Blog

Slowly but surely the holidays are starting to creep up on us. It's November already! How did that happen? While I still have two more holiday cards in the works, I wanted to share my first three new cards for the season. One of them is my first official letterpress card that I am offering for sale in the shop! It has been printed with bright red ink on super luxurious 100% cotton card stock-- fancy schmancy, I tell you! Better hide this one from the kids for multiple reasons. ;)

And we all know that a drink or two will either help us through the holidays or make them a little brighter.

Cat owners, it truly is a struggle isn't it?

And of course some of the previous year's Christmas cards are still available in the shop and on Etsy as well. Stay tuned for some fun and sparkly holiday cards coming very soon!

Are you ready to start preparing for the holidays? Which of these cards is your favorite?

This past weekend, we were able to take in a day long event called Doors Open Baltimore in which the public could explore many historic buildings throughout the city. This was the first year for the event, and seeing that Andrew is an architect, it was an obvious addition to our weekend happenings. While there were just too many buildings for us to take in, we picked a few throughout the city that we thought would be interesting.

My favorites were the Crown Industrial Park in Greektown and the Pearle Museum near City Hall. While Crown has been housing artist studios for about 40 years, they recently began to renovate one of their warehouses to bring it up to slightly more modern standards (read drywall, heat, and sprinkler systems). I had no clue that these studios existed until Saturday-- in fact, I thought the warehouses were abandoned. As you can imagine, I instantly had dreams of taking over one of these beautiful spaces for myself.

The image above is a look at one of their new studios in progress. I mean, seriously! Look at that beautiful potential!

The Peale Museum is rich in history, but no longer in use. It once housed a collection in the early 1800s, which now resides at the Maryland Historic Society. However, I've heard that there is a nonprofit architectural group that is hoping to restore it and use it for a museum once again. I enjoyed taking photographs here because it felt as though everything had stopped in time. Remnants of its use in the 90s as a conference center were still there-- fans, chairs, tables and all.

I hope that there is a similar event as Doors Open Baltimore next year. It would be fantastic to have an architectural tour of this kind on a yearly basis. It's incredible to learn about the history of your city through their buildings and understand a little bit more about Baltimore's past.

Does your city host an architectural tour? Have you ever been able to explore historic buildings in your city?

While taking a break in Philadelphia a few weekends ago, we ate dinner at Stateside in South Philly. They had amazing cocktails, one that featured a basil infused gin. In the summer, I love beer, but in the winter, I prefer wine and cocktails, preferably something gin based. With several stalks of fresh basil left in my garden, I decided to infuse my own gin with the hopes of capturing that summery flavor for the colder months ahead.

What you'll need:

• one pint sized canning jar with a lid
• enough fresh basil to lightly pack into the jar
• 1 1/2 cups gin of your choice (I used my old standby Tanqueray)

Pluck the whole leaves of basil from their stalks and place them in the canning jar, lightly packing them. Be careful not to muddle or tear the leaves, as this can result in the gin turning to a brown color. Pour the gin over the basil, seal the jar, and gently shake the jar a few times. Infuse the basil between 48 hours and a week, based on your preference, gently shaking once a day. After fully infused, remove the basil and enjoy!

Have you made any infused spirits? What is your favorite base for cocktail drinks?

We love our beer, and fall is another great beer season. We spent last Sunday at a neighborhood Oktoberfest that included a home brew competition in which Andrew entered his Belgian IPA. However, many a Sunday, we find ourselves at Max's Taphouse in Fells Point while watching football. We stumbled upon Max's when we first moved to Baltimore and continue to go back because of their insanely large and unique beer selection. Think 140 rotating draft selections and hundreds of different types of bottled beer. Yup, that'll be enough beer to make your head spin-- literally. With that said, here is a look at a few fall beers that I've been enjoying so far this season.

1 // Mahr's Brau's Mastodon - German Lager, 2 // Nebraska Brewing Company's Wick for Brains - Pumpking Ale, 3 // Flying Fish's Oktoberfish - Marzen/Oktoberfest, 4 // Sierra Nevada's Flipside - Red IPA, 5 // Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale

While I'm usually more of a fan of IPAs and beers that you more commonly find in the summer months, I've happily found a few that I've found satisfying. The Mastodon was probably my favorite as a quality spot on German lager, and the Flipside provides the fall flavors of an amber yet is hoppy enough to do the trick for an IPA girl like me.

Are you a craft beer fanatic? What sorts of craft beers do you enjoy during the fall season?

There has been something super exciting in the works for about a month now for Row House 14. Some of you have either figured it out or may already know, but for those of you that aren't in the know-- I'm expanding Row House 14 to include letterpress greeting cards and stationery goods!

Learning how to do letterpress printing has been a dream of mine for quite some time. I've always had a love for paper and stationery, but the opportunity was never there. Letterpress printing presses are hard to come by and cost thousands of dollars. I had looked into renting press time from local printers or even attending classes so that I could learn, but that was also out of budget. In lieu of going the letterpress route, I decided to invest in my Kingsley gold foil press-- something that I could use for both paper and pencils, and it would also be compact enough to fit into my tiny 130 square foot studio space.

Meanwhile, I scoured Craigslist and real estate listings like mad, looking for an studio space that would be large enough to some day house a press. No such luck. Until, one day, while looking through listings, I happened upon a studio share opportunity with another woman who just so happened to own the exact printing press that I some day wish to own. And, she wanted to share the press and teach whomever shared her studio how to use the press. After a few back and forth emails and a studio visit, it was clear that the stars had somehow aligned perfectly and the situation was incredibly ideal for both of us.

Last week, I learned how to use the press using vintage wood type, hence the fun remake of my Holy Shit Balls card. I felt that the level of excitement surrounding this event made this card an appropriate enough candidate for my first go at printing. As I prepare for the upcoming holiday, however, I hope to include both a letterpress calendar and some greeting cards.

For now though, I want to have some fun and celebrate. My first letterpress card that you see pictured will be included for free along with any order in my shop or on Etsy. All you have to do is write Holy Shit Balls! in the message box when you check out so I know you'd like a free card, and I'll send one of these bad boys on its way! I'll keep the offer open for as long as I have cards available. In the meantime, stay tuned for some other super sweet letterpress goods coming your way in the future!