 |
| Spring Cleaning Replacing the tile in my mudroom has been on my list of house projects for years. It’s a mucky green that has grown even muckier and now just won’t come clean, no matter the elbow grease applied. It’s not a big job but a complicated one, because the small entryway (at only 10 x 13 feet) is home to a packed closet, the pantry, a powder room, the broom closet, and my dog. I tend to jump in feet first to projects, so I ordered some black slate, hired an installer and gave myself the weekend to clear out the closets. I found an entire basket of flip flops, a favorite rain coat I thought I lost years ago, and stuffed way in the back, an ancient backpack of my daughter’s. This time capsule was filled with some old vocab tests, a can of tennis balls, a report card neatly folded into a teeny, weeny square (in the hopes I’d never see it), candy wrappers, and a cootie catcher with silly sayings like "kiss the person to your right." It was a bittersweet discovery. My daughter heads off to college in the fall and the days of backpacks and tennis matches are almost over. I sat on the floor with the detritus of her sporting attempts around me - soccer ball, riding helmet, field hockey stick - and managed to sort the lot into piles to ditch or give away. It killed me. But the cootie catcher filled with preteen fortunes? That’s a keeper. Wishing you a happy Easter and Passover,
Erica
| |
|
The Cake Lady, New London and Niantic Long before there was a cupcake bakery in every town and cupcake trucks roamed the streets, there was The Cake Lady. Charlene has been baking cupcakes and custom confections for thirteen years, initially out of a commercial home kitchen, then a full service bakery in New London. Lucky for those of us that find New London a bit of a trek for a cupcake, she’s just opened a satellite in East Lyme (a stone’s throw from Flanders Four Corners). Here you’ll find her famous wedding and birthday cakes and over twenty varieties of cupcakes. The standard lineup includes flavors like pistachio, pina colada and chocolate oreo, but she’s always concocting new ones. If you’re the type that likes to dip your bacon in maple syrup (moi!), Pancakes & Bacon (pictured) is right up your alley. The assorted box of thirteen varieties of mini cupcakes ($10) makes for an instant party, or grab a few Puppies, The Cake Lady’s version of a petite, homemade Devil Dog. Yum.
www.thecakeladycafe.com
| |
| Shandells, Ivoryton
Lampshades are tough. It’s hard to know what shape suits a lamp (Drum? Modified Bell? Retro Oval?) and even harder to find ones that match your decor. Me, I avoid the decision process altogether and go with standard white. But I’m boring, and you shouldn’t be, now that Shandell’s is in town. Owner Susan Schneider is a whiz at shades. You’ll find her in her sprawling studio in Ivoryton, handcrafting glorious shades in all shapes and sizes from vintage wallpaper, seagrass, old maps and antique fabrics. She trolls flea markets for unusual bases and hunts down bits and bobs that she fashions into fantastic finials. But that’s not all: she’ll turn a found treasure into an unusual lamp, rewire your family heirloom and even come to your house to doctor your lighting. Also on offer are a selection of handmade tissue boxes, wastebaskets and matchboxes trimmed in copper. It's all very, very good; Susan is a passionate craftsperson and her shop is a find. shandells.com
| |
|
A New Farm Menu at Aspen, Old Saybrook
We are such creatures of habit. I’ve spent more than a few evenings at Aspen for drinks and appetizers at the bar with my girlfriends, but it’s been a few years since I had dinner in the dining room. The new locally-sourced farm menu inspired me to drag my husband down for date night (talk about habit, his go-to list of restaurants is tiny) and we stopped in last week. The small plates card has shrunk to a few old favorites, but the new “Daily Menu” features local delicacies like braised rabbit and Stonington monkfish. All looked enticing, but I can’t pass up a good chunk of roasted chicken. And their version is a winner: a crispy-skinned bird, dusted with truffles and nestled on a bed of vibrant garlicky spinach and buttery pommes puree. My husband’s ginormous Market Salad and small plate of Block Island calamari with homemade cavatelli and roasted tomato was fresh and delish. Our waiter wasn’t well informed about the sourcing of the food, but more than made up for it with sweet and attentive service. Good to know: the Daily Menu features small plates and entrees without delineating which is what. The lower price indicates the smaller serving, or check with your waiter before ordering.
My first night at Aspen in 2008, was a memorable one. Read about it here.
| |
| Worried about the Heartbleed Bug? Jerry from MacWorks has all the answers (as always!). Click here.
| |
| The Mystic Arts Center presents two new shows: The Blues and the Annual Elected Artists Exhibition. Opening reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres on Thursday, 4/17. Read more...
| |
| Meet the farmers from Provider Farm in Salem and Beltane Farm in Lebanon, and enjoy dishes made with seasonal vegetables, fresh goat cheese and wine pairings at Meet The Farmers Dinner at La Belle Aurore on 4/17. Read more...
| |
| Long Wharf Theatre presents two important writers, thinkers and speakers, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Gopnik, for a wide ranging conversation on innovation and creativity, Thursday, 4/17 at 7pm. Read more...
| |
| The brand new Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center welcomes the community with a family-friendly Open House featuring fun for the whole family: Touch-A-Truck, roving magicians and balloon sculptors, food trucks, a free health fair with blood pressure screenings, child fingerprint ID's and tours of the new Medical Center on Saturday, 4/19, 10am - 2pm. Read more...
| |
| Save the date for Gallivant! Derby Day at Lyman Allyn Art Museum: Dress up in elegant attire and gallivant your way through the Lyman Allyn Museum at Gallivant, a Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, 5/3. Read more...
| |
|
Hop on the bus with the Flo Gris Museum and head to NYC for A Moveable Feast: A Private Tour of Donald Judd’s Spring Street Studio and Walking/Tasting Tour of Greenwich Village on 5/21. Read more...
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
