Stoudt's Brewery, Adamstown PA

While in Philadelphia we came across a flier for a brewery an hour west of Philadelphia. It promised a restaurant, antiques, and a food co-op. Since it was on our way home, and we hadn't done anything touristy yet, we thought we'd check it out. We are so glad we did.

It wasn't just a brewery, it was a colorful little magic land with all of my favorite things, beer, antiques, and natural foods. The people hanging out there were a regular cast of characters as well.

Adamstown had a lot of antique shops already, but the brewery seemed to be ground zero. It was a huge maze of an antique mall, with the sellers present in their booths, and nearly everything in mint condition and expertly curated. This means we couldn't afford anything we liked, but it was still so fun to look. 

The Wonderful Good Market had all kinds of organic and natural foods, plus plants for sale, and a bakery that made fresh bread, including the beer bread that we picked up along with some raw milk cheese. AND they had a sample bar with delicious baked goods.

Then, the restaurant.. Black Angus was completely decked out in fancy antiques and memorabilia, and had a very extensive and impressive menu. It's mostly seafood and meat, but they had veggie options, and seemed willing to whip up something special to suit your dietary needs. We sat at the antique bar, sampling the beer on tap. We took home a mixed six pack, and my favorite was The Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout. Sooo good.

We didn't have time to tour the brewery, but that is an option. We did check out the brew hall where I believe they hold their festivals and have live music. There was a separate beer tasting bar there, where some locals, possibly antique dealers, seemed to be hanging out.

The place is family owned. Brimming with Stoudt's.

It was the best possible stop on our looong roadtrip, and if you find yourself traveling through Pennsylvania sometime, check it out. 

Stoudt's

Route 272

2800 North Reading Road

Adamstown, PA 19501 

The restaurant:

Some treasures we wish we coulda taken home with us:

And the Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout:

While searching for an image of the label, I found this one over at Dog Hill Kitchen.

They've concocted a recipe for Stoudt's Fat Dog Beer Bread that I would absolutely love to try. Fantastic idea!

Ceilume Tiles!

So, our two-flat has a couple ceiling issues. Up in my mom's unit, there's a drop ceiling to conceal the duct work for her air conditioning. In the basement, we have dusty, ugly exposed beams because the basement is unfinished. This is a problem because my sewing studio is down there, and dust is constantly getting knocked down onto my work surface. 

I have always been a huge fan of tin ceilings, who isn't? But everything I've ever seen available to get the effect of a vintage tin ceiling has been too expensive.

 

Enter Ceilume tiles.

My friend, Katie, gave me a tip on these, because she discovered the company will mail out free full-sized samples, and she thought she could hang a tile or two on the wall for decoration, which she can.  But they work even better in their intended capacity as incredibly inexpensive and easy to install faux tin ceiling. They are made of vinyl, but can be painted (and come in colors and a bunch of different designs from victorian to modern) , and once they're all the way up on the ceiling, I really don't think you can tell.

Plus, they are recyclable, use 75% less raw material than regular ceiling tiles, and are cheaper to ship. I don't mean to gush, but there are also some cool fire-safe features and they won't get ruined if your roof leaks. 

So, Katie, thanks for the tip on the free samples. And, yeah, I do actually intend to buy the product.

So, check them out: Ceilume

Wedding On the Delaware

So, the last two weeks have been marathon wedding weeks. Here are some photos from the first one we attended, in Philadelphia on a beautiful old estate on the Delaware River called The Glen Foerd Mansion

Here is all the correspondence and paper from the wedding, designed by the bride herself. I believe the inspiration was a photo of a feather in the sand, taken on the vacation of the proposal. Feathers were enclosed with the invitation.

The (very tall) groom, Mickey, with his (very small) grandmother:

The bride with her stepfather. The back of that dress, "Marrielle" in gold by Raylia was absolutely gorgeous:

As much of the bridal party as I could fit in one frame. I think there were ten each of bridesmaids and groomsmen. The bridesmaids wore their own butter yellow or ivory (our wedding colors!) dresses and the groomsmen wore their own suits with ties silk-screened by Cyberoptix. Flowers were by Jessica Weeks, and hairpieces by Gillian Chadwick:

Mickey and Lauren eating at their own table in front of the mantel which I thought was very romantic, but apparently also a political move. They were able avoid choosing who from their very extensive list of close friends and family to sit with:

The beautiful and DELICIOUS cake! It was all chocolate, with strawberries. We were given extra pieces to take with us, which were gobbled up on the fourteen hour drive home:

My sister found the spot that matched her outfit:

My mom, me, my sister. There was a bowl of small flowers by the guestbook with pins so the guys could put them on their lapels, and I put one in my hair:

Not For Combustible Babies

Now that we got my bestie married off, it's time to start thinking about making things for her baby boy, due in September.

Lorraine is a total eco-freak, LEED certified and everything. She is obsessed with not having anything flame-retardant near her child. It sounds kinda weird, but she has a point. Pretty much all baby sleepwear and bedding is flame-retardant. She says that at some point in the seventies or eighties a mass paranoia of spontaneously combustible babies emerged. 

Babies aren't particularly flammable, and all those anti-fire chemicals can't be good for them, so I'll indulge the lady.

Here are some great materials I found, all organic and non-toxic. Now I just need to decide what to do with them. 

One. Hand screen printed and solvent free elephants on organic hemp/cotton by Carly Schwerdt for Umbrella Prints

Two. Organic cotton iron-on applique patch by Crazy Couture Boutique

Three. GreenSTYLE Panda Print Leaf on 60% cotton, 40% bamboo fabric by Robert Kaufman

Four. Enchanted Forest 100% Organic Twill by Mod Green Pod

Five. Block Printed Chocolate Eyelet on 55% Hemp/ 45% Organic Cotton Blend by Home Sweet

Six. Cloud 9 by Mod Green Pod 100% Organic Cotton made with eco-friendly non-toxic ink

Till then..

Morning Noonan Night is going on vacation. Let's talk Tuesday.

Keds for Design Nerds

Did you know you could design your own Keds?

Well, you can. 

While looking for some plain black slip-ons, I stumbled upon Keds Studio.

Through a partnership with Zazzle.com, Keds allows you to either choose from designs and color options they provide, or upload your own images.

You can even post your finished shoe design for sale and turn a profit. 

I thought it might be a great opportunity to wear some of those designer wallpaper patterns I've always wanted, but will never be able to afford.  So I whipped up some possible designs.

There are for sure some copyright issues to consider here, but I think that if you just made yourself a pair of Imperial Trellis sneakers, it would be cool with Kelly.

"Elysian Fields" by Dan Funderburgh for Flavorpaper.

"Imperial Trellis II" by Kelly Wearstler for Schumacher

"Diamond Dogs" by Schumacher

Free and Amazing

"StereoLit" by Micah Taupule
Originally uploaded by Not What You Think

There are a few random endeavors for which I have become an unpaid advocate.
One is my phone company, which actually just started paying me for my passion.
Another is Wii Fit.
And a biggie is The Chicago Public Library.
I was born and raised in Chicago. So, I remember their childrens summer reading program ( I think it was called The Great Book Log?) where we got stickers on a treasure map until we read a certain amount of books, and then earned a prize from a treasure chest and our name in the paper. I think they still do an updated version of this program.
I remember going there every couple of weeks with my dad so he could stock up on documentary video rentals.
And of course there was every research project of my entire academic career.
The only thing I ever found frustrating was getting newly released or obscure books. You had to go in and request them and then get on a waiting list to finally get to read them once they arrived. And if you were at a small branch it took a while. After I finished college, the library and I sort of lost touch.
When we bought our house a few blocks away from the Humboldt Park Branch, I decided to see if they had a website, and boy do they.
Getting a new book is now easier (and cheaper) than shopping on Amazon.
Just type in your library card number, search for whatever you are looking for, and place it on hold. It will be sent usually within a week to your library of choice. And then you can either renew it online or drop it off at any library location when you are done with it.
Amazingly convenient.
Plus every branch has free wi-fi and computers (often laptops) available for checkout within the branch, workshops and lectures and discussions, and quirky perks like the fishing poles you can check out at the Humboldt Park branch for fishing in The Humboldt Park Lagoon.
So, anyway, the real reason for this post: The library has recently started rebranding itself to appeal to people like you and me. The campaign is called Not What You Think. It seems to be working, because I noticed it when I saw an ad on a bus of a hipstery-looking girl with tattoos and a library ID and, at first glance, thought it was someone I knew.
Their newest effort is a contest for artwork for this campaign, and my favorite entry just happens to be by a very talented coworker of mine, Micah Taupule and it's called StereoLit. I love the Mucha-looking girl with the headphones, and the Chicago tattoos. It's a tough competition, and the other entries are giving Micah a run for his money. So, go check them out and vote by logging into Flickr and adding your choice as a favorite. And choose Micah's!

Not What You Think Contest
Chicago Public Library

Sew Urban

So, now Urban Outfitters has sewing supplies.

I scored a couple Built By Wendy patterns from a clearance bin at Urban a year and a half ago, but it seemed like they had gone straight to clearance and I took it as a sign that it didn't work out.

Not sure how I feel about this one.

They happen to be selling the machine I've had my eye on for some time now, and I guess I do fit their demographic according to the facebook quiz I took today, so maybe they are on to something.

It seems pretty geared toward dabblers, but maybe more people will get hooked and make their own clothes instead of buying that Urban Renewal crap they peddle. More sewers is always a good thing.

But I can tell you right now that someone buying this:

wouldn't be caught dead with this:

I wouldn't mind this for storing buttons or trim:



And I do like this:

Not Wack Bric-A-Brac?

It's really not bric-a-brac. That's the point. I found this creative lady a while back in a feature for I.D. magazine about your momma's figurine companies like Lladro coming out with stuff for folks like me and probably you. This is Megan Bogonovich. She is a ceramicist from New Hampshire who has gotten a fair amount of press lately. 

Besides her high end ceramic sculptures for sale through artstream, she also has neat pieces available on Etsy (user name melabo). There are animals with extra or misplaced appendages made from combinations of different molds. There are wedding cake toppers and pretty tiles. The Etsy stuff is very reasonably priced. 

I have these two:

Here are the links:

Megan Bogonovich

Melabo on Etsy

Artstream

brides and bridesmaids

While cruising etsy for some wedding gifts for upcoming weddings, I stumbled upon this lovely designer.
I'm a pretty thrifty dresser. These dresses are not thrifty, but when you put them in the context of wedding, they are perfect. Even inexpensive. And unique.

AND a portion of every sale goes to charity.

I am not sure if the line is called Sarah Seven or Beaus And Arrows, which is the name of her blog, but here are the links:

Sarah Seven


Beaus And Arrows

hi there.

This here is a blog for posting things I make, do, and like. 

Mostly to keep track, I guess.

I'll start you off with what I do for a living. I'm a photo stylist, and most people think that means brushes and makeup and racks of clothing.

Nope. 

Mostly towels and sheets and racks of bedspreads.

And the occasional model in a bed. It's all very glamourous.

I styled these things:

So there you go.