Local Art | Indigo Fire

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I’m so excited to be featuring Indigo Fire on my blog today! Indigo Fire is local clay and glass fusing art center next to Fresh Pond in Belmont, MA. My sister is really into pottery, and I studied abroad in Barcelona learning about glass making techniques, so this place would be the perfect place for us to have a girls day (someday!)

I love this little tidbit: Indigo Fire is named after the color indigo which is the rarest of all colors in the spectrum. Indigo is difficult to make naturally; it requires quite the a process, much like art! It is also the hottest part of a flame which speaks to the process of ‘firing’ everything in the studio.

The owner, Suchi, has been hosting pottery and glass fusing classes for three years now. You can either reserve a time for a group, or you can drop in! Clay is a wonderful medium for all ages and the instructors teach you how clay works, how to build shape and mold it. And get this, Fridays are special Date Nights!! BYOB and make something cool together! 🙂

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset — Pictures courtesy of Indigo Fire!

I’ll be visiting the studio later this month, so stay tuned for some fun pottery and/or glass making stories and photos!! 🙂

Stephanie

Changing the World

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I’m going to brag really quickly about my little sister Megan. She just graduated from Denison University in May and in one week will be an official, active member of the Peace Corps. Yes, the real, live, true and famous Peace Corps! She’ll be working for 2 years (!) in Cameroon, a small French speaking country on the East Coast of Africa, supporting and expanding the agriculture industry. If you want to read more about exactly what she’ll be doing, click this link! Pretty much, she’ll be well on her way to changing the world.

We had a ‘see ya later’ party for her this weekend at my parent’s new house in New Hampshire. It was a big gathering of friends and family. AKA: we sat in the backyard eating hamburgers, drinking pumpkin beer, talking about life and playing with the cat. At the end of the day, the ‘kids’ (anyone under 30? i guess 😉 ) took a little excursion to Hampton Beach and watched the sunset and skipped rocks into the ocean. It was a good day.

I managed not to cry at all until my drive home. TWO YEARS PEOPLE! That’s a long time! Of course she gets to come home and visit, but yeah. Two years. She leaves on the 9th, and it would be awesome if you could keep her in your prayers!! Thank you!

I’m the King of New York

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(Title is from a Newsies song.. it’s the only thing I can think of when I think about New York City. This has also resulted in me listening to the whole soundtrack while I write this post. It’s fine. I’m not a nerd.)

Last weekend I went to New York! And last weekend I ate my way through New York! But I also visited some friends along the way 🙂 My lovely friend lovely Kelsey (of Tickle Me Pink blog) was gracious to let me stay with her in her cute apartment and show me around the city!

I loved exploring the West Village and the Meatpacking district and hitting all the cute spots. I fell deeply and madly in love with the Chelsea Market and all their trendy, healthy, maker-type businesses that fill the old mill building. Of course I didn’t take a photo because I was living in the moment, but one of the stores I found fascinating was Artist and Fleas, a collective of over 30 crafters and makers in the city!

We went to a ton of great food spots so I wanted to share them! I didn’t take photos at every place we ate, because again, trying to live in the moment, slash some of them had bad lighting. Here’s where we ate, what I ate, and my rating out of 5 stars (because I’m obviously a food blogger, not.)

Friday Dinner: Quarter – the quarter burger with fries – 5 stars
Saturday Breakfast: Murray’s Bagels – pumpernickel bagel with maple walnut cream cheese – 4 stars
Saturday Lunch: Meme Mediterranean – chicken chopped salad and hummus with falafel – 5 stars
Saturday Dinner: Blue Ribbon Sushi – shrimp tempura and spicy crab rolls – 4 stars
Sunday Brunch: Bubby’s (High Line) – bubby’s breakfast – 4 stars

So pretty much Kelsey took me to all the best places and now I’m eating salad for 3 weeks to make up for it 😉 😉 jkjk.

This trip made me remember why I <3 NY. Did you know, I was dead set on moving there after college graduation, but a silly/cute boy named Nate convinced me to move to Boston instead. 🙂 I wouldn’t change it, but I’m definitely excited to plan another weekend trip to New York in the fall!

<3 S

My Ideal Weekend

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This weekend will be much different that usual, as I am headed down to NYC for a couple photo shoots and to visit a bunch of friends!! But I wanted to share my idea of a perfect weekend during this time of life. Obviously my husband is invited to come along 😉

Pretty much my ideal weekend doesn’t include any plans. So much of our life is planned down to the minute, so for me, weekends are *ideally* a time to forget plans and just enjoy life together. We would start our Saturday with a stroll around the Farmer’s Market, munching on freshly made bagels and sipping iced coffee. Sitting in the grass people-watching is also a must. Then we’d load up the kayaks and go for a spin around the local pond (or maybe go on an adventure and find a new place to explore.) At night we would spontaneously invite a few friends over for a long heart-to-heart over wine (or burgers, or both) and then we’d watch our favorite 90s TV shows until bedtime.

Sunday we would get up for the early church service and worship Jesus. Then we’d make a stop at my favorite coffee shop on the way home. We’d get a couple chores done and out of the way, and then spend the rest of the day outside! Maybe take a walk around the neighborhood or throw a frisbee in the park near our house. Then we’d hunker down, each with our own good book to read, and wake up ready for the week!

Of course, this is an ideal weekend. Most of the time there is a wedding or family photo shoot mixed in there for me, and Nate just plays a lot of video games ha! Not to say this exact weekend plan hasn’t happened before though! What does your ideal weekend look like?

Weekly Obsessions

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It’s MONDAY. It’s 95 degrees out. And really all I want in life is to go back to my grandparent’s lake house in New Hampshire and float in the water all day. Since that’s not going to happen, let’s talk about what we’re obsessed with instead:

Open Water Swimming – This summer I’ve been swimming across ponds and lakes in the area and I really love it. So much so that I’ve researched open water swimming clubs and races and even bought some new gear to make my obsession more fun (and safer). This is one reason that I don’t want summer to end! (Although the only reason. I need fall.)

Flora Bowley – I was introduced to Flora’s work by a painter friend and instantly fell in love with her colors and loose, flowing way of painting. She has an intuitive style, which means she follows her heart while making every piece of art! Her work is stunning!!

Our 3 Year Anniversary Photos by Jen Araya – We had these images taken on a lovely summer night and I just really love them (and my husband!) Our 4th year of marriage is off to a good start! (Read of Top 3’s of our 3rd year)

View More: http://jenarayaphotography.pass.us/stephanielovesnate