Support New England Makers on Pinterest

As you probably know already, I love supporting local makers and buisnesses so I thought it was time to make a group board on Pinterest to support New England Made Products.  This board will be a collaboration where New England-based crafters and small buisnesses can share their beautiful goods.  

If you're interested in joining please give me a follow on Pinterest and send a message requesting to join the group board.  

As of right now there's just my items on the board, but I can't wait to get more collaborators and see more beautiful New England-made products on here too!

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Interviews from New England Makers:

Restock at The Straw Cellar

I've just dropped off another order of our handmade ornaments to The Straw Cellar in Wolfeboro, NH!  Even though it's not Christmas-season, it's always a great time to get ahead on gifts and our ornaments are now again in-stock there.  

While you're at The Straw Cellar, don't forget to check out all the other wonderful New England-made goods they carry!  

Local Product Love: Mariner Lines

Today I wanted to share another great New England maker, Mariner Lines.  If you're a dog-lover and a New England lover you need to have one of these beautiful hand-made nautical leashes in your life.  

Love the bait bag packaging!

When I first stumbled across Mariner Lines, I thought their leashes looked beautiful and rugged and loved that they were made in Maine.  But once I learned the story behind the brand I loved it even more as Mariner Lines was started by Stacia and her fisherman husband when their yellow lab Mariner became ill.  Sales of these handmade leashes not only help them with medication expenses for their beloved pup (who is thankfully doing better), but a portion of sales is also donated to local rescue groups too.  You can feel good about buying and using this leash knowing the good it does.    

|  Twisted Leash, White  |

This weekend we brought our black lab Harley out for a short hike in the woods with our new Mariner Lines leash.  Harley LOVES walking in the woods and was super-excited to put her new leash to the test.  You see, the second you clip a leash to Harley's collar she pulls like a competition draft horse at the Fryeburg Fair... we've worked with her a bunch and done obedience classes but none of that matters for the first 10 minutes of the walk until she gets the excitement out of her system.  

Our Mariner Lines leash held strong and I felt confident walking Harley on it.  One of my favorite aspects of the leash was the roundness of the rope in my hands.  All of our other leashes are traditional flat nylon that dig into your palms when the dog pulls; I was pleasantly surprised to see that the thick round rope did not dig into my hands at all as Harley got the initial excitement out of her system.  

The leashes are hand-spliced together using rigging line and heavy-duty brass clasps so you know they're made to last.   They come in many colors and there are even hand-knitted neck warmers for your pup and cowls for you available so you can coordinate.  All the leashes are "one fathom" (about six feet) long - I just love how they incorporate the nautical theme into every aspect of their brand!  

Happy pup.  

Overall, I really love our Mariner Lines leash - it's rugged, durable, beautiful, and stands for helping pups in need.  What's not to love?  

Follow Mariner Lines
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That face tho.  

- I received this leash from Mariner Lines as a gift, but all opinions expressed are my own.  Please read our Disclosure Policy for more information. - 

Photos by Adrian Pelletier

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!  

Mariner Lines Nautical Dog Leash Giveaway!

We're hosting a great giveaway with Mariner Lines over on Instagram!  Now is your chance to win one of their beautiful Maine-made recycled rigging line leashes for your pup.  Please see the original giveaway post on my account (@birchlandinghome) for details and to enter.

Good luck! 

Giveaway ends 12/18/15 at 8PM EST. 

Daytrip Society's Holiday Gift Guide

So honored to have been included in Daytrip Society's Holiday Gift Guide!

They have great ideas for everyone on your list.  Check out their unique selections in person at their shop in Kennebunkport Maine or online. 

Photo Credit: Daytrip Society

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?  

Local Product Love: Joyful Brand Apparel

Joyful Brand Apparel is a New Hampshire-based clothing company that advocates clean living, giving thanks, and spreading joy - things we can all get behind!

Joyful Brand particularly shows their state pride in their comfy "Joyful State of Mind" t-shirt which pairs perfectly with your favorite pair of jeans. 

If you believe in spreading good vibes or just have a love for NH and small businesses, check out Joyful Brand Apparel.  

Follow Joyful Brand Apparel  
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- I received this t-shirt as part of a promotion, but all opinions expressed are my own.  I was not asked by Joyful Brand Apparel to provide a review. -