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We’re now officially two days away from what most people think of as the busiest shopping day of the year. I’m not entirely sure if that’s accurate, but I wouldn’t be surprised. With big name stores opening doors as early as 6am with insane sales, shoppers go so far as to line up in the middle of the night to compete with each other for first pick on the season’s sales. It can get nutty and insane and I’m not sure it’s something in which I’d ever like to participate. Did you hear about the Walmart incident from last year… Is the $10 you save really worth someone getting trampled? Yikes.

Anyway, I’ve never been one for huge crowds. I lived in NY for 10 years and never went to Times Sqaure for New Year’s Eve. I actually tried to avoid the entire area as much as possible. On Sunday evening, I found myself getting slightly anxious while shuffling out of Gillette Stadium with 1000s of other sports fans. It’s not that I’m any type of phobic, I just like having my space. I certainly don’t enjoy shopping under pressure. So, while millions of people will be lining up to fight each other for the best sale on Friday, I’ll probably be cozy-ing up on my couch with a good movie and prepping my kitchen for a little pasta-making. That said, I’ve got a few recommendations. Good gift spots… browsing spots… lazy Sunday afternoon spots… Support your local business spots. There will be many more posts like these, and I hope to spend a little more time with shop and designer spotlights, but this is to get us started with this heavy shopping season!

For Gifts:

** Eli Phant :: 253 Congress Street, Portland ME

Felt Wine Rack - $40

Clouds Pouch - $14

Wood Candle Holder - $24

** Ferdindand :: 243 Congress Street, Portland ME

 Griffin T-Shirt - $24

Gorilla Onesie - $16

  The Dream and Scheme Notebooks - $10 each

** Blanche and Mimi :: 184 Middle Street, Portland ME

Graphic Aprons - $28 each

Orla Kiely bags - $158-$215

Travel soaps and creams - $2-$4.50
For Antiques:

** My Sister’s Garage :: 1328 Roosevelt Trail
Naples, ME

Vintage Canister Set - $36

Victorian Sideboard - $195

Strawberry Sister Sac - $45

Marina, Vintage Sewing Bust - $145

** Wild Plum ::  1253 Roosevelt Trail
Naples, ME

THE VERY LAST WEEKEND!! Wild Plum closes it’s doors on Nov. 29. Make sure to pop by this weekend for some great deals on old treasures. I bought 3 bookshelves there for my new place. Tracy is fabulous and her taste is impeccable!

For Fashion:

** Bliss :: 58 Exchange Street, Portland ME

My go-to spot for jeans!!

** Zane :: 41 Exchange Street, Portland ME

William Rast Ultra Low Savoy Trouser - $220

See by Chloe Embroidered Dress - $540

  Seychelles Pumps - $90

** Rogue’s Gallery :: 41 Wharf Street, Portland ME

Thunder Bay Bag - $298

Kent Sweater - $199

Fisherman’s Scarf - $64
For your tastebuds:

** Homegrown Herb & Tea :: 195 Congress Street, Portland ME

Teas!!
Pitta Plunge - A deliciously cooling blend of spearmint, peppermint, rose petals and lime peel. $18.50/6 oz.
China Congo Rose - the perfect balance between the delicate taste of rose and the bold, masculine aroma of late season black tea. $8.75/4 oz
The Flower Child - jasmine flowers, rose petals, lavender flowers and lemongras. $21.50/6 oz.

** Dean’s Sweets :: 82 Middle Street, Portland ME

Truffles - $17.50 for an 8 piece box, $27.50 for a 16 piece box.
Enjoy!!

It’s my first real Maine Thanksgiving since I was in college. Sure, I’d often come back for the holiday, but that always involved Wednesday 1/2 days leading into insane evening travel alongside what always seemed like every last NYC resident on route somewhere else. It was stressful and intense and though seeing family was always great, it was never really a holiday I looked forward to. This year, however, feels different because as I like to remind my parents… I live here now;). I’m here in Portland tonight, having just returned from an evening with my dad, step-mom and sister out in Freeport. I head to Naples tomorrow for a day with J’s family, to Porter on Friday for dinner with old friends, to Portland again on Saturday for a girls night with a close friend, and finally to mom’s on Sunday for a last holiday meal. Even with all of that going on, all of that driving, nothing about it feels stressful. Rather, it feels a little exciting. I’m looking forward to spending time with everyone and am thankful for the opportunity to spend the holiday with so many different people. On that note, I’d like to give thanks…

…for Family

Moving back has given me the opportunity to get to know everyone in a different way. I feel like I’m really a part of their lives again, rahter than just a voice on the other end of the phone. Baking with mom, watching funny videos with pop, going to the movies with my niece and nephew, dinners with my sister. It’s been fantastic and I’m thankful.

…for Love

Without getting too mushy, I’ll just say that I’m thankful for having found J again. I’ll save that story for another day, but I couldn’t be happier. I’m tremendously lucky to have such an amazing man in my life. For him, I’m thankful
…for Friends

Both new and old. This transition has proven once again the power of a true friendship. To my friends in NY, SF, LA and my new (old) ones here in ME, thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all - Sending much Love, Pie and a little bit of Turkey your way;)

xErin

I know you’d think with a name like Erin Whelan, I’m all Irish. But no. I’m 1/2 Irish, 1/4 Italian, and 1/4 mix of French/Spanish/Cuban. This post is dedicated to the 1/4 bit of Italian. It comes from my mom’s dad, Grandpa Joe. He was a firecracker;). Full of stories and comments about the world that could sometimes make you laugh so hard you’d fall off your chair. He knew the best Italian phrases which he willingly shared with anyone who would listen. And… he was a phenomenal Italian cook. You see, Joe (Giuseppe) came here from Italy when he was just a boy. He learned to cook from his mother, Antoinette and thankfully passed those skills down to my mom. One of our long-standing family traditions has been the making of Italian cookies, Pizzelles (pit-zelle) and Biscotti (bish-cotte). I’ve been making Pizzelles on my own for quite a while now thanks to a hand-me-down Pizzelle iron compliments of my mom. I’ve never, however, made Biscotti until today.

My mom drove in to meet me for a day of Italian baking in my new apartment. We did the Biscotti first, as they require a fair amount of baking time, and the Pizzelles while the Biscotti were cooking. I’ve got take-away bags full for J’s Gram and Mom, for my step-dad, my dad, my land-lady (whose family is from the same area in Italy as my Grandfather!) and one, of course, for me. The apartment smells fantastic, I had a gorgeous day hanging out with my mom, and everyone gets treats. What could be better?

Feeling sad that you’re not on the cookie distribution short-list? Drop me a line and maybe you’ll get a treat for the holidays;)

Pizelle Iron

Nice stacks of 10;)

Nice stacks of 10;)

Biscotti - After the first round of baking, before making the cuts.

Biscotti - After the cuts, going in for more baking.

Pizzelles

Biscotti - ready to eat!!

I played around a little more than I thought I would today and ended up with a whole new theme. I’m not entirely sold yet, but I’m liking this trying something different thing. The colors feel good, I still have a little splash of pink, and it looks less like a shop than the thoughts of just little ol’ me.

What do you think?

Please excuse the appearance of the blog while I play around with new colors, styles, etc… You may notice a variety of different looks over the next few weeks. I suppose I just got bored with the shop look and as I’m trying to separate myself a little bit from Clarabella, it feels like the right time for change. Again, if you have any suggestions, let me know!! It’s as easy as typing in a little comment below. Right now, I’m just playing with colors and images in my current theme, but I may even start looking for new themes.

Eventually, the ultimate change will come and this blog will migrate to a new one… a ‘me’ site rather than a ‘clarabella’ site. It feels a little wrong to continue writing to you from an ‘nyc’ url when I’m no longer there. All I have to do is come up with a new blog name that I’ll love for years and year. Piece-o-cake. Ha.

So, bear with me! I’m playing!

I love that title:). I just do. So, as my weekly SPACE news was delivered to my inbox yesterday, I noticed a little something different. Not a film, not an art showing, not music… but what I will now call a Craftacular. (No, I can’t take credit for that awesome word… I borrowed it from the Bust Magazine.) On December 4th and 5th, SPACE will be host to a room full of fantastic (or craftastic according to SPACE!)… in the form of local artists, jewelry designers, musicians, printmakers and more. Just in time for the holidays, we’ve got a new way to support local business. I for one will be at Shop-a-Do, and if you’re in Portland or in one of the surrounding areas, maybe you’d like to join me? See below for details.

At SPACE Gallery - 538 Congress Street, Portland

Decemebr 4th from 4 - 10pm :: December 5th from 10am - 4pm
A fantastic collection of handmade goods including books, t-shirts, cards and other printed materials, handbags, jewelry, iron cribbage boards, affordable art and more.

Featuring cool stuff from

Alicia Allen Jewelry

Alex Argo Jewelry Design

Bobbin Studio

Boom Chick-a-Boom

Emblem Studio

Ferdinand

Jennifer Judd-McGee

KINSELLAART

Mean & Wroughten

Olive’s Vintage

Pinecone+Chickadee

Rusty Petals

Salty Kiss Press

Selfish & Talking Painting

Small Victory Studios

SPACE Gallery

Spindleworks

Strong Arm Bindery

With music by BAM BAM.

If you’ve been reading along, you know that since moving up to Portland, ME at the beginning of September, I’ve been on a pretty serious mission to turn this rented apartment of mine into a home. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the time to do something like this… not to mention the freedom. I’ve been painting, arranging, weeding, and as you’ve seen, I’ve been on a pretty intense DIY streak! I have no doubt that I’ll continue to create little pieces for the apartment… to perfect the layout, to rearrange, etc. But for now, I’m feeling pretty well settled. I absolutely love this apartment and a smile creeps across my face every time I open the front door and walk in. This apartment is all me. It has my personality and my style stamped in every little corner. It is with great pleasure that I now share it with you! I’ll try to keep the commentary to a minimum but sometimes I just can’t help myself! I’ll also give you info on all of the artwork. Most of the pieces are from various Clarabella gallery shows. Enjoy!

THE BIG HOME PROJECT, FALL 2009
Living Room Before:

Living Room After:

Artwork by Amaru Chiza. “Abstraction 22 x 28″. This is the first piece of art I ever bought for myself back in 2001. I found it toward the end of the day along the artwalk on West Broadway. The artist gave me a ‘deal’ since I was to be his last sale of the day. I’ve brought it from place to place ever since. The chair is the one custom created for the shop. I got SO many inquiries about this chair in the 2 years that the shop was open. I will never part with it. The console/breakfront used to be the front counter at the shop, but actually originally came from my mom and step-dad’s old house. I’m told they purchased it in Nantucket.

I purchased the mirror in the left photo at Bob’s Thrift Shop on Houston @ Bowery with an ex. Thankfully it came with me for the breakup! the photos are of my mom’s family. The mirror in the right photo is actually one that I’m ‘looking after’ for my friend Josephine. It’s likely it’ll be going back to her sometime around Thanksgiving. The ‘C’ is from the Clarabella front window. The trunk style boxes were purchased at HomeGoods in South Portland and house my craft supplies and all of my jewelry-making tools and materials.

Someday, there will be a couch here and this lovely chair will be in one of the corners. For now, however, it is a fine place to cuddle up with J to watch a movie.

This is actually an outdoor dining set that was purchased with the deck in mind. It comes from Paris Farmer’s Union thanks to J;). Since Fall and Winter don’t encourage outdoor dining, I’ve brought it indoors. It’ll head back outside once weather allows in the Spring.
 

Artwork by Bailey Saliwanchik. “Red”. I arranged the books on the bookshelf according to color, something I’d seen on various design sites. Not the most practical set up if I ever want to find something, but it still looks nice! The 2 books in a box are from my book-binding phase. Maybe someday I’ll get back into that one! The lamp on the right was purchased at HomeGoods in South Portland. The hooks are old shop hooks placed over decorative paper. The mirror was brought back from Ireland on a trip that my sister L and I took back in 2000.

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Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

Artwork: Right, framed Indian Rupee. Given to me by my friend Krishan for our college graduation. Left, by Wendy Newcomb. Landscapes. Given to me by my mom and step-dad. Wendy is a local artist and a family friend.

I’m fairly certain that the little French sign was given to me by Mom quite a while ago. The blue bottle came from the Christmas Tree Shop, of all places. The big ol’ shoe stand on the left was a gift from my friend Nicole Gagne (Leoworks - Jewelry designer) for the shop.

Artwork by Shaun Kardinal. “7th and Pine” From the second ever Clarabella art show. I now consider Shaun a great friend. He’s an incredible artist. Creative and caring. Hi Shaun!

Couldn’t resist sharing the little kitchen setup… I love my royal blue tea kettle. The sugar and flour cannisters and the little sugar bowl all came from IKEA. The utensil holder is something I’ve had for years.

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Bathroom Before / After: (not much done in here yet…)
 

Artwork by Matthew Doubek. Print from Charmingwall. “E is for Elephant”. The print is from Matt’s show at Clarabella… the last show before closing. Charmingwall is a favorite NY gallery located in the West Village. I was planning on painting, but honestly just got tired. It’ll be a slightly softer white. I did put the hooks up for the towels and removed the towel bar.
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Bedroom Before:

Bedroom After:

Artwork by Wayne Wilkinsom. Left - “Summer Solstice”, Right - “Grace Upon Grace”. Both pieces were purchased back in 2006 and frame at Chelsea Frames back in 2007. I found Wayne on Etsy. Incredibly affordable artwork and just my style. I just put this comforter cover on the other day. I’ve had it for years and it miraculously matches the bedroom perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly? It will be interchanged with my multi-colored foral cover.
 

Artwork by Ben Chang. “Untitled” I thought this photo was perfect for the ‘dressing area’. I kept one of the dress forms from the shop and use it for hats and various sweaters, scarves and bags depending what is discarded at the end of a day. The shelves holding jeans and sweatshirts came from a fabulous little antique shop out in Naples called Wild Plum. The handbags wall hangers are from a site called Simply Sarah. I can’t recommend these enough. What a fantastic and chic way to organize and show off your handbags!!

Artwork by Marianne Goldin. “Jane” This piece is from Marianne’s show back in the Fall of 2008. She is an incredibly talented Seattle based Illustrator. You’ve already seen the newly painted dresser.

The mirror on the left is the one from Clarabella. I loooove it. I got it at Pottery Barn. I’m not sure that they sell the exact one anymore, but here is one that’s close. I got nearly as many inquiries about the mirror as I did about the chair. The mirrors on the right are both from West Elm.

Artwork by Matthew Doubek. “W is for Worm” From Clarabella’s very last art show.

Artwork by Amanda Kavanagh. Left - “Tiny Winter #11″, Right - iPhone sketches. Amanda had artwork on display at Clarabella from January through June of this year. I fell in love with her style as did many of my customers. She gave me the tiny piece on the left as a thank you and also, incredibly, the prints on the right. I have 4 in total - all frames are from IKEA.

These shelves were made by my dad!! See the DIY section for more.

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And the smile grows…

Another quickie with no instructions… I’m starting to run out of time for the day!

I bought these magnetic organizers a while back. I had them up in my old apartment, but never really used them. I thought it might be a nice touch to snazz them up a little and actually use them for day to day, functional, business-like things;). I’m trying to get serious over here!

Before:

After:

All thanks to a little decorative paper, a little modge podge, an X-acto knife, and a self healing cutting board. Yee-hah.

I may end up painting the chair as well, but for now I’ll leave it with the natural finish and the new seat cushion. No instructions here… it’s a simple IKEA chair with new fabric purchased at JoAnn Fabrics on Brighton Ave in Portland. If you want tips on how to recover your own chair, post a comment and I’ll message you back!

xxE

Did I mention that my dad built me some shelves for the corner of my room? Well… he did. He’s just awesome like that. The bedroom had this funky little corner with about 4′ x 2 1/2′ of random space, only good for housing my radiator. Well, the tiny little nook seemed the perfect size for my desk, which would then be a perfect spot for a wall of shelves. Desk storage, clothing and linens. It was the final piece that would help me to unpack those last couple of boxes that taunted me every time I walked in the front door. Anyway, shelves. We went out to Hancock Lumber in Freeport to buy wood and proceeded to cut the pieces down in the side shed to my dad’s house. Then, I left and he did the rest - sanding, fitting, expert screw hiding, the works! He came buy the apartment on Halloween to install these lovely shelves and I’ve been loving them ever since. I haven’t yet painted them and though I’d planned to originally, I’m getting a little tired of home improvement so I may just leave them be for a bit. You’ll see photos at the end of this post, but my next DIY wouldn’t make sense without the story of the shelves.

So… I first commandeered the bottom shelf for office things… the printer, pens, stationary, etc. Shelf #2 went to sweaters in order to free of the top shelf in the closet and allow me to actually see what I had instead of always staring hopelessly at a poorly lighted, jumbled mess every time the weather turned crisp. The top shelf was reserved for linens and towels. Then came winter gear… scarves, hats, gloves. I needed a way to unpack them that wouldn’t look horribly messy but would still allow easy access. Enter the discarded moving boxes that I’d just unpacked. I took some measurements and decided to make 4 bins in which to store the gear. The bins didn’t need to be perfect or incredibly durable, but I did want them to look pretty. And so began my very own DIY!

Materials:

4 moving boxes

Decorative paper
paint tape, masking tape, duct tape, or paacking tape… any strong wide tape really.

X-acto knife

Ruler

ModPodge or Craft Glue

Paint Brush

Self-healing Cutting board

Directions:

* Start with the first box. Take the sides apart so that you have easier access for cutting, measuring, etc.

* Measure out an 11″ x 11″ square on the first piece. Draw lines with a pen or pencil that will allow for easy cutting.

* Cut the square out with the X-Acto knife. This will be the back.
* Make 2 more 11″ squares. On one side of each, measure 9″. Draw a straight line from one corner to the opposite 9″ side. Cut on line line to create a sloped side. These two pieces will serve as the sides of the bin.
* You’ll have to improvise for the bottom. You’ll want to save the 4th full side for the front piece, so use the top flaps to create 2 separate pieces that can be taped together. Cut one piece at 11″ x 5″ and one piece at 11″ x 6″. Tape them together. This piece can be used as the bottom.

* The front piece should be measured out at 11″ x 9″.

* One by one, tape the pieces together. You should have an 11″ square box with a front slope. You can make extra cuts on the front piece if you want to change the look of your bin.

* Pick a piece of decorative paper for the first bin. Cut a 15″ square pieces. You’ll want it to be big enough to cover the whole front and then wrap around the sides a bit.

* Using the paint brush and your glue of choice, fix the decorative paper to the front. Smooth the surface to prevent wrinkles.

* Make cuts in the paper that will allow you to wrap it around the bottom and the sides. For the open top, the paper should wrap around the top edge and be glued to the inside.

* Once this is done, you’ll want to let the glue dry before using the bins.

* As soon as it’s dry… unpack and enjoy!

And that’s that;). In retrospect, I probably should have used regular masking tape on them ‘misc.’ cubby, or maybe a different color decorative paper, but c’est la vie. It does the trick all the same and I’m not a total perfectionist all the time;).