Saturday, August 18, 2012

This Week's Blog Post

Buri Root Necklace
I actually made something for myself! These black beads are carved from the buri nut which is native to the Philippines.
Between them I used dark grey hemalyke beads. This is going to be a great staple piece in my wardrobe so I look forward to wearing it many, many times!
Portsmouth

Jim and I stayed a couple of nights in our favorite local spot, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was our second annual weekend trip there!
This New England gem has great eateries, scenery on the Atlantic Ocean, gardens, theater, art, historical buildings and so much more! Many of the eateries are in old structures that have been renovated. This year was tricky since I realized I can not eat gluten and of course I am a vegetarian. Luckily Portsmouth is well aware of the gluten free population!
This self portrait was taken at the Common Man which is a restaurant with multiple locations in New Hampshire. If you ever visit NH, it is definitely worth looking up the closest location! Its menu includes homecooked style comfort food like mac and cheese and pot roast. For me they have a quinoa and roasted veggie dish which is delicious!
We wanted to check out this newer restaurant called Mombo. It is a more upscale dining but we just went in for a glass of wine and cheese plate.
It is located at Strawberry Banke which was a thriving area dating back to the 1600s. Here homes have been preserved and guests can tour the area with live actors reenacting life in the old days!
The restaurant décor is beautiful with that old American feel.
We also visited Agave Mexican Bistro which has 1 location in Massachusetts and 1 location in New Hampshire.
Both locations have elegant dining and bar areas but reasonably priced.
Annabelle’s Ice Cream was another great stop we made in the middle of a hot day for some homemade frozen yogurt.
It has a feel like it has been around for many, many decades but actually opened in 1982!
We saw some cool sculptures. These metal pieces are by artist Rick Burns who received honorable mention by the NH Art Association. This is Emaciated Farmer.
This is 21st Century Sisyphus.
This cool rock has random animals carved all around it that appear to be behind windows.
These beautiful hands were in the yard of a temple.
Here I am with a lion. This was outside of an old building that has been converted into upscale condos.

We passed this sweet polka dotted feather on the sidewalk.
Many benches in the park have chess boards on them! There is probably some historical reference to this since one of the buildings downtown has the old ink reading “chess club” on it.
I have been seeing flower walls lately on Pinterest so it was really cool to see this one in person. This gardener used bags to house each plant.
I took a ridiculous amount of pictures so next week I will follow up with some great old architecture and stunning flowers!

Thank you for stopping by! If you ever have the opportunity to visit Portstmouth, NH someday you will not be disappointed!!! Have a wonderful week.  ~Val

21 comments:

  1. Yay for making something for yourself. It is a gorgeous piece. And must I say that you and your guy find the most fabulous places to visit. Looking forward to next week's photos. :-)

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  2. Another great trip Val, love the sculptures and of course, the flower wall is just beautiful.

    I'm glad you made a necklace for yourself for a change. I think we all need that from time to time. It is also only fair that we get to enjoy our own work.

    Have a great weekend.

    ruth

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  3. Hi Val,
    Beautiful necklace and it is so nice that you made it for yourself. Wow Portsmouth, NH is a very nice place, looking forward to part two.
    Therese

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  4. Love your new necklace! You're right that it will make a great staple piece!
    What a fun weekend! Love the self-portrait shot :) And the carved rock is so cool as well as the fun polka dot feather you found :)

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  5. Beautiful minimalist piece, and wow, what a lovely trip!

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  6. Great necklace. I also like the flower covered wall!

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  7. You really do visit the most amazing places :) You have some great pictures. I love that necklace as well.

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  8. I love the necklace you made for yourself! Very classy ;o) What is your pet Lion's name? LOL! That feather is gorgeous! I wonder what bird that came from? Did you keep the feather? I would have ;o) I think I would really enjoy Portsmouth NH! Take Care ;o)

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    1. The polka dots looked so funny to me I just had to whip out the camera! Jim yelled at me (in a fun way) when I picked up a feather once. Apparently they are full of nastiness. LOL. So no I did not keep this one.

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  9. Val - great necklace! I do the same ... I sell or give away most of what I make ... rarely keeping something for myself. So yeah! good for you - for keeping something! I really like it too. What a wonderful piece that will match so many things in the closet.

    Wonderful pics of NH, and those places look great. I've been wanting to get up to NH, but haven't had the chance. Will have to write these down - thanks!

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  10. that's some cool sculptures!

    the STYLE Fringe BLOG
    http://the-stylefringe.blogspot.com

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  11. What cool place you visit and what lovely finds! The feather for starters, that flower wall and that bench...nice, very nice!

    I love that self prortrait at the restaurant! Have a lovely week.

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  12. Good for you (making something for yourself)!! It's beautiful, and will look so perfect with so many outfits.

    It looks like you had a wonderful weekend. What a beautiful place to be. My son is actually on his way to NH right now. Camping trip. :-)

    You have a wonderful week ahead, my friend.
    xo.

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  13. what fun you must have!! love your photos!! you should get a commission!
    and it is easy to see why that gorgeous necklace will be a staple in your wardrobe.

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  14. With a name like Agave they must have good tequila. Looks like a lovely place to visit (My hubby and I are always trying to locate nifty vegetarian friendly areas). I agree with the others…that necklace looks beautiful and will go with so many different outfits!

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  15. It's so nice and satisfying to make something for yourself once in a while, isn't it?
    The city you visited looks lovely! My hubby also recently found out he can't have anything with gluten in it, but over here the restaurants rarely cater to things like that, so on our vacation we were so surprised to actually find a restaurant that had a whole gluten and lactose free menu!!

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    1. Hi Duni,
      I think you will start seeing more and more restaurants with gluten free menus! We are starting to see it more now too! Luckily!!!

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  16. Wonderful trip! I love the sculptures!

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  17. Wow great sculptures!!! I like it!!!! and beautiful necklace!!!
    Have a nice day!

    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥

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  18. Looks like another lovely trip, full of cool things to see. I love the metal sculptures! Your necklace is very cool, I love those nut beads.
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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  19. What a wonderful necklace! And I love that delicate spotted feather you passed along the way, what a wonderful detail...

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val