Some Brooklyn Loves
After a day in the city, when I step out from the mouth of the subway onto Brooklyn pavement, I can feel my shoulders unfurl and my breath get deep. For all of New York’s annoyances (and there are plenty), I love my neighborhood and its million delights: the constant baby parade, the dogs, the husband-and-wife-team restaurants, the creative buzz, the trees with leaves that fall to the pavement and get slick in the rain, the brownstones, the lovely little shops. And while I am mourning the loss of Rare Device, I have some new Brooklyn loves I wanted to share, all of which you can appreciate whether you live in the nabe or not:
D. S. and Durga has some very fancy colognes for both ladies and gents, but its their facial toner that has my heart. The tonic is one maharanis have used for ages; all I know is that it makes my skin super soft and makes me feel like a very down-to-earth princess.
Buttercup & Ivory makes beautiful embroidered linens with a sense of humor. I’m loving the formal place setting tablecloth on which you could serve Chinese takeout or linen coasters with wine spills that take the pressure off.
The soaps from Red Hook shop Saipua are lovely and the hand-stamped paper they come wrapped in even lovelier. But what I truly love are the lush, romantic flower arrangements and the pictures on owner Sarah’s blog that give a sense of the pretty, charming details in her world.
Do you read A Chicken in Every Granny Cart? If you don’t, you should. Ann’s blog captures all the nuances and big, grand vistas of living in Brooklyn with her lovely pictures, great stories, and recipes you want to gobble right up. None of them know it yet, but I totally want to invite Ann, Valerie, and Cathy over for supper.
Two things I want to know: Have any of you ever met blog crushes in real life? And what do you love about where you live? I’m all ears.
EB: What a sweet love letter to Brooklyn! Answers to your two questions: 1)I have met one of my blog crushes in real life. A very (now famous) one actually. At the time however… I just happened to be friends/classmate with her sister and it was loooong before “blog” was even a word. 2)What do I love about San Francisco?? Um pretty much everything. Duh.2 years ago
Monna: I love my walk home from the train station in Barcelona which, like New York, is a city in which people are great walkers. We pass by two bakeries, one of which is French and is where I tasted my first macaron. Oh my! We walk by the Mercat Liibertat (Freedom Market), my favourite little spot for clothing alterations, two toy stores, a tattoo parlour, two schools - one of which has an amazing-looking basketball court on the top of the building, a gelatto store, two antique shops, many adorable (as yet untested) restaurants and a store that sells whimsical clothes for kids. I love that the lady at the bakery knows us so well that she anticipates our order. As we walk, I start to come back to life. I like that feeling of being almost home but still out in this beautiful, bustling city.2 years ago
Elizabeth: As a fellow Brooklynite, I’m very excited to check out the places you mention. And I’m inspired to do my own love letter to my neighborhood one of these days!2 years ago
Cathy: Let’s do it! I’ve met Ann once or twice, but seriously, this would be grand. As for meeting blog crushes, I’ve only met the girl kind in “real life” myself… is there some dearth of attractive male bloggers? (Speak up, sirs!)2 years ago
miss fae: I have yet to eat at little d, though i walk by often
also, thanks for the new brooklyn blog link! I have been searching for a fun new 112XX blog!2 years ago
Joy: You make Brooklyn sound so lovely. I want to fly over and visit all those little shops. After watching the SATC film last night I am definitely craving a trip. By the way, I have nominated you for a blogging award on my blog.2 years ago
kat: Are you offering? Enjoyed the linens, but $30 for stitched wine spill?
Live in Boston, love all the architecture and greenery.2 years ago
Sarah: EB, I have a sneaking suspicion I know who you are talking about!
Monna, Your walk home sounds terrifically varied and heavenly. It’s a treat to have so much eye candy.
Elizabeth, You should write a love letter. I’m trying to focus on the positive these days instead of whining about the commute, etc.
Cathy, I do not know of a handsome gent blogger. I think you may have just identified a rare species!
Miss Fae, Go to Little D’s! Now! It’s tremendous — my absolute favorite restaurant in the city. A real treat, but totally unpretentious.
Joy, Thank you so much for the nomination! I am flattered and, frankly, flabbergasted.
Kat, Yeah, the embroidered linens ain’t cheap, but I just love the whimsy of them.2 years ago
Elisha Lynn: I know all about heat this week! The Brooklyn heat reaches all the way to Athens, OH.
Athens is lovely, everyone here is friendly, helpful and willing to trade life stories. The university vibe that mixes with the artsy townie vibe provides a wonderful backdrop for 20 somethings to grow and discover life.
Its a wonderful feeling to love the city you live in!2 years ago
Ruth: NM is my home…and I love waking up to the biggest blue skies bound by lovely mountains. And really, there’s nothing like NMexican food. You are one of my “blog crushes,” sarah…come visit someday…I’d love to meet you!2 years ago
ann: I am honored! Like, heeeeee! Honored! If Cathy’s in, I’m in, that would be so fun
2 years ago
Sara Rose: I’ve met a couple of my blog crushes in real life- its so refreshing to meet people that you read their work and you’re just like, “Aha! I get you!”
What do I love about my little po’dunk Vermillion, SD? Well, hmmm, I do spend a lot of time complaining about this place but . . . . I love that for the most part nature is really, very unspoiled. I’m not afraid to let my kid splash in the river when we go for walks by it, and there are deer, rabbits, sqirrels, sometimes elk, etc., that flit through my backyard from time to time that she gets to see. It’s really too funny when she yells at a jackrabbit, “Ok you- now good night Mr. Bunny!”
I enjoy the morning and evening silence that I know very few people experience in the “city”. I enjoy that for the most part, cost of living isn’t completely frightful here yet.
The number one thing I enjoy about South Dakota, though, is traveling back to the Black Hills to see my folks. As you drive across SD- there is this amazing geographical progression- flat, lush farm land, to rolling brown prairies, to deep and lush river valleys, to the Badlands- all white and silent and as amazing as the Grand Canyon, to the Black Hills- this amazing mix of red, red dirt and insane pine trees. It’s one of a kind.
2 years ago
Sara Rose: I forgot one other thing. I have a little cottage with a yard that Martha Stewart would totally be drooling over- I’m talking screened in porch, etc., that I get to enjoy every single day. We have a HUUUUGE window in the dining room that looks out in our amazing yard. Our yard is amazing because we have a privacy “fence” of trees and shrubs- so its also totally private and perfect for summer dinner parties and bbq’s.2 years ago
Helen: A comment from across the pond…I totally love where I live in a cottage in rural England. It was probably built in 1700…the first census records for the village show that a wheelwright worked from here in 1749 (didn’t something else happen that year???). We have done the place up a bit since we bought it 5 years ago and it’s been extended over the centuries but the oldest parts are all beams and bressumers with a ceiling height to challenge most modern men. We are home to all kinds of spiders and it’s a nightmare to keep on top of cleaning something so old but I do look at my inglenook fireplace and picture the many generations who have warmed themselves by its side. I also think it is feeding the imaginations of my children!2 years ago