to IKEA

Today was my first time going to IKEA and let me tell you, it was ah-mazing!  

We live about 3 hours away from the nearest IKEA, and that's probably a good thing because I liked way too many of the things they have there.  What blew me away most was how beautiful, sturdy, and reasonably-priced the furniture was.  

We left with "big girl" furniture for our daughter's new room since she'll be transitioning out of her crib soon (eek) and moving into what was my craft room.  We got her the small Hemnes dresser and Hemnes twin bed (full review and room makeover will be on the blog soon).  And since my craft room will become her room, we decided to bite the bullet and get the Hemnes sideboard to hold all my displaced craft supplies.  I just loved the Hemnes line from IKEA, can't you tell?  We also picked up a cute (and cheap!) wooden train set for her.  

I was expecting IKEA to be a lot of modern furniture and accessories, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a lot of great "farmhouse-inspired" pieces that fit with our New England style.  

I should have taken more pictures for the blog while we were there, but I was just too busy browsing and shopping!  ;)

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 Seacoast Lately + Giveaway

Super-excited to have been featured on Seacoast Lately's beautiful blog today!  Maggie does a wonderful job highlighting the beauty, businesses, and events on the NH Seacoast and beyond and I'm honored to have made her carefully curated selection. 

If you want the inside skinny on the best of the area, be sure to give her a follow - you won't regret it! 

 GIVEAWAY

If you'd like a chance to win a set of my hand-etched ornaments, visit @seacoast.lately's Instagram for details and to enter - good luck! 

Soon to be at The Straw Cellar!

Just dropped off an order of our Hand-Etched Ornaments at The Straw Cellar in Wolfeboro, NH!  Owner Carrie is working hard to carry more locally-made products in her shop and I'm so honored to be a part of that.  Be sure to check out this beautiful store next time you're in the Lakes Region and #shoplocal.

Soon to be at Wyler's!

Dropped off an order of ornaments at the wonderful Wyler's in Brunswick, Maine yesterday!  This boutique has lots of unique gifts for all ages (the kids section was so fun!) - and there's even an adjoined specialty food and coffee shop.. why ever leave?  

Calling all Massachusetts-Based Makers!

I'm looking for up-and-coming Massachusetts based makers and crafters.  Please feel free to tag your favorites in the comments or shoot me an email with links!  Thank you. 

Soon to be at Daytrip Society!

Dropped off an order of our Hand-Etched Ornaments at the amazing Daytrip Society in Kennebunkport, Maine today.  So very honored that our ornaments will be there this year. 

If you haven't been to Daytrip Society yet, go!  Such a beautiful shop filled with unique gifts, many of which are Maine-made and New England-made.  I wanted to take the whole place home with me!

I wish this picture wasn't so glare-y so you could see their beautiful window display!  

Around New England: Marginal Way, Ogunquit, Maine

It's always fun running off to the ocean every once and awhile.  Even though it's not too far away we don't get there very often.  Last week we decided to make a quick day trip to Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine.  It's always a fun little trip!  

Perkins Cove at low tide

We parked near Perkins Cove and got onto the Marginal Way there.  The Marginal Way is a beautiful 1.5 mile paved pathway that follows along the edge of the ocean and ends near downtown Ogunquit.  

Beautiful views along the Marginal Way.

Some beach roses still in bloom.

Downtown there are several trolleys that can take you around.  

We got some delicious pastries at Bread & Roses while we were there.  I highly recommend their giant cookies and mini baguette sandwiches.. Mmmmm!  

Along the Marginal Way there are a few access points down to the ocean via stairs. Our little one loved playing in the sand and checking out the rocks up close.  

So many cute shops to explore too! 

Next time you're in Southern Maine make sure to check out the Marginal Way and Ogunquit!