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! |
Happy Small Business Saturday! Just wanted to hop on here real quick and share just a few of my favorite small businesses and makers, most of which are based right here in New England. Quite a few are having sales today, so please go check them out and support them if you can!
Small Business Saturday Picks
Wiglesworth's Mercantile - Wiglesworth's Mercantile is one of the newest shops in Portsmouth, NH. The owner Anne is committed to only carrying items made right here in New England, and this week she is giving back to local charities with every purchase at her store (I love that so much!).
Mermaids & Madeleines - Heather from Mermaids & Madeleines makes the most beautiful, bright coastal-inspired jewelry around. She's also such a positive, happy soul and a joy to follow on Instagram.
Wolfeboro Candle Company - Carrie from Wolfeboro Candle Company makes wonderful candles, and this season is offering Gift Boxes too (our Hand-Etched Snowflake Ornament is included in the Large Gift Box).
Maine Rope Mats - Maine Rope Mats makes amazing recycled lobster rope mats and products. We personally have two of their mats and love the fun it brings to our doorways.
S.Lynch Knitwear - Samantha isn't actually from New England, but is a New Englander at heart and it shows in her beautifully made knitted items. I just love her chunky knit hats and her craftsmenship is beautiful!
Daytrip Society - Daytrip and Datyrip Jr., both in Kennebunkport Maine, are some of my favorite stores around. They are beautifully currated and have such thoughtful and unqiue gift ideas.
Watts in Maine - Watts in Maine is best known for their Perfect Catch Cuff, but also offers other jewelry and accessory items as well. They also have made donations to help with Shark Research.
Sewcialite - Roula of Sewcialite hustles so hard every day, working fulltime and creating the most amazing coastal-inspired rope creations and jewelry in her spare time.
I’ve had some inquiries about my Etsy Shop this season. Due to the uncertainties regarding Covid over the next few months likely affecting my ability to get materials and go to the post office regularly, I’ve decided to keep my Etsy shop closed for the time being.
However, some of my Stockists will still continue to carry my ornaments during this time, in particular Wiglesworth's Mercantile in Portsmouth and Wolfeboro Candle Company should be well stocked at the moment.
Like everyone else I’m looking forward to a hopefully healthier, more normal spring and will reopen my Etsy shop once it’s practical. Thank you so much for your understanding and stay well!
After trying Delicata Squash for the first time it quickly became a favorite - super easy to cook, no peeling (that’s a huge plus!), and a delicious maple-y taste without adding any sweetener. This squash is still an unknown to many people so I thought I would share the easy how-to of roasting them. | This post contains affiliate links |
First make sure to wash and scrub the delicata squash thoroughly since you’ll be roasting and eating the skin as well - you don’t want any gritty dirty from the field left on!
Once it’s clean, chop each end off and cut open the long way. Next scoop out all the seeds and strings with a spoon until it’s nice and clean (like the photo on the right).
Next chop up the squash into whatever size pieces you prefer. We like cutting them into “quarter smiles” about half an inch thick.
Toss with some olive oil to coat and then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. We also love sprinkling on dehydrated kale flakes too - it adds a super subtle flavor and a tiny extra veggie boost too. (We add these kale flakes to most of our meals - love them!)
Now that it’s ready to cook, roast at 425 degrees in a preheated oven for approximately 20-30 mins, flipping halfway through. Cook until it’s soft and starts to caramelize and look burnt. Enjoy!
This squash has become a favorite in our house and I’m looking forward to trying to grow some in our garden next year.
Hey, hey it's PRIME DAY! Making a list of some of the deals I come across - check them out at the link below (I'll be updating the list throughout the day). Now’s a great time to get a jump start on Christmas and Holiday gifts.
Wolfeboro Candle Company has put together some wonderfully curated Gift Boxes for the holiday season. These are full of great New England-made products and I am so honored to have my Hand-Etched Birch Snowflake Ornaments included among them.
Wiglesworth’s Mercantile is a brand new shop coming to Portsmouth’s Market Street next month and I am so excited to share that they’ll be carrying some of our ornaments and other small crafts! The owner Anne has a great vision of making it a place catered to carrying locally-made New England products. (You know how much I love local products, and I can’t wait to visit this wonderfully curated store once it’s open!)
It’s so important that kids and chaperones can be seen by motorists to help avoid any accidents, so to remind everyone of this basic Halloween safety tip - make sure you can be seen and seen well while out Trick-or-Treating. | This post contains affiliate links |
Some Ways to Increase Visibility While Trick-or-Treating:
Carry a Flashlight. Make sure everyone in your group has a flashlight so that everyone can see where they're going and others can see you better too. (It's also a good idea to remind your kids not to shine them in others eyes as you come across other trick-or-treaters.)
LED Bracelets/Wearables. These bright, colorful, often flashing lights can really help you be seen at night - and kids think they're really fun.
Glow Sticks. Glow Sticks and glow jewelry can be useful to help be seen at night, and kids generally love them and will wear them without a fight.
Reflective Stickers/Patches. We put reflective stickers on our Halloween buckets (pictured above) to help make them more noticable at night. It's hard to capture it on camera, but these stickers reflect really well in low-light conditions and are super durable, even on fabrics. (For what it's worth, we put these on everything year-round - helmets, bikes, backpacks, hiking gear, coats, etc. We love them!)
Stay Together. Having everyone in your party stay together in a group is a great way to increase visibility. When kids scatter and dart around it can be very disorientating for drivers and hard to see where everyone is. Make sure your group stays together and walks on the sidewalks or off the shoulder of the road. Also make eye contact with stopped drivers before you cross the road to ensure that they do see you.
For specific ideas about what’s recommended in your area for safe Trick-or-Treating, contact your local public safety or Police department for more ideas. Stay safe and Happy Halloween!
Summer vacation is here, now let’s have some fun! I’ve scoured Amazon for fun yard games, beach toys, car games, and activities for kids of all ages - even some indoor activities for those rainy days. There’s no excuse for boredom this summer, let’s have some fun! | This post contains affiliate links |
