reid state park

this year was a little nutty. i'm not going to lie. moving a family from rhode island to maine. packing and unpacking. new schools. new address. new jobs. new perspective. through all the stress and intensity, the basics still prevail. love. humor when things get rough (isn't a good nose snort good for your soul?). and seeing the beauty that is all around us. 

photos from our visit to reid state park on georgetown island in maine.

an edible centerpiece

i am a little reluctant to post our thanksgiving table pictures now that it is the middle of december, but such is life after a move. hope you have a splendid weekend.

scenes around the house

hi all! happy thanksgiving week to you. may you be enveloped in the love and warmness of family and friends and feel the gratitude for this beautiful life we are living.

my creative juices have been flowing like the amazon river here in our new (old) house in maine the last couple of months.  josh and i are really in our element getting settled in this house. painting walls and floors, putting up artwork, arranging furniture, and making this house our own. we feel like we can truly express our design aesthetic in this abode and we are loving the process, non working washer and dryer and all.

summer travelogue: the cleveland museum of art

to fulfill our need of exploration in ohio a visit to the cleveland museum of art was a must.

summer travelogue: cleveland's west side market

while visiting family and friends this july awaiting the closing of our house in maine we explored. walked a lot. and used our senses to take in all the visual delights. josh had the month off from working so we felt carefree not having to worry about a schedule or commitments. here are some pictures from our visit to the west side market in cleveland, ohio. 

the john stevens shop

so after putting all of our energy, physically and mentally into moving to maine. i have a little confession. i cannot stop thinking about newport (the town we moved from). i guess you can call it homesickness. as much as we are excited about starting our new lives here, there is a part of me that can't stop thinking about all of our friends that we made, the beaches, the girls preschool that we so loved, and the history there. i keep trying to push those feelings aside, but they keep resurfacing. 

so in tribute to newport, i thought i would share some pictures from the IYRS summer series, mastering the craft that we attended in june before the moving madness began. these pictures are from the john stevens shop in newport, ri. we were able to hear the owner, nick benson, a stone carver, calligrapher and 2010 macarthur fellow speak about his work. having an opportunity to see the open studio of a passionate, creative craftsman just inspires me so.

summer travelogue: the cleveland botanical garden

 

in july we traveled to josh's parent's home in the cleveland, ohio area. we headed to the university circle area including the cleveland museum of art, natural history museum and the botanical garden for a large dose of arts and culture. these are pictures we took on one of the hottest days of the summer. each plant has it's own idiosyncrasies that are so powerful and complex. i could stare at the details for hours.

the return ferry ride from monhegan island

the best part of the hour long ferry ride back from monhegan island was when the captain decided to take us by the island where a herd of seals lived. the girls are still talking about it. the seals are seriously the. cutest. things. 

oh,  and on the trip to monhegan island i got a little sea sick. first trimester of pregnancy with twins revisited. someone suggested i stand and look towards the horizon and that's what i did on the ride back and i felt fine. phew. green is not a becoming color.

you know you are in the middle of a move when...

 1. PODS delivers the wrong POD. seriously. 

2. you drag your tongue across your teeth and it's the slimiest, pastiest thing you have ever felt.

3. your best friends are the guys that work at the transfer station.

4. your to do list contains 'do laundry' and it never gets crossed off.

5. you crave vodka in the a.m. and coffee in the p.m. 

6. a sit down meal at mcdonalds is a worthwhile option.

7. when the move-in cleaning lady slides the girl's playroom window off it's track and it falls two stories to it's demise. 

8. when a 3 a.m. thud is your daughter falling out of her new twin bed.

9. washer and dryer not included in the sale of the house-sad. 
washer and dryer are still in house for closing inspection-happy.
dryer squeaks like a mouse and the washer sounds like someone is having animal sex-sad.

10. the largest colony of daddy long legs decides to inhabit the house between the previous owners and new occupants.

11. you decide to order internet extreme instead of basic internet only to find out that streaming netflix is still buffering and freezing at the same rate as before.

12. you realize that your book collecting habit is a disease when you see the towers o' books on the floor.

13. there is no convenient electrical outlet by the kitchen counter top so you resort to plugging in the coffee grinder  and blender in an outlet on the kitchen floor.

14. when you actually consider getting rid of everything you own.

15. when you wonder what that awful smell is and realize it's coming from your own armpit region.



*these were written by my husband, josh tompkins, and i after a stressful day of moving:)

*** and the pictures above are of our new house is maine. the original part of the house was built in 1820 as you can see in the first picture. the rest of the pictures show the additions that have been made. it is zoned for commercial and residential so we have long term plans of opening up a business out of the cedar shingle siding portion. hope you want to follow our little adventure of updating and making cosmetic changes to the interior and exterior.